Monday 20 February 2012

Future Diary - Mirai Nikki - Episode 19

After all of their trials and tribulations, it seems as if Yukiteru and Yuno are about to be thrown out of the Future Diary party simply for being late to a meeting - that Deus ex Machina sure is a taskmaster.... Luckily for First and Second, they put in their appearance just in time to avoid elimination from both the game and the universe.

Indeed, the pair's tardy appearance isn't out of laziness - rather, they've been busily finding out the true identity of Eleventh.  It's a search that takes them right to the top, as their final rival to be unmasked is none other than the city mayor himself - a tough cookie to take on, for obvious reasons.  With the mayor in question, John Balks, named and shamed, it's Yukiteru who leads a group of diary entries comprising himself, Yuno and Eighth with her minions to take on Eleventh in a strategic plan to ambush him.


At least, that's what it's made to look like - in truth this new-look Yukkii, hardened towards death and any kind of empathy with others, makes no bones about setting out to slaughter Eighth by double-crossing her as soon as it's advantageous.  Despite taking out all of her lackeys, Eighth herself escapes with Eleventh, leaving Yukkii and Yuno to give chase - a pursuit made difficult by the ability of Balks' diary, then made impossible by a huge revelation about Yuno as we learn the true identity of the third body found at her home.  It appears that young Gasai has some explaining to do...

By this juncture, I think it's safe to say that Mirai Nikki has little to fear in terms of criticism from me as long as it continues to delight in being bonkers, and this episode manages to deliver that with almost clockwork regularity.  Let us not question how Yukiteru is such a proficient driver (or marksman for that matter), and let us instead revel in his transformation into one of the "cool" diary owners (albeit via careful scriptwriting by Yuno) as he goes about double-crossing and killing to get his way in the name of becoming God.  Things only look likely to become more messed up next week however, with Yukiteru's relationship with Yuno coming under strain... it says a lot about this series that we can focus on what the series intends us to without giving so much as a hoot about the holes in its plot and logic.

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