Future Diary - Mirai Nikki - Episode 20

Despite bringing us the shocking revelation at the close of last week's episode that Yuno isn't actually who we believed her to be at all, there's little time to consider what this means or Gasai's true identity as more pressing matters come to the fore in this ever-more dangerous survival game.

It's Sakurami City's mayor, Eleventh, that is the cause of all this upheaval, as he uses the fact that he now has Eighth within his fold to start his own revolution with the people of the city at its core.  Essentially, Eleventh sees the future of his city as a place where everyone owns a Future Diary, and of course the Server Diary belonging to Eighth is the perfect embodiment of this once connected to a sufficiently powerful supercomputer.

Unsurprisingly, Uryuu has explosively different ideas about this plan and sets out to destroy the HOLON supercomputer - easier said than done when you're up against a mayor who has co-opted the police force into his plans, while also holding a diary with a considerable amount of power for himself.  Although she might not like to admit it, Uryuu is lucky to find herself joined in her struggle by Nishijima, who seems to have taken more than a little shine to Minene, to put it mildly.  It's his actions that not only help Uryuu out of a tight spot but also puts a dent in Eleventh's plans - it's going to take a whole lot more to stop either him or the HOLON supercomputer however, and despite finding out the secret to Eleventh's diary and drafting him some help things are about to get decidedly dangerous for both Uryuu and Nishijima.  Sad news this may bring, but it's a case of "just as planned" for other players within the game...

What can I say about Mirai Nikki that I haven't mentioned already?  As per usual, this week's twists and turns were a delight to watch, with double-crossing and surprises around every corner as things move rapidly towards the show's denouement.  My only real criticism here is Uryuu and Nishijima's relationship, which is posited within this episode in a way that doesn't feel believable (which itself is fine given the contents of the series) before going on to make little real use of it emotionally - a couple of tears and a bit of shouting aside, there was no emotional impact to the way events panned out here when I felt that perhaps there should have been.  Then again, maybe it's simply that this show has made me into (more of) a heartless bastard that refuses to shed a tear no matter what happens thanks to its wicked ways - not that I'm complaining, mind you.