Future Diary - Mirai Nikki - Episode 22

As if there wasn't already enough urgency behind the actions within Mirai Nikki, the first signs that the world itself is beginning to disintegrate really brings the situation into sharp focus.

With the situation becoming critical, we're quickly granted an answer to one of the show's big mysteries - just who is Aru Akise and what is his purpose?  The answer is a surprising one, but just as it seems that his life is about to be extinguished by Deus ex Machina he finds the answer required to prolong his life... for now, at least.

The return of Akise to the real world comes not a moment too soon, as Yukiteru and Yuno set off to track down and kill Eighth - something that it initially seems Akise is willing to facilitate, only for the couple to find that they've been betrayed once they arrive.  With a decidedly meta Future Diary of its own, Akise seems to have crafted himself as Yuno's equal, but even he isn't prepared for the lengths she's willing to go to, while the rest of Akise'a group try to persuade Yukkii that even if he does become a god he won't have the ability to bring back the dead.  But who will Yukiteru believe - Yuno or Akise?  The answer is a bloody and brutal one as we reach the end-game of the series and the fight for the future of the entire planet.

To be frank, this week's Mirai Nikki can be summed up in a single word - fantastic.  Right from the off, this instalment brought its A-game to the table in terms of its big revelations, twists and turns, with more seemingly to come next week.  It also pulled no punches when it came to achieving those goals, providing us with a bloodbath set against a huge dilemma for our protagonist that did nothing to assuage his violent solution to the problem in front of him.  The only real question here is how the series is going to fill its remaining episodes given how close we seem to be to the show's climax, but if this episode is anything to go by it'll be one Hell of a roller coaster ride.