There are anime that people say that you have to ‘turn off your brain’ to watch. While I’m not a fan of the term, Mirai Nikki is the ultimate example of the ‘turn off your brain’ anime. The anime is edgy, not at all coherent, and most of all, fun and exciting to watch. If you tune in expecting to watch a gripping thriller, or just something good, Mirai Nikki isn’t for you. But if you’re watching because you want something silly to watch, Mirai Nikki is right up your alley.
Mirai Nikki is a battle royale anime themed around ‘future diaries'. Each contestant in the battle-royale has a diary that can tell certain parts of the future. The main character, Yukiteru Amano, has a ‘Random Diary’, which tells him random events in the future. Yuno Gasai, his stalker and ‘protector’, has a diary that tells the future of Yukiteru. As with any battle royale game, the winner is the last person alive, the prize of winning being becoming a god.
I have many complaints about Mirai Nikki. With any anime that has time-manipulation as a plot point, plot holes are abundant. Mirai Nikki has more of them than the eye can see. It also has an ending that seems to be going on forever. Seriously, it’s so long. I can’t help but think the ending was inspired by Evangelion. It wouldn’t be the only thing that makes it similar to Evangelion. Yukiteiru is very similar personality-wise to Shinji. Akise Aru, a side character, is similar personality-wise to Kaworu. He even looks like him as well! If they wanted to have this anime viewed similarly as Evangelion, then they failed completely. Mirai Nikki is a popular anime, with it being the 25th most popular anime on Anilist, but there’s nothing worth remembering about it except for Yuno herself. She’s the most popular ‘yandere’ character that I can think of, so at least they did something, even if that’s not what they were going for.
Speaking of Yuno, the most disgusting thing about this anime is the fact that it often conforms to the belief that she is the ‘only one there’ for Yukiteiru. While I know this is the modus operandi for most controlling people, the fact that the anime seems to go along with this is genuinely disturbing. While it’s not always this way, it happens enough to be to have to write this. The second most disgusting thing is that the characters never change their outfit.
With all of that being said, the one reason for watching Mirai Nikki is because it’s fun. The sheer insanity of it is worth the watch itself. You’ll probably find it bad, but it isn’t the type of bad that will piss you off or detract you from finishing it (most likely). It’s the same type of ‘bad’ that you get from action movies with little plot. Mirai Nikki is a perfect anime to have a watch party with, it’ll surely entertain everyone watching. And honestly, isn’t entertainment what you want from an anime? Well, the entertainment that Mirai Nikki may provide you is more of the ‘laughing at’ type of entertainment, but the point some-what stands. Mirai Nikki may be a lot of things, but boring isn’t one of them.
Mirai Nikki is probably one of the dumbest anime that I’ve ever watched. That’s saying something considered all of the dumb anime out there. What Mirai Nikki has that others don’t is entertainment value. You’re bound to be entertained with all of the crazy and stupid twists and turn this anime has out there to offer. Is it good? No. Does it have a million plot holes? Yes. Is it fun to watch? Also yes.