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7mononoke

Future Diary: Critical Analysis Part 5 (Episodes 10 + 11)

Updated: Aug 19, 2022

Welcome to the next edition of my Future Diary/ Mirai Nikki Critical Analysis. In these posts, I cover my thoughts on Future Diary 1-3 episodes at a time. The point is to practice being critical in a balanced way, rather than just hating on the anime. I really love Future Diary, despite the many issues with it. Now, let's continue with episodes 10 and 11.

 

Episode 10: Family Plan


The tenth episode was about half filler material. First there were the flashbacks about Minene meeting Nishijima the police officer. Then there was the bridal fair event that Yukiteru and Yuno attended together. Regarding Nishijima and Minene, it felt like they were forcing the humor and the romance too much. Also, what the hell was the point of the bathroom scene? That was so incredibly awkward. However, I thought it was appropriate that Minene turned back to her normal self at the end and shot Nishijima.


Also note: It would be a huge mistake in the plot if Minene killed Third in this flashback. But the explosion that she used on Third did not kill him, since it was a flashbang. He was fine by the next day when he went hunting for First after school. Therefore, there's no plot hole issue here.


Concerning the bridal fair, too much time was spent on such fluff. Even so, there was at least one worth noting: Yukiteru is falling in love with Yuno. He's denying it and trying to shut it down because he believes Yuno murdered her parents. Still, there's no doubt Yukiteru already has some feelings for Yuno.


There's also two interesting things to point out about the hole in the yard and Yuno's memory. First of all, the hole was probably made by one of those giant space-eating orbs controlled by whoever is God. That means either Yuno herself or Murmur used god-powers to instantly dig the hole. There might be another explanation that I'm forgetting, but this one seems plausible.


The other thing to mention is about Yuno's memory. Akise hypothesizes that Yuno overwrote her memory as a psychological defense mechanism. In psychology, this is called selective dissociative amnesia. However, later on, we learn that Murmur was tampering with Yuno's memory at a few points in the story when she was in danger of giving away their secret. Strictly speaking, it was magic that altered Yuno's memory. That being said, I think Akise had a point too. While Yuno might not have developed dissociative amnesia, she finds the topic of her parents' deaths upsetting. After all, she didn't originally intend to kill them. It was a careless mistake that continues to haunt her even in the second world.

 

Episode 11: Service Terminated


Let's talk about Yuno and how she handles the danger to Yukki in this episode at the police station. I've mentioned before that Yuno doesn't have DID, but does have slightly different sides to her that may or may not surface depending on conditions. Usually, when Yuno switches, there is some kind of visual cue like one of her eyes being covered or both her eyes becoming clouded over. In episode 11, we see the latter happen. As Yuno realizes that Yukiteru is in danger, her eyes become clouded and dilated and she begins searching for a weapon to fight with. Yukiteru has decided he needs to "be Yuno's self-control," and prevent her from doing damage to herself or others. (The fact that he feels this this is duty shows he already cares a great deal about Yuno.)


Something interesting happens during Yukki's attempts to calm Yuno and restore her more innocent self. Once or twice, it works. Yuno listens to Yukiteru and is able to return to a calm, non-dangerous state. But the third time, after Yuno has shot Kurusu, it stops working. Although Yuno's eyes clear up and her voice returns to a softer tone, she still points the gun at Nishijima and has the idea to use him as a hostage. This shows that Yuno's quick-thinking and violent tendencies are not limited to the person she becomes when fully psycho. Even when calm, she can be merciless. The implication of this is that she could also be extremely manipulative even when she's in her gentle, girly state.

Now let's move on to what happens after Yukiteru and Yuno become fugitives. (By the way, I think it was understandable that Yukiteru panicked and shot that cop, since he thought he and Yuno were being shot at first.) As fugitives, Yukiteru and Yuno manage to hold out for a few days, but they need food. The part where Yuno needs to urinate was off-putting since it was completely unnecessary. But it doesn't feel like fanservice either. It's just strange. I also think it was strange that they followed Kurusu's wife into a hospital, which would be full of people who could recognize them by their wanted description.


Besides some strange things like what I mentioned above, the second half of episode 11 was mostly good. It touched on the fragile psychology of Yukiteru, who is still very much a child, and how he struggles to understand adult reasoning. We learned the true reason why Kurusu betrayed Yukki and Yuno and why he's trying to become God. The episode was thematically strong, with the idea of leaving childhood behind and facing a gnarly and confusing world. There was also some humor, like when Ninth was trying to coordinate the phone call with Kurusu and hold a yelling Yukiteru back at the same time. When she lost her temper and shouted, "I don't give a fuck," it made me chuckle.


There might be more to cover from this episode that I can't currently think of due to issues IRL. If I think of anything later on, I'll include it in a future post. But for now, that's all I have for episodes 10 and 11.

 

Takeaways From These Episodes


Episode 10 was mostly good with minimal problems found. Episode 11 had a few minor issues. Overall, I'm impressed with these two episodes. Here is a table with my notes.

Criticisms

Positives

Too much fluff in episode 10 at the bridal fair

Yuno's character psychology

Forced humor and romance with Ninth and Nishijima in episode 10

Fast paced, exciting episodes with a few funny moments

Strange things in episode 11 like going to the hospital for no reason

Yukiteru's characters psychology and strong unifying themes

Thanks for reading and take care till next time!

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