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Mirai Nikki (Future Diary)

Came out in 2011 - 2012 with a total of 26 episodes
1 OVA was released on June 2013
The time setting of the OVA is almost immediately after the main 26 episodes, so it is worth checking out on the OVA.

Brief Introduction

This anime is basically what would happen if the idea of "Hunger Games" falls into the hand of a genius. It is a "battle royale" type of story where a certain amount of people are pit against each other in a "kill or be killed" situation.

Story

The story is very well written in the anime. It follows the usual route of any anime with a heavy story element. It starts of with a few simple concept that the audience has to relate and get used to, and as they go along the path, they throw in more complications and WTF moments. But the magic of this story is how well they are able to conceal the plot twists, they lead you into thinking one thing, then when the time comes for the big reveal, you will be left surprised. But one thing I really like about the story is how they can bring in some social issues into the story such as the existence of a cult or a capitalistic character. Generally, the story is well written, it grips you at the edge of the chair as you try and figure out what will happen next.

Characters

Mirai Nikki features a wide range of character. Ranging from a responsible policeman to a psychotic terrorist. The characters is where I think Mirai Nikki shines the best, all of it is very well written. The characters feel very real and relatable, they're not your typical "emo / perfect " character. All of them have flaws of their own and that is what makes them real to me. I always appreciate it when characters in a story have a lot of growth throughout the series, and this anime has just that, GROWTH. Each character starts out with fairly typical traits, but as the story progresses, the character grows into something more and that is what makes a character great in an anime. The best part about all these growths is that, it is not limited only to the main characters, each character gets their own depth increased and becomes whole.

: The characters of "Mirai Nikki"

Scores / Music

To be honest, I stumbled upon this anime through its opening theme on youtube. So that should tell you just how good the opening theme of the anime is.

The scores and music is decent. However, none of the scores gave me a very lasting impression. So, don't be expecting some real epic orchestra music or anything like that.

Voice acting

The voice acting of this anime is simply spectacular, especially the performance of Murata, Tomosa as Gasi Yuno (Lead female character). She outshines everyone else in the whole entire anime ..... that's just how good she is. Her character is one which is very unique and perhaps the only one of its kind, so it is hard to imagine how such a character would sound like. That is why she is simply brilliant, as she nails the character so well, everything sounds perfect.

Visuals

The animation of this anime is very nice and buttery smooth. It doesn't really have a unique art style or anything like that. However, they do get all of the characters facial expression right, especially this :

: God, that's one heck of a crazy face

Even bringing this picture out of context, you know this girl is a little obsessive or crazy, that ... is the magic of facial expression.
(This facial expression is so iconic it became a meme http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mirai-nikki-yandere-face )

Besides the facial expression, one thing worth talking about is the violence. They do not shy away from scenes with violence. They show you all the gore there is to show. So get ready to see some bloody carnage while watching Mirai Nikki.

: LOOK AT DEM BLOOD ....

Personal enjoyment

This is one of the very first anime I've watched, so it is expected that I'm a little bias to this anime. However, I find this anime to be very enjoyable as there is just the right amount of action and love in this anime. The love and actions are all justified, they're not there just so there is complication or just "because so". I definitely appreciate it when everything in the anime is justified. The fan service episodes are decent and not too much, the comedy are usually a little perverted in nature but it is all acceptable, all of these are in good fun to take a break from the tense nature of the story.

TL;DR
This anime is a must - watch for everyone who likes the "hunger games" type of story. The story features love, action, very little comedy and a lot of character growth. The pacing of the story is just right and brings enough surprises / action to leave you wanting more.

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