「手書き入力」 (Tegaki Nyūryoku)
“Handwritten Input”

Purely in terms of development this was certainly the most important episode of Mirai Nikki yet. It was also the first time I felt the anime’s version of events lacked a little bit of the punch the manga packed.

I’m a tough audience for this material as a big fan of the manga, and there’s no doubt the spot-on success of the first three eps spoiled me a little. This was still a very solid episode, so no complaints here. I’m glad Asread decided to slow the pacing down a bit, as there’s an awful lot of important stuff happening with this arc and it would be a shame to see it missed by an audience feeling overwhelmed by too much plot in one episode. This may have lessened the impact of the episode slightly, but it was probably a necessary decision. While this is primarily the story of Sixth, Kasugano Tsubaki (Sendai Eri), it’s actually Twelfth, Hirasaka Yomatsu – who we met last week performing elective eye surgery on Ninth – who has the most revealing dialogue. And the nature of the dilemma facing Yukiteru as regards Yuno is brought into much sharper focus.

Tsubaki is an interesting case. A Shinto Priestess of what Kurusu calls a cult, The Sacred Eye, she’s the first diary owner we’ve seen whose diary is not electronic, but hand (well, God) written. Analog in a digital world, but no less powerful – the Clairvoyance Diary, with which Sixth can see events up to one month in advance through the eyes of her followers. A powerful diary indeed, but as Twelfth points out it has a very obvious weakness. The Jan-ken-pon (Rochambo, or “Rock, paper, scissors”) analogy is a very good one and it’s equally applicable to all the diaries we’ve seen so far. Proof that Deus has a sense of humor? Perhaps.

Yukiteru is quite taken with Tsubaki’s kind demeanor, serene calm and kawaii appearance, and it’s easy to see why – she’s basically his rebound crush, the anti-Yuno. It seems to me that it’s only in this episode that Yukkii realizes just how deep he’s stepped in it with Yuno. When you commit to a yandere, there are no half-measures – it’s all-in or fold, and Yuno is as yandere as they come. Life as a diary owner is starting to deliver Yukiteru a series of seemingly-impossible choices, and he’s only now appreciating what that means. Naturally kind, he wants to help Sixth when her confinement room catches fire and her followers begin to resemble the walking dead – but what if that choice is a dead end? And there’s Yuno, always ready with an outstretched hand (holding an axe)…

I can’t blame Yukkii for saying what he did to Yuno, because the logical conclusion after seeing what he did at her house was, “I’m next”. Yet she’s the only one who’s offered him kindness or help and asked nothing in return – including Sixth, who needs Yukiteru’s help to avoid the dead end in her scroll. Just how he’s doing it has yet to be made clear, but it’s obvious Twelfth is behind the mass hypnosis event happening at the shrine. We’ve certainly seen a variety of personalities from the diary owners, but Twelfth appears to be most obviously broken. Fond of spandex and his grotesque eye mask, he taunts the naked and bound Ninth with creepy super sentai lingo and grandiose claims about justice. His relationship with Sixth and the nature of his diary are still not clear, but he’s certainly a nut job of the highest order.

One quick note on the seiyuu performances… I’m struck more than ever by the similarity (already noted by others) between Togashi Misuzu’s Yukiteru and Ogata Megumi’s iconic Shinji Ikari from Evangelion. How you feel about the former probably depends on how you liked the latter, I suppose – I consider it one of the paramount woman-as-teenaged boy seiyuu performances ever, but Shinji was obviously a character who rubbed some the wrong way. It’ll be interesting to see how Togashi’s portrayal evolves, as Yukiteru and Shinji are very different characters and that’s going to become quite apparent. As for Murasa Tomosa’s Yuno, I think she had her best week here – it didn’t happen often, but when something else needed to creep into Yuno’s voice, it most certainly did.

 

Omake

107 Comments

    1. It is not really a balance per say…

      It is more like she jump from one end of the spectrum to the other. A normal human would have to take several steps and work toward to the other end, mainly crossing the middle point. She on the other hand complete jump to the other end like the middle doesn’t even exist…

      The moment her diary mention 6th talking behind her back, she automatically jump to the conclusion to murder her. I seriously wonder if 6th foretold dead end will be caused by Yuno alone?

      chaos
  1. Man this episode was intense! I’m wondering if Twelfth plucking out Ninth’s eye has something to do with Tsubaki’s right eye being covered. Is she missing an eye as well? Not to mention the fact that Twelfth’s mask is a giant eyeball and the cult’s name is The Sacred Eye. Lots of connections here.

    Also, is it wrong that I find Ninth the tsundere terrorist to be adorable (especially when she tied up naked)? I like that they are making Ninth more likable with her background and predicament, but I hope that they won’t conveniently gloss over the fact that she is a mass murdering bomber.

    catalyst
      1. I have to say, I don’t think I’ll ever find this show to be boring! It’s the only show I’m watching right now that I have to see the day each new episode comes out. I can delay watching other shows, but not Mirai Nikki! Luckily, my Japanese is getting better and soon I’ll be able to start watching some shows raw, so I can cut the wait even more!

        catalyst
      2. Add me to the 9th fan club, too. I think they’re trying to humanize her a lot earlier than the author did in the manga (especially considering how they adapted the scenes from Mosaic last episode), and I certainly can’t complain. There’s a damn good reason she’s my favorite character at the end of the day :D.

    1. I agree that Ninth being tied up has unfortunately limited her screen time. Also, I never trusted Fourth the detective, even when he helped Yuki out. He just seems to have a hidden agenda. I foresee a situation where Fourth becomes the bad guy and Ninth joins forces with Yuki, though it would probably take a messed up scenario for that to happen. Then again, this is Mirai Nikki, the show that sets a new standard for “messed up” every episode.

      catalyst
    2. It’s all about the fight in her eyes and refusal to submit even after she’s been stripped down and tied up. Girls who refuse to feel humility are perceived as hot in many people’s eyes. Those with some inner dominance tendencies anyway. 😛

    1. That level of logic takes a much brighter man than him I’m afraid 😛 Then again, a brighter man might’ve just left the suspicious room alone and enjoyed the rest of the night! XD

      Aex
    2. IT CAN, TOO…

      Assuming the girl is entirely and desperately in love with you. So Yuki is not so much of a fool, is he?

      Despite his stupidity, I secretly think he know he can get away with a lot of things with Yuno. As they say, “once somebody like you, they are basically at YOUR mercy”.

      chaos
    1. Yup. She’s emotionally broken and Yukiteru is everything in her eyes, so if he’s in danger everyone else is collateral damage until he’s safe, and if he’s being mean to her it’s either her own fault or someone else’s, and since there’s another woman around… >.< Gotta say I'm loving how this show is handling a personality like Yuno's. Completely crazy, yet oh-so-loveable!!

      Aex
  2. Yuno dislike girls that gets her beloved Yuuki’s attention and she gets more angry to the point she would kill no.6 since she badmouthed her.

    Another fact or fiction rather choose wisely Yuuki from Yuno. So did no.6 and that no.12 have conspiracy, it seems no.12 pretended to be a member then hand over no.9 to no.6 so that he could kill no.6 at the same time gets rid of no.1, no.2 and no.3 since no.9 told him about them but by the way no.12 seems failed at the end tells me he didn’t know Yuno’s diary same goes for the other two.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Another funny concept no.12 really reminds me of Persona 2’s antagonist.

    pedobearmatt
  3. The twelfth’s story is actually supposed to be pretty emotional. I’m surprised that they haven’t touched on her personal (eff-ed up) back story very much yet- ah well, I suppose I’ve forgotten the exact order of things in the manga; I’m guess they’ll do that next week…

    Zen
      1. I seem to remember everyone has a noble goal from the get-go, with the exception of Yuki and Yuno. They all just had a twisted view on how to get there: The ends justifies the means.

        And on about their personality, the OP of the anime which enumerates the Greek Olympians in Latin can be paired to a corresponding diary owner.

        Three guesses who Hera/Juno is….

        The Moondoggie
  4. Overall, I’d say this is the weakest episode on the scare factor (was less phased during the Yuno-axe-killing scene), though the episode was still overall enjoyable.

    And god, Twelfth’s a creeper. ._.

    Soiyeruda
    1. Of the other episodes, this is the episode where I see axed-crazy Yuno chop people to pieces and blood everywhere including on her face…so I beg the differ. The moment Yuno axed people in the hit, it was a new high level for me.

      chaos
      1. It could be that I was too spoiled with Blood-C’s over the top depiction of gore (which was the only interesting part of the series aside from the wtf conclusion) because I didn’t feel as pumped as Yuno running through the mine field or the last scene in episode 3. It was still a good episode, don’t get me wrong.

        Soiyeruda
  5. Wow this episode was LOL with the crazy 12th. His entire transformation was hilarious even if he was a mad man.

    I actually think Yuki was flirting more with death by calling Yuno insane than if he simply stayed on at her house. Yuno looks to be the type whose dedication knows no bounds and would mummify and stuff your dead body so you could still be with her (even if she killed you).

    Yes she’s pretty much a loony smiling axe murderer but she’s YOUR loony smiling axe murderer. She’s the stronges ally that i can see that Yuki can get in the crazy game, just make sure she’s in front of you at all times and don’t call her insane.

    Zaku Fan
    1. Yeah, it all good right?….until she point that axe at you and chopped you to pieces.

      Let not forget that by the end of the game, only one person get to live. “Two men enter, One man leaves…”

      chaos
  6. I think one of the reasons why this episode wasn’t as good as the first three episodes was because the low quality budget dampened the impact of the highly-animated scenes. Let’s face it: this is a really low budget series, at least when compared to glossier shows of this season, like Guilty Crown or Fate/Zero. For example, I’m sure that the Yuno rampage scene against the hypnotized followers would have been much better with a better budget.

    Another example of the show’s low budget would be how they changed the anime so that Fourth didn’t call Yukki when he turned on the fire extinguishing system. Instead, what you see in the anime is that Yukki sees this event happening in his diary. It’s kind of a cheap way to avoid animating a scene with Fourth in a basement.

    Otherwise, this is a really great show. I’m really liking the way that Asread is making Ninth more of a central character compared to the manga.

    Butterbean
  7. I never realized it before but Show Spoiler ▼

    Still a great episode considering that 6th’s arc was one of the weaker ones for me. You’re so right about the similarity between Yukiteru and Shinji’s seiyuus. I would’ve noticed it even if it hadn’t been pointed it out by others.

    Cocytus
  8. That was a pretty spot on synopsis and I totally agree. The part of the manga that this episode covered was more intense, that can be read at your own pace, while an anime episode that went at the same rate might have just come off as confusing.

    Indefatigable
  9. Fate Zero gives an awesome closure to my weekend while mirai nikki opens it with a bang… I must say, Yuno’s yandere face is was much better than those in Higurashi’s and her closing facial expressions are as lovely as ever… a tied up and naked 9th is fine to

    c2710
  10. For some reason, this episode just felt a bit off compared to the previous episodes. For me, I felt having the time skip in the beginning was kind of lame, I and probably many others would have liked to see what happen after Yuno stalked Yuki back to his home. Also I felt it was weird that Yuno just pretended nothing happen during that night as she greeted him normally the next day. Another thing that is bother me is, Is 12th a ‘follower’ of the six? and How did he extract info from the 9th eyes?

    ybaby
    1. I don’t think it was mentioned in the anime, but the reason why 12th captured Minene in the first place was because it was his “initiation” into the cult. If he captured Minene for them, then he would be granted membership. The only thing that was changed is that 12th tortured Minene himself in the anime, while in Mosaic he led her into a trap in which 6th’s current followers then tortured her for info. But either way, since he was able to infiltrate the cult, it allowed him to covertly place a lot of the followers under his illusions.

    2. “How did he extract info from the 9th eyes?”

      He didn’t extract the info from her eyes. He got it from her, through torture.

      “Another thing that is bother me is, Is 12th a ‘follower’ of the six?”

      No. The anime hasn’t explained it yet, Show Spoiler ▼

      “Also I felt it was weird that Yuno just pretended nothing happen during that night as she greeted him normally the next day.”

      She’s a psychotic yandere. The queen of all yanderes, that’s why.

      Butterbean
      1. 12th said 6th is all SEEING which means 6th gets her information from all her follower’s eyes
        12th gets his info from the peoples’ HEARING, because Yuno started killing the followers 12th said something about his plans are ruined or he acted surprised and worried.

        1OO
  11. this episode really didn’t have the same feeling as the previous ones but i’ll just hope that the next episodes will lift this all up..

    and honestly speaking, i found myself laughing when 12th was wearing his gloves, clothes etc. while announcing them and dancing (or whatever it is he’s doing) right after while talking to 9th.

  12. well, well, well…
    6th looks (mostly) harmless, but I am suspecting she can be quite manipulative
    9th despite being captured, tied, almost-naked (lingerie stays!) manages to be very cool villain… despite her being mass murderer, she is kind of “even evil has its standards”
    by comparison with:
    the 12th who is a complete nutjob down to delusions of henshin sentai 😛
    fortunately he is too overconfident, leaving 9th alive, and ready to slip out of her confinement with all the tricks she learned thru lifetime of escape… not mentioning going into full collision course with:
    Yuno who steals the show with her yandere personality, literally axe-crazy 😛
    my bet is 6th won’t survive, because both 12th and Yuno are out to get her…
    also anyone feels shout-out to the cult of the blind eye from Baldurs Gate 2? 😛

    ewok40k
    1. not surprising.
      if I didnt read the manga, I could have sworn those two would be one of the last standing near the end and in a face off against each other.

      I love both of them, in diff ways as a uryu is a tsundere while yuno is a yandere.

      amado
    1. No one intended to blog Mashiro-iro Symphony in the first place and Mirai Nikki was an established manga series that was begging for an anime adaption. I’m sure there are other anime blogs that do blog Mashiro though, just need to look.

      Soiyeruda
  13. I just realize something…

    If you guys watch the END song, it shows people then statically disappearing. Now I realize that each of those character is a future diary owner. In the picture, it also show their background as a hint.

    For 9th, she is the one sitting in the tent during war time and armed with guns to the teeth.
    For 4th, he was the guy sitting in the chair watching the TV. He is like an observer.
    For 12th, (Picture #2) he is sitting head down near a hospital bed.
    For 6th, she is the one laying naked with a scarf over her breast and Va-Jay Jay
    For 3rd, he was the serial killer.

    Picture #1 was 3rd: Serial Killer standing over the bloody body of his victim.
    Picture #2 was 12th.
    Picture #3 is ??? (look like a little girl standing over 2 rows of dead corpses.
    Picture #4 is 6th.
    Picture #5 is ??? (Look like a couple hugging each other in a warehouse).
    Picture #6 is ??? (Look like a farmer family in a garden).
    Picture #7 is ??? (He is the old man with grey hair in a playground with kids and dogs).
    Picture #8 was 9th.
    Picture #9 is ??? (Look like an CEO, rich guy standing on a skyscaper looking down).
    Picture #10 is 4th.

    There is no picture for Yuno and Yuki. However, the last one to statically disappear is 1st.

    So where is Yuno (2nd)???

    chaos
    1. No, they were all in order, starting from the third. The only thing is that 10th and 9th were switched around.
      You mixed up 4th and 12th. Fourth came right after third, sitting next to the hospital bed, and twelfth was at the end, sitting in front of the television.

  14. Small bit of trivia. the 12th yelled out the sound Kamen Rider 1 used to say when he jumped. Toh! The Henshin pose and the rider belt he used are also a Kamen Rider Reference. The Super Sentai reference won’t be till later.

    Skiks
  15. Is it just me or does 6th seem like a weak character?

    By weak, I meant she is vulnerable to attack. It doesn’t look like she can defend herself. Without her cult, she seem pretty helpless. Up to now, most of the characters are pretty badass except for piss-pant Yuki.

    chaos
    1. Every diary holder has their own strengths and weaknesses. 12th describes the game quite well in that its much like rock-paper-scissors. Some diaries are worse against some and better against others.

      From the looks of it, Tsubaki’s diaries is one of the best in terms of the shear amount of information it provides. It records what her followers see, so events happening in far off locations or right in her temple are easily accessible to her. However, this reliance on her cult is the diary’s flaw. Disorientating her followers basically makes her diary null, making 12th (who apparently has the power of hypnosis with his diary) a hard counter to her.

      Soiyeruda
  16. I’m not one to argue with the show but… I’ve been wondering for a while now but why doesn’t one of the diary holders just EMP the town? I haven’t read the manga but the ending shows some of the unseen diary holders; rich guy, soldier (i think) and the detective all have the ability to acquire one. Since the “sacred eye” doesn’t want to be god thats like winning by default xD Turning a 24 ep series into 2 =D

    Coolbeans
    1. Getting an EMP would be pretty hard you know. Detonating it over a city would be even harder considering the restrictions on use and thus refusal of others to let you. But if anyone was going to pull it off it was going to be the 9th and well she entered Japan before game started so good luck getting an EMP there (its not her specialty to design one either, she should just stick to nitroglycerin tbh).

      KoroshiyaKi
    2. LOL! That thought have cross my mind…

      There are several problems with that idea.

      1) You assume all the diary owners live in one area. What they ain’t? Then you would either need lots of nuke or it is a waste if time.

      2) You assume all diary owners have a phone diary. Not true. 6th herself use a traditional written diary. So EMP is totally useless against that. Even if most diaries are digital, what if they start recording their diaries on paper after the EMP? So EMP in the end is useless.

      3) Deus made up the game so I highly doubt he would allow such a “fool’s mate” chess move to win the game in one step.

      4) I am sure the future diary will come in all forms instead of limiting to just a phone. So if a diary is the owner’s weakness, what if your diary exist in a form of a weapon like a gun or a tank? Good luck trying to destroy a tank… 😀

      chaos
    3. area-wide nuke-driven EMP is quite obviously beyond the reach of individual person (and most countries, too) but conventional EMP weapons (high powered radars can be used as one) can be a real killer in this field – save the 6th with her pen-and-paper diary 😛 – this however would require a person able to commandeer somehow military resources and personnel… and then there is obvious countermeasure of the Faraday cage…

      ewok40k
    4. The reason why an EMP wouldn’t work is for the same reason why the cellphone diaries do not need to be charged. They’re all created by god. So they aren’t your regular cellphones. Also, see the second bullet point made by the user “chaos” above.

      Butterbean
      1. 3rd was a tool to be used to intro how the game works…Sacrificial Lamb!

        Plus, he was an idiot. Recall the omake of the 3rd. How many time did he killed himself? I count 3 or 4. Maybe that is why he choose killing instead of teaching…

        chaos
      1. “well that and that the diary holders would be able to easily know and get away. its better to be stealthy than flashy to get rid of people who can see the future…”

        I believe we called your statement a paradox. How can you be stealthy around one who can see the future?

        chaos
  17. 12TH said 6TH is all SEEING which means 6th gets her information from all her follower’s eyes
    12TH gets his info from the peoples’ HEARING, because Yuno started killing the followers 12th said something about his plans are ruined or he acted surprised and worried.

    Is this right? I’m guessing haha please correct me tho if I’m wrong!

    1OO
    1. Partial right…

      6th is all-seeing from people she interact with…

      while

      12th is all-hearing from people he hypnotized…

      6th weakness appear to be her people or how they “see” things. So either killed the cult people or manipulate how they think is her weakness. 12th is like a therapist who “listen” to his “patients” and extract information from them. Thus,his weakness is similar to 6th.

      Another important point seem to be why he kept 9th alive. Because she has already been hypnotized, anything she think, do, or will do 12th will know already in advance due to his diary. Assuming it is the Hypnosis Diary.

      6th and 12th have amazing people. In that, I mean if anyone of them ally with other diary owners or hypnotized them, they gain a upper hand on that diary owner. This probably explain why 6th choose 1st and why 12th kept 9th alive and said he will “help” her.

      chaos
    2. While re-watching the episode, I figure out 12th diary…

      He doesn’t have a phone diary…it is an audio diary. Recall that he was listening to some kind of mp3 player while near 9th during her escape. Also recall that he said, “It is quiet upstair now…” and 9th reply, “I didn’t hear anything…”

      His diary must be a mp3 like an Ipod or wireless hearing aid in his ear. I bet ya that is one way to defeat him…

      😀

      chaos
  18. Have you guys ever consider that each diary is like a “genie” granting each person the wish of their desire?

    I seem so to me. For Yuno, it was knowing everything about Yuki. For Yuki, it tells what happen to things in which he was never a part of. For 6th, the ability to see since she cannot see that well. For 4th, the ability to solve crimes since he alone cannot do it. For 9th, the ability to escape cleanly after a mission.

    Any thoughts?

    chaos
    1. Diaries will occasionally reflect the person’s feelings, because well, it’s like that person’s future self is writing the entries. So the owner’s feelings and writing style might slip into the entries made. Diaries themselves are not based on the user’s desires though; they’re based on how they were previously used before they were modified:
      Yukiteru: recorded everything that occurred around him with almost OCD attentiveness
      Yuno: stalked Yukiteru and wrote about him (apparently) every ten minutes
      Kurusu: used his diary to write about the crimes that he was solving in his district
      Tsubaki: wrote down her followers stories as told by themselves of the “outside” world
      Hirasaka: recorded his acts of “righteousness” as a hero of justice
      Minene: wrote down her progress and escape route in her terrorist strikes (she used her diary to keep track of whether she was “chasing” down her targets or being chased herself)

  19. Who is 12th after?

    From the way things turn out, he could easily died 6th. I mean, all of her followers were hypnotized so it would have been a piece of cake to die 6th right off the bat. In fact, 12th could have killed 9th easily as well. Why keep your enemies around?

    I am assuming his real target is the other 3 that he extracted information from 9th. So 12th is planning to kill 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 9th with one stone?

    Talk about ego…I hope he can do magic tricks along with his hypnosis otherwise the odds are stacked against him! O_o

    chaos
  20. I already read this manga and when I watched this episode I noticed that the two people in the Sacred Eye were diary users. The girl who the 4th asked to see the 6th was the girl who helped the 8th. And then the other girl she consulted was Ai, wasn’t it? Desho?

    Alice

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