First Impressions / Mirai Nikki

「家族割り」 (Kazoku Wari)
“Family Discount”

Sometimes in an anime, a character will say something that’s been obvious to the viewer all along, but never muttered aloud on screen. The interesting part comes in seeing how the characters react to it.

I’d say that Marco has the honesty of the doomed, but he was pretty much a straight shooter all along. In Mirai Nikki the line between nobility and insanity has always been a blurry one, anyway. It should be obvious to any viewer by now that all of the diary owners so far are broken in some way – these are not people plucked from idyllic lives of happy contentment in the bosom of their loved ones. The common thread among every one we’ve met so far is that their family lives are shot through with dysfunction of various kinds, and one of the interesting things in watching the story unfold is seeing how each reacts to their own pain in their own way.

In many ways, the prologue (over seven minutes) reminded me a bit of the landmark seventh episode of Kamisama Dolls, though it wasn’t by any means its equal in terms of execution. What’s fascinating is that the flashback scenes with Ai and Marco were much shorter in the manga, cutting out the high school scenes altogether. I’ve already had displeasure over the anime’s artistic choice expressed to me directly by a reader, and I can definitely understand why one might be offended by the direction the Asread team chose here. My honest answer is that I’m not – in fact, I think the added buildup for Seventh made the climax of the episode much more emotionally powerful. The fact that we’ve already had rape in a diary holder’s tragic past (Sixth) does call the decision to use it here into question, no doubt – perhaps it reflects a lack of imagination. But this is a brutal story that treats its characters harshly, and I didn’t feel that the horror of what happened to Ai was minimized or that the attackers were painted in a kind light. I thought it was effective – your mileage may vary, and I won’t say you don’t have a right to feel that way.

There were obviously some key lines of dialogue in this episode, starting with Marco’s screed about Yuno and Yuki. Of Yuki, Marco said that he was weak and a hypocrite – letting Yuno do all his dirty work for him so he could keep his hands clean. Of her, that what she had with Yukiteru wasn’t love or cooperation – it was just manipulation and domination. Is there anyone in the audience who would disagree? In it’s twisted way what Marco and Ai had was at least a true partnership, and the depth of feeling was never in question. What does Yuki do with this knowledge, now that it’s slapped him in the face and he can no longer pretend it isn’t true? And does Yuno resume her on-again off-again relationship with reality long enough to acknowledge that what she has with her Yukkii right now isn’t remotely love?

For his part, it was indeed Yuno’s hand that Yukiteru reached for in the beginning, and who can blame him? For all her insanity Yuno is the one person in his life whose dedication to him has never come into question, and the fact that his father was present only drove home the point. For Yuki the key question is the obvious one that’s been hanging over his relationship with Yuno all along – “Do you really love me or are you just insane?” I’m not sure those two are mutually exclusive, but confronted yet again with what a coward and a selfish bastard his father is, what choice does Yuki have but to ask it? Even not yet knowing the terrible truth that awaits him once he and Yuno fall back to Earth, Yukiteru has come to fully realize that he can’t count on his parents to give him the support of a real family.

The paradigm has certainly shifted, and bridges to Yuki’s old life burned. And with Seventh gone, we’re officially down to five diary owners left – our main pair, Minene, the oddly-shaped Eighth (who hovered on the fringes of this arc without ever quite becoming directly involved) and the mysterious Eleventh, about whom we know almost nothing. I equate that owner’s role thus far to dark matter’s role in the physics of the universe – we can’t see it, but we know it must be there because we do see things that can’t be explained any other way…

 

77 Comments

  2. The end of Volume 7 is also the end of 7th…how coincidentally tragic…Also, Y WE GET NO 7TH OMAKE?!

    Plus, this always confused me in the manga:

    How do we get from this:
    https://randomc.net/image/Mirai%20Nikki/Mirai%20Nikki%20-%2017%20-%20Large%2026.jpg

    To this:
    https://randomc.net/image/Mirai%20Nikki/Mirai%20Nikki%20-%2017%20-%2029.jpg

    Without anyone noticing? That pipe was clearly not there before he pulled the debris up. It would’ve been easier to understand if Marco got up and the pipe was clearly visible, to show that despite the mortal injury, he was still willing to save Ai.

    Well, goodbye 7th. You will always be a proper role-model of love.

    Da5id
    Reply

    1. I could’ve sworn that in the manga 7th used the same pole that was skewered through him As the elverage. Not sure why he got a second one in the anime, kind of lowers the GARness a tad. oh well, the intro more than made up for it.

      Airon
      Reply

    2. Nope, the manga was the same in that there were two poles (one in his hand, one in his gut), and they hide the pole that’s impaling him through the use of all-hiding shadows (until the opportune moment, that is). It was pretty much a direct transition from manga to anime. It’s not exactly uncommon in manga/anime to do that, though. Shadows can hide everything, from nipples and vaginas to bifurcations and decapitations.

      Bass.EXE
      Reply

  4. As the series progresses, I’m starting to dislike Yuki more and more even though I would ever in my wildest imagination think it was possible. I mean he is the most pathetic male protagonist or character I have seen in a long long time. I find it odd sometimes why he has friends or why his friends aside from Yuno are helping him. It’s kind of tragic that I felt more sympathy towards Marco and Ai after this episode than I did for Yuki through the entirety of the series…

    ybaby
    Reply

      2. Amen to that, xyshtoph! The first thing that popped up in my head with his mother’s death, is whether Yukki’s character will now turn like Shuu’s. I guess he won’t go Yuno-insane-level, but that’d be fun to watch…

        And yes, I do agree Yukki’s character must be the most boring one in the entire series. I can tolerate it the first 6 episodes or so, but you’d think he’d have learned a thing or two by now. He really makes me go mad. I wished 7th(male) would have scolded him more in his final scenes, but I’m satisfied with what’s been said…It’s just that I don’t think 7th’s words will get through Yukki’s wimpy skull, something which really irritates me for Yukiteru’s character. And lol, I guess it really was plot-armor what kept 7th from destroying 1st and 2nd the first time…Those people makes him want to ‘screw around’ with them? Pfft. Typical villain.

        Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode! Art was good, 7th had a kickass soundtrack to play during his speech, and Yukiteru’s life got a turn for the better, from an entertainment viewpoint…Didn’t think I’d see rape and death (of an important character to our main hero) in the same episode, even if it’s Mirai Nikki we’re talking about.

        Hope the story gets better and better naow!

        Justinnnnnn
        Reply

      3. It is plot armor, but at least this one is explained and justified in-story. Minene’s lie to Yukiteru about having a secret plan made them hold off on destroying the diaries after obtaining what info they could, and Yuno’s mention of 11th in relation to Yukiteru’s dad also helped in keeping their phones safe. And it’s not like this isn’t pointed out either; Ai keeps telling Marco that it would be better to destroy their diaries on the spot, but because Marco wants to keep testing their “real love” against Yuki and Yuno’s “imitation love”, he keeps them alive.

        And if you think about it a little further, it kind of makes sense. Ai witnessed firsthand at Tsubaki’s temple that Yukiteru would be willing to risk his life for Yuno’s sake. And with their win streak, Marco and Ai were probably anticipating them for a while. They might have figured that a battle of the couples would be the best way to duel with them. But when they actually confronted 1st and 2nd themselves, they found that Yuno was the whole team while Yukiteru cowered and hid himself. Marco was hoping that by giving them another chance, they would become the couple that 7th imagined them to be, one that won their battles through love and cooperation, not manipulation and cowardice, thus making them the worthy opponents that Marco wanted.

        Donyo
        Reply

  5. An important lesson. Don’t be stupid or you or the people you care about will die. Of the entire lot of diary holders we have seen, Seventh seems the most normal and personally i find Marco pretty forgiving in killing the 3 student rapists. I would have cut their elbow and knee tendons plus their penises. Better to have them suffer for life than die quickly after all they are still young and can live for decades more suffering.

    Zaku Fan
    Reply

    1. Well considering who they are it would be a straight ticket to hell. And hell should be far worst than anything on Earth right? Torture is only a human pleasure. Marco is not a sadist.

      deafvader
      Reply

      1. Sure, if anyone can prove whichever hell exists. Since no one can do that, the punishment should be in real world terms. Of course, i’m glad to see that some people can take it so well if their family were raped multiple times in front of them but personally i’m not one of those people.

        Zaku Fan
        Reply

      2. quit trying to act all badass…

        I’m pretty sure if you were put in the same circumstance, you wouldn’t have done jack.
        It’s easy to say “I would torture them” but not everyone actually knows what it feels like to cut other human beings with a knife. I mean, unless you’re in med school or something and you’re already used to human dissection…

        james
        Reply

    2. A literature quote sums up my feelings… “It is not light decision to take another’s life… But should anyone threaten your country, your family, or a woman you are protecting – blast his head away and don’t think twice about it!”
      IMHO it is more about removing threat from the society than about punishment.

      ewok40k
      Reply

    1. What irritates me the most is that he can be quite the badass when he wants, but it’s so inconsistent that it ruins the few bright moments he has.

      One moment he decides to get out of the room to kiss his girl, give her air via mouth so as for her to go kill a baby. The next moment he is crying for help.
      One moment he decides to risk it all by shooting at the man who is pointing a gun against his girl; even though he sucks at aiming and all odds are against him…The next moment he is crying for help.
      One moment he says “Go to hell”. The next one it’s “Please, help me Yuno!”.

      And so on and so on…

      Justinnnnnn
      Reply

      1. I feel the same way, with the amount of times he have befriended people only to be betrayed and nearly killed I thought he would have hardened his view of the situation, even a CHILD knew well what to do to stay in the game even with his diary limited capabilities (tells the future 3 times a day) and nearly succeeded in doing so but nooo he still smiles and openly drops his guard and welcomes suspicious individuals well into his personal space in the hope of friendship, which i say is not BAD thing to do but you cant make friends if your DEAD.

        you cant truly relax until ALL threats ate eliminated. also Yukki’s mom won two awards from me, the Most Inattentive Mom and the Lamest Death That I Saw Coming awards and yukki’s ‘dad’? WORST FATHER EVER! even Gendo did his evil to get his wife back not this ‘man’ though, its all about his dept that he caused himself and probably left Yukki and his wife to save his ass from the dept collectors and loan-sharks from catching him and not from shame or to keep his ‘family’ safe

        FantomOmega
        Reply

      2. I actually find the few moments of badass that he pulls as a result of his cowardice. Like how when someone is cornered, they fight back and go insane? You know, like Yuki’s dad in this episode, only towards a more dangerous opponent? So I never thought he was ever inconsistent, or grew as a character every time something like that happened. I saw it more as becoming more scared. Kind of like a war veteran who lost his will to fight due to the horrors he faced.

        Flawfinder
        Reply

  7. I feel sorry for Marco. Other than being the seventh he is really not a bad guy. If his girl friend wasn’t gang raped he probably would of ended up with a nice family with a decent job. Yuki’s father is in a situation where he is financially screwed (because of his gambling problem and insane debt on top of it) where it might be better to die than trying to pay it back other wise it will make you insane and will lead you to do alot of crazy stuff. One good thing is Yuno is becoming more normal with Yuki by her side and not as cold blooded as she use to be. Old Yuno would of slashed her in a way she would of immediately died.

    RS456
    Reply

  8. This was the craziest episode yet. Not only did Yuki’s father abandoned Yuki to die, but he also killed he’s mother. I’m happy knowing I don’t have a father like that! But I’m very excited to see how Yuki will react when he find’s out that he’s father killed he’s mother

    Pera
    Reply

  9. Now, with the death of Yuki’s mom, we’re halfway of seeing a “brand new” Yuki.

    You know, in a weird kind of way (or so I feel), I think 7th is right about Yuki and Yuno. Had Yuki realized this sooner, his “relationship” with Yuno might have been less complicated. As for Yuno, no comment. I’ll save my opinion when the time comes.

    Terrorhunt
    Reply

  10. Marco said “…and imitations are never better than the real thing.” Industry veteran Tomokazu Seki IS channeling Gilgamesh in this series! LOL.

    But it seems Yukiteri is the Archer here by virtue of his darts (too bad his missed this time). And Yuno is Assasin with her impeccable use of the knife to Ai’s throat. Too bad it didn’t kill her immediately.

    And now I understand where Yuki got the short-pants wardrobe. It’s from his late mom. Goodbye, Amano Rea. A hot, loving, glasses-wearing mother like you will be missed.

    The_Magus_Killer
    Reply

    1. Actually, it’s probably best that Yuno didn’t immediately kill Ai with her knife. Because Ai was still alive under the rubble, Marco went through the trouble of trying to dig her out and reach her before she died. Had Yuno killed her immediately, Marco would’ve probably left them there and either escaped (unlikely since he didn’t want to live without Ai) or stayed in the tower as it collapsed.

      Donyo
      Reply

  13. Like the writer of this episode review, I too did not like the fact that Asread decided to inject rape into the history of Ai’s character. I’m fine with them taking liberties with Ai’s past in other ways, but the rape history has already been used with Sixth. At this point, it’s just redundant and shows a lack of creativity.

    On the other hand, I do applaud them for doing the rape scene tastefully (well, as “tasteful” as a rape scene can ever, ever be portrayed). They kept the rape scene subtle, leaving a lot to the imagination. It wasn’t fetishistic the way so many rape scenes are portrayed in visual media. I also admit that, despite the redundancy, the added history added to the impact of Marco/Ai’s presence throughout this episode. It made them much more sympathetic as characters.

    Anyway: This, my fellow viewers, is the turning point in the story. From here on out, things are going to get insane.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Shit, in short, is about to get real.

    Butterbean
    Reply

  14. And then there were five…
    Yuki and Yuno
    Minene
    8th
    11th
    It is the 11th that makes me wonder what trick he has in his diary… He seems to be some big fish in business or politics so he can be probably very dangerous along the lines of 4th.

    P.S.
    Alas, poor Rea, she was such a nice mom, even Yuno was liking her!

    ewok40k
    Reply

  15. I implore all of you to not draw parallels between Guilty Crown and Mirai Nikki – that’s an affront to decent anime everywhere. Guilty Crown stands (more like falls) on its own and exists in it’s own universe of crap. Personal opinion of course.

    The two shouldn’t be in the same sentence – it’s like putting Hitler and Charlie Chaplin in the same sentence because they have the same mustache. (yes I apologize for the hyperbole of a Hitler comparison but it works better than comparing a turd to a Baby Ruth in a pool a la Caddyshack.)

    TL;DR – I don’t like Guilty Crown; do like Mirai Nikki.

    7godeohs
    Reply

    1. I mostly compare the two because they’re both stupid series that aired around the same time. Only one stupid series is much better than the other (it’s the one you like) due to taking advantage of the fact that it’s stupid.

      Flawfinder
      Reply

  18. Goddammit!!! Now I’m hating Asread!!!
    I just went back and checked the manga and it’s true, the whole High School CRAP in the Anime is absent from the Manga!
    I don’t give a damn their trying to make 7th not look like real bad guys, I already had a hard time to digest 6th’s sick past, I HATE THAT KIND OF STUFF!!! Even I wished to beat the crap out of those students, good going Marco!
    I’ll prefer to stick with their past from the Manga and try my hardest to forget that crap.

    Also, 7godeohs, Guilty Crown is as good of a series as Mirai Nikki, I watch and love both!

    XRick
    Reply

  19. I just noticed something the gangrape wasn’t part of the manga. This is the first time I seen in the anime they add stuff that isn’t part of the manga. Usually they take out alot of stuff in the manga for the anime. I think it is unnessary but I guess they wanted to give Marco a more screwed up past.

    RS456
    Reply

  23. This episode was pretty great and surprisingly packed with a lot more of an emotional punch than was expected. Of course, asread probably had to pad it out, because I’m pretty sure that they’re trying to save a certain scene to be the climax/end of the next episode. But this just goes to show that padding isn’t always a bad thing, divisive as this new material is.

    I’m glad they made 7th even more sympathetic than they were in the manga. The added rape story didn’t lessen Ai’s or Tsubaki’s situations in the least bit by it being repeated, especially since the 7th’s situation as a pair of orphans isn’t really new to Mirai Nikki either. Both scenes that dealt with each girl’s rape carried different emphasized tones. In Tsubaki’s case, her rape focused on how she was being objectified: she became no more than a toy and sex slave for the cult’s men. In Ai’s situation, her encounter was instigated by others and emphasized Ai being a victim. Marco especially went through the guilt of leaving Ai alone and having her open to fall into a situation like that, though he clearly wasn’t at fault, and he dealt with the sick bastards who touched her like that (or at least half of them, since those skanks got off scot-free). It was also nice to see Ai make Marco promise to her to never leave her alone, since it adds to his scene when trying to rescue Ai from the debris, although I can see how that might be redundant given that Marco found Ai when she was abandoned and thus she was no longer alone from that point on anyway.

    Thinking back, the fact that Ai was there in the room with 6th when Tsubaki tried to make Yuno into the cults’ sex slave makes me wonder what her reaction was, since I don’t remember seeing her face/body after Tsubaki told her to back off. That sort of thing could be considered a trigger depending on how badly Ai was scarred by the event, considering how closely that situation mirrored hers.

    Donyo
    Reply

  24. Is it just me, or was the raep scene they portrayed here more hard hitting than 6ths? For me, I think it was the fact that I was expecting Marco to save her…but then…those sounds >_<.

    However, for those who have read the manga in full already, I wonder…
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Zanibas
    Reply

  25. seriously, people NEED to give Yukki a lot more credit than he deserves. He’s weak, super weak, but he’s ULTRA WEAK for a VERY VERY GOOD REASON!

    All 11 Diary users have are self-aware, and because their sense of self is strong they write about things that mattered to them, and thus limiting their prediction to only the specific trait their “self” pertains to. Yuno’s sense of self comes from Yukki, so her diary was nothing but Yukki. We don’t know what 8 and 11’s diary are, but so far everyone except 6 (though 6 is included in certain reflective look-backs) has written their diaries with a sense of self included.

    For Yukki who was non-existence that his journal even include walking past a rock. That is the observatory journal of a God, one that Deus who sat upon his Throne overlooking all that occur would have. Yukki was already in God Mode right from the start, surpassing a human’s sense of self-existence, that’s why he has the ultimate diary right from the start. If his very existence wasn’t so weak and meaningless, he wouldn’t have that diary to begin with. Just thought I’d point that out to everyone.

    Also, the very fact he “awakened” to his weakness, to gain an existence of weakness from nothing is a giant leap for him. I predict at the very end he will turn out determined and strong. I mean Yukki was in God Mode right from the start, the only thing he lacked was power and determination of a God. He had the God mindset at episode 1 to see only the world and not himself, I believe the entire Mirai Nikki preset is just a way for Deus to train God Yukki into “Determined God Yukki” and become strong and become a God in more than just apart, but one with the world. Enter the world as a participant than an observer.

    What I’m trying to say is, people need to respect Yukki more. It’s true Yuno helped him a lot, but in the end the one who truly think like a God is Yukki and not Yuno.

    thenewhorde
    Reply

    1. This is a solid point: but you’re actually talking about a detached, quasi-objective POV rather than the POV of God which would be closer to omniscient (all knowing) that is, every event is known and understood in a greater context. This context is missing from Yukiteru’s diary, which makes it the random Diary.

      Yukiteru’s diary does record events around him, but nothing about himself. That missing gap is filled by Yuno’s stalker diary, which consists nothing other than information about Yukiteru.

      Hence their alliance make a formidable combination, and hopefully current events spur Yukiteru past his passive, detached view to a more active one that takes responsibility for his decisions or actions. That will bring him closer to a POV of a god of space-time.

      Zammael
      Reply

    2. I like Yuki. He’s one of the greatest wimp characters I’ve ever seen because the show takes advantage of the fact that he’s a wimp. I could write a whole article on why I like the guy.

      Flawfinder
      Reply

  28. oh my look like could this be finally be boiling point for yuki finally to snap to man up already?!

    this week ep.17

    more detail past of sevenths from first met on tower, high school life, tower again with female seventh went a tower wedding, til we whole “oh no” for female sevenths got “attack”.
    til male seventh to the rescue with blood on hand yet to “slice” himself but female seventh stop him so they be together.
    fast forward right now yuki got yuno’s hand while sevenths grab his dad.
    meanwhile young cop heard tower boom get yuki’s mom & no finding on big headed person area (any bets it might inside the hat really look at the desgin).
    on the elevator sevenths wonder to plan give chute to escape & yet they got what they want tower wedding.
    open elevator hero yuno with yuki on speakers unleash the yuno.
    yuno vs male seventh with lead male grab the knife with his BARE TEETH!!!!
    but it was all distraction cause here come yuki to dart but missed oh there yuno to slash female seventh neck.
    then here come yuki’s dad grab the chute go like so like run like i got.
    til here come your wife & panic to do ugh…
    while yuki & yuno under the debris with female seventh then male seventh going all digging to get his woman.
    during which yuno & yuki lift the block cause male seventh just want his woman.
    after which yuno & yuki take the chute both seventh go together in death on same tower they first met.
    after all that here the ugh/big NO yea yuki’s mom got “NO!!!!”.

    now what next now indeed will yuki finally go MAD & take the hate?

    MR.KLAC
    Reply

  31. Given the morbid, brutal back story we’ve seen on Seventh and Sixth, what will we learn about everyone’s favourite axe-murderer’s past?

    I’m generally not impressed with back story but I think that she’s an interesting (albeit shallow) character and unless it really is just insanity, we don’t know her motivation yet.

    Mockman
    Reply

    1. Axe-murderer? He’s dead. Although I think he appeared briefly in a flashback in one of later chapters.

      Unless you’re talking about Minene, the terrorist bomber. And she’s far from being a shallow character.

      Donyo
      Reply

      1. Actually, I meant Yuno. And I only mean shallow in that we don’t really know anything about her, nor do we know why she treats Yuki the way she does. And that she has a couple of ‘modes’ that she spends most of her time in. Minene is interesting and doesn’t get enough screen time.

        Mockman
        Reply

      2. Oh. Yuno is a pretty shallow character when it comes to her motivations. But her reasons behind them are more complex than her motivations themselves. We should find out about half of her backstory next week, if my memory serves me correctly.

        Donyo
        Reply

  37. read manga and you will see this story is super perfect . About 7th I don’t agree with reviewer cuz it isn’t lack of imagination but something direct “rape”. 6th case is different it call darkness

    pokpokza
    Reply

  38. WELL all diary holder become bad guy now they kill so many people in order to survive. Marco and Ai is normal but the fact that their life are ruin cuz Marco killed those rapist is more than true . Sorry to say this but this manga/anime is realistic want some prof ? well i will give you . If you are in France , The rapist rape your girlfriend and you kill them , you will be the one who go to jell . Got it ? if you go to jell you cant go to school and your happy life is nearly doom . They killed other to survive sane or insane who care about that !

    pokpokza
    Reply

  40. So Tragic! I felt so sympathetic towards sevenths and their past that i cried. They show the definition of trie love and loyalty. God i was so happy when Marco killed those horn3y sh1t fu*kers when they raped Ai. Rape frikken pisses me off and i seriously wanted to beat those kids up myself. If i ever do come upon a rapist either in or not in action, he’d be sorry that he was born with a pen1s….

    Mirai Nikki
    Reply

  41. Random Rape! “Hey, this girl in our class sort of pisses me off. Let’s call that group of teenaged rapists we happen to know to rape the shit out of her! That should keep her from being sad near us again!” Seriously, WTF!? Couldn’t she have been cornered in an alley or something at least somewhat plausible!? At least have the senseless brutality make story-sense!
    I notice that all school girl extras in these twisted anime lean towards soullessness faaar too many times for my sanity. The girls that made fun of Akira in NaruTaru for having a violent stroke (or what looks like a hell of a lot like one, anyway) come to mind. The trend disturbs me just as much as the Random Rape. It would have been well-handeled too, if the lead-in wasn’t so insane!
    . . .
    Okay, rant over. Nothing to see here, folks.

    Bio D
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *