Mirai Nikki is an action series depicting a battle royale between selected individuals who own diaries that tell the future. Overall, the show combines elements of science fiction, action, suspense, romance, and comedy to some success; however, it had several weaknesses that marred the show. Unfortunately, many of the action sequences were either irritatingly unintelligent or plain impossible, with kids dodging bullets and fighting while reading their diaries. Moreover, the whole seriousness and suspense of the plot was ruined by the banal romantic comedy and a cute little girl recapping the story's events every episode. Additionally, the whole middle part of the series dragged on without any remarkable moments: the storyline was somewhat bland, the deaths were anti-climactic, and a suspenseful mood was lacking. The most detrimental weakness, however, was the logical fallacies in the plot, especially noticeable during the turning point at the end. These gaping plot holes took from the credibility of the anime and made it seem like more of a pretentious attempt at seeming clever rather than a genuinely brilliant masterpiece.
Despite these weak points, Mirai Nikki did nonetheless provide quite some entertainment, as the show was packed with intense violence, exciting romance, and bits of comedy. Even with the plot holes, the ending episodes were remarkable, providing a shocking turn of events that made enough sense to be memorable and mind-blowing. In fact, if the series was judged based on the ending itself, I wouldn't hesitate to give it an 8/10, but I have to evaluate the entire experience of the series as a whole. This series, additionally, had amazing character development, vivid imagery, and an impressive OST (most notably, the opening theme). Overall, this anime is an amusing show that provides cheap thrills and lighthearted humor, but does not deliver enough to deserve the excessive praise it has received.
