(Originally published and formatted for Livejournal on 2/26/11)
Anime Review:
Mirai Nikki OVA
What this is about: I made the promise that I would review every new subtitled anime show (excluding blatant yaoi and/or porn) released during the Spring, Summer and Fall 2010 seasons, so now I am going back to review a handful of shows that I missed over the past few months for one reason or another. This time around, it’s Mirai Nikki, an eight-minute original video animation short from December 9, 2010, based on a popular manga series.
tl;dr review: Cell phone diary entries foretell the future; Sudden fight to the death.
Click on the thumbnails below to view the picture in full size in a new window:
Episode Summary: Yukiteru is a loner high school student that has an imaginary friend, Deus ex Machina, the Lord of all Space and Time. Until one day the imaginary becomes real, and Deus ex Machina gives Yukiteru a cell phone with diary entries that record the near future. What’s more, he’s not the only one, and Yukiteru suddenly finds himself in the fight to the death, where there can only be one survivor.
My Thoughts: Supposedly the “Future Diary” manga series this is based on makes much more sense, but a brief eight-minute video special it feels more like a chopped up highlights reel, as if they took an entire season of episodes and picked out thirty seconds here, fifteen seconds there and just jammed them together. As such, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. The video really serves more as an extended teaser/promo/trailer to an upcoming anime series…except there is no upcoming series to preview. Perhaps the producers are “testing the waters” to see if there is interest in a full-length series, because that’s the only reason I can think for this aborted effort to even exist.
The verdict: 
– If there is going to be complete episodes of Mirai Nikki I would be intrigued to find out more. But as for this one-shot special by itself, don’t bother, it will only confuse and frustrate you by its incompleteness.
The last of the un-reviewed 2010 shows, I swear!: Kuroshitsuji II Special: Ciel in Wonderland, Beelzebub OVA, Bakugan Gundalian Warriors, Chi’s Sweet Home OVA, Detective Conan Magic File 4, Detective Conan OVA: Kid in Trap Island
