Episode 12 –
This episode of Mirai Nikki confirmed one thing for me: that this series is all about throwing in crazy plot twists, even if a lot of it makes no sense. Mirai Nikki is much more about getting thrills out of each passing moment, and because of such, the series as a whole is much more focused on providing unexpected twists, rather than creating a high-stake battle of wits that I had hoped would come out of this show. The overall result so far is, well, a show that is entertaining, but also a show that doesn’t really captivate me to look beyond the surface. This show is just pure entertainment with each passing moment, and I guess the formula this show has followed is starting to get a bit boring to me.
That being said, I am rather surprised that this episode went about it’s villain in a very different manner from previous ones. Rather than having the stereotypical “evil villain” that almost all the opponents have been up until this point, Kurusu proves to be a much more multifaceted personality. Or at least, we can see from his motives that he isn’t doing all this in the name of evil. The man simply wants to cure his son of a heart disease, and is a family man who does hold a lot of concern for his family. I guess the reason why he seemed so cold about his family being held as hostages is because he knew that Yukiteru and Minene were people who wouldn’t pointlessly murder people. Yuno is a different story, but I guess he took the risk while betting that she wouldn’t kill them if it seemed that the hostages added no extra benefit to the situation. Or perhaps he was confident that if he won this game and became “God”, he would be able to revive his family with his newfound powers.
Either ways, this episode was intense in the sense that Yukiteru and Yuno were in a rather dire situation. However, once again, this show suffered from the problem of it being too repetitive in terms of overarching story. This time it was Yuno + Yukiteru vs Kurusu, and as expected, Yukiteru and Yuno got of the situation as victors. I really wish the story would change up, because as of now it’s getting tiresome to see the same situation unfold over and over again, only with some details changed around. To be fair, I might be complaining too soon. The signs toward the end of this episode seem to be indicating that Yuno might actually become the enemy. She’s always seemed to have been a mentally unstable person, but the strong hints this week look like they are pushing her into an antagonistic role. I mean, aside from being on the run from the police, she is carrying around a bunch of skulls in her bag and is deceiving Yukiteru at every chance she has.
In the end, Mirai Nikki once again ends an arc in a predictable fashion: Yuno and Yukiteru are thrown into a chaotic situation, and survive relatively unscathed. And lets not even start mentioning the plot holes that have started to show up. There’s the issue that Minene somehow escaped after being handcuffed to a police officer (and she is a wanted terrorist, right?). Then there’s the issue where Yuno murdered a bunch of police officers, as well as Yukiteru shooting a police officer or two. Those would definitely constitute as crimes, even if you weren’t the guilty party. And then there’s small little details such as Akise Aru mailing Yukiteru about a search warrant on Yuno. Why is a middle schooler even involved with chasing after Yuno if he isn’t a formal member of the police force? There’s a ton of little details that need to be taken as a given for this show, and when you start examining the details, things begin to fall apart.
Overall Enjoyment: 3.5/5
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 
9th’s escape… not to mention her escape diary (finally free of 4th’s diary as a counterbalance), haven’t we sensed a little budding romance with the young detective?
Yuki shot one cop who luckily survived, so together with evidence of him being framed, he could probably claim self defence or at least out on bail in the short term. Yuno shooting a team of SWAT was a different story, but after the incident the only eye witness was Yuki. Bullet analysis would eventually track her down but that whole floor collapsed during the incident with all the bodies scattered / buried, it would take a long time to recreate the scene. So chances are police released them after that night but had officers following both of them, except Yuno evaded police and went into hiding (before showing up and meeting Yuki again at the end of the episode). Next episode onward, the arrest warrant will probably be the least of our concern.
I think Akise’s text message does mention that he was informed by his police contact about a discreet arrest warrant against Yuno. As for why he is interested in this investigation? When he made his debut back in episode 8, didn’t he mention he has been connecting all sorts of incidents (serial murder, school bombing, cult) back to Yukiteru? Call him the second stalker if you will (he did mention he “likes” Yuki beyond mere friendship :P)
Yea, when you look at it that way, things do fit together. I do feel there are more plot holes around though, which makes Mirai Nikki an odd show to follow.
It’s a thriller with a swiss cheese foundation; that is, one with holes here and there. I don’t know why exactly, but I’m growing to care for this show less and less. Perhaps it’s the lack of genuinely interesting character developments, in combination with the formulaic arcs, that’s discouraging me here.
searching for logic in anime – that’s not what you are supposed to do, never
I’d say otherwise. Logic in anime usually applies to a degree, but with plenty of exceptions (such as the “didn’t die unless you see it happen” or the “time slows down when you zoom in on the main character” phenomenons) 😛
I just think Mirai Nikki is taking the lapses in logic a step further, which creates a stress on the “suspension of disbelief” that’s oh so important in fictional stories.