God, called Deus, seeks a successor because he dies, and without God the world quickly perishes. To determine the worthy, Deus and his assistant Murumuru (suspiciously similar to the devil in the form of a little girl) organize a game - several people get at their disposal so-called "diaries of the future", in which records of upcoming events appear. These people must fight among themselves for the main prize – the throne of Deus. The struggle is carried out to the death in the literal sense of the word: the winner must kill the opponents, and it is not necessary to kill the carrier of the diary - it is enough to destroy the diary itself, and its owner will immediately cease to exist. There is only one left at the end.
On the one hand, the idea is interesting, on the other hand, it is a compilation of other ideas. People with unusual abilities, hiding on the streets of the city and killing each other for some great prize – well, it looks like “Highlander”. But here the weapon is not swords (although it came to swords a couple of times), but the gift of foresight, which means cunning and strategic thinking, which brings this series together with the Death Note (there, however, without prophetic abilities coped). In addition, “Diary of the Future” is lavishly strewn with references to “The Gospel” – I don’t know why, in my opinion, these animes have little in common.
Frankly, from the very beginning, the series was just infuriating. A hectic beginning in the style of “from place to quarry”, the hero-rag is no better than the notorious Shinji and his beloved, with each series more and more inadequate and at the same time inexplicably cool (in a neutral sense – strong, agile, etc.). Both participate in the Game, and therefore one of them is doomed, and, as a result, their love is doomed, here is just that Yuki (the guy), that Yuno (the girl, by the way, their names are references to the ancient Roman gods Jupiter and Juno, which seems to hint at their unhealthy relationship) is so annoying that instead of sympathy in the soul there is only bewilderment. And if at first Yukitero causes at least pity, then towards the end of the series you want to strangle him. This is the feeling I have had from the beginning. The adventures of a complexed masochist and a psychopath who finally went away are not the most pleasant sight.
Moreover, the creators of the anime made these murky personalities the main characters quite consciously. Among other contenders for divine power, there are much more worthy people: the headmistress of an orphanage who fights for the future of her pupils; a police investigator who wants to save a terminally ill son; a man and a woman who truly love each other. Even the terrorist Minene, who initially killed innocent people left and right, gradually seems more human, especially against the background of Yuki and Yuno. But the viewer is invited to watch this toxic couple.
No, I like “non-perfect antiheroes,” sometimes almost villains, but there must be something about them. At least one positive trait, at least charisma, or at least some justification for their behavior.
But towards the end of the series, in the last four episodes, everything changes dramatically. No, Yukitero remains the same dull... but here are the reasons for Yuno’s strange coolness, and at the same time her motivation, unexpectedly revealed. And many things that seemed grotesque and illogical no longer seem so. To justify the heroine still does not work, but after that it can at least be understood.
There is a strange feeling that most of the series was filmed reluctantly, from under the stick, without inspiration, and only towards the end, the creators got involved and “fired” with the idea to remove not just a mystical black woman about inadequate teenagers, but something more. I don’t know if that’s true, but it looks like that.
It seems that the main idea of The Diary of the Future is that the end does not always justify the means – someone who is willing to go all the way and sacrifice anything can suddenly find that the price was too high and there is no point in winning. The characters of this series, driven by their psychological problems and adolescent maximalism, wrongly prioritize, destroying their lives and the whole world in addition. After all, to be happy with a loved one, you do not need to become a god, having previously killed a lot of people – there are much simpler ways. It reminds us of the anime and that it is impossible to make a person happy by force, while taking away from him the most important component of happiness – freedom. Well, it's simple - not everything in life can be corrected, some things, in particular, to the education of children, you need to approach extremely responsibly, because there will be no second chance. And the broken and conquered psyche of the grown-up generation will still backfire, and not only to the grieving parents, but also to all who stand in the way of painfully ambitious, embittered and lonely "children."
Still, it is not clear why such inappropriate candidates were chosen by Deus. And in general, what is the meaning of the Game - is only a frostbitten sociopath worthy of being a god?
Total: As stated at the beginning, a very controversial series. Sumbricated and primitive at first, it is only fully revealed in the last four to five series. Visually bright, it still leaves a painful impression, and, unfortunately, not only because of the tragic plot, but more because of the abundance of unpleasant characters, including the main ones. The viewer to the end will still be rewarded with answers to all the “story” questions and a powerful finale. But even despite the serious moral problems, "Diary of the Future" leaves a feeling that the main purpose of its creation was to shock the viewer with rivers of blood and the cynicism of the heroes. 7 out of 10 Original