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Future Diary #4
Future Diary, Volume 04
Yukiteru is starting out fresh at a new school, or so he thought. He starts out on the wrong foot when he bumps into Hayasaka, a bully from his previous school. Just when he's convinced that his school year is doomed, he meets new classmates who stand up for him. Yukiteru avoids thinking about the Diary Games and tries to enjoy normal school life.
209 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 12, 2017
It's the worst volume so far. There are still good ideas here, but Sakae was never in control of his ideas. They always spun away from him. Still, they were often weird enough and the characters engrossing enough to make up for these flaws. It's not that the volume doesn't have these strengths. The weaknesses are just more apparent.
The main problem with it is the lack of Diary Holder. The previous volumes were dominated by the Holders. They were odd characters who, for all their cruelty and being against our heroes were unique. They were fantastical personalities. Sometimes they were silly, sometimes cool and sometimes psychological. They always provided a center for the chapters to revolve around.
There's no Holder that gives a center for this arc. The Holder the character combats this time is mostly AWOL. It's deliberately so. The focus this time is on a new cast. While it's nice to see Sakae trying for something else than the formula that served him so far, the experience wasn't worthwhile.
The new characters are good. At least they act based on their personalities and whatever strings Sakae is holding are invisible. Hinata is especially a useful addition, a contrast to the introversion of Yukki. The violent thriller style isn't fit for what Sakae wants to do here. There's too much violence and mystery for the characters to connect.
The difference between this and the other arcs is that this one deals with connection, not confrontation. Yet the story itself is about pitting character against one another. If Sakae slowed down for a change and made them first connect it would sure make the drama more effective.
Still, this does feel more like a failed experiment than a writer running out of ideas. Previous ideas do get developed. Yuno gets more development. Although she's marketed as such, she's not a fanservice character. We're not meant to envy Yukki for having a cute girl stalking him.
Yuno isn't a tool for Yukki to get what he wants. She's a character who acts on her own wants and needs. She cares more about having Yukki to herself, for psychological well-being than for Yukki to feel good. She's often an obstacle in this volume. It's a clever subversion of the Clinging Woman trope. Yuno is more fascinating and deeper than your average Hollywood character who shoots people.
Since I remember the anime getting over this bump, I'll keep reading. It's not that it's entirely worthless. Future Diary is too odd of a series, so no surprise it'll involve some failed experiments. At least when it fails, it's by stretching itself.
The main problem with it is the lack of Diary Holder. The previous volumes were dominated by the Holders. They were odd characters who, for all their cruelty and being against our heroes were unique. They were fantastical personalities. Sometimes they were silly, sometimes cool and sometimes psychological. They always provided a center for the chapters to revolve around.
There's no Holder that gives a center for this arc. The Holder the character combats this time is mostly AWOL. It's deliberately so. The focus this time is on a new cast. While it's nice to see Sakae trying for something else than the formula that served him so far, the experience wasn't worthwhile.
The new characters are good. At least they act based on their personalities and whatever strings Sakae is holding are invisible. Hinata is especially a useful addition, a contrast to the introversion of Yukki. The violent thriller style isn't fit for what Sakae wants to do here. There's too much violence and mystery for the characters to connect.
The difference between this and the other arcs is that this one deals with connection, not confrontation. Yet the story itself is about pitting character against one another. If Sakae slowed down for a change and made them first connect it would sure make the drama more effective.
Still, this does feel more like a failed experiment than a writer running out of ideas. Previous ideas do get developed. Yuno gets more development. Although she's marketed as such, she's not a fanservice character. We're not meant to envy Yukki for having a cute girl stalking him.
Yuno isn't a tool for Yukki to get what he wants. She's a character who acts on her own wants and needs. She cares more about having Yukki to herself, for psychological well-being than for Yukki to feel good. She's often an obstacle in this volume. It's a clever subversion of the Clinging Woman trope. Yuno is more fascinating and deeper than your average Hollywood character who shoots people.
Since I remember the anime getting over this bump, I'll keep reading. It's not that it's entirely worthless. Future Diary is too odd of a series, so no surprise it'll involve some failed experiments. At least when it fails, it's by stretching itself.
October 4, 2016
Okay, I haven't read the last chapters before I wrote the review.. Now that I read, Yukiteru did one thing good. Maybe even though he is useless, he is a kind person. Not suitable for a death game though.
Still, I hope the manga gets more depth to its story. Characters need more development. However, new character Akise is interesting, hope he will stay like this.
Still, I hope the manga gets more depth to its story. Characters need more development. However, new character Akise is interesting, hope he will stay like this.
August 17, 2024
That was crazy, but in a good way.
June 21, 2021
This is a review of the entire series!
I debated between giving this 2 or 3 stars, and would lean more toward 2.5. There were a couple of things I really liked about it, but many more things I really didn't like about it.
High schooler Yukiteru Amano is a socially awkward loner who considers himself a bystander. He'd rather mind his own business instead of getting involved with other people, writing every mundane activity of his life in a cellphone diary. Secretly tormented by his solitude, he invents an imagery friend called Deus Ex Machina who claims to be the Lord of Time & Space. Taking pity on the lonesome Yuki, Deus grants his diary the ability to record future events. After learning that 11 other people with unique future diaries show up around Japan, Yuki learns that Deus is not a product of his imagination, and he has been selected to take part in a death game that involves fighting to become the next ruler of causality by outsmarting each other with their new prophetic devices. Luckily for Yuki, one of the death game's participants is his fellow classmate Yuno Gasai, the prettiest girl in his school who happens to love him so much that she would put her life on the line to protect him.
Speaking of Yuno, she's where most of the fun comes from. She's a severely unstable, possessive sociopath that will happily slaughter anyone and anything that get in the way of her selfish romantic fantasies. She's famous for inventing the infamous yandere trope (psycho/killer/stalker love interest) While she can technically be seen as the villain of the series and it's hard to fully sympathize with her because of how violent, impulsive and controlling she is, all of the other characters are so unlikable and bland that I often found myself rooting for her to just rip everyone else in the story to shreds.
Yuki is the main character, but he's such a whiny and idiotic pushover that I couldn't connect with the unhealthy relationship brewing between him and Yuno. I understand it's supposed to be a psychological thriller, but the story seemed to romanticize their relationship rather than portraying it for what it really was: predatory, abusive and horribly toxic. I would've rather had Yuno as the main protagonist and explore her tragic and demented backstory through much more intriguing characters to bounce off of rather than through a relationship with one of the lamest dudes in manga history.
The plot jumps around way too fast. None of the competitors have interesting personalities or motives so I didn't really feel any stakes or tension in the action. The only side character I somewhat liked is (funnily enough) another batshit crazy girl who plays the role of a cosplaying terrorist named Uryuu Minene. The dialogue could get really bad as the characters never reacted to death, betrayal or horrifying situations realistically. There's a point where a character discovers three dead bodies in his girlfriend's house, runs away in fear, then casually remains her partner for the rest of the series like nothing ever happened. There are many more scenes exactly like this where characters don't react and process things in remotely realistic or believable ways.
Some of the twists in the later parts of the series involving time and causality were admittedly cool, but they're introduced in a rushed and convoluted way which makes it feel messy overall. The action was good, there were a few emotional moments and the absolute chaotic nature of Yuno and Uryuu were exciting to watch unfold, but everything else about the characters, story and conflict of the narrative fall apart at the seams.
I debated between giving this 2 or 3 stars, and would lean more toward 2.5. There were a couple of things I really liked about it, but many more things I really didn't like about it.
High schooler Yukiteru Amano is a socially awkward loner who considers himself a bystander. He'd rather mind his own business instead of getting involved with other people, writing every mundane activity of his life in a cellphone diary. Secretly tormented by his solitude, he invents an imagery friend called Deus Ex Machina who claims to be the Lord of Time & Space. Taking pity on the lonesome Yuki, Deus grants his diary the ability to record future events. After learning that 11 other people with unique future diaries show up around Japan, Yuki learns that Deus is not a product of his imagination, and he has been selected to take part in a death game that involves fighting to become the next ruler of causality by outsmarting each other with their new prophetic devices. Luckily for Yuki, one of the death game's participants is his fellow classmate Yuno Gasai, the prettiest girl in his school who happens to love him so much that she would put her life on the line to protect him.
Speaking of Yuno, she's where most of the fun comes from. She's a severely unstable, possessive sociopath that will happily slaughter anyone and anything that get in the way of her selfish romantic fantasies. She's famous for inventing the infamous yandere trope (psycho/killer/stalker love interest) While she can technically be seen as the villain of the series and it's hard to fully sympathize with her because of how violent, impulsive and controlling she is, all of the other characters are so unlikable and bland that I often found myself rooting for her to just rip everyone else in the story to shreds.
Yuki is the main character, but he's such a whiny and idiotic pushover that I couldn't connect with the unhealthy relationship brewing between him and Yuno. I understand it's supposed to be a psychological thriller, but the story seemed to romanticize their relationship rather than portraying it for what it really was: predatory, abusive and horribly toxic. I would've rather had Yuno as the main protagonist and explore her tragic and demented backstory through much more intriguing characters to bounce off of rather than through a relationship with one of the lamest dudes in manga history.
The plot jumps around way too fast. None of the competitors have interesting personalities or motives so I didn't really feel any stakes or tension in the action. The only side character I somewhat liked is (funnily enough) another batshit crazy girl who plays the role of a cosplaying terrorist named Uryuu Minene. The dialogue could get really bad as the characters never reacted to death, betrayal or horrifying situations realistically. There's a point where a character discovers three dead bodies in his girlfriend's house, runs away in fear, then casually remains her partner for the rest of the series like nothing ever happened. There are many more scenes exactly like this where characters don't react and process things in remotely realistic or believable ways.
Some of the twists in the later parts of the series involving time and causality were admittedly cool, but they're introduced in a rushed and convoluted way which makes it feel messy overall. The action was good, there were a few emotional moments and the absolute chaotic nature of Yuno and Uryuu were exciting to watch unfold, but everything else about the characters, story and conflict of the narrative fall apart at the seams.
August 4, 2019
The new characters bring some new twists with them and Akise especially is nicely mysterious and tricksy character. I also liked that Yukiteru finally stands up to Yuno who is jealous of every person Yukiteru even so much as glances at. How he handles that was probably best he could do at the moment but of course doesn't do anything for the fact that Yuno is a psycho who will snap at some point anyway...
The story is exciting enough to keep me reading on.
The story is exciting enough to keep me reading on.
July 26, 2023
Lecę na blondaska
March 29, 2018
Akiiiiise :33 Konečně! Hinatu ale nemám ráda vůbec. Jen do ní, Yuno!
4/5*
4/5*
September 15, 2021
Yukki est vraiment inutile... Mais bon au moins il est gentil 🤣
July 3, 2017
Este tomo también me gustó bastante a pesar de que Sakae Esuno sigue agregando personajes estereotipados a la trama. En este tomo es el turno de todo un grupo de chicos de secundaria: el matón la calladita y amable, la extrovertida que se quiere hacer amiga de Yukiteru desde el primer momento solo por ser amable, y probablemente el que más peso tenga en el futuro: Akise, un personaje estilo Death Note, un adolescente que quiere ser detective y es super inteligente y bla bla.
Hubieron un par de giros que realmente me sorprendieron, por eso le puse una estrellita más.
Hubieron un par de giros que realmente me sorprendieron, por eso le puse una estrellita más.
May 6, 2016
Akise is so awesome, this volume was very intense but again I really hate Yuki he is so stupid, He wants to be friend with a girl that he just met that day and that tried to kill him and gets mad with Yuno. Really Yuki deserves to die.
November 5, 2021
The volume starts off strong. Not! Let's go back to school! We have a life and death game on our hands, but who's gonna handle the bullies, love crushes and homework? Also we have a new serial killer. They're a dime, a dozen these days. He uses a pack of dogs to kill his victims. They threaten Yuki, Yuno and their new friends from class. Yuki decides to reveal that he can tell the future in order to protect everyone from the dogs which can somehow open locked windows from the outside. So the volume has mind controlled dogs, a stupid game midway and a crappy ending - all point to a low, low rating, I'm afraid. But thanks for playing!
January 20, 2018
Quatre joueurs sont déjà morts mais Yukki et Yuri sont surtout préoccupés par leur changement de lycée.
Alors que Yukki veut en profiter pour se faire de nouveaux amis, Yuri ne pense qu’au fait qu’ils doivent rester ensemble.
Mais à peine arrivés, et alors que Yukki trouve une bande de copains, ils sont attaqués par un nouveau propriétaire de chronographe, numéro 10 et son Journal de la Meute, qui reste caché dans l’ombre.
J’ai trouvé ce tome un peu long. On passe des moments interminables dans le belvédère à assister à une attaque de chiens (et je n’aime pas les chiens) puis à une partie de pièce cachée.
C’est à se demander d’ailleurs à quel jeu joue Akisé. Lui qui n’est finalement pas un participant prend de gros risques et il donne l’impression de n’être là que pour s’amuser.
C’est un peu la même question que je me pose pour le numéro 4, le policier Keigo, qui apparaît sous un jour un peu plus dangereux que ce qu’il montrait jusqu’à présent.
Ce sont deux personnages intrigants, que j’espère continuer à voir dans la suite de l’histoire.
Yukki continue à évoluer lui aussi, ce qui ne fait pas de mal. Après avoir un peu agi lors de l’arc de la secte, il se montre là encore un petit peu actif, ce qui change si on compare aux premiers tomes où il ne faisait absolument rien.
Du coup, c’est Yuno qui reprend le rôle de personnage agaçant, même si dans le fond elle a sans doute raison de vouloir tout simplement se débarrasser de leurs ennemis.
J’espère que cet arc du belvédère est bel et bien terminé et qu’on va partir par la suite sur quelque chose d’un peu plus dynamique.
En tout cas, on ne peut pas reprocher à l’auteur de faire du fan service autour de ses personnages principaux, ils sont quand même loin d’être glamours.
Alors que Yukki veut en profiter pour se faire de nouveaux amis, Yuri ne pense qu’au fait qu’ils doivent rester ensemble.
Mais à peine arrivés, et alors que Yukki trouve une bande de copains, ils sont attaqués par un nouveau propriétaire de chronographe, numéro 10 et son Journal de la Meute, qui reste caché dans l’ombre.
J’ai trouvé ce tome un peu long. On passe des moments interminables dans le belvédère à assister à une attaque de chiens (et je n’aime pas les chiens) puis à une partie de pièce cachée.
C’est à se demander d’ailleurs à quel jeu joue Akisé. Lui qui n’est finalement pas un participant prend de gros risques et il donne l’impression de n’être là que pour s’amuser.
C’est un peu la même question que je me pose pour le numéro 4, le policier Keigo, qui apparaît sous un jour un peu plus dangereux que ce qu’il montrait jusqu’à présent.
Ce sont deux personnages intrigants, que j’espère continuer à voir dans la suite de l’histoire.
Yukki continue à évoluer lui aussi, ce qui ne fait pas de mal. Après avoir un peu agi lors de l’arc de la secte, il se montre là encore un petit peu actif, ce qui change si on compare aux premiers tomes où il ne faisait absolument rien.
Du coup, c’est Yuno qui reprend le rôle de personnage agaçant, même si dans le fond elle a sans doute raison de vouloir tout simplement se débarrasser de leurs ennemis.
J’espère que cet arc du belvédère est bel et bien terminé et qu’on va partir par la suite sur quelque chose d’un peu plus dynamique.
En tout cas, on ne peut pas reprocher à l’auteur de faire du fan service autour de ses personnages principaux, ils sont quand même loin d’être glamours.
September 29, 2017
At first I gave the series so far 4 stars but after thinking about it I decided to lower it to 3 stars. While the story is fastpaced and interesting I don't really care for the characters; Yuki frustrates me so much (I hate that he is main character), the only one I like is Yuno (we'll see If that continues) and I couldn't care less for the others.
Personal opinion: So far it doesnt look like a series I would like to re-read.
Personal opinion: So far it doesnt look like a series I would like to re-read.
August 5, 2021
Really interesting volume. Lots of twists and turns along the way. Super fast-paced. I think I flew through it in like... half an hour? Several new characters were introduced that I really enjoyed (one of whom will hopefully become my fave) and it seems like for once those characters might actually stick around for a few volumes.
December 19, 2017
Five stars mainly because AKISE ARU HAS ARRIVED LADIES AND GENTS ❤️❤️❤️❤️
January 5, 2018
Akise ist ein Spitze Charakter, hoffe er bleibt am leben😅♥
July 14, 2018
Aru Akise <3
July 7, 2019
Yuki is kind of amazing. The juxtaposition between his fear and his bravery was wonderful in this volume.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2019
I'm a third of the way through the series, so I might as well finish it even though I'm not that into it. Maybe it'll get better.
May 6, 2021
Madre mia Yuno, este personaje me pone los pelos de punta. Destila Sinestrialidad por todos los poros de su cuerpo.
January 25, 2022
i hate akise
July 15, 2022
秋瀬或推し4ever
December 31, 2022
favorite part but it is so confusing
September 5, 2023
I'm impressed by the plotting of this story! I don't have all of the volumes and I'm beginning to wonder if I can get the ones I lack.
September 2, 2024
AKISE TE AMO !! tremendo, seco, increíble, pro !!
yukiero q bueno para nada eressss
yukiero q bueno para nada eressss
January 28, 2025
nadal nie wiem dlaczego nie mogą rano poprstu przeczytać wszystkiego co się wydarzy w danym dniu
February 8, 2020
This is getting more interesting.
I still find something very baffling about all of this. Lets continue.
I still find something very baffling about all of this. Lets continue.
March 17, 2017
The twists just get crazier and crazier. The story has gotten better with each volume, and I can only hope it will stay that way. In this volume, Yuki finally gains some friends, but it takes some interesting twists. Meanwhile, Yuno is getting really jealous, and I would not want to make that girl mad. Seeing how she's murdered a good number of people at this point, she could be very dangerous when angry. When they all find themselves in a life or death situation, she repeatedly tries to get Yuki to use them as bait so they can escape together. Yuki is far too nice for that kind of plan, of course. Besides, these are his first friends. He can't just leave them to die.
Ninth disappears in this volume, but I have no doubt she'll be back. She's not the type to go out without an epic fight. The question left hanging in the last volume was "what the hell is Fourth up to?" The answer is revealed at the end of this volume. I can't help but think the gang will have to deal with him in the next volume. I'm so excited that I can say "the gang" now. It's not just Yuki and Yuno anymore. Yuki's got some help, and some potential homosexual advances. I'm not sure if Akise (he's the blond guy on the cover) was just messing with Yuno or if he really does have a thing for Yuki. I can only imagine what a shock that will be to innocent little Yuki.
I'll admit that this series can be totally over the top, but it's so much fun. I'm completely obsessed. I'll have to drop by the library today and pick up a couple more volumes.
Ninth disappears in this volume, but I have no doubt she'll be back. She's not the type to go out without an epic fight. The question left hanging in the last volume was "what the hell is Fourth up to?" The answer is revealed at the end of this volume. I can't help but think the gang will have to deal with him in the next volume. I'm so excited that I can say "the gang" now. It's not just Yuki and Yuno anymore. Yuki's got some help, and some potential homosexual advances. I'm not sure if Akise (he's the blond guy on the cover) was just messing with Yuno or if he really does have a thing for Yuki. I can only imagine what a shock that will be to innocent little Yuki.
I'll admit that this series can be totally over the top, but it's so much fun. I'm completely obsessed. I'll have to drop by the library today and pick up a couple more volumes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews