Mixed feelings...

To get things straight: The first episode doesn?t deliver what it promises in its synopsis: an action packed chase for life and death in an eerie and mystic atmosphere.

Producing a contemporary drama that involves a fantasy element ? future prediction- requires a clever balance between reality and surrealism to leave any impression but Mirai Nikki appears ?too? normal but for an app which resembles Gengar.



One of my main issues is the tendency to sacrifice logic and consistency for a scene to be ?hip?. You, you episode let me scream and bang at my screen in disbelief!



a) That it?s best to approach your victim from behind to kill it easily and without resistance is written in every killer?s manual. And why would you drag your victim around for a couple of minutes just to cozily raise your arm when your victim?s companion returns? Man, kill her already!



b) Why doesn?t Yuno kill/beat/smash/crush the masked, either? She already proved to us that she is capable of, with a smirk on her face, hitting a man from behind ? why not hit him twice to end the chase already? Yeah, her baseball bat wouldn?t have had a chance against his metallic toothpick.



c) As much as I understand Arata?s father?s sentiments for rescuing his son a simple jump at the killer?s back would have done the job. No need to die.



The way Rui acts the abduction/entire future game and the masked man seem to be connected but the masked man surely isn?t the initiator of the game: Why bother inviting someone to play cat and mouse and kill him off already?

So what?s the masked man doing there? By coincidence and because of his phone? But who and why was Arata then lured to the planetarium? I trust you, Mirai Nikki, that you are going to solve this riddle for us.



Arata: With his smirks and Domyoji-perm. A brat I find it difficult to sympathize with even in sad moments (e.g. divorce). I also feel he overacts a little. I have yet to form an image about a guy who first covers under a blanket in fear and then goes to meet the guy who gave him his ?terrifying? future diary. I also found his little heroic act to be disturbing which I blame on the scriptwriter. First be a scarred rabbit, then have a total change of mind, suddenly know how to fight and all while pop music plays in the background.



Yuno: She has great potential to be a very annoying character. On the one hand she?s a puppy with a baby-face and bubbly personality; on the other hand she?s a grinning head-smasher and stalker. Theoretically the character traits could make the perfect lunatic but the way Gouriki portrays her character (or how the screenwriter wrote Yuno) makes her just so unauthentic and unreal. I also find the whys and hows of Yuno and Arata?s initial meeting rather strange. Apparently she?s been stalking him for a longer time why does she, with her exuberant personality, hold back until now just to jump onto him and even kiss him when he discovers the nature of his new phone?



On a side note: The dematerialization of the father didn?t match the general look of the drama very well but looked cool. The chase was filmed unsteadily, I suppose the cameraman was drunk or he thought it would emphasize the situation? ah no!



Result: I couldn?t get into the story nor connect with one of the characters. The plot has great potential and the actors aren?t too bad but work has to be done. To say the least I was mildly entertained, nevertheless I failed to feel the dangerous vibe of a phone application and what?s Gengar doing there?

Read More

So lala...

For such a highly anticipated drama it?s surprisingly lame and episode two truly follows in its predecessor?s footsteps.



Plot: ?Fear grows in darkness; if you think there's a bogeyman around, turn on the light.? (Dorothy Thompson)

I wished for the identities of the remaining Mirai Nikki owners to be revealed at a later date in order to leave the drama sufficient room to develop a feeling of tension and paranoia. Judging by the current situation the drama will evolve into a cat-and-mouse game in which the participants are (at least) vaguely familiar with each other.



Mirai Nikki episode two is still lacking action and a mystic feeling to it and the Dead End messages which are presumably supposed to trigger suspense ultimately don?t even seem worthy enough to pay attention to.

Or who believes that the protagonist is going to be killed in episode two?



Thinking backwards (and forwards) I find the story revolving around Arata?s father unnecessary. If staged correctly Mirai Nikki could be engaging without the additional motives of tragic family loss and revenge.



Arata: Okada?s performance is more realistic than in episode one, his facial expressions not as quirky.His character?s bewildered reaction to his father?s disappearance is justified but I still can?t sympathize with him.

And just why does a person (naively) run to a place where another human is being held captive? Surprise, surprise ? there is someone else present, someone with ill intentions!



Yuno: Yuno resembles more and more an irritating puppy that gets mad when it doesn?t get its treat.



I find Haruna intriguing but hope that her role in the drama is not as apparent as it momentarily presents itself to be. I also found Megumi and her motives plausible but a little distant.



(On a side note: Does Gengar aka Deus aka the purple speaking app have a mind on his own or does he serve as a transmitter only?)



To make it short: I still can?t sympathize with a character nor root for any of them, no, far from it: I just don?t bother what happens to them. And that?s the death of every good thriller.

But why? Script? Actors? Settings? I suppose I will figure it out at a later point but for now I dare say that it?s a mix of all of them.



Ah no, that?s not quite true that I was totally left out in the cold. I was, let?s say, hoping that Megumi would accidentally shoot her arrow ?

Read More