I was thinking about which series I should cover for the fall season and I ran across this gem. After watching the first episode I knew that this is the kind of series that I must write on. Amano Yukiteru, the main character, immediately grabbed my attention. I guess I can somewhat relate to his character quite a bit. Even now I love to observe people. Watching and listening to what people say is quite interesting, although I am less creepy about it than he is. His weak willed personality should prove great when it comes to character development. I will say that he is somewhat of a cut-and-paste character when it comes to these kind of suspense thrillers and I am sure that his wimpy nature will get annoying from time to time. As long as there is a good supporting cast, then it won’t do much to effect the quality of the anime.

Speaking of the quality… I really like the style the series has. The animation really isn’t impressive by any means. The CGI use was pretty weak, but it gave the series style. Plus as a suspense thriller, the darker tones and harsher animation fits the series incredibly well. I especially love the grainy filters they used on the black and white scenes to add that extra layer of creepiness.

I'm down with the crazy bitches.

The best part of the episode was the introduction of Gasai Yuno! She is epic, but the reaction of Amano when he found out that she was stalking him was even better! I love it, a stalker girl~ That means she must have been stalking him for a while before the game even started. I don’t know too many series that have their leading female such a deranged person. I loved her reaction when the Third got sucked into a black hole. Yuno personality shines when she lets Amano take the credit for defeating Third. I get the feeling that even though she is in “love” with Amano, she will just be using him throughout the anime. Their pairing should prove to be a great dynamic that will be one of the best parts about the anime.

This anime had a brilliant start. It set up the world and Amano quite wonderfully. I loved how he got the diary and started to abuse it right away. I mean who wouldn’t want to know the future, especially when it has things like the answers to the tests you are about to take. I will say that I don’t know why the Teacher didn’t notice him using his cellphone during the middle of the test. If I ever whipped out my phone during a test my teachers would take my test and rip it apart. Even still, it was great watching him light up with joy because he did mope around too much and I don’t like emo characters in my anime.

Um, don't turn around now, but there is something behind you...

The plot of the anime is pretty clear from the first episode. The idea of the future diary is pretty unique and I am curious to see how it works. Although, only having to destroy a cellphone is pretty easy. I would use EMP grenades and just fry anyone who got close to me. Of course I would keep mine in a protective case or something. I do like how the main character uses darts as his main weapon. That is a pretty unique skill set. It was funny how Amano was credited for defeating Third. Setting the sights of all the contestants on him is a great way to move the series forward. The start of episode 1 is probably foreshadowing of the end of the series. That is great because I feel like the series will get a concise ending and even though the series is on going in Japan, we won’t have to wait for sequels or anything. I do get the feeling that the ending might be bitter sweet. In other words, because the winner becomes God that means they can bring back to life everyone that died.

The omake ending was hilarious. In a series that has a very serious tone to it, it is nice to see something more whimsical at the end. Watching Third kill himself over and over was pretty great. Muru was out of place and somewhat annoying in the anime, but I am glad they gave her an outlet to shine. That way she won’t get too much screen time in the anime itself.

More Images:

[nggallery id=72]