Mirai Nikki – 18 & 19
Mirai Nikki turns into Bonnie and Clyde
So episode 18 starts with a flashback, know how you can tell? The colours are all muted. “Misty, watercolour memories of the way we were..” indeed. Sarah Maclacan would be so proud. So guys I’m flying to Vienna on Monday for a week and if I happen to meet some lovely young Austrian named Ludwig I’m not coming back, just fyi. |
Episode 18
One day while doing her usual stalking of Yuki, Yuno spots a love letter falling out of his backpack. This flashback takes place not long after their “moment” on the classroom, so Yuno vows to stop Yuki giving that love letter to the girl he fancies. My continuity alarm is going off – since when did Yuki have the balls to ask anyone out? Well, Yuno’s plan to sabotage them getting together revolves around hiding in a massive pink rabbit suit and knocking him over. God this episode is strange. I’m frightened…
Yuno the big pink bunny goes home and we finally get some backstory on Yuno. It seems that her parents are not long dead at this point as she walks in and they are newly decomposing in a cage in the middle of the room. In another flashback, within this flashback (holy Nikki-ception), we see that they kept her in that cage whenever she misbehaved. Eventually Yuno had enough and locked them in their instead to give them a taste of their own medicine. She thought they’d understand what they put her through if she inflicted it in them, but instead they became more abusive and didn’t repent, so she left them in there to die.
Back to the present now! Yuki is asking Deus to bring his mother back to life. His father also shows up out of the blue, wounded, just as Yuki starts to suspect him. Yuki gets to do some stalking next as he tails his Dad in order to get clues to tie him to his Mum’s murder. Unfortunately all that his Dad has is a telescope; he tells Yuki that he knows he’s going go be arrested soon and he wanted to watch the stars with his son like he promised. Yuki buys it, of course. And hey, maybe it’s even true, we’ll never know because as they are leaving he gets suddenly stabbed!
If you’re an asshole, stay an asshole. The moment you reform is the momemt karma has permission to fuck you up.
Well, Yuki is pissed. In a move that would have Chuck Norris jealous, he dodges a knife-swipe by a member of the seat team and stabs the guy in the abdomen. He then evades an attack from behind and uses a human shield when one of the swat team start shooting! Holy shit!? Yuno then appears, getting rid of the last one and comforting the very shaken up Yuki. He tells her he will become God and holds the knife up to her neck. Yuno accepts this cheerfully, saying she’s ready to die for him at any time. It is her future.
“OH GOD THIS RAIN IS REALLY COLD!”
Episode 19
With Deus crumbling and Yuki and Yuno missing in action, he moves to have them expelled from the game when suddenly they appear…looking a…little different than we’re used to. Yuki seems to have had a personality transplant (also his jacket is now burgundy, the colour of evil) and he calls out one of the shadowed diary owners, (Eleventh) and revealing him as the Mayor. Afterwards it’s revealed to have been Yuno’s plan for Yuki to act all cool and pimplike, why am I not surprised? Yuki is skeptical about his ability to keep his act up but Yuno boosts his confidence with some soft core nudity.
Seme to Uke is 3.4 seconds
So Yuki and Yuno team up with Eighth to get Eleventh. Yuki keeps up his “I’m a badass” persona while Yuno plays lookout and Eighth’s lackies go in for the attack when Eleventh’s car passes by. Eleventh is ready for them thought, and knocks out all of their diaries while Yuki turns traitor and Yuno slices and dices. Eighth gets away and team Yuki and Yuno pursue, and suddenly I’m back feeling like I’m watching Baccano. But in a good way.
Akise suddenly shows up, with Ninth in toe, saying he knows the identity of the third corpse found at Yuno’s house. He tosses Yuki a small box and says its Gasai Yuno’s umbilical cord (uh, ew), and since we already know Yuno was adopted by the parents she killed means our pink-haired yandere is an imposter!
END THOUGHTS
Man were these two episodes fun. Yuno running around dressed as Frank, the imaginary rabbit from Donnie Darko’s, angry gay cousin was hilarious and random. Yuki’s mother-complex is showing a lot though in episode 18. That girl he was going to confess to? Yeah, dead ringer (no pun intended). How could he not notice? Maybe he did…maybe that was the point…oh, Yuki you are messed up enough! Still, I never thought I’d say this but I’m glad Yuki’s Dad died the way he did, because Yuki sure got an injection of awesome after that one-traumatisation-too-far.
It only took him about 19 episodes to actually DO something. But when he did it was pretty damn impressive, and pretty much worth the wait. Especially as he kept it up when executing Yuno’s plans. When they appeared at the council meeting I could barely contain my laughter. It was a fantastic entrance. Lelouch-worthy. Just the level of suave evil radiating off Yuki (however fake) and Yuno on his arm just made it perfect. Laugh out loud moment. Truly. Well done, Mirai Nikki.
Ah, but as usual the awesomeness is short-lived. I would liked to have seen more of Yuki and Yuno being an actually couple/duo/team fighting the other diary holders, but after that bombshell at the end it seems unlikely. Just how many times can Yuki overlook her craziness? The fact she’s living with a fake identity doesn’t even seem like that big a deal after all she’s done so far, but it will probably be the nail on the coffin – so to speak – for Yuki. Especially now he’s grown a pair.
NEXT TIME
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…or, Yuuki tries on the big boy pants, finds them a bit roomy.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Wow, Yuki finally became the badass I wanted in this anime. He manned up because he literally has nothing left to lose. Both his parents are dead, and the only way to revive them is to become God. I hope he doesn’t go overboard like Guilty Crown’s Shu. This whole situation reminds me strongly of the parallel situation with Guilty Crown’s lead.
Funny how after never having a single driving lesson in his life or being behind a wheel, he’s able to legitimatey partcipate in a high speed car chase that ends with both cars going over the edge and somehow both landing upright with no casualties whatsoever…
Ah, Yuno. So who is she now? WHO CARES! Yuno saved his ass many times over, so who cares who she is? She’s alive and a badass. But the fact that the third body is Yuno leaves so many questions out in the open.
The whole plot twist of deceiving Eighth also was very nice to pull: they know how Eighth’s diary works, and because of that it would be easier to get rid of them, while also making use of the occasion to find out what Eleventh’s diary does. Why Yuno didn’t immediately pull the trigger when she had her gun right next to Eleventh’s nose is beyond me, though.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 338 comments
Seme to Uke is 3.4 seconds <— HA! Yukki almost had me calling him hot for a moment. Good few episodes.
POWUH: iLurker with 12 comments
thanks you
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 323 comments
alway’s hate this anime …but good quality
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 243 comments
I love how Yuno is clearly co-ordinating Yukiteru’s wardrobe now. Oh, and as for the whole ‘who is Yuno’ question now being raised, read this comments section to see my and some other people’s thoughts on the matter. Warning: may contain some very outlandish guessing.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 144 comments
Yuki, listen buddy. She’s stalked you, manipulated you,
killedmassacred for you, kidnapped you, et al ad infinitum, and yet the fact that she’s already dead is somehow the deal breaker here? Come on, man! Get a grip! When you’re already playing with god’s toys, this is just par for the course!Oh, but that whole bandito act. Yeah, that was pretty cool. You go, Yuki. You go.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 243 comments
There’s something very, very wrong going on when the first time we’re impressed with a character is when they’re murdering orphans.