Future Diary: Complete Series + OVA Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Future Diary: Complete Series + OVA Blu-ray Movie Review

The Future Diary is a science-fiction action anime. Created by Sakae Esuno, The Future Diary features animation production by studio asread (Arifureta - From Commonplace to World's Strongest, Shuffle! Memories) and producer Kyoki Hiramatsu (Zoids/ZERO). The series features theme music performed by Yousei Teikoku (OP) and Faylan (ED). The Future Diary also features the voices of Mai Aizawa, Manami Honda, and Tomosa Murata. Science fiction fans looking for a thriller with tech elements will be interested in checking out the series.

Yukiteru Amano (Misuzu Togashi) is an average high school student in most respects and he is constantly glued to his cell-phone. Yukiteru doesn’t have a happy existence and he finds himself drowning out his reality of boredom and loneliness with his cell phone in hand. Yukiteru writes a personal diary in his phone. Writing conversations with his imaginary friend, “God of Time and Space” Deus ex Machina (Norio Wakamoto), Yukiteru dreams of if his imaginary friend could be real.

Things shape up to be exciting in ways Yukiteru never originally expected when Deus ex Machina picks him for a battle royale event with other competitors. A deadly game begins with the Future Diary. Death, mayhem, and chaos will unfold with the imaginary friend causing a world of chaos and destruction. Can Yukiteru survive the game and the insanity that unfolds?

The series features impressive character designs. The character designs by Hidetsugu Hirayama (Mirai Nikki, Shuffle! Memories) are impressive and well-designed in so many respects. These designs help breathe some life in to the series. The style is compelling and fits the genre well. These excellent character designs seem well suited for a science fiction production.

The animation is one of the most impressive elements of the entire series. The animation style is highly sophisticated and has a distinctive aesthetic on The Future Diary. The series features art direction by Toshiyuki Tokuda (Mermaid Forest, Rumiko Takahashi Anthology). The chief animation direction by Chika Kojima (Arifureta - From Commonplace to World's Strongest, Big Order), Hidetsugu Hirayama (Mother of the Goddess' Dormitory, Shuffle! Memories), and Maiko Okada (Mother of the Goddess' Dormitory, I couldn't become a hero, so I reluctantly decided to get a job) is quite noteworthy and it makes a big difference for the series.

The series manages to showcase an animation style that provides a balance between a more realistic style and surrealist one. These aspects of the animation make the series stand out from the crowd and the art style feels more original as a result. The team of animators who worked on the production aimed for a compelling art style and the series certainly explores the realm of science-fiction with some grittier animation tropes.

The cinematography by Tomofumi Fujita (Dance in the Vampire Bund, Humanoid Monster Bem) is quite compelling. The cinematographic approach to the series provides both bright and airy visuals alongside some visuals that are darker, complex, and disturbing. The darker aesthetic qualities are highlighted in compelling ways through the occasionally brooding lighting.

The score composed by Tatsuya Katō (Comet Lucifer, Demon King Daimao) is a compelling aspect of the series. The music provides a nice sense of engagement for the background animation. The score has a sense of action-adventure spirit and fits the science-fiction elements too. The music works well with providing the production a more ambitious sense of scale.

Written by Katsuhiko Takayama (And Yet the Town Moves, Cat Planet Cuties), The Future Diary is a series that will appeal to science fiction fans seeking a genre series with complex ideas. The idea of the diary element is something that might seem intriguing to some viewers. Some audiences will find this an interesting angle for the series and the scriptwriter has fun with the concept.

Directed by Naoto Hosoda (In Search of the Lost Future, Shuffle!), The Future Diary is an ambitious series with some good artistic merits. The series might not hit a total home run in all respects but it still has ambition, creativity, and style. Director Hosoda has fun in the realm of the series science-fiction and adventure. The director brings forth some interesting action and drama. Anime fans looking for an interesting series with solid directing may find the series worthy of exploring.

Future Diary: Complete Series + OVA Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray from Anime Limited, The Future Diary is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release has a outstanding high-definition presentation. The color reproduction on the release is excellent and the series looks superb with both bright visuals and dark highlights. The encode quality on the release is impressively handled with excellent bit-rates. The encoding preserves detail in the animation. The better encoding is one of the greatest benefits of the Blu-ray format. Streaming services only offer video with a more compressed video data stream. By comparison, Blu-ray offers a more well-rounded presentation without variables of streaming getting in to the way. The release certainly showcases good encoding from Anime Limited.

Future Diary: Complete Series + OVA Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release is excellent and adds to the quality of the release. Dialogue is well reproduced and is easy to understand. The score sounds crisp and clear. The dynamics of the audio presentation are impressive. Dub fans benefit from a surround sound mix while the Japanese mix still provides an engaging stereo mix.

The Japanese language voice actors did a great job with the series and the encode capably preserves the voice performances of the actors. The subtitle quality impresses. One of the best aspects of the Blu-ray format is the lossless audio encoding: the release provides lossless sound quality with higher bit-rates and better bit-depth. The presentation is more impressive sounding than streaming video services provide (as all streaming services provide lossy presentations with more compressed audio data streams). The discs provide better quality for the presentation. Lossy audio is not as impactful.

Future Diary: Complete Series + OVA Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc 1:

Episode 05 Audio Commentary

Disc 2:

Episode 13 Audio Commentary

Episode 20 Audio Commentary

Disc 3:

Omake #5: Yomotsu Hirasaka (Yoshihisa Kawahara Version) (HD, 23:53)

Omake #10 Minene Uryuu, Masumi Nishijima (Clear Dialogue Version) (HD, 23:53)

Episode 23 Audio Commentary

TV Spots (HD, 1:14)

Promotional Videos (HD, 4:58)

Textless Opening Songs:

"Kuusou Mesorogii / Fantasy Mythology" (HD, 1:32)

"Dead END" (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Songs:

"Blood Teller" (HD, 1:32)

"filament" (HD, 1:32)

U.S. Trailer (HD, 1:24)

Trailers (HD, 5:15)

Disc 4:

Redial OVA – Data Migration (HD, 30:10)

Textless Opening Song "Kyouki Chinden"

Textess Closing Song "Happy End"

Future Diary: Complete Series + OVA Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Future Diary is an ambitious science-fiction anime series in a number of ways. The action and excitement of the series will appeal to some genre fans. The series has an impressive aesthetic with quality animation and a production that is creative. The series isn’t perfect but it has some compelling elements that will appeal predominately to science fiction fans. Directed by Naoto Hosoda (In Search of the Lost Future) the series explores the science-fiction element in a compelling way with a blend between surreal and more grounded visuals.

The Blu-ray release provides a solid video and audio presentation with good encoding. The set includes a selection of extras that fans will want to delve in to on the release. Fans of the series may wish to consider a purchase. Recommended.