The Future Diary

Reality quickly unravels when antisocial Yukiteru is called into a death match against 11 other mentally scarred individuals. Each player has a prophetic device tuned to their personality, giving them control over their future—and the fate of their foes.

The Future Diary (2011-2012) is a Japanese anime psychological thriller series created by asread. and produced by Chara-Ani, broadcast on Chiba TV. Antisocial schoolboy Yukiteru Amano (voiced by Misuzu Togashi) is pulled into a death match with eleven other mentally scarred players, each holding a prophetic cellphone diary tuned to their personality. Yuno Gasai (voiced by Tomosa Murata), an obsessive devotee who clings to him, becomes both his ally and his greatest danger, while rivals such as Yuki-linked schemers and the enigmatic Aru Akise (voiced by Akira Ishida) use their devices to predict and ambush one another. The engine is simple and brutal: each player must anticipate the others' moves while the diary reveals fragments of the future, so every episode turns on a sharp reversal of what was foreseen. Shaped as one continuing 26-episode serialized story, the show moves quickly from a single broadcast season into escalating body-count showdowns. Set in a contemporary Japanese city, it plays out in a tone that is unnerving, feverish and grotesque, with a hot romantic obsession at its core. Fans of Death Note, Battle Royale and Kakegurui will find resonance in its cat-and-mouse strategy, moral rot and relentless survival stakes.

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its relentless suspense and the unhinged appeal of its central characters, though its violence and erratic pacing divide opinion.

• Death Noteshared unhinged psychological thriller tone, survival death game premise, obsessive yandere romance
• Battle Royaleshared battle royale survival structure with a cast of desperate players and betrayal
• Kakeguruishared supernatural device-driven survival contest and grotesque violence in anime form

Release Date

2011-10-09

Episode runtime

24 min

Rating

7.4 / 10 (507)

What is The Future Diary about?

A withdrawn teenager is drafted into a deadly contest against eleven others, each armed with a phone that predicts the future.

What is The Future Diary like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Future Diary as breakneck, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.

Is The Future Diary violent?

Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Future Diary as graphic.

What did critics think of The Future Diary?

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its relentless suspense and the unhinged appeal of its central characters, though its violence and erratic pacing divide opinion.

Which shows are like The Future Diary?

Shows with a similar feel include Death Note, Battle Royale, and Kakegurui.

How long is The Future Diary?

The Future Diary: 1 season, 26 episodes.

Is The Future Diary still running?

No, The Future Diary has ended.

Where can I watch The Future Diary?

In United States, The Future Diary streams on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel.