Anime Like Future Diary

Future Diary is one of those one a million shows, there's so much to love about an anime like this one, and not a lot to dislike. Revolving around a young boy, Yuki, whose imaginary friend, the God of time and space, turns out to be real, and sets in motion a zero sum game to find a successor. With 12 participants, each has to find a way of surviving with the help of their phones diary which can predict the future. Each diary has a different and unique characteristic however, such as the escape diary, the diary of future love and the case diary. Yuno is possibly one of the best anime characters ever written, she is memorable, horrifying, and yet completely sincere.

As the game continues, things starts to get seriously out of control, and as Yuki survives more and more battles, and appears to making his way through the developing chaos, he begins to understand the truth behind what it would mean to actually win. The lines between good and bad are blurred, everyone is an anti-hero in their own right, and the series is exceptional at suspense building and clever twists.

Future Diary: Redial

For those of you out there that were unhappy with the ending of Future Diary, which I find hard to believe since I thought it was a perfect ending, it personified exactly the feel of the entire series, yet there were people that felt there was a lot left open. Future Diary releases a one episode finale which actually wraps things up quite nicely, bow and all. 'Future Diary: Redial' was released in April 2013 with English Subtitles, (yeah kind of a bummer for those of us who watched it all in English). The reason I didn't quite see the point of this new added ending was that I liked the uncertainty of the original and this new reboot gave a happy ending that I didn't feel was necessary. The whole series had been all about uncertainty, and loss, and the what people were willing to do for the ones they loved, so this Happy Ending felt a bit too off for me. However, it does give some explaining of what became of the characters, since the original ended quite abruptly, and this serves as a good sense of closure.

So beyond that one episode nibble of something in any way related to Future Diary, Behold a list that describes Anime Shows similar, in themes mainly, to Future Diary. Although, to be honest, its such a unique show that it's a short list :(

No. Of Episodes: 12, ongoing story

Subbed/Dubbed: Both

Directed by Kotono Watanabe
Written by Yōsuke Kuroda

Madhouse Studio

Available on: YouTube, Crunchyroll

A Death Game Anime like Future Diary

If you loved Future Diary because of its Zero Sum game then 'Btoom!' might the anime for you. Ryota is a 22 year old gamer who still lives with his mother. He is one of the worlds highest ranking players of a game called Btoom!. One day he wakes up randomly on an island, with no memory of why he was there or how to get home. The Island seems deserted until he finds himself running from someone throwing bombs at him. He soon realizes that what's happening on the island is similar to the very game he loved playing at home, and that he has been transported to a real life version. His life depends on killing everyone else and surviving to be the last person, with only a certain amount of bombs per person. Things get much harder once he finds a woman who happens to be his In-Game wife.

Its a good anime, with quirky funny scenarios alongside serious life threatening ones. while its not as intense or horrific as Future Diary, its certainly a good watch. It is similar to Future Diary in a number of ways, first, the fight to the death with multiple players. The second similarity comes in the form of an obstacle, namely a woman. In both series, its a girl who causes the players to question whether or not they have what it takes to win, seeing as though there is only on survivor and emotions are certainly a contributing factor.

No. Of Episodes: 37

Subbed/dubbed: Both

Directed by Tetsurō Araki

Written by Toshiki Inoue

Madhouse Studio

Available on: Hulu, Youtube. Live action Film was also released in two parts, but I wouldn't recommend it, absolute crap!

A Psychological Anime like Future Diary

If you loved Future Diary because of its psychological, suspense building, terrifying and at the same time wholly entertaining features, then Death Note is the anime you HAVE to watch. Where Phones can basically contribute to someones death in Future Diary, Notebooks belonging to Shinigami have the same ability in Death Note. Light Yagami is young student who finds a notebook called a Death Note. Inside the book it contains a list of rules, a 'How to' list of using the book. Light tries it thinking its a joke, and uses a criminal, only to find out that it actually works. He progresses to killing criminals on a daily basis, attempting to crate a peaceful and safe world. However when he turns to killing the very people investigating these murders, viewers lose sight of the good Light Yagami, and instead see something truly terrifying.

Events start to get harder to deal with when the arrival of a secret detective by the name of 'L' starts to help the police find the infamous killer. And so a game of Cat and Mouse or even 'Catch me if you can' begins turning a seemingly simple story so complex and intelligent, you can't stop watching.

Both Light and L are incredible characters, persistent, unique and bravely dramatic, they are wholly unforgettable.

No. Of Episodes: 21

Subbed/Dubbed: Both

Directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, Takuya Sato
Produced by Gaku Iwasa

White fox Studio

Available on: YouTube, Netflix

A No Going Back But Totally Going Back anime like Future Diary.

If you loved Future Diary because of the Time and Space jumping in order to find a world where you still have your loved ones, then Steins;Gate is totally the anime you should watch. One of the most amazing themes in Future Diary was Yuno's determination to be with Yuki, and have Yuki actually survive, even though that would mean her own death. The fact that she jumped from one world to a world where Yuki was still alive so that she could save him, was such a strong theme, and one that works well in Steins;Gate.

It begins kind of confusing, with the protagonist witnessing a murdered girl, then seeing her a few days later. He realizes that he somehow made a time machine with his phone and microwave, which can send texts through time. After he sees the girl dead he sends a text to a friend describing it, all of a sudden people disappear before his very eyes, and in an instant are back, this time the girl is no longer dead and he bumps into her. He inevitably sounds like a crazy person, trying to tell her she had died, but she has no memory of it. And thus, a chaotic yet incredibly addictive journey through space and time begins.

The protagonist Okabe, and his team of misfit scientists and hackers, attempt to understand this time travel by sending seemingly inconspicuous texts to the past, however the damages these little texts cause are immense and Okabe has to do everything in power to go back and undue everything they had achieved in order to save the people he loves the most.

This show also has its list of memorable characters, with Okabe easily being the most comical anime character of all time. He seems psychologically damaged, delusional, theatrical, and yet by the end of the show, as a viewer you'll be crying with him, as he tries to piece life back together.

No. Of Episodes: 13

Subbed/Dubbed: Both

Directed by Ei Aoki
Produced by Atsuhiro Iwakami
Studio ufotable

Available On: Netflix, Anime.Place

A Fight to the Death Anime like Future Diary.

If it was the fight to the Death aspect of Future Diary, then Fate/Zero is a great anime to watch. The Holy Grail War is a contest where 7 mages summon 7 heroic spirits to help them each obtain the Holy Grail and have a wish granted. Fate/Zero takes place during the 4th war, and follows each mage and heroic spirit as they fight their way to the Grail.

Each heroic spirit has their own unique weapon, and while they are all determined to win the grail, the cost of it is greater than they ever imagined, One family who is tired of having lost the previous 3 wars, brings in a mercenary and Mage killer to help them achieve this by having him marry their daughter, however, he himself becomes uncertain of his own path because of the love he feels or his wife and daughter and gets caught up in his own search for a peaceful world. Another character, Kirei, is somewhat lost and doesn't understand why he has been chosen for the task. He questions life and struggles to find meaning it.

Meanwhile we have an murderous duo, killing women and children in some of the most chilling scenes I've seen in Anime. We certainly aren't cheering them on their pursuit of the grail.