Although it came out years ago, Future Diary is still considered one of the best and most fun battle royale-themed anime and manga franchises. Centered around a race to godhood, the series has taken quite a few forms and had just as many spinoffs. This has allowed it to retain its popularity even over ten years after the original manga ended, with streaming no doubt helping the anime.
Future Diary features several important characters, all of whom have their own backstories and reasons for fighting for the rank of deity. Many of the franchise's forms have been brought over to the West, while others are sadly much harder to come by. Here's what readers and viewers eager for a new battle royale-style series should know about Future Diary.
The Plot of Future Diary
The main character of Future Diary is Yukiteru Amano, a rather socially distant teenager who keeps to himself and records what he sees from others on his phone. One of his only true friends is none other than Deus Ex Machina, the god that controls time and space. Deux Ex Machina transforms Amano's phone into a "Future Diary" that allows him to see into the future for up to 90 days. Unfortunately, he's not the only one with such a newfound power.
There are 11 other people who also have Future Diaries, and they must now all compete to see who will replace Deux Ex Machina as the god of Time and Space. Protecting Amano is the yandere stalker Yuno Gasai, who will do anything to keep him out of harm's way. Other competitors in this new battle royale include a terrorist who hates God, as well as an ordinary cop who wishes to end Deux Ex Machina's game. Given that it involves a battle for godhood, several similarities could be drawn between Future Diary and the more recent hit series Platinum End, with the protagonist of the latter even having the last name Mirai (literally "Future").
Where to Read the Future Diary Manga
Future Diary was created by Sakae Esuno and serialized in the magazine Shonen Ace from 2006 to 2010. This amounted to 12 collected volumes, although sadly, not all of these have been brought over to the West. Tokyopop initially handled the series in the West but only localized 10 of the 12 volumes, with the last of these releasing in 2011. Viz Media handled the series after Tokyopop ceased traditional publications, although it only released the series digitally.
This is the best way to read the manga, as even physical retailers such as Barnes & Noble no longer carry the physical versions of Future Diary. Instead, those interested in reading the series should consider purchasing these volumes through Kindle & Comixology. Spinoffs such as Future Diary: Mosaic have also not been localized outside of Japan.
Where to Watch the Future Diary Anime
Asread was the studio behind the anime version of Future Diary, which ran for 26 episodes from 2011 to 2012. The series was localized by Funimation, although it's also available to stream through both Funimation's now sister service Crunchyroll and Hulu.
The OVA Future Diary: Redial served as an epilogue to the story, with a manga of the same name doing so for the original book. 2012 also saw the release of Future Diary: Another:World, a 12-episode live-action adaptation that remixed the premise with entirely new characters. However, this isn't currently available on any Western streaming service and has been kept in Japan.
Walmart, Target, Amazon and Right Stuf Anime all carry the Blu-ray collection of the Future Diary anime. This contains not only the entirety of the show but also the OVA epilogue Redial. For those without any of the aforementioned streaming services, this is probably the easiest way to watch the series.