Mirai Nikki 14 — I Used to be a Worthless Side Character… Then I Took an Arrow to the Knee

And nothing changed.

But I really did like this scene with Kousaka. He comes out filled with excitement and confidence, only to have Yuno not remember him at all. It was a good burst of humor in the midst of all the tension to make the viewer lower their guard. Then Akise and Mao are freed from the gas chamber easily, and it looks like everything will go off without a hitch. That lull is the opportunity for Yuno to pull out a crossbow, shoot Kousaka, and shock the audience once again. The lesson is, to get the biggest shock value, you need to keep luring the viewer back into a false sense of security. Constant surprise after surprise is not nearly as effective.

Torture

It looks like I spoke too soon last week. I was concerned that they would gloss over what Yuno did to Yukki while she imprisoned him. But this episode managed to make it clear how terrible it was and how devastated he became. But I would still argue that they didn’t convey the timescale effectively. If you aren’t paying attention to the details, as dene323 pointed out last week, you could be forgiven for thinking Yukkiteru was chained to the chair for the course of an afternoon, rather than for over a week.

Lovers’ Quarrel

Yukki’s bitch slap was weak. Seriously. I guess he’s been strapped to a chair and barely eaten for a week, but still. That was more like a loving stroke across the cheek. Yuno is not someone you should hold back on just because she’s a girl. She was probably happy to have Yukki slap her.

Yukkiteru’s final words pack a bit more punch though. Simple and to the point. I like it.

Then Yuno screams “Yukki!!!” as he carries Kousaka down the hall and leaves her behind. I normally don’t comment on this kind of thing, but that was some great voice acting for the farewell wail. Hear it again here (if you’re reading this in RSS, you’ll have to visit the post, sorry):

Yuno’s Scream (Click to Download)

There’s this brokenness in her voice that makes it sound truly despondent. Note the pause between the “yu” and the “ki”, and the shorter pause as her voice breaks in the middle of the extended “ki”. Also notice the variation in volume: the “yu” begins weak and soft, slowly crescendos during the “ki” and finally peters out. Tomosa Murata deserves credit for this. Her only other role so far was as Eris’ little sister from Legend of Legendary Heroes (also done well), but I think she’s a name to keep an eye on.

12 thoughts on “Mirai Nikki 14 — I Used to be a Worthless Side Character… Then I Took an Arrow to the Knee

  1. Quite right about the surprise factor being watered down when there’s too many twists piled atop one another.

    I suspect this is due to the slow pace of the previous episode (only 1 chapter of the manga was adapted) versus the current one (2 chapters). I guess the creative team’s decision on that awesome cliffhanger of Yuno’s Yandere throne was the key.

    1. Yes, that decision did end up working well. I’m glad they didn’t have a cliffhanger in the middle of this episode, that would have been much more frustrating.

  2. Seriously: dat wail. It’s what really drove it home for me.

    Before, I was still like “Oh, cute. A yandere!” But after that I realized “This bitch is crazy!”

  3. @The title of this blog post – I thought the same sort of thing right when that happened. XP

    Certainly was a pile-up of plot developments this episode. I’m left feeling a little uneasy about the story’s direction at this point, but perhaps that’s all part of the plan. Mirai Nikki tends to flip things around on us pretty quickly.

    1. Much of the fun of Mirai Nikki is how unpredictable it is. Although I don’t know why they couldn’t have made the new villain look like an actual human being.

  4. Yukiteru’s (or I should say impressionable viewers’) relationship with Yuno has always been a roller coaster ride and it will continue until the end. A quick summary so far:

    ep 1: creepy stalker! (down)
    ep 2: crazy but devoted girl who would risk her own life to protect me! (up)
    ep 3: lovely girl (up), but literally had skeletons in her closet!!!!, straight out of a horror movie with the mail-slot “good night”… (nose-dive)
    ep 4: manipulative, evil, ruthless, but should I trust her or the seemingly innocent 6th?
    ep 5: Yuno has been right, like always… (up)
    ep 6: Still a stalker, but cute… (up for Yuki, down for viewers because of the murderous intend for Yuki’s mom just below the surface)
    ep 7: saved me yet again! (up)
    ep 8: Yuno has been right again, should have trusted her (up)
    ep 9: Yanderes are possessive… forced me to tell a “fatal” lie to protect my friends (down)
    ep 10: cute in a wedding dress, let me forget about what’s behind the door (up), then I saw that huge hole Yuno dug, both physically and metaphorically (down)
    ep 11 – 12: almost sacrificed herself to save me again… I LOVE YUNO (way up).
    ep 13 – 14: this is what you get with a yandere… GO TO HELL! (nose dive to negative territory)

    For people cursing Yuno now, mark my words this ride is far from over.

    1. Ooh, thanks for such an extensive list! It makes you realize that the amplitude of the attitude toward Yuno waves are increasing. The swings up seem to be getting steeper and the drops sharper and further as we continue.

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