Mirai Nikki Episode 22

Bah, I got off to a great start with over half the post written on the day episode 22 got released… then I got invited to a job interview on Friday, and have spent a lot of time preparing/panicking since. Still, job interviews are pretty high on my list of acceptable reasons to neglect my blog. 😛 Here’s hoping that something comes of this, but preferably not TOO quickly – I’ve only just started my placements at the libraries, and they’re fun!

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The end is near in more ways than one for Mirai Nikki, so continuing where we left off:

Deus answers the above question despite Murmur’s protests… but we don’t get to hear his answer just yet. Instead, the scene switches to Eighth (who has since left Aru alone in the Cathedral) and Kousaka typing away frantically, the former on a computer and the latter on a mobile phone, while Aru lies unconscious, and Hinata + Mao stand around watching.

Back inside the Cathedral, Aru has received his answer off screen, and whatever it was has worried him. He attempts to leave to inform Yuki of his new info, but is stopped… not by Murmur, but by Deus!

Deus starts referring to him as the ‘Observer’, explaining that Aru’s role in the game was to watch over the diary owners, as even a god of time and space can’t be everywhere at once. He was created by Deus for this purpose, and every action he took was at Deus’ will, though Aru himself was unaware of this. Some detective he is, not suspecting himself for a minute. 😛 Aru’s usefulness has ended now though, with the game near completion, so Deus starts to destroy him.

Aru won’t go down without a fight, though, and protests that his actions were his own. Deus, clearly a big fan of games, challenges the boy to come up with a single example of a thought that was entirely his own, promising to spare his life if he succeeds. Aru lists several things he’s done recently, all related to various diary owners… but Deus claims that he was merely following his programmed instructions in every case… even his love for Yuki was supposedly fake. Parts of Aru’s body break away the whole while this is going on, and eventually he is reduced to just a hand.

Apparently a hand is enough though, as all of a sudden a mobile phone appears in that hand, and Aru begins to regenerate! He shows the phone to Deus, asking whether it was god’s will for the Observer to possess a Future Diary – or an apprentice one at least. This is, of course, what Eighth and Kousaka were preparing. Deus acknowledges this as proof of Aru’s free will, and returns him to the real world.

Meanwhile, Yuki is on his way to kill Eighth, his diary predicting that Aru will simply hand her over. Yuno isn’t sure things will turn out that way though, and asks him what he’d do if his friends betrayed him. He refuses to answer, firmly believing that they would never do such a thing… but when he arrives at what’s left of the building, it is Aru alone who awaits him there.

Yuno is angered by Aru’s ‘betrayal’, and when he asks her to leave so he can speak to Yuki alone, she instead attacks him with a huge knife. The blade seems to pierce his heart, and he slumps over backwards. His revival was certainly short-lived. 😛 Through a large hole created by the world’s destruction, Yuno sees Eighth and Yuki’s friends run up a flight of stairs, and she turns to inform Yuki. He, however, only has thoughts for Aru, and his diary confirms the boy is dead.

Yuno tries to snap Yuki out of his thoughts by reminding him that Aru and his other friends are traitors, while approaching Aru’s body to retrieve her knife. However, Aru suddenly grabs her hand – as expected, it’s too early for him to die having just gained diary powers; he survived thanks to the old bulletproof vest trick. Unimpressed, Yuno switches weapons, attacking him with a stun gun… which Aru blocks with a gloved palm!

Aru now shows them his diary, explaining that it predicts the actions of other diary owners. Similar to Eleventh’s diary, but better I’d imagine. Yuno sends Yuki after Eighth and the others, while she remains to face Aru – it’s personal by this point.

A short distance away, Hinata and Mao discuss the fact that things are playing out just as Aru predicted. They also claim their plan is to save Yuki from Yuno, who they believe is deceiving him. Yuki knows nothing of their motives though, his diary only tells him that they’re protecting Eighth… and he starts to suspect them of betrayal.

Eventually, Yuki comes across Hinata, who blocks his path towards Eighth. It is at this point that Yuki learns something that shatters his dreams of a happy future with all his friends and family reborn – Hinata tells him that even a god can’t bring back those who’ve died.

Back at Aru’s house, the former Observer has won the fight, having pinned Yuno to the ground. He informs her that Hinata is explaining ‘the truth’ to Yuki, and that there’s nothing she can do about it. In response, she stabs herself. As always, there’s method to her madness: Aru is keen to meet with Yuki, but if he were to leave Yuno in that state, she would probably die… and Yuki would no doubt see that as betrayal.

Yuki cannot accept the news he’s just heard. He laughs, saying that as a god, restoring someone to life can’t be that hard. Hinata keeps trying to convince him… and though Yuki keeps accusing her of lying, it’s clear he’s simply in denial at this stage – he really wants his parents back. Still, another push from Hinata should be enough to persuade him.

Unfortunately for her, Yuno pushes first, and harder. She phones Yuki, telling him that Aru is killing her – a lie, the boy has in fact treated her self-inflicted wound and left in search of Yuki. Still, when Yuki checks his diary for confirmation, it tells him that Yuno is lying in a pool of blood, and that much is true. He chooses to believe Yuno’s story that his friends have betrayed him… and shoots Hinata dead. Mao and Kousaka soon follow, as they both try in turn to convince Yuki that they’re the ones telling the truth… a truth he really doesn’t want to hear.

Having chosen to irreversibly kill three of his friends, knowing deep down despite his protests that they may never return, it’s an especially pathetic, sniveling Yuki that continues to climb towards the top of the pile of rubble where Eighth alone now waits. Aru finally catches up to him, and being smart, takes a different approach to attacking his cowardice or bringing up his dead parents.

Aru says he wishes he’d dealt with Yuno earlier so that this would have never occurred. He claims that he wants to protect Yuki (you’d have thought he’d move on and find new love the moment he gained free will – who’d love Yuki if it wasn’t an order from god?), and that he’ll ensure a future where Yuki at least survives. In fact, Aru’s diary already predicts that he’ll kill Yuno soon. When Yuki protests, Aru pulls him close… and tells him that all this time, Yuno has been the one using him with the goal of winning the game, not vice-versa as she’d led him to believe! See, not even Yuno loves him if you believe Aru’s story!

Once again, Yuki decides he’s heard enough, and shoots Aru… or would have, if he hadn’t already run out of bullets. Yuno then arrives at the scene, but before she can get to Yuki, Aru kisses him! Yuki seems surprised, but doesn’t look as though he disliked it… Yuno definitely doesn’t approve, however. She charges at Aru, armed with the knife from earlier, while his weapon of choice is an iron bar.

Sure enough, their fight ends with Aru destroying Yuno’s future diary, resulting in the end of her life. Right? Apparently not, as in yet another twist, Yuno seems completely unaffected by the destruction of her phone, and successfully slits Aru’s throat!

How is Yuno still alive? Aru notices too late that in addition to the broken phone on the floor, Yuno has another on her person. Fakes again, like those prepared by Seventh? Aru doesn’t think so – when the phone was broken, it made the same noise as a real future diary would. He noticed one other thing that seemed unusual about it: he caught a glimpse of the screen while attacking (guess he’s called the Observer for a reason, he didn’t have much time to look!), and while most of the text read like Yuno’s usual predictions, it referred to Yuki as Amano-kun… not Yukkii.

Once again, the plot thickens. A future diary that isn’t Yuno’s, but is identical but for that small, important detail… Aru’s thoughts go back to the third skeleton, the ‘real’ Gasai Yuno. Still the major missing piece of the jigsaw.

Yuki tries to approach Aru, but Yuno stops him, reminding him that Eighth is their main priority. TBH, I’d completely forgotten about her. She ended up trapped beneath the rubble from the cracking buildings, and puts up no resistance when Yuno finishes her off. Her final words to Yuki are a request that he make a safe world for the children. 😦 Yuki also asks Yuno’s about her second diary, but passes it off as a fake. Yuki doesn’t seem convinced, but by now he’s so far into denial that he wouldn’t have argued if she’d said the sky was purple.

Still alive, Aru continues to use his detective skills to solve the mystery of the two Yunos… and comes to a realization. He is determined to tell Yuki what he’s found out. Unfortunately, it’s hard to talk when you’ve had your throat cut. Still, he stumbles towards Yuki… continuing even after Yuno cuts off his head. He holds his phone in his outstretched hand, having presumably typed something on it… but we don’t get to know what it said.

Also of importance, in between above scenes were several short clips of Deus and his surroundings collapsing at a much faster rate than ever before… ending with a scene where his cloak, ring and crown were shown lying on the floor. Something that Murmur seems to find highly amusing.

Is Deus really gone for good? What are Murmur’s motives? Who the heck is Yuno? And will Yuki triumph even if his closest ‘ally’ becomes his most dangerous enemy? No spoilers please! 😛