The Future Diary has a pretty big plot twist in the last few episodes, but the opening credits actually spoiled it from episode one!
One of the biggest twists in the Squid Game-like anime The Future Diary was spoiled in its opening credits. It’s not unusual for an anime to include details of what’s to come in their openings. Most will include subtle little details and symbols that will become important later as the show progresses while also featuring characters that viewers will get to know along the way. However, it’s rare for an anime to outright spoil a major twist in its story. One anime though did just this in a pretty surprising way.
The Future Diary, also known as Mirai Nikki, is a 2013 anime similar to the hit Netflix series Squid Game, which was one of the biggest TV shows of 2021. Based on a manga of the same name by Sakae Esuno, it’s a story that follows a select group of people as they compete against each other in a deadly game to see who will come out on top. However, instead of money as the ultimate prize, the winner will become a new god as the world comes to an end. It’s an exciting story with twists and turns as well as fascinating main characters. The opening credits from the first half of the show though provide a bit too much detail that could ruin the whole show when analyzed.
The opening credits for The Future Diary feature a song by Yousei Teikoku called “Kuusou Mesorogii” and starts out pretty standard for an anime opening. There are weapons that will be seen later in the series from other death game contestants and the main characters, Yuno and Yuki, are front and center. Mixed with a good beat, it’s an enjoyable way to get started with Future Diary. However, the final ten seconds are when things get odd. It shows two versions of Yuno fighting each other with a knife flashing and blood spilling before the two reach out to each other and merge into one. Then Yuno grabs someone’s hand, and the opening ends. It may seem like nonsense, but when analyzed closely, it actually spoils the series’ biggest twist: Yuno had won the death game before and used her god powers to go back in time to be with Yuki again.
The Final Scene in Future Diary‘s Opening Credits Spoils Its Time Travel Twist
To better understand how this spoils that twist, it’s important to know the context. Given that Yuki was also a contestant in the death game, he had to die for Yuno to end up winning. However, not able to live in a world without him due to her being Future Diary’s face of the Yandere tropes, she goes back in time and kills that version’s Yuno to continue to be with Yuki. The opening credits show this beat for beat. When they merge, it indicates that Yuno was successful and took her place. The hand she ends up grabbing is then assumed to be Yuki’s as she’s able to hold it again. It’s stunning to see just how much was spoiled in an opening that can be seen in the show’s very first episode.
Death game stories are big right now and are bound to get bigger with Squid Games’ second season on the way. The concept of alliances and betrayals with death being the biggest gamble in a series of games is fascinating and makes for great stories. The Future Diary is one of those stories and delivers on a great story. However, the fact that they cleverly include Future Diary’s biggest spoiler in its first opening is both baffling…and actually clever because it completely changes viewers’ perception once they understand the full context of this Squid Game-esque story.
Source: Crunchyroll Dubs