Future Diary is a well-known Japanese manga series. It is written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno. And Later, Between January 2006 and December 2010, it was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten’s Shōnen Ace. It’s divided into 12 tankōbon volumes. The Series belongs to the Mystery, Psychological thriller, and Romance genres. The whole anime is certainly edgy and contains an overall death game structure.
Over time Future Diary has quite a dedicated fanbase, And the worst part about a good anime is that it ends! So of course, fans need something similar to move on from the ending of their favorite show. Finishing a good Anime is like a breakup but more painful. And Future Diary Particularly left the viewers with an unsatisfactory ending. Either way, Today, We’ll be discussing 10 anime that have a similar plot or genre in comparison to Future Diary.
Future Diary’s Plot
In case you haven’t seen the series yet, The plot revolves around Yukiteru, who is an average lonely dude, passing most of his time by writing a diary on his cell phone. The only friend he has is an Imaginary god called Deus Ex Machina.
However, It turned out that Deus wasn’t imaginary after all and now wants to play a game with Yukiteru. A survival game. Geez. In this game Along with Yukiteru, There are twelve other contestants. The winner of this Survival Game will succeed Deus Ex Machina. Who is the god of time and space? To win the game, the contestants have to use their diaries to eliminate each other. The last man standing wins.
All the players are assigned a number based on the order in which Deus modified their diary. And these diaries record the future in the way their future selves might have written down things that happened. When the user reaches a “Dead End”, it refers to a time when they’re Dead. All the diaries vary in properties and usage as the diaries have been created depending on every individual’s personality and Lifestyle. Anyone can use or terminate these diaries if they successfully get their hands on them. However, since diaries have become the holder’s future, if the diary is destroyed, it’ll end the future of The user, i.e., it’ll kill them.
Anime similar to a Future Diary:
1. Btooom!
There is a popular online game called “Btooom” and some unlucky people are forced to play this game in real life on a desolate island. They are sent to the island with bomb weapons called BIMs and nothing else to survive. Ryouta (the protagonist) and others have to fight with each other until they win against others. Only the person holding victory will be given the chance to leave the island.
Similarities: Both the anime have a survival theme as well as an action pack. There are tons of similarities between Btooom! and Future Diary. Both the series have similarly intense and exciting storylines. Both are engaging as they convince the viewers as if they are a part of these battles and the story.
2. Danganronpa
It’s the beginning of high school, and Naegi Makoto along with fourteen other students, has gathered in a shocking and desperate situation. They find themselves trapped in the school accompanied by the principal, Monokuma (Monobear). Their only chance to graduate (escape) from school is to kill each other. But they shouldn’t get caught. If they succeed, they can escape while the others get punished.
However, if the students point out the killer, they can live for a while longer while the killer is punished by death. It’s a kill or be killed situation, either that or maybe just live together forever?
Similarities: It’s basically an Anime similar to Future Diary As, Danganronpa and Future Diary both contain several plot twists and turns. Danganronpa is engaging as it leaves the viewers wanting more. Throughout the anime, it’s impossible to drop it without finishing it to the end. The plot makes it hard to predict the next moves as it’s filled with twists and new revelations, Just like Future Diary. Although, Unlike Future Diary, it has no actual action. The series contains psychological games and mysteries. This makes it even better in a manner.
3. Deadman Wonderland
It was a normal day for Ganta Igarashi and his classmates. They all were making preparations to go on a field trip to a prison amusement park called Deadman Wonderland. However, that’s when everything went south for Ganta Out of the blue, a mysterious red man smashed into his classroom, which killed everyone except for him. Ganta as the lone survivor, got Framed for the massacre and received a death sentence. Ironically, Ganta is sent to the same prison where the school trip was supposed to visit.
Ganta is thrown into the world of psychotic inmates. And has to live in permanent fear of the lethal collar on his neck. The collar will be slowed only if he wins in the deadly games of this prison. He goes through this traumatic experience every day while trying to figure out about the “Red Man” and get out of the prison.
Similarities: Both Future Diary and Deadman Wonderland contain a blend of action, psychological twists, and drama. They both are intense and Dark. When you’ll get to see action as well as a well-defined complex story. Most of all, the plot contains several revelations, so the suspense factor is never compromised in Deadman Wonderland. Both the series are thrill-packed action.
4. Death Note
Light Yagami, a bright student, sees a notebook fall from the sky while he is sitting in the classroom. After the class, he picks it up out of curiosity. This notebook he picked is called the “Death Note”. The book contains a series of rules written inside, which states that anyone whose name is written in the book will die of a heart attack within 40 seconds. The light uses this power to establish his take on Justice and Execute all the Criminals.
He receives the Name of Kira. And swore that he wouldn’t stop until the whole world is free of criminals. Due to the constant deaths of the inmates and other criminals, the Detectives of Japan decide to give this mass murder case to their top detective “L”. Now, The whole story revolves around the mind games between L and Light.
Similarities: Death is one of the best dark and psychological genre anime which even exceeds the psychological factors in Future Diary. Unlike Future Diary, it contains no action. But the Intense Mind games make up for this issue. A Future Diary fan will most certainly enjoy watching Death note.
5. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Madoka Kaname and Sayama Miki are eighth-graders living a peaceful and simple life. One day, a mysterious student gets transferred to their school. She glares at Kaname warning her not to get involved in anything Bizarre. In the beginning, Madoka doesn’t get the meaning of this warning. However, later on, a magical creature called Kyuubey calls her for help. In exchange for her help, she offered her one miraculous wish at the expense of turning her into a magical girl. However, Homura Akemi is a magical girl herself. She urges them both to decline this offer, explaining how things are not what they look like.
Similarities: Puella Magi Madoka Magica is another Anime similar to future diary. The major similarity between Future Diary and Puella Magi Madoka Magica is that they both contain a Huge plot twist that changes everything. Both of which involve time. Saying anything more would count as a spoiler. It’s better if you watch it for yourself. Puella Magi Madoka Magica is also similar to Future diary because things aren’t what they truly are. The anime gets pretty dark and intense as it continues. Worth watching.
6. Steins; Gate
Okabe, Mayuri, and Daru work at the Future Gadget Research Laboratory, where they attempt to invent futuristic gadgets almost every day. However, one day they suddenly have a device that’s capable of altering with time and current events in real-time! This little device is the “Phone Microwave,” a gadget that can transmit messages through time. Due to this alteration in time, A horrific group gets the idea about this gadget and its Possession. Thus Now, Okabe, Mayuri, and Daru are in grave danger and need to use the Phone Microwave to protect it from the wrong people, as it can cause problems in the balance of the world.
Similarities: The biggest factor of commonality in Future diary and Stein’s gate is, Future! Both the series deal with the powers and sources that can help them to predict go or alter the future timeline. Even the parameters are similar as both of these anime use Particular phones. Both of these series contain a perfect mix of Thriller, Suspense, action, and romance (which almost ruined my mood). They both also have some mind-blowing Plot twists that make the whole premise of anime more interesting.
7. Another
The story is mainly about middle school students. In the year 1972, a popular student, Misaki of class 3-3, passed away. The town of Yomimaya has been surrounded by a dreadful atmosphere. After 26 years, a boy named Kouichi Sakakibara transferred into classes 3-3 of the same middle school. As soon as he transferred he discovered that all the students of the class have a strange and gloomy mood. Later, He feels drawn to a mysterious girl with an eyepatch, Mei Misaki.
However, all the other students and teachers of the class treat her like she doesn’t even exist. Kouichi receives plenty of warnings from other classmates however he ignores these warnings and advice. Kouichi starts to get closer to Misaki as well as the truth that binds this town, followed by several Tragic events.
Similarities: Both another and Future Diary belong to the Fantasy as well as the Horror Genre. Although the main plot of Another doesn’t hint towards a survival situation, the story, later on, does form a similar base, just like Future diary. Both the series have a dark plot and are based on a very dark premise. It’s just filled with Drama and Blood while tragic events follow throughout the story. Which confirms that this is an Anime similar to Future Diary. Another does lack action, but that doesn’t make it less brutal.
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8. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Higurashi is a story of a bunch of friends living in a rural village called Hinamizawa. The village holds a Cotton Drifting festival called The Night of Watanagashi. They’ve been setting these up for the past four years. But now there’s a death involved! In each case, a person is murdered brutally, and another one just disappears without a trace. These constant murders have enraged Hinamizawa’s patron God, and it ended up becoming a curse known as “Oyashiro-Osama’s curse.”
The first season contains a series of story arcs, all of these raise questions about the meaning behind all the murders that took place. All the arcs have a dreadful chain of events with gruesome and graphic scenes. But Once an arc is over everything resets! Things go back to being fluffy and cute for some reason. If you are into a total Mind bashing, we recommend you to watch it.
Similarities: Both of these anime use a certain Timeshift to establish the plot. They both Feature several survival games that the protagonist and his team? Has to play to determine the outcome. The biggest common factor is that they Both over-glorify yandere characters. It’s a total delight for a Gore fan, Higurashi has more gory scenes than Future Diary. Then there’s our deadly combo of Blood + Drama. Both the series have those two-faced types of characters, The “cute” art style makes it even creepier. They are all Adorable and nice but later in the story, they become the worst psychos.
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9. Guilty Crown
Guilty Crown’s story starts in 2029, it’s the year when an unidentified Apocalyptic Virus spreads throughout Japan. Forcing the country into a state of an emergency that they call “Lost Christmas”.Sounds familiar. Soon An international organization “GHQ” enables martial law and restores the country at the expense of their freedom. (This might as well be a Fortune-telling anime).
Jump after Ten years in 2039. Shu Ouma is a high school student and is a big fan of Inori. She is a singer who became popular for her singing on the Internet. However, Shu later gets the chance to meet her and discovers that she is a member of “Funeral Parlor”. It’s a resistance group And its main goal is to free Japan from the GHQ. After going into the depth of the situation, Shu also takes part in the actions of “Funeral Parlor” and that’s where the action starts.
Similarities: Future Diary and Guilty Crown are both Thriller /Action /Superpower genre anime with unnecessary romance in the plot. It’s also quite graphic and gore, just Like Future Diary. While it doesn’t show any Time-related phenomenon, it’s still dope to fight against the Major forces that dominate a country.
10. Elfen Lied
Plot:- Elfen Lied is about a race of mutants, Diclonii. It’s a species which is highly motivated to kill human beings and destroy the entire mankind to create a new world for itself. Diclonii is born when a normal human gets infected by a Diclonius. The only few physical differences between Humans and Diclonii are that Diclonii has two horns like thingy on their heads and invisible arms called vectors. Vectors are used to manipulate objects around them. Diclonii uses this power to kill their humans.
Similarities: Future diary and Elfen Lied Both feature the main female lead as a two-faced character. (And on a slightly unnecessary similarity- they both have pink hair). Both the anime depict a dark background, and it’s almost eerie Bonus point – They both are Gore.
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