Future Diary: Volume 1    by Sakae Esuno Order:  USA  Can TOKYOPOP, 2009 (2009) Paperback      Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto A lot of shonen series tend to be formulaic in plot with the hero teaming up with friends he finds along the way to fight various bad guys in scripted shoot-outs. They are either geared towards young boys (if they contain cute monsters) or older teen boys (if they contain scantily-clad girls). While Sakae Esuno does somewhat follow the shonen formula in Future Diary, it is geared towards a more discerning older teen/adult age group of both male and female readers. Yukiteru Amano has always been a loner, preferring to write his observations of the world around him into his cell phone diary instead of actually interacting himself. The only person he ever really communicates with is Deus, the God of Time and Space, his imaginary friend, who might not be as imaginary as Yukiteru thinks. Bored one day, Deus decides to create a game to find his successor. Yukiteru does not believe what Deus is talking about until he discovers that his diary now has entries for ninety days in the future. It also tells him that he will be killed by the serial killer who is on the loose. Whether he wants to be or not, he is in Deus's game, and his survival depends on his winning by killing the other eleven contestants - but he must join forces with some of them first. Future Diary is a thrilling head trip. Sakae Esuno's premise is totally unique and unpredictable. The artwork, while nothing out of the ordinary, helps to add to the suspense and action. The storyline is clear and moves fast, keeping the reader eagerly flipping pages. This is one manga that I would love to see made into a live-action movie. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews