Death Battle Prediction: Yuno Gasai vs Rena Ryuuga

Did that get your attention? Anyway I'm going to be talking about some pretty big spoilers for both the Future diary and Higurashi series so DO NOT READ THIS BLOG if you don’t want to have big plot points/revelations ruined for you.

....ok last chance (don't blame me in the comments for spoiling these series for you).

.....ok lets start

In case you were wondering

As those of you who are familiar with the future diary series may know, there are actually 3 different Yunos that have appeared over the course of the future diary series. These Yunos are 1st, 2nd and 3rd world Yuno, who each originated from 3 separate timelines called the 1st, 2nd and 3rd worlds respectively (which all exist in parallel to each other due to time travel/multiverse creating timey wimey ball hijinks I’ll expand upon farther below).For this blog I’m going to be focusing mostly on 1st world Yuno, with just a smidgen of mentioning/compositing of the other two.

Also I decided to be kinda generous towards Rena, and gave her weapons from the spin-off fighting game Higurashi daybreak. The fighting game is WAY more over the top in terms of physical abilities compared to the main series (think phoenix write in M vs C), so I’ve avoided including ANYTHING regarding that in this blog though.

Background

Rena Ryuugu

A young girl who lived in a village called Hinamizawa but moved away to a city named ibaraki with her parents for the sake of advancing her mother’s career at a fashion design firm. During her stay there her mother got involved in an affair with a co-worker and Rena changed her original name of Riena to Rena out of spite. Additionally Rena simultaneously started acting erratic/violent in school, as a side effect of a then unknown mental sickness called Hinamizawa syndrome. As a result she had a psychotic breakdown, broke several of the schools windows and beat 3 schoolboys near to death with a metal baseball bat.

After this event(and her understandable expulsion) she and her father moved back to Hinamizawa, and Rena became fast friends with several members of the local school’s after day club. She proceeded to spend most of her free time hanging out with them, but continued to be paranoid about her violent behavior back in Ibaraki, wich she started to attribute “Oyashiro’s curse”(a curse said to be given out by the local deity Oyashiro’s by anybody who left the village).

Later on her father got involved in a “badger game”(a scam where a single man is manipulated into relinquishing money) by two con artists named Rina and Teppie. Being somewhat unstable due to Hinamizawa syndrome and being INCREDIBLY protective of her father, she attempted to confront the two and force them to stop through diplomacy. The situation escalated however and ended with Rena murdering them both and hiding their bodies with the help of her friends from the club.

Rena then started to descend into madness, as she became untrustworthy of her friends who helped hide her crimes and was lied to about the origins Oyashiro’s curse by the series big bad Tanako, being told it was due to the town being in the middle of an alien conspiracy. This madness reached its climax when she decided to take her own school hostage and threatened to burn it down if the police didn’t launch a investigation into the “aliens”. Luckily however she was stopped by a club member friend named Keiichi before anybody got hurt.

In terms of personality Rena is actually surpassingly tame most of the time. She’s normally very friendly to the people around her and actually has a penchant for geeking out around things she considers “cute”.  Additionally the series Higurashi has a “groundhog day loop” scenario of sorts, where time resets whenever something bad happens. While Rena was batshit insane in the above (most popular) scenario involving her, she tends to be MUCH less violent in other timelines.

That being said she can easily become intimidating to those around her if offended. It’s also been noted by other characters that she’s the least inhibited when it comes to attacking people, and is the most likely to kill when pushed into a corner or suffering from bought of insanity brought on by Hinamizawa syndrome. Because of this she’s known to many as the trademark “yangire” character, a person who’s normally nice/sweet but snaps under the right physiological pressure.

Yuno Gasai

A young girl living in Japan who accidently killed her parents during what was supposed to be a non-lethal retaliation for weeks/months of child abuse (Her mother severely punished her whenever she didn’t live up to her “perfectionist expectations” by starving her in a cage and her father ignored/neglected her as the situation escalated ). In her despair she was willing to latch onto anything for a hope, and ended up forming an unhealthy obsession with a boy named Yukitero Amano, who unintentionally gave her that hope after jokingly making a promise to marry her in the future during a school assignment.

Anyway Yuno spent most of her time stalking Yuki afterwards, hoping to grow closer to him,a wish that was ironically granted a few weeks later when the two got drafted into a “survival game” headed by the god of time and space Dues. This survival game was a fight to the death between her, Yuki and 10 other people over the right to inherit Dues’s thrown as god. It also involved the use of “future diaries”, space/time instuments that the contestants could use to predict and change their future.

While initially thought to be doomed at the start of the competition, the duo teamed up and manage to kill the rest of their opponents though a combination of luck and sociopathy brought on through Yuno’s obsession with Yuki. Unfortunately through a twist of fate caused Yuki to die at the end of the game, leaving Yuno as the one to inherit the title of God alone. Feeling distraught Yuno descended into near madness and used her newfound powers to go back in time to an alternate “2nd world” timeline (her original timeline being the 1st world), and killed her past self. She then took her doubles place in the 2nd worlds survival game to be with Yuki again, as well as to attempt to make him the victor the second time around. Yuki refused to kill her at the end of the game however when asked, prompting her decide to travel to a 3rd timeline to relive the event of the game again.

Instead of killing herself a 2nd time however Yuno was talked down by Yuki and decided to take her own life in order force him to become the god of the 2nd world anyway. Luckily however the character muru muru(an a assistant each god has in every timeline)managed to preserve the 1st world Yuno’s memories to give to the 3rd world self. This essentially merged the two timeline version of Yuno into a new one, who then went on to reunite with the 2nd world Yukki. The two of them managed to convince Dues to let them inherit his throne as dual gods in the 3rd universe without any bloodshed, essentially giving them both a happy ending.

In terms of personality Yuno Gasai is what is considered a “Yandere”. Outwardly she normally has an aura of sweetness, but inwardly she has an obsession with Yuki that runs so deep, that’s she willing to do almost anything to ensure his safety and their relationship. This includes killing innocent people, manipulating/kidnapping Yuki, and potentially even letting entire worlds vanish just to be with him. She also tends to show a ruthless and calculating side to anybody who crosses her, making her incredibly dangerous to those who don’t know her true nature.

Equipment

Rena Ryuugu

Rena has no notable equipment.

Yuno Gasai

Binoculars

A pair of binoculars Yuno uses for stalking recognizance at various points of the future diary series.

Future diary/Yukiteru Diary

A magical space/time instrument designed by John Bacchus(the 11th diary user),and given out to participants of the survival game by Dues. A future diary is a prophetic device that tells the owner the events of the future, and allows them to either follow or change those events based on how closely they adhere to or oppose  what was originally predicted(for example if a prediction says go left, the diary owner can choose to go right to change history).Future diaries have their contents, writing styles and physical forms determined based on the contents, writing styles and physical forms of real world diaries used by the games participants before the survival game was initiated. Because of this, future diaries can have wildly different attributes from each other, with many selectively telling the futures about specific subjects the diary owners were interested in(like their surroundings, specific people they like or themselves), many taking on different physical forms(like phones or books), and many giving out predictions in different time increments(such as giving 3 predictions  for 3 different points of the day, or hundreds) . Regardless of these attributes, all future diaries have their predictions stretch out for the total of 3 months’ time and will change to reflect any predictions that where avoided. Additionally if the user is progressing along a chain of events where they will die, the diary will display the words “DEAD END”, though just like a normal prediction a “DEAD END” can be opposed and avoided (though often with more difficulty than a normal prediction). All diary users in the survival games have titles for themselves and their diaries(with people having numbers between 1-12 and diaries having various names depending on what they are about).Finally under normal circumstances a future dairy is deeply connected to the life force of the diary owners themselves, and if they are destroyed the diary owner will die as well.

Due to time traveling hijinks Yuno actually has two future dairies, one she received in the 1st worlds survival game and one she gained at the beginning of the 2nd worlds survival game.

Her 2nd world future diary is called the Yukiteru diary and takes the form of a folding cell phone. It was originally meant for Yuno’s second world self, but was taken by 1st world Yuno as her own after killing her. It displays information about Yuno’s crush/obsession Yuki on its screen in 10 minute increments for the period of 3 months. It does not display any information unrelated to Yuki, including Yuno’s own immediate surroundings, the actions of the people around her or her own actions/status. Because of this her diary is actually quite limited compared to most of the others in the series, and is almost entirely useless when she doesn’t have Yuki around to aide her(his diary describes surroundings, but not himself, which allows it to pair up nicely with Yuno’s diary to cover both diaries weaknesses).

Yuno’s 1st world future diary is called the amano diary. This diary was actually intended to be hers from the get go. It has the same physical form as her 2nd world diary and works almost exactly like it, except it refers to Yuki by his last name instead of his first. It got destroyed towards the end of the future diary series, although Yuno didn’t lose her life for some reason (perhaps signifying both of her future diaries need to be destroyed for her to die, or that she’s just exempt from being killed that way due to becoming a god in her own universe already).

Weapons

Rena Ryuugu

Japanese Nata

Rena’s weapon of choice is the Nata blade, otherwise known as the traditional Japanese mountain knife/hatchet. It is not intended be used for combat (it’s meant for yard work like chopping wood), but has commonly served as a makeshift weapon to people in times of danger. It has a shape similar to that of a machete or billhook, and Rena’s model in particular has ishi at the end of it, a small outgrowing tip that helps prevent a person from smashing the blade against the ground when copping in rocky areas. It’s most likely made out of an iron or steel and seems to be substantially larger than most real world natas(which are normally around 1 foot long compared to its 2-3).

In the fighting game Higurashi daybreak Ren can throw this weapon (along with multiple other natas that spawn out of nowhere) in a spinning fashion towards an opponent as a long range attack. She can even curve the trajectory of the weapon while it’s thrown or throw two at once to hit an opponent from two different angles.

Ironclad Nata

A comically oversized nata blade about 2-3 times the length of Rena’s own body, used in the game Higurashi Daybreak. It’s INCREDIBLY heavy and severely limits Rena’s movement speed, but deals twice as much damage as her standard nata and prevents her from being knocked back by most attacks due to its weight. Rena can still throw it in a spinning fashion at opponents as a projectile attack and can also strike the ground with enough force to dislodge large chunks of rubble. Swinging it hard enough can also create a gust of air that can damage and push opponents backwards.

Blade split Axe

A large axe that Rena wielded as a weapon in the game Higurashi Daybreak and in the manga. It has a long reach and a decent amount of power, but lacks accuracy. The axe head is most likely made out of iron or steel and seems to be comically oversized compared to most real world axes.

Baseball bat

A metal baseball bat the Rena used to beat several boys into submission during a flashback looking into her past.

Grenades

Rena can throw small grenades as a long range attack in Higurashi daybreak. The exact type used isn’t very easy to make out, but it could be presumed to be either a fragmentation or concussion grenade based on the shape. Throwing one causes a small explosion several feet in diameter when it hits a solid object.

Firebomb

As a nod to Rena’s threat to burn down her school in the anime series, Rena could produce a gas can and release 1-2 dozen spurts of gasoline into the air that would self-ignite as one of her long range attacks in Higurashi daybreak. These spurts of fire ignited gasoline would also remain on the battle field for several seconds after being released, potentially creating larger fires that could control the movement of opponents.

Explosive KFC Colonel

A giant prop that can be thrown through the air and explodes in a giant ball of fire about a dozen feet in diameter when it hits a solid object. For some reason it looks like a big KFC colonel.

Bolt-Action Rifle

A hunting rifle the Rena briefly wielded in the “Higurashi outbreak Ova.  She didn’t actually fire it when she had it in her possession, nor did she hold onto it for more than a few seconds, but for the benefit of the doubt I’ll be giving it to her in the blog. The exact type of rifle isn’t specified, but typical firing rang for most common bolt action rifles is between 500-1000 yrds. Common bullets tend to be 7.92×57mm Mausers.

Yuno Gasai

Hatchet

A small wooden hatchet Yuno used when trying to defend herself against the followers of Tsubaki Kasugano (the 6th diary user) after they had been mind controlled into violent rampage by a man named Yomotsu Hirasaka (the 12th diary user). It originally did not belong to her (she picked it up off a downed opponent) and was clearly not designed for combat (it shares the design of a common household hatchet used for menial chores). Despite this however Yuno has been shown to be fairly skilled at using it as a killing instuments, being able to kill grown men and women with single swipes to the neck or head with little effort. In terms of attributes it probably weighs around 1-2 pounds, is made of some kind of steel and has a blade around 3-6 inches long. Fans often consider it to be Yuno’s “iconic” weapon, although truthfully she only really uses it extensively in that one episode, and then more or less discards it for the rest of the series(although she does use another hatchet, that may or may not  have been the same one to briefly attack Yuki towards the end of the series).

Sledge hammer

A small one handed sledgehammer Yuno wielded while trying to kill Reisuke Houjou(the 5th diary user) in ep 7. This hammer isn’t specifically designed for combat (its design is clearly that of a common household sledgehammer used for menial construction). In terms of attributes it was small and one handed, so it probably had a Weight around 2-10 pounds with a head width around 2-3 inches. Regardless of its intended use Yuno can still wield it quite effectively and while she never got the chance to kill anybody with it, she did managed to knock out a full grown women (Yuki’s mom) out with a single (accidental)strike to the back of the head with it.

Kitchen knives

Yuno has used several different types of kitchen knives to attack her opponents in the anime and manga series. For example she wielded a chiefs knife when trying to kill Reisuke Houjou(the 5th diary user) in the anime, and was shown to have a second chef’s knife tucked away in a carrying bag in chap 10 of the manga. She also wielded a carving knife in chap 28 of the manga when fighting Marco Ikusaba and Ai Mikami(the 7th diary users). In terms of attributes, a common chief knifes would probably have a steal/ceramic blade around 8 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. In contrast a common carving knife would also probably be made of steel/ceramic material, although its blade could range between 8 -15 inches long and around 1-2 inches wide. Because these are kitchen knives, they obviously aren’t designed for combat (they’re meant for cooking), although Yuno has still used them to stab/kill people fairly easily.

Snap off utility knife

A retractable snap off utility knife Yuno wielded in ep 9 when fighting off some dogs controlled by Karyuudo Tsukishima(the 10th diary user) and holding his daughter hostage. Because it’s a utility knife, it’s obviously not meant for combat (utility knives are mostly meant for menial cutting chores in factory settings). In terms of attributes it would probably have a steal/ceramic blade with a blade width less than a 1 inch and a length around 3-6 inches. Despite not being made as an intentional weapon, Yuno has still been seen being able to kill dogs and stab people with it with relative ease.

Combat knife

A military style combat knife that Yuno used in ep 15 when fighting off kusaba Maruko and Ai Mikami(the 7th diary users) and several other episodes of the anime series. It’s effective in close combat situations and Yuno was shown to be skilled enough at wielding it to decapitate a person with a single slash to the neck with it in chap 36 of the manga and ep 22 of the anime. Yuno was also shown to be skilled at using it to deflect certain types of projectile attacks (Mainly small solid ones, like throwing knives) in ep 15.

Unidentified knife/Sword knife

Yuno also uses a knife I was unable to identify in ep 25 when trying to kill Yuki. The blade is a bit longer than her other knives, being something between a knife and a sword. Besides just using it for close combat, Yuno showed she could throw it at opponents for a quick kill when pushed into a corner.

Latin Machete

A machete Yuno wielded in ep 19 some when setting a trap with Yuki for John Bacchus (the 11th diary user). The exact style of machete she used is difficult to identify, but it was most similar to a latin style machete, which are all purpose machettes generally made of steel, with blade lengths around 18-22 inches. Yuno was skilled enough with this weapon to cleanly decapitate a person with a single slash to the neck.

Katana

A katana used by Yuno in ep 20 and 21, to take out some security guards protecting John Bacchus (the  11th diary users). In terms of attributes katana’s are generally made of a specialized Japanese steel known as “Tamahagane”, which is known for its even mix of flexibility and strength. Katana’s have blade lengths around 23 –28 inches and widths around 1-1.5 inches. While it was censored in the anime, ch 43 displayed Yuno being skilled enough with the weapon to slice full grown men in half both laterally and horizontally(and in one case with one hand, while talking on a cell phone).

Smith and Wesson Model 36 revolvers

Two revolver handguns Yuno gained and wielded after stealing them from some police officers in ep 11. She did not use them both simultaneously(which is actually a good thing), but instead wielded both of them one at a time, with the second one acting as a quite backup to switch to once the first ran out of bullets. While using these guns  Yuno was shown to be skilled enough to hit targets with very narrow weak spots/openings(such as uncovered necks of swat team officers wearing lots of body armor).In terms of attributes a smith and Wesson model 36 revolver handgun uses .38 calibur shells(which are known for their balance and accuracy),can shoot around 25-50 yards in distance and has a 5 bullet per gun capacity.

Beretta 92 pistol

art by LenCv02

A semi-automatic pistol Yuno wielded in ep 19 when trying to shoot John Bacchus(the 11th diary user) during a car chase. In terms of attributes a baretta 92 most commonly shoots 9×19mm Parabellum bullets (though other bullet types are possible), have a maximum of 32 bullets per magazine and can hit around 160ft away at 1250 feet per second. Yuno was skilled enough to shoot John Bacchus (the 11th diary user) in the back of the head with it through a window during a car chase….well sort of(she actually missed the shot, but only because John used his diary to predict it’s trajectory and avoid it).

Heckler and Koch MP5 machine gun

A submachine gun used briefly by Yuno in ep 20 when she and Yuno were invading a building housing John Bacchus (the 11th diary user). In terms of attributes it can have a 30 round magazine and shoot over 300 feet at 1000 feet per second. It also contains iron sights and most commonly uses 9×19mm Parabellum bullets(a pretty standard and popular bullet type).

50 lb pistol Crossbow

A 50 lb crossbow Yuno wielded in ep 14 of the anime, after forcibly detaining protecting Yuki in an abandoned building and attempting to fight off his friends when they came to free him. In terms of attributes most 50lb crossbows can shoot accurately up to about 30-40 feet and fire shots at around 150-200 feet per second. The ammo they use are typically plastic or metal bolts(basically small arrows) averaging around the size of a 6-10 inches in length. They are best used for lethal force at mid or close ranges.

Flash bang grenade

A flash bang grenade Yuno briefly used when trying to outmaneuver Keigo Kurusu (the 4th diary user) in episode 12 of the anime (although it was actually meant for Yuki and she just picked it up after he dropped it). Assuming it had attributes similar to contemporary flash bang, it would probably cause temporary blindness in a target for about 5 seconds, temporary hearing loss and disturb fluid in the human ear, leading to temporary disbalance.

Taser

A taser the Yuno used to attempt to subdue the character Akise(and agent of Dues who had the hots for Yuki) in ep 22. Like all Tasers, Yuno’s works by producing an electric shock that overrides/disrupts the natural muscle triggering mechanisms of the human body, and causes various after effects like involuntary muscle contractions/spasms, paralyzation and pain. The exact model of Taser used by Yuno in the show is unclear, but according to the Spiderman vs Batman death battle episode the minimum voltage for a standard Taser is around 200,000 volts.

Special abilities

Rena Ryuugu

Oyashiro’s curse: Hinamizawa Syndrome

A dangerous parasitic disease that causes influxes of adrenalin related hormones like epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol in the brain, leading to anxiety, paranoia and hallucinations. It’s present in all inhabitants of Hinamizawa, but remains relatively inactive as long as they remain in the city near the character Rika, who carries a “queen” version of parasite that releases pheromones that pacifies the rest. Leaving the city for an extended period of time even once (like Rena did when she was young), causes the disease to become active again though. Due to the nature of the disease those affected by it are prone to outbursts of violence against the people around them, sometimes even murdering family or friends around them in fits of insanity. Typically to get to higher states of insanity a person needs some kind of “push”, like a stressful home life or some form of mistreatment, though what sets off violent behavior can vary from person to person.

Some treatments and immunizations for the disease do exist, and Rena herself was able to reason her way out of a fit of insanity once with the help of her friend Keeichi. However If a persona remains untreated in later stages of the disease for long periods of time they will begin to undergo formication, a sensation feeling bugs or other objects moving underneath their skin. This sensation often leads to intense scratching of limbs or the neck area by the person in question, eventually cumulating in death by blood loss.

Kaaii mode

A state of near superhuman strength, speed and durability that Rena will enter whenever…….. she see’s something cute. She has a characteristic to throw a large flurry of punches at an opponent while in this state. Because it’s normally only activated in the presence of cute things she very rarely uses it in a serious fight.

Yuno Gasai

God powers

After winning the survival game in the first world and obtaining the powers of Dues, Yuno officially became the god of time of space of that timeline. Exactly how much power she gained from this ascension, how/when she can use the powers of a god, and how useful they actually are in the context of a Death Battle is incredibly unclear/questionable though.

The anime and manga imply at several points that the god of time and space should be able to perform massive reality altering feats, such as creating new life, planets and obviously having control over time and space. However outside recreating Yuki’s body in the 1st world, Yuno herself never displays any such high scale capabilities, even after revealing herself to be a god and being put in situations where that kinda of power would have been useful.

Additionally while the character Minene Uryuu(the 9th diary user) gained dbz-ish super human fighting abilities and the ability to fly after being given just a fragment of Dues’s power in the 2nd world, Yuno never displayed such a boost in fighting abilities when in god form(even though she gained all of Dues’s power in her world)and never even attempts to do anything similar to Minene when it would have been useful to her either.

The only things Yuno’s  been confirmed/shown to be able to do outright as a god of time and space is command the 1st worlds version of Muru muru(the assistant that serves whoever god is at the time) to fight for her and to release shackles on her wrists that limit her power. She can also control a small building sized sphere like object that she can ride on, throw at people or split in half and engulf them in to trap them in an illusionary world (which can only be broken out of through sheer force of will).However being able to command Muru muru is a bit irrelevant (due to it being outside help) and the sphere technically belongs to Muru muru, not yuno, so whether she could use it in a death battle is questionable.

Regardless of what powers it may give her, it should be noted that being a God does not make Yuno omnipotent, or immortal. She was very easily killed while in her god form just by stabbing herself in the side with a knife at the end of the series and still needed to use her diary to know/track Yuki’s positions and actions during the final episodes.

Feats

Rena Ryuugu

Strength

Easily knocked out all her friends in single punches in Higurashi Rei ep 5.

She cleanly cut through the skull of Houjou Teppei in Higurashi Ni. This is quite impressive as the human skull is actually quite durable.

In kai ep 19 Rena was…..restrained in a large amount of rope bondage in order to prevent her from trying to kidnap the new student Hanyuu(Rena wanted take Hanyuu home with her since she considered Hanyuu to be so cute). Despite this she broke out of the bondage quite easily in a single attempt when given an opening.

Took down several Yamainu members(an armed group led by the series big bad) that were chasing her with her friends in kai ep 13 with single non-lethal strikes with her nata.

Endurance

During the events of Higurashi outbreak Rena received a point blank gunshot to her shoulder when attempting to protect her friend Satako. While this attack severely hampered her, she was still able to solider on for the rest of the episode.

Before killing Rina in Higurashi ni, Rena received quite a beat down from her. This included some punches and kicks to the face, as well as some light choking.

Was hits by a giant swinging log and thrown dozens of feet into the air in Kira ep 2. This episode is a joke episode however so how seriously this should be taken is unknown.

Rena has been killed in some timelines of Higurashi. Including being beaten to death with a bat, being shot and burning to death under various circumstances.

Speed/agility

She managed to overwhelm and kill several villagers wielding guns during the outbreak ova. She also managed to avoid a fairly pointblank gunshot in outbreak as well (though pointing out this was done through aim dodging and does NOT make her a bullet timer).

She also managed to nonlethally take down take down several Yamainu members that were chasing her with her friends in kai ep 13.

Yuno Gasai

Strength

Broke out of the grip of two full grown men while sick/exhausted in ep 4 and then proceeding to kill them both with an axe shortly afterward.

Decapitated a man with a single slash to the neck with a knife in chap 26 of the manga. Also Decapitated another character named Akise in ep 22 with a single knife slash.

Cut several full grown men in half both laterally and horizontally with single swipes from a katana in ch 43 of the manga. One case being a one handed swing while talking to Yuki on a phone with her other hand.

Endurance

Dug a 2 stories+ deep hole and leveling an entire wing of her house in the span of a single night, just to hide some bodies from Yuki.

Shook off moderate electrocution when Reisuke Houjou(the 5th diary user) covered a stairway in water and dropped a live wire in it in ep 7.Also Held her breath for a minute or so when traversing a house that had been filled with poisonous gas by Reisuke Houjou(the 5th diary user)in ep 7.

Fought and killed many adults followers of Tsubaki Kasugano (the 6th diary user) and adequately protected Yuki most of ep 4 despite getting sick earlier on.

Fought and defeated Akise in ep 22, despite gaining a critical knife injury earlier in the episode(Though admittedly she relied more on brains than endurance to take him down)

However in contrast things that can kill or hamper a normal human being (stab wounds and blood loss for example) can still bring her down though. A good example is the previously mentioned stab wound in ep 22 which at least weakened her for a while and a stab wound by Ai Mikami (one of the 7th diary users)that made her go down until it could be bandaged up in ep 15.

Speed/agility

Outran several consecutive explosions caused by motion sensor bombs in a confined hallway in ep 2 of the anime.

Easily avoided some sword slashes from an alternate version of the character Akise in the redial ova…kinda(technically that was 3rd world Yuno who did that, but she was moving based off the influence of 1st world Yuno at the time, so 1st world Yuno could probably move like that too).

Shot a gun out of 4ths hand at a range of a few feet in episode 11.

Shot and killed several armored police/swat team members in a very narrow uncovered/weak spot in their neck consecutively in ep 12.

Deflected at least 15-20 throwing knives thrown at her and Yuki by Ai Mikami (one of the 7th diary users) with her combat knife in episode 15.

Nearly shot John Bacchus (the 11th diary user) in the back of the head through a car window during a car chase (and only missed because his own future diary predicted the bullets trajectory).

Threw a knife with enough accuracy to hit almost hit Yuki in the neck from dozen or so feet away in ep 25(and she only missed in that case because she hesitated to fight him).

Additionally according to the future diary wiki Yuno can also use small objects like pencils, toothpicks and cards as deadly throwing projectiles. I myself haven’t seen this though (although considering Yuno’s track record it isn’t that far outside the realm of possibility).

Training/Experience

Rena Ryuugu

Along with keeichi she managed to evade, kill and manipulate around 100 enemy men in Higurashi outbreak in order to save sakato.

Along with her friends she set up various traps to deal with Yamainu chasing her friends towards the end of Higurashi Kai, including pitfalls, log traps, slings, and catapults.

She managed to take her entire school hostage at the end of Higurashi Ni and rigged the entire building to explode if the police did not comply with her demands. While Keiichi managed to disarm this explosive in the anime version of his event, in another manga only timeline the bomb was set off successfully.

She generally shows excellent perception into the actions of other characters. For example realizing when the police officer was trying to manipulate Keiichi into drawing the character Shion out when she was having her own violent episode brought on by Hinamizawa syndrome. Also tends to know when people are lysing to her.

Several of the games played by the club in Higurashi to have tactile applications in a fight (which the characters actually use when put in actual dangerous situations). For example Rena shows a lot of tactical skill and planning skills in a watergun fight by planting emergency water guns for her to use and devising a way to splash an opponent when one such gun is sabotaged.

Technically Rena and a few other characters have had short flashbacks or remembrances of events in other timelines.Time is confirmed to have looped for 100s of years in the series,so that could be considered a decent amount of time travel experience. Granted since Rena herself likely didn’t spend most of this time fighting and the fact her memory of them is SEVERLY limited, the experience is likely negligible.

Yuno Gasai

Yuno’s technically won the survival game once already in the 1st world and was also the finalist in the 2nd worlds survival game. This is pretty impressive considering many of the contestants of the survival game were on average older than her, in some cases better trained/more experienced and often had the backing of a larger amount of resources and human supporters. You also need to keep in mind that she had to protect Yuki throughout most of both survival games, and despite Yuki having a future diary that complimented hers, he was for the most part an ordinary kid adverse to fighting and prone to breakdowns (So basically she won a more brutal version of the hunger games, while playing babysitter to another character who was mostly a non-combatant).

Yuno’s messed up upbringing and the fact that her parents severely punished her for even minor mistakes in school life or her home, makes it very likely that much or her intelligence and psychical aptitude may be the result of her being conditioned to be perfectionistic due to severe negative reinforcement.

While it isn’t clear how Yuno acquired such vast aptitude at wielding various weapons, her skill with them in imply that she had at least some training with them at some point in her lifetime(whether it was from a formal teacher or from self-teaching in unknown though).

Yuno’s shown experience in setting traps in ep 13 and 14 of the anime, after she kidnaped Yuki and forcibly detained him a booby trapped abandoned building. Some traps included swinging pick axes near doors, a sabotaged elevator, a gas chamber (or cement chamber in the manga), automatically locking doors. She also managed to use a camera based observation system to monitor/watch intruders.

Yuno was supposedly an honors student before the survival game, showing she stacked up fairly highly in intelligence compared to her peers.

Yuno has shown she is INCREDIBLY difficult to take down in a fair confrontation. Almost all her losses were due to external factors, like being exhausted/injured before a conflict, being attacked by a diary user with a REALLY efficient diary, or being ganged up on by at least two other skilled fighters at once.

After Yuno becomes a god in the 3rd universe it’s highly implied she and Yukki continued to live through and become gods of multiple other universes afterwards. While she likely didn’t spend most of that time fighting, that at least several millions of years’ worth of lifetime experience minimum right there.

Summary

Yuno Gasai

Advantages

Yuno’s arsenal is MUCH more expansive and well-rounded than Rena’s is. Not only does she have more long range fire arms, but she has a lot more close range weapons that are actually intended for combat.

Yuno possess the reflexes and strength to dodge or deflect natas/grenades thrown at her from a distance.

Yuno is more legitimately crazy/violent, in comparison to Rena who’s only violent when she needs to be or during spurs of insanity brought on by the Hinamizawa parasite.

Binoculars give Yuno a way to perform recognizance on an area.

The opponents that Yuno has to face in her series are much more impressive compared to Rena’s. For example many have actual combat training, have reputations of being terrorist/vigilantes/serial killers, or have large organizations of armed soldiers/police officers at their disposal. They also tend to be much more inventive in their methods of killing, and more dangerous than normal humans due to their possession of future diaries. In contrast most of Rena’s “opponents” were people who did not actively want to kill her, or were people she who knew beforehand and simply took off guard because they trusted her or didn’t consider her a deadly threat. The only exception were the Yamainu and the villagers in outbreak, who either had to be taken out through less direct methods anyway or were incompetent to begin with.

Yuno’s shown herself to be just as intelligent and resourceful in a fight as Rena, and typically during more intense/dangerous situations as well.

Yuno typically has to play babysitter to Yukki throughout most of the future diary series, while Rena has much more competent teammates giving her backup during most dangerous situations.

Outside potentially Rena’s Kaii mode (which would almost never come up in a serious fight and is more of a “joke” ability anyway), Yuno has better strength feats. While Rena can crush a human skull with two hands using an axe/nata, Yuno can nonchalantly slice through an ENITRE human skeleton vertically with one arm (and talking on a cell phone).

Yuno’s already older and larger than Rena. If you add in her time as a god at the end of the series then she outranks Rena in terms of age by A LOT.

Even if vague, Yuno’s god powers will likely be useful for SOMETHING if pushed into a corner. Particularly an ability to create illusions could be a great way to F$#k with somebody who has Hinamizawa Syndrome.

Disadvantages

She lacks an equivalent in explosive weapons like grenade when compared to Rena.

Rena

Advantages

Rena has a much larger amount of explosives at her disposal, as well incendiary weapons, which could easily spell the end for Yuno if they hit point blank.

In Kaii mode she might be stronger than Yuno.

Slightly better endurance, being able to get hit with a log trap or solider on despite a gunshot wound.

Disadvantages

Hinamizawa Syndrome if taken to extremes could honestly cause Rena to kill herself.

Lacks long range firearm weapons. In fact the only gun given to her in this blog(the rifle) is barely even held by her, much less fired. Really her having it is just me having good graces towards her.

Yuno far out crazies her.

Time travel experience is irrelevant, as characters in Higurashi barley remember anything from other timelines, if at all.

Yuno clocks more combat time overall in comparison to her. The opponents she fights and situations she’s put in are often much more over the top than Rena as well.

More of Rena’s weapons are more cumbersome or not meant for combat.

Can’t really do much to defend herself if Yuno’s god powers come into play somehow.

Verdict

Art by Saisettha7

Here’s the thing after watching both series, Rena really did not have a chance at winning this. It’s not necessarily her fault, but the way both Future diary and Higurashi are designed from a story standpoint just makes it more inclined for Yuno to have all the advantages.

You see Future diary is a “battle royal” series of sorts. The entire conflict is centered around fighting other characters to the death, with a unique time manipulation gimmick that leads to interesting cat and mouse games. Additionally Yuno was designed to be insane/psychotic from the get go, and her character is pretty much the crux of the entire storyline so you always get A LOT of focus on her.

In contrast Higurashi is more of a mystery horror type series. Conflicts aren’t constantly thrown in the viewer’s face as much, and when they happen it’s typically more spontaneous, and not the result of one side fighting an enemy they were aware of from the get go. Additionally despite common belief Rena was NOT designed to be outright crazy and actually isn’t given major focus in every arch.

Overall this discrepancy resulted in huge gap between the two in terms of arsenal, skills and abilities.

Yuno has a lot more weapons than Rena does, because she’s had to fight much more often and directly. Likewise she has a lot more weapons that are deadly/practical in a fight compared to Rena because of this.

Yuno has A LOT more physical feats and instances of mental aptitude to draw from because her series focuses on her almost constantly, while Rena has less to draw from because she’s only a major player in a few appearances.

Yuno’s opponents are more dangerous due to the fact they actively hunt her and have timey whimy devices, while Rena’s opponents are either incompetent or not exactly enemies outright.

This isn’t even bringing up the fact that Yuno technically has more life experience and “powers” due to being a god, in comparison to Rena who doesn’t remember most of her timeline resets and doesn’t such an equivalent if pushed into a corner.

In the end Yuno just has her outclassed in most major fields, including weaponry, physical feats and experience. Honestly the only reason why Rena can even compete is because I was fairly generous and gave her weapons from a non-canon spin off game and others she hasn’t really used outright.

The winner is Yuno Gasai