Platinum End

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

Simply put, Platinum End is a story about a boy who commits suicide, but is saved by an angel so that he may participate in a battle royale to become God.

Disclaimer: Platinum End takes a very cynical view on the concept of God. If you love listening to Pastor Dave preach every Sunday, I would not recommend this to you.

Tl;dr
Platinum End is philosophical and presents interesting questions on the role of God, but suffers from a lack of character depth. However, I thought it was interesting and I think you should give it a chance and read with the ... role of God in mind.

The story is written by Tsugumi Ohba, the critically acclaimed writer of Death Note and Bakuman. In terms of story telling, Platinum End does not reach the intimacy that Death Note and Bakuman.
Platinum End is set in modern society, so there is little world building. Thus, it heavily relies on the characters for most of its story. There is a great emphasis on specifically human psychology and their outlook on life. Topics such as greed, depression, cynicism, etc. are used as a means to question the role of God. Many of them come off as simple and one-dimensional, but not out of place.
The story heavily relies on the dialogue between these characters who have all decided to take their life and are chosen because of their dissatisfaction with the world. The core theme that this manga centers on is the role of God. How should God act in the face of cruelty and injustice? Should God intervene to make humans happy? And specifically, What is God?

The art is by Takeshi Obata, the same artist that partnered with Ohba on Death Note and Bakuman. If you love his art style, there is more of it here! The art style is definitely not as radical as Death Note nor perky like Bakuman. It is more somber and blurred compared to his previous works.

From here on out, I'm going to take a more polar stance on this manga.
Personally, I found myself realizing that the scope of this manga is too big for its own good. That's not to say that it's terrible.
First, characters in this manga are shallow. But I believe this was intentional and too much of it would take away from the core themes that Ohba was trying to establish.
Second, this manga handles its main character in a somewhat unorthodox way. It establishes Mirai as a depressed main character, but he rapidly turns into a messiah character. I found him to be somewhat unrelatable toward the end. A similar thing happens with the main heroine and I believe that most readers would loose interest because of it.
Third, the angels literally do next to nothing for the story other than being a plot device. There is little to no character building for them which I believe is a missed opportunity.

Overall, I thought it was a fun read and the somewhat open-ended? ending was interesting.

After the terrible and untimely passing of his parents and younger brother, Mirai was forced to live with his violent uncle and aunt. Later, he makes the decision to terminate his life before being spared and granted a second opportunity by Nasse, one of the thirteen angels sent by God. She tells him that before the old God retires in nine hundred and ninety days, he must compete against twelve other God contenders. From this point on, Mirai must start again and determine whether or not his second shot at life is worth fighting for.

The characteristics of the characters were all very different from one ... another; some of them have been seen often yet are still vaguely recognizable in other works of media. Not too intricate nor too stale.

The music had a heavenly aspect to it while also capturing a tense turn of events that helped to portray the tone of the story's locale and characters. Notable figures include the legendary Metropoliman, in particular, with his hidden identity, past, and moral convictions of trying to succeed in becoming the next God and Mirai confessing his true feelings and relationship for Saki.

The speed and resolution were the only issues I had with the manga and anime. Viewers and series aficionados disagree on whether the finale itself was satisfactory. Some of the story's episodes' pacing and storyline developments were enjoyable and manageable to follow, while other episodes seemed to be either moving too slowly or too quickly for me to fully absorb.

Overall, some may advise avoiding this entry due to its weak plot, unlikable characters, and recurring moral themes from Tsugumi Ohba's earlier works; however, if you like Tsugumi Ohba's numerous works, including Death Note, Bakuman, and many more, as well as anime that features life-or-death encounters between people in desperate situations where participation is either required or encouraged, I would consider giving this piece of artwork a chance.

Platinum end is a bizarre manga, and an interesting failure.

Story (3/10): The plot of platinum end starts out as a death game/sentai parody. It's an exaggerated action manga that is played mostly serious. It has its moments but ultimately just feels over the top in its set pieces and gore, with a cast bizarre side characters who don't last very long. They aren't entertaining and some are just unpleasant to read about, namely the 'ugly' guy and the 'disease' girl.

However half way through there is a direction change, and the plot becomes more of a slow paced political thriller with some moral and philosophical arguments. ... During this time it becomes fairly boring and is a series of confrontations that lead to nothing. After the entire series builds up to a certain event it finishes off with a weak anti-climax and one of the worst endings I've ever seen in a manga in the very last chapter. Some unanswered questions remain so I wonder if the ending was rushed because of declining sales.

Art (9/10): Obata seems to have put some of his best work in his whole career in Platinum end, and that's saying something considering his track record. In the first half of the series the panel style is similar to in Bakuman, with a lot of creative panel shapes and dramatic drawings. At points it is overwhelming and confusing to look at. After the direction change half way through, the panels become more straight and the art less dramatic, it kind of loses it's steam, but still is excellent throughout.

Character (3/10): The characters are extremely weak. The protagonist is very annoying with his refusal to give up his ideals in the beginning. He 'develops' into a boring, passive shell of a character. The heroine of the series and main love interest isn't interesting either and is basically a non-entity after her character arc at the start. Many other characters appear but usually only briefly and are pretty one note. The two main antagonists of the series are weak as well. The first is stereotypical and the second is one-note and boring. Neither of them have motivations that make much sense.

Enjoyment (2/10): This is the preachiest series I have ever read. Multiple times characters will go on long rants about moral or philosophical arguments. But what is conveyed isn't deep or interesting. The themes are basically outright told to the reader multiple times, but they aren't even good. You might think that a manga with lots of moral and philosophical arguments would be interesting, but it's obvious the author doesn't understand the arguments and just reads like someone talking to themselves while missing the whole point. This series is just a massive slog that thinks it is far more intelligent than it actually is.