WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Platinum End Episode 7, "Tower of Nightmare," now streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
So far in the heavenly battle royale to decide the next God, it's not the protagonist Mirai Kakehashi who's in the lead but instead his worst enemy, the armored Metropoliman. Unlike the pacifistic and unambitious Mirai, Metropoliman aims to win the battle royale by any means necessary, including using and throwing away innocent people as tools.
Metropoliman seems invincible to Mirai and his team, but in reality, tiny cracks begin to emerge in Metropoliman's psyche and tactics, and if this trend continues, Mirai's team may turn the tables and take advantage of what few weaknesses their armored foe has. However, so far, Mirai has failed to do so.
Metropoliman enjoyed a clear advantage when he fought the other God candidates at the Jinbo baseball stadium, and his next scheme brings him face to face with Mirai and the ex-soldier Nanato Mukaido at the Great Tower, where "Girl A" awaits. Metropoliman springs his newest trap, and at the cost of Girl A's life, he blows up the Tower, which injures Nanato and distracts Mirai's team. An all-out battle follows, where Mirai protects Nanato from Metropoliman's white arrow before fighting Metropoliman to a standstill. At that point, Metro escapes, and neither side has much to show for their efforts.
However, for Metro, this battle wasn't quite the perfect victory he wanted. He cost himself a valuable ally in Girl A, and his reckless and impatient tactics may cost him again in the future, preventing him from building up a cohesive, effective combat team to achieve victory. Moreover, while Metro gladly blew up the Great Tower as his opening move in this battle, he bluffs about destroying other buildings in the area, hoping that Mirai and Nanato will do whatever he says to prevent more loss of innocent lives. As Metro admits to his doctor ally later, he was lying about blowing up more buildings, and his tone suggests that under no circumstances would he go that far. For once, Mirai and Nanato beat Metro at his mind games, even if they can't win a battle of angelic arrows.
Metropoliman has his limits when it comes to bloody schemes and manipulating people, and even if those limits are rather extreme, it still proves that if Mirai and his allies work hard enough, they can get the edge on him. What's more, Metropoliman has his sentimental side, as a scene with his younger sister demonstrates. Metropoliman really does understand the pain of losing a loved one, and if Nanato learns more about Metro's little sister and the conditions surrounding her demise, Mirai's team may be able to apply serious psychological pressure on Metro, perhaps appealing to what little good can be found in him. Even hardened anime villains sometimes back off or change their minds when the battle becomes personal.
Metropoliman also seems to care for his friends, such as a classmate at his private school who has the shallow but heartfelt desire to be the most handsome man in a world populated by beautiful girls. Metropoliman even tried to alter Girl A's vicious behavior to reflect that goal, which suggests that if Mirai's team can track down and make contact with Metro's classmate, they can use that classmate as leverage. It's conceivable that Metro may simply kill his classmate to get rid of that liability, but then again, he might not. Nothing is known for certain yet, but by now, there is a real and clear possibility that Nanato, Mirai and Saki can take down Metropoliman not in battle, but through his heart.
