WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Platinum End Episode 19, "The Future of Humanity," now streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
Platinum End was initially a divine battle royale among 13 humans to decide the next God. However, the story has shifted gears after Metropoliman's final defeat and is now more akin to Death Note, a similar anime by the same creators. Mirai and his allies debate on who or what God even is and who should be the next one. Then Professor Yoneda appeared.
Now in Episode 19, Yoneda presents his own analysis of who and what God really is -- and his argument echoes a similar one made by Metropoliman not long before the latter's death. If Yoneda is correct, then the entire battle royale has been a sham this whole time.
Professor Yoneda doesn't claim to be a man of faith or a strict skeptic, presenting his findings based on evidence and rationality rather than bias. All the same, his arguments trend toward "there is no real God" -- at least, not the one described in the Judeo-Christian canon. Instead, Yoneda attempts to resolve the question of "did God create man or did man create God?" by arguing the latter. His findings show there is indeed a powerful divine being out there, the same one that sent these 13 angels to recruit God candidates. Yoneda operates based on evidence and observation rather than theology or skepticism, which leads to an interesting thesis statement: God is an entity created by humanity's collective faith.
The argument is that Platinum End's God is a passive being that relies on humanity to exist, almost like a parasite, and cannot answer prayers or cause miracles or anything else. God merely clings to humanity for survival, and with fewer people than ever believing in Him, He is in danger of disappearing entirely. For that reason, God needs people to believe again, therefore nominating a God candidate to take His place and maintain humanity's faith.
Such a being will inspire and comfort everyone who believes in Him, and will do no harm to those who don't. The angels such as Nasse and Revel cannot fully refute or confirm what Yoneda is saying, even if Revel previously upgraded his knowledge to become a first-rank angel. Platinum End's most intriguing issues remain unresolved for now, putting Mirai and the other five candidates in a tricky position. It's not entirely clear what they should do or even if Yoneda is correct -- in fact, he just might be wrong.
Yoneda's words echo similar sentiments from Uryu Kanade/Metropoliman, who also doubted the Judeo-Christian God and angels are what they claim to be. Metro posited the theory that they are ultra-advanced aliens or perhaps a cutting-edge government project, similar to how world governments are now trying to capture the God candidates and use them as assassins.
It's still not fully clear who or what God is, but Metro's and Yoneda's theories appear plausible, and it's true that God has not been seen doing much of anything. Mirai, Saki and the others have been taking the angels' word for it where God is concerned, and it appears that not even Nasse and Revel know the full story. Nasse might have told Mirai some half-truths or accidental lies, and the protagonist wouldn't even know it.
This situation reminds Mirai and the others how careful they must be. It seems someone must become the new God, and that person will be burdened with serious responsibility. They may become the first God that Judeo-Christian canon describes, an active being that actually looks after humanity rather than just feeding off of it.
Whoever becomes the next God may be the first of their kind, and will be in a position to totally reshape the world by their hands. It's up to them to either become an entity everyone would devoutly pray to for salvation, or a God they would fear as a divine tyrant who can crush humanity with a gesture. The stakes have never been higher in Platinum End and the throne of God has never felt emptier. It's no wonder Yoneda wanted to interview the candidates in person -- too much is on the line for everyone.
