WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Platinum End Episode 19, "The Future of Humanity," now streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
Recent episodes of Platinum End suggest that the Judeo-Christian God might not be what humanity believed, which came as a shock to protagonist Kakehashi Mirai and his allies. They expected God to be an all-powerful being who created humanity, but Professor Yoneda has argued the opposite -- that man created God.
It's not entirely clear if Yoneda is correct, but his argument not only echoes a similar claim made by Metropoliman, but also the curses that inhabit the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. In the latter anime, humans definitely created monsters with their emotions, and this has serious implications for both shonen series. Mirai and Yuji Itadori aren't just fighting monsters -- they are fighting humanity's very nature.
When Humanity Creates Its Own Monsters
The monsters are a natural part of the world in some fantasy anime, such as the demons in InuYasha and the ghouls of Tokyo Ghoul. In series such as Platinum End and Jujutsu Kaisen, however, humanity creates its own monsters, often by accident. Platinum End's recent developments suggest that rather than being humanity's creator, God is a benevolent parasitic entity that mankind created with collective prayers and belief, an amalgamation of human imagination.
This passive God relies on humanity's belief to exist, and if it were to die out or lose all faith, then this God would vanish entirely, never to return. Thus, God began the divine battle royale to choose a successor whom the entire world could believe in, and in so doing, ensure its own continued existence. In that sense, God is a very human thing, if Yoneda's theory is correct.
Similarly in Jujutsu Kaisen, curses such as Mahito, Jogo and Hanami only exist because curses are birthed from humanity's negative emotions. That's why stronger curses exist at sites where people often feel the worst, such as hospitals. Here again, humanity created its own monsters, and curses could not have existed otherwise.
According to the human-hating Mahito's genocidal plan, it's possible for existing curses to survive even if humanity were wiped out, but not even he can deny that they owe humanity for their very existence. Curses are not a natural species -- they are a reflection of humanity's darkest side. Like the parasitic God in Platinum End, that makes them unexpectedly human, no matter what they look like or how much they hate their creators.
What This Means For Platinum End's Mirai & Jujutsu Kaisen's Yuji
Both Platinum End and Jujutsu Kaisen present worlds where humanity is unwittingly responsible for everything supernatural happening to them -- either the benevolent parasitic God or the malevolent curses -- proving that in the end, humanity is both its own best hope and worst enemy. Humans are the dominant force on Earth, and are responsible for the best and worst of things that happen, often in supernatural ways. The dual nature of humanity created both sides in the conflict of good and evil without even realizing it, as the existence of Mahito and the parasitic God prove.
Thus, Mirai and Yuji are battling human nature itself, and both will learn that humanity is not monolithic. This species is capable of anything, and their battles against evil God candidates or curses is just a reflection of humanity grappling with its own dual nature. Jujutsu Kaisen and Platinum End suggest that so long as humanity exists, so will these conflicts, and there may never be a true winner.
No matter how many curses Yuji destroys, more will be birthed by negative human emotions, and even if Mirai becomes the next God, he must ensure humanity always has faith in the existence of such a being. The best stories are about human nature in its infinite forms, and Yuji and Mirai are learning that for themselves. Their battle is an eternal one, but one always worth fighting.
