WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Platinum End Episode 6, "Two Painful Options," now streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
The heavenly battle royale continues, but Mirai Kakehashi, the candidate chosen by the playful angel Nesse, has even bigger problems than the other God candidates and their arrows. Mirai has become his own worst enemy, and in the most recent episode, he struggles to decide what he should do and how to do it.
Mirai is in no condition to fight anyone, especially not his archnemesis Metropoliman, and his desire to live a life of innocent happiness clashes sharply with his commitment to win this bloody battle royale. If Mirai cannot resolve this issue soon, Metropoliman's victory is assured.
Mirai already knows what the red and white arrows are capable of, and when he used them on his aunt and uncle, he felt disgusted by his newfound powers and vowed to not use them unless absolutely necessary. Mirai has since established himself as a borderline pacifist, unwilling to use force on anyone. In the current episode, he tells his new ally Nanato Mukaido that he would rather be deceived than deceive others, and even rather die than kill someone. This contrasts with Nanato, who isn't brutal but is still willing to use force and advanced battle strategies to take the fight to Metropoliman. Mirai refuses to use the white arrows and similarly refused to accept a pistol from Nanato, who once served in Japan's Self Defense Force.
Mirai's pacifistic attitude was sorely tested during Metropoliman's stunt in the Jinbo baseball stadium. At the time, Metropoliman was threatening to kill a girl to whom he had granted angel wings, and Mirai nearly came to her defense until he was told not to. Mirai's pacifistic approach does have its limits, but only extreme distress will provoke Mirai to take action like that. In the next battle against Metropoliman at the Great Tower in Tokyo, there won't be any innocent bystanders, meaning Mirai will probably fail to find a reason to use force. He'll use arrows to defend innocent children, but probably not himself.
Metropoliman uses the media once again to provoke the other God candidates, this time baiting them into confronting the murderous "Girl A" atop the Great Tower in Tokyo -- a battle venue that only winged God candidates can reach. This time, everyone involved will be a fighter, with no innocent civilians for Mirai to rescue, meaning Mirai must either travel there as a warrior or not at all. Not even his crush Saki will be there. If Mirai joins Nanato at the Great Tower, he must be ready to go on the offensive for the first time, and sure enough, he dons a suit of armor courtesy of Nanato and departs for the Great Tower. Mirai prepares a red arrow, hoping to hit Metropoliman with it and end the battle without shedding blood.
However, it's clear that Mirai's resolve is weak, and his mind is conflicted. Nanato asks Mirai to imagine a scenario where Metropoliman is about to kill Saki with a white arrow and Mirai must quickly decide what to do. Even in such a dire situation, Mirai cannot bring himself to immediately use the white arrow, and he imagines himself hesitating and weighing his options. Too late -- in this situation, Metropoliman would shoot Saki while Mirai is thinking things over, and the battle would be lost. Just imagining all that brings Mirai to his knees, and Nanato decides not to push things further.
If Mirai can't even imagine using the white arrow to kill Metropliman in Saki's defense, his battle performance against the real Metropoliman will no doubt suffer, and he must either make expert use of the red arrow, allowing Nanato to deal the lethal blow, or face total defeat. Mirai must reconcile his pacifist goal with his role in the battle royale here and now, or everyone will pay the price. Nanato and Saki can't afford to have a liability like Mirai on their side.
