WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Platinum End up until Episode 14, now streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
Platinum End is a fantasy thriller series by the same creators as Death Note, although these two series have their differences, from the attitudes of the main characters to the nature of the supernatural beings who aid them. For a time, Platinum End mainly focused on the action between God candidates, but that's not all the series has to offer.
Platinum End has plenty of Death Note DNA in it, and earlier in the series, the God candidates exchanged tricks and threats rather than arrows and they even used the media to their advantage, as Light and L often did in Death Note. Now that the battle with Metropoliman is finally won, this series' Death Note side may shine through once again.
Platinum End's Overlap With Death Note
Platinum End is far from a Death Note clone, but all the same, the creators made sure to recycle some of their best tricks and themes for this new series, and not just the Biblical themes that were interwoven into Death Note. Anytime Platinum End's main characters aren't exchanging bullets or angelic arrows in battle, they're engaging in a battle of wits on the news or with sneaky hostage schemes to manipulate one another and lure their enemies into traps.
Early on, the villainous Metropoliman did this, appearing on the news to lure Mirai, Saki and the other candidates to the Jinbo baseball stadium and dispose of them. Metro also used a fellow candidate, a middle school-aged girl, and a decoy to throw off his enemies and strike them down at the last moment. Yagami Light and L have certainly pulled stunts like that before.
Later on, Metropoliman used "Girl A" to draw Mirai and Nanato into a trap at the Great Tower of Tokyo by using the news once again, and after that, Metro used Sokotani Hajime to take Nanato's family hostage to manipulate the heroes, just like Mello taking Yagami Sayu hostage in Death Note. This led to the longest and bloodiest battle yet in Platinum End, and now that Metropoliman and Nanato are both dead, the battle of wits may resume, especially when the young Yuito Susumu makes his move on TV.
How The Battle Of Wits Is Heating Up In Platinum End
Platinum End never forgot its Death Note roots, and during the fierce battle against Metropoliman, the crafty Yuito Susumu was already making his move. He actually wanted Metro to perish so that he could claim Metro's angelic gifts and material possessions for himself, which he did in a recent episode. And that wasn't Susumu's only clever move. Susumu also went live on TV to reveal the entire God candidacy battle to the world and change it from a violent battle royale to an election -- something no one saw coming.
Susumu wants the public to decide who should become God among the six remaining candidates, and the pacifistic Mirai wouldn't dare shoot Susumu with a white arrow to protect himself from this unexpected twist. Now Mirai must fight a new kind of battle -- one that he and his ally Saki might not be ready for. They aren't the cleverest God candidates, and while Revel is a smart angel, he can only provide information, not fight the battle of wits on Saki's behalf.
Meanwhile, an unknown agency, possibly the Japanese NPA, is investigating Metropoliman and the battle royale as a whole, and they seem to be getting closer to the truth by the day. Two investigators, a man and woman, visited the amusement park battlefield in a recent episode and found Uryu Kanade's severed head, which should give them a huge lead on who Metropoliman was and possibly find leads on the other candidates as well.
It's clear that this organization has vast resources at its disposal, and in their HQ, the investigators are constantly monitoring the news, such as when Susumu made his move. The investigators also have a lead on Susumu's school. If they corner the young Susumu, the chaotic battle of wits may take an unexpected turn, and the God candidates might all be branded criminals, wanted by the NPA. If so, Mirai and the others will have yet another battle on their hands -- and Nanato isn't around to bail Mirai and Saki out of this one.
