Platinum End Review
Chapters 1 -18

Hm.

I think the proof to some degree is in the pudding here. The fact that I don't see many people reading or talking about a new series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (the creators of Death Note and Bakuman, but I think you all know that). These are some of the biggest names in the game and yet people don't seem to be taking much of any notice at al in the couple of years since this series started.

At first, I was a bit confused as to why this was the case, the first volume (Chapters 1 - 3) are actually very good, they build a lot of tension, have some great Ohba twists, and set up a dark, gritty and realistic tone for the rest of the series, despite the magical premise. But even still there are problems that were apparent there, such as the premise being exactly the same as Future Diary, and that, at points it felt a little close to a Death Note re-hash.

However in Chapter 6, it all really goes to shit. A bunch of these God candidates meet up at a stadium in these ridiculous overblown sequence, with Kamen Rider-esque suits to boot. It's truly absurd for many reasons, not least of which the unnecessary costumes that just paint the show as silly.

There also comes in the problem of the larger world, in Death Note, the way the world reacted to Kira was a big drive in the story, he kept himself hidden but had to really watch his back, but here in Platinum End, there have been a bunch of people suddenly flying around, killing people by pointing at them, and all sorts of other shenanigans. But no one seems to be doing anything about it, it feels like the only characters that exist in this world are the main ones, everything else just bends around their story.

So you're probably thinking at this point, why is my score positive (if only slightly) if I have so many problems with the series, well, for one Obata is just such a great artist, the panel structure is often very engaging and the way he adds detail in the characters for tense moments works brilliantly and can make some very simple images very disturbing.

And the characters, at least some of them, do quite a lot for me. The fact that the God candidates are chosen from people who are about to kill themselves, who can't take the world as it is, is a really good idea, and we get a cast of totally damaged, broken characters. I know a lot of the anime/manga community doesn't like these types of characters, but I really do. I love that Mirai has genuine conflict over whether to kill, and the chapter where Saki tells him how she really feels is fantastic, probably my favourite part of the whole series.

And still Ohba can create a compelling structure, the twists pull you through even if there is not much else really going for the narrative.

I think Platinum End is a pretty big disappointment so far, but I don't think I'll drop it, a little bit of Obata's art each month never hurt anyone.