As I noted in the comments earlier this week, Mirai Nikki was a series that was actually pretty smart and subtle, but was able to pass itself off as a piece of trashy pulp – and Platinum End is a trashy piece of pulp that isn’t all that smart trying to act like it is.  Yet that said, it is fun – it has something in common with the mangakas’ Death Note to be sure, but it really is something akin to a remake of Mirai Nikki.  To the extent that it makes you wonder if it’s intended as a homage (especially given the MC’s name) or it just so bald-faced about being a clone that it doesn’t care.

In Ashirogi Muto’s version of the story, Metrpoliman is the key plot driver, the master of events.  In orchestrating this grand farce at Jingu Stadium, he seems to be willing to toss away his positive public image in return for the opportunity to thin the herd of competition.  You have to admire his audacity – he sets a trap he knows his enemies cannot possibly think isn’t a trap, and trusts them not to be able to resist the temptation to walk right into it.  And it certainly worked, since at least five that we know of have done just that.

Mirai and Saki have at least had the sense not to reveal themselves – so far.  The two boobs who took the bait first were the necessary first domino to fall for Metropoliman’s plan.  Its obvious that neither of these guys are the sharpest knives in the drawer, but Metro’s deal of planting arrowed fake versions of himself all over the place is hardly Machiavellian in its deviousness.  This is really the low-hanging fruit portion of the proceedings – Hatekayama and Tabuchi to be precise, who see an opportunity where none exists and get themselves offed in the process.

Metrpoliman isn’t going to stop there, of course.  The little girl Chiyo who begs to join their team is far too useful a tool not to be used.  Once she and Tabuchi have been shot with the red arrows she’s the perfect bait to lure out any candidates still under cover.  We know for sure that applies to Mirai and Saki, and there’s only so much the two of them can take before being goaded into action.  Right now Metropoliman is operating at a different level of sophistication than any of the other candidates, but if things stayed that way you wouldn’t have much of a story.