In hindsight I think it would have been really interesting for Obata and Ohba to make Platinum End a series about the angels rather than the humans.  In one fell swoop making the angels the main characters and the humans the adjuncts would have insulated it against the (not unfair) charge that it’s overly derivative of both Mirai Nikki and their own Death Note.  But more than that, I think it would have been a much more compelling story, because the angels are much more engaging than the human characters.  It’s as if Ohba put a little more of himself into writing for them, where with the human cast he was – and let’s be brutally frank here – pretty obviously going through the motions.

I have a lot of respect for Ashirogi Muto, so I spent a fair amount of time in reading Platinum End trying to search for its hidden depths – to convince myself that there was something meta or subversive about something that seemed so cynically unoriginal.  It was with the arrival of Hajime that I pretty much gave up the ghost, though.  It’s not for me to speculate on the motives of veteran mangaka who’ve obviously seen far too much about how the sausage is made in the manga industry, especially at Jump.  But it was pretty clear by this point that they weren’t going for anything redemptive or even meaningful.

That leaves us with the pure spectacle having to carry the day – that or the trainwreck appeal.  And in those respects Platinum End is not without its allure, especially in an anime with a really good cast and some inclination to at least try and highlight the entertaining bits and minimize the really weatherworn and ghastly.  If nothing else Ohba is pretty clearly unafraid to write whatever the hell he wants, and established enough to cram it down the editor’s throat.  That doesn’t make the prospect of Mirai and Nanato flying around a mirror house for hours any less ridiculous (that was really the best plan you could come up with?), and that illustrates the wafer-thin line Platinum End is trying to walk.

Revel leveling up because he shed tears is easily the most interesting element of the episode.  I enjoy Revel – his intensely neurotic nature is very relatable for me – so it was fun to see him achieve his dream basically on the strength of embracing his own frailties.  In practical terms it means Revel is Red Bull and Saki can now join the fray, which shakes up the dynamic at the theme park (thank goodness).  I’ll give Hajime credit for this much, his loyalty to Metropoliman – though no less misplaced – is strong enough to resist the red arrow.  Only for a while though – the cat ears and tail (yeah Mukaido-san, we totally believe those were practically necessary) are too much even for his bromance to withstand…