Manga Review: Platinum End, Volume 10, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: December 2019

Volumes: 12+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 9. 11.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the creators of Death Note! Mirai may have been saved by an angel, but his battle is just beginning…

As his classmates celebrate their middle school graduation, troubled Mirai is mired in darkness. But his battle is just beginning when he receives some salvation from above in the form of an angel. Now Mirai is pitted against 12 other chosen humans in a battle in which the winner becomes the next god of the world. Mirai has an angel in his corner, but he may need to become a devil to survive.

Thanks to Susumu’s TV announcement, the whole world now knows about the existence of the god candidates. Mirai and his friends find themselves being targeted by all kinds of government agencies. Their safety hinges on the ability to locate the remaining hidden candidates and put an end to the process. But the mysterious final god candidate might have their own dark plans…

Review:

The hunt to join all of the god candidates is on. The group meets Nakaumi, the depressed boy who believes suicide is right. He's all around a very depressing character. Honestly, it's hard to like any of the characters in this series.

They also get closer to meeting Temari, who's in lock up. And apparently they want a democratic solution to choosing which one of them gets to be god, though that means things might not be going in Mirai's direction.

This series is kind of hard to take. It's depressing, and crudely so. All of the characters are pretty despicable in their own way, or dumb/naive in the women's case.

There's still one candidate that's a mystery, and it looks like he'll be next to be dealt with.

Meh.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Platinum End, Volume 9, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July 2019

Volume: 12+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 8. 10.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the creators of Death Note! Mirai may have been saved by an angel, but his battle is just beginning…

As his classmates celebrate their middle school graduation, troubled Mirai is mired in darkness. But his battle is just beginning when he receives some salvation from above in the form of an angel. Now Mirai is pitted against 12 other chosen humans in a battle in which the winner becomes the next god of the world. Mirai has an angel in his corner, but he may need to become a devil to survive.

With Metropoliman finally defeated, Mirai and Saki try to enjoy a moment of reprieve. But with other god candidates still out there, it’s only a matter of time before their peace is shattered!

Review:

This boy candidate, Susumu, takes all of the attention as he goes on TV and announces to the world what's going on. This also gives the government most of the information they need, and puts everyone on the suspect and danger list.

Saki and Mirai have to be careful about their next steps from here on out, and this causes some changes. At one point Saki proposes that they both just run away, disappear so that no one can find them and they don't have to do any of this any more. Honestly, it's the smartest idea anyone here has had, so of course they don't do that.

The angels have a meeting in this volume. It still makes me wonder at their motivation and what this is really about—but it also doesn't seem to help anything? It's another interesting point how media and technology is being used in this series. That's a definite theme here, of how it's implemented and how it is affecting the course of this competition.

I wouldn't say I'm rooting for anyone in this series at this point, and I would even say I dislike all of them. I'm definitely not rooting for anyone to win at this point. It's also definitely starting to feel even more like Death Note, now that the police are getting involved.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Platinum End, Volume 8, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: April 2019

Volumes: 11+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 7. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the creators of Death Note! Mirai may have been saved by an angel, but his battle is just beginning...

As his classmates celebrate their middle school graduation, troubled Mirai is mired in darkness. But his battle is just beginning when he receives some salvation from above in the form of an angel. Now Mirai is pitted against 12 other chosen humans in a battle in which the winner becomes the next god of the world. Mirai has an angel in his corner, but he may need to become a devil to survive.

Review:

The conclusion of the fight with Metropoliman has two things we all saw coming, but throws in another twist at the end. While it looks like Mirai is getting closer to the end of this fight, there's still several more competitors he hasn't even come across yet. The reader has gotten a hint of who the next one will be, who had a hand in how this one ended, but there's still a lot of questions around that.

Saki attempts to progress the romance with Mirai, but she's still under his arrow, which complicates things. It's honestly a little weird, seeing them having such sweet and intimate conversations with each other, with the angels floating above them. That would make me so uncomfortable.

I'm intrigued to see where this God fight goes next, and particularly what the angels are up to. The religious aspect of this really makes me wonder sometimes, so I try to ignore that.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Platinum End, Volume 7, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: December 2018

Volumes: 11+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 6. 8.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the creators of Death Note! Mirai may have been saved by an angel, but his battle is just beginning…

As his classmates celebrate their middle school graduation, troubled Mirai is mired in darkness. But his battle is just beginning when he receives some salvation from above in the form of an angel. Now Mirai is pitted against 12 other chosen humans in a battle in which the winner becomes the next god of the world. Mirai has an angel in his corner, but he may need to become a devil to survive.

With Mirai and Mukaido trapped in a mirror house at an abandoned amusement part, Metropoliman thinks he’s won. But Mirai has one last desperate plan!

Review:

Mirai is still in the stand-off with the crazy woman as the volume starts, with everyone around him analyzing his potential moves. Honestly, the stand-off goes on for a weird amount of time, where he's just holding the woman's arm, deciding whether he can kill her or not. And then in a weirdly slow-motion-like dramatic move, everyone moves and tries to protect each other, and the conclusion is very much not surprising.

But then this leads to just another stand-off, now between Mirai and Metropoliman. This is also a weird to-the-death stand-off. During this, at least, we get a backstory on Metropoliman. We see what led him to suicide and thus the angel offering him this chance. It's, uh... just as disturbing as expected, I would say. This whole sequence also includes him broadcasting the battle, and declaring to the world what he intends to do once he's God—you know, kill off all the poor and ugly people.

This whole series is rather disturbing, particularly a few of the characters. Women are treated as side-pieces, essentially. The whole battles are shown in such a weird, dramatic way. I also don't quite get the whole social-media aspect; I will admit it makes sense in the modern times, and I can see the added aspect of tension and drama. It played a role in Death Note, as well. I don't mind it, and I can appreciate it's significance, but I wonder if it's necessary.

I really don't care for this series, as a whole, but I was surprisingly interested in the latter half of this volume. To the point that I actually want to know what happens next. So there's that.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Platinum End, Volume 6, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2018

Volumes: 9+

Spoilers?: Light, for the beginning.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the creators of Death Note! Mirai may have been saved by an angel, but his battle is just beginning…

As his classmates celebrate their middle school graduation, troubled Mirai is mired in darkness. But his battle is just beginning when he receives some salvation from above in the form of an angel. Now Mirai is pitted against 12 other chosen humans in a battle in which the winner becomes the next god of the world. Mirai has an angel in his corner, but he may need to become a devil to survive.

With Mirai and Mukaido trapped in a mirror house at an abandoned amusement park, Metropoliman thinks he’s won. But Mirai has one last desperate plan!

Review:

I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that Saki gets to jump in and help save them at the last minute. I don't know if it's good or bad that she ends up distracting the crazy guy, though, in an effort to save them. Is that empowering? (I think not?) In a way, it's so obvious that it's annoying.

After they pull one over on the crazy guy, metropoliman gets to throw an even worse ultimatum at the pair. It's a no-good-choice situation, at least until Mirai figures out a way around it.

I don't care for any of these characters. I'm not a big fan of the plot line, either, and the villains are kind of annoying.

I don't know. I'm not impressed.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Platinum End, Volume 5, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: April 2018

Volumes: 8+

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the creators of Death Note! Mirai may have been saved by an angel, but his battle is just beginning…

As his classmates celebrate their middle school graduation, troubled Mirai is mired in darkness. But his battle is just beginning when he receives some salvation from above in the form of an angel. Now Mirai is pitted against 12 other chosen humans with the winner becoming the next god of the world. Mirai may have an angel in his corner, but he may need to become a devil to survive.

Determined to become a useful member of the team, Saki explores ways she can gain her own set of angel wings. Meanwhile, a new god candidate makes his grand entrance. Is this one friend or foe?

Review:

We meet a new enemy in this volume, another God contender. He's... not quite what I expected.

I think it's an interesting touch to have a villain who stutters over his words and actually worships the main enemy. All of the plastic surgery he's had, and his obsessions, are rather disturbing.

I can't help but feel unimpressed with the main characters. They're not all that intimidating, and honestly, they don't seem all that smart when they go to fight, either. The two guys are leading it and planning, but then they just rush into the threatening situations without an actual plan, and seem to go off of their reactions. It just doesn't feel very smart to me.

From the end of the last volume, and the first half of this one, I appreciate that Saki seems to be growing confidence and determination to win, or at least help fight now. After all that, it bothers me that they put so much emphasis on her having wings. I understand she'd be on an even playing field then, but she can still run around. She could drive to the meet up place and help fight. I think she's probably going to miraculously get the wings to help save them in the next volume, though. Or at least pretty soon.

I suppose Metropoliman seems the smartest, most capable character at this point, but he's also awful.

I'm not all that impressed, honestly, but it can be an interesting read.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Platinum End, Volume 4, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: December 2017

Volumes: 8+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the creators of Death Note! Mirai may have been saved by an angel, but his battle is just beginning…

As his classmates celebrate their middle school graduation, troubled Mirai is mired in darkness. But his battle is just beginning when he receives some salvation from above in the form of an angel. Now Mirai is pitted against 12 other chosen humans in a battle in which the winner becomes the next god of the world. Mirai has an angel in his corner, but he may need to become a devil to survive.

Mirai and and the merciless Metropoliman face off for the first time. In order to achieve his goals, Mirai will have to kill his rival. But does he have it in him? Meanwhile, Saki battles her own demons…

Review:

The first part of the volume continues the fight with the god killer. He's brutal and has more up his sleeve than they even think. It gets dangerous and bad at one point, and Mirai gets a glimpse of who he is. Even that isn't much to go on, though.

It's reinforced to Mirai here, that he doesn't want to fight. He feels weak for it, but he's a pacifist; he doesn't want anyone to get hurt and he doesn't want to hurt anyone. It's a difficult stance to take in this kind of fight.

The latter half of the volume is focused on Saki. We find out what led her to being a candidate for this, and what thoughts are still going through her head. Mirai takes a good route at making her deal with her suicidal thoughts here; a bit dramatic, but it works.

I'm not a big fan of this series, but I don't mind it. It's interesting, though I still have a hard time believing in the god plot line they're working toward.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Platinum End, Volume 3, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2017

Volumes: 6+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the creators of Death Note! Mirai may have been saved by an angel, but his battle is just beginning
As his classmates celebrate their middle school graduation, troubled Mirai is mired in darkness. But his battle is just beginning when he receives some salvation from above in the form of an angel. Now Mirai is pitted against 12 other chosen humans with the winner becoming the next god of the world. Mirai may have an angel in his corner, but he may need to become a devil to survive.
With the tragic events at the baseball stadium behind them, Mirai and Saki plan their next move. But can they trust a new god candidate who asks to join their side? And when the god candidate disguised as Metropoliman launches his next attack, Mirai will have to make a difficult choice!"

Review:

I missed a volume, and now we seem to have discovered a couple more of the god candidates. There's one guy who's leading something big and trying to pick off the other candidates, and cause chaos. Then there's Mirai, who's working with Saki and Mukaido, strategizing on how to deal with the other enemy. They're working together, and the other one is just trying to goad them out. And it works.

I feel like there's more behind the angels' motivation than is being shown, that there's something else going on. If there's not, then I really don't understand their motivation and what side they're really on. They don't seem that angelic to me.

The plot in this series seems odd to me, but maybe I just don't really understand this. Then there's that big twist at the end, which went much farther than I expected it to. This series seems rather similar to Death Note, to me. And it's just okay.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Platinum End, Volume 1, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: October 4, 2016

Volumes: 4+

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Troubled Mirai’s life changes when he gains the power of an angel, but he may need to become a devil to survive in the battle against others just like him!

As his classmates celebrate their middle school graduation, troubled Mirai is mired in darkness. But his battle is just beginning when he receives some salvation from above in the form of an angel. Now Mirai is pitted against 12 other chosen humans in a battle in which the winner becomes the next god of the world. Mirai has an angel in his corner, but he may need to become a devil to survive.

Mirai's once-great life turned to hell after his family was killed in a mysterious accident. But now that an angel is on his side, things might be looking up. With his newly received angelic powers, can Mirai get over his tragic past and find true happiness…?

Review:

Having enjoyed Death Note, I was intrigued to pick this up and see what their newest series would be like. Obata does do very pretty artwork, and it's used nicely here.

The story starts with our protagonist clearly dissatisfied with his life and deciding to commit suicide. He even jumps, and is then saved by an angel, who gives him special powers in order to make sure he's happy in life. We quickly find out there's more to it than that, and he's actually been chosen to enter a contest to become God, though Mirai doesn't think he wants anything to do with that.

The morality of good and evil here is very skewed, and I'm confused as to what that's going to reveal later. The angel, who looks like a cute girl angel, is very excited and nice to Mirai, though forgetful. Mirai is also a very good guy; given the powers he now has, he doesn't want to hurt anyone, no matter how badly they've treated him. But the angel doesn't have any problem with him committing crimes, and even urges him to do so under the pretense it will make him happier. It's unsettling, to say the least.

The volume ends on a cliffhanger, in which Mirai meets another angel and is attacked (possibly good? possibly not going to do anything to him?). I'm intrigued by this series so far, and though there are similar ideas or setups to Death Note, I am hoping to read more of it.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Wishlist Thursday[178]: Platinum End by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Platinum End by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: October 4, 2016

Volumes: 3+

Buy it here: Amazon.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Troubled Mirai’s life changes when he gains the power of an angel, but he may need to become a devil to survive in the battle against others just like him!

As his classmates celebrate their middle school graduation, troubled Mirai is mired in darkness. But his battle is just beginning when he receives some salvation from above in the form of an angel. Now Mirai is pitted against 12 other chosen humans in a battle in which the winner becomes the next god of the world. Mirai has an angel in his corner, but he may need to become a devil to survive.

Mirai's once-great life turned to hell after his family was killed in a mysterious accident. But now that an angel is on his side, things might be looking up. With his newly received angelic powers, can Mirai get over his tragic past and find true happiness…?

Why?:

I am a fan of Deathnote, as well as a couple others of theirs I think, so I’m intrigued by this. It sounds dark, and very interesting. The cover is very pretty. I’m hoping to pick up a copy at some point.

What’s on your list?