Platinum End: Volume 4 manga review

Platinum End Graphic Novel Volume 4 cover image

Mirai Kakehashi, an orphan, is tired of life, so he attempts suicide by jumping from the roof of a building.  Instead of dying, Mirai is saved by an angel named Nasse.  Through her, Mirai learns that 13 humans have been chosen as candidates to replace God.  Each has a guardian angel, and Nasse is Mirai's, but one candidate is hunting the rest.

As Platinum End, Vol. 4 (Chapters 10 to 12) opens, Mirai and fellow “God” candidate, Nanato Mukaido, who is dying of cancer, take on the powerful “God” candidate, Metropoliman, who masquerades as a superhero to the general public.  The battle is intense, as Metropoliman is quite powerful, but some of it goes well for Mirai and Mukaido.  However, Mirai realizes that he really does not want to kill anyone.  Meanwhile, Saki Hanakago, a longtime friend of Mirai's and a “God” candidate, has her own personal problems.

THE LOWDOWN:  The Platinum End manga is another eccentric creation from mangaka duo of writer Tsugumi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata.  This acclaimed team also created the controversial Death Note manga and the industry insider manga, Bakuman。, and this is as strong as the duo's other work.

Platinum End Graphic Novel Volume 4 opens with an occasionally blood-curdling battle.  Afterwards, the story turns intense in a personal way, which shows how complicated Mirai and Saki's personal lives are.  I don't want to say “hot mess,” but their pasts are filled with mess... that has been heated, at times.  So, this volume is a turning point in the narrative, and regular readers will want to go platinum.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers looking for good comic books will want to read Ohba and Obata's latest Shonen Jump title, Platinum End.

A
8 out of 10