REVIEW: ‘Platinum End,’ Episode 10 – “Where the Tears Go”

Platinum End is a dark fantasy shonen anime produced by Signal.MD. Having learned that Metropoliman and Hajime have taken Nanato’s family hostage, Mirai and Nanato rush off to save them leaving Saki behind while her angel tries to become a first-level angel so she will have her own wings. Now that the duo has arrived at the amusement park where the hostages are being held, will they be able to save them in Platinum End Episode 10?

While the most striking aspect of Platinum End‘s storytelling is the hard emotional moments, the show loves to work its cast mental facilities almost as hard as it does their hearts. Having established early on how cunning and ruthless Metropoliman is, the series continues to utilize this aspect of its villain in creative ways that force our heroes to stay on their toes. In this regard, Platinum End Episode 10 delivers a new high watermark for the show, as Mirai and Nanato try to survive Metropoliman’s latest plot.

The confrontation over the hostages does a lot of great, and sometimes subtle, character building. I can’t say how since that would go into spoiler territory, but it’s brilliant. These moments are ones that happen organically, with no attention drawn to them by the show. This allows the viewer to pick up on what the show has said about the character, while not slowing down the plot to explain it to the viewer.

A solid portion of this sequence is dedicated to revealing more about Hajime. As Nanato rushes headlong to protect his family, Hajime finds himself struggling to understand why someone would risk their life for someone else in so brazen a manner. His struggle to comprehend Nanato’s motivation and the will it grants him to push on quickly comes to overwhelm the young man. The mental struggle Hajime endures works excellently to reaffirm just how alien concepts like loyalty and love are to the young man, due to how abusive his upbringing has been.

While the focus of this episode is on the confrontation at the amusement park, the series also delivers an amazing moment between Saki and her angel Revel. As they were left behind for Saki’s safety, they are both facing their own emotional struggles as they look for some way to be useful to the unfolding situation. I did not see this side of the story developing the way it did. It was one of those narrative surprises that I never would’ve guessed, but upon seeing it I can’t imagine a better way for the moment to play out. Absolute perfection.

The visual presentation in Platinum End Episode 10 delivers on the story’s emotional struggles wonderfully. All of the tension and strain felt throughout the hostage situation is delivered to the viewer in a manner that hits home. Combine this emotion with some unique fantasy elements that are crafted with equal care and skill and you have a nearly perfect visual presentation.

When all is said and done, Platinum End Episode 10  delivers my favorite story in the series to date. I’m looking forward to seeing what the repercussions of this week’s episode will be.

Platinum End Episode 10 is streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll.