English Dub Review: Platinum End: “Where the Tears Go”

Overview: Mirai (Alejandro Saab) and Nanato struggle to think of a way out of Metropoliman (Griffin Burns) and Hajime’s trap as Saki (Laura Post) finally enters the scene to help them out when they need her the most. 

Our Take: Often with main characters of anime series, especially that of Shounen and Seinen, their straightforwardness is looked upon as endearing. However, Mirai manages to subvert that sentiment by, ironically, committing to being so mind-numbingly simple-minded that I find myself in disbelief that he and Nanato are still alive even when going face first into Kanade and Hajime’s trap. Nanato is one thing, considering his wife and daughter were captured and would impede his judgment, but Mirai’s ridiculous choice to keep flying around like a madman inside the mirrored glass prison so they can’t be shot by a white arrow from Metropoliman is just an exercise in futility, with the entirety of Mirai’s plan relies on relentlessly moving for as long as possible. 

A plan that eventually transitions to Mirai and Nanato, with his wife and kid in tow, to go even faster, until they are not visible to Hajime in their attempt to fool their ugly foe into believing they have escaped, who is waiting until they stop to alert Kanade to come and shoot them. It would be one thing if his plan bore any fruit in the results, but it’s success instead banked on the coincidence of Saki’s arrival, highlighting the lunacy of his harebrained scheme that feels like a page taken straight out of Elmer Fudd’s playbook, so much so that I couldn’t help but sympathize with Kanade’s assessment of it’s sheer stupidity. 

Saki arrives just in the nick of time, saving the day and salvaging what she can of this episode. Revel, albeit predictably based on the structure of the plot, finally ascends to that of a special-rank, becoming the angel of emotion, when he becomes the first of his kind to understand Saki’s pain, most notably a human’s, in feeling useless as she is unable to help Mirai and Nanato without wings. This is an organic transformation that is setup nicely with how Revel’s become more watchful and caring, akin to that of a parent, of Saki and her wellbeing, over the course of the season. Revel’s ascendancy also shows just how much Saki brings to the table as a teammate, even more so than her past contributions. She’s not only able to shoot Hajime with an arrow but does it unbeknownst to Kanade’s knowledge. Saki shows just how intelligent she is in trying to make Hajime believe she is in love with him as he is conflicted, between her and his allegiance to Kanade, in a crazed display of lunacy that continues to make him hard to sympathize with for the lack of complexity or development. But hey, at the very least, it’s fun to watch him crazily fall head over heals for Saki, as she does what she can to lift up an otherwise weak entry held down by stupid character decisions and an even weaker antagonist.