The Most Epic Fantasy and Sci-Fi Website

Death Note: Are Platinum End Angels The New Version of Shinigami?


Are Platinum End Angels The New Version of Death Note’s Shinigami? Are they the same?
Credit: Madhouse

Some years ago, the talk of the town when it comes to dark series was Death Note and how the Light Yagami would just have to write the name of someone and cause his or her death.

From the same creators of the anime show, Platinum End seems to have followed the same path, just from a different angle. Shinigami are now a thing of the past, are the angels in the latter its new version?

Death Note: What is a Shinigami?

Are Platinum End Angels The New Version of Death Note’s Shinigami? What is a Shinigami? Where did Ryuk come from?
click to enlarge
+ 3
Credit: Madhouse

Possibly the most known Shinigami in Death Note is Ryuk, the one with Light Yagami. He is considered as a death god who is like a grim reaper. Ryuk belongs to a race of extra-dimensional beings whose survival depends on the death of others. A Shinigami is, technically, not responsible for the death of a person but should they will to do so in order to extend their life, they could.

Related: Anime Seasons Explained

Platinum End: What are Angels?

Are Platinum End Angels The New Version of Death Note’s Shinigami? Are Angels the same as that in common knowledge?
click to enlarge
+ 3
Credit: Signal.MD

As known in different forms, angels are sent by God. However, in Platinum End, these angels are servants who retrieve the souls of those who died. They could give humans love and freedom through wings where they could go wherever without being seen, and through the Red Arrow where one could control the heart of another by shooting it.

Related: The 15 Best Classic Anime to Watch

Are Platinum End Angels The New Version of Death Note’s Shinigami?

Are Platinum End Angels The New Version of Death Note’s Shinigami? Are the the same or different?
click to enlarge
+ 3
Credit: Signal.MD

In a sense, both of them have something in common: death. A Shinigami gets more life when one dies and an angel gets souls from those who died. The powers they give to a person may look different but, in its essence, there are similarities. Angels like Nasse give wings and arrows while Shinigami gives cursed notebooks; both enables a person to have some degree of control over the life of others.

With such a huge contrast in their appearance, they seem different but looking into a deeper perspective, both an angel and a Shinigami makes humanity realize what power can do to a person, how to deal with death, and some things in the philosophical limbo that ethics and morality play in between. They are both enablers and it is up to the human they chose whether to use it on doing good or bad. In a sense, they are almost the same.

However, this is where they differ. Angels do it to be intermediaries with the higher beings and humanity while a Shinigami does it for his or her own consumption. Angels have a bigger purpose: they chose a champion to be the next god. As for a Shinigami, they take lives so they could prolong their own. While it is not their call to say one needs to die, if they need to, they will have to take one.

In the end, it all boils down to what they bring to the table: perspective. They give discretion to the humans they choose and in the end, make them realize that there is more to life than just living.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Anime and Platinum End page.