Hiya~

I just read the first volume of Platinum End, and I was struck with how different the protagonists of Death Note and Platinum End were. But the similarities also gave me pause that I just had to talk about it!

Platinum End are made by the same people who made Death Note by the way so~

I'll only be using the first two chapters of the manga at the most as references. I don't want you guys to get spoiled after all~

Heck, by the end of this, the protagonist of Platinum End might make an appearance in my fic since he grabbed my attention so easily.

~~~SPOILERS AHEAD OF FIRST TWO CHAPTERS!!~~~

Meet Mirai Kakehashi. A boy burdened with years of abuse from his aunt and uncle that he decided he wanted to die.

An angel, as you can see, stops him from dying and offers him power that basically make him GOD. Anyone would love to have wings right? Wings are the key to freedom. *nudge*nudge*to DN fans who know who wanted wings*

Not only wings, the power to make someone fall in love with you in a period of time. That can make Mirai want to live now right?

WRONG.

He can care less about BOTH of these powers, he just wants to die. That's all. He's happy to die and that's that. His life has been horrible, and at the chance of flying away from his problems or trying to find love, he doesn't take it.

Those two things won't help him be happy.

DYING WOULD.

Everything about living, he does not find pleasure in it. His whole life has been pain, constantly. He doesn't care about these powers, nor does he care that he's an actual SMART kid for a middle schooler.

Despite that, he says there's no hope for him. No future.

It's just so interesting...understandable but interesting.

"Humans are so interesting."-R

Despite his initial refusal, he said yes as a joke to probably make the angel stop joking and go away, only to actually get BOTH of the powers instead of just one of them.

Later, he finds out the truth about his aunt and uncle's wicked ways by using the Arrow Of Love, the one that makes a person fall in love with you and willing to do anything for you. He accidentally wishes the aunt to die and his reaction-

Pure HORROR. Which makes sense of course*waves hands carelessly* ANYBODY would be horrified that they just commanded someone to die, while seeing it happen in front of them no less.

He feels disgusted with himself as well as the angel that she's taking it all in stride with a smile. Saying his aunt deserved it and she should kill his uncle too.

Mirai didn't like it, he was bewildered that an angel would speak of death so casually and that she seems to WANT him to kill, under the farce that the angel just wants him to be happy.

Mirai though, does not wish to be happy by using his powers. He wants NORMAL happiness, not happiness that he has to get by killing and lying and using others with the Arrow of Love.

He still states this after the angel says he's one of 13 people able to become GOD. He has the power to become the New God of the World by competing with the others, and he doesn't WANT IT.

He does not wish to compete at all to become the New God, he just wishes to be happy. He even states repeatedly for the angel to take back the powers, not interested in having them.

He got chosen apparently BECAUSE of his lack of happiness and hopelessness. CHOSEN. SPECIFICALLY.

Because he was unhappy. Like...what?

While the other candidates probably got chosen because they wanted to change the world or something since that's also a viable option to become God.

Despite this, it seems he's going to try to leave peacefully until the other candidates decide to speed things up...and doing their own wicked dark ways to become God.

Even if Mirai wishes simply to be 'happy', to live, he's going to have to use that smart brain of his to stay alive.

Next~~~~

Light Yagami. A genius high school student with a nice family and is tired of how the world is constantly filled with heinous crimes.

He picks up a notebook called 'Death Note' that he saw fall from the sky at school, and decides to just pick it up out of curiosity. He's disgusted by the notebook though, as you can see the rules of what happens if you write someone's name down.

He compares it to chain letters, which is basically those things where someone tells you a story and then it does a turning point where if you don't send this to, as an example, ten people you'll die or won't find love or something of the like. So Light clearly has judged the book quite harshly, despite him picking it up himself.

He decides to try it out but HESITATES. He's scared that this weird thing that fell out of the sky might actually work and is concerned whether he will be a murderer. With the extra dots in the chat bubble, you see he's clearly thinking and contemplating about it. Perhaps trying to convince himself he's either being ridiculous or that maybe he shouldn't even TRY to do it.

He eventually DOES do it, by turning on the news where he sees a hostage situation in an ELEMENTARY school with kids and teachers being threatened by a man with a gun. Sounds familiar to recent events in America? Imagine this in the year of 2003 in Japan where guns aren't as accessible, imagine the horror. The terror for those kids.

He writes the culprits name thanks to the news showing his face and name, he waits forty seconds and sees that nothing happens.

Light thought himself ridiculous of even THINKING it would work, and that this was stupid but then of course—

The book, the Death Note, actually worked. And Light CANT BELIEVE IT. He's shook. Look at him, he's in disbelief.

He thinks it's a coincidence, it has to be. It's ridiculous to think such a thing would exist, cause then he'd be a MURDERER. He can't comprehend it. Can't comprehend such a thing.

So after cram school, he finds a man trying to molest a woman right in front of a magazine store. No one was helping her, she was screaming for help and no one was doing it. Light enters the store and uses it, since the man said his name and Light can see his face from the store. Putting the word accident for him.

The man dies, a car accident right in front of everyone to see and blood gets everywhere on the streets. And Light—

-is horrified. He looks absolutely sick, even pauses and leans against the wall and makes a noise that seems he was going to throw up right then and there. But of course one would, he just saw someone die right in front of him. And...it was by his own literal hand. A flick of a pen.

He realizes this, and is shaking. He is visibly shaken and is wondering on what he should do next. Should he just throw it away? Get rid of it? Keep it so no one else can use it for themselves and for MORE murderers and criminals to be out there?

No. It's what he's been thinking all along. Someone has to get rid of the criminals, so why not him? Nothing is changing, so why can't HE do it? With this notebook that just seemingly came out of nowhere and he picked it up?

But Light...his mind...he's terrified at the prospect of being a killer.

He wants the world to be BETTER, to be changed, but he can't handle at all that he just killed two people. And he's trying to aim for more? Why doesn't he quit?

He can't. It's as simple as that.

The world has to change, the world can't continue to be like this. Crime in the streets and not even a woman can walk at night thinking she's safe or to leave your house unlocked without worrying about a robbery. Criminals should be gone and stopped! Someone has to do it, so why not him?

Light says to himself that he will even sacrifice his mind and life for this goal, to be a martyr to have this world be safe and kind and safe from criminals.

After the first two days and losing 8 pounds, he made his decision.

He's willing. So he starts writing names down constantly. And has made a drastic change.

He finally found what he wants.

Light then gets surprised by a Shinigami, a grim reaper. But then he calms down after shakily getting up from the floor as a result of falling on his butt, and says with a smile:

"I've been expecting you, Ryuk."

He already expected him to come, he was just surprised that a big ugly thing came up behind him. But not surprised overall, not shocked or stupefied. Ryuk, the shinigami, then sees the Death Note, and it's filled with names.

In a span of five days, Light has filled PAGES of people's names in the book. Killing all of them and thinking not much of it. Even Ryuk commented on it, stating that not many humans could go this far. Or rather, a 'normal person' could go this far.

Light is now scared that he will get taken away, only for Ryuk to say he doesn't have to worry. People who use the notebook don't get punished at all, they can use it as they please. Only when they die they don't go to heaven or hell.

The Light asks this:

He wasn't chosen AT ALL. He just happened to find a book that can kill people with just a name and face, it wasn't chosen by God. LIGHT was not chosen by a god to have this. It was just a coincidence.

Ryuk just decided to drop it cause he was bored. Bored of his own world with Shinigami. Light confesses that he was bored too. But that the notebook has this sort of pull that makes one want to at least TRY it.

Light then states his ambition to Ryuk. He wants to rid the world of all evil, getting rid of all the criminals that commit horrible crimes but always seem to get away. A world where only kind gentle people exists, ones that he decides are kind and gentle. Compassionate people all over the world so everything is nice and pure and clean.

In other words:

He wants to become a god. Correction: God. But of course he would, with that power, with that notebook, he basically is playing god isn't he? He chooses who gets to live or die with just a pen and paper.

He really wants this perfect world of no criminals. No murderers. No violators. No one. Just a place filled with kindness, like his mother and sister and police father. He has the power to do it, only HE can do it.

After all, Ryuk said no 'normal person' would go this far. But LIGHT did. And he'll go even farther. That proves he can be God yes?

~~DIFFERENCES: LIGHT VS MIRAI~~

Light: *Aspires to Godhood* Nice Life with a Nice Family* Ace Student*Popular* Horrified at 1st two victims* Used to Killing in a span of five days* Bored* Ambitious* Pure World* Shinigami Companion*

Mirai: *Wished to die* Hopeless* Horrible Family Life* Smart*Unpopular* Horrified at what happened to his Aunt* Does not wish to use his powers to use people* Simply Wants to be Happy* Willing to Live No Matter What* Angel Companion*

This is interesting. The differences between them as they grew up, as well as the differences of their aspirations...

But yet...they seem similar to me. I don't know why. I'm sure due to Mirai's competition, he'll eventually become like Light. But he's doing it for survival, not because he wants to be God.

Light WANTS to be God, but yet Mirai, a boy who didn't even want these powers in the first place, doesn't. Mirai got CHOSEN to be a potential God, but Light didn't.

But...if you read both mangas...the boys have this LOOK. This empty dead look, and I get struck on how similar they are. Or the potential on how similar they CAN BE. Heck, the first time I laid eyes on Mirai I thought it was like a younger Light and it rattled me.

I was scared that Mirai was going to be like Light, but he isn't...and yet he is? I...

Light...Mirai...they both rediscovered ways on how to be happy in their own ways...it took a supernatural being to show them...those dead looks...I...

They're very different, yet not.

Either way, HOPE YOU GUYS READ DEATH NOTE OR PLATINUM END OR BOTH!!!

I shall now randomly tag.

ama_rin IAmLLawliet DeathNoteWattyAwards donqhyun Numb_Skull_Trash shad0w135 Shadow-Mei colorlesssky9001 Skey_fak_mai_laif MamaWani Legendary_Princess RinkuKaur BlackWritingNymph AskTheAngels whycantibe GamerQueen2002 KiraKirigakureKeinz MilesFT Michaelis__Kjellberg Jaq-Rabbit JarelMalik Animaniachan TheLittleBrownLegacy BalladPhoenix yukki-kouhai BeeBeeBoop KiraReno little_fiction_lover LittleSnowCloud TheLittleBrownLegacy