Platinum End is the newest manga/anime franchise by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, a battle royale story with a divine theme. Instead of the main characters using scavenged weapons or video game skills, the heroes all use the heavenly power of angels. Whoever wins this fight will likely become the next God and control the entire universe.
Only thirteen humans may be chosen for this divine battle, and the lead, Mirai Kakehashi, is a pacifist who longs to live an ordinary, happy life but also must protect his good friend Saki from the other God candidates or die trying. This exciting new anime series should remind fans of similar anime series too, which are always worth a watch if they haven't been already.
10 Death Note Is From The Same Creators
Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata are perhaps best known for creating the psychological thriller series Death Note, an exciting crime thriller about the world's best detective, L, hunting the self-proclaimed world savior Kira. The hero, Light Yagami, meant to save the world but instead became the avatar of corruption and evil.
Death Note and Platinum End share more than just their creators. These series also put emphasis on tricky tactics and the price of becoming an all-powerful being, and the main characters also have supernatural, winged allied who grant them special powers.
9 BTOOOM! Is An Explosive Battle Royale
BTOOOM! is a battle royale anime series that fits most of this subgenre's archetypes, from a deadly free-for-all battle overseen by cruel gamemasters to a secluded arena in which to fight. In this case, it's a remote island accessible only by plane or helicopter.
The hero is the reclusive gamer Ryota Sakamoto, who used to play an explosion-based video game before he ended up playing the real, deadly version on that island. He and his few allies must fight to survive, and they only have their wits, their satchels of explosives, and each other to count on.
8 Sword Art Online Began As A Battle For Survival
The hit series Sword Art Online is considered an isekai anime series since the first major story arc traps all players in the game world with little hope of escaping, though later story arcs aren't quite like that. In other ways, this series is almost like a battle royale, just like Platinum End.
During the Aincrad arc, players were supposed to cooperate and form guilds to complete quests, but some players went solo, like the hero Kirito, and some formed teams to attack and kill other players. At times, Sword Art Online had themes of survival and "every man for himself."
7 No Game, No Life Is A Clever Adventure Of Strategy
No Game, No Life is a colorful and exciting isekai anime series starring the brother/sister duo known as Blank, and together, Shiro and Sora can take on any challenge in any game and win. They were total shut-ins for a time, but all that changed when their isekai adventure began.
Sora and Shiro ended up in a world where games have taken the place of war and violence, and they must survive all kinds of mind-bending and clever challenges to survive and make a name for themselves. This isn't too different from the tricky and deadly battles found in Platinum End.
6 Black Lagoon Is A Deadly Adventure Of Crime
In broad strokes, the action-seinen anime series Black Lagoon may remind fans of Platinum End and other battle royale series, except Black Lagoon isn't so tightly bound to battle royale conventions. The similarity is that this series features characters who make it up as they go, in a vast field of potential allies or enemies.
In the criminal underworld of South East Asia, mainly Roanapur, it's almost like a battle royale every day as criminals, corrupt cops, bounty hunters, and smugglers form teams, betray one another or stake it out on their own. And more than once, Rock and his allies had to get clever and plan ahead to survive this rough lifestyle.
5 Dr. Stone Is A High-IQ Adventure Of Caveman Proportions
Fans of Platinum End and Death Note are probably in the mood for either battle royale anime series or high-IQ adventures, and the hit shonen series Dr. Stone fits the bill. This isekai series doesn't have much in the way of battle royales, but its brilliant science is on par with anything Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata can come up with.
In Dr. Stone, the genius student Senku Ishigami must reinvent humanity one invention and chemistry experiment at a time and prepare elaborate and cunning plans to take down his enemies without killing them. He's about to build the Kingdom of Science, and, unlike Light Yagami, he really will save the human race one day.
4 Golden Kamuy Is A Seinen Battle Royale Of Sorts
Golden Kamuy is a comedic but also bloody and gritty seinen action series taking place in the 1900s, not long after the 1905 war between Japan and the Russian Empire. The hero is the "immortal" Sugimoto, a soldier who soon learns about an incredible treasure hidden somewhere in Hokkaido.
Many other parties are after that treasure too, and their best lead is a map tattooed onto the bodies of several different prisoners. Sugimoto and his friends must contend with betrayal, traps, clever schemes, and shootouts in Hokkaido's snowy forests to claim the prize, making the series like a more grounded Platinum End.
3 Future Diary Also Features A Battle Royale For God Status
Future Diary is notorious for its yandere character Yuno Gasai and her extreme attachment to Yukiteru, but that's not all there is to it. This animated series is centered around a battle royale to determine who can become the next God of Space and Time.
That should be plenty for Platinum End fans to enjoy, and what is more, Future Diary also has mind-bending elements of future predictions, hence its name. Some characters know what will happen long before it actually happens.
2 Juni Taisen Has A Zodiac Battle Royale Storyline
Juni Taisen is another battle royale series, but this time, the contestants sign up for the game knowing exactly what they are in for. They are not hapless recruits like Mirai Kakehashi or Ryota Sakamoto. Instead, the main fighters are all experienced mercenaries, and they all want to win and claim the prize - to get one wish granted.
The fighters are all based on the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, and they have physical attributes to match. They can also harvest the crystals of other fighters, which is similar to how Platinum End characters can claim each other's arrows or wings.
1 The Fate Series Is A Popular Battle Royale
The popular Fate series has several binge-worthy entries, such as Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night, which usually involve an exciting battle royale between several contestants and their champions, famed fighters and wizards from across world history. The prize is to have a single wish granted, but it's not easy to win this particular tournament.
A female version of King Arthur named Saber is emblematic of this series, and she is noted for her knightly personality and invisible sword. Other warriors in this contest come from all kinds of mythology, from European folk tales to Mesopotamia and beyond.