The appearance of the Angels in Platinum End is what audiences have come to expect. However, there are several types of angels in the Bible.
For fans of end of platinum, it is easy to see that the foundations of the story are rooted in symbolism and religious narratives. The angels by whom candidate gods are selected and with whom they have interacted throughout the series are no exception; their appearance and ranking system are very similar to those found in Christian theology.
However, it is interesting to note that the end of platinum The manga’s creators, Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, could have taken several approaches to designing the angels seen in the anime. Since there are nine types of angels contained in Christian angelology – each with unique roles and appearances – it might seem strange that these mangaka, which lean towards the unconventional, made their angels so ordinary.
In end of platinum, viewers are told that angels are servants of God, sent from the heavenly realm to retrieve the souls of deceased humans. The 13 angels who select God’s candidates are placed in a ranking system that is separated into three different levels. These include Special Rank, First Rank, and Second Rank, where each determines the Angel’s power and what abilities it is able to impart to the chosen candidate (wings, red arrows, and white arrows).
These are similar to the angelic hierarchy which was established by Dionysius in the book On the Celestial Hierarchy, which was created in the 5th to 6th century. Three orders are described in this work, each containing three forms of angel. The angels of the first sphere act as the celestial servants of God, those of the second govern spirits and the creation of matter, while the celestial beings of the third function as guides, protectors and messengers of mankind.
end of platinum exclusively depicts angels who belong to the third category of the celestial hierarchy and are considered the lowest order of angels in the Bible. These beings are the most recognizable and are commonly seen in a variety of different media, from classic artwork to modern movies. Since they are most concerned with matters relating to living beings, they are more like humans than other angelic beings.
It is therefore not surprising that Ohba and Obata decided to use the more conventional and faithful style when it came to designing the angels for end of platinum. As the purpose of the 13 angels in the story is to act as conduits between heaven and earth, it would be against Christian traditions to present them any other way. However, it would certainly have been interesting if the creators decided to take inspiration from these other types of angels within the celestial order.
Seraphim: guardian angels of the throne of God
Seraphim, which translates to “those who burn,” are the highest angelic class and serve as guardians of the throne of God. Therefore, they are the closest of all the angels of God and are dedicated to praising him and helping him to maintain perfect order. In Isaiah 6:1-3 the seraphim are described as having six wings: two cover their face, two cover their feet, and the others are used for flight. They are said to continually sing praises to God as they call out to one another with the words, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; all the earth is full of his glory”.
Ophanim: the “wheel within a wheel”
The Ophanim are another strange celestial creature described in the Bible. Ezekiel describes these beings as a “wheel crossing a wheel” that moves in all directions and whose rims are full of eyes. Inside these structures sits an angelic being whose movements are linked to those of the wheel. Traditionally, these beings are said to be the true wheels of God’s chariot, in which he rides when he visits those on earth.
Cherubim: a different version of the classic Cupid
Unlike the typical cupid-like character that most associate this angel with, cherubs aren’t actually as cute as they might seem. Instead, they are creatures with four faces (a lion, an ox, a human, and an eagle) and two wings, whose usual purpose is to guard the entrance to the Garden of Eden.
These are just a few examples of how bizarre angels can be in their appearance. Rather than the typical humanoid forms people commonly associate them with – or the ones seen in titles like end of platinum – many could easily be mistaken for an HP Lovecraft novel. It is a pity that most artists and writers have not taken the opportunity to use these characters in their work because their appearance, characteristics and the roles they occupy offer the public a new interpretation of angels rarely seen in popular media.
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