Now Is the Best Time To Begin 'The Promised Neverland,' A Riveting Anime

The anime ran from August 2016 through June 2020 and is based on a manga by Kaiu Shirai. The manga was a huge success, and an anime adaptation premiered in 2019. The Promised Neverland anime series received the Crunchyroll Anime Award for Greatest Fantasy shortly after its premiere, and it has since appeared on several “best anime” lists. 

The series debuted on Netflix with promises of more to follow. With a forthcoming live-action film and a live-action TV series created by Amazon, The Promised Neverland’s popularity and critical success continue.

The Promised Neverland is based on Kaiu Shirai’s manga of the same name, and it’s about finding that the world is a lot worse than you ever imagined as a child, and it makes those horrors concrete. It follows a trio of youngsters, primarily 11-year-old Emma, Ray, and Norman, who lives in an orphanage, a pastoral setting unlike what we usually see in horror films. Instead, it’s depicted as a caring facility where the children have good food, plenty of space, time to play, and a loving “mom” in charge of the orphanage’s lone adult. 

Sure, they’re administering some abnormal IQ test for no apparent purpose, and the kids who leave never appear to respond, but indeed there’s nothing nefarious going on here, right? Well, of course, there is! The reality is considerably darker than you’re lead to believe at first, but it’s a twist you need to see for yourself.

The Promised Neverland has an impressive lure.

The Promised Neverland is a fascinating anime series. The narrative opens in an orphanage, where the children are having a blast. It’s not your ordinary depressing orphanage; instead, the children appear joyful, and their caretaker seems to care for them sincerely. 

Unfortunately, one of those youngsters is adopted, and the story begins there. It’s a beautiful occasion, of course, because the gorgeous little girl will be going to a house with her parents. Two orphans accompany her to the gates, generally closed to them, to deliver a teddy animal she left behind. What they discover astounds them and has a profound impact on their lives.

The two kids discover their classmate in a truck, dead. They overhear animals talking about devouring her. The two kids escape, terrified and unable to fathom what they’re seeing. They must then confront the terrifying reality of their encounter. It’s a fantastic hook. 

I was expecting a straightforward dramatic story about orphans who discover hidden truths. However, the savagery of The Promised Neverland’s first episode draws you in, forcing you to sit up and pay attention. It sets the tone for the show’s highly mature settings and horrors that these preteens face. And it is in this area that the anime series truly shines.

It’s like Prison Break, except with demons and kids.

Emma (Erica Mendez) and Norman are the two orphans who discover their orphanage’s awful secret (Jeannie Tirado). It’s naturally difficult to make sense of the discovery that they’re all merely food for demons in the actual world. I had the opportunity to evaluate the entire Promised Neverland anime series and I particularly like the writing. You never question the characters’ thought processes, behaviors, or conclusions. It’s incredible how these little minds figure things out while keeping their emotions in check.

Now that Emma and Norman know the truth, they must decide what to do. Their lives, as well as the lives of everyone else in the world, are in danger, including infants and toddlers, are in jeopardy. They develop a scheme to get out of the orphanage, and they execute it in the most irrational manner I’ve ever seen in any show, let alone one involving children. 

Unlike the Fox television series Prison Break, there are no absurd or extravagant gimmicks or bizarre subplots to test that suspension of disbelief. The youngsters’ strategy to get out of the orphanage is extraordinarily well-thought-out, rational, and takes practically everything into account. It’s challenging to identify a plot hole that isn’t nitpicky.

This The Promised Neverland Anime Review Gives The Show a High Recommendation

They include Ray (Laura Megan Stahl), another orphan, and Emma and Norman making preparations. The rest of the anime’s 12 episode season is full of story twists that I won’t reveal. It’s also astonishing how much happens in just one season of the show. Prison Break moved at a snail’s pace, resorting to the excessive use of cheap tricks with the soul intention of dragging out the drama for maximum public-interest milking. The Promised Neverland, on the other hand, keeps everything going at a breakneck pace.

From episode to episode, the status quo shifts. They devise a strategy, encounter a stumbling block, and then design a new system. Because they are preteens, there will be backstabbing and betrayal, as well as unexpected revelations. And every last one of them seemed deserved.

Another fascinating part of The Promised Neverland anime is how the plot unfolds, not just for the spectator but also for the other characters. Unlike shows where a single character serves as a surrogate for the audience, the perspective in this anime is continually moving. We start with the three main characters, who are exploring the world as they go. However, as the story progresses, each of those three people’s perspectives evolves as the proxy changes. It’s a one-of-a-kind concept that keeps the audience guessing, with no way of knowing what will happen next. 

Mom alias Isabella (Laura Post), the orphanage’s caretaker and a participant in the kids-for-demon-food arrangement, is also highlighted in the series. They must rebel against and flee from Mom.

It’s Enough To Build The World Of Promised Neverland

As if this fantastic review wasn’t enough, another significant aspect of The Promised Neverland anime is how the tale unfolds in the universe. The world is filled with devils, and children are treated like cattle, collected when they’re ready to eat. 

We aren’t dragged into lengthy expositional lore or world history. There are hints of a demon hierarchy, as well as references to saving the best children’s brains for the elite, but we’re never invited to the table with them. The orphanage is guarded by demons, although there isn’t much demon action like in other anime. 

The plot stays focused on what’s happening inside the orphanage, rather than branching off into different directions. That’s a stroke of brilliance because that’s precisely the breadth of information the characters possess as well: flee now, deal with the outside world afterward.

At the end of the season finale, a fantastic sequence displays Isabella’s path and completely humanizes her. There are also really gentle and emotionally touching moments in a drama predicated on the themes of suspense, twists, and furious intensity. That’s one of the reasons I liked The Promised Neverland anime so much: it’s never just one thing, but rather a well-rounded program that continuously challenges the audience’s perceptions of what it is.

Takeaway

The original manga is primarily a thriller, as evidenced by the way the plot twists and turns. However, the Promised Neverland deftly conceals its entire picture, exposing only parts and pieces and new layers to secret schemes that make you feel like you’re watching Lost’s early seasons. 

The terror begins with a heightened sense of dread, with the camera constantly remaining as safe as if we were spying on the characters. We kept a safe distance from behind a dark corner, lingering just a little too long to elicit suspicion. 

When CGI settings are juxtaposed against 2D characters, it’s evident that something is seriously wrong at the orphanage. It’s one thing to learn that the kids who leave the house don’t go to a foster home; it’s quite another to witness a small child’s complete terror when they discover a dead body.