The Promised Neverland - Reviews

No doubt this anime has been one of the more popular shows of the season, but after the final episode I feel there is a lot to be desired. The review contains spoiler free sections and spoiler containing sections, make your choice. However before choosing to go full spoilers ahead beware, that the story relies on mind-games, which means I recommend to watch the first episode and then decide. Overall let me just say this, it was a good one time watch. I would consider to read manga after watching anime, because it’s better in my opinion. After reading all current volumes (13) of the manga I decided to fix some mistakes I have made in my evaluation of the story.

The story – spoiler free

The problem with the story is its execution, which is done poorly. It’s like a detective story, where not all clues have been revealed to the viewers.
The ending was disappointing, because it cuts and leaves viewer with more questions than answers. When the proverbial Rubicon is crossed. It feels more like an introductory movie. The only another series with more broken ending is World Trigger, because the source manga had been stalled at the time. There is going to be the second season next year, but it would be better to have one longer two arc season instead this kind of split.

The story - spoilers section (to avoid spoilers skip)

The biggest problem with the story is the amount of things that go behind the scenes and get revealed towards the end. Trainings, meetings and decisions made off screen. Another problem is with occasional portrayal of imaginary dialogues with departed characters in the mind of another character, which makes impression of the character being present for real. It’s very confusing, because viewer has hard time to distinct it from reality. This issue originates from the manga, which has this very problem. This is the case with Norman seeming to be at the wall, when the children finally make the escape. He is only figment of Ray’s inner monologue with Norman. This problem is more prominent due to the fact that the anime ends its season right there. Only in the manga I’ve notice later that Norman is no longer with the group.
There is also one reveal, which came out of nowhere. These parts could be crafted better and more spread out or at least fore-shadowed in some previous episodes. At best one could just guess it right by a mere chance. Not everything was entirely out of blue, but still. Overall the story ending felt rushed compared to the previous episodes.
There are more issues throughout the story. The fact that Ray was her own child didn’t make any sense. It didn’t make much of sense, why to force mothers to actually be the mothers. To have that experience to be better. Then having her to raise the child knowing, that at the age of 12 the child is going to be killed. What about Emma’s broken leg that conveniently healed ahead of time.
One could even speculate whether the whole escape has not been tenaciously supported by the mother or even maybe other adults in the end. However at this point there is no hard evidence for it to be the case.

While even manga does not explain fully things going behind the scenes, it shows more characters outside the house. For example the man, which was behind the messages in the books. The manga presents the façade of happy slice-of-life and the harsh reality hidden behind the house better in my opinion.

Due to the fact that this is just the first arc many question are left unanswered. After reading manga I understand, that the story is constructed as never ending mystery box set within survival story line. Once some question is answered another mystery takes its place.

The characters – spoiler free

The world setting tries to preserve shroud of mystery as much as possible. This is double edged sword. One can understand the advantage of keeping audience speculating about origin and motives of characters. On the other hand it is detrimental to the characters themselves, because the story doesn’t reveal a lot about the characters unless to throw a sudden curveball or to move plot slightly further. Plus most of the characters are children living in a small enclosed area of the house. There is nothing much to their lives by that fact.

The characters – spoilers section (to avoid spoilers skip)

One thing is undeniable the sister Krone is creepy as hell. Only psychopathic women could do this kind of job. That is why she has that creepy doll, which is to represent her own child. An inconsistency, why Isabella could live with her child and Krone did not, is not explained. The trio of main characters are kind of typical, but with quirk of being genius level smart. Ray is the cynical type. Norman is the glue between Ray and Emma. He is more balanced between idealism and realism. He obviously likes Emma. Emma is somewhat tomboyish girl with a heart of gold, caring about others. Until the story throws a curveball making Emma to be much more pragmatic, than she is portrayed for the most of episodes. Ray gives up, until the story says, it was part of the plan! I think the anime does this part differently, because in the manga it’s made quite clear, that both faked giving up. Initially I thought the Norman comes back literally out of nowhere, but that is just in the mind of Ray Norman explaining things going off-screen sic. This confusion is possible also by the last scene of Norman looking surprised, when peering into the room behind gate.

Animation and Art – spoiler free

The art is ok, the background especially external scenery seems like painted with a brush. The foreground and objects are crisp in contrast. I would still say that characters looks are more pronounced visually in the manga. Some people praised the design of the characters at the end of first episode, I would say it was well done.

Soundtrack and Music – spoiler free

Opening and ending is meh, I skip both. Soundtrack is fitting for the scenes. I have no issue there.

Overall – spoiler free

For sure it was one of the top anime of the season, but in a large scope including other past series it isn’t that great. As I said in the beginning it’s a good one time watch. I don’t feel like watching it again in any foreseeable future, but I did read manga. Moreover the manga looks and does things better in my opinion. Let’s see if the next season fixes some of the issues the series has.

So I went into this show knowing absolutely nothing. I was expecting something relating to Peter Pan, but no. I got frickin monsters. That being said, I loved this show. I loved the characters so much, and I was terrified for them. Each episode leaves you on the edge of your seat.

Kaiu Shirai's The Promised Neverland Is A Nail Biting Psychological Horror!

It's rare to find such a suspenseful horror Anime these days that works and Promised Neverland delivers that right from the first episode. The story is tantalizing and will leave you in suspense most of the time with moments that will have you wondering and worried about the characters, also the world built is mysterious which adds another layer of concern on top of an already tense story. The main story follows a group of what it seems like "orphaned children" that are living their best lives in a big house with a very massive backyard with their caregiver or should I say "Mum". But after looking closer we start to realize that something is not right through the eyes of the leading trio, creating a unnerving ride of suspense and thrill.

The main trio; Emma, Norman and Ray are awesome and have their own strengths and weaknesses: Emma, being athletic and caring but maybe too caring to the point of being naive; Norman, who is very smart and reactive but very prideful, and Ray who's just as clever as Norman but seems a little more direct with his thoughts. The three are well written and complement each other very well and they're supported by a unique cast of characters that help deliver a slow burn show from beginning to end.

As for the animation Studio CloverWorks does an incredible job, the colors are vibrant with scenes that give you a feeling of warmth and safety but it's the sound team that deliver that feel of suspense with the sound effects and music. I did also like the opening song "Touch off" by UVERworld, and the great voice acting with familiar names like Mariya Ise (Killua from Hunter X Hunter) and Nao Fujita (Asta from Black Clover). I must also mention the show is well executed in only 12 episodes which is impressiv, but overall I highly recommend watching TPN especially if you're looking for a good psychological thriller-horror.

+ Mysterious, Suspenseful Story.

+ Delightful Animation.

+ Well Written Characters.










hope this helps...🤙

It's kinda hard to talk about spoilers if you want to do a review. So I will stick to some of my biggest problems with this. All the kids are 11 or under. Once they are 12, they are gone for xyz reason. My biggest problem with this is you have some 10 year olds +/- that learn about some horrible truth. This takes them out of their fansity world where they lived more than less normal lives like most nicer orphanges. They then start thinking automatically like some of the best military tactitions. Someone that would need decades of training and understanding.

Then my other problem is it drip feeds you info so you can never get a true understanding of what is going on (I guess until the end.)

Because that last bit, it's pretty hard to really have an opinion about this. 

First I will say season 1 was way better then season 2. Like way way better.

Ok. Now that's settled, lets begin with the story.

my thoughts on the story/plot... 

usually I don't like horror animes but The Promised Neverland is a fantastic anime with a gripping plot, likeable characters, a terrifying villain, great animation, a cleverly used OST and the best opening this season. I'm glad The Promised Neverland turned out as good as it did. Horror anime is something difficult to get right. Now I will explain the story...

 An orphanage run by the lovely caretaker of the house Isabella, aka "Mama." The children of the house enjoy there time here. They are well fed, educated well and have fun free time playing tag. They can have this luxury by obeying two simple rules. Not to go over the fence and not to go past the gate in front of the house. Of course, the children will get adopted and will have to say goodbye to their friends. Three of the children, Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest and eldest of the children, and they, along with the others, enjoy their time at the orphanage. However on one day. One of the children, Connie, is adopted but has forgotten her beloved rabbit teddy. So Emma and Norman decide to give it to her before she leaves. They go past the gate to deliver the bunny, only to realise that Connie is dead and in fact the children of the orphanage are livestock to Daemons and Mama is involved with it. Knowing this truth, Emma, Norman and Ray must plan to escape the orphanage with everyone before they are all lambs to the slaughter.

What makes this show scary is the fact that we have an innate motive to make sure children are safe, for they do not know the dangers of the real world. So when the children find out the truth, you fear for them. You fear for their lives for they are innocent and didn't deserve this fate. You want to see them safe and you constantly hold your breath to see if they are okay. You want them to live. By showing us their fate, you know the dangers that they are in. The show however, does leave mysteries for us to think about and find out later on; giving us something to look forward to and something to fear as we uncover the truth as to why these events are happening and why security is almost non-existent. While not every question is answered, some of them are answered and we are left to theorise about the others.

Now this show really does like to build things up, build to this great escape plan to get everyone out of the orphanage and it does build things very well. The suspense in this show is enough to drive anyone mad with the eagerness to find out what happens next. That is mainly because the pacing and knowing what and when to reveal things is very well executed in order to keep you on your toes. Knowing when it is a right time to scare you, make you feel uncomfortable and uneasy and knowing when to give you relief. It toys with your emotions to keep you on edge. But if it keeps building up, then it needs a payoff, otherwise what is the point? While it does cut it a bit close, it does pay off in the final episodes of this season.

(The summary was made by a friend, I just posted it because I agree with her 100% and she explains it better then me.)