The Promised Neverland

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The Promised Neverland
The Promised Neverland, Volume 1.jpg
Cover of the first one tankōbon volume, featuring Emma (center), Norman, Phil, Connie (left), Ray and Gilda (right)
約束のネバーランド
(Yakusoku no Nebārando)
Genre
Manga
Written byKaiu Shirai
Illustrated byPosuka Demizu
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Jump
English magazine
DemographicShōnen
Original runAugust 1, 2016 – June 15, 2020
Volumes20 (List of volumes)
Light novel
Written byNanao
Illustrated byPosuka Demizu
Published byJump J-Books
DemographicMale
Original runJune 4, 2018 – December 4, 2020
Volumes4
Manga
Oyakusoku no Neverland
Written byShuhei Miyazaki
Published byShueisha
Magazine
  • Jump GIGA (2018)
  • Shōnen Jump+ (2019)
DemographicShōnen
Original runJuly 26, 2018 – March 28, 2019
Volumes1
Anime television series
Directed byMamoru Kanbe
Written by
  • Toshiya Ono (#1–21)
  • Kaiu Shirai (#13–21)
Music byTakahiro Obata
StudioCloverWorks
Licensed by
Plus Media Networks Asia
Original networkFuji TV (Noitamina)
English network
Aniplus Asia
Original run January 11, 2019 – March 26, 2021
Episodes23 (List of episodes)
Live-action film
Directed byYūichirō Hirakawa
Written byNoriko Gotou
Music byMasahiro Tokuda
StudioToho
ReleasedDecember 18, 2020 (2020-12-18)
Runtime119 minutes
Game
The Promised Neverland: Escape the Hunting Grounds
DeveloperGOODROID
PublisherCyberAgent
PlatformAndroid, iOS
Released
  • JP: April 22, 2021
Wikipe-tan face.svg Anime and manga portal

The Promised Neverland (Japanese: 約束のネバーランド, Hepburn: Yakusoku no Nebārando) is a Japanese manga series written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 2016 to June 2020, with its chapters collected in twenty tankōbon volumes. In North America, Viz Media licensed the manga for English release and serialized it on their digital Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. The series follows a group of orphaned children in their plan to escape from their orphanage, after learning the dark truth behind their existence and the purpose of the orphanage.

The Promised Neverland was adapted into an anime television series produced by CloverWorks and broadcast on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block. The series' first season ran for 12 episodes from January to March 2019. A second season ran for 11 episodes from January to March 2021. A live-action film adaptation was released in December 2020. Amazon Studios is also developing an American live-action series.

In 2018, the manga won the 63rd Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category. As of April 2021, The Promised Neverland had over 32 million copies in circulation, including digital versions, making it one of the best-selling manga series. The anime series' first season was well received by critics, being considered one of the best anime series of the 2010s. The second season, however, received negative reception, mainly due to its rushed pacing and simplification of the original manga's plot.

Synopsis[]

Setting[]

It is the year 2045, and over 1000 years after an agreement called "The Promise" was made to end a long war between humans and demons. "The Promise" was an agreement where each would live in their own separate "worlds": the human world, free from the threat of demons; and the demon world, where human breeding farms were set up to provide food for the demons. By eating humans, demons take on their attributes which prevent them from degenerating into mindless monsters. In the demon world, a special breeding program was set up under the guise of orphanages; there, a human "Mother" would oversee the children to make sure they grew up as intelligent as possible. These children had identifying numbers tattooed on them and had no knowledge of the outside world. They believed that they were orphans and once they reached a certain age or intelligence, they would be taken out for adoption, but were fed to high-ranking demons instead.

Plot[]

Further information: List of The Promised Neverland characters

The bright and cheerful Emma is an 11-year-old orphan living in Grace Field House, a self-contained orphanage housing her and 37 other orphans. They lead an idyllic life, with plentiful food, plush beds, clean clothes, games and the love of their "Mom", Isabella. Their education is seen as an important part of their development, and Emma with her two best friends Norman and Ray, always excel in the regular exams. The orphans are allowed complete freedom, except to venture beyond the perimeter wall or gate which separate the house from the outside world.

One night, a girl named Conny is sent away to be "adopted", but Emma and Norman follow with her favorite stuffed animal toy. At the gate, they find Conny dead and discover the truth about their existence in this idyllic orphanage – to be raised as meat for demons. Emma and Norman plan with Ray to escape from Grace Field House with the children, but Norman is taken off to be "adopted". Emma and Ray then decide to escape with some of their older siblings, leaving the younger children behind.

The escapees find life outside Grace Field House is filled with dangers, but under the leadership of Emma and Ray, they become determined to return to free their remaining siblings, along with children from the other Farms. They encounter demons of all descriptions, including Mujika and Sonju who aid them in their quest. Emma and Ray later meet up again with Norman and together with their allies, they fight a battle for freedom against the demon queen Legravalima and the human Peter Ratri who manages the Farms. Eventually, through her own determination, Emma secures the freedom of all the children and re-forges "The Promise", but at the cost of her own memory.

Production[]

Development[]

The series first conception originated by the end of 2013, from a draft originally simply titled Neverland, but was later changed to The Promised Neverland after running into some copyright issues. Kaiu Shirai brought the 300 page of The Promised Neverland draft to the Weekly Shōnen Jump editorial department.[4] Suguru Sugita, the editor of The Promised Neverland, said that the series was an ambitious work, with both bright and dark scenes that needed a world of fantasy that would also create suspense. They had difficulties trying to find an artist whose style could match the story, ranging from famous illustrators to new and upcoming talent. Shirai considered Posuka Demizu as one of the candidates, as he and Sugita felt that her art was the best fit for the series' imagery. Some candidates turned down the offer, giving comments like the story did not feel like a Jump manga, or that it would not become a hit, so they were "really happy and excited" when Demizu agreed to work on it.[4]

Sugita said that Shirai and Demizu had a kind of synergy similar to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the creators of Death Note.[4] Before The Promised Neverland began its serialization, Shirai and Demizu published the one-shot Poppy’s Wish (ポピィの願い, Poppy no Negai) on the Shōnen Jump+ online platform in February 2016.[5] The one-shot was popular among readers and Sugita expressed that they were the right team for The Promised Neverland.[4]

Inspirations[]

Shirai was inspired by children's folklore books from all over the world and video games like Final Fantasy for the series' setting creation, while for the horror elements, he said that he only used his imagination because he did not like horror films.[6] He also mentioned that part of the story came from some nightmares that he had as a kid, especially after having read Hansel and Gretel, stories about children being eaten, and a manga focused on spirits that made him ask himself if the monsters could solve their problems if they raised humans like cattle. Shirai said: "All these fears, ideas, influences, have come together. This is how the story of The Promised Neverland was born".[7]

Demizu said that the Japanese folklore and its monsters were a first source of inspiration, also citing European fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel. She also mentioned Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Ghibli's universe and prison escape films, like Escape from Alcatraz, Papillon, The Great Escape and the American television series Prison Break.[6]

The series's setting is based on the Victorian England, as Shirai expressed that he wanted to "destabilize the readers, to lead them on the wrong tracks" by making them think that the story was set in an English orphanage in the 19th century. He also wanted to avoid situating the story in a very specific time frame. He had no particular reasons to choose England, but the Grace Field House orphanage name written in English in the text appealed to him. Shirai also said that the European town planning is a benchmark, a very popular style highly appreciated for the Japanese. Demizu did a two-month language study trip to England when she was younger and took a lot of photos that she used as a reference for the series. She was particularly impressed by the English forests and its atmosphere.[7]

Concepts and themes[]

Regarding the title and its relation to Neverland, the fictional island of Peter Pan, created by J. M. Barrie, Shirai said that it is a magical, fairy tale place to have fun thanks to Peter Pan, but that half the place is dark and dangerous. He said that these two parts, "the cohabitation of childish playfulness" and "the dangerous shadow that hovers at the bottom" are factors that he tried to transcribe through The Promised Neverland.[7] Shirai and his editor wanted to keep "Neverland" in the title, considering the story and its development. They then came up with “Promised” around the time they were working on the post-escape story. They considered the word to be important and agreed to also mention it in the plot.[4]

Despite its dark tone, Shirai wanted to publish The Promised Neverland in Weekly Shōnen Jump instead of a seinen manga magazine because it was the kind of stories that he would have liked to read at 15 and that there was no reason to deprive the magazine's readership of a story due to an editorial line. He added that the series has canon shōnen manga themes, such as mutual aid or surpassing oneself.[4] According to Shirai, the main characters are children because the magazine is mainly read by them and adolescents, making easier the identification for the reader, and the concept of children rebelling against adults was used because it is a classic theme in many stories.[7] Although Shirai admitted that the story is darker than the majority of the Weekly Shōnen Jump manga,[7] they avoided using "extreme trends" such as "ero-guro", "violence" or "nonsense", since, according to the series' editor, that would just make it an ordinary manga, and they tried to include those essences as little as possible and only when they were necessary to the story.[4]

Shirai said that the idea of students with the lowest grades being the first to leave the Farm to be eaten by the demons, while not necessarily a metaphor, was a way of inviting the reader to reflect on current society.[7] Although Shirai admitted similarities between the series and the Japanese society and its school system, he said that it is not meant to be a underlying critique and was rather an approach to daily life family, school and the way children look at adults.[6] Despite some interpretations made by PETA, claiming that the series is a pamphlet against mass farming and pro-vegetarians, Shirai expressed that he was not trying to put moral values, and as an author, he was not in position to judge. He emphasized that it was never explicitly said that demons were bad people in the story. He further said: "That people make a connection with veganism and intensive breeding doesn't bother me, but our main goal is to create a story to entertain people, not to offer a moral judgment. Our manga is not a critique of the consumer society as such".[7]

Media[]

Manga[]

See also: List of The Promised Neverland chapters

The Promised Neverland is written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 1, 2016 to June 15, 2020.[5][8] Shueisha collected its chapters in twenty tankōbon volumes, released from December 2, 2016 to October 2, 2020.[9][10]

In July 2016, Viz Media announced that they would digitally publish the first three chapters of the series on Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.[11] Thereafter, they published the manga's new chapters simultaneously with the Japanese release.[12] The first printed volume in North America was released on December 5, 2017.[13] Shueisha began to simulpublish the series in English on the website and app Manga Plus in January 2019.[14]

A 16-page one-shot chapter about Ray titled, "The First Shot" was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on October 5, 2020.[15] A 36-page one-shot chapter about Sister Krone titled, "Seeking the Sky of Freedom" was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on December 7, 2020.[16] A 19-page one-shot chapter about the children accomplishing their dreams in the human world titled, "Dreams Come True" was released at "The Promised Neverland Special Exhibition", event that was held in Tokyo from December 11, 2020 to January 11, 2021.[17] A 32-page one-shot chapter about Isabella titled, "A Mother's Determination" was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on December 14, 2020.[18] A 32-page one-shot, titled "We Were Born", which tells the story of "another The Promised Neverland", was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on January 4, 2021.[19][20]

A comedic spin-off titled Oyakusoku no Neverland (お約束のネバーランド), illustrated by Shuhei Miyazaki (Me & Roboco author), was published in Jump GIGA on July 26, 2018,[21] and it was later serialized in the Shōnen Jump+ application from January 11 to March 28, 2019.[22][23] Its chapters were collected in a single tankōbon volume, released on June 4, 2019.[24]

Light novels[]

Four light novels by Nanao have been published. The first light novel, titled Yakusoku no Neverland: Norman kara no Tegami (約束のネバーランド～ノーマンからの手紙～, lit. "The Promised Neverland: A Letter from Norman"), was released on June 3, 2018.[25] The second light novel, titled Yakusoku no Neverland: Mama-tachi no Tsuisōkyoku (約束のネバーランド～ママたちの追想曲～, lit. "The Promised Neverland: Moms' Song of Remembrance"), was released on January 4, 2019.[26] The third light novel, titled Yakusoku no Neverland: Sen'yū-tachi no Rekōdo (約束のネバーランド ～戦友たちのレコード～, lit. "The Promised Neverland: Records of Comrades"), was released on October 2, 2020. The story follows Lucas and Yuugo.[27][28] The fourth light novel, titled Yaksoku no Neverland: Omoide no Film-tachi (約束のネバーランド ～想い出のフィルムたち～, lit. "The Promised Neverland: Films of Memories"), was released on December 4, 2020, and takes place after the manga's finale. The novel is about Emma, Norman and their friends talking about their memories.[29]

Anime[]

Main article: List of The Promised Neverland episodes

An anime television series adaptation was announced in Weekly Shōnen Jump in May 2018.[30] The series is animated by CloverWorks and directed by Mamoru Kanbe, with Toshiya Ono handling series composition, Kazuaki Shimada handling character designs, and Takahiro Obata composing the series' music.[31] The series aired for 12 episodes from January 11 to March 29, 2019 on Fuji TV's late-night Noitamina anime programming block.[32][33] It simulcasted on Amazon Video, but only in Japan, contrary to the contract giving Amazon exclusive streaming rights to shows that have aired on Noitamina since Spring 2016, as Wakanim has exclusive streaming rights in France.[34] UVERworld performed the series' opening theme song "Touch Off", while Cö shu Nie performed the series' ending theme songs "Zettai Zetsumei" (絶体絶命, "Desperate Situation") and "Lamp".[35][36]

A second season was announced in March 2019.[37] Originally scheduled to premiere in October 2020,[38][39] it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[40] The second season aired on Fuji TV's Noitamina from January 8 to March 26, 2021.[41][a] The main staff and cast members returned to reprise their roles and the original manga writer Kaiu Shirai collaborated with the scripts and supervised an original scenario for the season,[43][44] although his name was omitted from the credits of the final episodes.[45]  [ja] performed the second season's opening theme song "Identity" (アイデンティティ, Aidentiti), while Myuk performed the second season's ending theme song "Mahō" (魔法, "Magic").[46][47]

In North America, the series is licensed by Aniplex of America and it began streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu, Funimation and Hidive on January 9, 2019.[48][49][50] Funimation added the series' English dub to its streaming service on July 1, 2020.[51] The anime's first season aired on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block starting on April 14, 2019.[52][b] Toonami aired the entire first season of The Promised Neverland on the broadcast night of October 31, 2020, as part of its Halloween marathon.[54] The second season of The Promised Neverland premiered on Toonami on April 11, 2021.[55] On September 1, 2020, Netflix began streaming the series in the United States, Canada and Latin America.[56] Madman Entertainment simulcasted the series on AnimeLab in Australia and New Zealand.[57] The anime is licensed in the United Kingdom by Anime Limited.[58]

The first season of the anime series substantially follows the manga and covers the story up to chapter 37, where the children escape from Grace Field House.[59] The second seasons is an abbreviated version of events which take place between chapters 38 and 181.[60] There are also changes to the plot, the major ones being the omission of the Goldy Pond arc and the battle against the demon queen and her nobles, and in the manga Isabella is killed and Emma has her memory wiped in exchange for forging a new "Promise" between demons and humans.[61]

Live-action film[]

A live-action film adaptation premiered on December 18, 2020.[62][63] Directed by Yūichirō Hirakawa with Noriko Gotou handling the film's script, it stars Minami Hamabe as Emma, Jyo Kairi as Ray, Rihito Itagaki as Norman,[64][65] Keiko Kitagawa as Isabella, and Naomi Watanabe as Krone.[66] The casting for Krone was met with controversy as the character is depicted being black in the manga and anime, while Watanabe herself is Japanese.[67] Japanese rock band Zutomayo performed the film's theme song "Tadashiku Narenai" (正しくなれない, "It Can't Be Right").[68]

Live-action series[]

In June 2020, it was revealed that Amazon Studios and 20th Television is developing an English-language live-action series adaptation of the manga for Amazon Prime Video. Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse's Rodney Rothman is directing the series and Meghan Malloy is writing the pilot. Rothman, along with Death Note producer Masi Oka, and Vertigo Entertainment's Roy Lee and Miri Yoon are the executive producers of the series.[69]

Video games[]

A mobile game based on the series called The Promised Neverland: Escape the Hunting Grounds was released on April 22, 2021.[70][71] The game is developed by GOODROID and published by CyberAgent and is available on iOS and Android.[72]

A crossover event between The Promised Neverland and the video game Identity V was released in February 2021.[73] A second crossover event with Identity V will start on September 24, 2021.[74] Another crossover event, with the Japanese smartphone game Jumputi Heroes, was released in March 2021.[75]

Other media[]

An art book, titled The Promised Neverland: Art Book World (約束のネバーランド ART BOOK WORLD, Yakusoku no Nebārando Āto Bukku Wārudo), was released on November 4, 2020.[76] A fan book, titled The Promised Neverland 0: Mystic Code (約束のネバーランド 0 MYSTIC CODE, Yakusoku no Nebārando 0 Misutikku Kōdo), was released on December 4, 2020.[77]

An art exhibition, The Promised Neverland Special Exhibition, was held at the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi from December 11, 2020 to January 11, 2021.[78] Additionally, a cafe event called "Cafe Grace Field" was held next to the exhibition venue. The design of the cafe was based on Grace Field House and sold various foods and drinks themed to the series.[79] The exhibition was held again from March 17 to April 5, 2021 in Osaka.[80] From April 24 to May 9, 2021, it was held at the Nagoya Congress Center.[81] From July 3–25, 2021, it was held in Okayama.[82] From July 21 to August 16, 2021, it was held in Sapporo.[83]

A traveling real-life escape game based on the series called "The Promised Neverland: Escape From The False Paradise" began touring Japan in March 2019.[84] A second traveling real-life escape game based on the series called "The Promised Neverland: Escape From The Man-Eating Forest" began touring Japan on July 8, 2021.[85] An event, in collaboration with Greenland Amusement Park in Arao, Kumamoto, called "Infiltrate the Greenland Farm" started on March 20 and was held until June 6, 2021. The event featured exclusive merchandise, food, and rides themed to the series.[86] A collaboration with Hotel Keihan at six different locations in Japan ran from June 1 to August 29, 2021. The collaboration featured six concept rooms nationwide with life-sized characters, animated setting pictures, original merchandise, voices from Emma, Norman, and Ray, and a mini exhibition.[87] A hands-on, experience-based, immersive event called "Experience Museum The Promised Neverland Grace Field House Escape Edition" will be held in Roppongi from July 17 to December 30, 2021.[88][89] A new cafe event called "Minerva Cafe" will be held within the museum and sell various foods and drinks themed to the series.[90]

Reception[]

The Promised Neverland was the 24th top-selling franchise in 2018 (period from December 11, 2017 to December 9, 2018), with estimated sales of ¥1,934,599,524.[91]

Manga[]

On Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! ranking of top manga of 2018 for male readers, The Promised Neverland topped the list.[92] On Da Vinci's magazine "Book of the Year" list, The Promised Neverland ranked 26th on the 2018 list,[93] 35th on the 2019 list[94] and 18th on the 2020 list.[95] The Promised Neverland ranked 12th on Alu's manga community "My Manga Best5" 2020 ranking, in which 46,641 users (via Twitter) participated.[96][97] On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150.000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, The Promised Neverland ranked 46th.[98]

The series won the "Shonen Tournament 2018" by the editorial staff of the French website manga-news.[99] Barnes & Noble listed The Promised Neverland on their list of "Our Favorite Manga of 2018".[100] The Promised Neverland was included on the American Library Association's list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens in 2018,[101] and 2019.[102] In Tumblr's Review of the Year, which highlights the platform's biggest communities, fandoms, and trends throughout the year, The Promised Neverland ranked 15th in the Top Manga & Anime category in 2019,[103] and 46th in 2020.[104]

Sales[]

As of August 2017, the manga had 1.5 million copies in circulation.[105] By October 2017, the number increased to 2.1 million copies in circulation.[106] As of January 2019, the first 12 volumes had 8.8 million copies in circulation.[107] As of September 2019, the manga had over 16 million copies in circulation.[108] As of June 2020, the manga had over 21 million copies in circulation.[109] As of October 2020, the manga had over 25 million copies in circulation.[110] As of December 2020, the manga had over 26 million copies in circulation.[111] As of April 2021, the manga had over 32 million copies in circulation, including digital versions.[112] The Promised Neverland was the 8th best selling manga in 2018, with over 4.2 million copies sold.[113] It was the 4th best selling manga in 2019, with over 7.4 million copies sold.[114] It was the 6th best selling manga in 2020, with over 6.3 million copies sold.[115]

Critical reception[]

Anime News Network's Rebecca Silverman enjoyed the first manga volume and gave it a A−, saying, "Tense pacing, interesting literary connections, art and story work well together, strong plot and foreshadowing".[116] Leroy Douresseaux of ComicBookBin gave the first volume a score of 9/10. Douresseaux praised the series for its characters, storytelling, and graphics, saying that the result is "a sinister, dark fantasy, and mystery thriller".[1] Gabe Peralta of The Fandom Post, in his review of the first volume, praised it for its plot twists and suspense, giving it a "B+" and saying "The Promised Neverland feels like a modern Weekly Shonen Jump comic in every respect—it’s energetic and eager to please".[117] Katherine Dacey of The Manga Critic enjoyed the series. Dacey wrote that she liked the world-building, crack pacing, crisp artwork, and a shocking plot twist in the first volume. She also praised the introduction of the principal characters and the main conflict.[118]

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2016 Mandō Kobayashi New Serialization Award Won [119]
2017 Manga Grand Prix [120]
1st Annual Tsutaya Comic Awards Next Break Division [121]
Manga Shinbun Taishō Grand Prix [122]
10th Manga Taishō Manga Taishō Nominated [123][124]
3rd Next Manga Awards Comics division 2nd Place [125]
2018 63rd Shogakukan Manga Award Best Shōnen Manga Won [126]
22nd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Cultural Prize Nominated [127]
11th Manga Taishō Manga Taishō [128]
2018 Google Play Awards User Voting Excellence Award Won [129]
2019 French Babelio Readers' Awards Best Manga [130]
2019 Mangawa Awards Best Shonen [131]
23rd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Cultural Prize Nominated [132]
Japan Expo Awards 2019 Daruma for Best New Series Won [133]
Daruma for Best Screenplay of the Year
2021 25th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Cultural Prize Nominated [134]
52nd Seiun Awards Best Comic [135]

Anime[]

In February 2020, the anime series was awarded "Best Fantasy" at Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and the Grace Field House caretaker Isabella won the "Best Antagonist" category.[136] Polygon named the series as one of the best anime of the 2010s,[137] and Crunchyroll listed it in their "Top 100 best anime of the 2010s".[138] IGN also listed The Promised Neverland among the best anime series of the 2010s.[139] Lauren Orsini of Forbes included The Promised Neverland on her list of the best anime of the decade.[140] The Verge also listed the anime series in its list of the best anime of 2019.[141] James Beckett of Anime News Network ranked the series 5th on his list of best anime series of 2019.[142] Toussaint Egan of Thrillist ranked the series 3rd on his list of best anime of 2019.[143]

Season 2 of The Promised Neverland became the second biggest anime premiere ever on MyAnimeList behind Attack on Titan: The Final Season.[144]

Critical reception[]

Brittany Vincent, writing a review of the first season for Syfy, praised the twist at the end of episode 1, claiming that "Watching a seemingly idyllic community of happy-go-lucky kids seeing their realities destroyed in such a brutal way makes this a show that you just have to continue watching". Vincent particularly praised the animation and character designs saying "These aren't your generic anime kids, with pink hair and zany costumes. The lead protagonist, Emma, hardly looks like your typical anime character at all, thanks to her shock of reddish blonde hair and her wide eyes". Furthermore, Vincent referred to the series as "A great cross between shows like Deadman Wonderland and Seraph of the End, with dreadfully creepy characters and a narrative that keeps you guessing the whole way through".[145]

Allen Moody of THEM Anime Reviews gave the first season 4 out of 5 stars. Moody praised the series for its story and the characters' ability to "devise amazingly sophisticated strategies (and counter-strategies) that surprise the viewer as much as their foes", adding that the series "maintains a high level of psychological tension throughout, even though we're hit with unexpected explicit horror only a couple of times". Moody concluded: "I was fairly satisfied with the story we have here. There are heartbreaking developments and moments of pure horror, but the unquenchable human spirit is in here too".[146]

The second season of The Promised Neverland, in particular its final episode, received overwhelmingly negative reception for what many felt was a rushed and forced ending.[147] Reviewing the series' second season, Rafael Motamayor of Polygon said that while an original story could course-correct issues from the latter half of the original manga's plot, the season, specifically from episode 5 onwards, broke the pacing and tension of its previous episodes. In comparing it to the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist anime series, which changed from being a faithful adaptation to have an original story that "still captures the intention of the source material in a satisfying way", Motamayor wrote that The Promised Neverland anime was not planning on telling its own story, but rather skipping the chapters of the manga "to be done with the story as soon as humanly possible", still telling enough story that somewhat resembles the manga's plotline, "but taking way [sic] whatever made it impactful in the first place", adding that it was similar to the final season of Game of Thrones.[148]

Jairus Taylor of Anime News Network wrote that the anime adaptation of The Promised Neverland was a "total disaster". He explained that the anime changed the main focus of the original manga, which was meant to be a horror fantasy, as a "more linear version of Hunter x Hunter", instead of being a mystery thriller ("in the way its earliest chapters suggested"), as "the second coming of Death Note". Taylor commented that the anime "did a pretty good job delivering on suspense", but that it was at the expense of other elements that were vital to the original work's "larger ambitions", including entire cut out or trim down of worldbuilding elements, the lack of internal monologues and characterization that diminished the motivations of certain characters and the simplification of the series' actual themes and its messaging. Regarding the second season, Taylor considered various possible reasons for the staff's decision to make the changes, but he wrote: "Regardless of what went down though, it doesn't really change the reality that the second season faceplanted pretty hard". Taylor concluded: "If the anime had chosen not to skip anything it could have still faced problems since it was arguably poorly equipped to handle anything past Grace Field. Either way, the end result here is really disappointing, because while it certainly wasn't faultless, The Promised Neverland manga was easily one of the most interesting and thoughtful entries to the Shonen Jump lineup. It's a shame that its anime counterpart failed to live up to its potential".[45]

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2019 Newtype Anime Awards Nogizaka46 Award (Monthly Newtype Joint Special Award) The Promised Neverland Won [149]
2020 Crunchyroll Anime Awards Anime of the Year Nominated [150][151]
Best Girl Emma in The Promised Neverland
Best Protagonist
Best Antagonist Isabella in The Promised Neverland Won
Best Drama The Promised Neverland Nominated
Best Fantasy Won
Best Opening Sequence Touch Off in The Promised Neverland Nominated
Best Performance by a Voice Actor (Japanese) Yūko Kaida as Isabella in The Promised Neverland
Anime Trending Awards Anime of the Year The Promised Neverland [152][153]
Man of the Year Ray in The Promised Neverland
Norman in The Promised Neverland
Girl of the Year Emma in The Promised Neverland
Supporting Man of the Year Phil in The Promised Neverland
Don in The Promised Neverland
Opening Theme Song of the Year Touch Off in The Promised Neverland
Ending Theme Song of the Year Zettai Zetsumei in The Promised Neverland
Best in Adaptation The Promised Neverland
Best in Ensemble
Best in Soundtrack Won
Drama Anime of the Year
Mystery or Psychological Anime of the Year Nominated
Best Voice Acting Performance by a Female Mariya Ise as Ray in The Promised Neverland
Maaya Uchida as Norman in The Promised Neverland
Joint Character Wildcard Ray in The Promised Neverland Won
Phil in The Promised Neverland Nominated
Don in The Promised Neverland

Notes[]

  1. ^ Fuji TV listed the air dates for the series on Thursday at 25:25, which is effectively Friday at 1:25 a.m. JST.[42]
  2. ^ Adult Swim lists the series as premiering on April 13, 2019 at 12:00 a.m. ET/PT, which is effectively April 14.[53]

References[]

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