The Promised Neverland - Season One in-depth summary and review

If you're into suspense/mystery/horror animes, The Promised Neverland is one I just got into that I liked. Or if you found this and you've already seen it, check out my next blog, where I go over Season One in-depth + share my thoughts. Anyway, I liked this anime because it's a perfect deep dive into how people react in stressful situations. There are strong themes of imprisonment; it reminds me of cattle on a farm. It shows the desperation humans will go to to survive in general.

The show opens in the dining hall of Grayfield Manor, a home for orphans, with all 38 kids present. The first orphans you meet are the three main characters: Norman, Ray, and Emma, who are super intelligent 12-year-olds. In the show, you'll meet the main antagonist, Isabella, the camp leader who portrays a veneer of kindness but has a steely determination to do whatever it is to stay alive, even at the expense of others. The show focuses on intelligence tests, and Isabella is BIG on announcing scores after all the tests. One might hope this is to encourage higher scores to increase adoption, but the show takes some grueling turns for the worse.

The manor is surrounded by walls with only one gate, which is restricted to the orphans. After the first orphan, Connie gets "adopted," the three main characters start to wonder how they leave the gate. And their curiosity eventually brings them to the restricted entrance. This is where the show introduces the underlying horror lying within the manor.

I hope I was able to give some nice glimpses into this suspenseful anime. Here is the link to watch it on Netflix and also Crunchyroll! My next blog will be my thoughts on the show, so be sure to check that out and let me know your thoughts on it!

The first thing we see is a big, sprawling house with 38 children sitting down to breakfast. There are numbers on their necks. Isabella, the head of the household, announces that Connie will be adopted that day. Connie cries about leaving, and Emma comforts her. After breakfast, the children file into classrooms to take tests. Ray and Norman received the highest test scores. They go outside and play tag. Norman Ray and Emma end up running to the back gate. They are restricted from going past that gate. The three wonder what is on the other side. A few days later, Emma and Norman sneak out at night and go to the back entrance. They managed to get past it. Emma sees Connie’s teddy bear lying on the ground. Norman sees Connie’s body in a vat of preservative liquid. He also sees what he calls demons come to collect the body. He overhears them talking about the meat. Norman runs back to Emma, and they both flee past the gate to their rooms. The following day, they tell Ray all about the experience. Ray is understandably skeptical of their story. But in the end, he believes them because they are such close friends—the three plan on escaping. The children learn Norman is the next to be adopted (how?), so they have to accelerate their plans. Emma does not want to leave any of the other children behind. So, it is decided to tell tomorrow. Norman, Emma, and Ray try to share what they saw with the older children, Don and Gilda, but they're also skeptical.*** After this, the story of the escape spreads like wildfire. Norman and Emma find out that the facility they are being housed in is called Gray Field Manor and is known for its high grade of meat. It is also discovered that Ray is a spy for Isabella. So, Isabella knows all about their plan. So, Isabella does everything she can to slow the children’s progress.** Norman finds out that there is a highly high wall around the property that would easily prevent them from escaping. So, he decides to go through with leaving the rest of the children to continue to build up the stamina of the younger children by playing tag in their free time. Later, Emma discovers that the older children deemed smart enough are adopted at age 12. She also realizes that it will soon be Ray's 12 birthday, and he will be quickly adopted. Ray shuts down after this news and sacrifices himself so that Emma and the rest of the children can escape. However, on the night he plans to do this, Emma stops him. It is later revealed that Norman predicted that Ray might try to commit suicide, so Emma stopped him with an impassioned plea. However, they still set the room on fire. Emma runs to Isabella and tells her that Ray is in the room on fire. Isabella runs to the room in an attempt to save Ray’s brain. Emma and the rest of the older kids use the opportunity to get a majority of the kids who are old enough to run out of the building and over the wall. Emma leaves the younger children with Isabella. Emma promises they will return for the rest of them in two years. I recommend this anime to anyone who enjoys suspense or mystery.

I think this anime is exceptionally well done. At first glance, the Anime looks like it is set in the 1800s. However, the few books we see would make us think it takes place in 2015. In some alternate timeline. However, this anime is set in the year 2046. To Show does an excellent job of simplifying a highly complex subject, making it easier for younger audiences to understand. It also shows the resilience of the human spirit in extreme circumstances

If you have any further questions about this program. Feel free to ask me