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 really 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 really good deep dive into how people react in stressful situations. There's strong themes of imprisonment, kinda reminds me of a 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 3 main characters: Norman, Ray, and Emma, who are super intelligent 12 year olds. In the show you'll meet the main antagonist, Isabella, the leader of the camp 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 a lot on intelligence tests, and Isabella is BIG on announcing scores after all the tests. One might hope that this is to encourage higher scores to increase adoption, but the show takes some grueling turns for the worst.
The manor is surrounded by walls with only one gate, which is restricted to the orphans. After the first orphan, Connie, gets "adopted," the 3 main characters start to wonder more about how exactly you leave the gate. And their curiosity eventually brings them to the restricted gate. This is where the show introduces the underlying horror that is 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 38 children are 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 a series of 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 gate. They managed to get past it. Emma sees Connie’s teddy bear laying 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 talk about the meat. Norman runs back to Emma and they both flee back past the gate back to their rooms. The next morning, they tell Ray all about the experience. Ray is understandably skeptical of their story. But in the end, 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 to 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 that it is known for a 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 down the children’s progress.** Norman finds out that there is an extremely 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 continue to build up the stamina of the younger children by monthly playing tag in their free time. later, Emma discovers that the older children who are deemed smart enough are adopted at age 12 .she also discovers that it will soon be Ray's 12 birthday and he will be adopted soon. Ray shuts down after this news and decides to sacrifice himself so that Emma and the rest of the children can escape. However, on the night that he plans to do this, Emma stopped 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 that is currently 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 that are old enough to run out of the building and over the wall. Emma leaves the younger children with Isabella. Emma promises that they will be back for the rest of them in two years. I recommend this anime for anyone who enjoys suspense or a mystery.
I think this anime is extremely 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 that it takes place in 2015. In some alternate timeline. However, this anime is set in the year 2046.To show does a good job of simplifying a very complicated subject and I think it makes it easier for younger audience 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