Review: The Promised Neverland after 7 episodes
I am really intrigued by The Promised Neverland series. It took me a while to sit down and watch it. Initially, I was disappointed in myself because I was instantly hooked and knew that I should have watched it sooner. But, I quickly got over it because I was able to binge seven episodes to catch up. So that was a plus!
Story:
The Promised Neverland revolves around a group of orphaned children who live carefree in an orphanage being loved, fed, and educated by their house mother, Isabella. Emma, Norman, and Ray are some of the oldest children at the orphanage and they are also the smartest. All of the children dream of getting adopted into loving families. And their house mother assumingly makes that happen for them.
All is well until it is time for the adoption of a six-year-old girl, Conny. Conny always carries a bunny. When that bunny is left behind, it sparks concern for Emma and Norman. They run after Isabella and Conny to return the forgotten bunny. However, they find out that Conny has been murdered and put on ice to be sold to monsters. Monsters who want human flesh and brains to eat. What’s worse is that Isabella is involved with this horror. She is raising them like cattle to be harvested and eaten by monsters.
Terrified at what they’ve found out, Emma and Norman hatch a plan to escape from the orphanage and bring the rest of the children with them to an unknown world that is full of unknown horrors.
Using the help of Ray and two other children, Don and Gilda, they plan an escape. But, they are thwarted by Isabella from the shadows as she bides her time until the next big harvest of children to offer up to ‘The One’.
Why you should watch this:
This anime is insane. In the first three episodes, I was so uneasy. As if selling children isn’t bad enough, we meet a character named Krone who clearly has some sort of personality disorder. She wants to be a “mother” on the farm orphanage and is willing to do anything to get it, including selling these children after using them as allies. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve referred to her as nuts while watching this anime.
The coolest thing about this anime is the main characters ability to strategize and plan their escape while gathering information. Norman is the most level headed protagonist I’ve encountered while watching anime. He constantly finds out negative information and is able to use it to his advantage for the betterment of the escape plan.
Emma is so naive, poor girl. She wants to save every child. I sympathize with her the most. I really do not want to see her soul get crushed if they can’t save everyone.
Ray disappointed me the most. I won’t spoil it, but I haven’t been able to trust him. Even though Norman is still able to make the most out of the situation, Ray is still the wildest card they need to deal with.
Expectations:
I honestly don’t know what to expect. There is still so much information that hasn’t been explained. And this is a 12 episode season and even though season 2 has been announced, I’m going to need some resolution! I suspect we will find out actual information about ‘The One’. The only thing I gathered so far is he/she/it runs the children harvest operation.
I also would like to see how Krone’s help, if she is able to help, comes in to play while Emma, Ray, and Norman attempt to escape. But for some reason, I get the feeling this isn’t a happy ending kind of anime. Then again, there is time for everything to work out.
It’s available on Crunchy Roll, Hulu, Funimatio, and Toonami (weekly) if you want catch up on this show and share your opinion with me.