Sunday, September 6, 2020

Manga: The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai

Chapter 176 | The Promised Neverland Wiki | Fandom

This has been a long time coming! The Promised Neverland by Shirai Kaiu has finally ended! I had started reading this amazing story since last year and let me tell you... this is not your typical shounen manga. This manga centers around a plethora of characters but more focuses on the main three: Ray, Emma and Norman. 
 VIZ | The Official Website for The Promised Neverland

They are residents at the Grace Field House, an orphanage that actually treats the children well: keeping them well-fed, clothed, giving them an education, and allowing them play-time. Their caretaker, who they refer to as "Mama," is Isabella, the only adult in their lives. The only rule that is enforced is that the children are not allowed past the fence, dictating the orphanage's grounds. The children are all adopted out by the time they turn 12-years-old, no older, and thus life goes on. But... considering that this is a shounen manga, not everything is as it seems...


(SPOILER WARNING! START)

The manga starts off with showing the kids' day-to-day living, from wake up to bedtime. Life is normal for the most part, other than the fact that the kids have numbers tattooed into their necks and they take these insanely difficult tests everyday as their schoolwork. The three smartest are Emma, Ray and Norman, who are fringing upon turning 12-years-old, the age they have to be adopted out by. One day it is announced that Connie was getting adopted but on her adoption day she forgot her bunny. Emma is the one who notices but it is past their curfew and she doesn't know if she will make it in time, Ray reassures her that she can make it to give Connie the bunny and Norman offers to go with her to deliver the plushie. What happens when they get to the gate becomes traumatizing to them. They see these monsters... these demons, Mama Isabelle and Connie dead, suspended in a liquid experiment tube thing. Fortunately they are not caught, they escape back to the house, but accidentally left the bunny at the gate. This is the catalyst of everything... 

Once Emma and Norman see all that, they realize that they are not safe. They fill Ray in, being the Three Musketeers they have always been, and then all three of them make plans to get all the children over the age of four out of their, beyond the walls. Before they are able to enact on the plan, Norman is shipped out and Emma's leg is broken by Mama Isabelle. And while she thought that she had broken Emma's and Ray's spirits, they planned in secret, involving most of the kids, in a new escape plan. In the end, it works, but that is not the end of their adventures and misery... 

(SPOILER WARNING! END)

The ending of the manga... oh boy there is a lot of stuff going on there... is not the most ideal... First we're going to back track a little, I essentially stopped telling the story after the first arc of escaping from Grace Field House. This is because the story becomes way more complicated and elongated. There are several arcs that happen after they escape the orphanage. They learn things about the demons and meet new people, further expanding their family. 

Many events happen, keeping me on the edge of my seat, but then the ending, the truth about the human world comes to light, dimming my excitement significantly. I never thought that they would have a completely wonderful happy ending, but I didn't really like how the series ended. I definitely recommend this series, it is an amazing concept that was executed beautifully. I was hooked the first time I started to read it and it had only recently come to a close.

While the ending was slightly disappointing, I don't think it completely takes away from the story. Read it, despite what you've heard about the ending or anything of the like, the story is worth it.

Sorry for such a short review but I don't want to spoil the series all too much, it is such a good series that I truly recommend wholeheartedly. Thank you guys for reading! Please comment down below your thoughts on The Promised Neverland! Have you read it yet? Or maybe you have watched the anime? Tell me all about it!

Why The Promised Neverland's Ending Doesn't Work

Everyone, continue staying safe! I know many things are currently opening up, but with the openings there have been an influx of infections of COVID-19. As I am typing this, it is currently July and things aren't looking any better, if anything, things are looking worse for wear. Please, stay safe, stay home, and keep your masks on...  

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