Yakusoku no Neverland

Would I recommend this show? YES! I have and I’ll do it again, this show is amazing from both a technical standpoint and because of its story. Tl;dr Promised Neverland (Yakusoku no Neverland) is a fantastic show with more twists than the Gordian knot and is all presented in an easy to understand way. I’d recommend it to literally anyone (even though anime isn’t for everyone), in my opinion, this is easily the best show this season. Story: 10 - There’s really not much to say about it, I loved it and I think it’s fantastic for anyone who likes thriller. Despite the tags in MyAnimeList, I don’t think this show really fits in the “horror” genre. It fits more into the thriller with more suspense than fear, really putting you on the edge of your seat and making you really fear for the children’s lives (Well… as much as a shonen anime could). Another great aspect of this show is the phycological side of it, Mama is an unrelenting genius who foils almost every plan the main characters can come up with, seemingly knowing what they’re thinking before they know it themselves. Going back to the story itself, it’s an outstanding tale of deception, escape, and drama that never shows its true cards and only tells you the important details (which is personally my favorite type of writing) Art 9 - I want to give this a 10 for its superb animation but unfortunately shows like Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara exist and I guess “The game was rigged from the start” It’s become an ever-present trend in anime nowadays to actually LOWER the quality of individual frames in order to make the overall animation look better, which is the equivalent of turning down your in-game setting to get a higher frame rate. It’s been done several times in the past most prominently with fight scenes but more recently we’ve seen the emergence of shows where a majority of scenes are taken down from “Ultra” to “High”, not to say this is a bad thing, it’s just an inevitable trend that I personally think is a good thing. Promised Neverland is no different, making use of both bright colors to contrast or dark colors to complement the story going on. Usually, being in the dark signifies danger and the light to signify safety but in Promised Neverland both sides are both equally as dangerous to show the viewer that no one character is ever “safe” they never have been and never will be. I could go in even more detail but I don’t want to make this section any longer. Sound 9.9 (basically a 10) - I love the soundtrack a lot, I only found fault in one section of the opening. Let me just address the elephant in the room, a 9.9? How df does a soundtrack get a 9.9? I love the opening but in the beginning, there’s a section where a saxophone is being played and I just absolutely HATE it. I don’t know exactly why it bothers me so much but it was enough for me to knock it down .1 points. Other than that I think this show is spot on, pairing nicely with the art to give a dark and foreboding environment that really adds to the “Thriller” experience. Sometimes you’ll hear the danger coming and sometimes it’ll pop up on you not making a single sound. During the “Let's escape” scene in the first episode the soundtrack really sold me on the entire show, it was truly horrifying and downright creepy. Finally, the show also uses silence effectively, turning off the background music so you can really focus on the craziness that’s going on in front of you. Character 10 - These characters are great not because they’re all amazing by themselves but because of how the impact the story. It really takes a special kind of writer to make characters important just by standing there being completely useless and Kaiu Shirai did just that. Not only are the main three (Emma, Ray, and Norman) important but even the toddlers that really don’t do much can be central figures in certain scenes tipping the battles that they themselves aren’t even aware of. Mama and HQ are both mysterious individuals manipulating everyone around them to the dismay of the deceived around them. Without spoiling too much, this show is both story and character-driven making an amazing pair that (in my opinion) makes it one of the best this season. Enjoyment & Overall 10 Let’s get serious here, you know this was going to be a 10… because you probably read the “10” next to the review. Most of what I wanted to say was already said and I’d recommend you making Promised Neverland the next show you binge watch today!

To put it in a simple word this is just a: COMMERCIAL anime "Let's scare a little some people to make sum money" Am I the only one mad at this anime!? At first they try to make a psychological thriller - suspense series about orphan kids living in a small zone. Lil Spoilear ahead; these kids are basically being harvested but they don’t know that because when they are about to disappear the adult makes an excuse. Just with this plot you can make a bomb anime! Instead, this people said fuck this shit and added monsters! While still trying to make it realistically! Also some things simply don’t fit well. After adding weird creatures, the anime proceeded to become like some type of Made in Abyss series with monster and spirits in the forests... The personality of the mothers don’t really make sense, there isn’t even enough background information and the plot twist was kinda dumb. For me, clearly whoever did this had no clear objective/aim/goal.

This will probably be my first and only review, but after watching Episode 12 of "Yakusoku no Neverland" and finishing the series, i just needed to write it down. This review won't have any spoilers in it and will entirely be subjective (which any review in actuality is). As a manga reader of the same series, i had unhealthy expectations to the anime, i feared they will cut to much, will struggle to get the emotions through or fail at the art style; in short: a cheap knockoff just for the name, which happens unfortunately to many animes. I couldn't be more wrong and so happy about it. First of all: If you know anything about the plot, besides maybe the first Episode, it will diminish the enjoyment, the reveal, the twist and the mindgames by a lot. So, go in blind, don't read any summary, don't look up pictures, just watch. Did they cut things? Yes. Did they use Cgi? Yes. Did they change some scenes? Yes. And here i have to already cut and say, the director, sound designer and the animation just works and they did a tremendous job. Despite the cuts, everything gets through, the music is not just there, it complements the story and the animation is effortlessly able to create suspense, fear, sadness, happiness and everything else. The CGI is used beautiully in the background modestly and looks actually good (i say that as someone who actually hates CGI in Anime because it is mostly used in a cheap way). It's like the whole team actually worked as a team and sat down and discussed things. This is a character based and dialogue heavy Anime, the focus undoubtetly lies there, which means if you can't connect to any of the protagonists and even antagonists you will probably not enjoy this as much. But i would say, give it a shot. In conclusion this Anime is an easy 10/10 for me and not only that, i think it is at least in my top 3. Someone really cared about this and i can feel that. Thank you for that.

Well to start of just Wow! This series has been an exciting nail biting experience...I didn't expect that 3 months would over so soon...with me still wanting more!! Story- The pace at which the story progresses gives us good character development. The first few episodes were made with fineese. Art- The art was good nothing too fancy.... Sound-The audio and the OST were just mindblowing!!! Isabella's hum and Emma's theme were beautiful Character- From emma's introduction to Ray's reveal as Isabella's spy were very intersting twists and Sister Krone's death too. Overall- Its a must watch as every episodes keeps you wanting for more and the story and sound make it just beautiful Thanks :D

A quick review on why I highly disliked this show, albeit obviously being one of the best/most popular this season. Building up a mystery/thriller is hard. Establishing a unique utopia, as in one we know nothing about, is even harder. Setting them both up simultaneously is incredibly ambitious. And considering this show is a mere 12 episodes, I reckon near impossible. The Promised Neverland deftly managed to reasonably accomplish both tasks, but by forcing such ambition into so little time, I couldn't help but feel it couldn't possibly fill it's promise, and imo, I was right. For a show so heavily reliant on its characters (which for the record were very well done in the time available), I consistently felt like I didn't know enough about them, I was never invested. You could argue that's just how these type of plots are, but I disagree. Monster, angel beats, eden of the east, and many isekai manage to either suffice or fill that craving with some distraction. Besides Neverland's promising storytelling, nothing else was offered. The story simply felt lackluster due to lack of meaningfulness, liking the characters just isn't enough. While this show didn't fall terribly into the trap of introducing too many ideas and developments too late, there was too much off the get go to keep up. If there is one thing I truly hate in any media I consume, it is wasted potential. This whole season was equivalent to an arc, and that arc was a rushed introduction. The "mystery" was too involved to allow characters to develop, important moments I'd argue were crucial for the story were often skipped, likable characters without depth are merely cliches. Again, for a show heavily reliant on it's characters, they weren't substantial enough. The story barely progressed, the characters were barely developed beyond an introduction to their personality, the mystery was showcased just enough to make sense, but not enough to add any sort of 'mysterious feel'. Despite being genuinely a good show, it felt empty. An empty show doesn't deserve a good rating. If by some magic you haven't watch this show yet, sentimental to my grievances of it, and somewhat align with my way of thinking, here is my advice. Do NOT watch this show. Until either season 2 is midway through and seems promising, or better, until the whole series ends. There is a TON of promise, but it simply didn't occur here; nor enough to guarantee it next season. I rate this season 4/10, but considering the hype for this show it's safe to assume another season will happen, and the premise can still reach its full potential. The show isn't bad nor ruined, I just wish this season was either 24+ episodes or simplified down to 2-4 to allow some seriously needed investment.

Look I've watched hundreds of animes and this is the first I'm bothering to make a review for because i liked it so much. Here we go Story: 10 -One of few anime I've found that has no noticeable plot holes from start to finish. I found the story to be easy to follow, while also requiring my attention to really dive into the deeper aspects of the show. Art: 8 -Really subjective here but i really enjoyed the art style(particularly facial expressions conveyed emotion extremely well). A-1 Pictures always brings it in this department. Sound: 10 -In my top five favorite soundtracks of all time(especially Isabella's theme) Character: 9 -While some of the characters may seem to have shallow reasons for their actions at times. Though this may be true I find this due to mostly due to the fact that many things are purposefully omitted to add mystery to the story. I find by the end of the season everything is explained in a convincing fashion. Norman, Emma, and Isabella especially are very well written- characters. Enjoyment: 10 -Enjoyed it from start to finish! Overall: 10 Give it a try!

Promised Neverland: A gripping experience from start to finish, and possibly the best example of horror anime done right. Horror is one of those genres that anime has always had a tough time tackling. I think it’s just more difficult to inspire fear using animated characters than live-action ones. So how did Neverland pull it off? It’s not as if the show did anything revolutionary; it just simply did all the little things right. Our story begins at a peaceful orphanage. The matriarchal figure “Mama” watches as her beloved children smile and play freefully. All is well, and all is right in their little world. Or is it? As several characters discover, things are not as rosy as they appear on the surface. Without spoiling anything, this revelation shapes how the rest of the series progresses. It seeps into every scene, every interaction, every piece of dialogue. And that is what Neverland excels so well at. The constant tension and legitimate sense of dread that permeates each and every episode. The characters are in an incredibly perilous situation, walking a tight-rope between success and disaster. But who are these characters? Let’s start with the child trio of Emma, Norman, and Ray. These are three of the older kids in the orphanage, which is important because that means their time there is running out. At first, they may seem a tad generic. Emma is a bit more playful and the other two are decidedly more serious. Norman has a bit of an old soul and Ray is just a tiny bit edgy. But their development, especially for a 12 episode series, was phenomenal. Plus their interactions and some of the flashbacks showing them growing up together were so endearing. This trio couldn’t be easier to root for. Now onto the woman everyone simply called “Mama”, who basically played that role for every child there. Now, given the nature of the series, you can probably guess there is a bit more behind that motherly facade, and oh man would you be right. Her icy-cold demeanor made her one of the most terrifying villains in anime history, and the fact you could actually sympathize with her made her one of the most compelling villains in anime history. Let’s just say I would not want to play poker with her. It is nearly impossible to know what she is thinking or feeling at any given moment. Onto the art. At first glance, it might not look like anything special, but there is definitely flashes of brilliance. When the show wants to hit you with a memorable moment, scene, or just character expression, it knocks it out of the park.There are certain moments that have stuck with me simply because of the look on someone’s face. Some of the transitions from a happy to sad scene or vice versa, did such a splendid job at showcasing the dichotomy between the merry world the kids thought they were living in and the grim reality they were actually facing. It was just a master-class directing. As far as the sound? Fantastic as well. Some of the best, most dramatic voice acting from “children” (the characters, not the seiyuus) I’ve ever heard. They all conveyed a level of helplessness and terror that matched up with the predicaments they were in. And the OP, man. I think that’s what the kids call a “banger”. No one specific track of the OST stood out to me, but needless to say, the music helped set the uneasy mood the series was going for. You ever see someone say something along the line of “wait, that can’t be right, this episode was only 5 minutes?” This is one of the few times I have actually experienced something akin to that. Every episode was so consistently compelling it flew by. I am not familiar with the source material, so I was not expecting much going in, but this series legitimately wowed me and made me feel things no horror anime has ever made me feel. If anyone ever tells you this medium can’t do that particular genre, you don’t have to only point to Monster anymore, but also at Promised Neverland.

This is one of the few animes that had a lot going for themselves but its execution have led to its stumble that it was kind of sad to see; This review will constitute the overall state of its first and second season. Do I recommend people to watch it? I wish I could. But it is a very distasteful experience that I think you'll be better off reading the manga perhaps. Animation (6/10) - This was one of the finer aspects that they had in their credits. Their color scheming and thematics was expressive, the movements were fluid and has a very contemporary appeal that is reflective of the current, anime industry. And its one of the things you can expect from its house, CloverWorks, that has a decent resume of shows in their belt. So props to that regard. Usually animes with decent animation, I'll give it a 7. But since it saw a little bit of an overall decline in terms of quality I would be giving it a six to be fair because yep, they did cheaped out throughout the second season's entire run. Storyline (1/10) - This is where it got rancid. The first season was something that was very interesting to follow, it was something that was thoroughly mapped out and is faithful to the manga series. So good for that. But we have to also credit the fall from grace that they did with the second season wherein they seemingly cut corners with its production by rushing its storyline and unreasonably deviated from its original plot. It felt like I was watching a PowerPoint presentation of the summary rather than a constructed story that should be a pleasant experience. It was TERRIBLE. And the higher the fall, the greater the damage. So with everything considered, I'll be giving this a point, just because it was a disappointment. Music (3.5/10) - Considering its run ended prematurely, it has a very limited library of tracks. It mostly composes of orchestral and ambient compositions to assist the story narrations rather than being utilized to jam out to. But big ups to "Isabella's Lullaby" that music track was ethereal and I think the most worth listening to out of the entire discography they have under their belt. But overall, it was a bit lackluster. Overall - 3.50 out of 10

Neverland was a bit bizarre, it certainly felt as though it was conducted on the philosophy that if the viewer is drawn in within the first episode, then they will like every following episode, and I suppose truthfully speaking I cannot tell them they had no basis at all to do so, for I did watch all 12 episodes, despite not thinking very highly of them, and if this were a pay per view then I'd be feeling a bit conned, but regardless, the show, time to get to it. The opening episode is quite good, actually, I'll give them credit for that, with the premise that we've got a bunch of kids living in an orphanage and all of them are happy and the rest of it, but their "mama" tells them never to open a specific gate, and sometimes the children get upset because some of the children get foster parents at which point they are never seen again. So, when Conny (whose name is questionably similar to cunny if you ask me) is sent off, Norman and Emma, two of the brightest orphans go off to investigate, and as it turns out, Conny, and other children sent off to their so-called foster parents are killed and eaten by grotesque demons. That's a good opening episode, and if it ended there, I'd be saying this was a great short film, but unfortunately, it didn't, and I somehow get the feeling that after this big reveal the author's ideas started to run dry. The first strange facet of the show that comes to mind is the cinematography, which is something I usually make no note of, because it is usually not noteworthy at all, yet herein it's just all very peculiar, and not in a good way either, there were a lot of strange shots of which my only response was "what's the camera doing", and it all had a rather amateurish feel to it, with constant cuts, tilts, and zooms wherein they weren't necessary at all. I have no issue with directors who try to be creative with their camerawork, but this is just weird, I can only describe it as being manufactured eccentricity - trying to look all weird and special, just because, which in turn makes it a far worse experience than if they just directed it normally. Cinematography aside, my biggest issue with the show was the writing, which started off well in episode 1, but once they realised they had to actually work with it and make a full show, that's when it all crumbled. For one, we have three main characters: Norman, Emma and Ray, who are all much more intelligent than everyone else and plan to escape from the orphanage, while avoiding letting themselves get caught by the caretaker, Isabella. The biggest problem is the whole damned thing seems to go on in Norman's head, and the viewer isn't told a single thing, it seems to have taken the philosophy that if the viewer is just not told any information, then the big reveal will be really stunning, and I cannot say that's absolutely untrue, but put something in there to keep the viewer in anticipation, half the fucking show is just Norman staring intently at the caretaker (whose name is Isabella, for the record) like we're in a finale of a western. That can be suspenseful, sure, and the finale of a western is actually a good example, you know one of them's going to draw any second, keeps you on edge, but not this, you can stare at each other and all, but put something in there, the suspense has no pay off at all, and sometimes they stage bungled escapes every so often without much reason at all, not when each of these kids are apparently each Macgyver, but there's just no reason to any of it. They actually got shit done in the closing episode, and it wasn't awful, but it wasn't that good either. They also seemed to fail to elaborate on so many questions. Who are the demons? How did they come to be? Why do they eat children? Who's in charge of this whole operation? Who is Phil, and why does he matter? How are the children so unbelievably smart? Why are we still here? Just to suffer? In summary, Neverland starts off decently enough, but every episode other than the first one seems all too content on just leaving you to wait because, maybe, in a bit, it gets better, but it doesn't. It's a bad story, with nothing to redeem it. In the words of James Rolfe, what a shitload of fuck.

The Promised Neverland is a story that fails to play to its strengths and ends up feeling like it realized less of its potential than it wasted. Like most mystery stories, it is structured in a succession of small questions whose answers make the characters and the viewers progress in their search for the truth. Its main weakness is that it fails to make the viewers care about those questions, and thus becomes a plot-driven show without an interesting plot. The first reason why it can be hard to get invested in all those small mysteries is that as early as the first episode, the show presents viewers with several much bigger and more interesting questions: what is the world like outside the orphanage ?, what made it become like this ?, who exactly is Isabella ? Compared to these mysteries, of which only one really gets looked into, it can feel like most of the events the characters get involved in are secondary and delay the progression of the main plot instead of advancing it. The way the story is written also participates in this impression of stalling and dullness, for a number of interconnected reasons. One of the most significant issues is that it is difficult to get invested in the characters. Indeed, while they are far from being the worst shounen characters around, almost all of them, including the main trio, lack the things that usually make characters engaging: they are rather predictable and generic, they receive no development, have very simple personalities, and no backstory. They are simply very smart children. The only child who undergoes something that could be called development and about whom things are revealed becomes the least believable of them all, and is probably the most archetypal too. The one exception is Isabella, the children's caretaker, whose combination of cold scheming and warm maternal love is interesting. Her past and motivations are by far the most compelling mysteries of the series, but even she comes off as averagely written, as her level of intelligence doesn't feel consistent throughout the series. Sister Krone, on the other hand, is an appalling character, with her caricatural expressions, excessive monologues and near absence of plot relevance. Due to the lack of complexity I described, dialogues between the children, which occupy most of The Promised Neverland's time, are often lackluster. They are devoid of creativity from both a directing and a writing standpoint, and rarely feature ingenious reasoning. The children simply try to convince one another of doing things that the viewers are already pretty sure they will do and make some oddly accurate big assumptions based on the tiny amount of information they have. Likewise, the battles of wits that are the anime's main sources of dramatic tension are poorly written and very hard to buy into, because their structure is one that should make it impossible for Isabella to lose, given how clever she is shown to be and considering the extreme asymmetry of information between the two sides. When she gets tricked, it is only thanks to amateurish plot conveniences, and it feels contrived. Additionally, the fragility of the suppositions the children base their actions on makes the numerous twists of the story a lot less powerful, as viewers are bound to expect that some unforeseen events will happen, especially considering how frequently they occur. Another major issue of The Promised Neverland's writing is how shaky its plot is: the illogically useful nature of the children's education, how many dangerous possibilities they are carelessly left with, the fact that Isabella almost never takes serious action despite having the power to do it, and many other elements of the series, are all elements that contribute to undermine the show's believeability. Along with its flawed writing, the anime also suffers from questionable choices in its direction, which makes use of some very artificial-sounding ways of creating tension. In a lot of scenes, situations that end up being perfectly harmless are presented in such a manner as to make them seem frightening. On top of betraying the viewers' expectations and quickly making these scenes lose all power, this repeated absence of consequences undermines the credibility of the narrative as a whole. What's more, the episodes invariably end on cliffhangers that most of the time turn out to be inconsequential, and the dramatic moments of the series are frequently too overplayed not to come off as inauthentic. As for the series' presentation, it is neither bad nor very good. The natural backgrounds are acceptable, but the interiors are often lackluster. Some of the character designs, such as Isabella's, are strong, but most of them go from average to awful. Overall, The Promised Neverland is not a very satisfying anime to watch. Its mediocre writing and directing make most of the narrative feel inconsequential or difficult to believe, and its constant reliance on deception prevents it from having real payoffs. While its premise and setting seemed interesting, the execution didn't do them justice and turned them into little more than the context for a slow succession of heavy dialogues.

Yakusoku no neverland is a masterpiece. Its thriller and mystery are keeping you on the edge of the seat. Each new episode has very unique plot twists and they are just great. This anime is about escaping. for those of you who don't know, it is about a group of kids trying to escape from a dangerous orphanage. (The reason, though, I'm not going to spoil it to you) Story: 10/10. This is one of the greatest stories. The theme of escaping, the mind games, and all the genius plot twists. It has a mystery element that keeps you drawn to it. It's an AMAZING story! Art: 10/10. The scenery, the animations are fantastic. It definitely deserves to be one of the best ones I've seen. Clover Works did it great. From every single scene, you can feel yourself actually being there. Sometimes the horror elements that the animation is so good that you feel like it really happened. Sound 10/10: The opening (nananannan) is awesome, as well as all the other soundtracks, the ed, and the voice acting. Especially for the last episode its god damn good! Characters 10/10: Brilliant character designs. Every single one of them, especially for Emma and Ray..... it's just absolutely great. Enjoyment 10/10: I enjoyed this a lot. If you hadn't watch it yet, I think you will also enjoy it. Especially if you like the mystery genre. Overall, I love everything about this anime. I love all the characters. I give this a 10 because there is no higher score than that, or else it would be infinity. again, this is a masterpiece!

Yakusoku no Neverland is a horror series from last year. It's based off of a manga written by Shirai Kaiu. The manga ran from August '16 to June of this year. The anime version was handled by Cloverworks. I have actually never reviewed something of theirs before. So, we're starting with this. Story: We follow three children in a children's home. Ray, Emma and Norman. They're living their lives, enjoying time with their friends. The only rule is that they can't pass through the gate. Norman and Emma break the rule to return a stuffed toy to their friend Conny when they discover the horrifying secret of their home. It's a ranch that raises children as food for demons. And that seems like a spoiler, but it's only episode 1. The rest of the series covers our heroes as they try to find a way to escape the ranch with their friends. I don't really have any big complaints about the story. About the worst thing I can say is that there's a character who's revealed to know the situation but the reason the series gives for them knowing is really stupid. The ending is also a little rushed. Like, they reveal the final plan and start carrying it out in the last episode. In fairness, they do give some hints in advance but it still feels a bit hurried especially when you compare it to the methodical, slow build of the rest of the series. The concept is really good for a horror work. I appreciate that the series relies primarily on building atmosphere and tension and rarely shows its monsters. And it does use those elements very effectively. It's very good at using the slow build up and injecting tension consistently. There's never a point where it feels like it's going too slowly or like the protagonists have things completely in hand. Another thing I really like about the series is that the characters have to work for everything. There's never a case of the antagonists just acting stupid or being otherwise incompetent. And there are quite a few moments where the protagonists think they've got a solid plan that can't fail only for the antagonists to completely mess it up with something simple but brutal. Another aspect I like is that the escape plan contains ideas from all three major characters. It isn't Emma's plan. It isn't Norman's plan. It isn't Ray's plan. It's a plan that has elements that all three contributed. Characters: The series is really good about giving its important characters a strong sense of personality. Even with side characters like Conny, you get a good sense of what kind of character she is and how she interacts with others in the build up to her unfortunate end. Even with the antagonistic characters, Mom and Sister Krone, the series puts an effort into giving them redeeming qualities and reasons behind doing what they're doing. The series is really good at building up new characters slowly so that you have a chance to get a good sense of their personalities before things really ramp up and they're actually in peril. Which means you actually have a reason to care when things are getting intense. The worst I can say is that there are some side characters who really don't have much personality. Like, I couldn't tell you what the personalities are on Anna, Nat, Lani or several of the other kids. Even the ones that make a marked contribution in the series. Art: Cloverworks did an excellent job with the artwork. The character designs look good. The horror elements look good and creepy. The atmosphere at the ranch is properly oppressive. The backgrounds are detailed. The demons, what little you see of them, do look properly creepy. The movements are nice and fluid. Sound: The acting in this is really good. Morohoshi Sumire, Ise Mariya, Uchida Maaya, Lynn, Kaida Yuuko, and Fujita Nao being some prominent examples. Obata Takahiro did a great job with the music. I haven't heard his compositions in anything else but this definitely gives a strong first impression. Especially the lullaby. Ho-yay: There really isn't any. And I'm sure part of it is just that the characters are too young to have romantic tension period. And the only two characters who are old enough are basically engaged in a mind game where one is trying to take the other's position. Areas of Improvement: 1. Give a better explanation for how your character discovered the secret. 2. At least put in a bit more foreshadowing for the final escape so it doesn't feel quite as rushed. 3. A bit more depth for the supporting characters. Final Thoughts: This is honestly a really good horror series. Having the characters be actual children who are struggling to survive works well. The slow build up, creepy atmosphere and continuous tension are really good. The major characters all have good depth and complexity to them. While I did have some minor things that could have been executed a bit better, there's really not that much to take issue with. Ultimately, I'm giving it a 9/10/.

First of all, the dude with the orange hair? Yeah that's actually a girl, her name is Emma. Took me a while to realize that lol The Promised Neverland is in my opinion, how every mystery-horror anime should be done. You know a show is doing it right when you're afraid of the jumpscares, and are constantly lowering the volume to avoid them. The show does a magnificent job of progressing from what seems to be a carefree shounen to a dark, psychological and morally intensive horror. Story: I give the story a 10 because simply put, you never knew what was gonna happen. Lots of horror shows are painfully predictable, but the Promised Neverland made it so that you were always learning the new twists alongside the characters. Also, the horror actually had meaning. The show didn't rely on jumpscares or monsters to be "scary". Instead, the weight of the decisions that the characters were making, created the suspense which then translated into the horror aspect. It's really well thought out, there are very little inconsistencies if any (perhaps one could be Norman and his fate at the end, but that's probably going to be answered in season 2). And throughout the story, you find yourself rooting for different people- one story I thought was really well done was that of Sister Krone- you think she's bad, then you think she's good, and then bad again, then good- you never know what side she's on and in the end you don't know how to feel about her eventual fate (which I'm not spoiling!) Also, the story of Ma (Isabella) and how she was so ruthless towards Sister Krone, but so sympathetic with the characters in the end. It just had incredible meaning and I found myself really invested in the story. Art/Sound: 9/10. What draws me to a show in the first place. The art style was minimalistic, and really emphasized the characteristics of the MCs. Emma is drawn in a kind of bubbly innocent way which reflects her character, Ray is drawn as depressed looking but always deep in thought, and Norman somewhere in between which I thought was neat. Sound was always top notch, especially when the MCs were messing around in places they weren't supposed to be, you would get these really cool camera angles that implied someone was watching them. It was very well done. Also can I just shoutout Sister Krone's faces? My god she was creepy. And Ma also made some very disturbing faces. The horror aspect from those two were not lacking in any way. Character: OK so this one I gave an 8/10. Reason being, I just didn't like some of the implied romance that was going on between Norman and Emma. The story writers made it so that those two were basically lovebirds, kicking Ray out of the picture, when all of them are supposed to be equally smart. I thought it was a little unnecessary to the plot. Also, I didn't like how godlike Norman appeared to be over Ray. Like at the end, it appears nothing Ray did meant anything, over all those six years that he worked on it (with the whole tracker disabling device) and that Norman just "trained all the kids" with Emma and comes up with this genius plan only after knowing the secret for like a single year after going to send off Connie. It's like Ray wasn't necessary to the whole picture and was instead a burden to Emma and Norman. In general I think they should've given Norman's plans a flaw, and given Ray more credit. There was this part in the beginning where Norman and Emma were playing tag, and Norman was telling Emma/Ray their flaws- well nobody ever told Norman what his flaw was. That's what I mean here. (sorry if you haven't watched the show this won't make much sense but to summarize, some characters were somewhat superior over others and it was really clear) But overall, I highly recommend the show. It starts off slow, but gets real good really fast. It isn't sappy or your stereotypical horror film, and you'll be getting shivers down your spine by the end since it hits really hard.

The idea of a place where you don’t grow up into an adult world sounds like heaven to most children. That’s why Disney’s Peter Pan and his adventures in Neverland became so popular to both kids and adults who enjoyed the fictional story of the hero Peter Pan as well as the other protagonist Wendy Darling and her brothers. CloverWorks’ Japanese manga turned anime series “The Promised Neverland” took this concept and put their own dark twist on it. The Promised Land television series adaptation premiered this past January to March of 2019. STORY 10/10 The Promised Neverland started great and got better as the debut season premiered. While not going into too much detail, every piece of the show from the visual artistry to the audio production did a good job working together to add more weight in each second of run time. The show opens with what you would expect in a show that has “Neverland” in the title: Happiness. There seems to be nothing, but good times in this orphanage house with a surprising amount of land. That illusion is quickly short-lived as the main characters Emma, the typical happy shonen protagonist, and Norman, an intelligent and caring child, find out that all is not what it seems. The show does a fantastic job of giving just enough information to keep you interested while still remaining a total mystery. It’s very parallel to show both gruesome and violence. The fact that you only see what the kids see and it doesn’t build much on the world around them gives you enough clues that make you want to learn more. By the end, the show didn’t bother to give viewers answers to many of the questions one might have had asked. The show’s intentions I believe wasn’t to answer lingering questions, in turn, it was something I didn’t find myself bothered by. With it all said and done, I felt satisfied with how the season ended. ART 10/10 The art in the series is very unique. With it being different, not everyone will have the same opinion on this I’m sure. For me, the slightly, deformed look of the characters threw me off at first, but after a while, I found myself enjoying the art style of the original character designer, Posuka Demizu. Her art really helped emphasize the moods of the characters...whether that be from happiness to pure terror. The visuals also really helped immerse me into their world. I was on the edge of my seat when the characters themselves were figuratively on the edge of their seat. Since the animation was unique to the series, it made scenes with a lot of fast moment, such as running through the forest, look really good. Another observation was that every character all looked very different from one another. The main characters look really fit them all in terms of presentation. From Emma’s bright, orange hair, which fit her happy personality, to Ray’s Black hair matching his Sasuke like demeanor. While the computer-generated imagery (CGI) looked good, it showed up in the last seconds of the show. This didn’t make much sense to me since that was the scene that would take the least amount of effort to draw out animation-wise. SOUND 10/10 CloverWorks studio hit it out of the park with their voice acting selections. I didn’t feel myself being taken out of the immersion of the story by bad voice acting. Mariya Ise, who has worked in shows such as Fairy Tail and Code Geass, was slightly better than her peers for her portrayal of Ray, as I felt that it was a match made in heaven. I enjoyed the selection of “Touch Off” by UVERworld, as it helped set the mood for the show and was overall a good song in general. Especially in the tense moments, the background songs helped enrich the mood of the scenes. In particular, I found myself sweating with my heart beating fast along with the characters in those tight situations. CHARACTER 10/10 Every character that had a decent amount of screen time felt alive. The three main characters, Ray, Norman and, Emma, besides being drastically different in terms of looks, all were different in personality. Norman stands out as the character I enjoyed the most because of the way he logically thought and definitely cemented himself as a character that I won't easily forget. While the main characters had their personal strengths and weakness, the character that shined the brightest was the caretaker of the kids: The Mom. Their humanization was something that by the end of the 12th episode, I found myself empathizing with them. ENJOYMENT 10/10 The Promised Neverland is a show I think everyone can enjoy. This show has replayability based on the characters alone and being able to see their growth was fantastic. The show could be easily compared to the abstract strategy game of “Go” with both sides attacking and counter-attacking. I think this show might even make into other peoples’ top 10 animes of all-time. As of right now, it is one of the top shows from this past winter 2019 season. OVERALL 10/10 The Promised Neverland hits every point just right. I felt fully immersed in the story. I was in that house with the kids trying to make sure we worked towards solving the problem. This show told its story very well and made it enjoyable to watch. Every single episode was fantastic and got better as time went on.

TL; DR Review Looking back at all my reviews I've ever done so far, I have never given an anime 10/10. It's almost impossible. Heck, my favourite anime has a 9/10. But this was the masterpiece I've been looking for. I have almost nothing critical about this anime. The animation is beautifully done, just wonderful. The story line is excellent. It's a road with many twists and turns, and occasionally, a shiiii*t. It's really an anime that will be spoiled even if I say a tiny thing about it; however, I will say this: this creative and original masterpiece is the definition of anime. Full of feels, action, mystery and with a hint of horror. Truly every otaku's dream. - Spacecraft555 UwU

This anime is about an intriguing battle of wits between three children and their "mother" in an effort to escape their prison. Think Shawshank Redemption mixed with Death Note mixed with an orphanage whose kids are destined for a cruel fate. Our three protagonists are the following: first, there are Norman and Ray, two sides of the same coin, both fiercely intelligent and cunning, whose opposing qualities are their measure of optimism. Then there's Emma, the heart of the show, the one for whom the other two boys try their best to fulfill her wish of having everyone escape alive. It is the dynamic between these three and the true bonds of friendship they share that made it easy for me to root for them. When their best laid plans are thwarted, I felt what they felt - regret, remorse, and stress. However, the three young'uns have a seemingly boundless well of determination, and I was always eager to see what other plans they had cooked up in store after they bounced back from failure. Opposite the heroes is the big bad, dubbed Mother and every other synonymous moniker related to the word. She is less human and more supernatural entity, seemingly always one step ahead of the children. Her mysterious plans are never revealed until sprung into action. She is just as clever, if not more so than the kids, and there is a brewing undercurrent of brutality to her that makes her an appealing villain. (Also is it just me or did anyone else think she was hot?) The animation is at its best when warping its antagonists' faces to such degree as to turn them into actual monsters. In addition to that, the cinematography and directing are implemented artfully in a way that reinforces the ever-heightening waves of suspense and emotion in any given scene. This show's driving force is finding out how these kids plan to escape. Most episodes are dedicated to the three heroes discussing their plans and sharing information, which is entertaining to listen to given the genius nature of the children. The excitement, of course, comes from when the plans are enacted or whenever unexpected wrenches are thrown into the mix. The anime does a great job at leaving you with just enough information each episode to answer any lingering questions left by previous ones, whilst generating enough speculation fodder to have your brain spinning with ideas about how the show might turn out. It strikes a perfect balance between suspense and action, with each episode stringing you further and further along into a thrilling pace that leaves you wanting more. The purpose of anime, as we all know, is to sell manga, and to me at least, this anime has accomplished its mission. I will most certainly continue engaging with this story by delving into the pages from whence it came from. If you're looking for a good "battle of wits" type of anime, then look no further and give this one a watch.

This anime was a rollercoaster. It always kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to see more and more. The worst part about it was having to wait a week between each episode. Every single episode ended on an important scene leaving so many questions. Tied with its exciting opening and its amazing ending there are almost no boring parts to this. Even just the parts where they talk to each other leaves so much suspense and always just makes the audience want to skip ahead to see more but at the same time makes me want to just keep watching. This was an amazing anime and one of my favorite anime in Winter 2019.

Okay, I've been meaning to write an a review of this anime for a while. I'll start with the art. This anime is absolutely beautiful. The emotions that the characters are able to depict, in terms of art, is so well done. The looks they give truly fills you with real emotions. Every bit of fear, sadness, happiness and anger is portrayed so well, graphically, that you truly feel what the characters feel. For me personally, I cannot watch an anime with bad graphics. I just cannot. This anime truly artistic and real life like. The sound track for Promise to Neverland aligns perfectly with the story. All the peaceful and lax moments feel that way because of how great the music matches with the tone of the story. I just love it. The season has a lot of unexpected moments. Most of the songs and melodies are truly beautiful. The music is perfectly paced for the events of this anime. Your heart and mind feels it. I believe that music makes or breaks an anime. This soundtrack definitely elevates the anime. Like I said, your head and heart feels it. You're happy when they're happy and scared when they're scared because the music intensifies those emotions. The characters are absolutely profound. They make this anime incredible. As you should already know, the anime is about children. This is so significant because all their actions, responses, feeling, and thoughts are incredible because they are children. The development of these characters and their abilities are truly out of this world. Period. This is probably what makes this anime so great and make you extremely attached to these characters. I truly recommend this anime because these characters take you on a ride you never want to end. Trust me. Every character is so unique and they all add to the amazingness that is Promise to Neverland. I truly enjoyed this anime, and that's coming from someone who is extremely picky. Horror is definitely not a genre I'm extremely attracted to, but this story like is wickedly chilling and amazing captivating. It leaves you glued to the screen and begging for more. It's so suspenseful that you'll often find yourself scared and anxious. You just want know what happens next. This is definitely ONE OF THE BEST ANIME'S OF 2019. That is a fact. You'll find yourself not wanting to watch the next episode because you never want it to end. This anime is full of potential and it can go soooo far. I can't wait for the next season. All and all, no matter what I or anyone else has to say, you should definitely experience this for yourself and come to your own conclusions. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. I'm extremely picky and had no clue how much I would come to love this anime. I hate when things are too dark or too unrealistic. However, this anime has such a perfect balance and you never know what's going to happen. I love that because I usually tell where an anime is going by episode 2, yet I literally had no clue where this was going. BEST ANIME OF 2019, I swear!!

A show that could have been a 7/10 if it wasn't trying so hard to be a 10. It's got a good concept, with lots of potential for elaboration and exploration. It starts out well, and makes you want to know how it ends. However i have to end my praise here. After the initial hook, there is a long, tedious, progression towards the payoff you're badly waiting for. There's a lot of reasons that cause the bulk of the story to not be enjoyable. Our first hurdle is credibility. Off the bat, our characters are far too smart for their age. But even more importantly, they are far too mature. We're talking about kids that live the most sheltered life imaginable, that have never encountered hardship or seen the world. Despite that, it's evident that they're on equal grounds (or better) than the adults in the show. Another crucial mistake is the existence of the monsters. The kids themselves live in a world otherwise void of any magic or fantasy elements. The problem is that because the monsters exist, we are now in a fantasy setting, which means that real world rules can be broken at the whim of the author. And in this kind of story, you just know it will happen sooner or later. Imagine if instead, this was a story of evil cannibalism by powerful but regular humans? It would have been far more interesting, far more dystopian and unsettling, and required more care from the writer. The second hurdle is simply poor writing. Characters are continuously withholding information for each other just for the sake of withholding them from you, the viewer, so that they can reveal everything in an """"epic twist"""" later on. It's hamfisted and grating. The author's trying to be death note but he does not have the aptitude for it. The show is also littered with melodrama that drags on for far too long. 10 year old children do not act like soap opera characters. The situation is dark and dire, so one could argue the drama is warranted, but i just couldn't "feel it". Because the characters are so unbelievable, i cannot feel any empathy for them. What's clear to me is that most of it is there to fill out time. Simply delaying the ending, for greater payoff? I presume? Not worth it. The final hurdle lies in the presentation. Firstly, the faces of these children are so grotesque that it defies all reason. Once again i get the feeling that the creators tried to be so much better than everybody else. "All these shows have sameface characters, those plebs, we can do better!". The result is that some of the faces are so deformed that they look like aliens. One kid in particular looks like those photoshopped pictures where the face is shrunk but the head size is the same. Every time he came on screen, i was wondering if the creators were making fun of me. Next is the over-the-top Higurashi facial expressions and gesturing. It worked for higurashi because the characters were literally insane. Here they aren't, they have no business making those kind of faces. Sister Krone's antics are so goofy and ridiculous that i wonder what the fuck they were thinking. I think it's trying to be like those spooky clowns that do "funny things" but it's just creepy? Anyway, it was ridiculous. This is a show that's trying to be dark, serious, hopeless. All of these little things will prevent you from getting into that kind of mood, and it ruins everything. The only good thing in this show is Isabella the Mama of the house. The only character with a bit of mystery and depth. The only character with uncertain motivations, or a past that you can care about. Luckily this is explored in a fairly artistic and well-executed manner near the ending of the show. Again though, it could have been more. I'm not sure if there will be more of her in future seasons; i won't be trying to find out. Bottom line is a very mediocre show that thought it was a masterpiece. With a bit less pompousness from the authors, it could have been at least "good". The ending is solid, but in hindsight, it is not worth the time you spend rolling your eyes and being frustrated. Would not recommend.

The Promised Neverland has a story that you would expect from its name. It embodies horror, psychological and shounen which holds an important message at the center - you're not alone. Horror, as in the ominous face expressions and the wicked intention behind the smiles with the shocked face expressions, that is just downright weird and send chills down the spine. Psychological, as in the war of strategies between the top 3 protagonist that seeks to outwit their 'Mama' by being one step forward and their 'Mama' which controls them with her resources and manipulation of the children. Shounen, as in the spirit of having strong will to make the decision and the strong bond shared between the trio to achieve the same goal together. Also, running and training for the escape, as the collaboration grows wider. It's managed to emerged as an appealing anime because of the story-driven property. With proper adjustment, the story managed to lift up the suspense element with the crucial time limit, giving a sense of rush to wrap their plan up and then inserting twist after twist, enemy that becomes ally and so forth. All while building up the tension to the climatic moment which will leave you rooting for them and be at the edge of your seat at the same time. But that's not all. You'll be surprised how the music and the camera works can add in merit points that makes the story much more thrilling. Scenes that show their secret talk by setting the perspective behind bushes and the sound effects that comes with their disbelief. The OP comes with a typical shounen OST that already show you the whole story but you'd be astonished at the end anyway. Overall, The Promised Neverland holds great potential as a premise and it serves an important message that indicates that this is not the end of their story. This is only the origin story. The start of it all.