Acclaimed horror manga The Promised Neverland has debuted it’s anime adaptation. Having been leaked prior to it’s official announcement in 2018, the hype train began early with many already claiming it’s Anime of the Year potential. Now that the production has launched those claims definitely seem to hold up.

The Promised Neverland is a 2019 shounen anime series, it is produced by Cloverworks and licensed by Aniplex of America. It is currently available for streaming in English subs on Crunchyroll, Hulu, Funimation Now, and Hidive.

Editor’s Note: Near complete to complete spoilers for the first seven episodes of The Promised Neverland are present within this review. An Amazon Affiliates link for this title is present. 

Imagine believing that life as you knew it was 100% within the norm. Although you grow up not knowing who your real parents are, through the aide of a surrogate mother you come to have a family with a number of siblings within an orphanage. Now imagine that all of that was a lie and in reality this “orphanage” is actually a farm and you’re the meat for a bunch of savage demons. This is the truth behind The Promised Neverland.

THE GOOD: When The Promised Neverland’s source material debuted in 2016 many weren’t sure what to think of it having viewed the first handful of pages. Then that shocking reveal occurred (which was beautifully captured in the anime by the way) and fans knew they were in for one hell of a story. Something that viewers who are on the fence should know before giving this much talked about series a try is the fact that yes the enemies are demons, however there are no super powers, there’s no wacky inventions, or anything of the sort these kids can only use the intelligence and limited agility & athleticism they’ve been given to work their way out of their current predicament; which is the fact that they’re being prepared and groomed as quality food for said aforementioned demons.

As mentioned previously the kids have planned to escape from their predicament using their quick wits and physical capabilities. And what’s the best way to escape a human farm for demons? Why a game of tag of course. After discovering the body of one of the orphans named Connie being harvested and Isabelle being in line with those responsible, the main kids; Emma, Norman, and Ray desperately try to come up with a means of escape, so taking time to assess their situation Emma comes up with the idea to play tag as a cover for the eventual escape attempt. Tag is one of the few activities the kids do for exercise and free time & they plan to use it to increase everyone’s physical attributes Ray and Norman; being two of the most brilliant of the children in the orphanage deduce several ways to achieve this by determining everyone’s physical capabilities by person, intelligence, and age.

As the trio continues to think of ways to take advantage of their daily schedule for their forthcoming escape. Meanwhile, Norman is able to deduce that the children have tracking devices implanted into to them after Isabella is able to find a missing child in the woods with ease. Emma and the others inform two of the older kids; Don and Gilda about the half-truth of their situation referring to it as “human trafficking” to protect them. The kids work on ways to destroy the tracking device once Emma is able to locate where it is (their ears) and Isabella having become suspicious of Emma and Norman’s recent behavior enlists the help of Sister Krone, another adult in line with the demons. When Krone displays her own physical capabilities during a game of tag the kids begin to worry about their odds of escaping, but continue increasing their skills with further practice.

Unfortunately with Krone trying to gain intel on the kids with her own goals of usurping Isabella as Mama of Grace Field, Don and Gilda eventually discover the truth about the demons and harvesting. Feeling initially betrayed by Emma, Norman, and Ray they forgive them and continue to work together. It is later revealed that Ray had been working as a spy for Isabella the entire time, thanks to a trap laid out by Norman. Ray claims he acted as a spy to protect those closest to him (Emma and Norman), but now that the secret is out Norman has enlisted Ray as a double agent delivering intel he gathers directly to Norman, Emma, Don, and Gilda. Krone realizes that Emma and co. know the truth and offer more advanced intel in order to continue her plans of overtaking Isabella.

THE BAD: Due to The Promised Neverland breaking away from traditional shounen tropes it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this trope breaking is exactly why the series feels so fresh and welcoming within the shounen community.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Half-way through it’s run The Promised Neverland is indeed making a strong case for Anime of the Year for 2019. With tons of tensity and an ever growing in darkness story, The Promised Neverland will be memorable for both anime onlys and fans of the source material, some of which claiming the anime adaptation is a rare case of the adaptation trumping the source. Otaku Dome gives the first half of The Promised Neverland an 88 out of 100.