What happens when a trio of kids finds out that their childhood home that’s an orphanage isn’t really an orphanage, but in actuality a farm of human meat for demons and that they and their siblings are on the menu? One of the most deadliest games of cat and mouse, of course. Produced by rookie animation studio Cloverworks, The Promised Neverland takes viewers on a story featuring twists, betrayals, and horror with a cast of characters no older than eleven and some as young as four.

The Promised Neverland is a 2019 shounen anime series, it is produced by Cloverworks and licensed by Aniplex of America, it is currently available on streaming platforms such as Crunchyroll, the English dub is currently airing on Toonami on Adult Swim. 

Editor’s Note: Near complete to complete spoilers for the first season of The Promised Neverland may be present within this review.

The Promised Neverland’s anime adaptation from it’s initial announcement right down to it’s debut episode was a near instant hit. With it’s source material picking up in popularity and sales every year since it’s conception it’s not too surprised for the anime to have a similar reaction. In fact most people found out about the anime due to a leak ahead of it’s official announcement from Shueisha. As rare as anime adaptation leaks are these days The Promised Neverland’s being one only showcases how dedicated its fan base is to it. And if you watch from start to finish you’ll see most certainly see why.

THE GOOD: The Promised Neverland begins with news of one of the younger kids from the “orphanage” Connie being revealed as having been adopted by new parents. Saddened, yet joyful of the news her siblings give her their farewells as the head of the house Mother Isabella sends her off. It’s at this point that our leads Emma, Norman, and Ray realize that Connie has left behind her favorite stuffed rabbit something that’s complete out of character for her. Emma along with Norman decide to return the rabbit to Connie, with Ray acting as look out knowing that leaving the grounds of the orphanage is one of the forbidden rules of the house. Emma & Norman make it out to the end point of the gate where they see a carriage, expecting to find Connie they instead find her corpse with a shocked look on her face. Confused and disgusted. Emma and Norman hide under the carriage as they hear voices exiting a door. They’re stunned to see what looks like monsters conversing with Isabella over the truth of the orphanage; the fact that it’s a farm with the humans being cattle for the demons. Before being caught they quickly escape back to the farm, however not without alarming Isabella and the demons. Despite initially attempting to keep it a secret Ray finds out the truth about the orphanage in addition to Emma opting to tell two of the older kids; Don & Gilda about the demons. The five attempt an escape plan using tag to train the other kids and act as a distraction against Isabella. She’s quickly able to learn of their plans and enlists the aide of another adult named Sister Krone whose goal is to replace Isabella as Mom. When a kid who’s often difficult to find during tag games goes missing and is easily found by Isabella the gang deduces that all the kids have tracking devices implanting which Emma discovers is placed within the ear. Suspecting there’s a traitor due to Isabella being so many steps ahead of them, Norman & Ray set a trap to expose them. Unbeknownst to Ray, however Norman set his own personal trap unveiling Ray himself as Isabella’s spy and has been since the beginning. After informing Emma, Ray agrees to act as a double spy to help the kids escape for real. Isabella reveals to Ray that he’s the next to ship out, while Krone offers an alliance to Emma and co. Although Krone proved useful, Ray provides Isabella with information against her as Emma & Norman investigate the wall surrounding the orphanage. 

Isabella tells Krone that she is being transferred out (and killed) and she tells Ray their deal is over. She locks him in the room as she heads for Emma & Norman, she lets go of her facade and tells the kids to stop resisting. The kids refuse and Isabella reluctantly, yet effortlessly breaks Emma’s leg stunning Norman and the others. She then chooses Norman to be shipped the next day. Emma & Ray help Norman escape that same night only for him to return. Confused by Norman’s decision he tells them that beyond the wall is nothing more than an enormously wide & deep gap next to a forest making escape nearly impossible. Norman is successfully shipped out leaving Emma & Ray seemingly hopeless. Two months pass and Ray prepares for his own shipment, he sees Emma asking if she truly gave up in which she smiles in response. Emma, Ray, Don, and Gilda continue their escape plan having been revealed to have been continuing it in secret behind Isabella’s back all along. They set fire to the house and at this point it’s revealed the other kids outside of the four also now know the truth. Emma tells Ray that Norman came up with a backup plan that everyone found agreeable which would have the younger children led by Phil stay behind to be retrieved later. Isabella warns HQ only to admit defeat when she catches up to Emma & the kids, wishing them good luck. Isabella confirms the escape to Phil as Emma and the others watch the sunrise.

From the first ten minutes on I knew The Promised Neverland would be something unique and special, especially compared to the usual shounen series. One of those rare gems where the main characters’ only power in battle to combat their enemies are their wits and tenacity for survival. As the story continues we learn how deep the situation these characters are in with there being multiple farms that have been around for decades. The use of human emotion to convey it’s horror elements over a saturated appearance of the demons is excellently executed and the obvious highlights throughout the season.

THE BAD: It’s over way too soon, hopefully season two (confirmed for 2020) will have a double episode count.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The Promised Neverland won’t be every shounen fan’s cup of tea, which sucks because it deserves all the praise in the world for being so different from the average shounen. Here’s hoping word of mouth being the powerful tool it is helps The Promised Neverland find the Promise Land at the top of the anime and manga industry. Otaku Dome gives The Promised Neverland Season 1 a 100 out of 100.