Disclaimer: This review covers the "The Promised Neverland" anime, season 1 (episodes 1 - 12).Disclaimer: Spoilers.In the mid 2010's, there were two popular manga series that kept showing up in promotional advertisements, presumably due to their existing popularity or expected potential. One was "Attack on Titan" (released from 2009 to 2021), and the other was the manga series "The Promised Neverland" (started serialization in 2016). Seriously, the cover art for the first volume of "Neverland" was everywhere, set up to be the next popular Shonen Jump franchise. Like the incredibly popular "Titan," it also involved humans living in a walled place, only to learn the terrible secret to why they live the way they do and being forced to fight back in order to survive. The reason happens to involve the dark subject of humans being eaten too. Naturally, an anime was inevitable, and I'm surprised it wasn't announced sooner. In fact, "The Promised Neverland" has its original manga, as well as light novels, this anime, a live-action film, and even a planned English-language live-action series. The anime is usually the big hit when these cross-media adaptations occur, but in this case, it didn't quite make the splash I expected. If only picking one source... I haven't dived into the other materials, but sentiment seems to favor the manga. Whatever the case, this review is just on the anime.Set in a fictional place (but supposedly still in the year 2015, or possibly much later), there's an orphanage far from any town. The kids live there happily, playing tag in the lush grassy field and surrounding forests, watched by a caring, loving adult they all call "Mom." It seems like a paradise, but there are some things that might concern the viewer: Why are the kids told to not go near outside gate at all costs? Why do all the kids have ID numbers tattooed on their necks? Why is there no contact from the outside world, even from orphans after they are adopted and leave?Indeed, the big twist is revealed in the first episode, setting the stage for the dozen-long first season. It's a spoiler, but it appears early. The secret is that the children are actually being raised as a food-source for sentient, monsterous demons, and "adoption" really means the child is "harvested," their bodies killed and transfered to be sold. In this setting, kids with bigger brains seem to be the most prized for their flavor, so playtime and schooling is encouraged. The three oldest children, almost 12 years old, discover this truth shortly before they, too, will be "adopted." So the energetic Emma, strategic Norman, and realist Ray, have to figure out how to to safely escape the orphanage, ideally with everyone (a few dozen kids in total, some still under 6-years old), without letting on that they've discovered what's going on. A chess game with high stakes, where everyone has a poker face. They can't trust "Mom," the "Sister" who comes in as her assistant to look after the children... even the other kids, or even each other. The thriller-horror has no shortage of twists to keep the plot moving. Those twists aren't as drastic as some similar shows, but are each meaningful enough, and keep appearing frequently enough, to keep up suspense. And admittedly, even I didn't see most of the twists coming. If you're a fan of shows like "Death Note," this might be up your alley. It's fun, and a happy ending as never certain, especially closer to the end. And I appreciate that the show doesn't think its fans are stupid: as soon as the kids find out, they also realize the adults become suspicious of them, requiring them to be ever more cunning. Not to mention the human thesis here: what type of world would make human adults willing to raise children to only be sent to the slaughterhouse before they grow up? There are multiple layers of philosophy there. And I have to say, boy, how strong its ending was. After several episodes of mistrust, it reveals a climatic escape that replenishes your faith in humanity, and trusting that children can be mature and capable to step up, no matter how young they are. If I was just moderately entertained for most of the seires, it was the final episode that pushed the show over the edge from "good" to "great" for me.
With a distinctly English-aethestic, "Neverland" is mix of both "Attack on Titan" and the book series "A Series of Unfortunate Events," a story that also involved attentive orphans and adults who secretly attempt to cause them harm for self-gain. In fact, if you removed the context from "Neverland" (to make the reason to why they need to escape more ambiguous) and brief scenes of violence, the show could very well have been a PG-rated show for pre-teens, or even younger. After all, the heroes are only 11 years of age, trying to secretly train and prepare other kids not old enough to tie their own shoes. It's a strange contrast, to provide a story meant for adults, but filled with interactions and daily activities that, at best, would be nostalgic. Also similar to "Unfortunate Events" is the discovery of potential clues from an outside source, possibly also human (a book lover apparently, this series' parallel to "Lemony Snicket"), and possibly proof that there exists a world where humans safely live away from the demons. This arc focuses on the escape, so the lore of the outside world doesn't get much attention yet. Readers of the manga don't seem to care for the arcs after the escape, but the promise to learn more about these mysteries is compelling, at least on paper. Within this first season though, the story is held up almost entirely on the "human-farm" premise, and the plot to escape, rather than the potentially rich or disappointing lore and setting. And that story is the big draw for "Neverland." Despite striking character design for Emma, the other characters and background art is fairly mundane, a disappointment given the English setting. Even if stuck in the same orphanage house and green forests for 12 episodes, they could have gone further in depicting these environments. And the design for the adult, Sister Krone, is somewhat problematic: it's rare for Black-skinned characters to appear in anime, but her large build, large lips, and comedically-contorted and sinister faces could be read as unintentionally racist (even if not seeing things that way, her character is a bit bizarre and a lost opportunity given her backstory). Animation also doesn't get many opportunities to shine, and comes across as only slightly better than the average shonen action series. Music is also an unusual point for "Neverland." It's good, but much more subtle, with large moments of quiet. And the opening and ending themes... again, they're good, but sound like mainstream rock and roll tunes rather than catchy JPop like other anime would have, a strange choice to use for anime. The English voice acting is good, even though there are so many young children, almost all of which are clearly voiced by adult women. So direction for the show is a little off in a few ways, relying again on the strength of the story. But there are moments of inspired direction too with shot choices and sound design. Knowing this is a thriller, there are shots from the bushes or around corners, giving the feeling that the kids are being watched when they quietly discuss their plans. Likewise, sound is intentionally absent during scarrier scenes, with focus on footsteps, or sudden screeches of a violin. "The Promised Neverland" had the potential to be the next big anime franchise, on the level of "Attack on Titan" and "Demon Slayer," And the story almost lets it succeed; aside from somewhat average production values, perhaps the secrets of the story also makes it difficult to market the anime when fans can't wait to read the next manga volume years in advance. Is it less rewatchble, or even watchable, if those secrets are known, especially if the story could continue for three or four more seasons yet? These are fair questions, but if you haven't already read the manga and if you're willing to wait for a bit more of the anime to be finished (to not tempt you to get to the manga to finish the story), then it's still worth a watch.