The Promised Neverland Spoiler-Free Review

The Promised Neverland is a one of a kind, thrilling and intense masterfully executed anime adaptation.

Review

The Promised Neverland follows the story of three happy-go-lucky children in an orphanage with a bright future ahead. Connie, a six years old child has been adopted and is set to leave the orphanage to meet with her foster parents. She leaves with her caretaker but Emma and Norman (oldest residents of the orphanage) realise that she has forgotten to take her favourite teddy bear. They enter the forbidden gate to catch up to Connie, however, in a twisted turn of events, Emma and Norman see her lifeless body dangling inside a truck. Emma and Norman manage to escape while discovering their caretaker’s (Mama) secret.

The Promised Neverland is an intense and thrilling experience. You rarely find yourself able to catch a single breath in any episode. As Emma and Norman make plans to escape with with their entire family, there is a lingering presence you can sense that they’re being watched at every step. The stakes are kept at an all time high with the addition of the possibility that any one of them could be “adopted” next. Every move counts and any wrong move can result in death. This predicament helps to keep the viewer engaged and on edge, anxious of what’s to come.

Each character is made unique and interesting by displaying their most prominent traits at the forefront of the screen. The anime does an excellent job at putting the viewer on the characters’ point of view. Often times, the camera will literally give you a POV of what the characters are witnessing and you will genuinely find yourself sympathising for the characters and their tragic crisis.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed this anime consider watching Shingeki no Kyojin. It has a similar levels of atmospheric tension and every episode is about survival.

I rate this anime 10/10.