I Was Going to Tell You When I Was Sure You’d Keep Your Promise

~The Promised Neverland~
Introduction & Jailbreak Arcs
Vol. 1-5
By Kaiu Shirai & Posuka Demizu
Translated By Satsuki Yamashita
Amazon ~ Powell's

Norman, Emma, and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of Isabella, who they refer to as "Mom," all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes, and the perfect environment to learn- what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark and twisted truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.

Emma swears that she'll never lose another family member and starts gathering information in order to survive. They eventually bring Ray into the fold, and together the three start planning a way to escape.

I first heard about this story through praise of its anime adaptation. One of my favorite Ani-Tubers, Geoff Thew (aka Mother's Basement) has been gushing about its story, characters, and tension for years. And then they made a second season and absolutely slaughtered any good will they'd built up from the first. So, I decided to take him up on his suggestion and dive into the manga to see just what I'd been missing out on.

I decided to stop at the same place Season 1 of the anime stopped, just at the end of the Jailbreak arc (the second arc of the manga), which took me through the better part of 5 volumes, or 37 chapters. I figured that was the best way to get a good taste of the story and characters (ha), without leaving off on too big of a cliffhanger (like each volume tended to do).

I'll admit, I was initially put off from reading/watching The Promised Neverland because of its genres. I've found that I much prefer my media as escapism and don't enjoy most horror due to the amount of suffering and despair it commonly contains. And with the preliminary reviews praising The Promised Neverland's horror elements (much like Attack on Titan and Game of Thrones before it), I was happy to give it a pass. But with the spooky season approaching, and with some further reviews having highlighted the series' other elements—namely determination and hope—I decided to finally see what this series was really about.

And boy, am I glad I did.

If you're worried about horror elements or graphic imagery, like I was, these chapters were actually pretty tame. Most of the tension and apprehension is from the knowledge of what is to come, that there's a ticking clock, and that their fates rely on both preparation and secrecy with 40 people in the mix. Apart from some spectacularly haunting title pages, and a few dream/nightmare imaginings of characters, there's actually very little visual horror. The most graphic that reality gets is a flower impaled in a dead body's chest. Granted, these are kids we're talking about, but in comparison to other horror manga (Junji Ito, anyone?), this is downright fluffy.

But that's enough about my apprehensions. Let's get down to the characters!

Emma, the central character on all these book covers, is arguably the main protagonist. Simply put, she's kind, stubborn, athletic, and a fast learner. She's a bit of an idealist and an optimist, being the one to state that they're going to get everyone out of the orphanage, even the infants, when she has no solid plan to do so. But she trusts her friends to have her back, never once doubting their sincerity or problem-solving skills. She brings out the best in others, even when they don't see it in themselves. So, even though she doesn't have as much "screen-time" as the other two, what with their extra time planning and thinking solitarily, Emma was my favorite character to follow, by far. That's not to say that Norman and Ray weren't also enjoyable, but Emma's compatriots always brought a dark side with them.

Norman is the smartest of everyone at the house, always coming up with contingencies and thinking plans through their conclusions. But while he's a master of logic, he's not always the best with people, which is where he often falters and has to rely on support from his friends. Norman idolizes Emma, knowing that her kindness and hopefulness are essential to both himself and the prosperity of the group, but it's clear his own morals don't always match hers. Especially when it comes to keeping her safe.

Ray is pretty similar to Norman, both in intellect and cunning, but seems to have taken things one step further. While Norman values Emma's happiness seemingly above all else, Ray is all about reaching the end goal no matter what. Whatever contingency has the least variables, the highest probability for success, the end justifies the means. Even if that means going behind his friends, or sacrificing others to get there. That's not to say he has no morals, it's just to say that he sees things a bit more in terms of life or death than his friends, and who cares if there's collateral damage or hurt feelings, so long as they're still alive at the end?

Suffice it to say, I found all three of these characters utterly entrancing, and I'm eager to follow them as they continue their journeys. Though, that's going to be cut rather short if Isabella, the "Mom" of the house, has her way. Seemingly always one step ahead of the trio, Isabella commands respect and fear, all the while acting the ever diligent and caring mother to her 38 wards. She waits, she watches, she smiles, she taunts, all without letting any of the other children know anything's changed. She knows them, she loves them, but she must keep control if she doesn't want to end up in their place. And that smile, always that smile, like she's perpetually thinking how cute it is that someone's trying to defy her. I think I have a new favorite villain.

Sister Krone was also fantastic, but was admittedly subpar when compared to the others. Her character design didn't help things, often coming off overly cartoony and calling to mind racist images from minstrel shows. But beyond the physical comedy/horror she imposes (and those faces she pulls), she serves mostly as another information source for Isabella. She not only serves as another pair of eyes for the Mom, but also an openly hostile force that the kids can observe. We're eventually treated to some flashbacks that help create a character for Sister Krone, but as it also serves as more information for the reader, I can't really say she was all that memorable for much more than her appearance and menace, both of which are definitely problematic. [Add that to a black child named Jemima (though thankfully without the exaggerated features) and things aren't looking too good.]

Of the rest of the cast of characters, only three really make a name for themselves: Don, Gilda, and Phil. Don and Gilda are the other two oldest kids at the orphanage, so are also recruited to the main trio's scheme. But while they are quick to sign on, they're also not quite up to par with the other three, both in terms of strategizing and information granted to them. This leads them to, understandably, make more mistakes, and unfortunately their victories often take place off-page, but it's at least nice to know they're there. Phil, on the other hand, is still mostly an enigma at this point in the story, but shows promise. At 4 years old, not much can be expected of him, yet he still manages to surprise you.

Which leads us to the twists of the story. I've gotta say, I don't know that I've ever been thrown off that much in so little time. Even knowing the promised result of the Jailbreak Arc, and a bit of information after that, I was blown away by all the new twists and turns the story took. In Volume Two the trio of kids in the know figure out (well, mostly Norman and Ray) that there's a traitor, a kid, feeding information on them to the adults. So they set a trap in order to discover who it is. And who it turned out to be was completely a surprise, and yet it all made perfect sense. Nothing ever seemed to be a twist for a twist's sake: everything always linked together, drew from past hints, or worked into bigger and better revelations. It was a masterclass of pacing, suspense, and anxiety.

And that suspense goes even right to the end. As I said, I knew the nuts and bolts of the ending, having seen some analysis of the anime, but even so I was not prepared for the parting shot this arc decided to throw. I don't know that I'll be reviewing more, since I really don't want to spoil anything from even this starting point, but I'll definitely be continuing the series so I can find out just where everything leads. What will happen to the trio? What's with the mysterious W.M.? And what happened to make the world this way? Only 144 chapters left to go!

Overall, I really enjoyed this peek outside my comfort zone. I'd definitely recommend anyone check it (or its [first season of] anime) out if you're interested in high-tension horror/thriller, suspenseful twists, or intelligent characters using logic and reasoning against equally impressive opponents. There honestly isn't as much horrific imagery (gore or body horror) as I was expecting, but there are some deaths, as well as a lot of imagined (child) corpses, so it's not that tame either. Dread, lots and lots of dread, but still balanced out by an unwavering hope and determination that kept me going. Still, if you're looking for something spooky this season, but the typical ghosts and ghouls aren't piquing your interest, give The Promised Neverland a look.