The Promised Neverland is a refreshing piece of work that was featured on the pages of Shonen Jump. A series of suspense, and to top it off short, set to set the precedent that there is definitely some space in the current Jump for shorter stories. The manga started in 2016, being made by two authors: Kaiu Shirai, responsible for the plot, and Posuka Demizu, responsible for the brands. I don't intend to do a comprehensive review of the series, but rather to touch on its themes and how well it achieves it.
One of the things that holds people in The Promised Neverland, to the credit of its creators, is the strength of its main premise: humans being created as food for otherworldly creatures, as "demons" in the series world. This premise leads us to an almost incessant desire for what comes next, from beginning to end, as Shirai's writing skills flourish.
Neverland's most important message is forgiveness. The importance of forgiving, understanding how circumstances and consequences of legal acts and having mercy and compassion for living beings. Emma may sound idealistic and do reckless things all the time, but even though it seems excessive at times, it is perfectly in line with what The Promised Neverland wants to tell us.
Emma is a character that conveys hope, unwavering resolve and forgiveness. Ray is the rational counterpart, always analysing all sides of a situation with as much impartiality as he can. Norman, on the other side, turns to a more realistic, or rather pessimistic view of the world, although it is undesired by him to do so. All the three main characters operate as parts and counterparts that complement each other, balancing the narrative in ways that frequently create situations that put their moral beliefs in check.
Although things like "the real world is not like that", "things are not so easy" kept popping up in my head, in the end I ended up fully understanding the purpose of this narrative. It is a possibility, what if peace was achieved? What if we could forgive ourselves more? Neverland offers us this side of the coin. It is wonderful to see how work thrives on a constant and well-assembled chain of events, establishing credible consequences and putting characters at credible risk, even if they suffer drastically from being reckless.
In the end, The Promised Neverland will remain in my heart as one of the best shows about compassion and mercy, while showing the worst a person can suffer. It does tumble in some ways, when Emma's idealism almost crosses the barrier of "okay, this is fine," but, it is definitely counterbalanced by its superb use of side characters.
It a is very good series, and I recommend to every one of you.
21.5 out of 24 users liked this review