Filled with dystopia and brimming with emotion. Savannah Duncan reviews the dark fantasy anime.
At first, I didn’t understand why I cried during this series considering it doesn’t have the saddest story, but then I realised I became incredibly emotionally attached to these kids who were fighting for their freedom. Not the story.
‘The Promised Neverland’ had my heart aching for these tiny children because their characters were incredibly written and fleshed out. Despite not having a backstory I still felt like I knew them. Anime is known for taking audiences into amazing worlds with incredible stories and ‘The Promised Neverland’ doesn’t fall flat in meeting these expectations.
It follows a group of kids aged 12 and under within an orphanage, but you soon come to understand that the refuge for these children is not all it appears to be. This dystopian dark fantasy shields its viewers and characters from the truth and leads them down various hallways for answers and explanations, whilst also leaving you with even more questions than you had before.
Each of these characters maintains the interest of the viewers because they are forced to connect with them on an emotional level, regardless of whether or not they’re real.
Not to mention the amazing visuals and animation that is gifted to us with a perfectly looped bow on top. The animators didn’t slack when it came to showing us beautiful landscapes and adorable children, while also hitting the gruesome attributes of the antagonists.
The anime was a loving recreation of its manga which was able to come first in the 2017 ‘Tsutaya Comic Awards’ Next Break Division’, third in ‘Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Awards’ and much more. It comes as no surprise that the manga had 1.5 million in print, in August of 2017 which then increased to 2.1 million by October of the same year. It is without a doubt that the anime will showcase the same success as its manga counterpart since it had already received a miriad of postive ratings and accolades.
The show is worth visiting if you’re looking for a story filled to the brim with twists, dark truths and horror, balanced out with a bit of warmth. It’s definitely the kind of anime that keeps you wanting more and constantly surprised because of the engaging storyline.
The Promised Neverland is currently available for streaming on Netflix, Funimation, Amazon Prime Video and Crunchyroll.
