Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this manga review. Please read with caution.

Synopsis: The story began in an orphanage called Grace Field. We meet a twelve-year-old girl named Emma, who guides the reader—using exposition—through the orphanage and her typical day there doing chores, taking tests, and playing games—like tag. There are also over forty kids at this orphanage, all taken care of by a woman known as “Mama”. However, once Emma and another kid named Norman learn the twisted dark truth about the orphanage, they make a hasty plan to escape with their friend Ray.

I finished reading the “Cuvitida Arc”—the sixth story arc of the manga series—on June 19, 2020. This arc picked up right after the “Goldy Pond Battle Arc”. The two groups—the Grace Field kids and the Goldy Pond kids—have converged into one huge group. Time jumps happened throughout this arc, showing Emma and the other kids bonding with each other in addition to adults Lucas and Yugo—formerly known as Mister. They made a home together in the underground shelter.

This arc centered around Emma and the others trying to decipher clues behind Cuvitida, a sacred shrine dedicated to Him. However, things unexpectedly went wrong when the kids’ underground shelter was attacked by Andrew—a human—and his human military team. I thought this portion of the story was intense, given the plot twists and turns that kept making an escape out of the shelter nearly impossible.

This particular arc tugged hard at my emotional heartstrings. There was more gore, death, and sacrifices that made Emma question her decision-making. She believed in her optimistic mindset, but she began to wonder—at the end of the arc—how she’ll ever know if she made “the right decision” for everyone. This reminded me a lot of The 100—a CW television series about 100 delinquents being sent down to Earth for survival. They had to make a lot of tough choices too—choices that didn’t guarantee everyone’s survival.

Overall, The Promised Neverland is a really good manga series. Once again, I must praise the detailed artwork, the good writing, and the characters’ resolve to survive for their desired future. The world they lived in wasn’t ideal, so they escaped and made a commitment to change it for the better. I have 69 chapters left until the end of the series. Like Emma and the others, I will keep it reading to see their dreams realized. Believe it!

back to blog