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.

On June 16, 2020, I finished the third story arc. The “Promised Forest Arc”—the third arc of the manga series—took place directly after Emma, Ray, and the rest of their siblings—the ones above age 4—have escaped Grace Field Orphanage. In this arc, the characters find themselves against an unknown world—the forest—filled with unknown enemies wanting to kill them in addition to pursuers chasing after them.

This arc leaned heavier on the world-building aspect for obvious reasons. Emma, Ray, and the other children were starting to become overwhelmed with these impossible obstacles blocking their path, but they managed to survive using street smarts, optimism, and resourcefulness. They also had help from human-friendly demons named Mujika and Sonju. These demons ended up training the children in survival skills—like fighting, hunting, and cooking—in addition to explaining the unknown world to them.

I thought this third story arc exemplified how these children weren’t going to let their current circumstances break their resolve. The Promised Neverland is the type of series that challenges its characters to do the impossible—to survive—even when everything is stacked against them. Emma is definitely the “I’ll never quit on you” protagonist similar to Naruto and Deku (My Hero Academia), while Ray is the logical type character who is beginning to grow a more vulnerable heart for his siblings.

Building off what I said in my “Introduction Arc” review, the writing and artwork are still amazing and brilliantly blended together. The mystery aspect hadn’t been distracting at all despite how little we know about The Promised Neverland, which was covered as part of the main characters’ primary struggles in their adventure—their lack of knowledge about the outside world. The mystery is actually really engaging.

While more of the story and its world were revealed to us—and the characters—in this arc, there was a lot we still didn’t know how things became the way they were or the specifics behind a certain promise between humans and demons. Demons Mujika and Sonju also revealed—in a private conversation—that they didn’t tell the children everything about the world they’re trying to escape from, foreshadowing more terrible things to come in the near future.

Overall, I’m going to keep going until the end of the series. The Promised Neverland ended with 181 chapters, so catching up with the manga shouldn’t be too difficult based on my reading efforts regarding Webtoons—unOrdinary, The God of High School, and Tower of God. I hope y’all pick up on The Promised Neverland at some point. I’m going to watch the anime series in the near future. Believe it!

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