I just finished binge-watching The Promised Neverland on Crunchyroll

 

…Whew.

Toonami picked a GOOD one to carry the English Dub of. More so given there WILL be a Season 2 ^_^

There is so much going on in every episode, you really have to pay attention. Here’s information on 5 key characters and and a 6th who may be an important character if there is a time skip in the second season:

 

• Emma: One of the 3 main protagonists. She and Norman stumble upon the truth about the world they know: The children are all actually food for demons. Together with Norman and Ray, they plan their escape from the Home while also trying to outwit their “Mom”. By the time Season 1 ends, Emma succeeds where Sister Krone and Mom failed many years earlier in leading a third of the children on a daring escape set in motion two months earlier.
• Norman: One of the 3 main protagonists. Where Emma is couragous and Ray is cunning, Norman is calculating. When he figures out Ray is actually a Double Agent, rather than cut him out of their plan he turns him into their “Ace”. When Norman sees the large chasm on the other side of the wall, he return seemingly indicates he’s given up. Despite willingly going along with being “Shipped Out”, in the end Norman’s intel ensures their plan to escape happens successfully.
• Ray: One of the 3 main protagonists and a Double Agent. It’s revealed to viewers in the season finale Ray is actually Mom Isabella’s biological son. When you think about it, that’s the only possible reason she would “reward” him with the items he used to build a jamming device. How their arrangement worked was in exchange for stalling his shipment, he would keep tabs on children planning to escape and report to her. His being her son was leverage in and of itself so…yeah.
• Isabella: Known as “Mom”, she is the main Antagonist. The season finale reveals her backstory and confirms some of what Krone reveals about her own. About 20 years earlier, Isabella was planning to escape herself and saw the same thing Norman did from the top of the wall beyond the Home. That’s the real reason she wasn’t concerned about the kids actually escaping: The only known way out–the gate–is heavily guarded so…yeah. In exchange for giving up on escaping, she accepts a deal to become a Mom herself. She becomes pregnant (presumably via Artifician Insemenation) as part of her training to become a Mom. Seeing her son do what she could not…she couldn’t help but feel proud.
• Krone: A “Sister” to Isabella for about half the first season. After Norman and Emma learn the truth, Isabella requests another adult to brought in as “Insurance”. That other adult is the scheming and mentally unstable Krone. When Isabella tells her some of the children learned the truth but is ignoring protocol, she seizes at the opportunity to cooperate with them for her own ends. Having figured out what she’s really up to, Isabella arranges for Krone to be removed–permanently. Before her exit, Krone leaves behind a “parting gift” for the kids to use for their escape.
• Phil: One of the four year old kids. It’s revealed in the season finale Norman and Emma decided to tell all the kids aged 5 and up the truth and in turn, gained the manpower necessary to flawlessly execute their escape plan on short notice. This proved vital when Emma and Ray stopped talking during the two months after Norman’s departure. It allowed the preparations to continue while Mom kept tabs on the two of them. One more person was also involved: Four year old Phil. Assuming their escape plan succeeded, Phil and the other young kids would be safe for at least another two years. Despite his young age, Phil quickly grasps the situation and helps buy Emma and the others time to escape.

 

…Unsurprisingly, this is based on the Manga of the same name. There aren’t a lot of action scenes throughout but it will keep you on your toes from start to finish. This is also one Anime I would love to see a Live Action adaptation of, too.

It has a very Matrix-like feel to it if you need a comparison in terms of the plot: How would you feel if you found out everything you thought to be true was a lie and the reality was far worse? Would you choose freedom or would you choose the fantasy? The inspiration is way too obvious.

Season 2 is sure to be interesting and might have a time skip. I presume it will pick up where the first season left off.

A few things of note:

• What will become of Isabella? The mysterious “Grandmother” didn’t seem bothered by the intel Krone gave her. I realized during the finale the current Grandmother was Isabella’s Mom when she was a child and that’s why she had Krone killed. If she felt the situation was beyond what Isabella could handle then she would’ve stepped in at that point. My guess is Grandmother had her son Ray placed in her care on purpose as “insurance”. Isabella likely realized this and used him to keep tabs on the other kids. The escape clearly changes things.
• When Krone revealed the transmitting device implanted in all Mothers and Sisters, I knew Isabella probably knew Ray was lying to her when he told her Norman and Emma were planning to kill her. If they did actually try to kill her, they would’ve been harvested right away and with Ray being her actual son, she would’ve had a problem with that. That was also likely when she realized Krone was leaking information to Emma and Norman and so she had to be dealt with. She likely set things in motion for Norman to be Harvested at the same time.
• Isabella broke Emma’s leg in front of Norman and the others on purpose to show all of them how far she was willing to go to keep them from escaping. With Norman’s departure, she wrongfully believed she had removed the biggest threat to her interests and focused on breaking Emma’s iron will. What she mistook as Ray being dispaired was actually his just biding his time. What she had no way of knowing by that point was almost half the kids were in on it.
• What did Norman see? Isabella asked him to wait in another room past the gate but we’re intentionally not shown what made him gasp in surprise. He didn’t seem scared by whatever he was looking at either. My guess is maybe boys are offered a deal, too.

 

…Ray mentioned something called Infantile Amnesia. Basically, the older you get the harder it is to remember things from early in life. This is actually normal and very common. What isn’t normal is when it doesn’t happen. There are believed to be less than 200 people alive right now worldwide who can recall every single moment of the entire lives.

Ray and Norman both claim to have memories from before they were born and given their ages, that’s not entirely unbelievable. Ray could recall the melody Isabella used to hum when she was pregnant with him (and this is how she figured out he was her actual son). Case studies done on young children have proven they can recall memories from when they were 1 year old. Most experts caution against claims of adults who claim to remember from age 2 or earlier but don’t outright say such claims should be dismissed. After all, there are legit exceptions but I won’t digress further.

Anywho, there will be a Season 2. My guess is it will come in the next year or two. Stay tuned!

 

 

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