OP: “Touch Off” by UVERworld
Here we are, Yakusoku no Neverland… This is one of those series that for me is so easy to talk about that it becomes difficult to talk about. I’m current with this manga, and have been reading it almost since the beginning. That brings its own set of yellow flags as a reviewer, but especially when you consider the nature of this series my job becomes especially hard. Even talking in general terms – what I like about this series (a lot) and what bothers me about it (much less, but certainly measurable) might be seen as crossing a line. Especially the latter.
I’ll do my best, I’ll promise that much – and that includes patrolling the comments for spoilers, which I can safely do for a change. As you could probably tell from the premiere, The Promised Neverland is a reveal-driven series. It’s also one where, I suspect, a much higher percentage of English-speaking fans than is typical will know the source material before seeing the anime (and thus be tempted to say more than they should). It’s very much like Boku no Hero Academia in that respect, and also in that it represents one of the crown jewels for Weekly Shounen Jump’s “next gen” fraternity.
I won’t get too specific here, but I don’t think Neverland is quite on a par with Horikoshi Kouhei’s modern masterpiece – it’s a fair bit behind it for me in fact – but this series is damn good. There are things that do annoy me about it, some of which are apparent in the first episode – such as the fact that the characters smile too damn much for my tastes. I also have some issues with Emma as a protagonist, but I suppose it’s better not to go there in detail… In the end, you know, for me Yakusoku no Neverland is a really good pulp thriller and there’s surely nothing wrong with that. At some point in my reading I encapsulated it in my head as “a great premise with pretty good execution” and I’m still pretty much comfortable with that assessment.
One thing is clear – this, like HeroAca, is a property that Shueisha values highly. And that makes it gets the kid gloves treatment where the anime is concerned. We’re starting off with one cour, but that’s a good thing for once – great care will be taken not to overtake the manga. And that’s important, because you can bet your bippy that Neverland – like BnHA and Haikyuu!! – will receive a complete anime adaptation in the fullness of time. It’s also obviously (like those series) getting a generous budget, as this premiere looks great and expensive (apart from one clonky CGI sequence).
This show isn’t at a platinum studio like I.G. or Bones – it’s A-1’s new spinoff CloverWorks – but A-1 shows have always spanned the full range of production quality based on budget. And this one has solid veterans in charge in director and thriller specialist Kanbe Mamoru and writer Ono Toshiya. It also has the advantage of in my view storming out of the gate with (unlike Boku no Hero Academia) the very best the series has to offer. The Promised Neverland hits the ground running, introducing us to what seems like an idyllic orphanage setting where a happy group of chilluns thrives under the care of a housemistress they call “Mama”. But unless you’ve never seen a horror movie in your life, I can’t believe that had you fooled for very long.
The protagonist is indeed Emma (Morohoshi Sumire, who sounds a bit too old to my ears), 11 years old and bright as the sun, just like her friends Norman (Uchida Maaya) and Ray (Ise Mariya in full Killua mode). They’re among the oldest and definitely the brightest at Grace Field House. Mama Isabella (Kaida Yuko) is the sole caretaker we see, a benevolent matriarch adored by her charges, who amuse themselves with games of chess and tag. They also regularly take high-tech standardized tests, which the power trio score 100% on even as most of their “siblings” struggle. I’d talk more about the personalities of these three children as they’re supremely critical to the story, but the first episodes showed us as much as we need to know for now – anything more from me would probably be unwise.
If you came into this cold, I sincerely hope you managed to make it to the premiere without being spoiled about the twist – and I’d show some caution going forward on that front, too. The safest thing to talk about is the execution (pun intended) and it was excellent. I feel like this episode captured the charms of the manga beautifully in almost every way – the character designs, the backgrounds, the atmosphere (and freaky levels of tension). Kanbe can succumb a bit too much to auteur pretension at times, but he knows his way around creepy and suspenseful, and that sure hand on the tiller was strongly in evidence here – I think he was an excellent choice for this material.
What can I say, this episode was a cracker – and if you enjoyed it there’s no reason to think you won’t feel that way about the rest of the season, because the material doesn’t lose a step (as I said, this is the best part of the series). Yakusoku no Neverland has achieved great popularity as a manga for good reason, and I expect no different from the anime. Some series are hits with hardcore anime fans (Mob Psycho 100 or Made in Abyss come to mind) and some with general viewers who sometimes watch anime – and I think Neverland, like Boku no Hero Academia, is destined to be one of the latter.
ED: “Zettai Zetsumei (絶対絶命)” by Cö shu Nie
Simone
January 10, 2019 at 11:39 pmThis seems indeed pretty good! Knowing how loved the anime is, I look forward to seeing the story. I wonder if this and MHA together with “Dr. Stone” (due an adaptation this Summer, and another blast of a manga) can somehow make up the next generation’s Big Three (One Piece at this point has transcended that status into an untouchable institution).
Guardian Enzo
January 10, 2019 at 11:43 pmHaikyuu!! eclipses all but BnHA in terms of volume sales, and I don’t think Dr. Stone is anywhere close to the others in that department.
OP is definitely the “big one” and will be until the day Oda finally retires it. But when it does manage a volume, Hunter X Hunter still comfortably outsells any WSJ series besides that one.
Simone
January 11, 2019 at 12:36 amHm, true, but HXH too has a prestige status at this point. If anything, its rarity makes it more precious!
About Haikyuu!!, I guess I tend to think of sports anime as their own niche so I didn’t consider it… it’s certainly a Jump series though. And there’s also Food Wars (though honestly it’s gotten pretty unbearable from what I hear).
Well, here’s to hoping that Dr. Stone does get a bit of a boost from the anime too. I think right now it’s perhaps the Jump series I enjoy the most (though I’ve been putting off reading Haikyuu!! because I’m waiting for more anime seasons for that one).
Guardian Enzo
January 11, 2019 at 7:38 amI really need to give Dr. Stone a try but at this point I’m torn about possibly just waiting for the anime.
Food Wars seems to have annoyed some of the manga fanbase these days, from what I see in social media. Sales are still pretty strong but I think Neverland’s have grown past it.
Haraga
January 11, 2019 at 12:59 amIs there anywhere I can read what you dislike about the later arcs? Personally I loved the first arc, because I could easily follow the rules of the world and the mind games between characters, and in later arcs it was much more difficult to do that, and I became less invested in the story.
Guardian Enzo
January 11, 2019 at 7:39 amIf you’re on twitter you can certainly DM me there.
Miyu Fan
January 11, 2019 at 3:05 amI love uverworld, but they need to stop becoming OP in shows like Arslan and The Promised Neverland, it’s just not suitable at all. Dororo OP is also the same.
I never read the manga but I knew the twist already, and it’s quite easy to guess anyway already from the clues. I have no idea how they are going to outsmart Mom so I’m looking forward to be surprised. 2019 is off to a good start for me.
Guardian Enzo
January 11, 2019 at 7:40 amI agree about the Dororo OP (though the visuals are Godly) but I quite liked the OP here, ED as well.
King Wombo Jr
January 11, 2019 at 5:38 amA great premise with a pretty good execution is a great way to describe The Promised Neverland.
I love the first arc; it’s one of the highest quality arcs in a WSJ series for me. By the arc’s end there’s so much potential for greatness, but I feel like the latter arcs have only reached a portion of said potential, with some notable flaws that leaves a sour taste to some really good material.
That said, for now we don’t have to worry about those arcs, because the anime’s clearly only focused on the first right now and it’s doing a great job from the start!
Guardian Enzo
January 11, 2019 at 7:41 amYup, sums it up just about perfectly.
Vikkio92
January 11, 2019 at 9:13 amHi! Is the ‘clonky CGI sequence’ you’re referring to the scene past the gate with the truck? I also thought it was CGI, but someone on Reddit told me it isn’t CGI and now I’m very curious to know whether it is or not! Is there a way to tell for certain?
Guardian Enzo
January 11, 2019 at 10:02 amThat’s the one, and while I suppose someone might have info from official sources if they’re fluent reading Japanese, I don’t know for sure myself. I will say this – if that wasn’t CGI that was some of the strangest drawn animation I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe some kind of weird rotoscoping attempt gone terribly wrong?
DauntingOverlord
January 11, 2019 at 10:26 amNot that I’m saying it was the best choice to make, but I certainly felt that the change of style brought out a certain quality of tension that wouldn’t have been brought up if everything was smoother. It could’ve been a cheap way of making a scene, but given the promotional trailers and the way they really hyped up that reveal in the episode, I don’t think it was more of an artistic choice than a monetary/time related choice. I could be totally wrong though, it didn’t bother me while I was in the moment.
Guardian Enzo
January 11, 2019 at 1:18 pmWell, if it’s as you say I chalk it up as a similar sort of thing (though less ugly by far) to the CG bear in Golden Kamuy – a directorial choice gone wrong. And Kanbe is legendary for bouts of pretentiousness so it would hardly be out of character. Not remotely a deal-breaker for me – barely a minor annoyance.
Simone
January 11, 2019 at 10:22 pmI thought it was rotoscoping using CGI as the underlying model.
Onix Franceschini
January 11, 2019 at 10:07 pmYeah, I agree that the first Arc is definitely superior to what follows. Since the author already confirmed the manga won’t be running for much longer, I hope it gets back to that quality. Dr. Stone is pretty good too. A relatively unique take on what a shonen series can be.
Kurik
January 12, 2019 at 12:08 amReally good start to what looks like a promising series. I know already I will be adding it to my weekly list. Kind of feeling better about this season. I have about 4 shows I can look forward to each week. Haven’t read the manga so looking forward to the onscreens twists and surprises.
say
January 12, 2019 at 6:28 amIt reminded me of the film The Island…
Yukie
January 13, 2019 at 12:37 amI guess I was lucky(?) to not have been spoiled and was actually expecting something similar to -Never Let Me Go-
Not sure how I feel about this farm idea tbh. I can also already see some signs of things that will bother me down the line (I completely agree about what you said about Emma being the protagonist…. so far she feels like a female self-insert character).
Guardian Enzo
January 13, 2019 at 12:54 amThat’s a subject that I’ll certainly cover in the fullness of time, but it’s probably better not to do so at this point.