The Promised Neverland Review
After hearing much praise on social media about the first season and roasts on the second, I finally watched The Promised Neverland seasons 1 and 2. This anime series was a binge-worthy experience! If you enjoy watching animes under the dark fantasy/science fiction/mystery thriller/horror genres then this one is highly recommended for you to check out. I also recommend watching this series without too much knowledge on what the sypnosis is if you want a more suspenseful viewing experience.
If you'd like to check out the trailers here they are:
Season 1 : 12 episodes
Season 2 : 11 episodes
There is a “special episode” 5.5 but it’s basically a recap of season 1 and the first 5 episodes of season 2, it’s also only available in sub.
💭Thoughts on Season 1
I watched season 1 in pretty much one sitting and every episode had me on the edge of my seat. It also had me in complete awe of how brilliant, creative, precious, and strong children are. It made me miss working with kids and especially my students from when I taught in Korea. Without giving anything away, I think most viewers will naturally be rooting for the kids. But of course, this anime does what anime does best in providing backstory flashbacks that might have you end up deeply sympathizing with the characters who are deemed the "villains." Every episode of the first season was full of suspense and thrill. I like how this anime focuses more on emotional and psychological suspense rather than graphic imagery and gore. Although, there are a few scenes where there's mildly disturbing imagery. I'm not a huge fan of gore and graphic scenes but I enjoy suspense and thrills so if that's relatable then this anime is worth watching.
🌟I give Season 1 a 10/10 rating.🌟
Thoughts on Season 2💭
After completing season 1, I instinctively with a quickness went straight into watching the second season. However, I did go in with not particularly high expectations due to the social media roasts and reviews on how disappointing and underwhelming it was. Despite the majority, I did not find season 2 that bad but I can see why many did not find it satisfying. I do agree that the ending was rushed and the pacing wasn't as enticing as the first.
***Warning lightweight spoilers*** There were some things I noticed that were odd such as Ray's left ear was still visible and also some unanswered side plotlines like Sonju and his desire to eat humans and Mujika's backstory. Sidenote: um Sonju is hawt, he reminded me of Renji from Bleach #2Dsimpcore 😜 Even though the second season did fall a little flat compared to the first I still enjoyed watching it.
🌟I give Season 2 a 7.5/10 rating.🌟
Overall, I very much enjoyed watching this anime series. This show made me think deeply and reflect on many topics. I feel I don't know how to articulate my thoughts well when it comes to explaining so I won't dive too deep in this blog post lol but it made me think about childhood and how our innocent view of the world gradually or abruptly gets shattered by the reality of the society we live in. It also made me think of parenthood and how sometimes our parents/guardians do the best they can under the worst circumstances and the unconditional love (most) parents particularly mothers have for their children and vice versa. Also, how it gets complicated with the whole food chain survival prey vs predator thing and how lines are blurred when it comes to who is truly the villain and victims of circumstances and systematic oppression. I don't know if any of what I’m tryna say makes sense but hopefully, you get it and can interpret it in the way I’m trying to convey😅🤞🏽. There can also be a whole discussion just on the character Sister Krone from Season 1. I really wish she had a happier fate. She was a huge help to the kids' escape plan and she deserved way more credit for that 😤😭. I'm sure there could be a whole deep, psychological, and philosophical analysis and conversation to be discussed about the many topics this anime brings forth. Anyways, if you have watched this anime series I hope you liked it and if you plan to watch it I hope you enjoy it! I would love to hear your thoughts on it too so please feel comfortable leaving them in the comments!
