Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

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Well, its finally over. The Promised Neverland started with an explosive first episode and came full circle with a similarly unexpected ending. What started late last year as an interesting manga adaptation announcement ended up being one of the best shows of the season and an incredibly interesting experience. Here are some of my final thoughts.

Anime of the Year

I might be jumping the gun on this one just a bit, but The Promised Neverland definitely has the potential to win anime of the year. Devilman Crybaby won last year having come out in January, and The Promised Neverland has already set a pretty high bar for anime quality in the coming seasons.

Isabella, a Great Villain

Geoff from Mother’s Basement kind of already did a great video about this topic that articulated a lot of what makes the one known as Mama great, but I think they are worth reiterating here. One of the most important reasons is because of the justification behind a lot of Isabella’s actions. Isabella sees as herself as a caretaker, indeed something like a mother. Because of this, in her eyes, all of the actions she takes to stop the kids in their quest to escape is justified. Whether it be locking Ray in a room or breaking Emma’s leg, she does this all because she cares.

This creates a very twisted sense of empathy where, on the one hand, you understand in a way why she does the things that she does: because she genuinely believes that all of the kids will be better off, but on the other hand, she is still to blame for all of the horrible things that she does to them.

Norman

…Well, that was unfortunate.

Seriously, though, I am definitely holding out for a possible Norman comeback in season two. Of course, the reason being is that unlock sister Crone, we never actually see Norman die, only that he goes off into a side room. Any manga readers out there: No spoilers, please and thank you.

Ray: The Son of Isabella

The last episode reveal that Ray is actually Isabella’s son was well timed, if nothing else. It definitely served to humanize and put into perspective a lot of her actions, even if they definitely were not acceptable whatsoever. I can imagine this being a source of contention for Ray later on in the story, assuming it goes where I think its going to go.

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How did you guys feel about season one of The Promised Neverland? Let me know in the comments below. Also, if you would like to support The Aniwriter or are just feeling generous, consider donating on ko-fi or by using one of the affiliate links below:

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!