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--- lb:yakuneve [2025-05-04 08:00:33] – ↷ Links adapted because of a move operation ninjasr
+++ lb:yakuneve [2026-02-13 17:19:23] (current) – [Yakusoku no Neverland] ninjasr
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 ====== Yakusoku no Neverland ======
+<div subtitle>
+{{tag>anime manga otaku}}
+</div>
 {{ img:b:r:yakuneve.png?460 |Yakusoku no Neverland}}
-**約束のネバーランド**(The Promised Neverland) is a [[lb:manga|manga]] series about a group of children who realize they're being <wrap spoiler>raised as livestock to be eaten by demons</wrap>, who escape their <wrap spoiler>farm</wrap> and start plotting a rebellion.\\  There is an [[lb:anime|anime]] series but, supposedly, the second season screws up the adaptation. The first season is pretty good though.
+**約束のネバーランド**(The Promised Neverland) is a [[lb:manga|manga]] series about a group of children who realize they're being <mark spoiler>raised as livestock to be eaten by demons</mark>, who escape their <mark spoiler>farm</mark> and start plotting a rebellion.\\  There is an [[lb:anime|anime]] series but, supposedly, the second season screws up the adaptation. The first season is pretty good though.
-{{tag>anime manga otaku}}
 ===== Reviews =====
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 ==== Manga ====
-I'd consider the manga to be an almost perfect story...though I think it has a number of smaller issues that collectively make it fall short of that ‘perfect’ goal.\\  So, let's start with the //ending//. Yeah, makes sense. I think the ending is bad and it's bad because it <wrap spoiler>screws up on a worldbuilding level</wrap>. Basically, the <wrap spoiler>human world has entered a post-nation state of affairs, where wars are no longer a thing</wrap>. This is because <wrap spoiler>World War 3 happened</wrap>, if I remember correctly, <wrap spoiler>which royally screwed everything up. Being sick of conflict, everyone put aside their differences and dismantled all states</wrap>. Now, putting aside the fact this is obviously the <wrap spoiler>[[lb:japanese.kumbaya]] cliché at play</wrap>, there are a few other issues with this depiction. Chief among them being the fact <wrap spoiler>the children should obviously find this world uncomfortable. The United States is now called ‘Area 01’...and that's //not// supposed to remind them of the farms they escaped</wrap>? Further, the series had been setting up((:fn:>This is what my notes say at least, so I don't actually remember what those set-ups are, but I trust myself.)) complications in the <wrap spoiler>human world, which just...aren't a thing</wrap>? This ending was quite clearly not properly thought-through, which is quite irritating. The last thing I'll note there, maybe, is that the <wrap spoiler>mass-produced humans all end up surviving in the human world despite their complications</wrap>. This is nice on the one hand, but also not like...it's too idealistic, basically.\\  Now I'll note the [[lb:japanese.kumbaya]] stuff<wrap spoiler>again, though a bit differently</wrap>. //Yakusoku no Neverland// makes the standard Japanese assumption that humans fight wars with each-other and others due to mutual hatred born of whatever. I'll put aside the fact that that assumption is naïve and untrue, because this series actually manages to do it correctly, for once.\\  The system that exists in //Yakusoku no Neverland// is a <wrap spoiler>self-perpetuating system of suffering, kept running by people within that system</wrap>. The only realistic option here //is// to put aside our differences...forgive and forget. At least for those within the system that are part of it...like all the <wrap spoiler>mothers in the farms, or other such human workers</wrap>. There are also rare examples in the manga of <wrap spoiler>humans who are part of the system who help perpetuate it, like Grandma, who ended up consumed by it. I guess the humans from the human world would count too, but that's not really the case</wrap>. Though I think that the fact almost //everyone// who is part of this system eventually turns against it is a flaw...maybe. I'm not sure. There are those who maintain it, get consumed by it, or otherwise <wrap spoiler>get killed during the rebellion</wrap>.\\  Though, and this is a key oversight the series makes, this doesn't really apply to the <wrap spoiler>demons or humans in the human world</wrap>. In multiple senses. First in that <wrap spoiler>in the human world, this is not something that would just solve conflict</wrap>. Though that's an extension of the issue with the ending.\\  Instead, let's consider a few things. First of all, the <wrap spoiler>demons are the ones who helped establish the system and are the main guys running it. It could be argued that the majority of demons are not complicit, which fair enough. It doesn't make sense to genocide them or even to fight a war or demand reparations or whatever, just leave them be</wrap>. If you can’t tell, I'm currently thinking it through and whether this is really an oversight or not. The ones that //are// unambiguously bad are the <wrap spoiler>**Ratri Clan**, who are helping maintain the system, hunt down escapees and are otherwise doing pretty awful stuff. Plus the humans from the human world are not actively trying to help the humans in the demon world, which is just bizarre. Though I'm guessing this is because they're just not aware of any of this...though the ending hints they //do// know and it's super strange that a united Earth didn't just decide that they should help their kin who are being perpetually eaten. I'm just assuming that this is a big mistake and that most humans are not aware, with just the Ratri clan being aware. The Ratri clan is probably the most unambiguously evil group within //Yakusoku no Neverland// and the fact they seem to get off scot-free is a bit disturbing</wrap>.((:fn:>Y'know, minus the fact many of them <wrap spoiler>get killed</wrap> while <wrap spoiler>fighting the children</wrap>.))\\  Now let's move onto a flaw that has nothing to do with the Japanese Kumbaya cliché. This is a general spoiler for the series so beware.\\  //Yakusoku no Neverland// has a habit of <wrap spoiler>killing background and unknown characters for the sake of raising the stakes/tension</wrap>, whilst <wrap spoiler>rarely committing to killing named characters we actually know</wrap>. There are exceptions to this, but even some of those exceptions are exceptions like <wrap spoiler>Norman, who was thought dead by most of the characters and whose death was super important...but who ultimately ended up being not-dead. That said, it was properly set-up that he didn't die. I'm just using him as an example of the overall issue</wrap>. The most egregious example that I have noted is during the <wrap spoiler>Ratri clan raid, where we see the deaths of - as far as I remember - five characters that we knew barely anything about. Their main contribution was having a name, being in the background and dying. They didn't meaningfully interact with anyone in the main cast. In fact, I didn't even recognize two of them</wrap>. The <wrap spoiler>deaths were meaningful to the characters in the story, but this just creates a disconnect because the audience doesn't really //get// it</wrap>. Though what makes this critique of mine quirky is that this <wrap spoiler>raid</wrap> also includes the primary counter-example: <wrap spoiler>Yugo and Lucas, two important named characters who were basically part of the main cast at this point, end up dying</wrap>. Though, and this is kinda funny in a dark way...<wrap spoiler>I don't think their deaths made sense within the context of the story. They really shouldn't have died. So this is actually a completely separate issue</wrap>.\\  Now I'll shift to a more general...thing...to make it clear why the ending in particular is kinda...off. Yes, we're going back to the ending //again//. Almost like that's the biggest problem with this series.\\  Up until the ending, the entire series had been balancing idealism with pragmatism. The protagonist, Emma,((:fn:>As a side-note, unambiguously the best characters in the series and one of the best in fiction, probably. In fact, Wikipedia has a dedicated [[wp>Emma_(The_Promised_Neverland)|article]] for her. I'm not reading it, because //ew Wikipedia//, but this at least shows that there are a lot of people who like her.)) is an idealist. However, the real world keeps betraying her, her ideals and her dreams so, over the course of the series, she becomes more and more pragmatic while holding onto her ideals. This is probably the main thing that makes her and, by extension, the manga so interesting: she is an idealist that comes to understand that compromise is necessary and, sometimes, life just screws you over in unexpected ways, so you've gotta make the most of it. For example, one of her goals is to make sure that <wrap spoiler>everyone survives in the end</wrap> and, well, that doesn't exactly...yeah. Though her goals //do// mostly succeed in the end due to her perseverance.\\  This conflicts with the ending because the <wrap spoiler>human world, as it's depicted, is so unbelievably naïvely idealistic that it cannot possibly exist</wrap>. It's extremely jarring in comparison to the theme that the manga had been going with the entire time up to that point. Though, there is one aspect of that that I do like...just one though: <wrap spoiler>Emma gives up her memories of her family to save all the children. That is an obvious pragmatic solution to make her goals come to fruition. However, in the end, her family ends up finding her and reuniting with her. This was after they had spent a significant amount of time and effort to reunite with her. I think that this is the only good instance of pragmatism being put aside because sometimes, even if it's exceedingly rare...yeah, good things do just kinda happen</wrap>.\\  My notes had a brief rant at the end where I was frustrated that, besides me, nobody will really care about any of this. Though the reason this annoys me in particular is because I see myself in Emma. In a way, I'm a bit of an extreme idealist just like her and, just like her, I've learned that you //have// to ground yourself in reality. The ending, though, completely throws that out the window.\\  All that said, the manga mostly fits together besides a few hiccups and it is seriously //extremely good//.
+I'd consider the manga to be an almost perfect story...though I think it has a number of smaller issues that collectively make it fall short of that ‘perfect’ goal.\\  So, let's start with the //ending//. Yeah, makes sense. I think the ending is bad and it's bad because it <mark spoiler>screws up on a worldbuilding level</mark>. Basically, the <mark spoiler>human world has entered a post-nation state of affairs, where wars are no longer a thing</mark>. This is because <mark spoiler>World War 3 happened</mark>, if I remember correctly, <mark spoiler>which royally screwed everything up. Being sick of conflict, everyone put aside their differences and dismantled all states</mark>. Now, putting aside the fact this is obviously the <mark spoiler>[[lb:japanese.kumbaya]] cliché at play</mark>, there are a few other issues with this depiction. Chief among them being the fact <mark spoiler>the children should obviously find this world uncomfortable. The United States is now called ‘Area 01’...and that's //not// supposed to remind them of the farms they escaped</mark>? Further, the series had been setting up((:fn:>This is what my notes say at least, so I don't actually remember what those set-ups are, but I trust myself.)) complications in the <mark spoiler>human world, which just...aren't a thing</mark>? This ending was quite clearly not properly thought-through, which is quite irritating. The last thing I'll note there, maybe, is that the <mark spoiler>mass-produced humans all end up surviving in the human world despite their complications</mark>. This is nice on the one hand, but also not like...it's too idealistic, basically.\\  Now I'll note the [[lb:japanese.kumbaya]] stuff<mark spoiler>again, though a bit differently</mark>. //Yakusoku no Neverland// makes the standard Japanese assumption that humans fight wars with each-other and others due to mutual hatred born of whatever. I'll put aside the fact that that assumption is naïve and untrue, because this series actually manages to do it correctly, for once.\\  The system that exists in //Yakusoku no Neverland// is a <mark spoiler>self-perpetuating system of suffering, kept running by people within that system</mark>. The only realistic option here //is// to put aside our differences...forgive and forget. At least for those within the system that are part of it...like all the <mark spoiler>mothers in the farms, or other such human workers</mark>. There are also rare examples in the manga of <mark spoiler>humans who are part of the system who help perpetuate it, like Grandma, who ended up consumed by it. I guess the humans from the human world would count too, but that's not really the case</mark>. Though I think that the fact almost //everyone// who is part of this system eventually turns against it is a flaw...maybe. I'm not sure. There are those who maintain it, get consumed by it, or otherwise <mark spoiler>get killed during the rebellion</mark>.\\  Though, and this is a key oversight the series makes, this doesn't really apply to the <mark spoiler>demons or humans in the human world</mark>. In multiple senses. First in that <mark spoiler>in the human world, this is not something that would just solve conflict</mark>. Though that's an extension of the issue with the ending.\\  Instead, let's consider a few things. First of all, the <mark spoiler>demons are the ones who helped establish the system and are the main guys running it. It could be argued that the majority of demons are not complicit, which fair enough. It doesn't make sense to genocide them or even to fight a war or demand reparations or whatever, just leave them be</mark>. If you can’t tell, I'm currently thinking it through and whether this is really an oversight or not. The ones that //are// unambiguously bad are the <mark spoiler>**Ratri Clan**, who are helping maintain the system, hunt down escapees and are otherwise doing pretty awful stuff. Plus the humans from the human world are not actively trying to help the humans in the demon world, which is just bizarre. Though I'm guessing this is because they're just not aware of any of this...though the ending hints they //do// know and it's super strange that a united Earth didn't just decide that they should help their kin who are being perpetually eaten. I'm just assuming that this is a big mistake and that most humans are not aware, with just the Ratri clan being aware. The Ratri clan is probably the most unambiguously evil group within //Yakusoku no Neverland// and the fact they seem to get off scot-free is a bit disturbing</mark>.((:fn:>Y'know, minus the fact many of them <mark spoiler>get killed</mark> while <mark spoiler>fighting the children</mark>.))\\  Now let's move onto a flaw that has nothing to do with the Japanese Kumbaya cliché. This is a general spoiler for the series so beware.\\  //Yakusoku no Neverland// has a habit of <mark spoiler>killing background and unknown characters for the sake of raising the stakes/tension</mark>, whilst <mark spoiler>rarely committing to killing named characters we actually know</mark>. There are exceptions to this, but even some of those exceptions are exceptions like <mark spoiler>Norman, who was thought dead by most of the characters and whose death was super important...but who ultimately ended up being not-dead. That said, it was properly set-up that he didn't die. I'm just using him as an example of the overall issue</mark>. The most egregious example that I have noted is during the <mark spoiler>Ratri clan raid, where we see the deaths of - as far as I remember - five characters that we knew barely anything about. Their main contribution was having a name, being in the background and dying. They didn't meaningfully interact with anyone in the main cast. In fact, I didn't even recognize two of them</mark>. The <mark spoiler>deaths were meaningful to the characters in the story, but this just creates a disconnect because the audience doesn't really //get// it</mark>. Though what makes this critique of mine quirky is that this <mark spoiler>raid</mark> also includes the primary counter-example: <mark spoiler>Yugo and Lucas, two important named characters who were basically part of the main cast at this point, end up dying</mark>. Though, and this is kinda funny in a dark way...<mark spoiler>I don't think their deaths made sense within the context of the story. They really shouldn't have died. So this is actually a completely separate issue</mark>.\\  Now I'll shift to a more general...thing...to make it clear why the ending in particular is kinda...off. Yes, we're going back to the ending //again//. Almost like that's the biggest problem with this series.\\  Up until the ending, the entire series had been balancing idealism with pragmatism. The protagonist, Emma,((:fn:>As a side-note, unambiguously the best characters in the series and one of the best in fiction, probably. In fact, Wikipedia has a dedicated [[wp>Emma_(The_Promised_Neverland)|article]] for her. I'm not reading it, because //ew Wikipedia//, but this at least shows that there are a lot of people who like her.)) is an idealist. However, the real world keeps betraying her, her ideals and her dreams so, over the course of the series, she becomes more and more pragmatic while holding onto her ideals. This is probably the main thing that makes her and, by extension, the manga so interesting: she is an idealist that comes to understand that compromise is necessary and, sometimes, life just screws you over in unexpected ways, so you've gotta make the most of it. For example, one of her goals is to make sure that <mark spoiler>everyone survives in the end</mark> and, well, that doesn't exactly...yeah. Though her goals //do// mostly succeed in the end due to her perseverance.\\  This conflicts with the ending because the <mark spoiler>human world, as it's depicted, is so unbelievably naïvely idealistic that it cannot possibly exist</mark>. It's extremely jarring in comparison to the theme that the manga had been going with the entire time up to that point. Though, there is one aspect of that that I do like...just one though: <mark spoiler>Emma gives up her memories of her family to save all the children. That is an obvious pragmatic solution to make her goals come to fruition. However, in the end, her family ends up finding her and reuniting with her. This was after they had spent a significant amount of time and effort to reunite with her. I think that this is the only good instance of pragmatism being put aside because sometimes, even if it's exceedingly rare...yeah, good things do just kinda happen</mark>.\\  My notes had a brief rant at the end where I was frustrated that, besides me, nobody will really care about any of this. Though the reason this annoys me in particular is because I see myself in Emma. In a way, I'm a bit of an extreme idealist just like her and, just like her, I've learned that you //have// to ground yourself in reality. The ending, though, completely throws that out the window.\\  All that said, the manga mostly fits together besides a few hiccups and it is seriously //extremely good//.
 ===== Trivilinks =====