The Promised Neverland is one of the most recent manga series to have exploded in fame and popularity, and after a nearly 4 year stint in Shounen Jump, it has finally come to a close. This sci-fi thriller mystery has been a great joy to read, so what did it do well?

TPN has a very unique and well-developed world that you don’t often see in other series. Imagine a world where you are brought into and raised, only to be harvested as food, just like livestock, where the world the orphanage resides in is dominated by demons. The main goal for the main trio is to escape Grace Field, but what lies ahead of them will prove to be their greatest challenge yet. Throughout the 180 chapters, we get to see them explore different locations such as the orphanage, the bunker, Goldy Ponds, Seven Walls, and the Imperial Capital, each location adds a lot of world building and mystery to the world’s lore. Each location is used efficiently and implemented naturally to further progress the story, enough information is held back to keep the sense of mystery and curiosity intact, rather than info dumping unnecessarily and ruining that sense of surprise.

The story is split into 11 different arcs, and each one of them focuses on a different event which all tie into each other. As everyone is enjoying their lives at the orphanage, Norman and Emma go out towards the entrance of the facility only to find that they are all in serious trouble. They plan to escape, but they are challenged by the staff members who work at the orphanage, Isabella and the other mothers and the demons who stand guard. The first arc has everything a perfect thriller has to offer, though the later arcs presents the story as a more sci-fi post-apocalyptic story rather than purely as a horror thriller, the story is still enjoyable as we see the characters strive to escape back to the human world. If you don’t mind the tiny dip in quality in the story, you can find a lot of enjoyment out of this.

The artwork isn’t what you’d call great, but it isn’t bad either. At its high points, where the horror and dark scenes are highly expressed, the artwork can be really really good, highly detailed and capturing the essence of the moment. In other times, like in non-important frames or often times when the frame features a character, it feels more like a doodle than a good drawing. Though it might be unique to the artist’s style, I think it still suits the series very well and you’ll get accustomed to the different art.

The characters are very unique and very good. We have the children from the orphanage, we have Musica and Sung-Joo, we have the nobles, and we have the other escapees and harvested children. The characters are all well-written and don’t go to waste. Lewis is best boy, Isabella is a great and sympathetic villain, and Phil is the MVP. I won’t write anymore about the characters as it could lead to potentially massive spoilers. Just know that there are some very likeable characters.

Overall, I’d say this has been a very fun and interesting ride. The manga was able to keep me intrigued and drawn in as the story develops, and it has the right length to present enough information and story to start from beginning to end. If you want a good sci-fi thriller series, check out The Promised Neverland, definitely worth the read.

8/10