I had higher expectations than what was given. That didn't mean it wasn't interesting, but I was a little disappointed with how things rolled out.

I feel like the story would have been better had there been a hundred more chapters. A lot of ideas are presented that wasn't really explored enough to my taste. There's a message that the Promised Neverland tries to convey to the reader in the latter half, but I didn't think it was generally convincing. I found it very tell, not show. I agree, just given what the message is, but I don't think the narrative sufficiently showed that.

I agree that the first arc was really strong. It was smart and it kept me on my toes, desperate for the next chapter. However, past that first arc, I could not feel any tension and even though high stakes were presented, I wasn't convinced. The way death is handled, whether it happens or it doesn't, is a serious weak point.

The art is beautiful. I love the shading and the panels and the color pages. The design of the characters is well done too. I know all I need to know about a character from their design. It's fun to read because the manga is that beautiful.

I think the villains are great. They pose a real challenge and they're intimidating.

The main cast, however, is kind of disappointing. All you really need to know is that Emma and Norman are the main characters. What I mean by that is that the majority of the cast is irrelevant. I don't know the names of any of Emma's siblings besides Don and Gilda. Before you can even get to know them, we are bombarded with more characters and the only thing that makes me care about their death is that they're children and that they're friendly with Emma.

Also, the relationship dynamics are kind of disappointing. The romance, if you can even call it that, is unnecessary and I disliked it. If it was going to be so insignificant, then why even put it. And then... I don't want to spoil, but there are these two really specific things that happen in near the end that's just so... frustrating and unbelievable that... man, it really let me down. Again, it COULD have been an interesting relationship, but the execution flubbed.

I feel like my review was being very negative, but it just makes me frustrated that it was so good, but then the finale was so lackluster. Every time, I thought "Is it going to talk about this? Are they gonna go more on this plot point or this character?" and then we reach the end and it turns out no, the manga isn't gonna do any of that.

The art is beautiful, the story had potential, there are so many ideas that could have made for interesting arcs. Just another hundred chapters and we would have got there.

tl;dr I enjoyed Promised Neverland because of how interesting it was in art, concept, and in the ideas it threw out. But the execution was where it faltered. I'll always remember this manga for being very good, but quite a long way from great.