The Promised Neverland
- Release year: 2019
- Episodes: 23
- Available to stream on: Prime Video, Joyn, Netflix, Crunchyroll
What is it about? The story takes place in 2045 in an orphanage. It seems like paradise on earth. A group of 38 children lives under the loving care of their mama Isabella. They have enough to eat, clean clothes, and spend their days playing and taking intelligence tests.
There is only one rule: Never go beyond the gate that marks the property boundary or approach the fence in the woods. At the latest by the age of 12 or upon particularly good intelligence test results, a child is placed for adoption and leaves the house forever.
Why can it only be watched once? The 3 protagonists, who are simultaneously the smartest children in the orphanage, accidentally discover the horrible truth behind the adoption one evening. The anime is characterized by its dark atmosphere, which loses its charm upon the second viewing.
You can think of the anime as an escape room game. The 3 orphans attempt to escape the house and must follow multiple clues and solve puzzles. Like an escape room, the anime loses its appeal once you already know the solution to the puzzle.
However, the 1st season has been criticized for adhering too closely to the manga source material, and the transition to the 2nd season is ruined by catastrophic pacing. We therefore recommend either reading the 1st season as a manga or stopping watching after season 1.
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