Review of anime/manga I've watched/read

The Promised Neverland

This is the most recent anime I watched on the recommendation of a friend and it was truly exciting. This is the first season and apparently there is going to be another one (hopefully). 

This anime was quite faithful to the manga and followed everything to the core. It's about an orphanage where children stay upto the age of 12 years and then get sent away to families who have decided to adopt them. It turns out that there is some dark secret within the orphanage and the happy family scenario that the caretaker (known as Mama) has painted among the orphans is far from truth. 

***Spoilers*** (Skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to be spoiled)

The orphans are nurtured and brought up in such a manner that they develop skills in almost every area and their brains become much superior than that of normal humans. The purpose of this is to sacrifice them to demons who eat their brains that have become tasty as a result of much care and nurturance and that is the truth behind why the orphans who are "sent away to families" never write letters. 

***End of Spoilers***

The three main characters Emma, Ray and Norman discover the truth behind the orphanage and although they are initially shocked, they try their best to escape the situation but also help the other orphans. 

The initial shock was like lightning to me and although I was expecting something like this, the confirmation and the dreadfulness of the situation is hard to endure. In that very instant, the viewer will start understanding that everything is a farce and the gruesome truth will slowly unveil itself. 

The complexity of the characters is something to look forward to and it provides the viewers much food for thought. This is one of the animes/manga which would provide some brain exercise to understand what exactly the characters are thinking about and planning to do next. Their moves are extremely unpredictable which makes you sit on edge and keep watching unblinkingly. The three main characters Emma, Ray and Norman, are quite different from one another who influence each other and bring the best out of themselves. They alone aren't enough to fight their oppressors, it is the three of them together that makes every unimaginable thing possible and gives hope for a better future. Disagreements do prevail among them regarding what could be their best bet but every aspect of their relationship is something you would find among yourselves as well when you're trying to save/defend a loved one. The challenges they face bring them closer to each other and their quest for a safe haven makes others join them and be their allies. 

It feels a bit unrealistic that 12 year olds and younger children are so smart and mature. Even though it's because of the daily IQ tests and other activities they're subjected to, it's hard to relate to them because you'd never imagine 12 year olds solving such difficult puzzles and having crazy combat skills which they developed themselves by training within two months.

The caretaker (Mama) is super complex. Her motive was relatively simple, to survive. Her trust was broken when she was very young and she did what she could, to live a longer life. I did empathise with her at one point but it's really difficult to relate to her. Specially those who are mothers would find her behaviour to be extremely alarming. Mama does have the protective maternal instinct but it's limited till a certain point (or age, for that matter) and after that, it's just gone. What's more disturbing is that, she believes her alarming behaviour to be a sign of her caring nature and she has on odd possessiveness towards the children. She thinks of them as her own children (***spoiler- one of them is her own child***), but the way she treats them is just unthinkable behaviour on the part of a mother. Her fate is a mystery to both her "children" and the viewers and is something only the author knows. 

Another adult enters and exits the anime but she does serve a purpose. Her past is also similar to Mama and although she ultimately has the same purpose as Mama, her lack of patience and need for power leads to her downfall which makes her hostile towards Mama and provide the children with a valuable hint for escape. 

In this anime, you can't really blame anyone. I tried to put myself in each of their shoes and understand what I would've done in that situation. Given a choice between sacrificing yourself and saving yourself at the cost of others' lives is not an everyday situation we encounter in our lives and when we do encounter, it's a war between morals and survivor instinct. 

The art in the anime is nice, nothing too fancy nor too plain, just appropriate for the kind of story it is. Emma, Ray and Norman reminded me of the anime Princess Tutu, one of my beloved childhood animes where the main characters also had similar hair colours. 

The art in the manga is okay as well, I wasn't much impressed with it but the captivating story makes up for it. 

This story gave me sort of Death Note vibes, given the constant war of wits going on and the urge for survival. I would definitely recommend this to people who love thrillers.