The Promised Neverland

Synopsis

Setting

In a strange world filled with sentient creatures of different species, an agreement called "The Promise" was made to end a long war between humans and the so-called demons. "The Promise" was an agreement where each would live in their own separate "worlds": the human world, free from the threat of demons; and the demon world, where human breeding farms were set up to provide food for the demons. By eating humans, demons take on their attributes which prevent them from degenerating into mindless monsters. In the demon world, a special breeding program was set up under the guise of orphanages; there, a human "Mother" would oversee the children to make sure they grew up as intelligent as possible. These children had identifying numbers tattooed on them and had no knowledge of the outside world. They believed that they were orphans and once they reached a certain age or intelligence, they would be taken out for adoption, but were fed to high-ranking demons instead.

Plot

In 2045, 1,000 years after the formation of "The Promise", the bright and cheerful Emma is an 11-year-old orphan living in Grace Field House, a self-contained orphanage housing her and 37 other orphans. They lead an idyllic life, with plentiful food, plush beds, clean clothes, games and the love of their "Mom", Isabella. Their education is seen as an important part of their development, and Emma, with her two best friends Norman and Ray, always excels in the regular exams. The orphans are allowed complete freedom, except to venture beyond the perimeter wall or gate which separate the house from the outside world. One night, a girl named Conny is sent away to be "adopted", but Emma and Norman follow with her favorite stuffed animal toy. At the gate, they find Conny dead and discover the truth about their existence in this idyllic orphanage—to be raised as meat for demons. Emma and Norman plan with Ray to escape from Grace Field House with the children, but Norman is taken off to be "adopted". Emma and Ray then decide to escape with some of their other siblings, leaving half of the younger children behind.

The escapees find life outside Grace Field House is filled with dangers, but under the leadership of Emma and Ray, they become determined to return to free their remaining siblings, along with children from the other Farms. They encounter demons of all descriptions, including Mujika and Sonju, who aid them in their quest. Emma and Ray later meet up again with Norman and together with their allies, they fight a battle for freedom against the demon queen Legravalima and the human Peter Ratri, who manages the Farms. Eventually, through her own determination, Emma secures the freedom of all the children and re-forges "The Promise", bringing all of them to the human world, but at the cost of her own memory.

Production

Development

The series was first conceived in late 2013 from a draft titled Neverland; the title was later changed to The Promised Neverland due to copyright concerns. Kaiu Shirai submitted the 300-page draft to the Weekly Shōnen Jump editorial department. Editor Suguru Sugita described it as an ambitious work atypical for Jump, blending bright and dark scenes within a suspenseful fantasy world. Shirai noted that Sugita suggested limiting the series to around twelve volumes, comparable in length to Death Note.

Finding an artist whose style suited the story proved challenging. Shirai and Sugita considered Posuka Demizu a leading candidate due to her artistic fit for the series's imagery. Several other artists declined, citing the story's deviation from typical Jump manga or its perceived lack of commercial potential. Demizu's agreement was met with enthusiasm. Sugita compared the creative synergy between Shirai and Demizu to that of Death Note creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. Prior to serialization, Shirai and Demizu published the one-shot Poppy's Wish (ポピィの願い, Poppy no Negai) on Shōnen Jump+ in February 2016. Its positive reception confirmed to Sugita that they were the right team for The Promised Neverland.

Inspirations

Shirai drew inspiration from international children's folklore and video games such as Final Fantasy for the setting, while the horror elements stemmed from his own imagination, as he does not enjoy horror films. He also cited childhood nightmares influenced by Hansel and Gretel, stories about children being eaten, and a manga about spirits, which led him to question whether monsters could resolve issues by raising humans like livestock.

Demizu cited Japanese folklore and its monsters, European fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel, Naoki Urasawa's Monster, works from Studio Ghibli, and prison escape media such as Escape from Alcatraz, Papillon, The Great Escape, and the television series Prison Break.

The setting was inspired by Victorian England. Shirai aimed to disorient readers with a false lead suggesting a 19th-century English orphanage, while avoiding a specific time period. The English name "Grace Field House" appealed to him, and he noted the popularity of European urban design among Japanese audiences. Demizu used references from a two-month language study trip to England, particularly drawing on its forests and atmosphere.

Concepts and themes

Regarding the title's relation to Neverland from J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Shirai described it as a place with both playful and dark aspects, a duality he sought to convey in The Promised Neverland. The word "Promised" was added later during development of the post-escape story and was deemed significant enough to incorporate into the plot.

Despite its dark tone, Shirai chose to publish in Weekly Shōnen Jump rather than a seinen magazine, arguing that the story's themes were not age-specific and that it contained core shōnen elements like mutual aid and self-improvement. Using child protagonists aligned with the magazine's readership and facilitated reader identification; the theme of children rebelling against adults was selected as a classic narrative device. While acknowledging the series was darker than most Jump titles, the creators avoided extreme trends such as "ero-guro", excessive violence, or nonsense, using such elements only when necessary for the story.

Shirai stated that the concept of the lowest-performing students being the first harvested, while not necessarily a direct metaphor, was intended to encourage reflection on contemporary society. Although he admitted similarities to the Japanese education system, he clarified that the series was not meant as a critique but rather an exploration of family, school, and children's perspectives on adults. In response to interpretations by groups like PETA that the series advocated against industrial farming and promoted vegetarianism, Shirai stated he did not intend to impart moral values or moral judgments. He emphasized that the narrative does not explicitly condemn the demons and that the primary goal was entertainment, not social critique.

Writing

According to the 2020 fan book The Promised Neverland 0: Mystic Code, the writing of the final chapters was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shirai felt the length of chapters 179 and the finale restricted the content he wished to include.

Media

Manga

Written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu, The Promised Neverland was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 1, 2016, to June 15, 2020. Shueisha collected its chapters in twenty tankōbon volumes, released from December 2, 2016, to October 2, 2020.

In July 2016, Viz Media announced that they would digitally publish the first three chapters of the series on Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Thereafter, they published the manga's new chapters simultaneously with the Japanese release. The first printed volume in North America was released on December 5, 2017. Shueisha began to simulpublish the series in English on the website and app Manga Plus in January 2019.

A 16-page one-shot chapter about Ray titled, The First Shot was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on October 5, 2020. A 36-page one-shot chapter about Sister Krone titled, Seeking the Sky of Freedom was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on December 7, 2020. A 19-page one-shot chapter about the children accomplishing their dreams in the human world titled, Dreams Come True was released at "The Promised Neverland Special Exhibition", event that was held in Tokyo from December 11, 2020, to January 11, 2021. A 32-page one-shot chapter about Isabella titled, A Mother's Determination was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on December 14, 2020. A 32-page one-shot, titled We Were Born, which tells the story of "another The Promised Neverland", was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on January 4, 2021. Both Dreams Come True and We Were Born were collected in the Kaiu Shirai x Posuka Demizu: Beyond The Promised Neverland tankōbon volume published on September 3, 2021, by Shueisha. It was published on November 8, 2022, in North America by Viz Media. A 36-page one-shot taking place after the manga's main story, titled Undying Blade, was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on August 24, 2026.

In April 2026, a full-color digital version of the manga was announced, with the first ten volumes released on September 4 of the same year.

A comedic spin-off titled Oyakusoku no Neverland (お約束のネバーランド), illustrated by Shuhei Miyazaki (Me & Roboco author), was published in Jump Giga on July 26, 2018, and it was later serialized in the Shōnen Jump+ application from January 11 to March 28, 2019. Its chapters were collected in a single tankōbon volume, released on June 4, 2019.

Light novels

Four light novels by Nanao have been published. The first light novel, titled Yakusoku no Neverland: Norman kara no Tegami (約束のネバーランド～ノーマンからの手紙～; lit. 'The Promised Neverland: A Letter from Norman'), was released on June 4, 2018. The second light novel, titled Yakusoku no Neverland: Mama-tachi no Tsuisōkyoku (約束のネバーランド～ママたちの追想曲～; lit. 'The Promised Neverland: Moms' Song of Remembrance'), was released on January 4, 2019. The third light novel, titled Yakusoku no Neverland: Sen'yū-tachi no Rekōdo (約束のネバーランド ～戦友たちのレコード～; lit. 'The Promised Neverland: Records of Comrades'), was released on October 2, 2020. The story follows Lucas and Yuugo. The fourth light novel, titled Yakusoku no Neverland: Omoide no Film-tachi (約束のネバーランド ～想い出のフィルムたち～; lit. 'The Promised Neverland: Films of Memories'), was released on December 4, 2020, and takes place after the manga's finale. The novel is about Emma, Norman and their friends talking about their memories. On August 25, 2026, a fifth novel about "what became of Emma and the others" was announced to be in the works.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced in Weekly Shōnen Jump in May 2018. The series is animated by CloverWorks and directed by Mamoru Kanbe, with Toshiya Ono handling series composition, Kazuaki Shimada handling character designs, and Takahiro Obata composing the music. The series aired for 12 episodes from January 11 to March 29, 2019, on Fuji TV's late-night Noitamina anime programming block. It simulcasted on Amazon Video, but only in Japan, contrary to the contract giving Amazon exclusive streaming rights to shows that have aired on Noitamina since Spring 2016, as Wakanim has exclusive streaming rights in France. Uverworld performed the opening theme song "Touch Off", while Cö Shu Nie performed the ending theme songs "Zettai Zetsumei" (絶体絶命; lit. 'Desperate Situation') and "Lamp".

A second season was announced in March 2019. Originally scheduled to premiere in October 2020, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second season aired on Fuji TV's Noitamina from January 8 to March 26, 2021. The main staff and cast members returned to reprise their roles and the original manga writer Kaiu Shirai collaborated with the scripts and supervised an original scenario for the season, although the last two episodes of the second season did not contain any writing credits due to the backlash the season had received. Kiiro Akiyama performed the second season's opening theme song "Identity" (アイデンティティ, Aidentiti), while Myuk performed the second season's ending theme song "Mahō" (魔法; lit. 'Magic').

In North America, the series is licensed by Aniplex of America and it began streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu, Funimation and Hidive on January 9, 2019. Funimation added the English dub of the series to its streaming service on July 1, 2020. The anime's first season aired on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block starting on April 14, 2019. Toonami aired the entire first season on the broadcast night of October 31, 2020, as part of its Halloween marathon. Toonami aired another marathon the series on October 29, 2022, as part of its Halloween marathon. The second season aired on Toonami from April 11 to June 20, 2021. It has been available for streaming on Netflix in Japan, Italy, Singapore, and Thailand by August 2020; it began streaming on the platform in North America and Latin America on September 1 of the same year. On January 28, 2022, both seasons were made available for streaming on Disney+ Japan. Madman Entertainment simulcasted the series on AnimeLab in Australia and New Zealand. The anime is licensed in the United Kingdom by Anime Limited.

The first season of the anime series substantially follows the manga and covers the story up to chapter 37, where the Jailbreak Arc ended. The second season is an abbreviated version of events which take place between chapters 38 and 181. There are also changes to the plot, the major ones being the omission of several arcs and characters.

Live-action film

A live-action film adaptation, directed by Yūichirō Hirakawa, was released in Japan on December 18, 2020. The film grossed ¥2,03 billion ($17.7 million) at the box office; and received mostly positive reviews from critics. It was nominated for two VFX-JAPAN Awards, winning one in the "Excellence Theatrical Film Award" category.

Live-action series

In June 2020, it was announced that Amazon Studios and 20th Television were developing an English-language live-action series adaptation of the manga for Amazon Prime Video. Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse's Rodney Rothman is directing the series and Meghan Malloy is writing the pilot. Rothman, along with Death Note producer Masi Oka, and Vertigo Entertainment's Roy Lee and Miri Yoon are the executive producers of the series.

Video games

A mobile game based on the series called The Promised Neverland: Escape the Hunting Grounds was released on April 22, 2021. The game was announced on January 7, 2021, and by April 13, 2021, had received over 63,194 pre-registrations. The game is an online escape game, in which four players work together to escape a map based on The Promised Neverland series. Players control different characters, and they can use a variety of weapons and items to defeat demons. The game was developed by Goodroid, published by CyberAgent, and became available on iOS and Android.

A crossover event between The Promised Neverland and the mobile game Dragon Egg was held on May 22, 2020. A crossover with the mobile game Vivid Army was held from November 12–26, 2020. A crossover event with the video game Identity V was released on February 23, 2021. A second crossover event with Identity V was released on September 24, 2021. A crossover event, with the Japanese mobile game Jumputi Heroes, was released on March 15, 2021. A collaboration with the mobile game LINE POP2 was released on May 27, 2021.

Stage musical

In April 2026, it was announced that The Promised Neverland would receive a musical stage play adaptation, set to release sometime in Q4 2026. Theater group RKX International will perform "Musical The Promised Neverland" in Tokyo, and will host full auditions for the roles of Emma, Norman, and Ray. The musical will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the series.

Other media

An art book, titled The Promised Neverland: Art Book World (約束のネバーランド ART BOOK WORLD, Yakusoku no Nebārando Āto Bukku Wārudo), was released on November 4, 2020. It was published by Viz Media on June 21, 2022. It included creator commentary and interviews. A fan book, titled The Promised Neverland 0: Mystic Code (約束のネバーランド 0 MYSTIC CODE, Yakusoku no Nebārando 0 Misutikku Kōdo), was released on December 4, 2020.

An art exhibition, The Promised Neverland Special Exhibition, was held at the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi from December 11, 2020, to January 11, 2021. Additionally, a cafe event called "Cafe Grace Field" was held next to the exhibition venue. The design of the cafe was based on Grace Field House and sold various foods and drinks based on the series. The exhibition was held again from March 17 to April 5, 2021, in Osaka. From April 24 to May 9, 2021, it was held at the Nagoya Congress Center. From July 3–25, 2021, it was held in Okayama. From July 21 to August 16, 2021, it was held in Sapporo.

The series had an official podcast called "The Promised NeverRadio" which was hosted by Sumire Morohoshi the voice of Emma and Hiyori Kono the voice of Phil and ran for 66 episodes from January 7, 2019, to April 4, 2021. During the podcast Morohoshi and Kono would read emails and answer questions from fans. Fuji TV's anime programming block Noitamina celebrated its 15th anniversary with a special cinematic orchestra concert held at Tokyo International Forum, on May 29–30, 2021. The concert featured a line-up of the original soundtrack from the anime series that play during iconic scenes. Noitamina Shop & Cafe Theater in Tokyo held a free screening of the anime series every Saturday and Sunday in January 2019, in addition to a cafe event that sold various foods and drinks based on the series. Noitamina Shop & Cafe Theater held another cafe event for the series from August 17 to September 1, 2019, to commemorate Emma's birthday. From January 15 to January 24, 2021, Noitamina Shop & Cafe Theater held a cafe event to commemorate Ray's birthday. From March 13 to March 28, 2021, Noitamina Shop & Cafe Theater held a cafe event to commemorate Norman's birthday.

On July 14, 2018, the series got its own themed drink and coaster at the Shonen Jump cafe in Roppongi. The series did a crossover with the WIXOSS trading card game on April 20, 2019, which included an expansion pack themed to the series. The project was overseen by the manga's illustrator, Posuka Demizu, who had contributed art to the trading card game's cards in the past. The series did a collaboration with The Sky Circus Sunshine 60 Observation Deck in Tokyo from January 5 to February 11, 2019. The collaboration included a photo spot that recreates the post-apocalyptic world of the series, an art exhibition, limited edition goods, and original drinks inspired by Emma, Norman, and Ray. A collaboration with Princess Cafe was held in Ikebukuro, Akihabara, Osaka and Fukuoka from August 10 to September 8, 2019. The collaboration featured exclusive merchandise, food and drinks based on the series. A collaboration with Cookpad Studio was held in Osaka from September 4 to 30, 2020. The event included food and merchandise based on the series. A collaboration with Kanagawa Taxi Co., also known as Kanachu Taxi, was held from January 14 to March 17, 2021, in which artwork of characters from The Promised Neverland was placed on 88 of their taxi cars and customers were given artwork featuring Emma, Ray, and Norman. A collaboration with Megane Flower glasses was held on March 8, 2021, which included limited edition glasses frames designed after Emma, Ray, and Norman. A collaboration with Sony was released on September 2, 2021, and included limited edition electronic merchandise based on the series.

Reception

Manga

On Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! ranking of top manga of 2018 for male readers, The Promised Neverland topped the list. The series won the "Shōnen Tournament 2018" by the editorial staff of the French website Manga-News. The manga was one of the Jury Recommended Works for the French 12th ACBD's Prix Asie de la Critique 2018. The Promised Neverland was one of the Jury Recommended Works in the Manga Division at the 21st Japan Media Arts Festival in 2018. The series was chosen as one of the Best Manga at the Comic-Con International Best & Worst Manga of 2018. The Promised Neverland has been added to The Nippon Foundation's Manga Edutainment 2020 list, to identify manga that are published as general works but can also open up new worlds and lead to learning.

On Da Vinci's magazine "Book of the Year" list, The Promised Neverland ranked 26th on the 2018 list; 35th on the 2019 list; eighteenth on the 2020 list; and 26th on the 2021 list. On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150,000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, The Promised Neverland ranked 46th. Barnes & Noble listed The Promised Neverland on their list of "Our Favorite Manga of 2018". The Promised Neverland was included on the American Library Association's list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens in 2018; and 2019. On a 2021 survey conducted by LINE Research asking Japanese high school students "what manga series they are currently into", The Promised Neverland ranked second among girls, and tenth among boys.

The manga was recommended by manga artists Osamu Akimoto and Eiichiro Oda, who each wrote praising comments which were featured on the obi of the series's second and fourth volumes, respectively. Author Toshio Okada have also praised and recommended the manga.

The Promised Neverland was the 24th top-selling franchise in Japan in 2018, with estimated sales of ¥1.9 billion. It was the tenth best-selling franchise in 2020, with estimated sales of ¥3.5 billion. In September 2024, Shueisha revealed that The Promised Neverland was one of its Weekly Shōnen Jump's most profitable concluded series.

Throughout its serialization, every volume of The Promised Neverland was at the top of the sales charts. By August 2017, the manga had 1.5 million copies in circulation. By October 2017, the number increased to 2.1 million copies in circulation. By April 2018, the first 8 volumes had 4.2 million copies in circulation. By June 2018, the first 9 volumes had 5 million copies in circulation. By January 2019, the first 12 volumes had 8.8 million copies in circulation. By September 2019, the manga had over 16 million copies in circulation. By June 2020, the manga had over 21 million copies in circulation. By October 2020, the manga had over 25 million copies in circulation. By December 2020, the manga had over 26 million copies in circulation. By April 2021, the manga had over 32 million copies in circulation. By August 2022, the manga had over 41 million copies in circulation. By August 2023, the manga had over 42 million copies in circulation, including digital versions.

Anime

Season 1 of The Promised Neverland holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 5 reviews. In February 2020, the anime series was awarded "Best Fantasy" at Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and Isabella won the "Best Antagonist" category. Polygon named the series as one of the best anime of the 2010s, and Crunchyroll listed it in their "Top 100 best anime of the 2010s". IGN also listed The Promised Neverland among the best anime series of the 2010s. The Brazilian website Legiao Dos Herois listed the series as one of "10 most successful anime" of 2010s.

The Verge also listed the anime series in its list of the best anime of 2019. James Beckett of Anime News Network ranked the series fifth on his list of best anime series of 2019. Toussaint Egan of Thrillist ranked the series third on his list of best anime of 2019. Season 2 of The Promised Neverland became the second biggest anime premiere ever on MyAnimeList behind Attack on Titan: The Final Season.

Brittany Vincent, writing a review of the first season for Syfy, praised the twist at the end of episode 1, saying that "Watching a seemingly idyllic community of happy-go-lucky kids seeing their realities destroyed in such a brutal way makes this a show that you just have to continue watching." Vincent particularly praised the animation and character designs saying: "These aren't your generic anime kids, with pink hair and zany costumes. The lead protagonist, Emma, hardly looks like your typical anime character at all, thanks to her shock of reddish blonde hair and her wide eyes". Furthermore, Vincent referred to the series as "A great cross between shows like Deadman Wonderland and Seraph of the End, with dreadfully creepy characters and a narrative that keeps you guessing the whole way through."

Allen Moody of THEM Anime Reviews gave the first season 4 out of 5 stars. Moody praised the series for its story and the characters' ability to "devise amazingly sophisticated strategies (and counter-strategies) that surprise the viewer as much as their foes", adding that the series "maintains a high level of psychological tension throughout, even though we're hit with unexpected explicit horror only a couple of times". Moody concluded: "I was fairly satisfied with the story we have here. There are heartbreaking developments and moments of pure horror, but the unquenchable human spirit is in here too."

The second season of The Promised Neverland, especially its final episode, received an overwhelmingly negative reception for what many felt was a rushed and forced ending. Rafael Motamayor of Polygon noted that while an original story is not inherently bad, the season, particularly from episode 5 onwards, disrupted its pacing and tension. In comparing it to the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist anime series adaptation, which diverged from the source material but retained its essence, The Promised Neverland seemed to skip manga chapters "to be done with the story as soon as humanly possible", retaining a semblance of the plot but stripping away its emotional impact, and compared it to the final season of Game of Thrones.