#TPN Two Destinies

[fullscoreshenanigans]

The true grand chess master of the series; Norman who

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 181

Chapter 181: "Beyond Destiny"

I keep thinking how Alex mentioned last chapter that he can only call for help during the spring and of the one panel that showed the snow melting and flowers blooming by the time we reached the scene where he takes Emma to the city, which leads me to believe it's actually early 2050 instead of late 2049. I know I'm in the minority thinking that since this chapter clearly states it's been two years since Emma disappeared, but I personally don't believe they meant that timeskip literally.

Referencing the search she, Don & Ayshe went on is a nice callback, but with both situations having their parallels, why couldn't ya think of this idea sooner sweetie?? Ah well, at least this leads everyone in the right direction in the end. Regardless of any of that, I love Gilda's outfit here.

Sigh. This arc had so much potential to give so many more characters some spotlight and we get crumbs.

I am politely asking the world once more to please let my boy say "fuck." You can't tell me Ray hasn't been swearing like a sailor with how frustrating these last two years have been for him. Also, seeing Phil using the WM pen raises more questions, such as who's pen did that originally belong to? My first bet would've bene that it Yuugo's, as he's really the only one we've seen with a pen aside from Emma (who still has hers), but with how chaotic life at the shelter was moments before it blew up, I have my doubts he would've even thought to give the pen away to Ray or one of the other kids for safekeeping. It would've been a pretty big hint towards him and Lucas not returning as well so I can understand why such a scene was left out, if it happened at all. Anyways, with Norman on the other end of the conversation with Phil, it's obvious he somehow has a pen of his own but how he acquired such pen doesn't seem that surprising to me, since Norman was actually shown to have one in season two and I can easily believe it was another gift from Smee or another supporter. If not, Norman seems like the type who would be able to create another pen just like the original, which could result in the one Phil's group is using, if it isn't actually Yuugo's. Other that than, seeing how the pens are still fully functional (and assuming they're both originals from the demon world and not newly made), I'm going back to my own question I had last chapter about whether or not Emma and Alex have ever tried using the pen she has in her possession. Surely they could've figured something out about Emma's past if they just looked through it.. unless demon god thought that far ahead and deleted all information off said pen.

I know it's the same moment as the previous chapter where Phil's group gets close to Emma without realizing it but it still makes me so anxious! I'd absolutely be yelling at my screen had this encounter been animated.

Now they're teasing me on purpose. Just let them meet, damn it! AAhhh.. at least Ray's looking handsome, even though he's completely worn out.

Oh how very convenient for the necklace to somehow fall off her neck and be found right in front of where she eventually reunites with her family. This necklace also looks like the kind that you just slip on over your head, as there doesn't seem to be a visible clasp anywhere on the chain, so how it managed to go up and over her head without her noticing is some sorta demon witchcraft right there. Look at how that thing is glowing! It's sentient I tell ya. I do like how much Emma values the necklace though despite not having any memory as to why it's so special to her.

Speaking of keepsakes, I'm also very fond that Ray still uses his scarf. More importantly though, this panel is such a relief! I'm so relieved the reunion takes place rather quickly in the chapter so it gives the characters more time to figure out the situation and sort out their feelings. And I may be wrong about this, but it kinda looks like Emma is raising her eyebrow at the sight of all these people suddenly surrounding her with such surprised faces. Hold on tight honey, it's about to get even weirder for you.

And this first panel is darn heartbreaking, for her family and us readers. They probably dreamed of this moment for so long, to finally reunite with Emma and live together again, but they certaintly never imagined her to react like this. Safe to say that our girl was taken off guard by this encounter as well. Here Emma was, expecting a chill day out shipping with her adoptive father and now she's getting hugged outta nowhere by a bunch of strangers. Poor girl looks seriously stunlocked.

I am so incredibly proud of my boy for figuring out that this girl is indeed their Emma. I'm sure anyone could've looked at the necklace in her hands and made the assumption this was her, but the way Ray was able to piece everything together about what exactly happened to Emma and what the real reward was amazes me to no end. He looks so angry and full of regret in that second panel before he reveals the truth too, almost as if he's a bit hesitant to let the words out of his mouth, but he knows this is absolutely something everyone needs to hear and unfortunately for Ray, no one is better at delivering hard truths than him. Once he reveals to everyone the true price of the reward, he looks completely crushed and I seriously need to go and hug him pretty please! I'm certain Ray has been constantly thinking up many possibilities of what the reward could've been over the last two years, but this reveal has gotta be something he never expected. Or perhaps it was, considering he realized it so quickly, but I doubt he'd be happy to be correct in this moment anyway. I can't imagine what Emma must be feeling hearing all this crazy stuff either.

Okay but what if she just said no here instead? Would demon god actually changed His mind or am I being too hopeful? Emma's optimism might be rubbing off on me, but I just want her happy! I don't like that sad look in her eyes or the slight pause she takes before finally answering Him.

She's such a damn sweetheart, I'll literally never get over how big her heart is and how much she loves and cares for everyone, especially over herself. I can imagine the sad tone in her voice for the first couple speech bubbles, but then she'll lighten up as she rambles on about the better future that's on the horizon and will be so grateful she's able to grant such wonderful lives for everyone she holds dear.

It goes without saying but Emma's family doesn't take the news of her memory loss too well. While I am glad that a majority of them were present to hear about the real reward (given how important it was) and that everyone eventually celebrates Emma agreeing to live with them at the end of the chapter, a part of me wishes the initial group who found her was a bit smaller? All the attention is completely overwhelming her and I can't blame her for shoving them aside for freaking out so badly. If it was Ray, Norman, Phil and a couple others from GF who found her first, they could've broken the news to her gently (once Ray figured it out) and then fill in the rest of their family one by one, if Emma still decided to join them in the end.

Phil is so good at picking up on major details, whether it be GF's secret or Emma's anxiety. And then ya got Norman who is just totally relieved to see her again. I had forgot to mention this during ch179, but another reason losing Emma hit him so hard was because he had just reunited with her a couple weeks prior to their arrival in the human world. Norman spent all that time planning his escape in Lambda and ways that would allow him to reconnect with Emma, Ray, and the rest of their family and he finally had a moment of peace when they all arrived at the paradise hideout to feel that hole in his heart being full again. Then you had all that drama at the demon capital that pitted them against each other for a little bit until they reconciled and fought together during the GF raid. He had to be so happy once they finally obtained freedom and to live by each other's side without fear of being separated again, until they split up once more without any indication how long it would last or if a life without Emma was gonna be Norman's new normal. So of course he breaks out into happy tears here because all that matters to him is that she's real and in front of him again.

Hearing him tell her how thankful he is that she's healthy, eating well and injury free is a great parallel to his speech in ch30 right before he gets shipped out, only instead of saying their goodbyes at the end, they can introduce themselves and start all over. I gotta wonder what Alex thinks of all these kids suddenly surrounding his adoptive daughter, though I pretty positive he's chill with it since we do see him a bit later sitting back and watching all their happy faces.

Although it's a real convenient way to tie up loose ends about what's been happening with their family these past couple years, I'm still thankful we get a little insight about everyone's dreams and progress they've made. Naturally I wish could've seen so much more of everyone, but I'll take what we can get. Poor Emma has gotta be so confused on what Norman is talking about though.

This boy is trying is absolute hardest to not breakdown in front of her. It reminds me of how he comforted Emma the night after Conny's shipment despite him being just as frightened to learn the house's secret as she was.

Okay but props to our girl though for sticking around and at least hearing them out. If a bunch of strangers came up to me and started sharing their life stories with me, you can bet I'd make a move to run the first chance I get.

It's crazy how seeing a panel of our favorite girl cry such big tears can make me so happy but aaahh, I'm so thankful that the love she has for her family is powerful enough that it overrides her dumb amnesia. Demon god can be a bastard and take away her memories but he can't do shit about her strong feelings! Also, I always liked how her tears land on the necklace, considering it resembles the dragon's eye, it makes it look like as if it's crying as well.

It took me until now to remember that several pages of this chapter were redrawn since I remember that one fantasy scene of the boys finding her on that beach.. but no way in hell am I gonna go back and rework this to accommodate those changes. I've been writing this post out for far too long already. The sun is no longer up.

It's because of the inner monologue from the previous pages that leads me to believe it's also Emma who declares "screw destiny" here and I will literally never accept anything different because I love that phrase for her. That's the very reason I went nuts during s2ep10 when she shouts "I don't give a damn about that destiny!" at Peter. (Dub had her fire back with "Well I don't give a damn what you say!" if anyone was curious, which is equally good in my book.)

Favorite panel/moment:

Oh, there's.. so many. There would've been more but I did already chat about some favorite moments already, such as Ray's smart mind recognizing Emma and the real reward, along with her expressing how much she's always wanted to meet her family regardless of meeting everyone for the first time. As for the rest however, of course we're starting with Ray's lost family members assisting him with locating Emma. Seeing Conny, Yuugo and Isabella appear one last time was such a welcomed surprise and I could absolutely ramble about them more, but I should really keep the rest of this short considering how long this darn post is turning out to be. I'll place the original review here though for funsies. I will mention something I only thought of recently though, and that's how I think the "Over here, Ray" is actually in Emma's voice instead of Conny, Yuugo & Isabella's like I originally believed. While I do love the idea of Ray thinking fondly about all the people he failed to save, no one compares to Emma and that girl has probably been living rent free in his head the past two years. It would also makes sense as to why he would later comment about how hearing her voice could've been his imagination since he's thinking of her so frequently all the time, as we clearly see as he sprints off chasing that voice.

Eeehehe, Ayshe may not have been around for the reunion but her absence is definitely forgiven with this small panel! I would die for more content about these two and how their complicated acquaintanceship changed over the years, even if only barely. Norman still has to be on his guard around her and I love the idea of her lowkey threatening him often enough so he'll never feel relaxed. So glad all her dogs were able to cross over as well considering the new promise really only affected the cattle children. Rest in peace Vincent!

One of the most important reveals is my boy Chris FINALLY waking up!! It still really sucks how he was knocked out for almost half the story but oohhh I'm so incredible thrilled that he's okay. Poor guy has so much drama to catch up on though. I'm sure once he heard about Emma's disappearance he would've offered to help look for her, but since he wasn't shown anywhere else during the chapter, it makes me believe that his awakening was fairly recent and he's possibly still recovering. I'm fine if that's the case considering he gets to join in all the fun during the epilogue.

Everyone delighted beyond belief to hear that Emma missed them and her adorable face when they return the sentiment. Ah, Ray also looks fantastic. Love that smile on him as he's crying tears of pure joy.

Though I very much prefer the redrawn version of the final page where it includes more of the family joining in the celebration, having Emma accept their offer and wishing to live together will all of them definitely makes for a wholesome ending.

End of volume 20. But one day remains.

[just-like-playing-tag]

A totally self indulgent compilation of my favorite works on this blog of the year June 13, 2020 - June 13, 2021

2019-2020

The following lists are all in chronological order according to the date each post was first published.

Top 10 panel edits:

#1: It's our first morning

Date: Aug 20th, 2020 Time: ~ 2:18 h I really like how this one turned out!!! The 2020 Emma b-day edit has a lot of major panel redraws, but this is probably my favorite. I I really enjoy how I made the shadows work!! And the ear banfage looks pretty neat. Nice!!! Immagine

#2: Norman birthday edit 2021

Date: Mar 20th, 2021 Time: ~ 2:21 h Awww, soft Norman :') There was a bit to redraw, but I think everything turned out pretty neat!!! I believe everything works out fine. Though looking back at it, the part of the ID I added is definitely top small :')

#3: Manga dub: Yuugo gets knocked out

Date: Mar 27th, 2021 Time: ~ 5:05 h Here start the Manga Dub redraws to which I gave my everything ahah. This one turned out nice! I think the shoes turned out particularly good eheh. I like how Yuugo's clothing lineart- for the texture, I wanted to go for something heterogeneous, but I'm not fully confident in the final result. Gilda looks very rushed but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#4: Manga dub: Yuugo makes his dramatic entrance

Date: Apr 5th, 2021 Time: ~ 4:02 h This is pretty cool!!!! The coat took ages to redraw, but sis it turned out perfect!!! I'm very proud of this.

#5: Manga dub: RayGildEmma hug!!!

Date: Apr 9th, 2021 Time: ~ 1:31 h Awww, a beautiful panel I was really happy to have the chance to redraw. Taking into account what there was to redraw, I'm actually surprised with how little this took! Ray's backpack was a pain to make, but I think it turned out fine. I'm very happy with Emma and Ray's heads!!

#6: Manga dub: Formalities

Date: Apr 12th, 2021 Time: ~ 5:31 h It is not always easy to give sense to Demizu's perspective, but I do my best!!! In this I am *so* happy with how Don and Ray turned out, they look neat! The background on the other hand... It took hours to make ahah. I'm not fully confident in the perspective, but I'm happy with the details I've added- I really did my best to make it look like athe other manga panels and I think it paid off!!!

#7: Manga dub: We may be weaklings, but we're still alive

Date: Apr 30th, 2021 Time: ~ 1:37 h This little Emma is so cute!!!!!! I think the redraw turned out pretty perfect. I'm really satisfied with how this one turned out, and it's such a cute little Emma!!!! She's so brave and optimistic, I love her. It's a shame this panel didn't make it to the episode :')

#8: Manga dub: Goldy Pond Gang

Date: May 7th, 2021 Time: ~ 8:44 h lmao This is probably the panel redraw I'm the most proud of ever :') Just think everyone turned out very nice!! The ceiling is not exactly perfect, but it still works somehow. I'm very happy with how Gillian's back turned out!! I don't really like the fading effect on the right, but 8h in I got pretty tired of working on this ahah

#9: Manga dub: This is Goldy Pond

Date: May 21st, 2021 Time: ~ 1:29 h I'm very glad for how the Manga dub has been challenging me to learn to redraw backgrounds, something I had quite literally never tried before. It can be a little frustrating, but it's so satisfying to see the final cleaned piece!! With this panel, I also learnt to use copy and paste, which is something I had never done before beyond texture

#10: Manga dub: Good morning doctor

Date: May 21st, 2021 Time: ~ 3:42 h This is another background that turned out pretty good!! That one Norman is one I knew I would have had to fully redraw sooner or lager- the background was a bonus ahah. I'm very happy with the final result!!

Top 5 edits as whole:

#1: The Promised Neverland manga ending edit

Date: Jun 14th 2020 Time: ~ 12h 41min (5h 45min of cleaning panels in the edit + 5h 37min of cleaning panels that didn't make it to the edit + 1h 19min of resizing) + time spent cleaning panels I've deleted the file of so I can't see lmao This is overall very nice!!! The concept of an Emma evolution through her back is cool, and I think overall the edit turned out very aesthetically pleasing. The concept idea came to me while I was working on the 2019 Emma's birthday edit, a long time before the manga ending announcement- back then I wouldn't have imagined using it in occasion of the manga ending, but I think it ended up making a nice tribute. The colors add a nice touch, since so far my edits had always been black and white- it makes a sweet closure. To make that edit I selected 76 panels of Emma framed from her back; I plan to make other versions of that edit using the discarded panels eventually!

#2: Emma - Chapter 181: Beyond Destiny

Date: Jul 12th 2020 Time: 2h 57min My last edit for the manga 🥺🥺 I think this one is my very "manga ending edit" because to me it really signed the ending of weekly chapters and their weekly chapter edits. It makes me a little sad to look at it, but it's also, I don't know, kinda sweet to see how I grew both in my panel cleaning and as a person since I first started my blog. I'm glad I got into TPN!

#3: Emma birthday edit 2020

Date: Aug 22nd 2020 Time: 8h 54min This one turned out so well!!! Though I used the same concept for all the trio edits, I think this one is the best one. The two panels on the left / two panels on the right alternation combo never fails ahah. The colors are nice (shout-out to my sister for making me a palette), despite the fact that it was hard for the lighter ones to make them work with the images without having those disappear. I'm very satisfied with the panels I chose for this, I think they work really good together! Also, it got me very happy to read everyone's comments saying they liked the fading effect in the last panel :)

#4: Emma + Eyes Close Ups [1/?]

Date: Jan 24th 2021 Time: 5h 55min This one was really nice!! Another idea I got when working on the 2019 Emma birthday edit I was glad to finally execute. Started the edit in September, finished it in December. I'm overall very happy with how it turned out... I hope I will be able to make more in the future!

#5: The Promised Neverland Parallels → (9/?) » 114 // 122

Date: Feb 23th 2021 Time: 5h 7min (panel cleaning only) Aaaaahh I really like this one!!!! A parallel I love very much, and I'm really happy with how the edit turned out. All the hair redrawing looks neat!!!! The gif is maybe a little excessive, but I think overall it's a nice edit. I like it!!! Fun fact, I completed it on August 26th 2020, but I couldn't find the right moment to post it ahah.

Honorable mention: The Promised Neverland Parallels → (5/?) » 08 // 16

Date: Aug 30th 2020 Time: 2h 52min (Second picture cleaning only; I deleted the first picture art file so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) I don't have much to say about this one except!! It turned out very nice!!!!! Love the pen lmao.

Top 10 analysis:

Too many analysis,,

#1: Post chapter 181 Emma analysis

Date: Jul 9th 2020 Mmmh a nice analysis. I think it was important for me to put down in words what I think of Emma's characterization and the manga ending, so I'm happy I did it!

#2: A long Oliver analysis because I love him very much

Date: Dec 6th 2020 What can I say I just love Oliver tons 😔😔💕💕 This was very fun to make!!!

#3: TPN s2 previsions

Date: Jan 14th 2021 Really love the effort that went into this + me proving that 11 episodes GP could have possibly worked + it's just a lot of fun to read again after s2 ended pffft

#4: More s2 delusional previsions lmao

Date: Jan 27th 2021 I think the points and previsions I made where pretty neat!! In my defense, it was pretty impossible to predict the anime would have ended with this season. I always feel honoured when friends and Anon ask for my opinion, I'm like "you wanna know what I think? Wow. I'm flattered (◍•ᴗ•◍) " Thank you to anyone who ever sent me an ask!!

#5: Why Emma not wearing pants is 𝕨𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘

Date: Jan 29th 2021 Really proud of this!!! Pants Emma is important!!!!!

#6: Post episode 5 manga Emma analysis

Date: Feb 4th 2021 A depressed analysis, but a necessary one 😔

#7: Norman analysis

Date: Feb 12th 2021 I love him!!!! And I'm happy I eventually got to put down in words what I love about his character. The day I posted this ww3.readneverland was in maintenance so I couldn't use the volume scans for it- the thought of that post having fan edited and fan translated scans still haunts me

#8: RayDon rambles

Date: May 12th 2021 I had a blast writing this and like. It's likely the post of mine I reread more often of them all. I love this ship tons!!!!! I'm satisfied with how I put down in words what I like about them. I LOVE THIS SHIP

#9: Chapter 58 analysis

Date: May 23th 2021 I've wanted to express this concept since like the first time reading the manga- I'm so happy I finally did!!!! This concept is one of my absolute favorite things about tpn- the feelings that people are good. The concept that kids who got to live in an healthy and supportive environment will always be inclined to kindness and altruism, because humans are just inherently good. From the Three Character Classic: “people at birth are inherently good”. I want to have faith and courage to hold on the goodness in myself, and to hold on the goodness in the world, no matter how difficult it to do that (Chloé Zhao).

#10: Norman and Lambda squad relationship analysis

Date: May 24th 2021 I think this was a pretty sharp analysis and I like what I did with it!!

Other stuff:

#1: Krone birthday edit

Date: Jul 15th 2020 This edit is so good ;; Like not perfect since it was my first attempt at coloring gifs but still I believe it turned out so good ;;;;;; The time and effort that went unto this is crazy, but... Maybe I'm happy to have dedicated time to something I like for a satisfying result.

#2: Get to know my ship- Wolfpack Trio

Date: Aug 24th 2020 Uuuh a good post. A good ship.

#3: Gilda + blank glasses

Date: Aug 27th 2020 This is such a cute nice compilation!!! I love looking at it. A few panels are missing but still :')

#4: Apollo Ray AU

Date: Sep 7th 2020 (Though it was written Sep 2nd 2019 lmao) I'm so happy I finally gathered the courage to post this 😭😭 I really enjoy what I did with this AU, so this one and its other installments are all posts I have a lot of fun rereading. More than everything, I was astounded and overjoyed by the positive response it got: that gave me tons of confidence to put my ideas out there, no matter how unique they sound!!! Here's to hoping I will be able to post my RayEmma Hadestown AU, by other big AU from late summer 2019 :')

#5: TPN timeline project

Date: Dec 2nd 2020 This is like. I don't know it's a lot ahah. Arguably the project I'm the most proud of ever making. I'm just so happy of all the months long hard work and of the final result!! The post didn't receive much response (though the ones I got were extremely kind and sweethearted so that totally makes up for it), but in the end I don't really mind? I'm just so proud I accomplished that idea :')

#6: TPN calendar

Date: Jan 4th 2021 A nice sum of the tpn timeline + everyone's birth dates!!! I really like how it turned out visually. It's a cute little tpn calendar!!!

#7: Ray smiles compilation

Date: Jan 17th 2021 Ray's smile. That's it that's the post :')

#8: Trans Oliver headcanons

Date: Jan 24th 2021 MMMH really like this headcanon I think about it a lot

#9: Thoma and Lani theory

Date: Jan 28th 2021 I really don't want to brag but this is the best joke I've ever made :')

#10: My TPN AUs

Date: May 10th 2021 Ok you gotta admit those are very good AUs, I'm glad to have made a list out of them!!!

#11: Ranking Emma promotional art outfits

Date: May 16th 2021 This is one people seem to have liked a lot which makes me happy ahah. I'm glad to know we can all agree Emma deserves more pants outfits!! Please stop it with the gendered clothing :') This is the post I want to be remembered for

#12: TPN musicals AU part 2

Date: May 20th 2021 A GREAT POST I can't stretch enough how happy I am with those character-song associations. I hope I have time to make a part 3 in the future!!

#13: TPN Drive folder

Date: May 30th 2021 This was born as a way for me to have all the tpn extra contents easily accessible, but I'm happy to have shared it with people- I hope it will turn out to be useful to others too!

#14: TPN s2 recolorings

Date: Jun 12th 2021 A more diverse children cast is good for the soul :')

That's it, this year was really fun!! Thank you to everyone who supported me through it, I can't express how grateful I am for all the kindness and validation I received. Here's to many more months in the fandom!!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

[incorrigible-groupie]

Actually, the ends weren’t that bad (a TPN/TOA essay)

So.

There are two series that ended recently and which had a lot of impact for me but also a very controversial end, like there are some wars between fans who argue about if the end was good… or not.

And me ? I really want to believe that The Promised Neverland (the manga, obviously) and Trollhunters have very coherent ends.

You’re probably wondering « why putting these two together ? » and I have a reason, multiple reasons actually. Of course, there will be spoilers of The Promised Neverland and the entire Tales of Arcadia saga (Trollhunters, 3Below, Wizards and the movie Rise of the Titans).

First, Promised Neverland. 

And mostly the character who made a lot of people cringe even before the last book : Emma. Cringe because, for some fans, she isn’t someone you can relate with because she isn’t realistic… in every sense of the word.

She is too perfect or at least too perfectly programmed for the plot whisky is not entirely true ! « She is too kind ! » well… maybe not ? I don’t think all her actions were driven by kindness. 

She is too clever to be the naive kind of kind. 

And don’t tell me that if she was that clever, she would have noticed that her orphanage was a farm because… she probably was in denial. Also, how would she imagine that monsters were waiting for them outside ? Maybe she didn’t see, maybe she didn’t want to see. But anyway, when she discovered the truth, her first thought was to get everyone out. EVERYONE.

Of course, there are her family, she won’t let them… but she did have to let some of them because it would have been too complicated, so that prove that she isn’t just a naive idealistic.

She wanted to fight, first for her family, then for every kid of every farm, because that wouldn’t be fair if her kids stayed alive and not the others. Then she also want to save every monsters, because that wouldn’t be fair since they didn’t choose to have to eat meat.

This is not about being kind, this is about being fair. This is about responsibility and guilt.

Emma doesn’t want to save everyone because everyone deserve to be saved or something cute like that, she would have killed less people or monsters otherwise.

She wants to save everyone because she doesn’t want to feel as bad as the people, as the monsters who hurt her and her family. She doesn’t want to be a monster.

When she understood, and ONLY WHEN she understood what it means to hunt, she realized how thin was the line between her enemy and herself so she doesn’t want to live knowing people lived horribly because of her. 

She didn’t want to live with that on her conscience.

And… I think this is kind of selfish ? She doesn’t do that because it’s right, she does that because she wants to be better… I don’t know. She took a lot of risks, for her and for a friends just so she won’t feel that guilt.

But the others don’t care that the mutants die, only Emma who is really clever like I said before understood and was like « yeah so no we need to find a solution or it will haunt me for the rest of my life ». This is more like a perfectionist thing that a kind thing.

Which is… logical for a character like Emma.

Really the characters in the manga are very well-written, especially Isabella who has such a dignified way to die. It was a good end for her, very symbolic, even if I’m very sad about it. When she betrayed the blond guy, I was pleasantly surprised but at the same time it made sense like, it’s very consistent, everything is consistent even if we started with a complex project. Ending the meat industry ? Save all the children ? And Isabella’s end shows how the real villain of the story are the one who benefit from the system (which says a lot about our own society).

But Emma, actually, became « queen » of the system when she made the new treaty, she literally created a new system so… welcome responsibilities while she was only 14. Will she benefit too ? Or even take advantage ? But how could she after everything she learnt, and mostly after so many people sacrificed their lives so she could reach her goal ? Did she deserve it ?

How could she live with that on her conscience ?

The answer is : she can’t. She isn’t that strong. She isn’t that positive. She isn’t that perfect.

And destiny (haha) gave her a solution on a silver plate. Not by surprise like a Deus Ex Machina since we knew there would be a counterparty which won’t be too violent because Emma cleared the path. This was an equivalent exchange. THIS IS LIKE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST ! (By the way, why does everyone think TPN’s end was too easy while in FMA, the best manga of all time, the solution to get Alphonse’s body back was in Ed’s hands… LITERALLY !).

Anyway.

The demon offered to lose her memory, thinking she would refuse because she would be alone, separated from her family which is… euh… stupid… I mean… have you seen Your Name ?

People who are meant to be together will find each other.

Moreover, Emma was so relieved because it was solving all her problems : nobody dies, everybody goes to the other world, nobody sacrifices themselves, and the guilt she was afraid to live with ? Gone. I think Emma was also relieved to be like « yes, I have a second chance, now I will live a normal life ». And it was selfish because it seemed like she said « so guys I will send you to another universe I know nothing about after I brought you into this mess but now you will deal with it yourself everyone ! ». That was… a little cowardly ?

And the worst was that every encounter she made, every lesson she learnt, she lost them…

Well, thinking about that…

TROLLHUNTERS !

Trollhunter’s end was… hard. And gave me a bitter sensation since not only we said goodbye to our favorite characters but we also genuinely said goodbye to the show. Even if we wanted to watch the show a second time, it was kinda deleted (along with Anton Yelchin acting…) ? 

Yes, it’s hard… but isn’t it ballsy to do a scenario like this ? And we could have expected this, it’s not the first time we talked about time travel in this saga. And for gods sake at the very beginning of the movie there were a lot of things that shouldn’t happen. The train’s crash in New York, the Titans probably crushing people, the bridge being destroyed, and all that jazz… Can you imagine how Jim should have lived with all of this besides everything else he had lost ? And then, Toby died (which affected me more than I imagined).

But it’s not Toby’s death that made Jim want to change everything, it was just the last straw. The last thing that wasn’t supposed to happen. After all, if it was written that Jim was given another chance, if Naru saw that Jim would have to get back, to go aaaaall the way back, there must have a reason, or multiple reasons. Do you think humans could live normally after everything that happened ? Do you think humans and trolls could coexist ? I’m not sure, not after that kind of damage. And Arcadia was destroyed ! The HeartStone, the center of the universe, was destroyed too ! I think even if Toby survived, the end wasn’t that bright…

And the time-travel wasn’t a Deus Ex Machina either because otherwise it would have been a « and then BOUM everything is back to normal and everything is ok » situation, which isn’t… 

We don’t know what will happen. 

Jim will do everything so it’ll be okay but maybe he will make some mistakes. Vendel may not survive, maybe they will take more time to kill Gunmar, Aaaaaargh may be turn to stone again… we don’t know. And I think everyone in the fandom is pissed because of that. Because we don’t know. And I do understand : this is not the end, not a conclusion, not a great finale, more like the beginning of something we won’t get to see (like a legacy?), which is both great and very very sad for us. I hope Dreamworks will do comics or books…

But also, I doesn’t mean that nothing will be like before. There is a lot of things Jim has no control of. For example, what happened to the extraterrestrials, Jim knew nothing about it so he can’t change a thing. And for the wizards too. And when you think about it, what happens in « Wizards » has to happen. Jim won’t be a troll during that arc but it will happen anyway, it’s supposed to happen because it’s the creation of the Trollhunter, the creation of the Amulet ! And Jim has no idea of what will become because he wasn’t really there.

What is supposed to happen will happen.

Friendship or love, it will happen. Even the relationship between Jim and Blinky, even if Jim isn’t the Trollhunter. OH, SPEAKING OF WHICH.

Choosing Toby as the new Trollhunter is a super idea. Toby will accept his role right away. Toby will love his new destiny. And since he will have Jim’s help, he will be okay. Jim doesn’t want his friends to get traumatized again (I mean it’s cool to learn stuff but do you really need to suffer for that?)(I’M LOOKING AT YOU AGAIN, EDWARD ELRIC), so he will do what he can so things don’t get too heavy. And you know, maybe he want (AND DESERVE) to give a bit away. He probably give the Amulet to Toby because he knew Toby is brave enough to fight even without powers… and because he was tired to bear the Amulet ? Anyway, like I said, everything that is supposed to happen will happen and if Toby isn’t the right Trollhunter, the Amulet won’t choose him.

AH ! And don’t forget that Jim doesn’t need the Amulet to be a Trollhunter ! This is literally what the show wanted to teach us, guys ! If you forget it, it proves that it’s not only the characters who had a reset…

A reset…

Holy guacamole this is exactly like Undertale. This is Undertale’s principle. Jim is Frisk who after taking a Neutral Route wants to do a True Pacifist Route ! This is so cooooool !

Except that, exactly like in The Promised Neverland finale (well, not exactly but like a reversed version of it), Jim decides that everyone forgets everything that happened and take the guilt off their shoulders, as heavy as an armor. He erased everyone’s guilt, except his. That is far from being selfish or cowardly.

It’s the opposite ! These two shows which don’t have a lot in common have finales being negative pictures !

And Jim’s end isn’t perfect either because he still has the world on his shoulders (a little less because he isn’t the Bearer of the Amulet, but still a little more because he knows what happens if it goes wrong). 

He is still the Young Atlas because even if the characters in the shows won’t live the same thing, they will still be the characters we knew, the characters we saw growing, the characters as brave and as strong as we used to see : like in Undertale, « despite everything, it’s still you ».

And to everyone who says to me « yeah but it will go wrong because when Merlin shows Jim the future where he isn’t the Trollhunter, it was shit », well : NO.

Jim stays a Trollhunter, he said so ! And I mostly think (since the moment I saw this episode) this all thing was an illusion, not a real future, because Merlin is a real piece of garbage and I was only sad for Douxie when Merlin died (otherwise, I would have celebrate it). And I think Jim knows it too, that it wasn’t real.

By the way, I hope they will find another way to not say « For the glory of Merlin » anymore, I loved the new version of the Amulet in the movie (AND JIM LOVED IT TOO).

All of this just to say that : these endings, even if it’s very frustrating, make sense.

Of course, saying goodbye to so many things I cared about for years make it difficult to assimilate it, but that also means that I really loved it.

And in the end, it showed these two characters flaws, these perfect, pure, way-too-nice characters with too many responsibilities and a huge desire to survive, but who are being selfish for once by taking a clean start.

But they’re doing it with their pockets full of determination… proving how humans they are.

And I really will miss them.

Ready ? Set ? Go !

[deep-tpn-hell]

TPN Finale Review Part 2

This is a continuation from part 1, so please read that if you want the review for the first 2/3 of chapter 181.

I’m looking back at my screenshots and I think this sequence is beautiful. Emma saying “though I don’t know anything, though I can’t remember” while scenes of the past faintly play might just be a little too much for me. And the eye-shaped necklace dripping with Emma’s tears is a good buildup to a bawling Emma. This is probably the part where the anime would have music building up.

Seeing Emma cry is too sad for me, but it’s a heartwarming moment where she has a sense of reunion but as someone else this time. Although she doesn’t know any of them, she can get to know them again because they have all the time in the world now.

Here we have the last two pages of the whole manga. I’m especially fond of a crying Ray and I made it my discord icon for a few days. The line “screw destiny” is like a big middle finger to “Him” and I think that’s pretty funny too. They’ve overcome their fate as cattle children, what else is there that they can’t do? Norman invites Emma to live with them again and start anew as a family. The end.

It’s definitely still a really emotional chapter, and I’m really sad that it’s over. Although it’s incredibly rushed and unsatisfying at points, I still like the fact that they get to reunite. I was hoping that we would get an epilogue of their new life though.

I started this blog around the time the anime was airing last year, or February of 2019. It wasn’t really expected that such a brilliant manga would end like this, unfulfilling and unfinished, but at least there’s closure on everything. I wish the last arc wouldn’t be so rushed, it was like Shirai just wanted to move on ASAP and it really shows. It’s a bit disappointing that things ended so suddenly, but this manga still has a special place in my heart. Despite my harsh words (I have other words to describe this ending but decided not to use it), I still want to give my thanks to Shirai Kaiu and Posuka Demizu for creating this series and characters that we have grown to love in these past few years.

rachel

(Damn, Demon Slayer and TPN ended this year while Attack on Titan is also ending in a few months too, what has the world come to… what else is there to read…)

[attack-on-neverland]

2.1 The Main Trio

In both Attack on Titan and The Promised Neverland, the main trio consists of three character tropes which are The Empath, The Distant but Loving and The Savior (who I also like to call “The Genocidal Maniac.” The existence of these tropes especially in the main three characters is important to recognize because these three are also generalizations of the attitudes of the people of their world. This mix keeps things relatively balanced and stable until one of them breaks the delicate balance for whatever reason.

Armin, Eren, and Mikasa (AOT)

Norman, Emma, and Ray (TPN)

1. Armin and Emma - The Empath

Armin (AOT) and Emma (TPN) make up The Empath. Both initially reject the idea of having to strike first and would avoid casualties at all cost. These characters would rather risk failure than harm innocent people (again, initially). They have a deep sense of compassion and can even empathize with the enemy and prefer to talk things out rather than engage in battle. Both Armin and Emma are also the ones to eventually stop the genocidal plans of Eren (AOT) and (Norman). Both characters also selflessly sacrificed themselves to save their loved ones.

Armin dreams of reaching the outside world and seeing the wonders of nature, which is why he joins the Survey Corps in order to secure peace for them once again. In the face of death, he chose to talk it out with Bertholdt, holder of the Colossal Titan and tried to get him to join their side. Even when his life was threatened, Armin hesitated to strike first, which only changed when Captain Levi instructed him to do so or else they would be killed. It is also Armin who stops Eren’s plan of destroying everything outside of Paradis and establishes the Alliance. Armin willingly sacrificed himself and got burnt alive by the Collosal Titan to ensure that he could buy time for Eren’s plan to work (He got revived eventually). However, he does live by the principle that “People who can’t throw something important [humanity] away can never hope to change anything.” This represents an eventual shift in Armin as his innocence is broken and he abides by the rules of war rather than reject them completely, opposite to Emma.

Emma also dreamed of the outside world and meeting all of her siblings with their families before they discovered the painful reality of their world. Throughout the whole series, it was shown how Emma would do literally anything to protect her younger siblings as she would stay behind to hold down enemies, set off on dangerous journeys with the older kids, and even struck a deal with That Person* which meant sacrificing herself to safely bring everyone back to the human world. However, Emma’s empathy doesn’t only manifest in her sibling relationships, but extends to everyone, even their biggest enemies. She befriends devils Mujika and Sonju, forgives Lucas after he endangered her life by bringing her to Goldy Pond, and extends her love to all the adults who were the reason behind the existence of the plantation. She cries out when she sees the demons being massacred by Norman, and begs for him to reverse things. She recognizes that no one is inherently bad and that everyone is just doing what they can to survive. In the end, Emma’s deal with That Person reveals that she traded what she loved the most (her family and her memories of them) in exchange for the freedom of all humans. This resulted in Emma ending up on some mountaintop (in the human world) with no concrete memories, but feelings of pain, longing, and sadness while all the other kids lived their happy lives together and arrived safely in their destination. Trust me, I cried BUCKETS.

2. Mikasa and Ray - The Distant but Loving

Mikasa (AOT) and Ray (TPN) make up the Distantly Rational but Loving trope. Aside from both having black hair and emo hairstyles, these two characters both exhibit the most skill and wits among all the other characters. In times of turmoil and panic, these two managed to keep a cool head (most of the time) and allowed everyone else to survive in safety. Both characters can be said to be distant because they are rarely seen enjoying themselves, presumably because of their traumatic backgrounds which is why all of their energy is focused on getting stronger and saving everyone. Their loyalty is unmatched, and they would be willing to destroy anyone who gets in the way of the safety of their families. This attitude stems from dark backgrounds that made both characters value life and the people around them so much. Despite their willingness to achieve any lengths, these characters still manage to think logically, and do not intend to cause unnecessary harm even to enemies.

Mikasa used to be a sweet and loving child who enjoyed the little things and simply being around her parents. However, everything changed when her parents were murdered by kidnappers, leaving Mikasa an orphan. She witnessed all of this violence and was supposed to be killed as well if she weren’t saved by Eren. From that day on, Mikasa grew to be outwardly distant, presumably to avoid getting attached to anyone who could possibly disappear in an instance. However, she was also attached to Eren and all of her comrades in the Survey Corps. She tried to hide that vulnerability under her cold exterior, but no one would ever doubt her love for her comrades. Witnessing her parents’ deaths made her swore to become stronger in order to protect those she loved.

From a young age, Ray was seen to be quieter than the other kids. Instead of playing, he would spend his time reading books, doing research, and observing everyone. This is because he discovered early on that Gracefield was not an adoption home, but a farm with children as their produce. However, he had to stay quiet and volunteered himself to become Mama’s spy so that he would not be shipped out early. The trauma stems from the awareness that each shipped out orphan became meals for demons, but being unable to do anything about it. For years, he had been a slave to Mama in order to acquire the parts he needed to aid their escape plan. It is evident how his loyalty to his siblings does not fade as he would sacrifice himself for the safety of everyone else. Like Mikasa, he still keeps a calm demeanor and can rationalize under dire circumstances.

3. Eren and Norman - The Self-sacrificing Savior / "Genocidal Maniac"

Eren (AOT) and Normal (TPN) both make up “The Savior” or the “Genocidal Maniac”. These boys both start out as innocent, wide-eyed children who wanted to explore the world. They are both passionate about saving all of their family and even sacrificed themselves for their safety. However, they are both drastically changed by a deeper understanding of their reality. From being hopeful optimists, they come to see the reality that no one else realizes. From the day of their realization, they come to an understanding that they have to be “devils” in order to save humanity in an attempt of self-sacrifice. They know that nothing would be able to redeem these sins, yet they still push forward to destroy anything and anyone that gets in their way. This is because they know that there is no alternative that guarantees their safety except complete annihilation of everything else. They eventually trade in their humanity at the cost of lives of children, innocents, and everyone who might get in the way. However, one key difference is that Norman (TPN) gets a chance at redemption, while Eren (AOT) does not. This will be further explored in Being Bound by destiny vs. Defying destiny.

After witnessing the death of his mother, Eren vows to exterminate every last titan in order to guarantee the safety of humanity. He trains hard in order to become an efficient member of the Survey Corps and promises to use his Titan power to defend everyone. Eren is hopeful, arrogant, and stubborn, and this causes him to dive in head first when anyone is in danger. He literally sacrifices himself and is eaten by a titan to save Armin, and he sacrifices himself time and time again. However, when the Survey Corps reach the ocean, Eren realizes that the real enemies are those across the other side of the ocean. The humans who wish for the demise of Paradis Island and its residents. Their enemies are not titans, but other humans. From that day on, Eren distanced himself from everyone and made his own plans. He had gone to extreme lengths to detach himself from his comrades so that they would have no power to stop him and the wrong-doings will be all his. This eventually resulted in Eren's attacks on Marley because he found out that the whole world was going to launch an attack on Paradis to exterminate the “devils” of society. In the end, Eren successfully activates the rumbling and ended up killing 80% of the world population because he knew that discrimination towards Eldians would not end until the world starts anew. His friends were able to save the 20% because they stopped Eren by having Mikasa kill him. Brb, gonna cry AGAIN.

After learning the truth of the house from Ray, Norman decided that he had to aid Emma’s plan of saving all the kids in the house, even the defenseless young ones. To do so would require utmost planning, strategy, and tactics that would put the three at risk. However, Norman decided that the benefits would outweigh the risk and proceeded with Emma’s plan. Unfortunately, Mama stops them in their tracks and decides to ship Norman early in order to stop him from ruining her plans. Emma and Ray do everything they can to save Norman and include him in their plan, and Norman pretends to agree. Unbeknownst to the two, Norman had already planned to betray them because he was afraid that the attempt to save him would only put everyone else at risk. This leads to Norman sacrificing himself and letting him get “shipped out” by Mama. However, instead of being turned into food, he is taken in as an experiment of Project Lamba, where he endured great suffering as a test subject. It was during his time here that he witnessed firsthand the cruelty of the demons, and decided that there was no other way but to exterminate them. He saw the realities of the mass produced farms where children don’t even gain autonomy and consciousness, he met fellow Lamba experiments who would have certain illnesses for life, and he endured the pain firsthand. After a series of events, he breaks out of Lamba and finds Emma and the other children. By this time, Emma had already realized that not all demons were bad and that it was simply a matter of survival for some of them. Norman, however, did not buy into this kind of thinking. When he told his plans of genocide, Emma firmly rejected this and asked for a few days to find an alternative before Norman could continue with the plan. While Norman agreed, he betrayed her and carried out with the plan earlier than expected and caused the degeneration of thousands of demon villagers. In his heart, Norman did not want to do this, but believed that there was no other way. He did not want to bring others in the plan because he wanted to keep the blame to himself as part of his self-sacrifice. Unlike Eren, Norman is redeemed when he reunites with the others and tries to forge a new plan.

[soleelunabacio]

Okay so here are my Your Name / Noremma thoughts! ⚠️*Goes without saying but, spoilers for both Your Name and TPN*⚠️

...

I was thinking about Your Name and oh my goodness there are such good parallels with the memory loss / searching for each other situation concerning the post-Promise Emma quest, in terms of Noremma dynamics.

Much like how Taki and Mitsuha’s sacrifice means that the memories of each other fade over their years apart, there is still a deep longing that something is missing.

In Emma’s case she may have mentally lost her memories, but emotionally in her heart (and dreams) she remembers her family and connection to her identity.

Then we have Norman whose memories and connections are intact, and he is determined to search the world for her and wanting to be with her(LN feels right here), which makes me think of Taki’s quote ‘I wanted to tell you... That wherever you are in the world, I'll search for you.’

Just like in Your Name, when the couple meets again, although there is initial hesitancy on Emma’s part when she reunites with her family through Norman’s careful and gentle nature, Emma knows he is someone important to her and their love is so deep and special it goes beyond their ‘predetermined destiny’.

This makes me think of how Taki and Mitsuha’s lives were never really supposed to cross in the first place but they found each other and together they brought out the best in their respective individual lives - once again like Norman and Emma defeating the odds and changing their ‘destined fates’ through their personal strengths and true love for one another. Both couples have faced intense separation on multiple occasions, but have always found a way to be reunited. LITERALLY THEIR LOVE TRANCENDS TIME AND SPACE.

ALSO ALSO, the red string of fate is hugely significant in Your Name, much carrying the same soul mate connection as our beloved Noremma string cups. Though the string can lengthen or tangle, it can never break which symbolises not only their connection and understanding of each other but, despite sometimes being far apart there is always the hope the two ends will eventually come together to make one.

Therefore much like Taki and Mitsuha, Emma’s bond with her family and love for Norman goes beyond the importance of memory and their connection is a truly unbreakable strength, displaying that what is in their hearts naturally matters the most and is something that can never be erased and has only been amplified by their development and journey. Now that they are together again and safe in the human word they can finally be happy, flourish and grow from there.

(Also an extra positive note - Makoto Shinkai, the director of Your Name confirmed Taki and Mitsuha did indeed get married after their reunion, sooo in TPN parallel terms and from their last interaction, it’s definitely safe to say Noremma is sailing very very happily with their future) [Though an epilogue or LN showing some lovely married with children Noremma and the rest of the gang living in bliss would be divine]

(Side note - Taki and Mitsuha were not lucky enough to have been blessed with a mutual amazing and supportive best friend / big brother such as Ray haha)

[its-wharris]

CTFO

David D'Arcangelo has been with business partners with Tony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul), and many others. He also has successfully built two public companies.

David shares why Kevin Fournier is the best partner he has had. David says, with Kevin, you get Stability, Strength, TRUST, and someone that can lead the charge.

https://youtu.be/vjy4E83CVgA

How do you become a Billion Dollar Company that will pay out 500 Million in Commissions? You bring in a leader who has done it before.

DAVID D'ARCANGELO, CTFO'S

NATIONAL MARKETING DIRECTOR/BOARD MEMBER

He is a recognized author & speaker who has spent almost three decades helping people achieve financial success. A master financial strategist, he has performed at corporate and national events, sharing the stage with well-known speakers such as Zig Ziglar, Mark Victor Hansen, Anthony Robbins, Barbara Bush, and General Norman Schwarzkopf.

David is the former host of the TV show Money Talk on the PRIMESTAR satellite TPN channel. His published books and programs include The 49 Hottest Home-Based Business Tax Strategies, Wealth Talk, Money Smart, Wealth Starts at Home, published by McGraw-Hill and his most recent book, The Secret Asset released in 2011.

In 1990, David co-founded The Financial Destiny Companies with Anthony Robbins. He later went on to serve as chairman and founder of Entreport Corporation and as president and director of AMS Health Sciences, Inc., both of which were listed on the American Stock Exchange.

David's uncanny ability to deliver compelling products, packaging and messaging that sustain first mover advantage has captured the attention and respect of entrepreneurs.

KEVIN FOURNIER, PRESIDENT/BOARD MEMBER

Kevin brings a track record of operational excellence, but it's his astute leadership skills we value equally in his new role as President. He helped lead a direct selling corporate and field sales team to over $1B in sales from 1995-2017. During that time, Kevin was responsible for operations in over 20 countries, including the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia, and the Philippines.

Kevin had the privilege of serving on the Board of Directors of the Direct Selling Association for 2 years. Kevin's passion for empowering others to live extraordinary life has made him both a student and a teacher of personal development and team leadership.

[ruby-meets-emerald]

TPN chapter 181

spoilers!!! (and a whole lot of crying)

....wow.

I’m honestly an incoherent mess right now but the ending deserves a review (or in this case a messy reaction post)

first of all, this:

This was one powerful panel.

We have Conny’s spirit calling and reaching out for Ray. Conny, the last sibling Ray had to sacrifice, whose death incited a revolution for the children, was watching over Ray and the children’s search for Emma the whole time. We also have Isabella and Yuugo and damn if that didn’t hit hard. Those two were the closest figures the children ever had to real parents, I can only imagine Yuugo proudly watching the children he gave his life for, and Isabella staying by her son’s side as he sets out to continue taking care of everyone; her last request for her son.

And now we have the awaited moment; Emma finally reunited with her family, but we all know it never turned out the way we would have wanted it to be.

Ray was so quick to catch on. It’s inarguable that he knows Emma the most out of everyone, they’ve been through so much together. This makes that last panel all the more heartbreaking and I have to hand it to Demizu because we can see Ray’s heavy realization, regret, and despair all at once over Emma’s loss.

I’ve said this a thousand times and I’m gonna say it again, please give the kid a damn break.

Now here’s where I broke down in a tangled mess of waterworks

I lost it okay? I lost it riiiiight over there.

I half-expected Norman to be affected by Emma’s condition the worst, but there he is. Norman, who loved Emma ever since he can remember, is crying tears of pure unadulterated joy and relief because Emma is safe and happy above all else. In that moment it didn’t matter to him that they were basically strangers to her, to him she was still the Emma he has always been ready to risk everything for. She was alive and they found her, and that was enough.

I was honestly terrified that they would accept that Emma is happy without them and leave her there after a final farewell but that’s just ridiculous-

but of course, Norman is only human.

No words here just-

Shirai really went and decided to squeeze out the last of the fandom’s overworked tear ducts for the final chapter huh.

And here we go.

The demon god may have taken away Emma’s memories, but he will never be able to take away Emma’s heart that held an infinite love for her family. This is the love that transcends danger, death, loss, worlds, even a forgotten lifetime.

This is what makes the story truly beautiful despite its flaws. For 181 chapters we read about children who fought without rest in a twisted, unforgiving world for the future they wanted. Early on we saw Norman who was ready to face death out of love. For six years Ray was dead-set on committing self-immolation out of love (and crushing guilt). We saw these kids spend their early adolescence carrying rifles almost the half of their size on their backs, killing demons and leaving behind their innocence to protect their siblings. Near the end of the series Norman was willing to throw away his humanity, and now we finally have Emma who gave up everything that mattered to her the most. They changed the entire demon world during their journey of fighting, losing, yet loving despite everything.

A blessed page is a blessed page.

Ray, honey, happiness looks great on you please wear it more.

Look I never thought we’d have a panel of Ray smiling and Norman telling it like it is for everyone to hear, “screw destiny forevermore.”

Norman, what a power move.

Screw destiny right? Because these kids have been screwing destiny throughout the story a dozen times over. I didn’t think two words could ever describe the series perfectly but here we are.

And there we have it folks; the last page and finale of The Promised Neverland. Staying true to one of the story’s main themes, the page is filled to the brim with hope, a promise of a bright future that they can all conquer as long as they have each other.

The ending was the very definition of bittersweet, but I honestly wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. They’ve come so far. They’re all alive and together again. The kids are going to school (this hit me harder than it should have) and the lambda kids are healing. I’m glad Emma didn’t recover her memories, she payed a fair price, but I sure wish we could have an epilogue that shows how Emma becomes closer to her best friends and her family all over again *sobs*.

Thank you so much Shirai and Demizu. Damn it was quite the ride. I got hooked on the series upon watching the anime, then the manga made me cry, laugh, and grip to my seat out of suspense. Again, it’s far from perfect but the heart of the story and the characters easily made tpn one of my few favorites. 2021 is fast approaching and we still have the upcoming seasons in the anime to look forward to but dude I’m crying I’m gonna miss them...

What a journey.

[fullscoreshenanigans]

I just think about it but the whole Ray's plan at the beginning would have failed in so many ways.

Connie could have wondered where was her plushie at the moment of crossing the door.

Imagine if Emma and Norman have run into Isabella on the way to the gate (because she would have heard them by exemple) and tell "mama, Connie forget her plushie" so Isabella would have took it and say "Connie meets her parents right now. It's better to not bother her. I'll put it with his baggage"

Can you imagine if they were come back to Ray, saying "don't worry, we meet Mum on the way and she took it"

Ray: *internal screaming*

I mean Connie was the LAST shipment before Ray. It was 3 months, more or less, before his own shipment. If he had failed, what could he have done? Said the truth? Would Emma and Norman believe THAT without seeing it? Well all the others escapees believed it. But Emma was deeply attached to Isabella, she had need to see the demons to believe it.

But i understand that making his plan tro motion when let's say Hao was shipped (i think it was him before Connie?) would have given more time, and mayvbe on security if his plan had failed to re-do it the next time, but then Emma would have to accept Connie's shippement if they were not ready. Sacrifie her to save all the others. Pretty sure that she wouldn't have, and i don't even speak about Don here.

(Continued)

It's kinda sad to think that, even if the escapees managed to run away from the farm, happy to be free, happy that Ray is alive and all, their survival wasn't assured until they got in the bunker and even before, until they meet Sonju and Mujika. I mean without Sonju and Mujika, Emma could have died of infection and Ray would have been killed by demons, few hours after have been saved by Emma and few MINUTES after have decided to live for his family. (Sonju saved him just in time) The escape would be over very quickly for them. Not sure that the other kids would have managed to survive alone, without their big siblings to guide them :/ (meaning they wouldn't have reached the bunker at all or at least a lot later) (meaning that Yuugo would have killed himself) (Goldy Pond wouldn't have succeeded as well that in canon, a lot more would be dead) (and can you imagine Norman's reaction after his escape TT)

The first thing I usually think of is what a crapshoot Ray's idea is to have Emma and Norman go to the gate with Little Bunny in the first place.

On the one hand, it's a testament to his faith in them.

On the other hand, he is so disproportionately lucky on his bet that the demons wouldn’t pick up on their scents right away. He had, at best, fragmentary knowledge of demon physiology from his earliest months where maaaybe he could remember how well their sense of smell worked?

(Chapter 28; we're not going to think how they were paying special attention to him as Isabella the youngest mom in the history of the Grace Field and who's off limits to eat's child, so he's the next best thing as her progeny if he ends up not being good enough of an offering for the demon god)

The only reasons the two lackey demons don’t come after Emma and Norman right away are they’re caught up in conversation and probably a bit intoxicated off the idea of being able to eat even "just a fingertip" of Conny (and being charitable to Isabella, she probably doesn’t notice them sneak away because she’s grappling internally over seeing the life of another child she raised for five years snuffed out and having to keep up an iron façade about it.)

I like to joke that Emma is integral to the escape plan for her sheer obstinate railroading of any hiccups of probability, most egregiously expressed in it securing someone with a Minerva pen who was willing to give it up for them so they weren’t left wandering aimlessly outside the walls of Grace Field, who only got the pen in the first place because she lit off a lantern as a child that a Minerva supporter happened to come across by coincidence,

(Comic of Krone's childhood earned from completing the aptitude test on the official site; reprinted in The Promised Neverland Art Book World)

and bringing two of the only few demons in the entire demon world who won’t eat them for different reasons to their aid when they most desperately needed it, and that only happened because Leuvis was bored one day 700 years ago and decided to help his brother and his brother's new girlfriend escape the imperial capital by bringing them his horse in the third light novel. I love TPN.

[fullscoreshenanigans]

I wonder what would have done Emma if Mujika and Sonju were just special, that there had not magical blood to save all the demons from the consequence to stopping to eat humans.

She already ask to the demon god to take all the humans in the human word + definitly close the passages between the worlds. She couldn't have been able to ask one more thing. Asking two things was already a lot. Or she could have but them the reward would have been higher :/

By the way, why they didn't ask that when the first promise has been made: create two world + protect demons from degeneration so they would not need to eact humans anymore. Maybe it wasn't possible, because i can't believe that nobody thought about it. Or they were rather lazzy gluttons who couldn't think to a such promise or accept to stop eating humans? Who know.

In the manga, at the end, when Leuvis explains the situation, the demons accept quickly the idea, they think that being protected from degeneration forever is better that depending of food for stay smart, even if they are like the said food. But I guess that king and his royal court were just a bunch of selfish lazzy gluttons. Even Sonju who doesn't need to eat humans anymore want to eat them just because he wants and can't wait to be able to hunt again :/ And unlike Leuvis who was a antagonist from the beginning, he helps the heros/save Ray's life. (ok theorically Leuvis help them at the end too, even if its more his brother that he saved :/)

Because i find that "Mujika's blood is magical and drinking it protect demons for degeneration" is a little a "nice/easy" situation to not force Emma to take a decision who would be bad for demons.

what do you think?

I remember initially reading chapter 47 and thinking it was a cop-out how there were two worlds and how they could easily flee (relatively speaking) to the human world without having to sort through the arduous process of humans and demons establishing an integrated society and further exploring the intricacies of demon culture, ecosystems, and geopolitics. (I still think that, but I'm less bummed out about it now lol)

Like for a day between finishing the first season and getting this far along in the manga, my interpretation of the S2 poster was Mujika was either The One Yverk and Krone talked about, or someone up high enough in the current world order that Emma and the kids would have to confront and have a battle of wits with to reaffirm their right to exist in the world. Sonju was her enforcer and after chasing the kids around for a bit would eventually escort them to a dinner she was hosting where Emma, Ray, Don, and Gilda would wax philosophy about why the world was the way it was before Mujika posed them with a moral challenge to conquer that would eventually win her and her faction over to the kids' side as their "in" to the wider world of demon politics. Would've been down for something like that.

By the way, why they didn't ask that when the first promise has been made: create two world + protect demons from degeneration so they would not need to eat humans anymore. Maybe it wasn't possible, because i can't believe that nobody thought about it. Or they were rather lazy gluttons who couldn't think to a such promise or accept to stop eating humans? Who know. In the manga, at the end, when Leuvis explains the situation, the demons accept quickly the idea, they think that being protected from degeneration forever is better that depending of food for stay smart, even if they are like the said food. But I guess that king and his royal court were just a bunch of selfish lazy gluttons.

I do think the answer Shirai provides of those in power not wanting to concede anything that could set a precedent and rob them of their class power and material comforts they feel they're entitled to (because hey very topical), but a scene of Julius Ratri speaking with Yverk or the other human ancestors would have helped here to show they at least considered this, even if the justification for why it would fail was faulty, especially if it was coming from Yverk.

The general demon populace quickly getting on board with permanent prevention of degeneration makes sense with the comfort it affords them, knowing they aren't a few meals away from losing their entire sense of self.

(Chapter 158; there's something to be said about the anthropocentric idea of humans being the pinnacle of intelligence that demons strive to maintain, but it's something that I can accept given the target demographic of the series and the symbolism of those in the upper classes of a hierarchical society needing someone beneath them in order to define their sense of self and worth in relation to the world around them to avoid cognitive dissonance and doxastic anxiety)

It's just Leuvis being the vehicle for introducing it that's convenient and grating after we hadn't seen a hint of what he was doing since Goldy Pond.

Even Sonju who doesn't need to eat humans anymore want to eat them just because he wants and can't wait to be able to hunt again :/ And unlike Leuvis who was a antagonist from the beginning, he helps the heros/save Ray's life.

Reading chapter 159 after reading chapter 50 and thinking about how Sonju has spent less than two weeks in the presence of these kids after centuries of looking forward to eating humans again.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 7)

Given the feats they accomplish in that amount of time and Mujika rubbing off on him, it's not implausible to see this change happening. There's just a sense of feeling cheated for me in the same way as feeling cheated over the resolution of the Ayshe-Norman conflict. Both introduce the tantalizing potential of conflict among characters ostensibly on the same side until it's revealed they hold convictions that put them directly at odds, teasing expectations the audience would be privy to, that rising tension and eventual emotional climax of resolution, only for a reminder of said conflict to be brought to the forefront of the reader's mind and then have the conclusion expedited. All on top of Shirai rushing the ending for understandable health-related reasons, but the story still suffers for it.

Because i find that "Mujika's blood is magical and drinking it protect demons for degeneration" is a little a "nice/easy" situation to not force Emma to take a decision who would be bad for demons.

Likewise I don't find the magical blood to be a problem when considered in isolation if it results in worthwhile tension and conflict. It's the way it's executed in tandem with the ending being rushed and side branches to the story being chopped off that lessens the magnificence of its potency.

(ok theorically Leuvis help them at the end too, even if its more his brother that he saved :/)

[fullscoreshenanigans]

WHERE are you reading the light novels ohmigoodness

In addition to sound dramas and links I mentioned in this post, @1000sunnygo has graciously compiled what I believe is the most extensive master list of TPN material in the English-speaking fandom: https://1000sunnygo.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-promised-neverland-masterlist.html

Love the symmetry of these covers.

I already touched on what can be found in A Letter from Norman, and Sunny already outlined what can be found in the fourth one, so I’ll just briefly go over the second and even more briefly touch on the third since I haven’t read it in its entirety yet. (gotta savor the content 👌😩)

☆ The second light novel, Moms’ Song of Remembrance, released in January 2019, is split into two stories:

1. “The Starry Sky and Leslie’s List” (translated by c72684 here)

Isabella remembers helping Leslie with a list of goals he set out to accomplish before leaving Grace Field two days before he’s shipped out. It’s book-ended by segments set on January 15, 2046, where Isabella briefly chats with Phil, reflects on her relationship with Ray, and finds new purpose now that her children have proven she was wrong about escape being impossible.

(It’s roughly 52 pages in Word at 12 point Times New Roman font single spaced if one is wondering about the time commitment.)

2. “Searching for the Skies of Freedom” (translated by @standreamy​ and 14thNeah; many thanks!) (It’s roughly 64 pages in Word using the aforementioned standard)

This was eventually turned into chapter 181.2 that features Krone during her first month of training to be a sister candidate where she reunites with her elder sister Cecile. The gist of the story is kept the same, however, the novel also:

Confirms sister candidates have the electronic chip surgery the day they arrive at HQ.

Expands upon the training sister candidates go through, specifically incorporating scenes of self-defense training and one on medical training. It’s also noted that cooking is not a priority for sisters during their first regiment of training; that’s only if they retrain to become one of the kitchen staff, which is one path of retraining they can take in the event they can’t secure a sister position at one of the plants. Others are teachers, child caretakers, and doctors/surgeons. (The better to keep them stratified and make it more difficult to fight the system.)

Has more scenes between Krone and Cecile.

Briefly looks into Grandma’s thoughts during the panel where she holds the embroidery with the map of HQ on it as a trophy.

Briefly features the scene in chapter 23/S1e07 where Smee gives Krone the Minerva pen.

☆ The third light novel, Records of Comrades, released in October 2020, is split into a prologue and three stories:

1. “Two Paths”: A story about Yugo and Lucas’ time at Glory Bell. 2. “Two Wills”: The story of Nigel and Gillian’s first few days at Goldy Pond. Nigel’s sister, Lala, and Gillian’s sister, Emilia, who are both briefly shown in chapter 77 are featured in here.

3. “Two Destinies”: The story of how Sonju and Mujika first met. Legravalima, Leuvis, and Yverk also appear in here.

(The document I have is 133 pages in Word at 14 point Verdana font single spaced.)

[fullscoreshenanigans]

TPN 181 - WSJ Release vs Volume Release Differences

#wait what they changed the last few pages? have to look it up in my volume o.o (via @officersnickers on this post)

Yeah I've talked about it a bit before in this post, but the volume version adds nine pages on to the WSJ release of chapter 181 and tweaks some of the frames starting around page 17, besides the inclusion of this incredibly poignant side scene at the beginning of the chapter:

The first is an expansion of Emma's speech to the demon god that spreads one panel's dialogue across multiple panels and adds on a bit of new text.

Pages 17-20, WSJ release:

Pages 17-22, volume release:

Pages 19-25 of the WSJ release and 21-27 of the volume release remain the same.

Pages 25-28, WSJ release:

In the volume release, page 27 is the same as WSJ's 25, but page 28-29 adds a dream sequence/vision of Norman and Ray finding Emma on the shore they washed up on two years ago, as if she was always there, waiting for them to turn around and find her like in the chapter title art:

Page 30 expands WSJ's page 26 dialogue out across more panels:

Page 31 removes the "screw destiny" text in the panel next to Alex in WSJ's 27 and replaces it with a panel of Zack, Thoma, Gilda, Lanni, Rossi, Mark, and Jemima (the rest is the same):

The "screw destiny" text is moved to the bottom of page 32 while the top is a mix of flashback panels that include a straight-up lifted one of the trio hug from chapter 27, a new panel of Emma and Ray running after they remove the trackers in chapter 33 but before Anna tends to their wounds, a new spread of some of the kids in the bunker during the Cuvitidala arc, and a tweaked version of Emma and Ray extending their hands to Norman in chapters 153 and 154; Emma wears a slightly different smile while Ray features a more relieved one:

The page 33-34 spread expands the scene on WSJ's page 28 to include more characters as well as alter the expressions of the characters who were on the original page. Notably, Don, Gilda, and Jemima can be seen crying now, Ray's smile is less intense and now softer and more fond, Norman is sporting a blush with tears pricking his eyes, and Emma's hint of a blush is stronger as tears prick her eyes as well, both in the group shot and in the panel of her by herself.

Page 35-36 is an extended spread I've talked about before:

This spread legit made me catch my breath for the briefest of seconds seeing it for the first time. Such a powerful statement conveyed in such simple concept: how after centuries of suffering on the grounds of Grace Field, that chapter of history closes as life blooms anew.

Page 37 shows what life is like for Mujika and Sonju as they lead the demon world into a new era (since Leuvis dipped lol)

And the final page of the volume's version of the chapter shows Emma running off to join her family in front of Alex's home, now filled with plenty of laughter and life again:

The anniversary picture from WSJ #36/37 2020 hints at the kids building more around it:

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Hello!! I'm really sorry, but could you do a summary of the Krone and Isabella light novels? I can't find anywhere to read them. thank you so much!!

No need to apologize, happy to help!

I've talked about the contents of the first light novel here. Almost all of it is available either translated in text or via sound dramas with English subtitles. The exception is the "NER in Bird Cages" story, which is only available in English as a summary.

I've provided a general overview of the second light novel here, as well a link to the masterlist of TPN content for the English-speaking fandom. The first half is dedicated to Isabella, and the second half to Krone, though if you've read chapter 181.2, you'll already be familiar with most of it.

If one of the stories is part of the content of a post, I'll usually tag it as light novels, the title of the light novel in question, and the title of the specific story. (e.g., TPN Light Novels + Moms' Song of Remembrance + The Starry Sky and Leslie's List)

Here's all the light novels laid out with their story tags (with the exception of the fourth one because I've only read the half that's translated):

Light Novel 1: A Letter from Norman

• "The Ghost Incidents at Grace Field House" - Norman reminiscences about his earliest memory with Emma and Ray, when they were about three or four, trying to solve the mystery of the spooky occurrences around the house. • "The Day Emma Cried" - Norman recalls an incident when he was about seven and became terribly ill retrieving Emma’s handkerchief during a rainstorm. Thinking he’s on death’s doorstep, with Isabella’s permission (to both appease Emma and test Ray’s loyalty), Emma and Ray go out to find the miracle cure, a white flower that only blooms at night. • "NER in Bird Cages" - Norman muses how he's never seen Ray cry before he remembers the incident where they rescued an injured bird sometime after Emma's ninth birthday. Ray deals with the grief of not being able to save his beloved older sister, Susan, if he wants to save Emma's and Norman's lives. • "A Gift from the 39th Girl" - The Grace Field kids secretly work on putting together a gift for Norman’s eleventh birthday.

Light Novel 2: Moms' Song of Remembrance

• "The Starry Sky and Leslie's List" - Isabella's story where she remembers helping Leslie with a list of goals he set out to accomplish over the course of two days before he's shipped out. She also reflects on her relationships with Ray and Sarah. • "Searching for the Skies of Freedom" - Krone's story; chapter 181.2 is a retelling of this.

Light Novel 3: Records of Comrades

• "Two Paths" - The story of how Lucas and Yuugo's group acquired the tea set we see Yuugo with in the bunker, interspersed with scenes of Lucas interacting with Emma and Yuugo interacting with Ray during the present timeline. • "Two Wills" - Gillian and Nigel's story of their earlier days at Goldy Pond when they both lost their sisters, Lala and Emilia. • "Two Destinies" - The story of how Mujika and Sonju met and how Leuvis inadvertently ended the farm system and thousand-year promise because he was bored.

Light Novel 4: Films of Memories

• "The Days to Celebrate" • "Operation Stormy Night" - The Grace Field children reminiscence about the night their older siblings helped them feel safe during a particularly bad storm. • "Ray and Conny" - The Grace Field kids are telling Emma about their life at Grace Field house when Conny comes up. Ray recalls to himself how he helped three-year-old Conny adjust to sleeping in the larger shared bedrooms with some indirect help from Susan. It's a story only he and Norman know now. • "The Chess Proverb" - Ray teaches Norman how to play chess, and Emma and Norman join in a match with Ray against Isabella. Serves as a metaphor for how each of them approaches a problem and how they balance each other out when they work together. • "Don and Gilda" • "The Guiding Star" - The story that explains how the trio got on the roof for the chapter 119 cover art and the comfort they each draw from the stars.

Finally, here's my general tag navigation page that's hopefully accessible on mobile as well as desktop.

[chidoroki]

My Top 10 Favorite Characters from The Promised Neverland

Day 9 (August 22th) at #2 = EMMA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST GIRL!

[chidoroki]

TPN ch181

(spoilers! AAAHHhhaha..my children!)

Okay, so remember in my last review when I said I was impressed how Ray, Gilda and Phil managed to narrow down where Emma might be in the matter of a couple months? Well, I take it back because it hasnt been just a few months, it's been two damn years! Oh my god, I can't imagine how hard it must've been for everyone, especially our two boys, to search for so long without even getting on single clue about Emma's whereabouts. Some of the children still doubt whether she's alive or actually in this world with them or not.

(image limit, so imagine the panels of the Goldy Pond kids discussing the lack of clues and Thoma and Lani doubting the reward again)

Thankfully, Gilda gets the idea to search in forbidden zones which is where we see her, Ray and Phil. Speaking of which, oh my poor boy. This is the longest Ray has been without Emma by his side. I thought the one month after Goldy Pond was hard enough on him, but two whole years? Damn, I can't imagine the stress and anxiety he's been experiencing. He's still so frustrated too and gets so close to Emma without even realizing it. Then, surprisingly, his beloved family steps in to help? The people he personally couldn't save now come together to help him save the one person who originally saved his life. Like, hello?? I love this! Conny, who was another sibling he had to use in order to put his initial escape plan in motion to save Emma and Norman's lives, is now assisting him in saving Emma from being alone. Yuugo, who knows firsthand how important Emma is to Ray and how close they are. Isabella, knowing her son kept his promise as he's always set out to do whatever it takes to protect his entire family. The fact that Ray's lost family members can feel how strong his bond with Emma is and they jump in to help reconnect the two of them again.. just, wow. It may be all the rayemma week feels getting to me but that's like a damn soulmate occurrence if i ever saw one!

The two unknowingly pass each other again but thanks to Emma conveniently losing her necklace and finding it with perfect timing, they all finally encounter each other. Everyone expresses their complete shock and relief that they had finally found Emma, and while I am happy they their search ended up a success, the mood changes fairly quickly due to our girls lost memories. She hasnt the slightest idea who "Emma" is, who these people are or why they're so excited to see her. The kids wonder if they have the right girl, as they take notice of Emma's bare neck.

One look at the necklace in her hand though and Ray finally puts the pieces together. Honestly, I'm not at all surprised he's the one to figure out the true reward, as Ray has been very perceptive since the beginning. He's also always been openly honest and blunt when things get serious, so naturally he's the one who has to let everyone know this because while it's a sad truth no one wants to hear, or even believe, they all need to realize it, including Emma. Even Ray has trouble coming to terms with the sacrifice Emma made. He understands how hard it must have been for Emma to accept the heavy price of her forgetting the family she loves so deeply and he looks so broken when he realizes that. He must be feeling so guilty that he couldn't have been there with her when she made the new promise. He still puts the blame on himself and he's so upset that his failure lead Emma to live in a world alone without the family she cares for more than anything.

I wasn't too satisfied last chapter when demon god told us the real reward and Emma's response was a simple "okay," so I'm grateful we learned more about the conversation now in this chapter. She really did want to live her family. She even knew some of them might get mad at her for keeping a secret. She says it's a selfish request, for her to place such a heavy burden on herself, but what mattered to her back then upon accepting the reward is what has always mattered to her, and that's her family's happiness and safety. It wasn't just her loved one either, but for all the demons and cattle children. This girl truly has a heart of gold and demon god himself is left surprised. Of course I wish she didn't think she was being selfish since everyone did agree to follow her as their leader but aahh.. my poor girl.

Spoiling the very end now, but we dont get one last fullscore trio hug. Of course that upsets me since I thought it would've made such a perfect ending, but it makes sense now given how everyone's reunion with Emma happened. While their happiness and relief is completely understandable after searching two years and finally finding Emma, they overreact and this visibly freaks her out. Come on guys, last time I said to gently remind her of her past, not bombard her right away. Having a ton of strangers surround you and tell you such outlandish things is quite jarring. I'm glad she takes the chance to listen to everyone, but she just doesnt know these people well enough to suddenly hug them. I imagined a hug would've happened upon her recalling some of her memories somehow and feeling relived that she met the two boys she often once dreamt about, but oh well.

Norman takes this time to step in and ease some of the tension, saying how happy he is that Emma's alive and even reiterating some of the things he said to her during his shipment scene. While this chapter soon shows how well the escapees have adapted to the human world and changed, it also puts an emphasis on the boy's true personalities that they showed since the very beginning. I've already mentioned above how Ray stayed true to himself, about him being open and honest to the others with the truth and even his own feelings. With Norman, I don't know the word for him really, but his speech about their family and his feelings remind me of ch1/ep1 where we see him trying to calm Emma down after seeing what they did at the gate. He stayed by her side and remained hopeful even though he was just as scared. Right now, I get the same vibes. He's just as upset as their family upon learning Emma lost her memories, but he still wants her to be apart of their family.

Although it seems like a very rushed way of tying up loose ends, I'm happy to hear about how well the children have been adapting in the human world. They're attending school and following their passions. They all look so happy! The entire Lambda crew is healthy and Cislo even has a prosthetic leg! The medicine made from Adam's dna was successful and also helped those children from the mass production farms. Mike Ratri and the clan are actually being helpful and trustworthy. I absolutely love Norman's comment about Ayshe not killing him! It really makes me smile and I assume that means she's forgiven him.. maybe. Her dogs were indeed able to cross over to the human world too and now there's even more! Chris is finally awake! They seriously have to fill the poor boy in on so much news though.

I get it. It took the entire story for me to understand but now I get Norman's intense feelings. He's been infatuated by this girl since childhood. He told us/Ray his feelings at age 11 then "gave his life" to give her a better chance at survival. He kept living just for the slight possibly to see her again. After almost two years, they reunite, only for about a week or two before they all cross over into the human world and Emma is no where to be seen. Another two years pass and while they all find her, she's almost a completely difference person. Yet Norman's feelings remain so sincere for her that he accepts this new Emma. He lets her know that the bright future she wished for came true. (me? speaking of noremma? even im surprised)

Her head might not have the slightest idea who these people are, but her heart surely remembers! Emma's feelings for her family were so strong that they persisted throughout these entire two years, even after she stopped having those dreams about them. Deep down, and without even realizing it, she loves them so much that it makes her cry.

“Why am I... Even though I don't know them. Though I don't know anything. Though I can't remember. Why... Does it feel warm, but also so painful in my heart? I wanted to see you.”

Seeing everyone else get emotional and expressing their feelings to her right back and having all of them accept this new Emma.. yeah, that has me in tears! Demon god truly underestimated these kids and how deep their love for each other went. Emma's family was never going to give up looking for her because, thanks to her influence, they also didn't believe anything was impossible. “Screw destiny” indeed! (also we never did learn the old dude's name or Emma's new one hm? odd.)

Did Emma get her memories back? No. Did Ray pat her head again so I could die from nostalgia? No, because I'm still here. Did we get a fullscore hug like I originally hoped? No, sadly. The ending isn't picture perfect but honestly, this is still okay. Our precious girl is finally reunited with her family again. Most importantly, they're alive. The trio are teenagers about 15/16 years old now, which amazing since they once believed they wouldn't see a day past the age of 12. Yet here they are, living happy and free in the human world without fear and killing, which is exactly what Emma wished for.

I can't believe the manga is truly finished. It feels like it all went by so quick, but perhaps that's only because I haven't been in the fandom as long as others, like if you've been here since the manga started then I applaud you and can't imagine how sad this must be after four years. The anime is what caught my attention and my love for this series only grew when I jumped into the manga right after season one ended. I must have binged all available chapters at the time in like three days, all the way up to ch129. Since then I've waited patiently week after week to see how this suspenseful story would pan out for out lovable and very large cast of characters. Each new twist and cliffhanger made my brain crazy and stressed me out but it was so great to experience them with everyone.

Also, big thanks to all of you who share your comments on these reviews of mine! Even though I started writing them pretty late into the story and at the most stressful time, it was great to hear so much feedback and experience the exciting finish with everyone. The manga may have ended, but don't let that make the fandom quiet! We still have future manga volume releases to look forward to, the live-action movie that is still set for this December along with a live-action series that was also recently announced. Most importantly, season two of the anime is still scheduled for January 2021! You can bet I'll do reactions for each episode as I normally do with other anime! The series still has so much more content to give us, especially if the anime continues to recieve future seasons over the upcoming years, so of course I'll give my thoughts on all that I can.

I give all my thanks and appreciation to Shirai & Demizu for such a wonderful and suspenseful story, for all the memorable characters and the stunning artwork. The series has truly become my favorite. That's right, I said it! My favorite. TPN has taken over Black Lagoon as my favorite series. (Revy can still keep her spot as my favorite character but I'll be damned if Ray isn't a really really close second.)