#and he calls Isabella 'mommy' which is just the purest thing I have seen in a long time

[themightyaliendwarf]

TPN #20

So, I’ve just finished reading the last volume of The Promised Neverland and I would like to share some thoughts regarding it. Now, I’ve gotta say that I did read those chapters before, so I knew what was going to happen. I’ve actually shared my thoughts on the ending last year. And while my overall opinion didn’t change drastically, there are some things I would like to add. 

First and foremost, the cover

I was disappointed when I saw that the inside cover and the wrapper have the same image, but then I noticed two differences. I won’t spoil them for you, so you can find them on your own. I have to, however, one more time comment on Norman’s smug smile. I don’t know why, but it cracks me up every time :D 

But okay, let’s head to the content itself... I’ve honestly liked it more than before. Okay, important info: I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve binged read the manga. And I’ve done it only to find out whether or not Norman is alive. And I’m ashamed of that because now I see that reading this manga like that took away a lot of enjoyment. Only on my second read I’ve truly started to appreciate the middle arcs. Same thing happened for the later arcs. Because I took my time, I wasn’t just trying trying to reach the ending. I payed more attention to details, the art style, the dialogues and all. So, yeah, my overall enjoyment was higher. 

I know that when people talk about TPN manga, they often mention pacing issues. Especially post Goldy Pond. And while I do agree that the story gets a lot faster, I don’t think the pacing is as terrible as some tend to say. Look, maybe my standards changed after those 9 episodes of season 2 (now that’s an awful pacing!), but I don’t think it was that bad. Yes, the last 4 or 5 chapters could be a bit longer, but they still served their purpose quite well. I teared up at Isabella’s death scene and at the end! That didn’t happen when I read it for the first time! And I think that’s because I read this story properly this time, and I’ve grew more attached to those characters. 

Let’s talk about the Promise. I know that a lot of people were upset with it because Emma shouldn’t behave like that. That it’s out of character of her to lie. Here is an interesting fact: she doesn’t lie. Or at the very least, she doesn’t lie in the Polish translation. She is very careful with her words, and she never says that they won’t be separated. She simply says that she won’t be sacrificed. Now, maybe people have discussed whether or not it was out of character for Emma to not tell her family the truth about the promise, so I will keep it short. I think that once again she showed that she cares about them more than she cares about herself. She is ready to take the responsibility for her own actions/wishes and that’s exactly what she does. I think the only reason why she didn’t tell them the truth was that she knew they wouldn’t allow her to do it.

As I’ve mentioned a year ago, I like the ending. I like that it’s bittersweet. In a way, you can say that it was an equivalent exchanged - to get a good ending, Emma had to sacrifice something of an equal value. Because quite frankly, I don’t think this series could ended in a better way. Children staying in the demon world? Even Emma says that it’s stupid. No reward? That’s just cheap. 

If anything, I wish we got more content with Emma and the old man (Alex, I believe, was his name. It’s the author of that one book Ray read in the first volume). Chapter 180 actually felt rushed, but I don’t think we can blame Shirai. If anything, it was the fact that: a) Shonen Jump requires weekly chapters; b) Shirai had to end the manga in 20 volumes; c) The manga was ending while the pandemic was starting. As extra chapters and light novel proofs, Shirai does have a lot of incredible ideas for this world. He just didn’t have time to put them in the main story. Which is a shame, but I’m happy we are at least getting them. 

But let’s also give credits to Demizu. Her art is gorgeous and very unique. I can’t imagine this manga being drawn in a different style. I love how every character (even minor) has a different design, and that they are not just carbon copies of one another. I mean, if I look at the cover of volume #20, I can actually name each and every character. 

Okay, I wanted to talk about the last volume, but I started talking about the manga in general. So, to keep it short: I really like this ending. I like it more than I did a year ago. And while I do understand that some can have issues with the story (unless those issues are as stupid as “Emma is a Mary Sue”. btw. she isn’t), I think that as far as shounen manga goes, this one was done better than you might think at the first glance (namely, it actually knew were it wanted to end and it did ended). Endings are very difficult to write and satisfying endings are incredibly difficult to write. For example, let’s look at one of the best known shounes - Death Note. I think it should end waaaay sooner than it did. In my opinion, after episode 9 characters just got more stupid and the plot simply wasn’t as good as it was at the start. 

The Promised Neverland isn’t a perfect manga, but it knew that it wants to be. It had something important to say and it showed it in a way that got to me. It may sound cheesy, but it actually made me rethink some of the beliefs I hold, and it then pushed me to change some of my habits. And I think that’s all what we can expect of a good story: not only a good plot and unforgettable characters, but also providing us with some values and ideas that really make us think.