To say that it has been sometime since I last talked about THE PROMISED NEVERLAND would be the understatement of the year. After thirty chapters of Jumps finest series, I've returned after a fearsome hiatus to share some thoughts on Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu's outstanding work.
As fortune might have it, Yoshihiro Togashi of HUNTER X HUNTER and YU YU HAKUSHO fame has just returned to his own hiatus. Perhaps it was then preordained that I'd be writing this article shortly there after because anime and the universe, as we all know, are widely connected. When last I spoke about Emma and company, they had only begun their duel against Archduke Lewis who was proving, at worst, to be a terrifying adversary. It wasn't without a lot of work and self sacrifice that the children managed to come together and defeat him. With the Poachers dead, the remainder of the Goldy Pond Resistance then made their way through the wilds to Shelter B06-32. At this point you'll notice that events begin accelerate significantly as Shirai sprints through a wealth of information. Is that information boring? Not necessarily. Shirai is a prolific writer, and he's shown that to be the case time and time again over the course of THE PROMISED NEVERLAND. Where other mangaka may try to soften the blows of their more malicious themes, there is a blunt force that accompanies Shirai's writing. The severity of his writing is then brought to startling realization by Demizu's artistic style which pulls together odd angles and shapes to create preternaturally unsettling visual. While the curvature of human characters presents itself as a softening texture, there is an undeniably jagged quality to how Demizu recreates scenes of violence and terror from words. In understanding this one can understandably be confused as to why Shirai seems to drive the story along at a breakneck pace. In weighing out the goods and the bads of this pacing, we begin to see Shirai's own thought processes hammered out on the page. Instead of focusing on the journey there is an emphasis placed on the goal. Instead of focusing on developing characters extensively through conflict the stagnation of their development is made less evident by focusing instead on the mysteries surrounding those characters. The key points are brought to the forefront while more obvious interactions between characters and the world that they inhabit are sidelined. By realizing this vision we experience are more concise story as readers, while still receiving the key information necessary to comprehend where the plot is going next. The direction is itself made aware to us, and with a goal in sight, the story feels more grounded going forward. At the same time, however, we lose out on developments that might have been equally interesting and decidedly more nuanced than what we have received over the course of these chapters. The trade-offs are profound, and hold consequences for how we'll see characters interact with the world around them in future chapters. At its root, we've moved on from the social commentaries about the human relationship between us and our food and where it comes from. While the paradigm itself still exists as an undercurrent, with the aging of Emma and company we find ourselves faced with new questions of morality and mortality. The shift in direction is made visually apparent in Emma's physical growth, and the ease with which the children from Glory Bell and Grace Field now care for and interact with one another. Over nearly ten chapters, Shelter B06-32 comes under attack by Ratri Family enforcers forcing the children to make a harrowing escape from their most recent home. Shirai details an emotionally charged escapade involving tactical maneuvering and communication as focal points for action and reaction. Where Emma and her companions have had a wealth of time enjoy the trimmings and trappings of their life at Shelter B06-32, we as readers are reminded once more about the threats of the outside world. The moments of peace and happiness shared amongst the children becomes so much more precious because of how quickly Shirai pushes from our heroes' downtime to their next crisis. Unfortunately, the loss of the shelter, Yugo, and Lucas, which is certainly discordant, is cheapened by our lack of association with these characters and places. In truth, whereas the children have spent years at the shelter, readers have barely known the place for the safe haven that it is. The loss of Yugo and Lucas, vital players during the Goldy Pond arc, is profound but again highlights that this story is focused on the ingenuity of children. All of these events coalesce to create a driving sense of urgency that was otherwise remiss leading up to this point. These factors together have set the stage for a potential rebellion that may yet change the very foundations upon which Emma's world is built. THE PROMISED NEVERLAND has come a long way from those early days at Grace Field House, and the journey has been more harrowing than I've ever dreamed possible. It's heartbreaking to think that we may have already arrived at the halfway point in a story that continues to amaze from week to week. With nowhere safe to return to we can already see that the road ahead is fraught with the kinds of perils that only Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu can pen. In the chapters to come we may find ourselves swept up in another round of rapidly paced single chapters leading into a Resistance arc. Personally, I'd prefer sometime be spent on the journey because while the goal itself might be our prize, it is the journey that really makes the goal feel worthwhile. Hopefully the Resistance will prove to be as formidable as the enemies they intend to take down. How does Norman factor into all this, and what happened with Phil and the others? These are questions that I hope will be answered in chapters one thirteen and fourteen! WRITTEN BY: ALAN "VIENNA" SINGH
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THE PROMISED NEVERLAND takes the idea of predator versus prey and elevates it to new heights in the most recent chapter of the critically acclaimed series. Having laid careful plans, the members of the Goldy Pond Resistance with aid from Emma and friends, attempt to take down Archduke Lewis. Unfortunately, the demon proves to be worth his weight in capability meeting each hurdle with the zeal of an experienced huntsman. Despite having been electrocuted, shot at repeatedly, losing his mask, and even suffering the aftereffects of flashbang, he remains a formidable opponent without weakness. How will Emma and her companions take down a seemingly immortal monster?
Intelligence. Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu have done nothing if not lauded the abilities of the mind with each chapter. From the very start, Shirai wastes little time in emphasizing how vitally important the brain is within the context of his story and beyond. Lewis' is in his own right a frightening intelligence capable of orchestrating, and bringing together potentially capable individuals. His schemes are so elaborate that they actually facilitated the creation of the Goldy Pond Resistance while still allowing him to foresee a chance for victory against potentially even odds. While this premise might seem psychotic or irregular in most villains, we can understand Lewis' desires stem from a deeply rooted boredom. Having lived over a thousand years in peace following untold generations of war, it becomes evident that the tedium of living an existence without excitement has driven him to extreme lengths. Fortunately, Emma is more than capable of developing outstanding tactics and strategies in order to overcome her physical shortcomings. That means more elaborate plans filled with twists and turns are going to be a must see aspect of THE PROMISED NEVERLAND going forward! Friends. If you've ever read a shonen manga ever then you're probably well aware that friendship is the manga equivalent of an atom bomb. Regardless of how strong, intelligent, charming, furious, or maniacal a villain might be they must all bend before the power of friendship. THE PROMISED NEVERLAND doesn't often use friendship as a deciding factor because the vast majority of the cast of characters are one big family. Since coming to Goldy Pond, however, Emma has made allies of the Goldy Pond Resistance, and with the reintroduction of Ray and the man from shelter B06-32 we know that the power of friendship is now firmly within her grasp. How Shirai employs the mechanics of friendship to overcome a blood thirsty demon looking to alleviate his boredom is going to be an exceptional showcase in the does and don'ts of relationships as power modules. Strength. In contrast to the demons populating THE PROMISED NEVERLAND, humans really don't have much to offer in the way of physical feats. No, humans are ridiculously weak and fragile when compared to the ferocious monsters that have since enslaved mankind following The Promise. Lewis even goes so far as to tear down whole buildings with only his bare hands. Meanwhile, Emma would be hard pressed to avoid hurting herself were she too attempt taking down a building with only her hands. That's where the monstrous Adam comes into play at long last! Having come from a local that allowed him to become familiar with Norman's tag, Adam is the most intriguing character in THE PROMISED NEVERLAND right now with the exception of the man from shelter B06-32. His enormous size, and childlike demeanor are an interesting mashup to behold and without context provide a range of speculation about how he came to be the way that he is now. At this stage of the story Adam is the last line of defense against a demon capable of easily turning smaller human beings into blood flavoured toothpaste. THE PROMISED NEVERLAND is a promising series, and it grows more intriguing with each passing chapter. At every turn, Kaiu Shirai adds new concepts to an ever growing list of mysteries with each building up and into the next. Combined with Posuka Demizu's striking and wild visuals, the story takes on a life of its own. If you've never felt the profound quality of their combined efforts before, this chapter does both author and artists an outstanding job in highlighting just how capable they are within their respective fields. Next chapter is shaping up to be a fearsome fight between Adam and Lewis while the remainder of the Goldy Pond Resistance attempts to take down Lewis from the sidelines. How will Emma and company triumph over this last hurdle in their escape plan? Next chapter might just tell us all we need to know! Written By: ALAN "VIENNA" SINGH I'm actually concerned.
That doesn't really sound like much, but after years of reading fiction/science fiction and their respective subgenres I've built up a solid resistance to most plot mechanics. After a length of time experiencing and understanding the tropes and traditions of a genre there are few things that truly take a veteran reader by surprise. THE PROMISED NEVERLAND is an exception in that sense because of how it does away with the contemporary theories about how children should be treated. Namely, Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu throw young people head first into a world that is actively murdering the youth of tomorrow. That's a pretty brutal way to look at it, but their depiction is no less stark in its portrayal of these atrocities. In fact, the use of murder, mutilation, and other noir themes heavily characterizes THE PROMISED NEVERLAND while also serving as obstacles for our heroes to overcome. From the very start it was clear that this was going to be a very different sort of story, and that first surprise was enough to get me into the series when it began publication. Fast forward to the most recent chapter, and you might find yourself experiencing a similar feeling of concern over the direction of the story. We all know that Emma is the quintessential shonen protagonist, nix the female part, but that's a can of worms for another day. She's ridiculously intelligent, and very competitive. The idea of surrender is something that I believe very rarely, if ever, crosses her mind. No, Emma is the type to continue making moves until she really has no where left to run and even then would fight tooth and nail to her bitter defeat. That's a lot of praise for an eleven year old girl, but it is all well deserved when you consider that she is not even the most talented of her siblings. In spite of her deficiencies she still finds herself the de facto leader of her escapee siblings, and is willing to expend her own life if it'll mean their longevity. We see this aspect of her personality portrayed vividly during this chapter. Even with all of the odds stacked against her, Emma is still willing to drag Lewis into a firefight, and there in lies the biggest problem. Though it seems that at this stage she has certainly figured something out in regards to Lewis' relationship with his pet Parvus, the Goldy Pond Revolution remain entrapped by their dire circumstances. Even if Emma and her companions are able to somehow corner Lewis, there is nothing stopping him from using her own personality against her. Lewis needs to only take one hostage in order for even the most elaborate strategy to fall apart against him. Emma, being dead set on saving everyone, could easily have her hand forced by the demon should the need arise. Mercifully, the mysterious man from shelter B06-32 is not nearly the bleeding heart that our heroine embodies. With his name till unknown, its unlikely that he'll die anytime soon as the significance of who he is may yet vault us into another stage of the story. In keeping with this, my expectation is that Adam will be the final nail in Lewis coffin, though it remains unclear as to how that may yet be possible. I am optimistic, however, because there is still so little that we know about what goes on in the special facility where Norman is currently being kept. It may simply be that Adam is a child with an abnormal growth factor developed by scientists to feed demons better. It may also be that Adam is genetically enhanced in someway that allows him to match the strength of demons. There is just no way to know until Shirai reveals his hand in the matter. THE PROMISED NEVERLAND has so much to offer contemporary readers, and while some are veterans like myself, there are others who miss out on the refreshing quality brought about by the darkness inherent to the story. Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu have done an outstanding job in bringing together many of the older traditions of fairy tales for their own story. It is certainly the ideals of an older, harder generation, but is also a change that explores new avenues in a medium that has really begun to stagnate over the years. There are few mangaka with the ability to create such an engrossing plot from week-to-week, and still fewer confident enough in their capability to make their series work. Shirai and Demizu are nothing but masterful in how they have approached their series up to this point. Next weeks chapter will hopefully reveal Emma's new strategy, as well as the relationship between Lewis and Parvus. For now, I'll simply have to go on feeling concerned until events sort themselves out! Written By: ALAN "VIENNA" SINGH |
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