Are You Kidding Me?
That's the title of Kaiu Shirai, and Posuka Demizu's most recent chapter of THE PROMISED NEVERLAND. It wasn't that the title struck me when I read it, but I was aware that something startling would surely take place in this chapter. In a lot of ways, that was exactly what this author/artist duo gave readers with this chapter. As always, Shirai has hidden away several insights into the human condition and the nature of evil within his writing. CH.80 has trapped a sharp social and ecological commentary within its pages, and Demizu's drawings have given those same concepts tangible forms with her artistry. The heaviness of Shirai's concepts are mitigated by Demizu's artistic touch, and casts the manga as something for children regardless of the magnitude of the issues discussed within the text. In truth, THE PROMISED NEVERLAND is meant for children, but it is a manga less concerned with protecting children, and more interested in preparing children. These elements are crucial to the series success, and are liable to keep readers coming back for more in the near future. Cue "Are You Kidding Me" moment No.1 Having killed Nouma, Sandy and Sonia resist the urge to celebrate in order to focus their attention on Nous. Given the sheer strength, speed, skill, and furiosity inherent to demons, their desire to finish off Nous is well founded. This is where things take a weird turn. They are shocked to find Nous weeping and wailing over Nouma's fallen body. Stunned by the demon's ability to empathize, Sandy struggles to understand how empathetic creatures could callously murder children for sport. Even more interesting than his outcry of emotion, Nous begins to eat Noumas brain. As he looks up from his meal, Paula and Violet - who have hidden themselves in the trees nearby, allowing them to kill Nouma - attempt to kill Nous as well. With in astounding reaction time, however, Nous is able to evade the bullet and locate these two hidden members of the Goldy Pond Resistance. Having found the humans responsible for his wife's death, the enraged and distraught demon throws his spear at Paula and Violet's retreating forms before turning his attention to Sonia. The otherness of demons in Shirai's world is clear in their grotesque forms. Separated from the same cloth as any Guillermo Del Torro monster, these demons are sinister figures and key antagonists within THE PROMISED NEVERLAND. It is startling, then, to experience an empathetic gesture from monsters that would hunt human beings. Where other demons like Musica, and Sonju actively abstain from eating humans, Nous and Nouma are very much malicious in their desire to hunt and eat children. It is through these demons that Shirai speaks out against the killing and eating of animals. By using his demon monsters as a foil for human beings, Shirai likens the human tendency to kill animals for their meat as something wholly violent, and even dehumanizing. The human idea of hunting animals as a sport and leisure activity is put on its head. With Nouma defeated, the children are stuck facing down Nous, but this demon is proving himself to be exceptionally resourceful in his own way. Having chased off the snipers to a degree it is largely up to Sandy and Sonia to save themselves. With Nous' mask off there is now some wiggle room for our heroes, but given the monster possess vastly superior physical characteristics, it is difficult to say whether our heroes will be able to extract themselves or not. Cue "Are You Kidding Me" moment No.2 Nigel and Gillian, having killed Luce, now signal this death to their companions by blowing a whistle. Noting that their whistle is the first to sound is in step with the plan. As the two make moves to locate their next target, Nigel notes that they only have eight minutes left before their fifteen minute deadline is reached. Passing through the forest, however, Nigel notices something is traveling in close proximity to him and Gillian. As the two children take shelter, they discover that none other than Lord Bayon himself is in their neck of the woods. Their concern for Zack and Pepe, who were both presumably responsible for defeating Bayon, is overshadowed by the realization that they are the only team without special guns or bullets with which to defeat Lord Bayon. A key facet of any Grimm fairytale is the very real possibility of danger. Fantasticism aside, there must be danger in order for the morals of the story to carry a heavy weight with the reader. While the very concept of demons in wholly phantasmagorical in premise and execution, their intelligence nature and abnormal forms heightens the sense of danger exhibited by the series protagonists. These factors are necessary given the level of intelligence displayed by children within Shirai's world. As was shown in the very first chapter of THE PROMISED NEVERLAND, children from Grace Field House in particular are raised to exceptionally high standards of intelligence. It is then important to have monsters that are more capable than these protagonists in order to preserve the sense of desperation and fear evident in the heroes of this story. The situation that Nigel and Gillian now find themselves in is a unique one for several reasons. Unlike their companions, these two children were never meant to destroy the mask worn by Lord Bayon, Archduke Lewis, or Nous and Nouma. Both Pepe and Zack are missing, and it is unconfirmed whether their deviation from the plan was intentional or unavoidable. This does, however, raise questions about Lord Bayon as he is seen to still be wearing his mask in the final panel of this chapter. With this first major deviation from the unvoiced plan created by the Goldy Pond Resistance, how the kids will handle this new threat is very much in the air. That said, there are several key players missing in action at this moment who could potentially save Nigel and Gillian at a crucial moment. Lucas, and Adam are two main characters within this arc, and likely have a role to play in helping Emma defeat Archduke Lewis. This then leaves Oliver and Theo as potential saviors for any characters currently struggling to defeat their associated demon. The question remaining here is whether Shirai has placed enough value in these characters for them to be saved. Cue "Regular" moment No.1 Leaving off from CH.79, Emma faces off against Lewis. Faced with one another at last, however, both characters are less inclined to fight with one another. Instead, Lewis reveals his knowledge about Emma and her position as premium grade meat from Grace Field House. As Emma challenges Lewis to a game on Lucas' behalf, readers see a short history of events involving Lucas' last escape attempt wherein he received the now familiar injuries on his eye and leg. I've said in past articles that THE PROMISED NEVERLAND has started to expand on side character significantly over the course of the last three chapters. Several instances of high action, and crucial storytelling have been handed to the relatively new characters living in Goldy Pond. These characters have their own nuance and a surviving dichotomy built up over many years from living under the oppression of Lord Bayon and his hunters. It will be interesting to see how Shirai further elaborates on these facets of the story without having to perpetually endanger his characters. CH.81 is certain to bring about more action and will likely see Lucas, Adam, and Oliver playing larger roles along with Emma taking point as readers move to the arc's endgame. Written By: ALAN "VIENNA" SINGH
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