The Promised Neverland is one of the most suspense building
Don/Gilda: [Gasps]
anxiety-inducing
Emma: [Heavy Breathing]
heart attack rendering shows that has produced for anime in modern years.
Krone: [JP/ENG Translation] Found you
And I wish I had never read it so I could experience all that to.
[Fire burning]
[Heavy slam/impact]
[♪♪♪]
Before we begin I think it’s important for me to clarify
that I...have a pretty mixed relationship when it comes to manga
it’s not that I don’t like it,
in fact that couldn’t be further from the truth
I am just extraordinary selective
those that I do read have either been heavily recommended to me
or I was in love with the anime and needed to continue its story
at least that’s how it use to be
but in the last year this all changed down to one opportunity
and one manga
[Glitch/mouse click] Dodger: this week we read The Promised Neverland...chapters 1 through 36
and it was a wild ride
[Heavy slam/impact]
[♪♪♪ fades in]
The Promised Neverland made me fall back in love with a medium I had fallen away from
and so my adoration for this series goes beyond its subject
and transcends into how it has affected my personal life.
So as I am almost always an anime only
I was nervous but excited by the adaption for the Promised Neverland
as I had never felt the burn of having your favourite manga ruined in animation.
And little did I know
that reading the source material would affect my enjoyment of this anime as much as it did
and little did I know
that I had expectations this reality
couldn't
meet.
[Fire burning]
[♪♪♪]
And that...
for lack of a better word...
SUCKS!
[♪♪♪]
because week in week out I don’t feel the same way about this show as the majority of anime only’s do
and for a while I’ve been searching for the answer as to why
and it all comes back to the manga
and to my inability to separate what I’m reading from what I’m seeing.
[♪♪♪]
And I knew from the opening 10 seconds I was in for a visual disapointment
because while there was many places I could and will
praise the animation team
background design
it's not one of them.
[♪♪♪]
The appeal of The Promised Neverland doesn’t just lie in its narrative direction
but also in its gorgeous illustrations
and Posuka Demizu makes every environment come alive in the way its designed to
whether it’s the ominous fear and curiosity brought on by the gate
Emma: Conny?
or the hustle and bustle of the house
whereas in comparison the animes backgrounds feel
well to use a Scottish phrase...
dour.
[♪♪♪]
Even the truck the Emma and Norman hide under lacks any...character.
And so in lies, the crux
the environment of The Promised Neverland is as much a character as the people that live within it
and so the anime does both the manga and itself a huge disservice by not focusing on it.
Where is the detail in Mamas room?
Where is the fear at the demon council?
With such lack of attention to the small things I end up looking at the anime as a missed opportunity
that people should, would and could be horrified by its story
but they would feel it so much more if care was crafted into the world’s surroundings.
[♪♪♪]
Krone: JPN to ENG Translation: What?
And in a way...
I also feel the same...
about its narrative.
[♪♪♪]
Ray: Time's up
[♪♪♪]
Pouring through the panels of the manga I got to know the motivations and internal struggles of our three protagonists
and...
the mind games they play with Mama
who fyi in its opening half is missing more than she should be.
Anyway...
It’s between the pages that we see what an utter mess Norman is
as he lives with the soul desire to protect not his family but really Emma
[Water splashing] Norma: Emma...Emma...!
and it’s that obsessive protection that fuels his every move.
I might not know where his mind w ill go next
but at least I understand him.
[♪♪♪]
He goes from being a cookie cutter genius type
to someone with far more depth...
and far more fear than he shows on the surface.
now it's the same with Ray and Emma but in different ways
Yet what I’m reading isn’t reflected on screen
and I find myself filling in the gaps for missed development
and spending a lot of time
just...
questioning.
[Slam/Heavy Impact]
Where are Krones attempts to sway Gilda if you had seen them then you would have gotten a better idea as to why she was singled out.
[Intense music/Build up of voices becomes indistinguishable]
STOP!
[Scoff]
I know...
it's silly
to question this show as much as I do.
[♪♪♪]
And here’s the problem with every query and every moment I spend in doubt
these are my own personal fears…
I have no idea what it’s like to look at The Promised Neverland through the lens of an anime only
and so I question
because I have already seen.
This kind of story with all its twists and turns and reveals and developments
can only be experienced for the first time
once.
And no matter how good its adaptation may be
I can’t see past what I’ve already seen
and what I believe was done better.
So in the end Krones game of tag,
Don’s breakdown
and any plot twist revelations where never going to hit me the way they did back when I picked up the manga
and as someone who just about never reads the source material first
I had no idea that this was the way I was going to feel...
[♪♪♪]
I underestimated this whole experience
greatly.
And so it means I’m faced with a reality that my expectations don’t meet
but
that make it a bad one.
[♪♪♪] [fire burning]
The anime does what the manga cannot
it brings sound and movement to stillness
[Heavy panting/breathing]
Creating these beautiful hidden shots
behind objects amping up the feeling of being watched,
as if I am peering into a private conversation
that at any moment could be horribly interrupted.
A lot of attention has been paid to that camerawork
such as its tracking shots, following from the perspective of Emma
or the tick toking back and forth between Norman and Ray.
All accentuated by the Sound design that's been weaved in between each scene
a smart decision for a horror where the soundtrack is sparse.
You see all of this elevates the anime from the black and white of the manga
and it's all been elevated by a team who are just trying to do their best.
So when I say that this adaption doesn’t meet my expectations
I feel like I’m dismissing the hardwork that the team at Cloverworks have put in.
[♪♪♪]
And I think often we can get so overly critical or overly analytical about another's work
and forget that there is someone behind that screen
at that desk
pouring hours upon hours into the thing that we have then gone on to criticise.
Now don’t get me wrong I think It’s a healthy thing to do this
because it can lead to self improvement and all work should be open to review,
but in my case
in a manga readers case
it’s more but how could you miss out this that
and why would you do this when you could have done that.
It’s you, or me in this instance,
not being satisfied with the current reality
when in actuality how would you take this manga form and translate it into an anime?
of course I’m not going to get everything I could possibly wish for,
of course it’s not going to go at the pace that I want
but the key animators,
inbetweeners
layout assistants, CG artists,
sound mixers, colorists, prop design and characters to,
production managers and production committees, music and screenplays and directing departments
are all doing their best
to bring their best
to a series that I...and so many others
love.
That series is The Promised Neverland
and it is one of the most suspense building,
anxiety inducing
heart attack rendering shows that has been produced for anime in modern years
Don [laughter]
[Punch]
Don: JPN to ENG: You're kidding me!
And I wish I had never read it but I am so happy that I did
because writing and editing this video I’ve realised there is merit in both mediums
that the anime is as much an individual as the manga
and most importantly of all
I’ve realised that I am never doing this again -
so long live Emma
long live Ray
long live Norman
and long live ME
and my LIFE
as an ANIME ONLY.
[♪♪♪ builds to a close]
[Fire burning]
[Slam/Heavy Impact]
[Swell]
[♪♪♪]
hello it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these end of video messages
Soooo I just wanted to thank you for watching if you got to the end
I wanted this video to be a little bit scary,
a little bit unsettling
and quite intense
so I hope I captured those feelings.
This was incredibly time consuming but very enjoyable to put together
and I hope you enjoyed watching it
as it was quite cathartic for me because I am such a huge lover of the manga
and of course I will do this again,
read manga before the anime that is
damn that £2.99 a month shonen jump subscription!
anyway
if you liked this hitting that good old like button will help elevate it amongst the hundreds of promised neverland videos that exist
and sharing it would mean a lot to me.
alright
I'll see you next time
thanks again
bye for now.