By Emedo Ashibeze Destiny
The second season of The Promised Neverland left a sour taste in the mouths of viewers. Here's where the series failed.
The Promised Neverland was a promising anime based on the popular manga, which had good placing and a striking plot. The manga’s popularity and quality are the reasons for its adaptation. The first season of Promised Neverland, released in 2019, was a hit alongside its counterparts like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. However, the second season of The Promised Neverland didn't perform as great as the first season.
The Season 2 of The Promised Neverland failed to outperform or even reach the standard set by the manga. The season's problems ranged from unsatisfactory adaptation and skipping of crucial plot lines to underwhelming pacing. Here's an insight into some of the innate problems Season 2 of The Promised Neverland, an anime that was once viewed as a gem amongst psychological thrillers, posed.
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The Neglect Of Important Plot Points
One of the reasons for Season two of The Promised Neverland’s demise is the skipping of crucial plot points in the manga. The anime skipped crucial parts of the manga that were not filler-oriented but significant connecting points in the story. Season one's 12 episodes were a product of chapters 1 – 37 of the manga, which was a pretty good adaptation since it captured the central storylines. However, to fans' shock, Season two of the anime managed to haphazardly adapt chapters 38 – 181 of the manga. In short, the anime neglected the preceding storyline after The Promised Forest Arc, ruining the manga plot.
Consequently, important stories surrounding the Royal Family, the show's apex villains, were skipped according to the manga. The introduction of the Royal Family and their downfall, spearheaded by Norman, was a classic reveal in the manga. It was also significant because it depicted the character development of Norman, from an innocent kid to a somewhat cold individual. However, these sensational stories were absent in the anime, causing fans' disapproval at the improper adaptation of the manga plot. In the anime, there was no proper villain introduction but a somewhat hasty reveal of the Royal Family, leaving fans who are non-manga readers a bit puzzled.
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However, the anime raised viewers' hopes by portraying a slight detour from the manga's plot. The diversion involved Isabella being assigned the role of finding Norman, Ray, Emma, and the rest of the escapees from the Gracefield Farm. Sadly, this development amounts to nothing but a loose end without a significant storyline attached to it. The popular, The Return to Gracefield Arc in the manga had a disappointing adaption in the anime.
What was highlighted in a notable number of manga chapters was compressed into a single anime episode, resulting in an anti-climactic experience for fans, who were excited at the possibility of seeing a thrilling redo. Season one was a heart-teaser, constantly revealing events that caused fans to immerse themselves deeply in the story’s plot, but the second season lacked the “thriller-effect” wholesomely carried out by the first season.
The Second Season’s Underwhelming Pacing
Season two of The Promised Neverland had unsatisfactory pacing; it was rushed, barely resembling the original masterpiece. "Norman," the ace of the story and a promising character of the story in season one, bore the brunt of this widely unappreciated development. A major plot point in the manga featured Norman in a pretend self-sacrifice situation, resulting in the general belief that he was dead.
In reality, Norman was still very much alive, although his reunion with the companions he considered family and friends occurred after approximately eighty manga chapters. So, the reunion slapped hard, earning satisfaction from readers. However, this whole saga was cut short by the anime, which highlights this development after seven episodes. The whole scenario leaves a bad taste because the factors responsible for making the reunion special and more enjoyable were missing in the anime.
The Promised Neverland: Bad Ending
However, despite the countless issues in the plot, the story's ending makes the second season of The Promised Neverland really underwhelming. Shockingly, the second season's ending in the anime truly ends the whole story, contrasting the end in the manga. The short screen time depicting the end of the show is nothing short of a death blow to the potential The Promised Neverland had as a psychological thriller.
First and foremost, the underlying bad pacing of the season rears its head again. The season depicted a redemption from Isabella, which seemed unaccounted for following the manga, where she earned the sympathies of the main characters by putting her life on the line. Isabella's reunion with her kids lacked substance and authenticity in the anime, causing disapproval from fans and viewers alike. Out of everything that happens towards the ending, the anime reconstructed another crucial detail from the manga in a less-than-ideal manner.
In the Manga, Emma sacrificed her memories, so her friends could make it to the human world, portraying her selflessness and love for them. However, the anime shows Emma going back to the demon world on a mission to save other kids in farms. Later on, she reunites with her friends in the human world. This unremarkable ending earned criticisms from fans, showing how uncool the second season of The Promised Neverland really was. The Promised Neverland won't get another chance at redemption, so if you really liked the first season of the anime, you can continue from chapter 38 of the manga for a more pleasant experience.
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