The promised manga changes of Neverland Season 2 are set for a risk

Any strong adaptation is bound to make polarization changes. Even adaptations are considered faithful, such as Hunter x Hunter And Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Yet beats the occasion of the story. First season of popular horror anime The Promised Neverland It did as well, but season 2 is making serious changes to something else called. If it turns it off, then we can have a reverse full Metal Alchemist In our hands, a show that switches gears from a faithful original to a successful origin story that still satisfactorily captures the intent of the source material.

[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers through the most recent episode of The Promised Neverland season 2.]

Season 2 picks up shortly after the end of the first, escaping from the farm of our group of brave young children the rest of their lives thinking that it was an orphanage. For the first two episodes, The Promised Neverland It appears to adopt the essential parts of the manga written by Kai Shiroi and illustrated by Posuka Demizu, while speeding up the pace. Episode 3 then makes a series of fundamental changes to the story, removing the fan-favorite character known as “Mr.”, acting as a catalyst for the major story arc.

Now, adding or rearranging characters and events is also not a bad thing, as the first season expanded Isabella’s backstory and while preparing to become her maternal uncle. But fans took note of how the show actively looked with readers’ previous knowledge of the story before changing it. In the third episode, one of the children begins playing a piano inside the bunker, and the camera proceeds for an extended sequence, creating tension with the notion that the tune will attract the enemy – but it opens a secret compartment Wall blows into. In the manga, this compartment is shown to the children by the mysterious “Mr.”, who reveals a large room full of firearms left behind, so that the children can defend themselves against the mob of devils who save their child Those who rule this part of the world. The anime still contains this reveal, but instead of a rack full of weapons, it is an empty room that the children leave as soon as they find it. Manufacturer of The Promised Neverland Make one thing clear: all bets are closed.

Episode 4 reiterates this idea, rearranging the events so that the first scene in the episode resolves to the children the mystery of their beneficiary, and a set of coordinates that can mean a much faster way to freedom than the source material is. It sent the idea of ​​armed human soldiers long ago to capture or kill children, and quickly dispel that idea. As if that wasn’t enough plot and world-building, the episode ends with the return of Isabella, the babysitter and surprisingly long-ago villain, staged much earlier than the source material.

These decisions created panic in some special manga circles. Fan’s complaints suggest that the show has omitted another popular story arc, “Goldie Pond,” or at least substantially changed what comes before it, even if the arc was adapted to be fairly Will be different. But what is missing from the debate is the idea that it will not harm the anime version of the story. On the contrary, it gives it a chance to get even better.

By this point, the show’s biggest changes are related to the complex lore of the latter half of the manga, which is said to be heavy, crowded and full of plot holes. The manga never achieves the tension or creative heights of the first arc of the story (told in the first season), just trading the early survival horror tone for another fight Shनेnen story. This has led to the assumption that the show will end after the second wave of this episode, with this season rumored to be widely reported by the manga’s creator.

To bring more “out there” story lore, as well as Isabella’s hat, along with Goldie Pond’s arc The Promised Neverland Season 2 feels like it is correcting the manga to relieve the tension and terror of the first season. Instead of following a cast of 50, the show is associated with just 15 children. Instead of producing children with guns and starting a revolution against a whole world of monsters, the anime has the story of yet another thrilling cat-and-mouse game, with Isabella as the main villain.

The fifth episode puts the whole point of view on the question, which brings one of the worst parts of the manga to the worst of times: Time Jump. So far, every episode of the season has ended on a strong cliffhanger, only for the next episode to completely disregard any tension that appears. A sick room with “help” on the wall, with names of unseen children written on it? Not brought back. Attack on bunker by armed humans? No. Isabella’s Return? Nada Instead, the episode advances throughout the time of the year, breaking the pacing of previous episodes, as well as tensions. Now the children have grown up, they are roaming the demon land, and are now so well dressed that they can easily blend into the crowd in a demon village. Isabella did nothing for a full year? Weren’t more soldiers sent to find the children? If the show is only going to anime and tell an origin story, then why do we leave the twist you introduced in our story to a part of the manga, rather than pay-off?

This episode continues the trend of merely pointing at plot points or continuing the learning from the manga. The children are living in a temple which plays an important role in the story of the manga, but here it is just an abandoned shelter. There is mention of something called “rogue-blood” that becomes important in the manga’s world-building, but is used as a throwback line in the anime. Nevertheless, they still appear to follow the main story points from the manga, only long, long ago. In the beginning, we hear that two demons talk about invading the fields, and their cattle (children) are being stolen. Then, the episode ends with the shocking return of Norman, one of the main characters, who is believed to have returned in Season 1.

Norman’s return to the manga is huge because we spent more time thinking that he was dead to know him. When he returns, it is an emotional scene that kicks-off the third act of the story. Here, we spend less time without Norman than we did with him. The pay-off is not that big. Their inclusion in the anime version of the story gives rise to the idea that perhaps The Promised Neverland Not planning to tell his story a la full Metal Alchemist, Rather manga burn through the chapters to make it as humanly possible as possible with the story – yet telling enough about the story that it resembles the original, but the way it made an impact in the first place Inserted. It returns like last season game of Thrones Allegedly reached the same end as the books, while its story is treated as a series of bullet-offs, leaving all the build-up and pay-offs.

The Promised Neverland Is at a crossroads. A few more episodes are due before the season (series) ends. At the moment, the show has a chance to create its own story free of source material, correcting the manga’s mistakes, and making a new promise to the audience. To get to the end of the story, there is an obligation to leave haste and everything that makes the story worth telling. While the anime can pull a reverse full Metal Alchemist, The bigger the gambling sounds game of Thrones.