The Promised Neverland

Synopsis

Setting

In a strange world filled with sentient creatures of different species, an agreement called "The Promise" was made to end a long war between humans and the so-called demons. "The Promise" was an agreement where each would live in their own separate "worlds": the human world, free from the threat of demons; and the demon world, where human breeding farms were set up to provide food for the demons. By eating humans, demons take on their attributes which prevent them from degenerating into mindless monsters. In the demon world, a special breeding program was set up under the guise of orphanages; there, a human "Mother" would oversee the children to make sure they grew up …

Production

Development

The series was first conceived in late 2013 from a draft titled Neverland; the title was later changed to The Promised Neverland due to copyright concerns. Kaiu Shirai submitted the 300-page draft to the Weekly Shōnen Jump editorial department. Editor Suguru Sugita described the series as an ambitious work atypical for Jump, blending bright and dark scenes within a suspenseful fantasy world. Shirai noted that Sugita suggested limiting the series to around twelve volumes, comparable in length to Death Note.

Finding an artist whose style suited the story proved challenging. Shirai and Sugita considered Posuka Demizu a leading candidate due to her artistic fit for …

Manga

The Promised Neverland is written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 1, 2016, to June 15, 2020. Shueisha collected its chapters in twenty tankōbon volumes, released from December 2, 2016, to October 2, 2020.

In July 2016, Viz Media announced that they would digitally publish the first three chapters of the series on Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Thereafter, they published the manga's new chapters simultaneously with the Japanese release. The first printed volume in North America was released on December 5, 2017. Shueisha began to simulpublish the series in English on the website and app Manga Plus …

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced in Weekly Shōnen Jump in May 2018. The series is animated by CloverWorks and directed by Mamoru Kanbe, with Toshiya Ono handling series composition, Kazuaki Shimada handling character designs, and Takahiro Obata composing the series' music. The series aired for 12 episodes from January 11 to March 29, 2019, on Fuji TV's late-night Noitamina anime programming block. It simulcasted on Amazon Video, but only in Japan, contrary to the contract giving Amazon exclusive streaming rights to shows that have aired on Noitamina since Spring 2016, as Wakanim has exclusive streaming rights in France. Uverworld performed the series' opening th…

Light novels

Four light novels by Nanao have been published. The first light novel, titled Yakusoku no Neverland: Norman kara no Tegami (約束のネバーランド～ノーマンからの手紙～; lit. 'The Promised Neverland: A Letter from Norman'), was released on June 4, 2018. The second light novel, titled Yakusoku no Neverland: Mama-tachi no Tsuisōkyoku (約束のネバーランド～ママたちの追想曲～; lit. 'The Promised Neverland: Moms' Song of Remembrance'), was released on January 4, 2019. The third light novel, titled Yakusoku no Neverland: Sen'yū-tachi no Rekōdo (約束のネバーランド ～戦友たちのレコード～; lit. 'The Promised Neverland: Records of Comrades'), was released on October 2, 2020. The story follows Lucas and Yuugo. The fourth light no…

Video games

A mobile game based on the series called The Promised Neverland: Escape the Hunting Grounds was released on April 22, 2021. The game was announced on January 7, 2021, and by April 13, 2021, had received over 63,194 pre-registrations. The game is an online escape game, in which four players work together to escape a map based on The Promised Neverland series. Players control different characters, and they can use a variety of weapons and items to defeat demons. The game was developed by Goodroid, published by CyberAgent, and became available on iOS and Android.

A crossover event between The Promised Neverland and the mobile game Dragon Egg was held on May 22, 2020. A crossov…

Other media

An art book, titled The Promised Neverland: Art Book World (約束のネバーランド ART BOOK WORLD, Yakusoku no Nebārando Āto Bukku Wārudo), was released on November 4, 2020. It was published by Viz Media on June 21, 2022. It included creator commentary and interviews. A fan book, titled The Promised Neverland 0: Mystic Code (約束のネバーランド 0 MYSTIC CODE, Yakusoku no Nebārando 0 Misutikku Kōdo), was released on December 4, 2020.

An art exhibition, The Promised Neverland Special Exhibition, was held at the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi from December 11, 2020, to January 11, 2021. Additionally, a cafe event called "Cafe Grace Field" was held next to the exhibition venue. The design of the cafe wa…

Reception

Manga

On Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! ranking of top manga of 2018 for male readers, The Promised Neverland topped the list. The series won the "Shōnen Tournament 2018" by the editorial staff of the French website Manga-News. The manga was one of the Jury Recommended Works for the French 12th ACBD's Prix Asie de la Critique 2018. The Promised Neverland was one of the Jury Recommended Works in the Manga Division at the 21st Japan Media Arts Festival in 2018. The series was chosen as one of the Best Manga at the Comic-Con International Best & Worst Manga of 2018. The Promised Neverland has been added to The Nippon Foundation's Manga Edutainment 2020 list, to identify ma…