The Friend Of My Enemy Is… Maybe A Useful Information Source

Posted on by Karandi
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The Promised Neverland Episode 5 Review

These kids are going to have a serious problem ever trusting anything anyone says if they actually live long enough to grow up. Ray admits he’s been lying and spying for many a year but it was in order to ensure Emma and Norman’s survival. Whether that’s true or just a great line he came up with on the spot is hard to figure out. Then again Norman has proven already he is well and capable of lying when the occasion calls for it.

The Promised Neverland Episode 5 Ray Laughing

With Ray laying down an ultimatum in exchange for helping with the escape if might seem like Norman is just going to have to give in. However, where would the fun be if we believed it would be that easy. More importantly, Emma isn’t likely to allow things to go as either Ray or Norman are planning.

The Promised Neverland Episode 5 Norman

I do have to mention that Ray’s facial expressions were a little over the top, almost Sister Krone level silly during some of this exchange. For an anime that usually does a superb job on atmosphere I found this a little off putting as it made it harder to take the conversation seriously.

The Promised Neverland Episode 5 Ray
Not sure what this facial expression is supposed to convey but it made me laugh.

Still, with that reveal and conversation out of the way it is now time for Don and Gilda to show off why bringing more kids into the fold was a bad idea. While Emma, Ray and Norman are all relatively restrained in their actions as they all fully understand the stakes, Gilda is quite obviously timid by nature though managed to pull through last week. The bigger issue is Don who the whole way through the series has been portrayed as impulsive and not a deep thinker. It sets the scene for some disastrous decision making though whether things will end badly of whether we are getting another false alarm I guess we’ll find out next week.

The Promised Neverland Episode 5 Emma

A little of the shine of this series is wearing off as it progresses but I’m still really enjoying it. Given the progress I finally read the first volume of the manga and absolutely loved it. It filled in a few details that were skipped over by the anime and I’ll have to write a review of it soon. Regardless of how the anime goes I’ll probably end up reading the manga because it was great fun.

Thanks for reading
Karandi James
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The Promised Neverland, Vol. 2
The Promised Neverland, Vol. 2

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The Best Way To Catch A Liar…

Posted on by Karandi
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The Promised Neverland Episode 4 Review

There’s a definite sense of menace in some of the scenes from The Promised Neverland this week. Isabella confronting Krone is an icy exchange made even more chilling by the incredibly calm way Isabella speaks. Ray and Norman’s exchanges get increasingly more volatile as the episode progresses and nearly come to a head after Norman lies to Gilda and Don about the fate of poor Conny. However, they save the real bombshell for the final moments of the episode and in case you’ve managed to avoid being spoiled already I’ll leave that right there.

The Promised Neverland Episode 4 Mother and Sister Krone

Treachery is a real theme with Krone setting out not just to betray Isabella but to thoroughly take her down. The only real problem is that Krone is so transparent that Isabella’s seen straight through her and Krone’s only real piece in the game cuts her free during the episode. It makes you wonder whether Krone will manage to be a wild card that Norman can’t predict given she’s the only one likely to act erratically in this three way stand off.

The Promised Neverland Episode 4 Don

Meanwhile, Emma lies to Gilda and Don, and she does so before Norman does. While I understand that human trafficking is probably an easier story to swallow than demons eating children it still must have hurt her to deceive them. Even more so when asked point blank about Conny and Norman ended up leaving that answer ambiguous rather than clearly stating what the audience has known from the end of episode one.

The Promised Neverland Episode 4 Ray

However, while there are plots bubbling away here and the interactions between the characters become even more driven leading us toward the inevitable escape attempt, I can’t help but feel like some of the tension was gone in this episode and that the atmosphere wasn’t laying as thickly. It took a second viewing to really figure out why and it is the stark absence of interesting shot types this week. Gone are the clocks that dominated episode one (though we do still get the occasional clock sequence as they check a watch or similar), and a lot of the interesting camera angle and other direction choices that have really set a tone of unease were absent this week. There’s some great character blocking to be sure, but while that establishes personalities it isn’t driving the atmosphere of the story.

The Promised Neverland Episode 4 Ray, Emma and Norman

Ultimately it is a mild complaint about an anime that continues to be entertaining and leaves me wanting more, but if this diminished development of atmosphere continues The Promised Neverland is going to have to be carried by just its cast and the events in each episode. While these are good enough, it isn’t going to make this a must watch so I’m hopeful we see this aspect of it stepping back up next week.

Thanks for reading
Karandi James
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Three great ways you can support 100 Word Anime:

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Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

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THE PROMISED NEVERLAND PLUSH: LITTLE BERNIE
THE PROMISED NEVERLAND PLUSH: LITTLE BERNIE