VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia
STORY: Kaiu Shirai
ART: Posuka Demizu
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
LETTERS: Mark McMurray
EDITOR: Alexis Kirsch
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1499-5; paperback (June 2020); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.
The Promised Neverland is a Japanese manga series written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. It was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from August 2016 to June 2020. VIZ Media has been publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a paperback graphic novel series under its “Shonen Jump” imprint since December 2017.
The Promised Neverland opens at Grace Field House, an orphanage where the children have a wonderful life... or so it seems. The orphanage's three brightest children are Emma, Norman, and Ray, all 11-years-old as the story begins. Like the other orphans, they enjoy the daily studying and exams, and also the delicious food and plentiful playtime. However, the children's loving, but stern caretaker, “Mom,” hides the fact that everything is not what it seems, a fact these three bright children will discover upon turning 12.
As The Promised Neverland, Vol. 15 (Chapters 125 to 133; entitled “Welcome to the Entrance”) opens, Norman prepares to make a deal with the dissident demon, Lord Geelan. Their union would form a conspiracy to take down both the demons' royal house and their five “Regent Houses.” As Norman and his group prepare their plan to eradicate all demons, Emma searches for her own path, and it does not involve the destruction of all demons. Ray and Emma decide to travel to the “Seven Walls” in a bid to reach the human world.
Meanwhile, the demon Queen Legravalima meets with the demon regents: Duke Yverk, Lord Bayon, Lord Dozza, Lady Noum, and Lord Pupo. They gather to discuss the destruction and the chaos that plagues the demons. While, they plot, however, the real threat advances.
THE LOWDOWN: In Japan, The Promised Neverland manga has come an end via its serialization in the Japanese edition of Weekly Shonen Jump. In North America, the collection of the manga continues to be one of the best graphic novels series for young adult readers.
The Promised Neverland Graphic Novel Volume 15 is a riveting read, although it is not one of the graphic novel series' best entries. Still, I quickly read through this volume so that I could experience the surprises and the shocking reveals. Vol. 15 is one of those volumes that prepares readers for the fireworks to come. It is not the beginning of a paradigm shift for this series the way Vol. 14 was.
Translator Satsuki Yamashita does a good job with the heavy dialogue of this volume, and Mark McMurray's lettering paces the off-beat rhythm. Both contributors seem to be preparing for the fireworks to come.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Readers of dark fantasy graphic novels will find a terrifying story in Shonen Jump's The Promised Neverland.
A
8.5 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
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