The Promised Neverland

The Promised Neverland (Japanese: 約束のネバーランド, Hepburn: Yakusoku no Nebārando) is a Japanese manga series written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from August 2016 to June 2020, with its chapters collected into 20 tankōbon volumes. The series follows a group of orphaned children as they plan to escape from their orphanage after learning the dark truth behind their existence and the purpose of the orphanage. The manga was adapted into an anime television series produced by CloverWorks. The first season aired from January to March 2019, with 12 episodes, and the second season ran from January to March 2021, with 11 episodes. A live-action film adaptation was released in December 2020, and Amazon Studios is developing an American live-action series. In 2018, The Promised Neverland won the 63rd Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category. By August 2023, the manga had over 42 million copies in circulation, including digital versions, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. The manga has been well-received by critics, particularly for its storytelling, characters, and world-building. The anime series' first season was also well-received, considered one of the best anime series of the 2010s. However, the second season received overwhelmingly negative reception due to its rushed pacing and simplification of the original manga's plot.