Never has a show been more full of "elite controversy" than Yakusoku no Neverland. You take a show that sits shoulder-to-shoulder with the best horror or mystery shows out there, and it gets despairingly easy to pick at its comparative flaws.
If you want to see my overall view, it's at the bottom. This review has light spoilers.
Let's get at the crucial part of this show that people seem to make or break at — the story.
Neverland has at the least, a good premise. No one denies that (if you do, you're wrong). The show builds upon that premise with a plot that hinges on
...
it, each character an effective piece on a chessboard, with a large level of complexity as characters fight within the setting.
You pick up a show and there is immediately a level of where one must suspend their disbelief. If you're watching a slice-of-life, realistic show, then you'd probably scoff the moment a character did something outlandish (psychic powers, etc.) and if you're watching a harem fantasy, well, literally anything can happen at that point, so suspend that disbelief away.
Just as no one denies Neverland has a good premise, no one denies that there are some inconsistencies to the plot. This is where people stop suspending their disbelief. Characters scream at each within paper-thin walls - what, is Mom sleeping the entire time? - and plot-convenient developments border on Deus Ex Machina in order to ramp up tension.
This is inevitable. Give me any show, a mystery or horror show for that matter, and I can pick at any flaw, any plot hole that there possibly is. Death Note, Code Geass, Monster, Hyouka etc. . . . All of them are heralded for their intellectual plot, but you can poke more plot holes into them than swiss cheese. It doesn't make them bad. It doesn't make them sub-par, either. It makes them fiction.
That said, what sells the show is that the plot developments are easy to follow. You won't leave an event asking "huh, what happened?" unlike the rampant cesspool of other "mystery" anime that drone on about how they solved some innocuous puzzle that has zero plot value. Neverland's plot devices move it forward, not backward. And it is possible to predict what'll happen, all the hints are there, you just have to find them.
The show suffers slightly from its short run time. It's not a call-out to how the show ought to have 24 episodes, as it would be dreadfully boring, but with one more episodes mixed in, it could flesh out more developments for some viewers. It deals with the hand it's dealt very well however, and through a cursory run-through you wouldn't question it. To some, it's genius.
CHARACTER
I won't lie to say that I fucking adore their yandere-like faces when they're about to pull off something cunning. Like aww Emma is her cute little self and then WTF.
The trio of characters do a nice job acting as the central piece for the plot. Emma plays a more altruistic role, Ray is caustic and cynical, while Norman is more of the middle-man. The character development of these three is well done in my eyes, with the three of them having to reconcile in one way or the other to their respective ideologies.
Now, some characters fall to the wayside, sure. In my mind, that's the point, and it's impossible to throw in some sub-12 year-old into the mix. The story's focus isn't on them, anyway. Sister Krone arguably suffered the most here, and acted as more of a means to an end, but I'd say the fallout damage is barely noticeable. She was enjoyable, and if nothing else a conduit that helped the other characters develop.
ART - SOUND
The art is simple and lovely. Shots are used to maximum effect and for real shock value when needed, and the whole innocent-dangerous dichotomy of the show truly sells it. The voice acting is believable and plays off the emotions very well, allowing for the plot and characters to take center stage. I don't usually give credence to the art and sound in anime, but here I noticed it in particular.
SHOULD YOU WATCH THIS
You know the score I gave it, so you know what I have to say. Naturally, the more controversial nitpick reviews may gain traction here, but frankly, people don't give enough weight to the enjoyment factor and let their own critical bias in. As if it's an insult to their own intelligence to merely witness a show's popularity or complexity, they point out its intellectual dis-merits, to point out that they "could've done better."
They can't and they won't.
If you're a general mystery, horror, or psychological-thriller lover, you have NO EXCUSE but to watch this. This writing truly reps on the idea that a premise drives the plot and defines everything from expectation to deliverance. You write to entertain and stimulate the mind. And you'll be damn entertained at the least.
Mar 29, 2019
Yakusoku no Neverland
(Anime)
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Never has a show been more full of "elite controversy" than Yakusoku no Neverland. You take a show that sits shoulder-to-shoulder with the best horror or mystery shows out there, and it gets despairingly easy to pick at its comparative flaws.
If you want to see my overall view, it's at the bottom. This review has light spoilers. Let's get at the crucial part of this show that people seem to make or break at — the story. Neverland has at the least, a good premise. No one denies that (if you do, you're wrong). The show builds upon that premise with a plot that hinges on ... 
Jul 24, 2017
Kuzu no Honkai
(Anime)
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Let's be frank off the bat: this is an anime with a decent story with - and as you can tell from even the title - scum characters.
I have to clear the air with what I feel is a false, glowering consensus that this show is simply a brutal, even senseless slugfest of emotions. That's just not the case. In fact, what I find is a much more real, down to earth and relatable show that gets to the root of the issue with who people can be—and isn't afraid to depict that often avoided darkness. There is a certain rottenness to this piece. If ... |
