The Promised Neverland

The Promised Neverland is a Japanese anime series, based on the manga series written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. The series is directed by Mamoru Kanbe and animated by CloverWorks. The first season premiered in Japan from January 10, 2019 to March 28, 2019 in the Noitamina programming block on Fuji Television. Season two was planned to be released in 2020, but was pushed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It premiered in Japan from January 7, 2021 to March 18, 2021 in the Noitamina programming block on Fuji Television.

The series was licensed in North America by Aniplex of America, who began streaming the series on Crunchyroll, Hulu, FunimationNow, and Hidive, on January 9, 2019.

Aniplex of America licensed the series in North America and created an English dub of The Promised Neverland in association with Bang Zoom! Entertainment. The first season premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block from April 13, 2019 to June 29, 2019 at 12:00 AM. Season 2 will premiere at 1:30 AM on April 10, 2021. The series is rated TV-14-LV & TV-MA-V on Adult Swim.

Plot
Set in year 2045, Emma is an 11-year-old orphan living in Grace Field House, a small orphanage housing her and her 37 siblings. Life had never been better; with food that tasted gourmet, plush beds, snow-white uniforms, and the love of their "Mother" (the caretaker) Isabella, as well the litany of daily exams that Emma always aced with her two best friends Ray and Norman. The orphans are basically allowed to do whatever they want, except venture out of the compounds or the gate that connects the house to the outside world.

On a fateful night, an orphan named Conny is sent away to be adopted, but Emma and Norman follow her after noticing that she had left her stuffed rabbit toy, Bernie, back at the house. Sneaking out, they find Conny dead and the truth of the existence of this supposed orphanage to be a farm where human children are raised as food for demonic creatures. Worse still, Isabella is in allegiance with the demons, ripping away at everything the two ever thought they knew. Determined to break out of Grace Field House, Norman and Emma partner up with Ray to peel away at the façade of the farm and find a way to escape with all their other siblings.

Characters
Emma — Emma is the main character of the series and one of the three oldest children living at Grace Field House. Like Ray and Norman, she is 11 years old and consistently gets perfect scores during their daily exams. She is identified by her ID number 63194 and known for her ample optimism as well as her capable athleticism. Upon discovering the truth of the orphanage, Emma teams up with Norman and Ray to escape the house. Her strong sense of selflessness insists that every one escape together.

Norman — Norman is one of the three oldest children living at Grace Field House and, like Ray and Emma, is 11 years old and consistently gets perfect scores during their daily exams. He is identified by his ID number 22194 and known for being a genius strategist and planner, as well as unbeatable at the game of tag. He discovers the truth of the orphanage with Emma and teams up with Ray to devise a plan to escape. While he knows leaving with every child in the house is nearly impossible, his love for Emma pushes him to continue trying.

Ray — Ray is one of the three oldest children living at Grace Field House and, like Emma and Norman, is 11 years old and consistently gets perfect scores during their daily exams. He is identified by his ID number 81194 and is known for being an avid reader with high intellectual abilities, blunt skepticism and cunning. Being the only biological child of their caretaker and "Mama" Isabella, he did not experience childhood amnesia, confirming his suspicions about the existence of demons and true nature of the house later when he was 6 years old.

Broadcast History
The first season premiered in Japan from January 10, 2019 to March 28, 2019 in the Noitamina programming block on Fuji Television. The series began streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu, FunimationNow, and Hidive in North America on January 9, 2019. The series was also simulcast on AnimeLab in Australia and New Zealand. In France, the series streamed exclusively on Wakanim.

The English dub of season one of The Promised Neverland premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block from April 13, 2019 to June 29, 2019 at 12:00 AM. Reruns of the series returned to Toonami on January 4, 2020, replacing Lupin the Third: Part V in the 3:30 AM time slot. On February 8, 2020, the series was moved to the 3:00 AM time slot. The series was removed from the block after February 22, 2020, due to Toonami losing the 3:00-4:00 AM time slots.

On October 31, 2020 (Halloween) the series returned to Toonami for one night only for a six hour marathon of the entire first season. The marathon aired from 12:00-5:00 AM, with an extra hour added by Daylight Savings.

The English dub of season 2 will make its Toonami premiere at 1:30 AM on April 10, 2021, replacing SSSS.Gridman in the lineup.


 * Japan (Fuji Television) — January 10, 2019 - March 28, 2019; January 7, 2021 - March 18, 2021
 * United States (Adult Swim) — April 13, 2019 - June 29, 2019 ; January 4, 2020 - February 22, 2020 ; October 31, 2020 ; April 10, 2021

Toonami Marathons
The Promised Neverland only had one marathon appearance during its run on Toonami, The Promised Neverland Halloween Marathon on October 31, 2020.