Writing Lessons from Anime: The Promised Neverland

I discovered this anime in such an odd way. Normally I heard about new anime by word of mouth but in this case, I was browsing through my Spotify weekly mixtape and I found a piece from the soundtrack. I liked it so I decided to google the anime and the synopsis hooked me so then I started the anime. Four hours later I binged the whole thing.

Emma is an eleven-year-old girl who’s grown up in an orphanage with many other children. All she’s known is a life of happiness until she and her friend Norman discover the home’s dark secret. The two of them plot to escape before another child falls victim to the true purpose of their cushioned upbringing.

Warning: Spoilers in points four and five.

Most of the characters in this anime are under twelve and they’re facing dire circumstances. They’re experiencing danger and opposition that no kids should face. They also have a strong sense of powerlessness because they’re so inexperienced but they’re tasked with escaping or dying. I also felt far more worried about them because they are so young and their foes seem so great. This kept me in suspense throughout the season.

I also think that writing such young characters in such situations can be tricky because they can’t be adults in children’s bodies. In this case that meant little to no swearing and no lewd comments because these children weren’t exposed to such things. When they mention more mature topics such as murder or suicide you feel a sense of pain watching innocence lost.

How this can be applied to writing: Stories where kids handle adult situations can be really interesting and fascinating. Some other examples are Lord of the Flies, Gone by Michael Grant, and Ender’s Game.

Emma, Norman, and Ray are very smart children. They think of multiple elaborate plans as they prepare for an escape. They’re very intellectually smart but they aren’t emotionally mature yet. This really grounds in the realism of them being children. Norman and Emma reacted with terror and anguish when they found one of their siblings dead. They also couldn’t hold in their emotions when encountering some adult situations which gave them away. But you don’t blame them because they’re kids. As one grows and becomes more experience a person can handle different situations. A child won’t handle something the same way a combat veteran would.

How this can be applied to writing: I recently watched Bladerunner and the biggest thing that stuck out to me is how the four-year-old replicants who look like adults don’t have maturity. They’ve had experience fighting wars and living in slavery but when they are told “no” they lash out in an adult temper tantrum. It can be easy to forget to think of these things and insert an older or younger persona in an adult or a child respectively, so an important thing is to really dive into the psychology of your characters.

It’s pretty obvious from early on that Norman has feelings for Emma. He expresses how she makes him feel brave and inspired, but the most they ever do is hold hands. A kiss between two children can be cute, but this preserved innocence to me is even cuter. Norman and Emma’s love was expressed through the sacrifices they made for each other. That showed love and devotion stronger than any kiss could.

How this can be applied to writing: Seeing kids like in IT by Stephen King and even Stranger Things and The Karate Kid kiss when they’re too young felt a little uncomfortable. They’re very new humans and they don’t know how to process their feelings yet. Being intimate at such a young age feels disrespectful to a child’s innocence even though I know in real life some kids have already lost their innocence so young. In The Promised Neverland, I love how the romance was pure and that made it more meaningful.

Like I said these are genius kids and man do they think of just about everything. For example, to find out if two other kids were trustworthy Norman told them where he hid a rope. If one of the kids found the rope and took it then he would know which one was a spy. But Norman took it to the next level when he lied to Ray about the rope locations he told to the other kids to test if Ray was a spy. Mind blown, man. One of the other really impressive plans was when the kids fake a suicide by putting clothes, hair, and sausage together and letting them on fire to convince Isabella by smell.

How this can be applied to writing: The best way to determine if some elaborate escape plan or heist seems logical and thorough is to have someone you know try to poke as many holes in it and you find ways to fix them in your narrative. It takes more time but it sure makes your story more impressive. One author who did this really well was Brandon Sanderson in Mistborn.

Isabella is a fantastically written villain. She is a parallel to Emma. Born in the same situation and also losing the boy she loves but Isabella chose a different path.Where Emma strived on, Isabella gave up. Throughout the show, Isabella presses Emma to give up on her dream. She tells her it would be easier and less painful. In the end, Isabella resigns to defeat when she sees Emma accomplishes what she always wanted to do.  I believe Isabella was actually happy that Emma succeeded no matter what consequences Isabella befalls. She accepted she was beaten.

How this can be applied to writing: Anime villains have a reputation of being multidimensional and in depth. One element that stands out to me is how they often accept their defeat with grace. They’re impressed that the hero beat them. Isabella put all she had into beating Emma, but Emma still wins and Isabella is actually happy.

Have you seen The Promised Neverland? Have you noticed these writing aspects? What movies have you noticed have good writing? Let’s geek out together!