Episode 2 of The Promised Neverland has been released! Norman joins the escapees and recognizes Mama as the enemy. The battle of wits between them has finally begun! I've read the original manga, so I have a rough idea of the plot, but I'm sure there are many people who have been watching the anime since then, so I'll try to avoid spoilers as much as possible and provide some supplementary explanations of things that probably won't be covered in the anime, as well as some points that you should remember!
Reviews of Episode 2 of the Anime, Supplementary Explanation, Video
I've created a video explaining Episode 2, so please take a look.
Review of Episode 2 of the Anime, Supplementary Explanation, Title
Source: The Promised Neverland ©Kaiu Shirai/Posuka Demizu/Shueisha/CloverWorks
This episode's title is 131045. The title of the first episode was 121045. As explained last time, this was October 13, 2045. This means it was the day after Connie was shipped out.
Thoughts on Episode 2 of the Anime: Additional Information: What is the children's daily routine?
Source: The Promised Neverland © Kaiu Shirai / Posuka Demizu / Shueisha / CloverWorks
Food, white shirts, and a regular routine. Though it wasn't mentioned in the dialogue, Emma's behavior, along with the identification numbers on their necks, suggests that their quality is being controlled as food. We immediately recognize Emma and the others' meals, their white shirts, and their identification numbers, but what exactly is the regular rhythm of the children's lives? Actually, although it's not directly mentioned in the story, there is a scene like this in an illustration from the volume. It seems that the time schedule is set like this. According to this, it seems that tests are taken from the age of four. Indeed, in the anime, everyone was asleep by 10:00.
Review of Episode 2 of the Anime: Supplementary Explanation: Monster = Oni
Source: The Promised Neverland © Kaiu Shirai / Posuka Demizu / Shueisha / CloverWorks
In Episode 1, he was called a monster, but when talking to Rei, the word "oni" suddenly came up. In other words, the way monsters are called has changed to demons, but the word demon suddenly appeared without any warning, which felt a little unnatural. In fact, in the manga, the word demon appears immediately after the characters run away from the gate where they saw the monster in the first chapter. This may have been cut for time reasons. I'll add this as a supplementary explanation.
Review of Episode 2 of the Anime: Supplementary Explanation: Demons Eat Brains
Source: The Promised Neverland © Kaiu Shirai / Posuka Demizu / Shueisha / CloverWorks
The two are discussing their shipping. Emma was shipped out indiscriminately, thinking that the older ones were the better ones, but Norman's connection to scores led her to realize that brains were their delicacy, and that because they got perfect scores on tests, they were being waited for to be shipped out. However, the flow of the conversation left unexplained the reason why children are shipped out between the ages of 6 and 12. This is explained in the same scene in the manga, and it seems this was also cut for time reasons, so I'll provide additional explanation. It's said that the human brain grows 90% by the age of 6, so after age 6, children are shipped out in order of poor performance. Those with good scores are kept under control to allow their brains to grow even more. However, at age 12, brain growth is said to reach 100%, so everyone is shipped out.
Review of Episode 2 of the Anime: Supplementary Explanation: The Existence of a Transmitter
Source: The Promised Neverland © Kaiu Shirai / Posuka Demizu / Shueisha / CloverWorks
Emma and Norman discover that they have been implanted with a transmitter. Here, Norman summarizes the information about the transmitter. The transmitters are implanted somewhere inside their bodies. The transmitters do not reveal who is where. The transmitters can only be seen when they are spotted. These conditions will be quite relevant to the story going forward, so let's get them sorted out! Incidentally, there were hints, or rather foreshadowing, in the story as to which part of the body the transmitters are located in! If you look carefully again, you might be able to figure out where the transmitters are!
Review of Episode 2 of the Anime: Supplementary Explanation: Ray Joins the Crew
Source: The Promised Neverland © Kaiu Shirai / Posuka Demizu / Shueisha / CloverWorks
Ray joins the crew. It happened much more easily than I expected. Now, to recap from last time, Norman originally wanted to escape with Emma and Ray. However, Emma insisted that they all escape together, so Norman kind of went along with it and agreed. This time we learned more about Norman's thoughts, so let's briefly summarize them. Emma wants to escape with everyone. Norman originally suggested that the three of them escape, but they all agreed to escape together. This time, the reason became clear. Norman wanted Emma to smile, so his wish was to make Emma's wish come true. Ray wants to escape with the three of them. Reason: Even if they get outside the walls, they still have to survive in the demon world, so small children are a hindrance. How will the thoughts of these three change in the future? At the same time, have you ever thought, "Huh?" In episode 1, Rei said that her dream after leaving the orphanage was to survive. Hmm.
Review of Episode 2 of the Anime: Additional Explanation: Ray is Always Reading a Book
Source: The Promised Neverland © Kaiu Shirai / Posuka Demizu / Shueisha / CloverWorks
Ray is always reading a book. Ray was following Emma and Norman. The book he had was 'The Mechanical Engineering and Human History'. It was so old that the writing was faded.
Thoughts on Episode 2 of the Anime: Supplementary Explanation - Important Points
・Demons love human brains
・Demons are shipped out once every two months
・Demons are shipped out between the ages of 6 and 12, in order of poor academic performance
・They have a transmitter somewhere on their body (we don't know who it is)
・Rei joins the group and suggests that the three of them escape
・Sister Krone appears
There were more parts cut from the original than I expected. It seems like they took their time to carefully depict the characters' psychological states! Indeed, when watching anime, I'm drawn in by the way the sounds and facial expressions are presented rather than the detailed settings. I'm looking forward to episode 3!
