The Promised Neverland
Chapter 146: The Imperial Capital Battle
Story by: Kaiu Shirai
Art by: Posuka Demizu
Translation: Satsuki Yamashita
Lettering: Mark McMurray
Summary:
Warning: major spoilers throughout
It’s the third anniversary of The Promised Neverland, and with it comes a color spread depicting a giant celebration with all the kids from the series. It’s a pretty cool illustration that’s got a delicious looking strawberry cake dead center.
After the spread, the demons continue with their own Tifari celebrations. We get a shot of the sacrifices to %&#*$ and the sacrifice-ees. Then, before they get into the meat of it, explosions start going off around the city, cutting off the exits. At the same time we learn that Norman’s crew is taking out the guards, paving the way for Geelans goons to start wreaking havoc. In addition to all that, Geelan was somehow able to plant impostors among the higher ups so it’s looking pretty good for our heros invaders.
Review:
I love the way that the demons appear in this series: looming and disturbing, and drawn in a style that stays fresh no matter how many demons they introduce. They were in full force here as we get a look at how they celebrate one of their most important holidays, Tifari.
We only get a few pages but they did a great job making it look like just another holiday celebration (besides the demons and human sacrifices), which further establishes the demons as our not-to-distant counterparts.
There is no way Norman hasn’t noticed the similarities, and that is going to be an additional gut punch to Emma and Ray when they find out that he had no intention of slowing down his assault. But that’s not to say that he’s not thinking about it.
My favorite aspect of this chapter is the way Norman is depicted in different situations. As the battle begins we get a shot of Norman, apparently by himself, looking down with a serious expression.
His expression in this moment is great. This is the first time in a while that we really get an inside look at what Norman is thinking. We get a clear image of his resolve to follow through on plan to annihilate the demons, but he’s certainly not taking joy in it. It makes me feel like he knows exactly what he’s doing, like he’s weighed the weight of everyone’s convictions against the lives of the demons, taken everything into account up to this moment, and he’s using all his knowledge and skills to do what he thinks will be the right thing. He’s not doing this for himself, he’s doing it for humanity.
On the other hand, his followers aren’t looking through the same wide-angle lens. In the few scenes where we see Norman’s crew in action, it’s clear they take a certain joy in carrying out their mission. Their motivations come from their hatred of the demons. As long as they are spilling demon blood, they would be down for whatever.
The attitude of these characters are critical for Norman’s actions to make sense. I don’t think Norman truly hates the demons in the same way these guys do, but the reason he’s going this far is because he’s taking their strong feelings into consideration. Most of Norman’s post-Grace Field House interactions have been with people who feel this strong hatred for the demons. He’s been away from Emma for quite some time now so it’s only natural that her influence has worn off.
At a certain point Norman gives Geelan the go-ahead on the assault. Right before this there is a panel that shows Norman with a sloppy smile-adjacent expression on his face. It is a stark contrast to his earlier determination, and a clear transition from Base Norman to Boss Norman
This panel is important because it shows that a lot of the Norman persona we’ve been seeing is a calculated version of himself. Without this panel we wouldn’t know that he’s putting on the boss mask and that what he’s about to say is at least partially an act.
This character is clearly different than the Norman that we knew from the beginning, and form the way he acts when he’s alone. This shifting personality is something we’ve seen in other ultra-smart, organization-leading, grand-plan-having, shonen protagonists like Light Yagami or Lelouch Lamperouge, who both also are willing to make great sacrifices for a lofty ideal. Hopefully Emma can reel him in before he shares the fate of his counterparts.
Bottom Line
I was unsure of Norman ever since he was reintroduced, but this chapter locked in what his motivations are, and hints that the old Norman we know is still in there somewhere. I can’t wait until he meets up with Norman and Ray again and their ideals clash. Also we got to see a lot of demons with the promise of more to come, which is always welcome.
Verdict: Solid chapter, hyped for more.