[RST][C][HF] Just binged The Promised Neverland

A rationalist!hero should excel by thinking – moreover, thinking in understandable patterns that readers can, in principle, adopt for themselves.

--Eliezer Yudkowsky, "Philosophy of Fanfiction"

OK, so I recently gained access to a Netflix account (long story) and while I was browsing their surprisingly good selection of anime titles I came across The Promised Neverland, a 12 episode anime that had received a very positive reception from the internet and whose manga chapters had been regularly recommended on r/rational a few years ago. So I decided to watch the first episode, just to see if it was as good as they said and if I should maybe watch it later...

...and I couldn't stop. I watched the second episode, and the third, and before I realized it I was halfway through and I knew that I was going to watch it all the way to the end in one sitting. It was that good.

It's also really hard to talk about without spoiling anything; the show is full of mysteries and dramatic plot twists. I'm going to do my best, but some things I'm just going to have to rot13, and I recommend in the strongest possible terms that you watch the series before decrypting them. Also, this is a pretty dark series, and the aphorisms that "stories are about people's pain" and "every scene must end in disaster" are in full force, so beware if that sort of thing is not up your alley.

The basic premise is that a trio of intellectually gifted eleven-year-old children (think HPMoR) discover the dark secret behind their orphanage and must now find a way to escape from under the watchful eye of the headmistress.

The three main characters are at the heart of the story. Norman is the natural leader of the group; smart, charismatic, and driven, he is the one that rallies Emma and brings Ray into the conspiracy, and keeps the three of them focused towards their goal of escape. Since this is a shonen anime, the themes of friendship and loyalty are strongly emphasized, and Norman is perhaps the character that best embodies these; the way <ur nyybjf uvzfrys gb or fuvccrq bss engure guna evfx pbzcebzvfvat gur rfpncr cyna, fnpevsvpvat uvf yvsr> is particularly poignant.

Emma is most definitely a Hermione type; she's not quite as smart as the boys, but her steadfast refusal to leave anyone behind forms the moral center of the group <naq raqf jvgu ure yrnqvat gur fhpprffshy rfpncr nggrzcg va gur svany rcvfbqr>. I really like the way she is written to be strong and rational without compromising her femininity. She's not just a man with tits; her nurturing, protective instinct towards the younger kids really influences the way she thinks and acts, and the way the story turns out.

Ray is supposed to have a talent for engineering and mechanics, but sadly the actual working mechanism behind <uvf qrivpr sbe erzbivat genpxref> is opaque, so there is no way to tell if it would work in real life or not. He is also the darker, more pragmatic member of the trio, a position that naturally puts him at odds with Emma. However, the fact that he is just as ruthless with himself as with the other members of the orphanage makes him sympathetic; when it is suggested that <ur oernx uvf yrt gb qrynl uvf fuvccvat fb gung Abezna pna tb zvffvat>, he excitedly agrees and begin hashing out the details, and of course his final plan involves <oheavat uvzfrys nyvir nf n qvfgenpgvba gb tvir Rzzn naq gur bguref n punapr gb rfpncr>.

The villains are pretty good as well. While not much is known about the <qrzbaf>, the motivations of Mama Isabella and <Fvfgre Xebar> are fairly well established. <Gurl ner fvzcyl gur cebqhpgf bs n flfgrz jurer nalbar abg ehguyrffyl bcgvzvmvat sbe fheiviny trgf xvyyrq bss, naq juvyr Xebar frrzf gb eriry va vg, Vfnoryyn unf engvbanyvmrq ure pubvprf ol gryyvat urefrys gung gur puvyqera trg n cresrpg yvsr shyy bs ybir naq jnezgu hagvy gurl ner dhvpxyl naq cnvayrffyl fynhtugrerq; vg vf pbzcyrgryl ernyvfgvp gung fhpu n flfgrz jbhyq fryrpg sbe gurfr xvaqf bs crbcyr>. Their intelligence is in full display as well, with pretty good solutions to the problem of stopping the children from escaping subject to the constrains they are faced with. <Gur qrzbaf pnaabg ehyr bcrayl ol srne be xrrc gur xvqf ybpxrq hc va pntrf orpnhfr gurl arrq gb or unccl, serr, naq fgvzhyngrq gb qrirybc gur gnfgl oenvaf gurve pbfghzref ner cnlvat gbc qbyyne sbe, fb vafgrnq gurl vzcynag genpxref, xrrc gur xvqf sbbyrq haqre n jro bs yvrf, ohvyq n jnyy naq n pyvss nebhaq gur snez nf cnffvir qrsrafrf, trg qnvyl purpx-vaf sebz Zbgure, rgp.>

These characters are not just level 1 intelligent, they are level 2 intelligent as well; I literally said "Of course!" at my television screen when the climax happened, because all the things that went into it were heavily foreshadowed, and the way it played out was one that could have realistically happened in that scenario. <Gur jnyy vf fubja, gur pyvss vf fubja, gur jnyy orvat uvture guna gur bgure fvqr vf fubja, gur snpg gung gurl pna znxr ebcr vf fubja, gur jnl Rzzn vf fheebhaqrq ol yvggyr xvqf fhccbfrqyl gelvat gb oernx ure bhg bs ure qrcerffvba vf fubja, gur jngre ebpxrgf ner fubja, gur shpxvat PBNG UNATREF ner fubja bire naq bire ntnva; rirelguvat lbh arrq gb svther bhg gur raqvat vf va cynpr>.

It's not perfect; the thing with <gur Zbefr pbqr obbxf> never goes anywhere, and the chronological catalyst for the story, <Enl'f vzzhavgl gb vasnagvyr nzarfvn nyybjvat uvz gb erzrzore guvatf nyy gur jnl onpx gb gur jbzo> is a fairly big contrivance. I would also have liked to have a better idea of what the kids' model of the outside world was like before the events of the series began; <gur lrne vf gjb gubhfnaq sbegl-svir naq gur zbfg erprag obbxf gurl unir nccrne gb or sebz gjb gubhfnaq svsgrra, naq Enl pna bayl trg byq negrsnpgf sebz orlbaq gur jnyyf>. But even with those flaws, this is still the most rational work of fiction I have ever seen on television, and I highly recommend it to anybody who reads this sub.

If nothing else, check out the OP; it is an absolute banger.

♫ NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NAH! ♫

EDIT: Looks like Eliezer Yudkowsky enjoyed it as well.