WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Promised Neverland manga.
The Promised Neverland manga recently wrapped up after over 180 chapters. But, fans don't have to be sad for too long because Season 2 of the anime adaptation is set to be released in January 2021.
The Promised Neverland is about a group of orphans who live in paradise at Grace Field House, only for that illusion to shatter when they realize that they have been raised like cattle to be fed to demons. By the end of the first season, Emma, Ray and the rest of the older kids have successfully escaped Grace Field House and must now find a way to get to the human side and somehow save the rest of the kids at the orphanage.
Although the number of episodes has not been confirmed yet, Season 2 will most likely cover the next two arcs from the manga: the kids' attempt to survive in the outside world following their break-out, and the Goldy Pond arc. Here's what fans can look forward to in the new season.
The Search for Minerva
The kids realize that the outside world isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Even though they knew that the other side would be filled with demons, they didn’t think that the world itself would also be out to get them. Relying on only a pen left by Sister Krone, Emma and Ray have to lead the rest of the orphans to William Minerva, who has been their mysterious ally ever since their time at Grace Field House.
They run into some very, very close calls with demons but with the help of some unlikely allies, they get themselves out of danger while also discovering some disturbing information about the world they’re in. After a few days of travel, the Grace Field kids find their way to a safe house where they can refresh and regroup. Unfortunately, they discover someone is already there: a grungy-looking stranger who immediately pulls a gun on them, demanding for them to leave.
Recognizing that the man doesn’t really want to kill them, "Mister" -- as Emma dubs him since he refuses to tell them his name -- is actually not that much different from the rest of the Grace Field kids. Like them, he and his friends were also cattle children who escaped from their farm and made their way to the other side of the world and arrived at this shelter. He followed William Minerva’s instructions and with the rest of his friends, headed out to Area 08-63, aka Goldy Pond, where they thought they would be able to find some answers. A few days later, he returned back to the bunker, alone and injured. Since then, he hasn’t ventured outside other than to gather food.
Knowing that they can’t stay in the shelter forever, Emma and Ray blackmail Mister into accompanying them to Goldy Pond where they hope William Minerva awaits them. With the rest of the Grace Field orphans waiting for them at the shelter, the three of them set off.
Goldy Pond
Emma gets separated from Ray and Mister almost as soon as they arrive at Area 08-63. Goldy Pond is nothing like what Emma thought it would. What looks like an unassuming village turns out to be an illegal hunting ground for demons to indulge in eating children. There are only three rules: music, monsters and run. As soon as the music plays, that’s the signal for the children to take cover and hide from the Poachers -- five demons who take sadistic pleasure in hunting them, treating it like a game.
Emma accidentally gains the attention of one of the Poachers called Leuvis, who sports a broad-rimmed hat, after she rescues one of the children. Frustrated at the fact that she couldn’t save more people, Emma gets invited to meet Lucas who has been helping the other kids at Goldy Pond fight back against the demons. With Emma’s help, they devise a strategy to defeat the Poachers and break out of Goldy Pond, but that plan comes to a screeching halt when the Poachers arrive earlier than expected and they’re forced to improvise.
Although this arc doesn’t involve the meticulous planning and plot twists that the first arc has, it is more action-packed and provides more contextual world-building through the new characters like Lucas and Mister, as well as the Poachers. The demons had, up until that point, been a faceless threat but this arc gives a name and personality to these demons. It also features the first big clash between cattle kids and demons since in Season 1.
One of the more compelling characters in this arc is Mister, who acts as a parallel and a sort of alternate universe version of Emma. He was in the same situation as Emma when he was around her age, with a similar temperament.
What exactly happened at Goldy Pond all those years ago that turned him into the man that he is today? Could Mister’s reality be Emma’s future should she fail? Fraught with tension, bittersweetness and exciting battles, Season 2 of The Promised Neverland anime promises to be just as big a hit as the first.