The Flipped Food Chain of The Promised Neverland

Amazon Digital Comic Cover

     Happy February! Love is in the air, it’s cold outside, and the Super Bowl sucked, so let’s talk about some anime. Anime (I feel) can be a great contemporary place to have discussions about popular culture, ethics, and of course, human nature. Just like in Western entertainment, other parts of the world have asked questions through the medium of science fiction, and Japan is no exception. Everything from Gundam to Full Metal Alchemist can be examined through a critical lens, and each series seeks to explore the themes of war, politics, futurism, and so much more. One of the most recent examples of anime science fiction to come out of the 2019 Spring anime season is Studio CloverWorks: Yakusoku no Neverland (The Promised Neverland). Adapted from the manga of the same name by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu which debuted in 2016, Neverland is an anime that’s eager to discuss what happens to humanity after we lose our place as the most dominant species on the planet, and what the ethical implications of that loss of status are. (Insert spoiler warning here)

Promotional image from the anime adaptation

     In the year 2045, a small group of young children lives a peaceful existence at the Grace Field House, an orphanage looked after by a woman named Isabella, who the children affectionally refer to as Momma. They lead a blissful life, eating gourmet food, playing outside, and sleeping in comfortable beds. The can go anywhere and do anything, as long as they stay within the grounds of the house and nearby forest. The children are kept in this state until Momma finds and selects a home for each child, to which they are sent off and never heard from again. One night when a young girl named Conny is to be sent off, two of the older children, Norman and Emma, notice that she’s forgotten her favorite stuffed animal, and while trying to catch up with her, they discover her dead body at the front gate with Momma. While hidden, Norman and Emma overhear a conversation between Momma and a mysterious alien creature, who reveals the grim nature of Grace Field House. The orphanage has been a farm for raising children to be consumed by these alien creatures this entire time, with the older children being considered more valuable and tasty than the younger less developed ones. Norman and Emma run in horror from this site and begin forming a plan with the rest of the children in secret to escape this grizzly fate that awaits them. 

Momma and the creatures discuss the children's "progress"

     I can’t help think that the entire crux of this anime is to get the audience thinking about factory farming and the meat industry. Most people in America are comfortable with the idea of consuming meat. Whether it be chicken, beef, and so on. We do this knowing that in order to enjoy that tasty Big Mac, an animal must be raised, slaughtered, and processed on a daily basis. As consumers, we juggle this dilemma with our place on the Earth. Man is the most dominant species on the planet due to our advanced brain, and therefore we have unquestioned dominion over other creatures on the planet. Cows, chickens, and lambs don’t get a say on whether or not they want to be harvested for meat, but because meat packing and processing is one of the worlds most dominant food industries, animals are bred, processed and butchered to keep up with consumer demand, and most rational people don’t blink an eye at this. Many will process this like so: “We are human. We are the ones in charge. We have been handpicked by divine intervention/evolution to look after and control this world. Therefore, it’s our right and duty to be able to consume, use, and develop animal products.

 

Opening Theme: "Touch Off" by UVERworld

     When the twist is revealed at the end of Neverland’s first episode, the average viewer is shocked and horrified that these children are being raised for food, but these same people will also then turn around and order a shredded beef taco at the local restaurant. As humans, most of us can accept the moral implications of eating meat, but when we are at risk, and by proxy these characters that look, sound, and talk like we do, we find this to be horrifying. Not only because most rational individuals find the idea hurting/killing a child to be grotesque, but also because it implies that in the world of The Promised Neverland, mankind is no longer the dominant force on the planet. A new species has come in and taken over our place as “divine beings”. We are now seen as low-born livestock to these advanced alien creatures. With that in mind, I ask you this question. If most of us find it morally acceptable to consume meat and use animals products, are we possibly prepared to one day to become the cow in the cage? If some kind of other intelligent life came and conquered us, would we prepared to one day end up as someone Martians main course? Will it be unjust if the food chain one day catches up with us, and we’re no longer at the top? I feel that this is one of the major moral implications and themes of the Promised Neverland. I hope this post gave you some thoughts to....chew on. I’m sorry, sometimes I can’t myself. Until next time.  

Don't worry, this is a family show. Really!