New One-Shot By Creators of The Promised Neverland; A Review
The Promised Neverland was one of the best psychological stories from the manga world. Except for the rushed ending, every other twist and heart-wrenching detail was a feast for the readers.
Weekly Shonen Jump’s 35th issue revealed that a new one-shot by the creators of The Promised Neverland will be published in the next issue of the magazine.
The Promised Neverland manga ended on 15th June 2020, and this one-shot will help pull out the readers from the manga-ending-blues.
Spirit Photographer Saburo Kun is the name of the one-shot from the creators of The Promised Neverland, and it was published on the viz media website on 16th August.
Similar to the Death Note one-shot, the story is not a sequel to the Promised Neverland series but has a whole new plot.
However, the plot still holds the creepiness and the twists that is the signature style of Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu will, the creators of TPN.
What happens? [SPOILER]
A new tenant has moved into the neighbouring apartment room of Sota Kaganei, most likely a middle schooler. Sota expects the place to be empty soon since it is haunted, and tenants don’t stay for long.
The new neighbour called Subaru drags Sota into his room, against his wishes, to help him with something.
Subaru explains that he is a spirit photographer, and he captures spirits through his camera. However, he hasn’t encountered the spirit in question yet.
He asks Sota for information on the spirit, but soon they are greeted by the ghost entering the room. Sota is perplexed and utterly in tatters as he spills out the real story behind the suicide.
What’s Next?
As we all know, the Weekly Shonen Jump releases new plot ideas as one-shots to test out the response and then finalize the serialization. This one-shot might be the start of the next big manga from the creators of The Promised Neverland.
It could be a series of stories about capturing the souls of ghosts. It might follow the style of “Ghost Hunt” manga and introduce new intriguing stories after a few chapters.
Does the one-shot live up to The Promised Neverland Name?
Anyone who has read The Promised Neverland can predict who exactly are the creators behind Spirit Photographer Saburo Kun. The signature art style and plot twists are a clear indication of Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu.
However, the twists are comparatively weaker than the ones in TPN.
The ghost turning out to be friendly was almost too predictable, and the background story was also not clear and appealing enough.
It is the same old story of a bullied and ignored child who has been done to death. These shortcomings might also be due to the page constraints in one-shots.
The one-shot is definitely better than most others in its field and the emotional changes that it makes the reader go through is remarkable.
Hidden References To TPN
This particular detail may be looked over by regular readers, but a thorough fan is sure to encounter this hidden surprise.
On page 11 of the one-shot, we get a sneak peek at a photograph of Norman and Emma together, smiling and reminding us of the very first chapter when we saw their carefree lives.
At one point in The Promised Neverland manga, Ray says that he believes taking pics means the spirit of a person is captured.
Is it really a coincidence that we get a manga where spirits are getting captured? AND with a photo of Norman and Emma excluding Ray? I think not.
Illustration of The Promised Neverland
The very last page of the manga contains an illustration of the Gracefield kids, all grown up into healthy young adults. This illustration was published to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the manga.
What’s more? The authors did not forget about the kind old man who saved Emma, and the kids are shown together with him.
The kids are also shown building a house together, so we believe that the Gracefield children can finally live together as a family in peace.
We are still in the dark about the manga creators’ plans ahead, but we hope we see their return soon.
About The Promised Neverland
Created by Kaiu Shirai, this series debuted in a Weekly Shonen Jump manga in 2016. Licensed by VIZ Media for an English Language release, this series has gained immense popularity, selling 4.2 million copies in a concise period.
It’s set in the year 2045. Emma, an 11-year-old orphan, living in Grace Field House is a self-contained orphanage housing her and 37 other orphans.
The orphans are allowed complete freedom, except to venture beyond the grounds or the gate, which connects the house to the outside world.
One night, Emma comes to know the truth about the Orphanage and it’s connections to the demons.
Determined to break out of Grace Field House, Norman and Emma join with Ray to find a way to escape along with their other siblings.
Source: VIZ Media
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