Grace Fields House is a home for orphans. However, even though they have no blood families, they are all one big family. That is, until the age of twelve when they are adopted out. The kids also know that they are not allowed outside the fenced yard, but one day, two children break that rule. They then discover that the children who are “adopted” are actually subjected to something much darker.
If The Promised Neverland sunk its claws into you with a mystery that tugs on your heartstrings due to its children characters, then you will enjoy these anime recommendations.
Anime Like The Promised Neverland
For Fans of Dark Adventures
Made in Abyss
The Abyss is an enormous cave system and the only unexplored place in the world. No one knows how deep it goes, but generations of bold adventurers have descended into it. In the town at the edge of The Abyss, an orphan named Rico dreams of raiding, as her mother did before her. One day while exploring the murky depths, she meets a boy, who turns out to be a robot, kicking off the start of her epic adventure.
Both of these series are incredibly similar. They start off allowing you to think that they will be happy and almost childish show, but then things get very dark very quickly. Suddenly these young people find themselves in difficult situations and need to survive. The difference is that Made in Abyss sees the characters actively looking for bad times.
Now and Then, Here and There
Shu is a typical Japanese boy, but when he sees a mysterious girl atop a smokestack, he follows her and is pulled into a strange desert world. It is here that Shu is forced to discover a world filled with the tragedies of war. Genocide, torture, hunger, and thirst are abound, but Shu is determined to try and save the girl that he saw.
While Now and Then features more adults that put the children in horrible circumstances, the circumstances are pretty poor in the more children-focused Promised Neverland. However, the threat in Now and Then is actual people and not some creatures. People are the real monsters.
Uninhabited Planet Survive
In the 22nd century, Earth has become uninhabitable, and humanity has spread out to other planets. While on a school trip through space, a class enters a gravity storm and finds themselves stranded on a seemingly uninhabited planet. However, while they struggle to survive, they don’t know what else is lurking in the shadows.
While The Promised Neverland is a lot darker, both of these shows are about how children need to survive their bad circumstances. You see some cooperate, you see some break down, and you discover how exactly their world wants to bring them to their knees.
For Fans of Learning the Truth
From the New World
After the sudden outbreak of psychokinesis, the .01% of the population that developed it started using their powers for nefarious means. Far into the future, the town of Kamisu 66 is wholly populated by psychics with the young Saki being one of the most recent to awaken her powers. Finally she can join the rest of her friends at the Sage Academy. However, her school days are plagued with questions that threaten to unravel the dark secrets of her idyllic village.
Both shows start by focusing on children characters. As you follow them on their adventures, you also learn about their world as they do. It turns out, both worlds are not only post apocalyptic, but they are also darker than you expect.
Seraph of the End
After a mysterious virus killed every human over 13 years old, the vampires rose up with a promise to protect the survivors. The only thing they asked in return is donations of blood. For Yuuichirou and Mikaela, they have grown tired of being livestock and pose a daring escape plan. It ultimately fails with only Yuuichirou left alive. However, after joining up with a mercenary company, he swears vengeance on the vampires, no matter the cost.
In both series, you have worlds where humanity has fallen and now children serve as food for other creatures. They are even both farmed similarly. However, Seraph of the End becomes a hugely action heavy show and less about children cattle.
Darling in the Franxx
In the distant future, the land is ruined and humanity now lives in the mobile city, Plantation. Inside, they are defended from massive life forms by children raised from birth to pilot robots called Franxx in boy-girl pairs. This story follows Hiro, once a prodigy, and now a failure. However, just as he was about to be cast aside, he meets a mysterious girl with horns that is a Franxx pilot dubbed The Partner Killer.
Imagine that one day everything that you have been raised to know as true was not true, and in fact the actual truth was horrible. That is both of these shows. While Darling is a mecha/sci-fi show, it is post-apocalyptic like the Promised Neverland and actually walks along a similar plot line.
For Fans of Brutalizing Children!
Bokurano
During their summer vacation, 15 children are enjoying summer camp together. One day, they decide to go explore a cave by the sea, inside they meet a mysterious man named Kokopelli who is surrounded by high-tech equipment. Kokopelli claims to be a game developer and asks if the children would help him test it. Each child signs a contract, but instead of playing a game, they are actually piloting a giant mech to defend the earth from 15 different alien invasions.
Although Bokurano is obviously a mech sci-fi show, it features a large cast of child characters that are put into a difficult situation. While Bokurano takes a deeper look at how this affect the children, The Promised Neverland is more about survival of these children and escaping. There is no escape in Bokurano.
Madoka Magica
Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are your typical middle school girls, but one day they encounter a cute creature named Kyuubey that offers to grant them one wish. In exchange for their wish, they must become magical girls and protect humanity from witches. While Sayaka accepts right away, Madoka is more hesitant, not knowing what she would wish for. However, her decision is even further delayed when the mysterious Homura Akemi, a transfer student, begs her not to accept.
Both Madoka Magica and The Promised Neverland start off with cute characters doing relatively childish things – and then it gets serious. Their whole world is shattered and it just progressed downhill from there. The main character then starts to desperately keep everyone safe to varying results.
Attack On Titan
Facing imminent extinction, humanity retreated behind a series of tall, thick walls to escape their most dangerous threat – massive human-like Titans with a taste for human flesh. With an enemy that eats humanity for fun rather than food, they are constantly threatened. As such, it is the duty of every human to defend the species. Enter Eren Yegaer who, after his village was destroyed by Titans breaching the outer wall, he and his adopted sister Mikasa join the Survey Corps. They are one of three factions of the military that scouts and combats Titans outside the walls. After joining in the brutal war, Eren discovers a secret about himself that could unravel what the world thinks they know about Titans.
While Attack on Titan is a more brutal action-heavy show, like The Promised Neverland, it follows three friends that try to survive in a world that is harsher than it looks. They start off innocent children, but then that innocence is shattered.
Do you have any more anime recommendations like The Promised Neverland? Let fans know in the comments section below.
