The Promised Neverland manga is coming to an end and we want to take this chance to take a look at the characters who had the wits to survive (no spoilers) the hellish reality. When it comes to demons or devils in manga, it’s often a black and white matter. Demons, as a race, could only be good or bad. Demons would only be good when the protagonist is actually a demon or had some sort of relationship with a demon. Even in such cases, most demons were denoted as bad. After all, they are called demons for a reason. That’s what differentiates Yakusoku no Neverland (The Promised Neverland) among the rest.
It was a world where demons eat meat for sustenance. In such a world humans try to outwit the demons in order to live. In such a series, smarts are of utmost importance. We took the liberty of listing down the top 10 smartest characters in Yakusoku no Neverland (The Promised Neverland),
10. Gilda
Alongside the three main characters and Don, Gilda was among the eldest among the Grace Field escapees. In an environment where only the smartest survive, those who have intellectual prowess can survive. Given that she manages to grow as old as Emma, Ray, and Norman, Gilda already proves that she has the intellect to back it up. It can be argued that she’s at the same level of Don, however, the fact that she was able to watch over the entire family, Don included, while Emma and Ray were gone proves that she’s a level above Don.
9. Peter Ratri
Peter Ratri is the head of the Ratri Clan in the demon’s part of the world. He ensures that everything runs smoothly. That includes making the farms produce what they should produce, hunting down escaped humans, and keeping the political sphere between demons and humans at ease. His knowledge and wisdom, however, shines the brightest when hunting down the escapees. He manages to corner them multiple times while making sure his other responsibilities are running smoothly. He is on the bottom half of the list simply because he had a huge amount of manpower backing him up.
8. James Ratri
James Ratri is the older brother of Peter Ratri. He is also the one behind the pseudonym William Minerva, who is the main person who helps the farm children to escape. He single- handedly created a trail for the escapees to follow. However, he still belongs to the lower half of the list since he had ample time to premeditate his grand scheme. Nonetheless, he is a cut above his brother since he manages to do all this under their noses for quite a while.
7. Vincent
Vincent is one of Norman’s henchmen. He is part of the project lambda and possesses a great brain on his own. Alongside Norman, Vincent is the thinker of their group. He even manages to outwit Peter Ratri during their final clash by creating a three-layer password after hacking the system. On the other hand, he tends to overly depend on Norman and he is more of a specialized genius than all-around one.
6. Phil
Phil is the boy Emma and Ray had to leave when they were escaping Grace Field. Some would argue that there is no way Phil is smarter than those above him, however, we stand with our decision. Phil is merely a four-year-old back when he is left. Compared to his typical peers, he shouldn’t even know how to read and write yet. However, he bore the responsibility and psychological toll of letting himself be left behind. In addition to that, he tried to protect his other siblings as best as he could. All the while trying to act as normal as possible.
5. Sister Krone
Sister Krone was once assigned to Grace Field to assist Isabella. However, she has her own hidden agenda. She wanted to eliminate Isabella in order to obtain her position. Isabella, of course, outwitted her which proves she is way below her. On the other hand, she manages to wipe out Emma, Ray, and Norman’s asses when they tried to fight her with wits. Of course, that was when they were still young and naive, but that still merits Sister Krone a good spot on the list.
4. Emma
The naive and one tracked heroine of the story, Emma is one of the brightest among the entire series. Although she has a tendency to ignore possible logic, she still has proven that her brain can keep up with Ray and Norman. There are even times wherein only she manages to solve a problem. However, as smart as she is, she still falls behind the other two for reasons we are about to reveal.
3. Ray
Back when Ray was at Phil’s age, he had already figured out the truth about the farm. Despite that, he manages to outwit everyone and keep himself at the top. His thinking has also never plateaued nor did it become rusty. From the beginning up to the end, he was one of the group’s greatest brains. He solved one problem after another and outwitted one enemy after the other.
2. Norman
Norman is of similar level with Ray, if not higher. Well, that was when he was still with them. Norman, however, was taken to undergo Project Lambda. That was where her already outstanding intellect was enhanced even further. At that point, he had already overtook Ray. In fact, he even single-handedly led a revolution, posed as William Minerva to save others, and destroyed tens of farms. Of course, it is also noteworthy to include that his most successful plot was killing the demon queen herself.
1. Isabella
Isabella is the mother in charge of Grace Field. Although Emma, Ray, and Norman managed to outwit her and were able to escape alongside most of their siblings, Isabella wasn’t utterly defeated. She managed to hinder their first attempt and even managed to secure Norman. As for the second attempt, she was still only outwitted simply because the three of them brainstormed for a heck ton of time. Individually speaking, she is by no means below any of them. If only she had no microchip implanted on her chest, then we could only imagine how badass the group of escapees would be.
Final Thoughts
Yakusoku no Neverland (The Promised Neverland) by no means lacks any brilliant character.
Each page is filled with one brilliant idea after another. Reading it alone makes our brains tired from thinking, however, it was still entertaining to do so. However, behind all these brilliant minds is a single mind. Shirai-sensei’s brain is no doubt bigger than his characters. After all, his characters are merely a fragment of his imagination.
By: Christian Markle
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