3 out of 5

Something of a new status quo emerges for Promised Neverland: if before it was re-hashing previous moments for new perspectives, leading into sudden breath-taking twists, then back again, now – escaped of the most immediate threats outside of the ‘orphanage’ – Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu are alternating forward-momentum decisions (yes, apt title) with… stalling.  You could equate the rehashes with the same, but the tone is different: before, our pauses were internalized struggles.  Yes, they could be fully of silly back-and-forths, but it still felt, overall, like you were moving toward a direction of escape.  Now, though, with their ‘elder classmate’ discovered in the underground shelter, our pauses are due to withheld information; the unnamed survivor refuses to provide Emma and Ray with anything helpful, leading to a much more forced feeling of tension.  Volume 7, as a result, ends with one of the least grabbing cliffhangers thus far.

However, along the way, Shirai has smartly included an alternate source of info – the shelter’s library – and there’s a very Lost-ish sense of mystery to B06-32 in general, which is appealing.  So The Promised Neverland is still a fun read, but it’s stumbling for a steady goal or direction since the escape, and I do sense we’ll get there, but I hope it’s sooner rather than later.