Episode 3 of the second season has ventured slightly out of manga territory
*Before we proceed, know that major spoilers are ahead*
Episode 3 of The Promised Neverland season 2 didn’t contain it’s signature nail-biting events, but it’s a major indicator on whether the anime is staying true to the manga source or if it wants to carve it’s own path. The first season wasn’t a hundred percent faithful to the manga, but made sure to include all the important parts. Season 2 seems to have omitted certain arcs, but is still sticking to the source. That doesn’t mean fans are happy about it.
What happened in the manga
Episode 3 has diverged from the original story as the kids leave the demons Mujika and Sonju and reach Shelter B06-32. We are unaware at this point if this is just a different approach or the beginning of an entirely different story.
In the manga, the kids are greeted by a man called Mister once they get into Shelter B06-32. Mister says that he’s the last survivor of a previous group of farm escapees and initially doesn’t like the idea of sharing his resources with the kids. But after some serious negotiations by Emma, he decides to help them. This leads to an exciting arc called Goldy Pond.
Will the next arc be skipped?
Fans are currently worried that Goldy Pond might get skipped entirely. Mister hasn’t been seen so far and the episode ended with the kids finding the word “HELP” written on the wall, and get a phone call from the missing William Minerva. In the manga, there were more hints next to “HELP” but the call did happen before Goldy Pond, so it looks like the anime will be doing some scrambled version of the arc.
The mangaka Kaiu Shirai did say that he will be writing an “original scenario,” but if they didn’t adapt Goldy Pond perfectly, it would be a huge waste.
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