The Promised Neverland Nods to Coronavirus Pandemic in New Chapter

The Promised Neverland has been ramping up its climax for a few long chapters, and it seems its latest installment got a little too real with its references. This week marked the release of chapter 172 of The Promised Neverland, and it took Emma to a whole new place. The heroine has pitted against a foe she knows she can never forgive, and her speech towards the demon ended up dropping a special nod to the ongoing pandemic.

Thanks to Shonen Jump, you can read this most recent chapter of The Promised Neverland for free. The update finds Emma standing before the leader of the Ratri Clan after the demons spent so long devouring the children. Emma and her cohorts managed to sneak into the clan’s base to confront its leader Peter, and that is where Emma decided to ask for a truce rather than a full-on execution.

“If demons weren’t creatures that ate humans maybe they could have been our friends,” she tells the man after proposing a cease.

Emma goes ton to document how how humans have long battled with one another during times to strife only to overcome when given a common middle ground. It is in this part of the speech which a collage of tragedies are shown from history. One of the scenes depicts a man with two children standing before a broken storefront window wit the words “corona – virus” written on it.

This little detail is easy to miss if you are not looking, but it is important. As the global pandemic carries on disrupting life all over the globe, it can feel like people are more isolated than ever, but that is not the case. The distance we put between ourselves is the common ground binding us together to contain the virus’ spread, and Emma knows she can make peace with Peter if we can overcome this pandemic on a united front.

Did you catch this hidden detail in The Promised Neverland…? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!