Emma is the main protagonist of The Promised Neverland and a character who is hard not to love. She’s inherently good, brave, and always willing to do everything she can to save her friends.
In fact, Emma does not just want to save her friends, but everyone in the demon-invested world of The Promised Neverland!
Both the 20-volume manga and 23-episode anime of The Promised Neverland show Emma as one of the story’s most compelling characters, who – alongside Norman and Ray – applies her skills to help herself and her friends escape death.
This happens on more than one occasion and it really goes to show the kind of strong and good-natured personality that Emma possesses.
But what else can we get to know about Emma?
Down below, we provide eight facts about Emma that are either interesting, pure fun, or things you might not have even known before!
So, if Emma is one of your favorite characters from The Promised Neverland, make sure to read on.
Just beware, as there might be spoilers up ahead, depending on how far you have come in the story!
Both the manga and anime series of The Promised Neverland share the same story.
In The Promised Neverland, three gifted children – Emma, Norman, and Ray – begin to doubt the reality behind their idyllic orphanage, Grace Field House, where they have lived all their lives with many other young orphans.
At Grace Field House, their days are spent playing games and studying, under the care of the Isabella, who they call “Mama”. The children also look forward to the day that they are chosen to be adopted.
There is one rule at Grace Field House: that they are not to venture beyond the borders of the orphanage.
But the doubts begin when Emma and Norman discover by chance that one of the children that was chosen for adoption, Conny, is dead, lying in a truck. Here, they overhear Mama referring to Conny as demon food.
From this point, Emma, Norman, and Ray start working together to plot their escape from Grace Field House.
As for the background of the world in The Promised Neverland, it is revealed later on in the story that there is a demon world and a human world.
In the demon world, where The Promised Neverland is set, children are farmed as demon food as a pact with the demons to keep the peace. And the more intelligent the children are, the tastier they are to the demons.
Who is Emma in The Promised Neverland?
Emma is the main character and protagonist of The Promised Neverland. She is simply known as “Emma” (she has no surname) and has spent all of her life at the orphanage, Grace Field House, where the story begins.
It is clear from the beginning of the story that Emma is one of the most popular orphans at Grace Field House. She is widely adored by the other orphans, especially the younger orphans, who see her as an older sister, role sister, and “nanny” when Isabella is not around.
The other children listen to Emma and always accept her advice and what she asks of them. Emma is also admired by Isabella, their “Mama”, who recognizes her intelligence and appreciates her help and constant good behavior.
In The Promised Neverland, Emma is 11 years old. The story itself takes place in the year 2045.
Emma is recognizable by her bright green eyes and orange hair, a strand of which sticks up on the top of her head.
8 Truths About Emma in The Promised Neverland
So, we’ve given a summary of The Promised Neverland story and who Emma is, but what else can we learn about Emma?
Even if you have finished reading the manga or watching the anime adaptation, there might be a few things you missed or did not realize about Emma. Below, we have listed eight truths and interesting facts about Emma.
If you love Emma as a character or just want to find out more about Emma, make sure to keep reading!
Just beware, as therearespoilers to The Promised Neverland up ahead.
Emma Was Born in 2034
We know that Emma is 11 years old, which is surprisingly young for a hero of her caliber.
Despite her young age, Emma shows strong leadership skills, courage, and a high level of intelligence – something that is commented on by Mama at multiple points in the story.
What you might not know is that Emma was born in 2034. The story of The Promised Neverland itself takes place in 2045 – exactly eleven years after Emma’s birthdate.
And as for her birthday, Emma was born on August 22. This makes her a Leo, which can offer all sorts of insights into her character and why she is the way she is, such as generosity, self-assurance, and leadership.
For an eleven-year-old, though, we have to admit that Emma experiences some challenging and terrifying moments in The Promised Neverland that no child should have to experience!
Mama Chose Emma’s Name
Here is something that you might not know, as it not explicitly stated in the manga or the anime of The Promised Neverland.
Mama, real name Isabella, is the caretaker of Grace Field House, seen from the very start of the story. She is kind-hearted, warm, and caring – or at least that’s what the orphans, including Emma, believe early on. It’s true that we also believed the same about Mama!
Yet despite Mama’s true nature and purpose at Grace Field House being revealed later on in the story, Mama was the one who named Emma.
It is not clear whether Mama, or any of the other caretakers of the different orphanages, name the children on their accord, but in Emma’s case, this is how she got her name.
And while it was not mentioned in the manga or the anime, the official website of The Promised Neverland revealed this fun fact about Emma after fans completed a short mini-game.
It stated that Mama chose Emma’s name, as it was “cute, likeable, cool, and simple”. We have to agree that it’s a fitting name for Emma that matches her simple yet bold personality.
Emma is a True Natural Leader
It goes without saying that Emma is a leader in The Promised Neverland. After all, she is the one that takes initiative in getting the orphans out of Grace Field House, before continuing to lead and guide them in the world outside.
But what makes Emma natural-born leader?
Aside from being a Leo, which me mentioned above, Emma is shown to be a natural leader from the start of the story. She is seen as something of a “mother figure” to other orphans, who accept her advice, listen to what she asks of them, and takes unofficial charge whenever Mama is not around.
But, aside from that, she is also empathetic, action-orientated, quick at making good decisions, and optimistic – all of which are necessary traits of a leader.
In fact, in one particular scene that you might have missed (it happens very quickly), Emma mentions that her biggest dream is to ride a giraffe. This might sound silly at first, but it is actually quite meaningful.
This dream shows that Emma is good-natured, innocent-minded, and that she dreams big – but not just about things that are impossible, but actually attainable. After all, why would it not be possible to climb on and ride a giraffe? The same applies to her plans throughout the story – they might seem impossible, but Emma knows that they are possible.
After discovering the secret behind Grace Field House, Emma is the first to plan an escape mission. She leads the other children in their training, cleverly disguised as regular games of tag. The children don’t know about the escape, but they listen to her as they always do.
In another scene that signifies Emma’s natural leadership, Mama tells Emma that she has the potential to become a Mama or Sister herself, to be in charge of her own orphanage one day. This shows that even Mama acknowledges her strengths in being a natural leader.
Emma is Inherently Good
Emma is not just a natural leader, but an inherently good person. This is obvious at the start of the story of The Promised Neverland, but solidified further when the plan to escape Grace Field House is set in motion.
Despite Ray’s disbelief that they can save all of the orphans, Emma disputes this. She does not just want to save themselves, or just a few of the orphans, but all of the orphans that are living there.
Similarly, later on in the story, Emma also passionately explains how she does not want to exterminate all the demons in the world (Norman’s plan involving Mujika’s blood) – the main antagonists that are out to eat her and her friends. In fact, Emma still wants the demons to continue living, but in harmony with the humans.
This is another example that can be related to her dream of riding a giraffe. It seems impossible, but might actually be possible by some means. Instead of killing all demons, she just wants to find peace.
Pleasing everyone so that everyone is happy can be a sign of weakness. But, in Emma’s case, it shows her inherently good nature and strong leadership qualities.
Another sign of Emma’s pure heart comes near the end of The Promised Neverland. Instead of bearing a grudge against Isabella (Mama) for lying to them, or blaming her for what happened to them, she forgives her and even invites her to join them in the human world.
Emma is a Natural Athlete
Something that is also obvious early on in the story of The Promised Neverland is Emma’s speed and stamina. She excels at each game of tag, running faster, and for longer, than the other orphans.
This includes Ray and Norman, the other two central characters. And while she might not be as intelligent, cunning, or craft as Ray or Norman, she beats them easily when it comes to athleticism and any kind of physical challenge.
This is quite deceiving, as Emma is by no means well-built or physically intimidating in any way. In fact, she is just eleven-years old and quite ordinary in terms of size.
Despite this, Emma has incredible endurance and agility. And, in addition, when the orphans manage to escape Grace Field House, Emma quickly picks up hunting from Sonju, the friendly demon who the orphans meet.
Emma is the Bravest of the Orphans
It’s true that Emma is the bravest of all the orphans. Norman comes close, but Emma shows herself to be the braver of the two when you look at the story overall.
Firstly, she is the one that initiates the plan to escape Grace Field House. She is also the most optimistic about the plan, and that belief is what drives the other orphans to follow in her footsteps.
Secondly, Emma shows incredible bravery and courage when she cuts her ear off to get rid of the tracking device. We can’t imagine how much self pep talk that took and, subsequently, how much it hurt!
Thirdly, Emma displays more bravery when she goes hunting with Sonju. Her good nature tells her not to kill animals, but she summons the courage to do it anyway, so that her fellow orphans can eat and survive.
There are more points that we could go into here. These include how Emma chooses to stay behind instead of go to the human world, and how she wasn’t afraid to confront Norman about his plan, or even confront Mama when Norman is trying to climb the wall, before getting her leg broken by Mama.
Overall, it’s clear to see that Emma is the bravest orphan in The Promised Neverland!
Emma is More Intelligent Than She Lets On
Throughout the story, Emma is shown to be athletically superior to the other orphans, as well as the orphan with the most raw courage.
There is no doubt that Emma is intelligent, but it is not always displayed in a way that is obvious – as it’s constantly made clear that Norman is the smartest of the orphans.
Emma is more intelligent than she lets on, and it shows when she finds the secret Morse code messages hidden in the books of the library room. Although they were discovered by Phil, Emma is the one who continues to look for them and decipher them.
Emma is also the one who discovered that the tracking devices (used by Mama and Sister Krone to keep track all of the orphans) were located in their ears. She picks up on this through simple observance.
These, in addition to Emma’s finalizing of all the plans to escape and survive throughout the story, show that Emma is highly intelligent, observant, and creative.
Emma Survives in the End
Last but not least, it’s a fact that Emma survives in the end of the story. While there are points in the story where Emma’s fate is questionable, the heroic protagonist survives until the end, eventually enjoying a happy ending with her friends and fellow orphans.
For fans of Emma, this is one of the best things about The Promised Neverland. Why? Because there is no disputing that Emma deserved a happy ending after all of her efforts, in addition to her kind nature and feats of heroism.
Close to the end of The Promised Neverland, Emma chooses to stay behind to save more of the young orphans as the others proceed to the sanctuary of the human world.
This point of the story had fans (and even us) questioning whether she survived, but the ending of both the manga and the anime show that she does eventually make it to the human world to reunite with her friends.
Is Norman in Love with Emma?
Let’s close with a final question, and popular debate, about Emma, which is whether Norman is in love with her.
Throughout The Promised Neverland, it’s shown that Norman has a particular liking for Emma. They help each other survive and stay out of trouble on more than one occasion, despite having different opinions about the demons in the latter part of the story.
Emma and Norman grew up close to one another at Grace Field House, and their friendship is clear to see from the start. And at the end of The Promised Neverland, the two are even seen holding hands.
Despite this, any love between the two is not outwardly expressed. Emma and Norman might have shown great care and adoration for each other, but there is nothing about the two characters that confirms that their relationship was romantic.
Conclusion
And that’s it: eight fun, interesting, and lesser-known facts about Emma from The Promised Neverland. We love Emma as a character, and we hope that you enjoyed this article and discovered some new things about Emma along the way!
Whether you have read the manga or watched the anime, it’s well worth checking out the other if you have not checked out both. While the anime is entertaining, the manga does provide more details about all of the characters, including Emma.
