The Myers-Briggs Types in The Promised Neverland

Once upon a time, many years ago, someone requested that we analyze the characters from The Promised Neverland. (This was back during our really early days, though, when we did all requests for free, so that list got crazy long and overwhelming until we finally did away with it.) Recently, the show reappeared on our radar, so we decided to check it out. After watching both seasons, we decided to go ahead and share our thoughts on the Myers-Briggs personality types for the main characters. However, we’re going to do via a single, comprehensive article, rather than individual analyses.

Of course, there aren’t many prominent characters in The Promised Neverland. Only a few are actually developed in enough depth to identify their Myers-Briggs personality types. So, since there are only a few characters to discuss, we’ll try to not make the sections as brief as usual, but include a reasonable amount of detail to support our conclusions. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

The Myers-Briggs Types in The Promised Neverland

Norman – INFJ

“Sorry, I lied. I can’t afford to make a mistake. Because I can’t let anyone die. If I run away, the plan will deviate. If it deviates even a little, it’ll be problematic. I don’t even want a chance of losing. It’s pointless to argue. I won’t change my mind. I did what I can today. I’m leaving the rest to you.”

Dominant Ni + inferior Se

“I’ve come this far already. It’s too late to change course now.”

Norman’s strength is staying calm and planning ahead. This is reflected in everything he does, including when playing a simple game like tag. He’s also an excellent strategist. He’s good at reading into people’s actions to perceive what’s going on, and planning accordingly. After they discover the truth behind the orphanage, Norman initially agrees with Ray about how escaping with everyone would be impossible. However, he’s inspired by Emma, and determines to come up with a strategy that will achieve this seemingly impossible goal.

Norman doesn’t allow himself to get discouraged by obstacles, but always finds a path forward. For instance, he doesn’t give up when he sees the steep cliffs on the other side of the wall. Once Norman fixates on an end goal, it’s hard for him to let go of it, even if he won’t live to see the plan realized. During the second season, Norman fixates on a way to destroy the demons once and for all. When Emma tries to convince him otherwise, he says: “I’ve come this far already. It’s too late to change course now.”

Auxiliary Fe + tertiary Ti

“I will gladly become a devil or a god, Emma.”

Norman is a kind and caring individual. Of course, that is not limited to INFJs. However, he is greatly impacted by the feelings of others, which is indicative of Fe. Emma has a strong influence on Norman through the show, causing him to shift his plans to make her happy. He says: “I’ll do anything to always put a smile on her face.” In addition, Norman is naturally supportive and reassuring. However, he has a cold and logical side, which demonstrates his tertiary Ti. Norman often lies to people, manipulates them, or gives them false hope, because that’s what he believes they need at the time. Later, in season 2, he suppresses his Fe and loses touch with his values, effectively falling into an Ni-Ti loop. His followers at that time describe him as cold and logical, having never known the sensitive, kind version of Norman. During this period of his life, after suffering at the hands of the demons, Norman had decided to become whatever he needed to become to destroy them once and for all.

Emma – ENFJ

“Even if it’s impossible, I want to escape with everyone. Let’s figure it out. I don’t want all of us to die. But there’s no option to leave them behind. I want Conny to be the last. I don’t want anyone to end up like that ever again. If there isn’t one, then let’s make a place for humans to live outside. Let’s change the world.”

Dominant Fe + inferior Ti

“Together we’ll change the world.”

Emma wants to believe in everyone, and save everyone, whether friend or foe. In season one, she’s asked what she would do if they discover a traitor in their midst. Emma explains that she would force the traitor to escape with them, rather than leave them behind, because anyone who is left behind might lose their life. Once Emma learns that the traitor is Ray, she has a brief strong reaction, but then quickly forgives him and even tries to empathize with him by imagining what it must have been like for him to watch their siblings shipped off.

Emma is always looking for the perfect solution for everyone involved, which makes her struggle with difficult decisions. For instance, for the longest time, she’s unwilling to consider leaving anyone behind, even though escape with everyone would be impossible. Similarily, in season two, she empathizes with the enemy, and believes that it’s wrong to exterminate them. However, she also recognizes that saving all the humans would result in their death anyway. Once again, Emma refuses to accept that there’s no other solution.

Auxiliary Ni + tertiary Se

“Yeah, if I’m right, then I think it’s extremely likely that these will become an important guide for us.”

Similar to Norman, Emma is one to lock into a specific vision or ideal, refusing to let go or consider other options. This coupled with a dominant feeling function makes her incredibly idealistic and even naive, at times. However, it leads her to keep searching for the perfect solution, which ultimately leads to the best possible outcome. Although, with that being said, she does manage to adapt, at the last minute, when faced with reality. For instance, she leaves the younger children behind at the orphanage, but with the plan in place that the eldest left behind would train the younger ones while awaiting her return.

Emma trusts her intuition. During season one, Emma, Norman, and Ray search through all the books for the owl seal, trying to find all the messages hidden in Morse code. She gets a strong feeling that the book with no Morse code included in the seal and the one encoded with “promise” were going to be important guides for them. Emma doesn’t speculate as to what it might mean, or how the books might help them. She just draws that vague conclusion, and expresses it to the others. When asked how she knew, Emma shrugs it off by calling it a hunch.

Ray – ISTJ

“I’ve been waiting for this day. I decided this a long time ago. Many, many years ago. It’s a childish retaliation. You know what, Emma? I’ve never really been interested in studying or reading. But I endured it, and I worked hard to improve my value to the highest it could be. Twelve years. I’m a feast that they’ve been waiting for. I’m going to take that away from them tonight. Right before the harvest, they’ve been looking forward to.”

Dominant Si + inferior Ne:

“Don’t underestimate how much I’ve prepared.”

Ray is probably the most cautious of the three main protagonists. We ultimately went Si/Ne for him over Ni/Se because of his preferred method of taking in information. He states in the series that he used his position as an informant for Mom, to get books and other information so he can know what he is dealing with. Unlike Norman, Ray spends a great deal of time thinking about the details of the escape plan, and what they will need to do after getting beyond the walls. It is this focus on the sensory details that made us lean Si over Ni. He is frequently making comments about how he would have to think ahead and prepare in order to escape and survive beyond the walls.

Because he puts so much thought and preparation into things, Ray can be very resistant to modifications to his plan. He doesn’t like the idea of saving all the children, and had only planned to escape with Norman and Emma. Ray gets extremely frustrated with Norman for not backing him when he tells Emma it is impractical to take everyone along. He makes it a point to emphasize that the world beyond the walls is probably hostile and full of demons. Ray further points out that there will be no place for them, and they will have to learn to survive. Escape wouldn’t be the finish line, it would just be the beginning.

Auxiliary Te + Tertiary Fi:

“Don’t let feeling cloud your vision. We’ll die!”

Ray is a very rigid and plan-oriented person. From the moment that he realizes the situation he is in, he begins formulating a plan on how to survive. Ray also includes Norman and Emma in this, but he chooses not to let them know. Instead, he manipulates circumstances and plants seeds in their heads to make them question things and come to the realization that they needed to escape on their own.

Ray is willing to strike a deal with Mom in order to get what he needs and ensure his own safety. While he doesn’t necessarily like the idea of spying on the others and being an informant, he recognizes that it is a means to an end, and that the position has a practical value. When he comes to the conclusion that it isn’t feasible to escape, Ray decides that he’d rather take his own life as a final act of defiance rather, than give the demons the satisfaction of eating him. In addition, while he does care a lot about his friends, he tends to hide it behind a layer of critical abrasiveness. Ray is not much for sugarcoating or holding back his opinions. If he thinks something is a bad idea, he expresses it readily.