Isabella

Isabella (イザベラ), also known as Mama (ママ), is a major character of The Promised Neverland and the main antagonist in the Introduction- and Jailbreak Arc.

Isabella worked as a caretaker in Grace Field House, taking care of the orphans that resides within. Although initially appearing as a loving and affectionate mother towards the children, she actually has a twisted nature and shows much detachment to their tragic fates.

After Emma, Ray, and 13 other orphans escaped from Grace Field House, Isabella accepted defeat and as her antagonism ceased, she wished them farewell as she watched the children leave.

History
Isabella was born in 2014 and was sent to Grace Field House a year later in 2015. Growing up as an orphan herself in one of the "orphanages", she met a child named Leslie who became her closest friend. She learned a song from him that instantly became her favorite song. Leslie was later shipped out and killed, and the grief caused by the absence of her closest friend made Isabella attempt to escape from Grace Field by crossing the huge wall. When she saw that there was a huge cliff on the other side, however, the sight crushed all her hopes and she was soon stopped by the Mama of her own orphanage.

When Isabella turned twelve and was to be shipped-out, she was given two choices: to be killed by the demons, or train to become a Mama. Isabella chose the latter, since she wanted to live longer than anybody else in order to honor Leslie's memory and become a Mama so she could give all the children as much love as she could.

When Isabella was around 19 years old and still in training, she became pregnant through artificial insemination and she would always sing the same song for her unborn child that Leslie, years earlier, sang for her. Sometime later, the newborn was taken away from her and she was appointed as the new mama of Plantation 3, becoming the youngest ever chosen to become a Mama. After a few years being the mama of Grace Field House, she heard Ray singing the same song that Leslie once sang for her. She then came to the shocking truth that Ray is in fact her biological son, a revelation that left Isabella in utter horror. Since Ray had figured out the truth behind the orphanage and the outside world, he proposed the idea of becoming her spy, which Isabella accepted.

Appearance
Isabella is a fair-skinned, tall woman with a pair of deep purple eyes. Her dark brown hair is tied into a bun that hangs down onto the back of her head. She wears an attire which consists of a black dress with a white blouse underneath it and a white apron over it. She has the number "73584" tattooed on the right side of her neck.

During her childhood, Isabella wore standard orphanage clothing and her hair was tied in the form of a braid with two locks of hair framing her face.

Personality
During her childhood, Isabella was shown to be an optimistic, out-spoken, free-spirited, and fun-loving little girl, who was very attached to her friend Leslie. She had a comedic nature during her childhood, which was displayed when she scared Leslie by popping out of the tree. But ever since she lost Leslie and realized the true motive behind the orphanage's purpose of raising them; to raise them as livestock for the demons, Isabella's personality went through a drastic change. From there on, everything she did; including becoming a Mama, giving birth to Ray, and sending off the orphans to become demon food, was the sake of prolonging her own survival to spite the demons from eating her.

The present Isabella is a sharp-witted, ruthless, cold, manipulative, and deceiving woman. But in her Mama persona, Isabella is capable in putting on a motherly, selfless, and kind-hearted facade whenever she is around the orphans in Grace Field House, and hence was able to earn the trust and love from her foster children. Isabella's behavior is very mercurial, capable of switching between seemingly true affection for the orphans to extreme loathing and threat of violence towards those who defy her. Isabella was unhesitant in taking down those who stand in her way and root out the children that knew of Conny's death, both emotionally, verbally, and even physically.

Another few of Isabella's prominent traits are her high cunning, dominance, and intelligence. As being one of the top Mamas, Isabella uses her intelligence in foiling and sabotaging the orphans' escape plan. She is always shown to be three steps ahead of the orphans' plan and was shown to be quite resourceful, as she depended on her transmitter to track down the orphans. Isabella was unafraid of using her intelligence and position as a Mama to threaten her enemies, as she openly threatens Emma despite knowing it as a reckless and risky move when she seeks to gather information on how Emma and the others are going to escape.

However, beneath everything, she genuinely does love her children, albeit in an extremely twisted way. Due to her own experiences with being an orphan in one of the farms, she reached the conclusion that escape was impossible. So rather than fight what she deemed to be impossible, she instead opted to ensure that the children would at least be able to live happy lives until they were eventually shipped out. The extreme lengths she would go to in order "protect" them and prevent them from escaping is demonstrated when she nonchalantly and violently breaks Emma’s leg, and would then comfort her in her motherly facade as if nothing had just happened. But when the children manage to escape, Isabella gracefully admits her loss and genuinely wishes Emma, Ray, and the other escapees nothing but the best, even covering for their escape while devoting herself to caring for Phil and the other children in the meantime. This shows that becoming a Mama was not solely a means of survival to her - she did genuinely love the time that she spent taking care of the orphans as their mother.

Introduction Arc
Taking care of the 38 orphans living in Grace Field House, feeding them, washing them, playing with them – Isabella went through the same routine every day in Grace Field, an orphanage where she acts as a substitute mother to all children.

On October 12th, 2045, Conny left the orphanage for adoption. Isabella accompanies Conny while she sings her favorite lullaby. However, in fact, Isabella shipped Conny off to become food for the demons, and gave the demons the word that she would soon ship off the highest-scoring children as well, unbeknown that Emma and Norman had witnessed and heared it all. The two return to the house running while being unnoticed but they leave Conny's little bunny behind. Isabella then finds little bunny at the scene, understanding that some children were there.

Isabella is thereafter seen in her secret room, contacting the headquarters, however, she doesn't mention anything about children having found out the secret. Isabella gives the task of preparing a room for Emma and Norman, but the real reason for it is so they can't mess up her plans and cannot escape. She also confronts and threatens Emma by checking her pulse. Ray, as Isabella's spy, confesses that Norman and Emma were the ones at the gate. Therefore, Isabella tries to discourage them by making it known that the children have tracking devices and that she can easily track them down. She also brings an adult helper, Sister Krone, to aid her and keep watch of the children.

Jailbreak Arc
Isabella keeps watching over the children from afar while she gets information from Ray. Isabella is seen caring for the children, including the newest addition to the family, Carol. She grows increasingly suspicious towards the children and their new tag strategies (which are actually training in disguise). She does not, however, interfere.

Several days later, Isabella presents Krone with official instructions that she is to be transferred out and become a Mama in another plantation. In reality, she had plans of getting her killed by the demons along with Grandmother. Meanwhile, she had also realized the orphans' plans about climbing the wall with the rope they had made. Isabella thereafter informs Ray that she had eliminated Krone and that she would also break her deal with him, and proceeds to lock him up in a room.

Isabella uses her tracking device to detect and find Norman and Emma, and she finds them by the wall and confronts them without her "Mama" facade, explaining that they should stop resisting, that they have lived happy and carefree lives and will die quickly. They refuse to accept this fate and Emma grabs Isabella so Norman can climb the wall, but Isabella breaks Emma's leg. Isabella then discloses that they are the best quality meat she has raised, fit for "the One", and that Norman will be shipped out the next day.

On Norman's shipment day, he says goodbye to everyone in the House. Isabella tries to interfere with Emma and Norman's conversation as she urged Norman to prepare to depart from the orphanage, but gives in to not seem suspicious to the children. Later, Isabella accompanied Norman to the gates of Grace Field and he questioned her whether is she happy. Isabella was in shock and hesitated for a moment, before replying that she was indeed happy. At the gate, Isabella ushers Norman into a side-room to wait for the demons.

After Norman's shipment, Isabella confronts a crying Emma in the infirmary, where she offers to sponsor her as a Mom candidate, saying if she completes her training she could return to the house as a Mother or Sister, but Emma refuses. Isabella is clearly upset and tries to discourage Emma by telling her that there was nothing except death that awaited them and that they would absolutely not be able to escape. In spite of this, Emma does not give in, and Isabella leaves with a pained expression.

For the following two months, Isabella kept a close eye on Emma and Ray so they would not plot anything new and plan for their escape. She also didn't suspect any other orphan doing something out of the ordinary.

On Ray's birthday and the night before his departure, Ray lights himself and the House on fire and as it spreads, the children evacuate. Isabella tries to extinguish the fire and save Ray, who she thinks is engulfed in flames, but the children had wrapped meat and hair in his clothes as a decoy. However, upon finding Emma's severed ear in a bucket, she realizes the children are alive and escaping, to which Isabella attempts to contact headquarters but finds the keyhole plugged. However, she manages to rescue the transmitter as the building burns.

While reuniting with Phil and the other small children left behind, Isabella notifies headquarters of the fire and that 15 children have escaped. When there is no sign of the children at the bridge, Isabella runs along the wall and arrives in time to see Emma, the last child, cross into the forest before the lines are cut. Isabella accepts defeat and wishes the children nothing but luck before removing the ropes in order to cover up their escape.

She then returns to the burning building where she tells Phil they successfully escaped and devotes herself to take care of the younger orphans as she sings Leslie's lullaby to them.

Intelligence
Isabella has shown that she is very intelligent and can notice the smallest of details. She quickly and easily discovered the children's plan to escape and has been able to keep all her children healthy and top of the line. She is also very adept at chess and has not once lost to her children, further proving her sharp intellect.

Enhanced Strength
From being able to lift Emma off the ground and breaking her leg with ease and lifting heavy objects, Isabella has proven herself to be physically strong.

Leslie
I must live for myself, and to give purpose to Leslie's life.Leslie is a childhood sweetheart of Isabella's, and the closest friend she had during her innocent years in the orphanage they were raised in. Isabella was often shown to be free-spirited and chummy when she was with Leslie. When Leslie hummed a tune he composed, Isabella eavesdropped him and later encouraged him to share it with her. The boy was shy with her request at humming his tune to her at first but later decided to after blushing from seeing Isabella's enthusiastic smile. The two soon chanted the tune together. In the anime, Leslie did not chant the tune of his to Isabella, he used an instrument to play the tune out for her.

Tragedy struck as Leslie was sent off to get killed by the demons – a painful revelation Isabella eventually knew after discovering the dark secrets and evil doings of her orphanage and her caretaker. After Isabella failed to escape the orphanage when she discovered a steep cliff that surrounds the outside of the walls, she was soon sent off by orders from Grandmother. Knowing how Leslie has passed gravely affected her, as she described his death to have unbelievably frustrated her, Isabella is now a shadow of her free-spirited and lively self. This evidently showed how strong her love for Leslie is, to the degree of losing the personality that once defined her.

On the flip side of the coin, though Leslie has passed, Isabella's memories of him and the tune they had between them invigorated her and gave her strength and the meaning to live on. Isabella's love for Leslie was also the reason why she chose to become a caretaker instead of getting killed. Leslie's tune, which Isabella still reminisced to this day, was sung during the time when she was pregnant as she shared the tune to her unborn baby to provide herself solace.

Ray
When she first met him, Isabella believed Ray to be just another orphan. She raised him like every other child at Grace Field, with love, care, and affection before they would be shipped off and ultimately killed. But at some point, she overheard Ray whistling the same tune she had whistled during her pregnancy, the same tune that her childhood sweetheart Leslie had taught her. She then understood that Ray was her own son who she now was forced to raise as livestock — a revelation which left Isabella in utter horror. Ray, also having figured out their familial connection, asked her why she gave birth to him. While Isabella was momentarily shocked, she coldly responded so that she could live.

Since Ray had found out the truth about the orphanage and everything else, Isabella agreed to make him her spy to monitor all the children in her care in exchange for him getting different gifts from the outside world. Despite their biological connection, their relationship was purely "professional", and unlike with the other children, Isabella was always her cold, level-headed and rational self around Ray. Despite having him around and having him aid her for six years, Isabella had little trust in Ray and only saw him as her own "underdog". When she dismisses Ray as her spy, she does tell him she would've liked to keep him by her side to the end and apologizes to him.

It is also implied that both sides felt little love towards each other. Isabella showed no remorse or concern when she revealed that he would get shipped off and killed soon. Additionally, when she thought that Ray was engulfed in the flames during the escape, she only cared about saving Ray's brain for the demons.

However, at the end, when several of her children succeeded in escaping Grace Field after she herself had deemed the prospect impossible, Isabella secretly hoped and prayed for them to survive, to live, to have the courage she never did. She also realizes how much she actually loved her son Ray.

Emma
Isabella served as Emma's Mama in Grace Field House and raised her with love and affection as her own daughter. Isabella stated that she loved Emma for being so considerate towards her family. Emma, in return, loved Isabella just as much and the fact that they weren't blood-related didn't matter to her. For Emma, Isabella was her one and only mother that taught and raised her. However, this soon changes when Emma finds out the truth about Isabella and the orphanage. Emma becomes devastated and grows fearful and spiteful towards Isabella, seeing her nothing but as a threat for her family. When Isabella realized that she had found out about the secrets of the House, she was not afraid to confront Emma and threaten her verbally, emotionally and physically. Everything Isabella did, threating to kill Emma, breaking her knee and discouraging her to escape, was for the sake of "protecting" her since she loved her and didn't want her to suffer. At the same time, Isabella also had great faith in Emma's abilities and had therefore been raising her as the Mama candidate of the farm. She later gives this offer to Emma personally herself, but the latter refuses.

Although Isabella did everything in her power to discourage and prevent Emma from escaping, she gracefully admits her loss when Emma and the other children manage to escape. Isabella then wishes for her to be safe and survive, and she also reflects on how she wishes she could have loved her normally.

Norman
Like every other orphan, Isabella raised Norman as her beloved son. Norman, in return, adored his foster mother very much. However, after Norman found out the truth about her and the orphanage, Norman's love towards Isabella shattered and he began seeing her nothing more than a threat. Though Isabella claims that she loves him and doesn't want him to suffer, she had a smug face when she revealed, without any hesitation, that she would ship Norman off. Despite the circumstances and their tense relationship, both parties were able to "get along" in front of the other children and converse normally. Isabella also acknowledges Norman's selflessness for choosing to be shipped off instead of escaping, displaying respect and praising him for it. Additionally, when Isabella was asked if she was happy, she responded that she was indeed happy, because she had met someone like him. Isabella later reflects on how she wishes she could have loved Norman and all the other children normally.

Grace Field Orphans
Isabella served as the Mama of all of the Grace Field Orphans. Despite knowing of their tragic fates, Isabella genuinely loved them and was determined to shower them with love before their deaths. She was able to win the trust and love of all children since she was the only parent-figure they had in their lives. When the older children found out the truth about the House and everything else, Isabella still adored them but was extremely violent and manipulative towards them since she didn't want to "suffer". However, when they escape, Isabella wishes her children nothing but the best and secretly hopes for them all to survive. She also mentions that she wishes she could have loved them normally like a normal mother. As for the other children who were left behind and oblivious about the dark secrets, Isabella devoted herself to care for them for as long as she could despite knowing of the consequences she would have to face for letting 15 of the children escape.

Krone
Krone was sent to Isabella as Sister to aid Isabella in supervising the Grace Field orphans. Krone and Isabella's relationship was work-based, and Krone soon showed signs of defiance toward Isabella and hatred for her. As Krone worked to throw Isabella off of the Mama position, Isabella was a step ahead of Krone. Both women were cold, manipulative and distrustful towards one another, though they showed a healthy friendship in front of the kids. Isabella despised Krone's sweet talk to her and instead opted for her to work hard, though when Isabella felt that Krone had become useless to her, she had her to be eliminated by the demons. In the end, Isabella wonders if the children could have escaped if she had kept Krone around, implying that Isabella does acknowledge her skills.

Sarah
Sarah was Isabella's Mama in Grace Field before being promoted to Grandmother. During her childhood, Sarah prevented from escaping and later recommended Isabella to become the next Mama of Grace Field. For the following years, Isabella followed in her footsteps and in the present day, seem to have a rather normal and respectful alliance. Sarah describes Isabella as one of her important pawns and will not let her title as a Mama be taken away. However, Sarah is seen being extremely disappointed in Isabella for letting the children escape, as she couldn't believe that Isabella, considering her abilities, allowed that to happen.

Trivia

 * According to Kaiu Shirai, he made the main protagonist a female because Isabella is the first antagonist to be a female too, hence thinking that the mother-daughter relationship between the two would make the story "more interesting".
 * In an interview, Posuka Demizu mentioned that she enjoys drawing Isabella, and thinks that she is a character that should be drawn beautifully.
 * Kaiu Shirai discussed about Isabella's character design in an interview which was published in Volume 13 Special Edition. The following is what the author said.
 * "I requested "a woman who is poised and dignified, like a soldier and like a ballerina" and "make her a mom, not a teacher or a maid." Demizu-sensei adds idiosyncratic features to the designs depending on their characteristics, so that you can distinguish them by their silhouettes, but it turned out that if she did that for Isabella, it would look wrong. So it ended up that "Isabella's lack of distinguishing characteristics is her distinguishing characteristic." Because of that, she has basically the same kind of design as in my makeshift drawings from the original breakdowns. That turned out to look dignified and refined because it's Demizu-sensei's version of Isabella. Since her design didn't change much, it's easy for me to draw when I'm signing autographs."
 * Isabella is not only the youngest to ever reach the position of Mama, being appointed in her early-twenties, but her farm has the best track record of shipping quality children.
 * Her name means "devoted to God" in Hebrew, which may relate to her being a servant to the demons.
 * The following are Isabella's rankings in some of The Promised Neverland's official popularity polls.
 * Isabella is ranked 4th in the Popularity Poll that was announced in Chapter 88 of the manga.
 * In Shounen Jump's 2nd popularity poll results announced in Chapter 102, Isabella is in 8th place with a total of 1151 votes.

Other Wikis

 * Isabella on VS Battles Wiki. (Manga spoilers ahead)
 * Isabella on Villains Wiki. (Manga spoilers ahead)

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