This article is about the Manga version of James Ratri. For alternate pages referred to by this name, please click any of the icons above.
I am William Minerva. I am raising the banner of revolution. To give the human world back to you...to finish the "Neverland" once and for all, I shall seal a new promise. First of all, break out from the plantations and head to the agreed point. I'll be waiting for you. For all of you.— William Minerva's message recorded in the Promised Pen in "Friends".
James Ratri (ジェイムズ・ラートリー, Jeimuzu Rātorī?), professionally known as William Minerva (ウィリアム・ミネルヴァ, Wiriamu Mineruva?), is an author who has written several books in Grace Field House's library. He has been leaving secret messages in his books with Morse Code in hopes of helping cattle children trapped in the farms.
James Ratri was also the 35th head of the famous Ratri Clan which oversaw that the Promise with the Demons was maintained. However, he grew disgusted with the idea of sacrificing innocent children and decided to organize a way to help them escape and smuggle as many as he could into the Human World. He is the creator of the Promised Pen, the author of the Adventures of Ugo and the one who built Shelter B06-32 and Goldy Pond.
James' role as the head of the Ratri clan was eventually passed down to his younger brother, Peter Ratri who had him executed for being a "traitor" to the family and now stands as the current head of the house. James was also the descendant of Julius Ratri.
History
James Ratri was born into the powerful Ratri family on the "Meditation Side" of the Human World.[1] Growing up, James was very close to his younger brother, Peter. Once he became of age, he became the 35th head of the Ratri Clan, tasked with maintaining the Promise between the human and demon worlds. While James was in charge of maintaining this status quo, he could not tolerate the savagery inflicted on the cattle children. After discovering that the orphans were actually the decedents of Julius Ratri's allies, James secretly began a revolution and initiated plans for a "New Promise" to help the children.[2]
He began his plan by gathering allies, building safe havens and sneaking clues into the farms to help the children find out the truth. He started by building multiple underground bunkers throughout the Demon World to be used as a temporary living space by any escapees from the Premium Farms. James also built Goldy Pond, which was intended to be a more permanent living space for the children, although, it also contained a pathway to the Human World. However, this pathway was rendered unusable by James' brother, Peter. To help the children realize the truth and escape, he provided inconspicuous clues about the orphanages' true nature. At Grace Field House, Phil discovered that several of the books in the library contained bookplates with Morse Code on them which hints about the orphanage's true nature. In addition, he wrote the book The Adventures of Ugo, which tells a fictional story that contains subtle parallels to the real dangers in the Demon World that are meant to serve as warnings for the children. He also left multiple letters behind; both the Grace Field House and Glory Bell had one letter. Another letter hidden within Shelter B06-32's library told the children to head towards Goldy Pond. He also invented the Promised Pen which functions as a map of the Demon World and a key to Shelter B06-32 and Minerva's Door at Goldy Pond.
Still, an entrance to the human world exist in each of the four Premium Farms: Grace Field House, Glory Bell, Grand Valley, and Goodwill Ridge, as an easy way to bring, food, clothes, toys, and other supplies to the farms. James also gave three choices in a telephone message: 1) Call for the support of William's revolutionaries, 2) begin an uprising against the demon forces with their group and destroy the promise, or 3) "look for the seven walls.
After discovering what his brother had been up to, Peter declared James a "traitor" to the Ratri Clan and ordered that he and everyone involved with him be hunted down and killed. Sometime after May, but before September of 2031, James was tracked down and assassinated by Smee. Later, James' allies were caught and assassinated by Peter in December of 2031.
Appearance
He is depicted as a tall, slender man, who is almost always seen wearing a suit with a black tie and a hat. On several occasions, he is seen holding a cane.
It is later revealed that he is indeed a tall man, with platinum blonde hair and light blue eyes. Aside from being taller and having shorter hair than his brother Peter, the two look very similar.
Personality
James is an individual with a deep sense of shame for his own actions and those of his family. His revolution was birthed out of a longing to bring justice to the demons and change the world for the better and his desire to atone for his ancestors’ actions. He is a complex and intelligent man, leaving hints behind for children to survive and escape the plantations and leave the demon world. He even went as far as to endanger his own well-being and life when he tried to help the children by building safe sanctuaries.
Skills and Abilities
Intelligence
Relationships
Demons
James worked for the demons and supplied them with a lot of literature to use in the orphanages. However, these were just tools to help the children escape and he only worked together with the demons to begin the revolution and change the harshness of the world.
Peter Ratri
The two of them originally had a good brotherly bond. Peter even agreed with James his way of thinking for a while because he thought that it was better. However, this seems to be a facade, as Peter later revealed that he was just pretending to agree with James his plans. Peter even went as far to take James his title of the 35th head of the family and claim it himself. He then ordered his underlings and the rest of his clans to kill his own brother, implying the hostility between the two.
Gallery
Trivia
- The following are William Minerva's rankings in some of The Promised Neverland's official popularity polls.
- In Shounen Jump's popularity poll results announced in Chapter 88, William Minerva is in 15th place.
- In Shounen Jump's 2nd popularity poll results announced in Chapter 102, William Minerva is in 12th place with a total of 543 votes.
- In the special edition of Volume 13, an interview with Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu revealed that William Minerva was initially not planned to exist as a character.[3]
- It is likely that William Minerva's name originates from the Ancient Roman Goddess Minerva. Minerva is the goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, strategic warfare, commerce, weaving and crafts. Like William, she is also commonly depicted and symbolized with her owl, "The Owl of Minerva".
- James Ratri is likely named after Captain James Hook from J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
- It is implied that James possess a wide knowledge in cryptology.
- James' favorite food is duck roast.[1]
- James did not have any children.[1]
- It was Posuka who came up with the Owl logo on bookplates. Multiple motifs were proposed and the owl logo was a perfect fit.[1]
- For naming William Minerva, Shirai was looking for a name that would have an intellectual feel to it for Japanese readers. The draft plan was to name him William Watson. "William" being a frequent surname among celebrities and "Watson" referencing Sherlock Holmes' smart partner. However, Sugita suggested changing it to "Minerva" because of the owl logo. "Minerva" is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy, and there is a famous phrase "Minerva's owl flies at the dusk." When researched, it was found to be an unused name, thus it was decided.[1]
- All of the safe havens that James Ratri built for the orphans (including Shelter B06-32 and Goldy Pond) contain an emergency self-destruct button.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Promised Neverland Fanbook
- ↑ The Promised Neverland Manga: Chapter 49, Page 20
- ↑ Interview with Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu (Japanese)
