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This article is about the Manga version of Ray. For alternate pages referred to by this name, please click any of the icons above.

Emma, I'll live. I'll live and protect my family. Everyone in this family, just like you. This time, for sure, I vow. No matter what happens, I'll never abandon them again. So you don't have to bear this burden all on your own. We'll create it together… a world where we can live as a family. All of us.Ray to Emma in "The Promised Forest"

Ray (レイ, Rei?) is one of the deuteragonists of The Promised Neverland alongside with Norman.

Ray is a model student at Grace Field House Plant 3, who consistently gets perfect scores during the daily exams. He is also known for being an avid reader with high intellectual abilities, blunt skepticism, and cunning. Despite his distant disposition, Ray is able to interact well with the orphans and is fiercely loyal and caring to particularly Emma and Norman.

Being one of the smartest children living in Grace Field House Plant 3, Ray is considered to be one of the House's three "Premium quality goods" next to Norman and Emma.[9]

After successfully escaping Grace Field alongside Emma and thirteen other orphans, Ray now seeks William Minerva, whom he believes can grant him and his family liberty and help them find a safe and peaceful life away from the demons.

History

Ray was born at Grace Field on January 15, 2034, to Isabella through artificial insemination. He was sent to Plantation 3 a year later in 2035.

Ray did not suffer from childhood amnesia, and such, he remembered his life before he arrived at the orphanage; including being in his mother's womb, having the transmitter stapled into his ear, the infants being divided into groups of five, and when he was sent to Plantation 3. As Ray grew up, he realized that there were inconsistencies between his own memories and the reality that spread before him in the orphanage, and eventually discovered the true purpose of the orphanage, the tests, the gates surrounding the orphanage, and the numbers on his neck, the transmitter inside their ears when he became literate.[10] With these newfound realizations, Ray started developing nightmares and intense feelings of guilt, pain, and loneliness. He was not able to seek help in anyone and had to watch as his siblings were shipped off, while he and his Mama were the only ones in the orphanage to truly know where they were going. He became depressed and stopped trying to find fake happiness, eventually becoming fed up with his burdens and bringing matters into his own hands. It’s shown that Ray cut open his ear to break the transmitter, alerting Isabella, and setting his deal with her into action. Knowing he would not be able to save everyone was another reason why he was so insistent about only escaping with a certain amount of people.

Due to their close age and probably the fact that they are the top students academically, Ray was exceptionally close to Emma and Norman. He thus mingled with the two often and created warm memories with them; such as talking with a sickly Norman through a tin can alongside Emma,[11] Emma and Norman getting his attention away from reading by making funny faces, and exploring the gate that encircles Grace Field House.[12][2]

On January 15, 2040, on Ray's sixth birthday, Isabella overheard Ray humming the same song that she had sung to her unborn child when she was pregnant. Ray then went to confirm with Isabella on the truth behind the orphanage and how he might be her biological son, a theory which he had been keeping to himself for some time. After knowing how his theory is indeed true, Ray made a trade with Isabella and became her spy.[13] In exchange for keeping an eye of the orphans from behind, Ray requested Isabella to give him certain gifts in return for being "good" to her. In actuality, Ray's gifts were actually part of the escape plan of his which he would make use of the gifts to make a certain device which could benefit in the escape. In addition, Ray's loyalty towards Isabella as her spy was actually all just an act, as this was Ray's way of benefiting from the enemy. About a year later when Ray was seven, he came up with the idea of setting himself on fire on the eve of his 12th birthday both as a way to distract Isabella so the other kids could escape and also as an act of revenge against the demons by robbing them of a "premium quality" meal.[14]

Ever since this incident, despite having no interest in reading and studying,[3] Ray purposely adopted the habit of reading, as a way to do well academically on his daily tests so he would be a top student in the orphanage (in order words, "premium quality" meat).[9] He also sought to read all the books that were available in the Grace Field library before turning twelve.[15] Ray also began working on developing the Transmitter-crippling device, coordinating an escape plan, as well as collecting lighting fuel from Isabella's gifts in order to use himself as a trump card and distract Isabella the time came, so he could help Emma and Norman to escape.[16]

Appearance

Ray is a slim boy of average height with somewhat messy short black hair, parted to the right so that the longer, chin-length clumps on his left obscure much of his face. Around the sides, it appears to spike upwards, following the shape of his head, and he also has triangular forest-green eyes with noticeably small black irises. He wears the standard Grace Field uniform- a plain white long sleeved button-up shirt and white pants along with brown boots. His identification number, "81194", is tattooed across the left side of his neck.

In 2047, Ray stopped wearing the standard Grace Field uniform, instead adopting long black pants and a long sleeved white shirt with the same brown boots he wore at Grace Field House. Now at the age of thirteen, Ray's hair has gotten slightly longer and messier and he has also grown much taller and is now around the same height as his mother, Isabella, whose height is 170 cm.[14]

Upon arriving at the Paradise Hideout, he begins wearing an untucked white dress shirt, black pants, and a matching black scarf; when Ray and Emma go searching for Him, Ray wears a white coat and backpack over his usual outfit.

After entering the Human World, Ray, now fifteen years old, has longer hair on the side of his face and is slightly taller. He wears a light scarf, a black jacket and a backpack slung over his shoulders.

Personality

Ray appears to be aloof, introverted and snarky; often excluding himself from playing with the other orphans and prefers to read load of books instead.[2] However, he is able to interact well with his fellow siblings, loves them all deeply and occasionally will take part in a game tag or hide-and-seek with them. Even if there are times when they do not get along, he still deeply cares about their well-being and would go to great lengths to keep them safe. An outspoken person with little patience for inconvenience and silliness (like Emma's), he frequently loses his temper or is often left dumbfounded when people such as Emma display reckless behavior and intentions, noticeably when he considered Emma as an "airhead" when she intended to rescue every orphan from Grace Field.

Furthermore, he is very blunt and honest, as when Norman is trying to figure out a way to break it to Emma that Ray was the spy all along, Ray abruptly comes out with it before Norman has the chance. In some cases, he considers it a kindness to be blunt, rather than alleviate the truth or give people false hope. He was also motivated by cold logic and reason, and he figures the best plan for success is to take the smallest group possible, even if that group doesn't include himself. While he worked extremely hard for six years to make sure that Norman and Emma could escape safely, he had to sacrifice a great price, possibly his other siblings that were shipped out.

Ray's strengths are his cunning, sharp wits, and his manipulative nature. He is also rational, logical, and cynical. He is an academically inclined young boy who excels in the orphanage's daily tests, also using his intelligence to decipher problems and to come out with solutions. According to Emma, he's always the best at anything he tries. According to Norman, he is level-headed and precise in everything he does. He also always thinks ahead and finds the most optimal solutions to things.

According to the data Krone obtained, Ray is a person who makes plans too fast and gives up on them just as fast. This was specifically proven when after the plan of saving Norman got foiled, Ray lost hope and excluded himself from helping the others to devise another plan to escape.[17] Ray is also noted to be extremely self-sacrificing and audacious. He was driven to suicide via self-immolation and willingly did so to help aid in the escape. However, he also reveals to Emma that he wasn't going to go down like cattle and he would die as a selfish human. His little hesitation in throwing his life away stems from his past. Because he has known about the truth about the farms, the outside world, and his very own mother from a young age, Ray began deeming his life as "cursed" and therefore planned to die inside the orphanage. Additionally, after years of watching his siblings walk to their death without doing anything about it, Ray developed extreme guilt and felt like the only way he could atone was by dying himself.

However, after the escape succeeds, Ray comes around to see that even a dream-like future can be achieved. This culminates in his change of mindset, and he admits to Emma that he's glad to see their siblings safe when he had previously thought bringing them would be a burden. He swears to keep on living, atone for his mistakes, and protect his family and becomes fiercely protective and loyal to them. As opposed to his relatively pessimistic mindset prior to the escape, Ray became more optimistic and is now not scared to hope for a dream-like future where no one dies. Being surrounded by his family, no longer having to keep secrets from them, and being accepted by them, is the first time Ray is starting to heal, and he also resolves not to do things on his own anymore.[9][18]

Although Ray retains his sarcastic and cunning personality, he emphasizes the importance of what other people think regarding different situations, especially what Emma thinks, because he goes to Emma herself in order to find it. After reuniting with Norman who has become much more distant from him and Emma, he now believes that the best way to solve things is to talk things out as friends, and despite everything Ray still feels the connection of the family between the three of them.

Even after he became softer and kinder to everyone around him, he's still one of the few kids who has no qualms about killing human threats. Furthermore, when Gillian wants to go back to save Yugo and Lucas on the off-chance they're still alive, he refuses, knowing that if they did die, then doing so would only make their sacrifice in vain.

Throughout most of his childhood, Ray was almost always seen studying or reading a book alone rather than playing with his siblings. After discovering the secret of the "orphanage", Ray set out to read every book in Grace Field House's library before his 12th birthday. On the eve of his 12th birthday just after he finishes the last book he had not read, Ray reveals to Emma that he never actually had any interest in reading or studying and only endured it to increase his test score so that when he became a "Premium quality good" he could light himself on fire and thus deprive the demons of a "Premium quality meal" in an act of vengeance. Ray's real interests and hobbies include learning the mechanism of things, cooking, art, and photography.[19]

Plot

Introduction Arc

Taking a litany of tests, eating scrumptious homemade food, and having a good time – Ray went through the same routine every day in Grace Field House, an orphanage where he lived since the day he was born. Under the loving parental care of Isabella and the companionship of Emma, Norman and the other orphans, Ray spent a pleasant childhood in Grace Field for about five years. When Ray was five years old he began to suspect something was not right about the orphanage after coming to the realization that his earliest memories did not match what he had been told about the orphanage. On his 6th birthday Ray decided to approach Isabella about his suspicions, which she confirmed. Ever since then, Ray has lived plagued by fear, pain, loneliness, and guilt, knowing that his siblings were being killed during shipments, but believing there was nothing he could do to stop it.

When the day came for Conny to be sent off to foster parents, Ray and the other orphans bade farewell to the young girl. Sometime after Conny left with Isabella, Emma found Conny's beloved stuffed toy on a tabletop in the house, Ray remarked how Conny might not have traveled far from Grace Field, and thus advised Emma to return the toy back to Conny.

Sometime later, Ray was loitering through the orphanage's hallway and noticed the saddened Emma and Norman returning, he questioned the two, and stared at them as they did not answer him.[2]

During the next few days, Emma and Norman remained silent and secretive about Conny's death and the existence of demons. Ray noticed their suspicious behavior, as he one day followed the two to the orphanage's forest and demanded their odd behavior for the past few days. After the two let the cat out of the bag, Ray expressed how he also suspects Isabella and the orphanage. When Emma wanted to save every single orphan, it greatly bothered Ray as he viewed her goal to be impossible to achieve. Nonetheless, he joined the two and help in figuring out a way to escape from Grace Field. The three learned and gathered every piece of possible information about the outside world and to aid in their eventual escape which they could get.

Isabella eventually got Krone appointed as Grace Field's second caretaker (as the orphans' "Sister"), an additional obstacle for Ray, Emma, and Norman to deal with. Krone tried to get in the way of the trio, much to their dismay.

Jailbreak Arc

Ray, Emma, and Norman eventually recruited Don and Gilda into the team as additional help and told them about the secrets behind Grace Field, Isabella, and the existence of Demons. Along the way, the five-faced obstacles and issues whilst working together, such as the interference of Isabella and Krone, suspicions of Gilda being on the enemies' side, and Don's unhappiness towards the limited trust Ray, Norman and Emma had on him and Gilda, whom they did not tell the entirety of their plan and motives to. The trio starts suspecting that there might be a traitor amongst the children, possibly Don or Gilda, who are working for Isabella, and Norman lays a trap to determine who the informant is by telling them the location of their ropes and that night.

The following night, Norman inspects the rope locations with Ray, and by the process of elimination, accuses Ray of being the traitor. Although hesitant at first, Ray eventually confesses that he has been the spy who worked for Isabella behind his friends' back. When Norman questioned his motive, Ray explained how he already knew about the orphanage's secrets a long time ago, and how him serving his mother as her spy is all pre-planning for him and his friends' escape. Following a lengthy discussion about loyalty, Ray eventually agrees to side with Norman, but on one condition: they must give up the intention of saving everyone, but without telling Emma. Later, Ray reveals his duplicity to Emma, but she believes in his promise to still aid the escape.

Isabella eventually cut ties with Ray and no longer have him as her spy, when Ray desperately tried to persuade her, telling her how he is still capable of being her spy, Isabella explained how she would be ceasing his friends from escaping without his help, and thus locked the latter inside an empty room, preventing him from saving Emma and the rest. As Ray struggled to free himself and save Emma and Norman before it was too late, Isabella already managed to foil their escape plan by herself by fracturing Emma's leg and prepared Norman to be shipped out.

Isabella's success in rendering their plan useless greatly affected Ray, as he struggled to think of solutions to prevent Norman from getting shipped out as well as aiding in Emma's fractured leg. Nevertheless, his solutions were rendered useless, as Norman was unable to escape due to how outside the walls lies a steep cliff which made his escape impossible.

Norman was soon shipped out. The team and the plan began to fall apart, as Ray became depressed over the failure of the plan and the loss of his friend. Hence, Ray gave up and excluded himself from Emma, Don and Gilda and no longer aid in their escape.

As two months pass, Ray and Emma withdraw into themselves and were depressed over Norman's shipment. The night before Ray is to be shipped out, he sits alone in the dining hall, saying goodbye to the House. When Ray asks Emma if she has really given up, she smiles and reveals she has never given up the idea of escape. Ray proposes they set the house on fire that night as a distraction. After Emma agrees, Ray reveals that he plans to set himself alight, to distract Isabella and deny the demons their feast. As the clock chimes midnight, the now twelve-year-old Ray starts the fire.

As it spreads, the children evacuate and Emma severs her ear so she cannot be tracked. 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. Months earlier, Norman told Emma of Ray's plan to burn himself and prepared a counter-plan for her, which meant that they were already prepared to escape. When Ray is saved, he is seen being visibly shaken by Emma's interference of his suicide plan, but before he is able to say anything more, Emma slaps him and forces him to go escape with her, refusing to let him die. Emma then tells Ray that she'll take out his tracker from his ear.

The children reach the boundary and prepare to scale the wall, but Ray notices the younger ones are not with them. As the children reach and climb the boundary wall, Ray is told by Emma that the children under the age of four are going to be stay behind, hoping to be freed before being harvested, and the only one knowing the truth is Phil.

The children cross the cliff by using ropes and coat hangers as zip lines, Jemima starts crying because she is afraid of crossing. Ray tells her he will go with her and they cross together. As they safely arrive at the other side, Ray hugs Jemima close and mentions to himself that he has "lost" to Norman, will now live for and protect his family, and discard his previous ideas of dying. As everyone successfully escapes, the escapees are able to see their first sunrise outside the farm.

Promised Forest Arc

After escaping from the farm, Ray and his family are being chased by farm demons who wish to bring them back to the farms, or just kill them right on spot. When they take a break and Emma is panicking, Ray comically scolds her to take a break. He also apologizes to her for not being a part of the escape plan from the start, but Emma says it doesn't matter as she is happy if he is happy and alive. Ray then tells Emma how he also apologized to Anna, who had cut her hair in order to save him. He continues that he couldn't believe that he was ready to leave his siblings behind, but now vows to protect every single one of them forever. Not wanting Emma to shoulder all the burden by herself, Ray tells Emma that they'll find a place where they all can live peacefully together.[9]

Going through dangerous forests together with his family in the outside world, the demon pursuers are eventually able to catch up with the children. Ray says he'll handle it and urges Emma to take the other children to find a safe place. When things are looking dire for both Ray and Emma's group, they are saved by Mujika and Sonju. Although they were initially antagonized and suspicious of them due to them being demons, they warm up the two demons. Sonju explains about the outside world, The "Promise" and other critical information. Ray also learns how to cook from Mujika, and becomes quite a good cook. After receiving their hospitality and sure they are able to continue to their journey, Ray and his group bids farewell to Sonju and Mujika.

Search For Minerva Arc

After some wandering, Ray and the other children reached Shelter B06-32 and took refuge in it. The children met Mister, who they mistook for William Minerva. Ray and Emma wanted to find more information about Minerva and therefore urged Mister to follow them to Goldy Pond. Although when they reach the area, Emma is taken to Goldy Pond without Ray and Mister. Ray tries his best to find and help Emma, but Mister is hesitant and discouraged to do so.

Goldy Pond Battle Arc

Emma wakes up from her coma

Ray and the others by Emma's side as she wakes up from her coma.

Ray and Mister are eventually able to make their way into Goldy Pond. They join the fight against the Poachers, alongside Emma and the Goldy Pond Resistance. They all defeat Leuvis and the other Poachers together, and successfully destroy Goldy Pond.

Since Emma was gravely injured from the fight, Ray begged Mister to bring her to the shelter as fast as possible, so she could get treatment. Ray reveals that he will take a longer path with the other children, in order to avoid wild demons in the forest. After Emma wakes up from her 4-week-long coma, Ray and the whole group are by her side.

Cuvitidala Arc

Ray and his group infiltrated into a demon village in disguise after their search for the Golden Waters and the temple. As they walked past a group of demons in the village's market, one of the demons noticed Don's feet and informed the others. Before the demons could notice, Ray and the group rushed to the exit of the village and traveled to a forest nearby, as they saved themselves from getting caught. Afterward, Ray and the group returned to the shelter, reuniting with Mister, Lucas and the other orphans.[4]

King of Paradise Arc

Ray, Emma and the rest of the children arrive at the Paradise Hideout after escaping from the shelter. There, they are reunited with Norman.

Seven Walls Arc

Ray and Emma go to find the Seven Walls in order to reforge The Promise with DemonKing Name. Though, Ray is sent home by Him since he was not "qualified" to enter the Seven Walls.

Imperial Capital Battle Arc

After Emma successfully reforged The Promise by herself, Ray accompanies her to the Royal Capital to stop Norman to follow through with his extermination plan.

Return to Grace Field Arc

Ray and his team make their way to Grace Field House to save his family and friends who were kidnapped by Peter Ratri.

Human World Arc

Upon arriving in the Human World, Ray is seen to be visibly worried and shocked about Emma's disappearance. Ray, along with the other children, agrees to search for Emma so they can reunite with her again.[20] Over the two years spent in the Human World, Ray began attending school. During spring 2049, he finally reunites with Emma.[21] In the special epilogue chapter, Dreams Come True, Ray became a vice CEO and lived out his dream of seeing the Sagrada Familia.[22]

Abilities

Intelligence

Ray is an extremely intelligent and cunning strategist. He made mistakes on tests around the beginning, but after a few years, he got a perfect score almost every day; and for the last few years, he has always got a perfect score.[14] Ray is a highly intelligent boy and is the only one who can keep up with Norman's intelligence and is also known as "The Walking Encyclopedia". Quiet and meticulous, Ray always plans for the future and finds optimal solutions for things. Ray gains knowledge of the outside world from the books that he reads hence act as a trump card for the group during and after their escape from the Grace Field House.

Ray is also extremely perceptive, as it is revealed that he realized years ago that the "orphanage" is, in fact, a farm, with the children as livestock, without ever having to actually see the reality with his own eyes (like Emma and Norman) in order to realize this fact. Ray was also the first human (possibly aside from those working for the demons) to discover the demons' physical weakness (their middle eyes) and managed to get Emma to slay a wild demon before it ate him. Hence showing his capability in quick-thinking under pressure in a life-and-death situation.

Ray is also quick-witted, he understood Norman's plan to exterminate demons for the first time and he also understood and analyzed the Seven Walls of the world that he entered with Emma.

Hyperthymesia

Unlike others, Ray does not suffer from infantile amnesia, so he can remember details from when he was an infant, or even when he was in his mother's womb. Thanks to his natural ability, Ray was able to discover the secret of the orphanage and also that Isabella was his mother.

In connection to this, Ray has a great memory, as he when recalling which books in the archives mention ruins, he's not only able to remember the books but also, without even looking, their exact location on the shelves.

Physical Strength

Although he rarely performs physical activities with other children, Ray has demonstrated his good physical abilities, as Krone has reported that he is more Physically fit than Norman. He also has great physical strength and was able to hit the door of the Krone bedroom with a kick.

Culinary Skills

Ray and Pepe cooking

Ray and Pepe cooking Yakisoba.

Ray was taught about cooking by Mujika, and ever since, he has shown to be an excellent and talented cook. He's seen cooking the most often out of the Grace Field kids, and the other kids are seen at least once gushing over how good his cooking is. When he and Pepe helped Mister to make Yakisoba for his food stand, he was extremely fast at cooking them.[23]

Enhanced Stamina

Ray has proven himself to possess incredible stamina. He, together with Emma managed to follow Mister for days without slowing down or losing track of him when they followed him to Goldy Pond.[24] Ray was also able to outrun a wild demon for several minutes before Emma killed it.[25]

Relationships

Emma

Being orphans at Grace Field House Plant 3, Ray grew up with Emma and has been best friends with her ever since they were toddlers. Despite deeming his life as "cursed", Ray mentions that Emma and Norman mean the world to him and that the time he spent with them truly made him happy and his life worthwhile.[26] For Ray, seeing Emma and Norman make it out alive regarding the Grace Field Escape, was a top priority. At the same time, Ray has a rather complex relationship with Emma— as their personalities are arranged to contrast with each other's; with Emma being a jovial, gullible, and sociable person— and Ray as more of an edgy and sharp-witted introvert. After setting motion to the escape plan, Emma's optimism, ideals, nature, and opinions regularly get on Ray's nerves since they contrast so heavily to his own. This went to such a point that Ray asked Norman to hide their true plan (as in only bringing the three of them) from Emma.

However, despite their different ideals which occasionally lead to personality clashes, bickering, and disagreements, the two love each other regardless and help each other when one is in distress. Ray is always looking out for Emma, and they do not let their differences get in the way of their friendship, and they are always able to work things out and face no difficulties working together. Emma also encourages Ray to be more open and out-going, and frequently invites him to join the orphans in games such as a game of tag, and not have his head buried in a book all the time. Likewise, Ray encourages Emma to speak up, honestly tell people what's on her mind, and not to bottle up her feelings.

After Emma saved him from his suicide attempt and when Ray sees Emma and Norman's plan come to fruition almost flawlessly— the plan he once deemed impossible— he realizes he’s made an error in judgment. From that point on, he lends Emma his support and becomes incredibly loyal to her and his whole family. At the same time, Ray is still not above scolding her, calling her out on her shortcomings and mistakes. He still tells her what he thinks and still reminds her of reality, but now he understands she can handle it and is confident in her abilities. Ray is the one who reminds Emma that she needs to speak up and that her own doubts and insecurities are important.

Emma hugs Ray

Upon finding out Ray is alive, Emma tearfully embraces him.

Ever since their escape from Grace Field House, Ray and Emma have been working together and helping each other out in everything, and Ray has been been an aid in her plans. Due to his grief in losing Norman, Ray has become extremely protective of Emma since he doesn't want to lose her either. This is apparent as he cares for her deeply and rushes to her side whenever she is in danger. For instance, after Emma was gravely wounded from her fight with Leuvis, Ray asked Mister to take care of her since he could not do it himself, despite him not trusting or particularly liking Mister.

You make your choice. I will be by your side. Whatever path you take, I trust your judgment. After all, defying the impossible is what you do best!

Ray's supportive attitude towards Emma.[27]

Ray will not hesitate to comfort or reassure Emma when he senses that she needs him to, and he also goes out of his way to help Emma and notices her change in behavior.[28] For example, he was the only one who sensed that Emma was not pleased with Norman's plan of committing genocide on the demons and inquired her about it. He assessed the situation properly with her, considered her opinions, and tried to come to an agreement.[29][27] Although Ray admits that he doesn't empathize with Emma's doubt and agrees with Norman's plans, he still mentions that no matter what choice Emma makes or which path she walks, he will support and follow her since he completely trusts her judgment. This shows that Ray has gained much more respect for her as their leader, and Emma is grateful to have him by her side.

Norman

Growing up together for almost their entire lives, Ray has been best friends and brotherly figures with Norman. Ray views Norman and Emma as the most important people in his life and mentions that they matter more to him than anybody else. He thanks them for giving him such a happy life despite deeming his life as "cursed".[26] He is very devoted to both of them, as the six years he spent in strategizing the escape plan was for the sake of their survival. Norman is one of the people that Ray swore not to let die, and Ray does anything in his power to protect them, including selling himself off to Isabella and being ready to commit suicide to help them escape.

Ray respects Norman greatly and holds him in high regard, and at the same time, he acknowledges and understands Norman's strengths and weaknesses – knowing how he is one of the smartest children in the orphanage. Norman, as well, is deeply confident in Ray's abilities. After setting motion to the escape plan, the two boys put their trust in one another. Ray believes Norman to be more logical and less reckless as opposed to Emma and hence trusts and relies on him more. The two, however, do have opposing views on various situations, like when Ray wanted to leave the others behind to heighten the chance of their survival, while Norman, believing in Emma, wants to help find a way to help everyone escape. Additionally, even after finding out Ray was the spy, Norman refused to give up on him and the two were once again able to work on their differences and help each other out.

Ray and Norman on top of the wall

Ray sees an illusion of Norman on top of the wall during the escape.

After Norman was shipped out from Grace Field, Ray was devastated over the loss of his best friend. Following this, he became depressed and lost all hope to the degree of giving up and excluding himself from devising the escape plan with the other orphans. During the escape, when Emma saves Ray from his attempted suicide, she informs him that Norman was able to tell Ray's true intentions and was keen to not let him die. Norman also passed on a message from him to Emma, and then to Ray: "you can die anywhere, but this isn't the place. I'll show you something cool, so just shut and come."[30] After witnessing their plan come to fruition and hallucinating Norman telling him to not give up, it inspires Ray to keep living, dream for a hope-like future, and never abandon his family ever again.[18]

When they are reunited two years later, Ray breaks down in tears and pulls Norman and Emma into a hug. Ray also thanks Norman for indirectly saving him and "showing him something great" (as in the outside world), reflecting on Norman's message during the escape.[31] It is proven that they were no rift created between them, as they are able to spend time as usual and keep their dynamic like their time at Grace Field.[32]

Ray agrees with Norman's plan with exterminating the demons, but he does have some suspicions about it. When Emma voices her opinion in wishing to avoid killing the demons and instead wanting to reforge The Promise, Ray follows Emma through her plan instead; partly because he wants to support Emma, but mostly because he doesn't want Norman to sacrifice himself and bear all of his burdens by himself, just as he did in Grace Field. Ray is still determined to protect Norman no matter what despite their differing standpoints and ideals, showcasing how dear Norman is to Ray.

Even after Norman carried out his genocide plan, Ray still wanted to pursue a future where Norman didn't have to suffer, no matter what it would result in. Ray also sympathizes with him and reassures him that he is not alone anymore. Both Ray and Emma mentions that they want to walk alongside Norman, facing the painful and scary things and living on together. After a while, Norman is able to accept Ray and Emma's support and the three reconciles, vowing to never let anyone out of them to bear their burdens alone.[33]

Isabella

What will you do now? Kill me? Mama, I want to make a trade with you.

Ray asked Isabella to be her spy.[10]

In his early youth, Ray revealed to Isabella that he knew the orphanage's true purpose and that he had figured out their familial connection.[13] Ever since his 6th birthday, Ray worked as a double-agent for Isabella. In reality, he had been planning to escape this whole time. Despite their biological connection, their relationship was purely "professional", and while they mutually converse, their relationship remains tense. It is also implied that both sides felt little love towards each other, as Ray knows Isabella will proceed with sending him and his friends to their deaths. This leads Ray to determine the best way to deceive Isabella, and avoid this outcome. Although it is later revealed that Isabella does genuinely love Ray as her son, it is unknown in which way Ray views her.

During their reunion, Ray is very shocked to his mother again yet does not prioritize her presence as the lives of his family are more important.[34] After Isabella revealed herself to be on the children's side as she had betrayed Peter Ratri though, Ray is the most prominent person who convinces Isabella to follow the children to the human world. Despite her hesitancy, Ray puts himself in Isabella's shoes and mentions that despite her mistakes, no one would not resent or hold grudges anymore, so it would be fine for her and other adults to go with them. Isabella is touched and shocked by Ray among other's words and thinks back to the time when she first found out that Ray is her son. Although she doesn't understand how he could forgive her for putting him through so much, Isabella silently apologizes for everything as she weeps.[35]

Don

Ray views Don as a brotherly-figure. Despite little interaction being shown at first, they become allies after Don is recruited into the escape plan. Ray trusts him enough to tell him the truth without sugarcoating anything, yet calls him out on his mistakes when needed. Despite their initial fall-outs after Don was exposed to the truth of the House and Isabella, and to extent realizing that Ray had watched Conny be shipped off without doing anything, they were able to reconcile and help each other out.

After being able to work on their differences and learning to work together, Ray and Don became much closer. Ray entrusts many tasks to Don and is able to confide anything to him. Likewise, Ray is the only one who, aside from Emma, that Don views as a leader, and he respects him greatly. Demonstrated from after their escape, Ray and Don get along very well despite their differences in personality, being able to do everything from joking around, entrusting important tasks to one another, and exploring unknown areas together. Although Don is the more emotional one out of the two who shows his worry towards Ray and Emma strongly, and Ray is more level-headed, Ray cares for his foster brother dearly and has deep faith in his abilities.

Gilda

Despite little interaction between Ray and Gilda being shown at first, they become allies after Gilda is recruited into the escape plan. Ray trusts Gilda and sees her as more level-headed compared to Don, yet calls her out on her mistakes when needed. Despite their initial fall-outs after Gilda was exposed to the truth of the House and Isabella, they were able to reconcile and help each other out.

After the escape from Grace Field, Ray found a close sister-figure in Gilda. He respects her greatly and has deep faith in her abilities, to the point where Gilda and Don were the only people, besides Emma and Norman, Ray could've imagined bringing into the escape plan. He also supports Gilda whenever she sets Emma straight for being too reckless.[36] In return, Gilda cares and loves Ray as a brother deeply, and is constantly worried about his and Emma's well-being. She even threatened Mister that she would blow up the shelter if he returned with neither Emma or Ray of them alive from their journey to Goldy Pond.[37]

Jemima

During the escape from Grace Field, Ray comforted and helped Jemima cross the cliff when the girl was scared of doing so. Thereafter, Ray hugged Jemima close and proclaimed to himself how he had lost to Norman and now wanted to protect his family when he had previously thought about leaving them behind.[18] Following this, Ray and Jemima formed a notably strong and close sibling-like bond, and Jemima has gained a deep attachment to Ray. She cares about him deeply and is always worried and concerned about his well-being; for example, she ran into his arms and hugged him when she thought how Ray previously was in grave danger.[36] Ray, in turn, cares for Jemima just as much and views her as a younger sister who he wants to protect, which is specifically seen when he immediately embraced Jemima upon learning that their shelter had been ambushed.[38]

Anna

While their initial interactions are somewhat scarce due to Ray's quiet and independent nature, Ray considered Anna (among with the other children) a potential burden to the escape plan. Unbeknownst to Ray, however, Emma made Anna aware of Ray's plan to commit suicide the morning of his birthday. Anna cut off her braids to help create a convincing decoy for Isabella, so that Ray's suicide attempt could be avoided and he could escape along with them. Ray seems shocked and rather touched to see Emma presenting Anna's braids, as her long hair was her most identifiable feature.

Shortly after escaping beyond the wall, Ray apologizes for what happened to her hair. Anna surprises him by dismissing any need for him to apologize, and instead wishes him a happy birthday. Anna's words amongst other factors were the reasons to why Ray swore to protect his family when he previously thought about leaving his family behind.[9] Following this event, Ray and Anna develop a friendship, as Anna can be seen cheerfully helping Ray cook (along with Jemima) in the shelter. Anna also tends Ray's wound left behind by his injured ear, in which Anna expresses relief that the wound seems to have healed properly, and Ray thanks her for taking care of him and for her efforts during the preparations.[37]

Yugo

Ray and Mister did not see eye to eye ever since they first met. Their animosity deepens as soon as Mister threatens to kill him and Emma. During the journey to Goldy Pond, Ray is very suspicious of Mister and never lets his guard down around him. However, after working together in defeating the enemies of Goldy Pond and witnessing how Mister had become an invaluable ally to them, Ray started to warm up to him, and after their escape from Goldy Pond, Ray and Mister came to terms and were friendlier towards each other, shown when he trusted Mister to take a severely injured Emma back to the B06-32 shelter.

Ray was one of the few children whom Mister could talk about serious matters with, and likewise, Ray could confide anything to him; showcasing a deep trust between them. It also appears as if Mister acted as a father figure to Ray and the other children, playfully patting him on the head and stating that he would never let Ray take the burden of shooting another human. When Ray, on another instance, was ready to shoot Andrew, he apologized to Mister. Later, Ray is seen mourning Mister after he sacrificed himself in the explosion to save the children.

Lucas

Grace Field Escapees

Sonju

Mujika

Krone

Andrew

Peter Ratri

Alex Mikhaylov

Gallery

Trivia

  • In the special edition of Volume 13, in an interview with Posuka Demizu and Kaiu Shirai, the two explained how Ray was supposed to die. The idea, however, was scrapped.[39]
  • Ray's favorite food is asparagus.[14]
  • Kaiu Shirai revealed Ray, Emma, and Norman's birthdays in Volume 5, though he stated how Ray's birthday is on January 15th, he later stated how Ray's birthday is actually on another date.
  • A mini-game in The Promised Neverland official site revealed two manga pages for players who achieved high scores. The pages showed how Isabella named Ray after the American singer-songwriter Ray Charles.
    • Isabella furthermore explained how she was listening to Ray Charles' music which gave her the idea of giving Ray the musician's name, and how "Ray" is a unisex name and is of no particular nationality, which makes sense since Ray Charles is an African-American.
    • It is possible that Isabella was lying about this, since in the official fanbook it is confirmed that the Grandma decides the names of all the children born at Grace Field, not the Mamas.[14]
  • Ray has achieved a full score in all daily tests, except the ave.2, he has got a 292 out of 300.[2]
  • Several pieces of information of Ray are revealed in a Twitter Q&A with authors Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu.
    • One of Ray's favorite things to do is disassembling machines. He liked to take items such as clocks apart together with Norman when they were younger.[40]
    • Posuka Demizu considers Ray to be a fast character to create as compared to Norman and Emma.[41]
    • Ray's dream, when he can get into the Human World in future, is to see the famous Mona Lisa painting and the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain.[42]
    • According to Kaiu Shirai, Ray's running speed is superior to Norman but inferior to Emma, regardless of whether the running distance is long or short, he would easily win against Norman but lose to Emma. Emma would be first, Ray would be second and Norman would be last.[43]
  • Several pieces of information of Ray are revealed in Volume 13 Special Edition's Q&A.
    • Ray was supposed to die.
    • When asked which character Shirai is like the most, Shirai answered Ray, explaining how the way he tends to get desperate and throw in the towel is a lot like the slightly crazy side of Ray.
    • A translated conversation between Demizu and Shirai talking about several proposals they did for Ray, which were scrapped:
      • Demizu: I submitted several proposals for Ray, but for some reason, the one that got noticed was something I’d drawn in an offhanded way, as a doodle.
      • Shirai: There was a sort of scribbled proposal with a note that said something like “If we hid one of Ray’s eyes, I bet he’d be popular,” and both the editor and I said, “This is wonderful!”.
      • Demizu: The proposal where his eye was hidden was a casual sketch; I’d thought it might give him a sort of shadowy air and make him look cool, and I very nearly scrapped it. I’d assumed that, as with their clothes, their hairstyles would be restricted for hygienic reasons. But when Shirai-sensei saw it, the response I got was that impossible one...
      • Shirai: If it’s Ray, it’s okay! That was definitely the coolest option.
      • Demizu: Yeah! But thanks to that, he is popular, too.
      • Shirai: You’re right; a lot of people say they like Ray, which is great. At first, there were lots of other, more wholesome-looking Rays. (laughs) Like a sports club senpai, for example; all sorts.
      • Demizu: The type that says, “In accordance with regulations, I trim my bangs properly!”.
    • Shirai and Demizu commented on how the character design for Ray was going to be like:
      • Shirai: It was about the black hair and dark eyes.
      • Demizu: There was something vague about wanting him to match Isabella. Oh, that's right. Other than that, what he has in common with Isabella are his eyelids and eyebrows, I guess... So I could emphasize a sharpness that would make you wonder if he would become more like her as he grew up. But I couldn't spoil that, so I made the balance between Emma, Norman, and Ray first priority.
  • Kaiu Shirai's commented in Volume 5 how Ray at a young age aimed to read all the books in Grace Field House before he turns 12. Hence in Chapter 32, 14 January 2046, one day right before his 12th birthday, the book he has is the final book he just finished reading.
    • When Ray was around 4 to 5 years old, he revealed how all the books he had read are fantasy books, thus implying how fantasy is his favorite genre of books as they are the first type of books he chose to read.[44]
  • Ray, unlike the other orphans, didn't experience childhood amnesia. This contributed greatly to his discovery about the truth of the orphanage. It is likely that he has hypermnesia- abnormally sharp or vivid recall.
  • Ray originally had a tendency to scold Emma by hitting her head when she said something silly. Eventually, he is seen patting Emma's, Phil's, and other of his younger sibling's heads, suggesting that it has become a form of affection.
  • The following are Ray's rankings in some of The Promised Neverland's official popularity polls.
    • In The Promised Neverland's official LINE account's Best Color Illustration Character Poll results announced in Chapter 75, Ray is in 3rd place.
    • In Shounen Jump's popularity poll results released in May 2018 in Chapter 88 of the Manga, Ray is in 3rd place.
    • In commemoration of the manga's 2nd Anniversary, in Shounen Jump's 2nd popularity poll results released in September 2018 in Chapter 102, Ray is in 3rd place with a total of 4651 votes.
  • One year, Ray received a pocket-watch for his birthday.[14]
  • When asked who wins more at chess - Norman or Ray, Shirai responded, "Until the night of October 17, 2045, the winning count was almost a tie."[14]
  • According to Shirai, if Emma and Norman had not been there, Ray possibly would have accepted the fate of being shipped out.[14]
  • Ray had been planning and preparing for the escape since he was six years old, but he did not come up with the idea of lighting himself on fire and burning the house down until he was around seven years old.[14]
  • Before he escaped from Grace Field, Ray was originally planned to be shipped out to be the meal during the next Tifari.[45]
  • Ray does not believe in ghosts.[46]
  • As of 2045, Ray sleeps in the same bedroom as Conny, Don, Anna, Alicia, Nina, Eugene and two other children.

Etymology

  • Old French rey, roy 'king'. Occasionally this was used as a personal name. English: nickname for a timid person, from Middle English ray 'female roe deer' or northern Middle English ray 'roebuck'. English: variant of Rye (1 and 2).

See Also

Other Wikis

References

  1. Volume 5 Authors' Notes
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 1
  3. 3.0 3.1 'The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 32
  4. 4.0 4.1 The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 102
  5. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 181
  6. Volume 1 extra page
  7. The Promised Neverland Fanbook
  8. The Promised Neverland Fanbook
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 38
  10. 10.0 10.1 The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 28
  11. The Promised Neverland manga: Volume 2 Christmas Omake
  12. Volume 2 Offscene 6
  13. 13.0 13.1 The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 37
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 The Promised Neverland Fanbook
  15. Volume 4 Authors' Notes
  16. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 34
  17. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 31, pages 4-5
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 36
  19. The Promised Neverland Fanbook
  20. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 179
  21. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 181
  22. The Promised Neverland Dreams Come True
  23. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 97 Omake, page 24
  24. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 63, page 9
  25. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 62, page 11 to 13
  26. 26.0 26.1 The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 93, page 1
  27. 27.0 27.1 The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 123, pages 16-17
  28. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 121, page 7
  29. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 122, pages 11-14
  30. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 33, page 16
  31. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 119
  32. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 121
  33. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 153, pages 15-19
  34. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 166
  35. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 174
  36. 36.0 36.1 The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 48, page 17
  37. 37.0 37.1 The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 59
  38. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 103, page 20
  39. Interview with Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu (Japanese)
  40. The Promised Neverland Questionnaire #2
  41. The Promised Neverland Questionnaire #1
  42. The Promised Neverland 100th Chapter Commemoration Questionnaire #8
  43. Twitter Interview Question 16
  44. A Letter from Norman: Chapter 1, page 26
  45. The Promised Neverland manga: Chapter 33
  46. A Letter from Norman: Chapter 1

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The Promised Neverland Characters
Main Characters: Emma  •  Norman  •  Ray
Humans
Grace Field Escapees: Alicia  •  Anna  •  Chris  •  Dominic  •  Don  •  Emma  •  Gilda  •  Jemima  •  Lannion  •  Mark  •  Nat  •  Ray  •  Rossi  •  Thoma  •  Yvette
Shipped Out: Conny  •  Leslie  •  Michelle  •  Norman  •  Olivia  •  Simon  •  Susan  •  Robert  •  Marcus  •  Abby  •  Cecile  •  Hao  •  Sadie  •  Chucky  •  Jimmy  •  Helena  •  James  •  Gary  •  Light-haired boy  •  Black-haired girl  •  Light-haired girl  •  Kate  •  Hana  •  Cindy  •  Eric  •  Grant  •  Mack  •  Rosie  •  Gotao?  •  Adela
Grace Field House Orphans: Phil  •  Carol  •  Chamberlain  •  Dalia  •  Damdin  •  Eugene  •  Hans  •  Jasper  •  Marnya  •  Naila  •  Nina  •  Sherry  •  Tom  •  Vivian  •  Charlie  •  Milly  •  Jackie  •  Helen  •  Gray-haired girl  •  Brown-haired girl  •  Light brown-haired boy  •  Dark brown-haired boy  •  Blonde-haired boy  •  Black-haired boy  •  Mike
Caretakers: Krone  •  Isabella  •  Previous Grandmother  •  Sarah  •  Yukko  •  Sienna  •  Scarlet  •  Matilda  •  Jessica
Ratri Clan: Andrew  •  Julius Ratri  •  Mike Ratri  •  Peter Ratri  •  William Minerva
Minerva's Group: Ayshe  •  Barbara  •  Cislo  •  Hayato  •  Jin  •  Smee  •  Vincent  •  Zazie
Goldy Pond: Adam  •  Gillian  •  Jake  •  Monica  •  Nigel  •  Oliver  •  Paula  •  Pepe  •  Sandy  •  Sonya  •  Theo  •  Violet  •  Windmill Boy  •  Zack  •  Johnny  •  Fred  •  Mary  •  Malcolm  •  Elliot  •  Michael  •  Lucy  •  Lala  •  Emilia  •  Sophie
Glory Bell Escapees: Yugo  •  Lucas  •  Dina  •  Nicolas  •  Erica  •  Mike  •  John  •  Anny  •  Walter  •  Maria  •  Damian  •  Viviana  •  Flore  •  Abel  •  Pedro  •  Jatte  •  Hilda  •  Bess  •  Stacie
Ancestors: Julius Ratri  •  Bald man  •  Bearded man  •  Black-haired man  •  Orange-haired man  •  White-haired woman
Other humans: Margo  •  Rita  •  Leo  •  Father  •  Mr. Mendel  •  Alex Mikhaylov  •  Ugo
Demons
Royal Family: DemonKing Name  •  Legravalima
Five Regent Families: Bayon II  •  Dozza  •  Geelan  •  Pupo  •  Noum  •  Yverk  •  Noumu  •  Former Lord Noum  •  Lady Bayon  •  Bayon II's child  •  Bayon II's baby
Heathens: Mujika  •  Sonju
Poachers: Bayon  •  Leuvis  •  Luce  •  Nouma  •  Nous  •  Palvus  •  Luce's servants  •  Bayon's servants
Civilians: Ayshe's father  •  Awla  •  Mawla  •  Vylk  •  Emma (Demon)  •  Grace Field Boss Demon  •  The Pursuer  •  Mawla and Awla's mother  •  Mawla and Awla's father  •  The High Priest  •  The Four Sages
Animals
Animals: Palvus  •  Sonju's horse  •  Cuvitidala Dragon  •  Minerva's Owl  •  Ayshe's dogs  •  Goowee  •  Marvine  •  Flying newts  •  Betty  •  Oscar  •  Samuel  •  Susie  •  NER
Groups
Groups: Ancestors  •  Andrew's Teammates  •  Bayon's servants  •  Demons  •  Five Regent Families  •  Goldy Pond Resistance  •  Grandmas  •  Heathens  •  Luce's servants  •  Mamas  •  Orphans  •  Poachers  •  Ratri Clan  •  Sisters
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