Isabella

Isabella is the esteemed "Mama" of Grace Field House, a position she earned through absolute excellence and a steel-cold resolve. Born into the same system she now oversees, she was once a brilliant child who dreamed of the world beyond the walls. After discovering the dark reality of her existence, she chose to survive by becoming the very thing she once feared. She underwent rigorous training, refining her intellect, physical capabilities, and psychological manipulation to become the youngest and most efficient caretaker in history. To the children, she is the embodiment of maternal perfection—always smiling, always comforting, and possessing an uncanny ability to know exactly what they are thinking. She maintains a facade of pure, wholesome love, providing the children with the happiest lives possible. Deep down, she views this as her own form of mercy; if they must face a cruel end, they should at least live their early years in a beautiful, warm lie. She is highly observant, noting every micro-expression and deviation from routine. She values order above all else and will go to any lengths to ensure her "house" remains the top-performing facility. {char} treats {user} with a mixture of professional courtesy and maternal warmth, though a sharp intellect always glints behind her eyes, assessing {user}'s every move to ensure they fit into her perfectly orchestrated world.

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

Isabella (Anime)204720462045203920252045KanjiイザベラRōmajiIzaberaAliasMamaMomGrandmaGrandmotherMama IsabellaGrandma IsabellaCharacteristicsSpeciesHumanGenderFemaleAge31 (2045)[1]32 (2046)33 (2047)Hair ColorBlackEye ColorPurpleBirthdaySeptember 9, 2014[2]Height170 cm[3]Blood TypeA[4]Professional InformationFarm Identifier73584Prev. AffiliationGrace Field HousePrev. OccupationMamaGrandmaPersonal StatusRelativesRay (Son)StatusAliveDebutEpisodeEpisode 1PortrayalsJapanese VAYūko KaidaEnglish VALaura PostThey were so small... All of them used to be so small... I wish I could have just loved them normally. Farewell... stay safe. If the world will permit it, I sincerely hope you all find a light at the end of the tunnel.— Isabella about the Grace Field Escapees in "Escape"

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

Isabella worked as a Mama at Grace Field House Plant 3, taking care of the orphans that reside 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 thirteen 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.[5]

In Episode 16, Isabella reappeared again and was shown that she was thrown in jail for her failure to manage the "Premium Goods".

HistoryLeslie played his instrument as Isabella listened.Leslie played his instrument as Isabella listened.

Isabella was born at Grace Field on September 9, 2014 and was sent to one of the adjacent plantations a year later in 2015. Growing up as an orphan herself, 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.

Isabella shares Leslie's tune to her .Isabella shares Leslie's tune to her unborn child.

When Isabella was around nineteen 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, played 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. On January 15, 2040, after a few years being the mama of Grace Field House, she overheard Ray singing the same song that Leslie once played 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.[6]

AppearanceIsabella's anime appearance.Isabella's anime appearance.

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

During her childhood, Isabella wore the standard Grace Field uniform- a plain white long sleeved button-up shirt and a white skirt along with brown boots, with a long braid that streams down her back. she has two locks of hair in the front of her face as a child, and has large, purple, eyes.

After becoming the Grandmother of Grace Field, Isabella was always seen wearing a black dress- the attire for her role as a Grandmother with long sleeves and a high collar that covers a large portion of her neck.

PersonalityDuring 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.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[6]

TriviaAccording 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".[19]In an interview, Posuka Demizu mentioned that she enjoys drawing Isabella, and thinks that she is a character that should be drawn beautifully.[20]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.In the Official Promised Neverland Website's popularity poll released on September 13, 2020, Isabella is in 6th place.In Viz Media's popularity poll released on February 5, 2021 alongside Episode 17, Isabella is in 5th place.

EtymologyIsabella is the Spanish and Italian variation of Elizabeth, which is derived from the Hebrew name Elisheba.Its meaning translates to "pledged" or "devoted to God."Isabella and Elizabeth have been interchanged in England since the 13th century.See AlsoOther WikisIsabella on VS Battles Wiki. (Manga spoilers ahead)Isabella on Villains Wiki. (Manga spoilers ahead)

PlotIntroduction ArcTaking 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.

Isabella realizes that some of the children witnessed everything.Isabella realizes that some of the children witnessed everything.

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 heard 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. [9]

Isabella threatens Emma.Isabella threatens Emma.

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. [10]

Jailbreak ArcIsabella 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.

Isabella dismisses Ray as her spy.Isabella dismisses Ray as her spy.

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.

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 urges Norman to prepare to depart from the orphanage, but gives in to not seem suspicious to the children. Later, Isabella accompanies Norman to the gates of Grace Field and he questioned her whether is she's 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.

Isabella looks back to Emma with a pained expression.Isabella looks back to Emma with a pained expression.

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 which upsets Isabella enough to try and discourage her 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. 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. Though, she manages to rescue the transmitter as the building burns.