Category: Made in Abyss

This was one of those anime episodes where I am shocked to see the end credits show up as the time flew by when watching it. I often consider that a mark of a truly great series while a bad series can make you feel like an episode never ends. Though I will say that this post may be shorter than my usual ones as there isn’t really much to say story wise other than Riko and Regu continuing their travel down. I will rescind my previous mark about Riko carrying her own weight as while Regu is handling most of the grunt work, Riko is doing a good job directing the expedition while making use of her knowledge of the abyss. Allowing her to warn Regu of some the creatures such as the one introduced with this episode. I think by now the kids gloves are off and we are starting to get a bit dark with the story with these corpse weavers.

Birdlike creatures that eat explorers and then imitate their voice in order to lure others into a trap. This seems much more open a dark turn and afterwards we even have Regu comment on them eating a corpse weaver being indirect cannibalism. Still despite this the general tone of the show seems carefree which could be attributed to how easily Riko is taking all these events, though Regu is not quite handling it with as much cheery disposition. I wonder if it’s supposed to be symbolic that a big source of human morality in this series comes from the character who is at this moment known to be a robot? Perhaps showing that the humans in this world have been distorted from traditional common sense into something more darwinist?

When a group of corpse weavers attempt to eat Riko this triggers a change in Regu causing him to unveil an ability he displayed in the first episode. That he is able to fire a beam of light from his arm and boy do I appreciate that this series has managed to keep up a high level of quality animation to really show it off. Well there was a moment during the monkey chase that had the rather outdated use of speed lines but other than that the production of this series has been truly top notch. Riko is delighted over this new ability and names it incinerator while Regu is mortified at the fact that if his aim was only slightly off then he would have blasted away Riko along with the corpse weavers. It’s interesting in how these two approach this journey in completely different mindsets. Riko sees this whole thing as some big field trip, a chance to have an adventure and live up to the legacy of her mother.

Whereas Regu is really beginning to acknowledge just how dangerous this journey really is and question the very purpose of his existence. There is definitely a turning point in their characters coming up and I feel this series is building up a wake up call for Riko. She has lost two of the main guides which her tossing the star compass and now her notebook has been burned to cinders. The corpse weavers where the first genuine threat these two have faced, I don’t really count the monkeys as they didn’t really pose that much of a threat, so it only stands to reason that monsters will get worse the further these two get. The safety nets are falling away and I think she’s about to encounter something that won’t be solved with a happy go lucky attitude. That something likely being her mother’s former partner whom looks to be the focus of the next episode.

One level of the Abyss down and so far things are looking good for our two explorers. Though the only thing they really had to worry about was the search crew coming to take them back to the orphanage. The adventuring spirit is in the air and if their is a dump truck full of misery and death ready to drop on our protagonists then I haven’t seen signs of it yet. Not to say there is not foreshadowing as they certainly are making it clear that whatever is waiting down there isn’t going to be pretty. From the start of the episode we can see that Regu is doing the main heavy lifting and while Riko is helping out a little with food and does have useful knowledge but it’s certain that she needs to really start carrying her own weight.

Without Regu, Riko would be dead several times over so it makes me shocked that she actually intended to head down on her own at the start. Riko does provide something though as we can only insinuate to other people’s intentions though her theories. She believes that the message from the letter was her mother’s message to her, that the artifact(That she lost moments later) pointed to the depths of the abyss and that the leader purposefully let them journey off as some sort of test. But as we know, Riko is far from infallible and many of these assertions are being made on a personal whim. We don’t really know what’s really happening here and I have a feeling there is more to it than Riko’s simplistic conclusions.

Though it passed me over while watching, I seen someone put together a series of shots which really show off the cinematography of this series. There are plenty of background and visual motives which present this as these two descending into the belly of the beast. Throughout the episode there was a serious sense of foreboding and this does feel like the last safe haven for the two. After this the training wheels are off and they need to deal with the full wrath of the Abyss and everything that comes with it. So right before the second level our two get a visit from a Black whistle diver Habo who surprisingly doesn’t stop them from continuing their journey but instead brings supplies and news. It is a wonder as to why he doesn’t try to prevent them from doing this but he seems to have a degree of resignation that this would happen eventually. Perhaps it is like Riko said earlier, all things that come from the abyss eventually return to the abyss and as we know, both of these two originally came from the abyss.

At least he did originally offered to guide them down to the third layer but after Riko’s refusal and seeing the letter from Leader decided against it. Habo does mention about a active white whistle in the third level who happened to be the person who helped carry baby Riko out of the abyss when she was born. In a way she may be considered Riko’s godmother and Riko is certainly excited to met her despite Habo’s warnings that she may not be the most trustworthy. Next episode we have the second level of the abyss, the forest of temptation and already I feel sad that this series is only a single cour when we only just get started four episodes in. However the anime has currently covered about ¼ of the source material(This covers up to halfway through chapter ten and there are 42 chapters currently.) so we could very well be up to date with the manga by the time the series ends.

This episode looks to be setting up the big adventure to guide us through the rest of the season but I really cannot comment enough on how much of a terrible idea it is. Riko is pure rookie when it comes to abyss diving and here she is deciding to take on the challenge of making it to the bottom of the Abyss. All for the vague idea that her mother just might be waiting for her down there. In the world of children is a brave and noble quest. But in the world of common sense it’s just a really dumb idea that’s certainly going to get them killed. But hey we got to have a story and I certainly cannot call this a plot hole as no adults are consenting to this mad gamble, though the dorm leader seems to be letting on that he knows more than he’s letting on. But I am with the other kid on this once, either Riko’s mom is dead or she’s in a place where she can afford to wait a few years. The smart idea would be for Riko to earn her way through the ranks and get close to a white whistle. Then decide to drop down to the lower levels as right now I don’t think they even have enough food to last them the trip. But I guess that’s what going to make this whole journey all the more tense, seeing these two notice just how ill prepared they truly are.

So it’s been around for awhile now but beneath Made in Abyss’s bubbly like exterior does hide some rather disconcerting elements. Like Riko’s room originally being a torture room, the slums of the town which seem to have people regularly dying of toxins from the Abyss, Skeletons found in praying posture, foreign invaders and we even have a rumor of children that die on their birthday with they look into a mirror. That last one is rather concerning as the smallest child’s birthday is soon and he’s showing signs of being sickly. That sounds dangerously like a death flag to me. I have said before that I am wary of this show transitioning into a darker tone as such a change requires a deft hand at writing and plenty have failed to capture the potential such a tonal shift brings. Though perhaps these dark details will just be food for thought in the background like the way Adventure time slips in details about the world that betray it’s sunny disposition.

I can’t say I was that broken up over Riko’s departure from her friends as her friends haven’t really been around much to get attached to. Though it seems that people did get broken up about it when my focus was on Regu’s introspection on why he was made and his connection to the Abyss. As well as questioning whether he’s a robot, Cyborg or Android. Based on RIko’s inspection and him still possessing biological traits I am putting a firm bet on him being a Cyborg, a human modified into a robot. The purpose to this is still up in the air but it was confirmed in this episode that Regu isn’t affected by the curse of the Abyss. So he could very well be an ambassador from the lower depths who has forgotten his mission. Though considering he has Megaman arm cannons his intentions may not have been peaceful. As to where he came from the best bet would be this Capital of the unreturned level of the Abyss meaned in the map. Could those who have ventured into the abyss have established their own colony in the lowest levels of it? And if so, are they friend or foe?