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?
@aidanak47 this is one of the cases where child will take a big risk just to see family she didnt meet for a long time even if outher tell her she might be dead
also usually i not compare 2 shows to each outher but it reminds of me of outher show of a child who go on journey to find his mother which is no less dengoures
They’ve been building up the death flags for a while, but this episode with the detailed structure of the abyss I felt had great impact. Really hope they deliver on the flags.
I’m going to wait instead of thinking too hard about whether Riko is suitable for the task or not. She’s either super badly affected by the abyss (“remember how much you threw up on your first dive”) or she’s not because something about being born in the abyss. This will be answered shortly, though the world building is so interesting so far.
Reg’s cannons don’t necessarily mean that he isn’t peaceful, it was probably just given to him for self-defence reasons. The Abyss is filled with terrible monsters and other abominations so a messenger needs to be able to fight or else his chances to reach the surface are rather thin.