No tags yet.
Made In Abyss
When You Stare Long Enough Into the Abyss...
Series in a Sentence
Spurred on by a letter coming from the depths of the Abyss, Riko, the daughter of a legendary Cave Raider, and Reg, a mysterious robot found in the abyss, embark on a journey into the unknown.
What I liked
My goodness the way this show was laid out was addicting. I’m a huge JRPG fan and this series brought back memories of playing some classic games. Jumping in with Rico mid-cave dive and getting saved by Reg was a smart move as it immediately immersed me in the world of the show. Likewise, being able to discover everything alongside Reg was the perfect way to integrate explanation concerning the rules of the world. Again, this technique reminded me of many a videogame. Like videogames, too, many of the adult interactions and monster encounters felt like boss fights, with Jiruo’s chase, the Corpse Weeper encounter, and the meeting with Ozen being particular highlights to me. Speaking of highlights, though, nothing could stand up to the confrontation with the Orbed Piercer. While this fight provided what was, to me, one of the most brutal and shocking scenes in any anime in recent memory (aided by the art style), this fight also was a smart way to encapsulate all of what Rico and Reg had learned about in earlier episodes. You had the unique monster representing the dangers of adventuring into the unknown, you had the threat of the curse of the abyss preventing significant escape, you had Reg’s struggle with whether or not to use his incinerator, and you had Riko’s “everything will work out in the end” attitude directly challenged. On top of that, this encounter introduced Nanachi in a natural way, set up her backstory along with Mitty, and foreshadowed things to come. With how much I’m gushing over this series, it’s really not hard to see how much I loved it but not many series can make everything in a story feel so constantly meaningful, impactful, and important. All in all, I loved how the series set up rules for the world while having those rules be a constant threat, constantly challenged the main cast through humans and monsters alike, and stuck to the flow naturally established by the layout of the Abyss itself.
What I Didn’t Like
Really, there isn’t much to say about what I didn’t like other than the fact that it was so short. In all seriousness, the length was kind of an issue because some of the plot points that were set up felt rushed at times in order to fit into an episode. Instances of this include Jiruo’s chase of them and Riko and Reg’s training with Ozen. I haven’t read the manga at all at the time this was written so maybe it was like that in the source material, but for the few moments that feel as though the payoff didn’t equate to the setup I was a bit disappointed. I have to emphasize, though, that these moments are really scarce and didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the show in any way.
Overall Feelings
Made In Abyss shook me to the core when I watched it, and for more than one reason. I was disappointed in myself for not giving it a chance initially based on the main character designs; I was blown away by the music; I loved the setting and setup; I was shocked by the Orb Piercer. This series had so much to offer in such a relatively short period of time that by the end I was wishing for a continuation in some form (and thankfully we got it). This series took my expectations and blew them away. I was missing this sense of adventure and it took something that I didn’t know I wanted to help bring that back.