Made in Abyss: Retsujitsu no Ougonkyou

After surviving the brutal challenges of Idofront, Riko now possesses a White Whistle, allowing her to descend into the Abyss's sixth layer—The Capital of the Unreturned. Alongside Reg and Nanachi, Riko begins to explore the uncharted domain, where the ruins of the promised Golden City are located.

As the trio starts to adapt to the harsh environment, they soon encounter dangerous creatures and treacherous landscapes. Their expedition leads them to a village inhabited by strange beings known as "hollows." Despite the creeping sense of unease that welcomes them, the three venture onward to uncover the mysteries of the settlement and long-lost legacies of the forgotten adventurers who once descended into the horrors of the unexplored Abyss.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Nanachi Main

Izawa, Shiori Japanese

Reg Main

Ise, Mariya Japanese

Riko Main

Tomita, Miyu Japanese

Bondrewd Supporting

Morikawa, Toshiyuki Japanese

Faputa Supporting

Kuno, Misaki Japanese

Eluko, Vuelo Supporting

Terasaki, Yuka Japanese

Mitty Supporting

Kitamura, Eri Japanese

Prushka Supporting

Minase, Inori Japanese

Maaa Supporting

Ichinose, Kana Japanese

Wazukyan Supporting

Hirata, Hiroaki Japanese

Yamashita, Shinpei Producer

Arimizu, Soujirou Producer

Uchibayashi, Noriyoshi Producer

Takenaka, Nobuhiro Producer

Reviews

Sep 28, 2022

Mcsuper

Recommended

The kid gloves are off. Although some people still do, we can’t pretend this is the happy go lucky journey down the Abyss that we thought this show was going to be back when Season 1 aired all the way back in 2017. One thing that hasn’t changed since then is my undeniable intrigue I have with this series. The adventuring, the stunning scenery, the immaculate OST, the characters, basically everything resonated with me, and with this season of Made In Abyss, that was no different.

Since this show is about children, I can relate it to my own childhood to some extent, so I’ll tell ... a quick story. I loved the outdoors a lot as a kid, and still do. I enjoyed hiking and camping a lot, just the wilderness in general, though I didn’t know the necessary worldly survival skills like making a fire, or using a compass. One, scorching summer afternoon, I went on a hike with my friends and parents, into quite a large forest. We walked and walked until “Two roads diverged in a wood”. Being my adventurous and fearless self, “I took the one less traveled by”, albeit with a couple people. It was a maze of trees, and a winding road, far different from the other road, that some of the others from my group travelled on. Knowing that forests were home to such creatures like bears, coyotes, and the creepiest of creatures, I still felt like the happiest little kid in the world, prancing down the forest like nobody’s business. The sun set, and we were set to return from where we came from, back home. However, in our inexperience of the outdoors, we got lost, in the night. We wandered and wandered with seemingly no exit from the vast forest. Hearing the creatures around me, I felt for the first time, a sense of fear, that something might attack my unprepared, vulnerable self. In my fear, I tripped on a branch and injured my leg a little bit. Eventually, my group found the exit, and although those gruelling hours of being lost were some of the toughest in my life, I never stopped being excited about the unknown.

And that’s because I started to learn, that there will always be ups and downs in life, and whenever you mess up, it’s always a chance to learn new things, new skills, such as how I could not get lost in a forest next time. The characters in Made In Abyss do much of the same thing, they have encountered their fair share of troubles, but it never gets them down, they learn from the troubles, and have undeniable courage to tackle whatever the Abyss throws at them. At its core, Made In Abyss is a tale of a life’s journey, and one’s slow but sure maturity.

My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20

STORY: 24/25

This season was a very interesting one to me in that although it’s very self-contained in the Golden City, it tackles the journeys of the past and present, the past being the first adventurers who ventured into the Golden City, the Ganja Squad, and the present being the characters we all know, Riko, Reg, and Nanachi. It further splits into different paths, as each character from the present has their own set of experiences in the Golden City, and each learn vastly different things, and encounter varying things, good and bad. The darkness is instilled in the story from the first moment of the season, and never turns back, yet there are some light moments in the series as well. The Golden City is home to a village, which has their own culture, such as currency, and language, that serves as a very intriguing exploration element that feels as good as the first season, where Riko and Reg explored the wilderness, this time, they explored a city with its own lightness and darkness.

For characters from the past and present alike, the Abyss still remains as great metaphor of one’s progression in life. The fact that the sixth layer of the Abyss represents “The Point of No Return”, hammers home the fact that we as humans, only move forward, not back. We can’t go back to being the starry-eyed children we once were, and no matter how hard life gets, we must persevere and find new ways to improve our life and survive. No matter what mistakes we made, we can’t live in the past, because like the Abyss, the real world doesn’t wait for us to get back on our feet and recover. The real world presents us with a barrage of puzzles to solve every single day, so if we get weighed down by our past regrets, we’ll get swallowed up by the curse of the Abyss.

ART: 9.6/10

Still very visually appealing with great scenery and I love that they didn’t hold back in the dark moments. The visuals in those moments looked blood-curdling, spine-chilling, and that is what Made In Abyss does so well.

MUSIC: 9.7/10

The music by Kevin Penkin instills a great sense of atmosphere, and is very resonant. It’s tempting to listen to it again and again because you can just close your eyes and imagine yourself on an adventure (though maybe don’t imagine what happens in Made In Abyss, or you’ll have trouble sleeping). OP and ED are also very nice, especially the ending by Myth & Roid, which was my favourite this season.

CHARACTERS: 19.5/20

The characters continue to be quite the treat to watch. Riko continues to be a character with a ton of heart and a great willingness to persevere no matter how unforgiving the Abyss is. Reg’s backstory is intriguing, and Nanachi has her share of moments, some of which were quite emotional. The characters from the past, the Ganja Squad, had a whole bunch of great characters as well, quite a few that stand out such as Vueko, Irumyuui, Wazukyan, and Belaf. Each have their own struggles, some more than others, and their personalities are quite interesting, ranging from a willingness to do anything to help himself and others survive, to harboring a feeling of guilt that was so great that he couldn’t go on. It’s a very wondrous cast of characters, who each have their backstory told in a very fascinating way, and you feel for every single one of them.

There is also no real villain in this story, though I can argue there wasn’t one in Season 1 or the movie. Sure, there are antagonists who oppose the main characters, but they each have their own reasons, whether it is a love for their loved ones, or an appetite for human advancement. There are a lot of morally repugnant themes in this show, but they all have a reason in which to do such unthinkable things, and that’s what makes each and every character special, even if you come to hate them.

ENJOYMENT: 14.8/15

Although it’s frustrating that there are so many questions asked, but not enough answers, the show brings about a sort of odd excitement not found in any other show I’ve watched. My immersion was always strong, and every detail in the show is spectacular. Phenomenal.

THEMATIC EXECUTION: 19/20

The themes are so well executed because each character is interesting. Another reason is that they never hold back from showing us morally questionable things, whether it is excessive gore, or very grotesque imagery. It really shows us the unforgiving nature of the Abyss, and that is simply amazing. Sure, there are some rather dumb things that happen, such as the toilet humour, but that’s just a minor tonal shift issue for me.

OVERALL: 96.6/100

This was an instalment to the Made in Abyss series that felt even better than the first. It’s a great tale of one’s maturity, and it resonated with me a lot. You feel the characters’ fear, you feel their emotions, you cry with them, you smile with them. There is still much to unravel in this adventure, and we probably won’t see another season of Made In Abyss for quite some time, but whenever we get it, I’ll want to be the first in line to witness what comes next in this emotionally damaging journey that I love so much. To everyone who read this to the end, I truly appreciate it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Oct 4, 2022

CryptidSenpai

Mixed Feelings

I've never been this astonished and upset with a show I used to love. All the makings of a 10/10 squandered by the biggest sack of shit suffer porn I have ever seen. This is too much. I've been robbed of my empathy. I can't invest myself in the main cast without feeling like I'm participating in one big predictably fetishistic narrative. It wasn't always this way.

Made in Abyss' first season set up a story full of hope, grit and unparalleled intrigue. Its setup might just be the best in any anime and the characters were instant favourites for me. Later episodes hit like a ... ton of bricks, I couldn't take my eyes away from it. The ending, after 14 stellar episodes, was equal parts heartwrenching and beautiful. One of the most memorable pieces of media I have ever experienced and probably ever will.

Here's where we're at now:
The visuals are still great, the soundtrack is still stunning, the world building and character design work never ceases to entertain and every once in a while, there are moments of absolute brilliance. Tragically, the movie prior to this season has taken any tonal surprises out of the plot's sails. We went from shockingly poignant to edgy boarding on fanfiction territory in the span of one arc. Along with this came indefensible moments of cringey character interactions that make me feel wrong for ever having thought the uncomfortable parts of season 1 are additive to the experience. Take everything I just wrote, make the worst aspects of the movie even more unbearable and you have The Golden City of the Scorching Sun arc. Trusting the writing to handle anything with a level of subtlety is a lost cause at this point and fooling anyone a third time will take a whole lot more than another new cast of captivating characters.

Ultimately, the further down into the abyss I go, the more obvious it is that this will never be the show I wanted. Through denial, anger and disappointment, I’ve finally arrived at acceptance. No matter how many complaints warrant being thrown at the state of Made in Abyss, you can’t say it doesn’t leave a seriously strong impression. Even if it’s no longer for me, I’m glad more seasons are still being made and that true fans of the manga are getting a masterful adaptation of the adventure they love.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 9, 2023

mmm_16

Not Recommended

Made in Abyss: Retsujitsu no Ougonkyou is an abysmal continuation to what could have been an interesting story.
The first season showcased fascinating worldbuildind, captivating the viewer with enchanting atmospheres and the promise of a journey in search of the knowledge at the end of the abyss, all qualities this season completely failed in carry on. The movie foreshadowed the shortcomings of the second season, but there the detachment from the strong points of the plot (dynamism of the journey, discovery of the abyss) was excused by the events that were essential for the continuation of the plot. Here the story becomes static once again ... and is abruptly interrupted by what feels like a 12-episode long filler episode, which is, by definition useless plot wise.

We learn nothing more of the abyss, the real protagonist of the story, or of our old characters, with the exception of Reg; can we truly say, though, to have learnt something new about Reg's past? The objective of the new season is the introduction of a new character who is goint to join the original trio of delvers: this is a major goal, but not at the expense of halting the story for an entire narrative arc.

Furthermore, said character's story is complicated and strange in a manner that feels exhibitionist: the gore and the gruesome forms of the beings did not feel organic with the canonic elements. Indeed, the story is quite simple but it seems as if the author's intention was to show off his grisly imagination: it is as if the story was written just to appear strange, as if asking you "Am I not quirky? Am I not incredibly original and different from all the other stories?", just like those people who try to appear eccentric just to set themselves apart from the others.

Some character's design was well-thought-out and respected their personality, but it was not sufficient considering this was true only for two out of a dozen characters. I understand the intention behind the introduction of other languages but the constant repetition of some locutions (yes, I am talking about "Sosu") is annoying and migraine-triggering, especially so when we consider the explanation behind it.
In conclusion, the creepy,nauseating and perverse scenes, that make this whole work feel like someone's fetish come true, would be excusable, as they were in the first season, if it wasn't for a plot that can only be described as boring and insignificant.

The only reason the rate is not 1 is because of Kevin Penkin's Soundtrack, which is, as always, evocative and much more emotional than the plot wanted to be.
If you find yourself at the end of this too long review, just know that it is not born out of hatred for the original story but from the disappointment of what it could have been.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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