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[This review is spoiler free, and does not discuss any specific plot beats!]
Going into this film, I was hoping that this adaptation would fix the problems of the arc that it was based on: the pacing issues, and the rampant sexualisation of child characters.
It became apparent that this would not be the case at around the 30 minute mark. In the original manga, this arc was not told in a chronological order - flashbacks regarding the character Prushka would happen at opportune moments to ramp up emotions, almost as if the author had forgotten to make us care about her earlier, and was using ... Chekhov's Time Machine to slip in plot points and exposition right before it became relevant. At 30 minutes in, when one scene struck me as a little short, I realised that this film would be an incredibly faithful adaptation - to its own detriment.

It was also at this point that a very specific grim event made me take a break from the film and return later. The sexualisation of minors across this film is equal parts grim and unnecessary - young characters (at multiple different points) talk about genetalia, and it begs the question of... "Why"? It doesn't add to the overall plot, nor is it an opportune way to convey the characters' age and immaturity to an adult audience. In comparison to the original manga, I believe the only thing cut was one count of explicit nudity. This aspect of Made in Abyss is disgusting, upsetting, and disappointing - there are so many interesting bits of lore and story accross the manga, anime, and now this film that are soured by this. My contempt for this is enough that I hope with all my heart that this review will discourage anime-only Made in Abyss fans from watching this film, and continuing to follow this story at all.

This film could have been a second chance to take things slow, cutting more uncomfortable (and ultimately irrelevant) aspects, and ramp up tensions to strengthen a couple climatic moments - instead, all that Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul brings to the table is Kevin Penkin's incredible soundtrack - in all honesty, I think I'd have a better time just listening to that, and imagining that I was watching a better movie.

Mod Edit: this review may contain spoilers.

This manga has gained a fair amount of attention for its artwork, it's absolutely stunning. It has a lovely aesthetic, and there was clearly a lot of effort put into the detail. The settings are unique, and are very telling about the story's world. The whole narrative revolves around descending and ascending "the Abyss", and the surrounding town of Ōsu seems to be almost sliding into the Abyss, pulling you in. The landscapes are very vertical, even the classroom in the orphanage has desks attached to the walls, requiring the children to climb to them. Everything looks large and ... imposing in contrast with the main characters.
I've seen a lot of people compare the artwork and atmosphere to that of Ghibli films, but if I'm honest it reminds me of ecchi works. Right from the beginning, there was *something* about how the children were drawn (especially Riko's cheeks?) that made me question whether or not the mangaka was a loli/shotacon. Reading on, I found that several of these children are shown topless or naked, and the soft way in which they are rendered made me uneasy. There are at least 6 specific instances that I can think of where Reg's genitals are discussed. Many of the children have loosely fit clothing over their chests, even when they are supposed to be portrayed sympathetically. Additionally, the mangaka seems to have some odd interests - I currently don't have the ability to phrase this the way I want to, but there's something about the way that pee and vomit is discussed and drawn that made me suspicious.

The story is decent - the beginning few chapters set the location well, and create a sense of intrigue. As Riko and Reg descend the Abyss, there's a real sense of progression. They are introduced to various sets of characters, learn new things, move on and repeat the process. None of these arcs felt pointless to me. However, in some sections, especially the Bondrewd arc, I felt that the pacing got a little slow, and the story could've been more streamlined.

The characters are fairly interesting, Riko and Reg both have good motivations for reaching the bottom of the Abyss - the former wants to find her mother, and the latter wants to find out why he was made. Riko has been raised in a town where many people aspire to explore the Abyss, and are prepared for the strains of ascending it - being unable to return from the lower levels is just matter of fact to them. Riko has an almost-encyclopedic knowledge of a lot of the known areas, treasures and creatures of the Abyss. Reg, being an amnesiac blank state is an audience surrogate for Riko's explanations. There's a lot mystery surrounding Reg's creation and history, although more questions have been created then answered so far. Nanachi is very sympathetic, though I worry that she doesn't have as much of a reason for being there as the other two - she achieves her goal quite soon after she is introduced.

I stopped reading after the Bondrewd arc. The situations these children were put into made me too uncomfortable to continue. I'm not talking about the body horror or anything, that's fine for an adult work like this. However, adult doesn't always have to mean sexual, *especially* if the main character is a 12 year old girl. It's a real shame, I think that Made in Abyss could've been really good if the mangaka didn't have such worrying tastes.