Made in Abyss: A Fascinating Journey to the Unknown

Made in Abyss season 1, which is one of my favourite anime series so far. But does it deserve to be your next favourite anime?
Made in Abyss wallpaper

Here's my in-depth review on Made in Abyss season 1, which is one of my favourite anime series so far. But does it deserve to be your next favourite anime?


🍀 Plot:

A quote from anime Made in Abyss, anime adaptation from the original manga series by written and illustrated by Akihito Tsukushi. The story is set about 'A Giant Gaping Hole' in the earth with a depth extending over 13,000 ft (ca. 4,000 m), withholding many mysteries, hidden knowledge and even many ecosystems and creatures inside it.

The story is about the great unknown adventure that our main character, Riko, a child cave-raider and daughter of the missing White Whistle Lyza the Annihilator, who dreams to go venture the bottom of the abyss like her mother, and find her missing mother. She was joined by Reg, a mysterious robot with the appearance of an ordinary young boy, has no recollection of the events preceding his meeting with Riko. Certain that the technology to create Reg must come from deep within the Abyss, the two decide to venture forth into the chasm to recover his memories and see the bottom of the great pit with their own eyes. However, they know not of the harsh reality that is the true existence of the Abyss.

Map of the Abyss

🍀 Animation:

The animation of Made in Abyss is one of my favourites. Having one of the best worlds, which gets well complemented by its fabulous graphics, is just a match made in haven. I consider it a masterpiece in terms of animation. 

The abyss from the surface

🍀 Soundtrack:

When I first saw the soundtrack list of this anime, I was confused after seeing 52 original songs composed by Kevin Penkin. The soundtrack is excellent and well reflecting the dark, psychological, emotional, etc themes. When this soundtrack combines with the emotional effect of the scene, it creates one of the best anime.

Made in Abyss OST album cover

🍀 Character sketch:

The anime shows the struggle and different hurdles of its characters from the start. With characters looking childish, some scenes and difficulties are just brutal to our main characters. Despite our young, child characters, there's clinical and uncaring cruelty about this world towards anything resembling innocence. Riko seems a strong-willed girl, aspiring to become a white whistle like her missing mother and venture to the bottom of the abyss. Reg is a robot with the appearance of a young boy, with having no recollection of his past, he is determined to help Riko overcome all the hurdles and venture to the bottom together. Reg can also shoot laser pulses but only a few times, after using them, he goes into sleep, leaving Riko on her own for few hours.

 
Riko and Reg running away from an abyss monster

🍀 Bottom line:

A large part of me believes that instead of a grand adventure, it's an adventure into the unknown. With the ascending causing more pain and further going down being the only way forward while knowing they might never come back alive, is just traumatizing. The deeper one goes, the more bits of humanity one leaves behind them, until eternal suffering is a very real possibility. The pit itself is a large mouth, engulfing humanity bit by bit as one goes further deep. The adventure being mostly unknown, I hope there is redemption by the end for our characters. The anime was an emotional roller coaster for me.

🍀 Conclusion :

Ultimately, it is an amazing ride, and I highly recommend it. But do be aware of the emotional trauma you will be experiencing. The anime had some very dark and very brutal scenes. It is a very adult tale, despite having a child-like appearance.


SOME1HING METER: 9.6/10 🌟

~ Thanks for reading ❤️📄

AniList ID: 97986