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14. Made in Abyss
https://myanimelist.net/anime/34599/Made_in_Abyss
Summer 2017 (12 episodes), Summer 2022 (12 episodes) plus 1 movie
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 8.67/10 S1, 8.71/10 S2
Best Character: Riko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91G8m9uM_0

Premise: The Abyss is an impossibly deep chasm filled with monsters and curses that become more severe the further down one goes. Riko, a young girl training as a cave diver, decides to go all the way to the bottom in the hopes of finding her mother.

The Good: Made in Abyss is a dark adventure anime about descending the titular chasm. The art style is kind of cute, I mean look at that image of Riko below, but don't be fooled. This isn't about a little girl going on a happy adventure. The society that's sprung up around the edge of the Abyss is dedicated to exploring it, including training orphans and sending them down when theyre still kids. Riko finds an amnesiac robot named Reg during one of her trips, and soon after she recieves a note from her missing mother apparently asking to meet at the bottom of the Abyss. She teams up with Reg, who has abilities like a powerful beam and extendable arms, and the two head in on an adventure that will surely end in their deaths one way or another.

My favorite part about this anime is the setting. The Abyss is full of freaky monsters, terrifying curses, and tons of little details that are so much fun to speculate about. They often find skeletons of people who died in a praying position, for example. I just think stuff like that is neat, it makes the Abyss feel so incomprehensibly ancient and unknowable. I also love the various rules it has, like the different stages of the curse that impact anyone who ascends in the Abyss. It starts with powerful nausea, but lower levels can cause bleeding from every orifice or even death. The only reason all of this doesn't become too dark to watch is that Riko is such a strong person. She wants to get to the bottom of the Abyss to find her mother, and she refuses to let anything get her down or stop her. It's so interesting watching her descent into the insanity of the Abyss.

The Bad: I really loved the first season and the movie. The second season was really good too, but I still thought it was a bit of a step back. It got bogged down in one place that honestly wasn't as interesting as the rest of the Abyss. Having said that, the animation was still really high quality, and I enjoyed watching it a lot. It just wasn't my favorite part of the show.

Overall: Made in Abyss is an anime that often gets exceedingly dark. It isn't a place for the faint-hearted, which makes it kind of terrifying that the main character is a little girl like Riko. She always greets each new encounter with enthusiasm and optimism, however. She also refuses to let anything stop her. I love the strange setting of the Abyss, and Reg is good too, but Riko was easily my favorite character. This is an excellent anime full of neat little details, beautiful animation, and encounters full of tension and dread.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/3/AAcDcBAAD6W3.jpg

CHARACTER: Riko (Made in Abyss)
https://myanimelist.net/character/137239/Riko
Voiced by: Tomita Miyu
TOP 100 RANK: 35th

SPOILERS FOR MADE IN ABYSS

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFNFbDeIycs
(Video doesnt have subtitles, but the dialogue isnt as important)

Riko is the kind of person whose relentless enthusiasm rubs off on everyone around them. Reg has lost his memories, but he wants to learn more about what he is. He's easily swept up in Riko's mission to go to the bottom of the Abyss. The two set off together and overcome early obstacles like freaky corpse eating birds. Then they reach a base in a lower level, and this is where we learn a bit more about Riko. It turns out that she was dead when she was born in the Abyss and an artifact revived her. Ozen says that, once Riko could crawl, she always went towards the Abyss. It hasn't come up much since, but I thought that was a scary detail. Riko thinks she's on this journey to find her mother, but theres an implication that something much more sinister might be what's beckoning her deeper.

One of my favorite things about Riko is just how strong she is. She treats the dangers of the Abyss with well-deserved caution and respect. However, Riko never lets anything break her. This is best seen in the events surrounding the video I linked. While retreating from a monster, Reg is forced to ascend and expose Riko to the curse where she bleeds from every orifice. Her arm is also poisoned, and she asks Reg to amputate it below the elbow. We're treated to a horrific scene of him breaking the bone and beginning to cut before, thankfully, Nanachi arrives to take over medical duties. It isn't until a bit later that we learn just how strong Riko was at that moment. Asking Reg to cut above the elbow would've allowed her to attach something to the stump and continue their journey. Even when bleeding, poisoned, and overtaken by incredible pain, Riko still wasn't giving up.

I thought the second season was a bit of a step down. The village simply wasn't a very interesting location and a lot of things about it didn't make sense to me. The three main characters were also split up for most of it. Nanachi was taking a nap, and Reg just kind of wandered back and forth. At least Riko's plotline was good. She was out there meeting everyone, forging relationships, and getting to the bottom of ancient mysteries. I liked her cute friendship with Maaa quite a bit. I also enjoyed moments like when she used critical thinking to kill a weird flying purple slime creature. Riko may not have the abilities Reg does, but her knowledge and mental fortitude are both second to none. Made in Abyss would be too bleak to watch if Riko weren't as strong as she is, so I'm glad she's the main character.