‘Made in Abyss’ Season 2, Episode 1 Review: The Team Reaches the Capital Of The Unreturned

Made In Abyss made a splash when the first season was released way back in 2017. Now five years after the end of the first season a couple of years after the release of the sequel film, Made in Abyss returns with more of our favorite characters; Riko, Reg, and Nanachi as they plunder deeper into the abyss. The search for Riko’s mother and Reg’s identity still continues in this season, but there are definitely some answers waiting for us this season.

The second season of Made In Abyss is being produced once again by Kinema Citrus, and it is based on the manga written and illustrated by Akihito Tsukushi. The series follows the tale of Riko, a young girl who lives in a village surrounding the Abyss, a mysterious giant hole in the ground filled with mysterious relics, and mysterious locations. The whole village economy and existence surround the Abyss. Riko is adamant about looking for her mother, who disappeared long ago in the Abyss.

On the road, Riko meets a young boy named Reg, who is actually more like a cyborg. Reg is quite advanced, but his origins are a mystery even to himself. Together, they plunge into the Abyss to find the truth about themselves. The second season of the anime begins right after the ending of the movie “Dawn of the Deep Soul”. We see our heroes use the elevator to drop themselves into the sea of corpses, the road to the sixth layer of the Abyss, named, The Capital of the Unreturned.

Kinema Citrus is having one hell of a year, with two other productions managing to catch the attention of the public. Cardfight! And The Rising of the Shield Hero are making great numbers and with Made in Abyss, the studio is bringing out all their guns as they try to deliver the best-looking show they can. The animation looks fluid and beautiful. This is, without a doubt, one of the best-looking anime of the season. The contrast between charming and cute characters and the violence that surrounds them is always shocking.

This first episode opens up in quite a striking fashion, as we spend at least seventy percent of the episode not with Riko and the others, but with a group of characters we have never seen before. We are introduced to Vueko, an orphan girl who has much like Riko devoted her life to the purpose of finding the Golden City. Vueko and the rest of the characters in her storyline are quite interesting, but what is most striking about them and their story is that it is set in the past.

Vueko’s storyline seems to take place at an undisclosed point in time before the foundation of the city of Orth. This is quite a flashback, as we see people coming from outside the city with the sole purpose of entering the Abyss. One detail that is very curious is that at this point in time, the Abyss is full of light instead of darkness. So, we should be ready to learn a bit more about the abyss and why it is how it is in its current form.

Vueko is quite a fascinating character, and so it is her Captain, who apparently has the gift of foresight. Everything seems a bit suspicious. Maybe a bit too much. The show as taught us that we should trust no one, so at this point it is very easy to be afraid for Vueko and the rest of the explorers’ fate. Let’s not be surprised when it ends up being something quite dark and disturbing. There is still a lot of introspection and philosophizing from the characters, so the show still covers quite a range of topics and feelings.

The episode spends so much time in this second storyline that it feels very important. There is no doubt that we will see the resolution to Vueko’s storyline sometime in the future. It will serve as a great parallel to Riko’s own journey, as she and her companions have also arrived at the sixth layer. There are some other more fan service moments in the episode, but they just serve to light the mood as the flashback’s tone is quite somber.

Tsukushi’s writing is quite fantastic its imagination can only be considered top-notch and with this season carrying the subtitle “The Golden City of the Scorching Sun” we can only assume that this season will comprise an entire arc. It is going to be intense, somber, violent, and beautiful all at the same time. We wouldn’t want it in any other way, those are the reasons why we love Made in Abyss so much.

This first episode of Made in Abyss Season 2 opens the story to endless possibilities and gives us another main storyline that will perhaps run in parallel to that of our heroes. Kinema Citrus shows a massive understanding of tone and mood, and the animation looks as beautiful as we remember it. This season is shaping up to be quite dramatic, and maybe one of the most tragic ones in the entire story.

SCORE: 9/10

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