


For Riko and Reg, they have now reached their greatest obstacle as they continue the descent. As for Nanachi, this is her return to the source: the place that brought her the pain that was shown previously with Mitty's story. I'll never forget how sad it was to see them save her, and I had to pause it and cover my eyes with my hands for a moment when I realized that they even put her bed and plush toys with her when the time came.
Continuing, the obstacle that stands before them with deceitfully open arms is the most fascinating character, at least for me, in the series: Bondrewd. Little was shown of him in the television series, and now he gets to be explored deeply with this film. It's telling, and shows the greatness in his writing, that as the main antagonist, he is still the most interesting and memorable character to me. He truly is Made in Abyss, and the most extreme example of it, far beyond Ouzen as well.
His pursuit for knowledge in the name of science, and his struggle going into the Abyss himself, has turned him into that which he least would want to be. His tragedy is that he has lost himself to the extent he lost his humanity trying to be humane. That is because the deepness of the Abyss itself seems to have warped his state of mind. As a result, He is good and evil smashed together into a neutrally chaotic ideology. It's intriguing to see that he may not even be aware of what he has become. Still, his stare is both compassionate and frightening to the point it makes me uneasy. He has been experimenting to understand the Abyss, and to save people, so he believes. What he does in this film is unspeakable and one would have to see the levels of obscenity and vileness he willingly decides to go forward with themselves. Not only that, it's his calm, cool, and collected personality throughout all this that makes it even more disturbing. Amusingly, his permanent-like optimism can even be moving at times. Still, despite how much I enjoyed his character, he is the most irredeemable of characters. They say sacrifices are necessary, and yet his idea of sacrifice is so absurdly counter productive and selfish it overshadows it's usefulness.
This film also brings the introduction of Prushka and her adorable pet Meinya. She is from the same place Bondrewd is from. The two share a bond that plays out during the film. Considering it's Bondrewd, one would worry how something such as this could play out.
Same as before, the animation plays out well everywhere it is used. There are also some intense and amazing fighting sequences. What always stands out beautifully is how much attention to background art the author places on. The music, however, felt mostly like atmospheric background music this time. By that, I mean it's not as memorable as in the television series. At least they bring back some of the old soundtrack as well. Again, the author has some controversial ideas, and is not afraid of putting them in his work.
Like the television series, it's going to get very dark. It's a type of shock that reminds me of the horror watching Space Runaway Ideon's movie sequel can invoke. By the end I felt as if I had gotten off my first roller coaster ride after being forced to do it and having a fear of it at the same time. The ending itself is beautiful and makes great use of the ending credits, and the wondrous ending credits song.
Made in Abyss gave me hope. There are many who don't like newer anime. This could be a turning point for them. Some give up, but where they really looking? I wasn't, which is why I had quit watching anime for so many years. For some, they eventually say they can "move on" from anime. I can't comprehend it. Anime like Made in Abyss continues to teach me that something as wonderful like this can really get you into seeing the great potential the medium can always have. By that, I mean that great works exist that can move me more than any other type of media, and that it never ends. I'll never finish watching everything I want to. I can only get as far as I can with the short time I have. Maybe I am growing more paranoid because I no longer want to waste my time and want to be productive as much as possible. Regardless, Made in Abyss inspires me that if I explore the medium itself, I will never grow tired of it because passionate works such as this that I long for will always be there if I really look for it. To grow tired of that is to miss out.
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