The kid gloves are off. Although some people still do, we can’t pretend this is the happy go lucky journey down the Abyss that we thought this show was going to be back when Season 1 aired all the way back in 2017. One thing that hasn’t changed since then is my undeniable intrigue I have with this series. The adventuring, the stunning scenery, the immaculate OST, the characters, basically everything resonated with me, and with this season of Made In Abyss, that was no different.

Since this show is about children, I can relate it to my own childhood to some extent, so I’ll tell a quick story. I loved the outdoors a lot as a kid, and still do. I enjoyed hiking and camping a lot, just the wilderness in general, though I didn’t know the necessary worldly survival skills like making a fire, or using a compass. One, scorching summer afternoon, I went on a hike with my friends and parents, into quite a large forest. We walked and walked until “Two roads diverged in a wood”. Being my adventurous and fearless self, “I took the one less traveled by”, albeit with a couple people. It was a maze of trees, and a winding road, far different from the other road, that some of the others from my group travelled on. Knowing that forests were home to such creatures like bears, coyotes, and the creepiest of creatures, I still felt like the happiest little kid in the world, prancing down the forest like nobody’s business. The sun set, and we were set to return from where we came from, back home. However, in our inexperience of the outdoors, we got lost, in the night. We wandered and wandered with seemingly no exit from the vast forest. Hearing the creatures around me, I felt for the first time, a sense of fear, that something might attack my unprepared, vulnerable self. In my fear, I tripped on a branch and injured my leg a little bit. Eventually, my group found the exit, and although those gruelling hours of being lost were some of the toughest in my life, I never stopped being excited about the unknown.

And that’s because I started to learn, that there will always be ups and downs in life, and whenever you mess up, it’s always a chance to learn new things, new skills, such as how I could not get lost in a forest next time. The characters in Made In Abyss do much of the same thing, they have encountered their fair share of troubles, but it never gets them down, they learn from the troubles, and have undeniable courage to tackle whatever the Abyss throws at them. At its core, Made In Abyss is a tale of a life’s journey, and one’s slow but sure maturity.

My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20

STORY: 24/25

This season was a very interesting one to me in that although it’s very self-contained in the Golden City, it tackles the journeys of the past and present, the past being the first adventurers who ventured into the Golden City, the Ganja Squad, and the present being the characters we all know, Riko, Reg, and Nanachi. It further splits into different paths, as each character from the present has their own set of experiences in the Golden City, and each learn vastly different things, and encounter varying things, good and bad. The darkness is instilled in the story from the first moment of the season, and never turns back, yet there are some light moments in the series as well. The Golden City is home to a village, which has their own culture, such as currency, and language, that serves as a very intriguing exploration element that feels as good as the first season, where Riko and Reg explored the wilderness, this time, they explored a city with its own lightness and darkness.

For characters from the past and present alike, the Abyss still remains as great metaphor of one’s progression in life. The fact that the sixth layer of the Abyss represents “The Point of No Return”, hammers home the fact that we as humans, only move forward, not back. We can’t go back to being the starry-eyed children we once were, and no matter how hard life gets, we must persevere and find new ways to improve our life and survive. No matter what mistakes we made, we can’t live in the past, because like the Abyss, the real world doesn’t wait for us to get back on our feet and recover. The real world presents us with a barrage of puzzles to solve every single day, so if we get weighed down by our past regrets, we’ll get swallowed up by the curse of the Abyss.

ART: 9.6/10

Still very visually appealing with great scenery and I love that they didn’t hold back in the dark moments. The visuals in those moments looked blood-curdling, spine-chilling, and that is what Made In Abyss does so well.

MUSIC: 9.7/10

The music by Kevin Penkin instills a great sense of atmosphere, and is very resonant. It’s tempting to listen to it again and again because you can just close your eyes and imagine yourself on an adventure (though maybe don’t imagine what happens in Made In Abyss, or you’ll have trouble sleeping). OP and ED are also very nice, especially the ending by Myth & Roid, which was my favourite this season.

CHARACTERS: 19.5/20

The characters continue to be quite the treat to watch. Riko continues to be a character with a ton of heart and a great willingness to persevere no matter how unforgiving the Abyss is. Reg’s backstory is intriguing, and Nanachi has her share of moments, some of which were quite emotional. The characters from the past, the Ganja Squad, had a whole bunch of great characters as well, quite a few that stand out such as Vueko, Irumyuui, Wazukyan, and Belaf. Each have their own struggles, some more than others, and their personalities are quite interesting, ranging from a willingness to do anything to help himself and others survive, to harboring a feeling of guilt that was so great that he couldn’t go on. It’s a very wondrous cast of characters, who each have their backstory told in a very fascinating way, and you feel for every single one of them.

There is also no real villain in this story, though I can argue there wasn’t one in Season 1 or the movie. Sure, there are antagonists who oppose the main characters, but they each have their own reasons, whether it is a love for their loved ones, or an appetite for human advancement. There are a lot of morally repugnant themes in this show, but they all have a reason in which to do such unthinkable things, and that’s what makes each and every character special, even if you come to hate them.

ENJOYMENT: 14.8/15

Although it’s frustrating that there are so many questions asked, but not enough answers, the show brings about a sort of odd excitement not found in any other show I’ve watched. My immersion was always strong, and every detail in the show is spectacular. Phenomenal.

THEMATIC EXECUTION: 19/20

The themes are so well executed because each character is interesting. Another reason is that they never hold back from showing us morally questionable things, whether it is excessive gore, or very grotesque imagery. It really shows us the unforgiving nature of the Abyss, and that is simply amazing. Sure, there are some rather dumb things that happen, such as the toilet humour, but that’s just a minor tonal shift issue for me.

OVERALL: 96.6/100

This was an instalment to the Made in Abyss series that felt even better than the first. It’s a great tale of one’s maturity, and it resonated with me a lot. You feel the characters’ fear, you feel their emotions, you cry with them, you smile with them. There is still much to unravel in this adventure, and we probably won’t see another season of Made In Abyss for quite some time, but whenever we get it, I’ll want to be the first in line to witness what comes next in this emotionally damaging journey that I love so much. To everyone who read this to the end, I truly appreciate it.