I have mixed feelings about this anime. Considering how much it’s been hyped the past year, I went into it feeling really excited and expecting a masterpiece.

Whilst I did end up being deeply affected by it at certain points (episodes 11-13 are some of the most haunting I’ve ever seen), it took me a while to get there. I wasn’t drawn in automatically by the scenery, although it did make me somewhat curious.

There were three main aspects to this anime: the characters, the story and the environment/world-building. I’ll start with the characters.

Reg, our robot MC, was a fantastic character. Not exactly street smart, but still savvy enough to be able to get through most any challenges by himself. You could argue that he and Riko (the other MC) complimented each other, but in truth he didn’t really need her. He could have survived just fine without her knowledge and cooking skills. However, what she was to him was a drive to carry on going, and that was shown extraordinarily well through his reactions to the event that happened to her. The anime did a great job portraying him as a kind, pure and sensitive character who loved and wanted to protect Riko and it made him very likeable as a person. I was able to empathize with him through his challenges.

Riko, on the other hand, was probably the reason I didn’t rate this anime any higher. I just couldn’t really feel anything for her besides irritation. I think the anime was trying to portray her as a sweet but insatiably curious girl who treasures her friends but treasures the abyss more. Well, it got the second part right. You could definitely feel her love for the abyss...sorta. Mostly, I felt she was a selfish brat who didn’t care about anyone other than herself – actually, scratch that – who didn’t even think about anybody other than herself. Everything was about her and her journey, not the impact it had on anyone else. Not to mention, there was absolutely no reason for her to set out on the journey so young. I would even call it stupid. She could do nothing – NOTHING – by herself, and the very fact that she even thought she could handle the journey alone was just annoying. I really pitied Reg most of the time.

Spoiler, click to view

Seriously...the things he did for her, and in return she couldn’t even fulfil his single simple request.

However, she did redeem herself a bit near the very end of the anime and I get the feeling that if there’s ever a season two, I’ll like her much more.

Nanachi was a brilliant character. I can’t say too much about her (cos spoilers) but suffice to say she made the anime for me. Reg was great, but it was Reg and Nanachi’s interactions (combined with their backstories) that got this anime out of the 70s zone for me and into the 80s.

The other characters were decent, but none of them besides Ozen were really more than one dimensional. I did like Ozen, and would enjoy seeing more of her though.

Now onto the story. The basic premise is simple (girl wants to explore vast untamed and dangerous wonderland for whatever reason, usually something to do with parents), but was executed well. The pacing was neither too fast or too slow initially, and it was reasonably pleasant to watch, if a little boring with all the rinse and repeat action/exploration scenes.
The first couple of arcs were good, the last arc was incredible (I’d give that arc a solid 9). If you’ve not watched this anime yet, and are planning too, you need to see it through to the end. Sure, if you hated the beginning arcs you might not like the last one either, but if you just thought ‘meh’ it’s worthwhile watching all the way through. There are some very deep themes raised, and told in a very haunting manner. One scene in particular will probably stay with me a lot longer than I’d like.

Next: world-building. I’d have actually loved to see more of the abyss. The majority of the time in the abyss is actually spent either talking to various individuals, eating, or walking – but focusing on fact that they are walking rather than what they are walking through. Normally I’m not one for exposition, but a bit more here and there would have been great. The parts where the monsters and scenery were described and then shown were very interesting.
Basically, I guess what I’m saying is that it would have been nice to see more of the author’s actual world-building itself and not through the eyes of Riko who already knew about most of the upper level environments and only felt the need to explain occasionally to Reg.

The art was stunning. The music was poignant. Both contributed wonderfully to the anime, and were aesthetically very pleasing.

Overall, though, it’s one of those anime you really have to form your own opinion on. Yeah, there are parts you can look at and say ‘oh, that’s conventionally good’, but on the whole it’s about the feelings the anime evokes in you. If it doesn’t make you feel anything the entire time besides a mild amusement or boredom, it’s failed for you. And if it does speak to you, well then, you probably be giving it a high (or low) score for entirely your own reasons.