Made in Abyss First Impressions

We all have that one person we take blind recommendations from. This season, they recommended Made in Abyss and that I go in blind and boy am I enjoying this show so far. I would probably recommend the same, but you’re probably here to see what I think of it before jumping in, so let’s get to it.

The world is filled with mystery. The biggest mystery is the abyss in the center of town which teams of explorers would descend to find relics to try and discover the history of the abyss. Each episode you’re questioning more and more about how this world became this way, why there are strange monsters, and what the hell is that abyss. The show does a good job at not shoveling information toward you. Things are revealed more naturally as the story progresses.

Speaking of the story, we follow Riko, an orphan aspiring to be a white whistle, a cave adventurer of the highest rank, like her mother before her. The first three episodes both described and depicted the “Curse of the Abyss” and the reasons why it’s so mysterious. The curse is what the adventurers call the illness received when both descending into and ascending out of the abyss. From the top levels, it is mostly nausea and vomiting and the deeper levels are said to not have any adventurers returning. Then one day, a message from the deep rises, along with the whistle of Riko’s mother. Along with the whistle came documents of things from the deepest levels with more than enough detail to shed any doubt that it was faked and a single letter saying she’s waiting at the bottom. Riko now obviously has a mission. She has to meet her mother.

Overall, the characters are so damn adorable, the story has an excellent mystery and adventure vibe to it so far, and the animation and music definitely make this show a worthwhile experience. I’d even go so far as to say this has potential to be anime of the season, but it’s just 3 episodes in and the adventure is just getting started. Made in Abyss airs on Fridays on Amazon’s Anime Strike and is on the top of my priority list this season. Let me know what you think in the comments!