Made in Abyss Returns With Dark, But Promising Season 2 Premiere

It has been two years since the last Made in Abyss Movie: Dawn of the Deep Soul movie premiered, and The Golden City of the Scorching Sun (Season 2) is now finally here. The premiere was a slow-burn, but also dark and somewhat baffling in the typical Made in Abyss sense. Before we delve into what the second season promised with the first episode, let’s take a look at the watching order for the Made in Abyss anime. Bolded parts indicate the main story:

1. Made in Abyss
   1. Made in Abyss: Marulk’s Daily Life (after the 8th episode of the first season)
   2. Made in Abyss: Journey’s Dawn (recap movie)
   3. Made in Abyss: Wandering Twilight (recap movie)
2. Made in Abyss Movie: Dawn of the Deep Soul
3. Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun (Season 2)

With that out of the way, Made in Abyss Season 2 doesn’t start off by immediately showing us the aftermath of Bondrewd’s farewell. Instead, we were introduced to a new group of characters, who at some point in the past visited the island where the Abyss is located on. We got to see Vueko’s story – as she grows up with an abusive adoptive father and later goes down into the Abyss with a research expedition comprised of outcasts.

Once again, Made in Abyss didn’t hold back with the dark backstories and without any doubt, we are in for a lot of emotional pain this season. The Abyss gives and takes, but not many see a happy ending after descending. By the end of the episode, we already know that they were never able to return. It will be interesting to see if time for the Vueko’s group is passing at a different speed than for Riko, Reg, and Nanachi, who by the end of this episode managed to enter the 6th layer. Will they meet and be able to talk about their journeys or will Riko only find signs of their activities?

The animation and lovely scenery shots we were used to in the first season are still here and Kevin Penkin’s music is once again making the watching experience even more wonderful. The somewhat unexpected scenes (like altar lavatory) may come out of nowhere and are usually quite weird, but at this point, we should be used to them. I’m a little conflicted about them – they don’t add anything to the store, but they do give it an unusual charm.

The first episode of the season was a slow-burner, but it will be difficult to wait for the rest. HIDIVE is streaming the anime (including the first season and the movie) so if you’d like to catch up now is your chance. Made in Abyss is also a contender in our weekly polls, and you can vote for it every week.

©Akihito Tsukushi, Takeshobo/Made in Abyss “The Golden City of the Scorching Sun” Production Committee