Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun is the second season based on the manga series. It follows on from the first season, as well as after the third movie. It follows Riko, Reg and Nanachi as they delve deeper and deeper into the abyss, towards the point of no return. The draw here is the weird and wonderful (as well as horrifying and dangerous) things that they see and experience.
The season starts off with events that happened in the past, where explorers went into the abyss during its early stages in the hopes of finding the mythical Golden City. The abyss remains a key mystery, but it was an intriguing opening that nicely sets up the tone of the season. It quickly then returns to Riko, Reg and Nanachi as they head down into the sixth layer, and the things that lie in it.
To no one’s surprise, the sixth layer is dangerous, but there is a village of sorts. It’s filled with odd inhabitants, and it is complete with weird customs. Riko’s curiosity cannot be sated as she loves to eat everything and see everything. The mystery of Reg’s past is also touched upon here. The designs of the inhabitants border on nightmare stuff, as they’re like monsters, even though they might be friendly.
The season quickly lays down the tone it is going for. It has scenes that showcase the darker themes. It seems to prey on your fears and there are some uncomfortable scenes where characters get brutally hurt. The anime is also not afraid of using toilet humor, or even just mentioning the reality of the nature of a human body. Since it’s done so openly here, it feels kind of… like taboo.
The direction of the plot in this season can be confusing. At times, you are not sure where it is heading towards. It feels like it ping pongs around the place, with events that are seemingly disconnected from one another. Eventually, you can see the outline of how it is reconciling the stories of the past and the present, and to see how this city deep in the abyss came to be, and how it works. It’s not a pretty story, as it has several uncomfortable moments.
It takes a while and even when the full story is revealed on the secret of the village, it is a lot of process. It’s not told in the most straightforward manner, instead, it seems to revel in its unusual and frankly, twisted imagination that serves to try and shock the viewer as much as possible. It can be repulsive, and this causes the anime to constantly lose its intrigue and mystique.
However, towards the end of the season, it somehow manages to come together. It doesn’t come together in a massive revolutionary way, but just enough that the story threads are connected, and the plot arc of the season somewhat makes sense. The anime tends to attempt to create emotional moments where you feel sad for the characters, but it can come on too hard and fast, before you can fully bond to those characters, so can feel pretentious when that happens.
The season finale finishes off the arc, and it can be messy. There is the fate of the village to consider, along with it deals with its own curse. The Abyss is dangerous and so the characters must fend off against the monsters. Then there are the new characters that we’ve come to know, and their fates and futures. It’s not elegant storytelling but it gets its point across. Whether that was worth all the time and effort is up to you.
Overall, Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun is an average season. The focus isn’t so much on adventuring with Riko, Reg and Nanachi but rather a bunch of new characters, and the history of the village and people that live there on the sixth floor. Unfortunately, the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired, as it can feel uninteresting and disjointed at times.
---------------------------------------------
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
