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I was wrong. This manga is infinitely more disturbing than Madoka Magicka. Hhem. Anyway. Saw the first two episodes and then slid right into this manga like I've done nothing else in months. There was this quality that just hooked me.

After a while I lost steam but didn't grow disillusioned. The Abyss itself is like an echo chamber...more specifically, its layers--there aren't many things going on overall besides the mysteries and the adventure (spoiler: there's no big bad most of the time). I think this is natural as per the narrative/world structure of this manga which I'll give it brownie points for--structuring arcs of ... interest and certain characters is only natural. I just wish there was more linking them (in maybe a more One Piece like way). Like, an additional faction or a recurring dark horse character. I would have also liked another character perspective on the surface or something. Human society+the government itself seems so dead and irrelevant. I thought we were gonna get something more on Leader, a hint or a perspective shift, and then there's nothing.

But I gotta say that this is forgivable. The vacuum nature does add to the general sense of being isolated and trapped and packs on interest/power/urgency to the journey which is cool. The revelations happen at a nice pace as well and they at least have wider consequences. Well, retrospectively. Still waiting on whether or not the last "boss" defeat changes anything. Also, the White Whistles waiting below is so freakin' hype--the two ones that have shown up were absolutely wonderful. All the characters being left behind also adds to the belivability of the descent...if we were cast to someone on the surface, our sense of being lost in the abyss would weaken. More brownie points to this freakin manga for turning what should be its weaknesses into strengths. Hhem. Tangent over.

Characters: adorable mostly. Though, yeah, a few of them seem like moe fuel - you can tell when most of the important side characters look like female moeblobs - not gonna lie. This doesn't mean their character development is any less nice or tragic when it does happen.

The first (and only??) real villain was a freakin' badass. Shame about the being temporary part. Boo. Maybe the real villain is just the abyss? Conflict: kids v. setting

Controversy: Let it be know that while Made in Abyss is one of those manga you wouldn't really recommend unless the person has disturbed tastes or is into adventure, or just likes cute things being thrown at horrific things (I think it's an actual taste you can have? I kinda like it for non fetish reasons). It definitely doesn't shy away from any sort of body stuff. Yeah, I can't ignore it. You can portray weird stuff like this manga does in a totally harmless and innocent way. But, sometimes, it just doesn't. Be warned if you're easily disgusted.

Art: will melt your heart (n-not that this happens in this manga). The looseness of some of the designs is amazing--especially in the case of Oven's personality shifts being portrayed by the wild inkiness. Cool stuff.

There's a lot of visual thought put into the ecosystems and "science" of the abyss, which is cool. The only downside, like I mentioned before, is that we don't know much about the f'ed up government which enables this delving, or of society itself outside of Lysa's auntie--"But is it really a good idea?" We get that the Abyss is sorta like a religion, the delvers heroes, with an underlying dark doubt in some, like auntie. We don't really see anything much, visually, of the other delvers. It's kinda weird.

But why the hell do I still rate it a 10 with all my complaints? Well, for one thing, I'm an expert complainer. Let me now try to be an expert praiser.

Its loving attention to detail, amazing art won me over. Moreover, the fact that there's BARELY ANY manga like this--call it perverted or not, but you don't get much with this sort of creativity. The emotional peaks are legendary and there's a lot of cute character moments. You as the reader are compelled to go to the bottom of the abyss, too, and that sense of sublime unknowing and curiosity is a rarity in manga. (Let me also say that the abyss is crazy! It's almost like this gigantic being that wants to suck people in and keep them in it) I think we get a lot of that type of thing, but rarely so consistently powerful and alluring. So...do I recommend Made in Abyss? Er. Maybe? I don't know. One hell of an experience is what it is.

10/10 because I want more manga to make the reader feel full of velocity and adventurous spirit. Also, to be darker without losing its sparkling hopeful highs.