story:
the plot of made in abyss is one ive never seen in anime until i read and watched made in abyss. its about 2 kids (3 later on) named riko, a little blond girl whos goal for diving into the abyss is to find her mother, lyza, who is waiting at the bottom for her. the other child is reg (or regu), a small robot that is kind, caring, and protective of riko. throughout their long and dangerous adventure they meet a slew of characters that all help them grow in different places, whenever its ozen the immovable that beats reg into shape or nanachi who teaches both of them to use their wits better, all characters help them grow in some shape or form.
art:
this show is gorgeous, the backgrounds look as if they were ripped from a ghibli film, and even the darker parts of the abyss still shine with personality and life. little details such as little holes scattered across the walls of the abyss or little creatures crawling around the ground all add details and make the world feel alive. the creatures are either beautiful and strange, or disturbing and deadly, from the simple hammerbeak (a small bird creature), to the massive and terrifying orb piercer ( a giant poisonous hedgehog creature) all creatures look great. the characters all look amazing too, from ozen a very tall and skinny woman who has been in the abyss for 50 years, to nanachi a little rabbit girl, they all look cute and terrifying.
sound:
Kevin perkin did a outstanding job on the ost. every song fits every scene perfectly from calm ambient music for when riko and reg are exploring, to fast-paced and intense music for battles with creatures and deadly situations. the op in ep 1 is amazing and fits the opening (which is original in the anime) perfectly. the op afterwards for thew other 12 eps is cute and showcases some characters that appear later on. the ed up until ep 13 is amazingly cut and features riko, reg, and nanachi all walking in the abyss in a cut chibi art-style that is a reference to the web comic version of made in abyss. the ed in ep 13 is amazing, there is no lyrics in the entire song. the song starts out calm with piano and small quiet instruments and builds up into a explosion of trumpets and trombones and drums, ending in a big release of said instruments.
characters:
i found every characters amazing and compelling in their own way. riko is a 12 year old girl who was a normal mischievous kid, one day she is exploring the abyss and almost dies to a creature known as a crimson splitjaw. just as riko gets cornered at a ledge a massive beam of light and energy comes out of nowhere and strikes the massive monster saving riko. riko then proceeds to follow the trail of melted tree to the source of the beam and comes across a robot child, this child is reg but at the time riko finds him he is unconscious, and thats when rikos adventure to her mother starts. along the way she experiences many hardships such as getting kidnapped by a creature, having to carry a unconscious reg in a very dangerous part of the abyss, she experiences whats known as "the curse of the abyss" a series of debuffs that hinder people who want to journey back to the surface, and she gets poisoned by the orb piercer and experiences the curse of the 4th layer, where you bleed from every orifice on your body then proceeds to get her arm broken by reg and cut into to stop the poison. reg also gets a lot of growth and has some amazing moments. reg starts out not being able to decide for him self, he is always told by riko what to do and when he isn't he automatically resorts to using his secret weapon, the incinerator, a weapon that is on his both of his palms of his hands and the soles of his feet. the incinerator, when fired, will shoot out a massive beam that if it was to hit something, the object in question would be removed from the abyss, although its said that the object is somehow out back into the abyss. but this weapon does come at a cost, anytime he fire it he has 15 minutes before he passes out for 2 hours, in that time he leaves riko completely defenseless to the horrors of the abyss. he later realizes to only use the incinerator for emergencies thanks to ozen. every other character is incredible from in their own way, sadly not a lot of them get a lot moments and some are just forgotten, thats not to say they weren't important, cause some of them are very important i'e ozen, nanachi, jiruo, etc. other than that all characters are amazing in their own way.
end:
overall this anime is a must watch if you love a fantasy will really dark moments and a great story and atmosphere. the music is incredible and the art is stunning in every way, every character is amazing in their own way and riko and reg are amazing protagonists, with nanachi becoming one after the movie coming out next January
i give made in abyss a 10/10, it is a must watch and i highly recommend it
