English Dub Review: Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun “The Compass Pointed to the Darkness”

Overview:

Riko, Reg, Nanachi, and Meinya go on their descent to the sixth layer.

Our Take:

Made in Abyss is back with a brand new season. The majority of this episode follows a group of explorers who call themselves the Ganja. They find the Golden City located in the sixth layer. A young village local guides them and also warns them about the curse of the sixth layer.

Riko and company pick up right where they left off at the end of Dawn of the Deep Soul. They descend through the water, past the Sea of Corpses, all the way down to the sixth layer. They arrive and now, this is where the real journey begins.

If there’s one thing Made in Abyss excels at, it’s worldbuilding. We get a good amount of that right from the start of this season. We see the massive ocean, what’s under the water, and the sixth layer itself in great detail. It all looks incredible, and kind of unsettling in the case of the Sea of Corpses.

I’m intrigued by the Ganja. We learn a bit about Vueko, the focal point of the group. A terrible man mistreated her as a child and she was left with a valuable compass. That comes in handy in their journey as a village elder takes interest in it. There are a couple other notable members of the crew, but we don’t learn much about them yet.

The visuals are as stunning as ever. The character designs are still on point and like I said earlier, the locations are breathtaking.

My main issue with Season One is that I felt like it started slow and I think Season 2 is doing the same. Don’t get me wrong. I like that we’re getting some backstory on the exploration of the sixth layer. That being said, I wanted to see a little more of Riko and her friends. What I do see of them is fine, but I can do without the bathroom scenes. The noises really aren’t necessary, but they’re here and that’s a small complaint from me.

As a whole, this is a good introduction to the new season. I’m sure we’ll get more insight into the Ganja and the sixth layer itself. I’m looking forward to that, but I’m also looking forward to the current journey Riko and company are on. Now that they’ve finally reached the sixth layer, there’s no telling what awaits them.