Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun (2022)

[メイドインアビス 烈日の黄金郷]

Director: Masayuki Kojima
Studio: Kinema Citrus
Starring: Miyu Tomita, Mariya Ise, Shiori Izawa
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
Riko, Reg and Nanachi descend to the Sixth Layer in the hopes of uncovering the deepest secrets of the Abyss.

Impressions:
You ready for the pain? I can't imagine you would've gotten this far if you weren't. This season takes a different approach by running two storylines in parallel that gets tied together as we progress. The culture of the village is interesting to explore and the themes of value, wishes and guilt are nicely thought-provoking. We get to dig a bit into Reg's past, but it's more hints than much that's too concrete. The Ganja storyline leans hard into the good ol' Made in Abyss trauma, but if you like stories of doomed expeditions, it plays nicely into that. The character of Faputa is pretty intriguing as well, but I won't go too deeply into it to avoid spoilers. About the only complaint I have is that Riko feels sidelined a bit despite theoretically being at the center of the story. I guess because she doesn't have Reg's sturdiness or Nanachi's savvy, there's less that can be done with her as the peril continues to ramp up. It's a shame, but perhaps unavoidable. Anyway, I'd still gladly recommend this for a place in your collection if you're the sort who can take the repeated soul punches the series delivers.

Rating:
Own It