Web Comic Gamma’s dark fantasy manga series “Made in Abyss” gets an anime adaptation courtesy of Kinema Citrus. Originally debuting in the magazine back in October 2012, the series has surprised viewers with it’s quick “from zero to one hundred” tone change, emotional story, and charming characters. The story follows orphan Rico as she explores “The Great Pit”, an enormous crater within the middle of her city said to be filled with treasure, but is also home to dangerous creatures. After doing a dig, she comes across a robot boy whom she has named Reg.

Made in Abyss is an 2017 seinen anime series, it is produced by Kinema Citrus, and licensed by Sentai Filmworks. It is currently available for streaming in English subs on Anime Strike.

Main characters Reg (left) and Rico (right).

Ok without going into too much detail, let’s just say that this series is going to be a huge troll job. The story does a bit of foreshadowing to kind of let you know what the series is really all about tone wise with small pieces of information spread out throughout the scenery here and there during episode 1. This is something viewers should take note of, as everything comes into play later on as the series progresses.

Yeah, this cutesy artwork is all being done on purpose.

THE GOOD: Don’t let the charming, cute animation fool you, this is a very dark series, which will become realized in upcoming episodes. Without spoiling too much, viewers should pay attention to certain scenes shown throughout the episode, that was some heavy foreshadowing for what’s to come. Main character Rico is a delver, who searches the Abyss for treasures and artifacts, her dream is to reach the lower levels of the Abyss like her mother did, so she tries to gain more experience to be trusted with such a task. However, Rico is a bit of a troublemaker and often causes issues with those in charge of the dig (yeah she’s sleeping in a former execution room now). After meeting the robot boy, whom she has named Reg, she tries to hide him from the authority figures. The episode itself does a good job of helping us understand who Rico, Reg, and most of the other characters are all about. The musical score is fantastic and compliments the already decent world building for the first episode. Readers of the manga will have obvious high expectations for the series, but anime only viewers are in for a treat as they watch progress.

Buckle up ladies and gentlemen, you’re in for a hell of a ride.

THE BAD: Nothing in particular.

Welcome to the Abyss, you’re screwed!

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Made in Abyss’ first effort is a solid one, with some good world building, character development, and subtle (and not so subtle) hints of things to come with the overall direction. The art direction is definitely going to surprise the actual tone of the series from those who pick up on it as it gains traction within the next several weeks. Otaku Dome gives Made in Abyss Episode 1 a 80 out of 100.