EDIT: COMPLETELY REWRITTEN (2021)

-INTRO:
Made in Abyss is a manga I often think about. I’m not talking about theories to solve the mysteries that belong to the world. I’m talking about the manga in itself. How did the author come up with such a powerful, engrossing, impactful, memorable and wonderful story. Everything about this manga is perfection. The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. Let me explain. Have you ever seen or read something, and as soon as you’re done with it, the only impression you have of it is “wow”. This is it, Made in Abyss is this and more. If you’ve watched some of the interviews of the author, Tsukishi Akihito, even him is amazed with what he created. And I can’t help but agree with the fact that this manga is a one in a million experience you hardly will ever forget. Whether you liked the manga or not, Made in Abyss leaves a mark. In my old review I was almost upset at how underrated this manga was, and when I tell you that I’m truly happy that many more people saw the potential this story holds, I mean it. Let me explain and justify why this manga is the best in its category.

-STORY:
The abyss, a giant chasm. Brought to life thanks to countless creatures, wonderful places you’ll hear about, mysteries no one knows the answer to and a logic that belongs to the abyss and the abyss only. It’s no surprise that the unknown is something humankind doesn’t want to have deal with, and that’s why the first thing you will want to do is to explore all of it, to face with the unknown and to analyze it. Curiosity is the very essence of our species and the main protagonist Riko is the embodiment of it. We follow Riko in her journey, what she discovers, is what we discover. The adventure she feels, is the one we feel. The answers she’s looking for, are the ones we’re looking for. Made in Abyss is first and foremost an adventure manga. This doesn’t mean the adventure in the world of Orth, the city built surrounding the abyss, is all about exploring and nothing more. No, it’s much more than that. Every time I mention adventure, is not the superficial meaning of it, but it’s also the study of one self and what it means to deal with it. Being Made in Abyss mostly a character driven story, is really no use talking about the story alone without properly talking about the characters.

CHARACTERS:
The characters in Made in Abyss have always been a grip for many. The main issue for some people is Riko. Riko is a naive 9yo child that wants know more about the abyss and her supposedly dead mother who’s waiting for her at the end of the so called “netherworld”. The more Riko descends into the abyss, the more she discovers about things she didn’t know about herself. That’s exactly what makes Riko a controversial character for many. She is a seemingly bland and empty character who acts very childishly (and what a surprise, she’s a child!) that doesn’t seem learn nothing from her mistakes. That’s what most people think of her and that’s where all of them make wrong assumptions about her character. As I previously said, Riko is the very essence of curiosity and naivity, and that’s okay. She’s not supposed to be more than that. Riko IS the main plot of Made in Abyss, without her carelessness we would have probably stayed in Orth and never exploring the abyss. If you can’t understand that Riko is adventure itself, we’re are reading a different manga. We have then Reg, a robot, maybe a human, or maybe both, that Riko finds in approximately to Orth in the first layer. Reg, having lost all of his memories, decides to stick with Riko in her adventure. Reg is another character many people are not happy with. Let me tell you again why he’s another outstanding character in the series. While Rilo embodies the adventure, Reg embodies the mystery. Who’s Reg? Where did he come from? Is he a robot or a human? What is his relationship with Lyza? Why did he lose all of his memories? Reg is supposed to be the big question and the key to the whole plot. That’s what makes the character the story itself. The known (Riko) and the unknown (Reg) gets together to embark on a long journey to get the answers we want and to feel the adventure of out two little children. Or course, Made in Abyss has many more characters that embodies even more aspects of humankind. Nanachi is a character that give a meaning to a journey strictly related to death; what it means to lose an significant other and to move on. Ozen, the lost of sanity in order to keep adventuring no matter what. She tries to give us an explanation of why the abyss is so feared yet adored. Bondrewd embodies science. To give answers to some of the mysteries and questions we might have, through science Bondrewd tries to challenge the abyss and its curse. Science always come at a cost, and in this case it means sacrificing someone to reach our own goal. Also, we could discuss about him being one of the best antagonist ever. We’re also introduced to Faputa, the embodiment of value, another character similar to Nanachi, but also not. Faputa is another character goes through the stages of grief and loss, but unlike Nanachi, Faputa stops at the second stage (anger), and itms throughly explored with a very detailed and inner journey of oneself and all the psychological aspects. We have then Prushka, which I can’t discuss about for spoiler reasons and Vueko, another character, more similar to Riko. Vueko is more of an adult version of Riko. But on the contrary, she at some point gives up. Lastly, Wazukyan, one of the three sages. He’s a sacrifice himself, gives up everything for the abyss, and becomes part of it.

ART:
It’s no secret that Made in Abyss has one of the best arts in the whole manga world. On par with other authors such as Boichi, Inio Asano and Kentaro Miura, Tsukushi Akihito succeed with flying color in giving an identity for Made in Abyss. Each manga page is filled with life. The abstractness, the details, the imagination and the shades all come together to give life to the Abyss and its characters. It’s art that depicts both the beauty and the horror of the abyss. Characters designs are unique and memorable, the creatures are different from one another, the imagination seems to never end, and they never fail to feel cute and fluffy or horrifying and dangerous. There isn’t really much to say here, the drawings really speak for themselves. They are a feast for the eyes and should be a reason alone to give Made in Abyss a try.

ENJOYMENT:
Some people have got many issues and struggle to find a reason of why someone could enjoy Made in Abyss. This manga is not all about suffering and torture porn, it’s absolutely not about the sometimes questionable nudity scenes of underaged children and it’s not a story that doesn’t know what do with itself. The enjoyment directly comes from the story’s unpredictableness to the antagonists that aren’t really antagonist, to the charming character and the many mysteries of the abyss. It doesn’t really take much to give an answer to why would someone could enjoy Made in Abyss. Made in Abyss is in my opinion a one in a lifetime experience that no one should miss out. It is truly the wet dream of everyone who wants to go on an adventure that comes with stakes rewarded by beautiful sceneries and strong bonds. The suffering is just another fun part of the manga, but as I already said, it’s not just that. And agree ti disagree, as weird as the nudity is (and I want to point out that it’s not to be viewed in a sexual way), it really is another aspect to the identity that is Madd in Abyss and make a different kind of story from every other manga. Some might feel uncomfortable, but personally I don’t really care about it and I laugh at it at best. It really is nothing of importance that takes away from any of your enjoyment. If you find it an issue, then you’re probably the issue.

OVERALL:
Taking place in a lovecraftian-ish setting, this manga is not to be missed out. If you’re looking for a sci-fi fantasy adventure manga, Made in Abyss is straight up your ally being the best of the best in its category. Everything it does, is perfection and the author aims at that. I can’t help but agree with the fact that, in my opinion, Made in Abyss is modern classic that will be remembered for a very long time. Deserving all the praise it gets and more, I couldn’t recommend you a better manga.
Thanks for reading and I’m sorry for eventual grammar mistakes or weird phrasing order. Anyways, go read it.