WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Made in Abyss Volumes 6-9.
The anime adaptation of Akihito Tsukushi’s Made in Abyss manga has been well-received for its beautiful animation and great story. Tie-in manga, video games, a series of animated feature films, and even a live-action movie have been released or announced. The adventures of Riko and the robot-boy Reg as they search for Riko’s mother in the depths of the abyss have kept fans intrigued since Volume 1. The story of corruption and the unreliability of authority set against the backdrop of Dante’s Inferno is complex and beautiful. With Season 2 of Made in Abyss finally confirmed, here are the things from the manga fans most want to see on-screen.
More Fauna Beneath The Fifth Layer
Part of Made in Abyss' amazing world is the plethora of strange creatures which populate the depths. From the poison-scaled Turbinid Dragon to the prey animals below the seventh layer, the creatures beneath the surface keep fans coming back for more.
As the party goes deeper into the Abyss, they eat from stranger sources. The creatures who inhabit the world of Made in Abyss don’t only chase the protagonists, however; As Riko and Reg go deeper and adapt further to the Abyss, they learn more about the strange world and eat the animals they find there. These animals are dangerous, delicious and representative of the hellacious environment around the main characters.
Iruburu And The Nightmarish Sixth Layer
This group of beings shows the first structured non-human society beneath the surface. They also show that the world of the Abyss may not be as disordered and wild as previously thought. However, readers see some of the creepiest imagery in the series, and this place twists the perspective of right and wrong.
One of the most disturbing sequences of this layer is the balancing of Maaa. This short creature feature body horror shows the fervent devotion of the Iruburu to their perception of fairness along with the mind-bending horrors that populate the lower depths. Most importantly, the sixth layer is where the protagonists encounter Faputa.
The Introduction Of Faputa
Faputa is another hollow and one of the main characters in the later volumes. Her history with Reg reveals a lot about his past and the world that he comes from. Her animal strength and instincts are a boon to the party, even if her perception of right and wrong is grayer than Riko and Reg's.
Faputa's introduction also serves to give the heroes what is at first glance the major antagonist of the sixth layer. As her character grows and changes, so does her affinity for Reg and Riko. Even so, their tenuous relationship is one of the many aspects of Made in Abyss’ Season 2 that would add a lot of complexity to the story.
The Birthday Plague And The Praying Skeletons
In Season 2 of Made in Abyss, fans hope to see the narrative return to the surface more often. Leader and the orphans have to deal with the birthday plague, which is played for laughs in the first few episodes. These deaths are also revealed as closely related to the praying skeletons.
The strange skeletons appear every 2,000 years. Since the narrative picks up 2,000 years after the previous skeletal deposit, fans are eager to find out how these deaths are related. They also want to see how the characters on the surface react to the potential loss of their friends. This storyline shows a deeper cut of how tough life is even for those who are relatively safe above the Abyss.
The Ganja Suicide Party
The Ganja Party delved down long before Riko and Reg started out on their journey. A lot of the history of the Iruburu is told through their eyes, and it goes to show how connected the worlds above and below are. The story of Irumyuui shows how twisted the Abyss can get. Even more so, it demonstrates the hellish lengths that Abyss-dwellers will go to for survival.
Especially in learning the significance of the three elders, these flashbacks tell readers about the rationale of the Iruburu people and the Suicide Parties. The evolution of the group into the inhabitants of Iruburu shows more of the corruption awaiting those who adventure into the Abyss.
