Many times when a popular short anime is finally granted the coveted second season, the hype around the new content floods anime internet spaces. But for some reason, there isn’t much buzz for the second season ofMade in Abyss. Where the first anime is beloved by nearly everyone who watched anime in 2017, it’s been radio silencefor the long-awaited second season. Why could that be?
Made in Abyssis a fantasy adventure series about Riko, the young daughter of a missing explorer, and Reg, a robot boy. Through stunning visuals and an equally amazing score by Kevin Penkin,Made in Abysscaptures the sweeping landscapes of The Abyss, a large and layered chasm that is full of monsters and deadly oddities. The second season takes place in the deadliest layer yet, the sixth layer, otherwise known as The Capital of the Unreturned. With such a thrilling setting for the second season, what could be holding the continuation of theMade in Abyssfranchise back?
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The Change In Direction
One thing fans picked up on in the second season ofMade in Abyssis the change in formula. The first season was focused on exploration and world-building; each episode took you through new territory, with new dangers at every turn. There weresweeping landscapes and extraordinary flora and faunafor the audience to ogle over with each passing episode. This world-building-based formula gave the audience the feeling that they were exploring The Abyss with the characters.
Now, although all of those elements still exist, the main focus of the series is on the action and adventure elements, instead of the fantasy world. They find a village inhabited by beings called the “Hollows” and much of the season revolves around discovering the secrets of this village. If the first season was world-building, season two would be a “lore” season,as through discovering the history of the villagethey discover many forgotten secrets about missing adventurers who encountered the Hollows as well. Focusing more on lore than world-building isn’t a bad thing, in fact it adds more depth to the series, but many fans weren’t expecting the tonal shift and seem less responsive to the change.
A Second Season Wasn’t Expected
This is partially due to a few reasons. One, the first season wrapped up the story nicely. It wasn’t unfinished, sure, but we experienced a full character arc and a minor resolution to a few plot points.Although it was clear the story wasn’t finished, it still had an ‘ending’. This is more than can be said for most one-season anime, which are expected to continue on and never achieve funding for a second season.
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The Anime Market Is More Saturated
Or more specifically, the anime market is more saturated withgoodcontent. AlthoughKakeguruiand the first season ofClassroom of the Elitecame out in the first season, thereweren’t any other significantly memorable anime. Even if the animeFastest Finger Firstwas a fun watch, and is a highly recommended series from the same season, the rest of the anime in the 2017 season weren’t as hyped asMade in Abyss, Kakegurui, andClassroom of the Elitewere.
Now, in the current anime season, competitors forMade in AbyssincludeLycoris Recoil, the second season ofClassroom of the Elite, the second season ofThe Devil Is A Crybaby, the second season ofRent A Girlfriend, and many isekai anime. With so many highly-anticipated continuations of more recent series, and series with larger fanbases, it’s proven hard forMade in Abyssto keep up with this season’s roster.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check outMade in Abyss, however. Although there is somewhat of a shift in focus, it keeps the series from being stale and adds much more depth to not only The Abyss itself,but previous adventurers that Riko has idolizedher whole life. There still is fantastical world-building with monsters and strange, otherworldly creatures, but allowing the story to focus on not only lore, but natural character development, is shaping the season to be a worthy contender to the first. Furthermore, many manga fans have been anxiously awaiting the adaption of this season for a reason you’ll have to find out yourself; no spoilers this time around.
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you may watch season two ofMade in Abyssexclusively onHiDive
