is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by Akihito Tsukushi. It has been serialized online in

Takeshobo is a major publisher in Japan. Takeshobo was founded in 1972 by Kyōichirō Noguchi, starting Japan's first Mahjong magazine . Other magazines, such as a magazine dedicated to mahjong-themed manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics ...

's digital publication ''Web Comic Gamma'' since October 2012, and has been collected into eleven ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes. The story follows an orphaned girl named Riko, who finds and befriends a part-robot boy named Reg, and descends with him into the titular "Abyss" that leads deep into the Earth, in hopes of finding her mother. An

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation produced by Kinema Citrus, aired from July to September 2017. A sequel film, subtitled ''Dawn of the Deep Soul'', premiered in Japan in January 2020. A second season, titled ''Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun'', aired from July to September 2022. A

live-action film Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

adaptation began development in 2021, with Kevin McMullin hired to write and direct. An

action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...

developed by Chime Corporation and published by

Spike Chunsoft is a Japanese video game development and localization company specializing in role-playing video games, visual novels and adventure games. The company was founded in 1984 as Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and merged with Spike in 2012. It is owned by Dwango ...

was released in September 2022.

Plot

An orphaned girl named Riko lives in the Belchero Orphanage in the town of Orth. The town surrounds a strange, giant hole descending deep into the earth, which is known as the Abyss. The Abyss harbors artifacts and remnants of civilizations long gone, and is, therefore, a popular hunting spot for so-called Cave Raiders, who undertake arduous and dangerous descents into the mist-filled pit to recover whatever relics they can find. Returning from the Abyss can be dangerous as "the Curse of the Abyss," a mysterious and potentially fatal malady, manifests upon ascension. The deeper one goes, the more acute the effects of the curse; few who have descended into the lower regions have returned to tell of their experiences. Some legendary Cave Raiders earn the title of White Whistles, one of them being Riko's mother, Lyza, who is presumed dead after taking a "last descent" into the Abyss. Riko's longing in life is to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a White Whistle. One day, she discovers a half-human/half-robot boy in the first layer of the Abyss and names him Reg (after a dog that Riko owned). Riko and her friends sneak Reg into Belchero and quickly welcome him into their close-knit group. Sometime later, a number of findings are made from the depths of the Abyss, including Lyza’s White Whistle and pages of discoveries and observations she had made, as well as a message presumably for Riko, stating she is waiting at the bottom of the Abyss. Riko, determined to find her mother, bids farewell to her friends and secretly departs into the Abyss with Reg as her companion.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Akihito Tsukushi, ''Made in Abyss'' started on

's ''Manga Life Win+'' (later ''Web Comic Gamma'') website on October 20, 2012. Takeshobo has collected its chapters into individual ''

'' volumes. The first volume was released on July 31, 2013. As of July 29, 2022, eleven volumes have been released. In North America,

Seven Seas Entertainment Seven Seas Entertainment is an American publishing company located in Los Angeles, California. It was originally dedicated to the publication of original English-language manga, but now publishes licensed manga and light novels from Japan, as w ...

announced during their panel at Anime Expo 2017 that they had licensed the manga. The translator of the anime for Sentai Filmworks, Jake Jung, also adapted the manga for Seven Seas Entertainment. Regarding his involvement in the English version of both media, he stated, "''Made in Abyss'' is chock-full of terminology, so I hope fans of both media are able to enjoy a seamless experience." In addition, he has confirmed his intention to avoid gendered pronouns for both Nanachi and Marulk. A manga

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

, titled ', was released on July 29, 2017. On December 13, 2019, Seven Seas announced they had licensed the book, and they released it on October 6, 2020. As of July 2021, a total of four anthologies have been published.

Anime

television series adaptation was announced in December 2016. The 13-episode series aired from July 7 to September 29, 2017 on AT-X,

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

TV Aichi JOCI-DTV, branded as , is a television station in Nagoya, Japan operated by the Aichi Television Broadcasting Company, Ltd. (TVA; ja, テレビ愛知株式会社, Terebi Aichi kabushiki gaisha) and is an affiliate of the TX Network. Broadcasti ...

, Sun TV,

KBS Kyoto is a commercial broadcasting station headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It is doing business in Kyoto Prefecture as and in Shiga Prefecture as Its radio station serves Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures and is a member of National Radio Network (NRN) ...

TVQ TVQ is the Brisbane television station of Network 10 in Australia. History In April 1964, the Postmaster-General's Department granted Universal Telecasters a broadcasting licence. The channel was allocated channel 0 (the 0 was pronounced as ...

, Saga TV, and BS11, and covers content from volumes 1 through 3. The final episode was a 1-hour long special. The series was directed by

Masayuki Kojima is a Japanese animator, storyboard artist, and director, best known for directing the acclaimed anime series ''Monster'' and ''Made in Abyss''. He was born on March 11, 1961 in Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan. Career Kojima first got his start in the ...

and written by

Hideyuki Kurata is a Japanese anime screenwriter, light novelist, and manga artist, noted for authoring the series composition of such works as '' Read or Die'', ''Now and Then, Here and There'', '' Kamichu!'', and '' Gun Sword''. He has been a member of Yōsuke K ...

, with animation by Kinema Citrus and character designs by

Kazuchika Kise is a Japanese director, animator, and character designer. He started working in the anime industry in 1989 with '' Patlabor: The Movie''. In 2015, he made his directorial debut with '' Ghost in the Shell: Arise''. Biography Kazuchika Kise was bo ...

. Australian artist

Kevin Penkin Kevin Penkin (born 22 May 1992) is a British-born Australian composer, primarily for video games and anime. He is best known for composing the score of the anime '' Made in Abyss'', which won Best Score at the 2nd Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and t ...

composed the soundtrack for the anime.

Miyu Tomita is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Saitama Prefecture who is signed to Amuse. After aspiring to become a voice actress while studying in elementary school, she participated in two voice acting auditions in 2014, winning one of them. So ...

and

Mariya Ise Mariya is a variation of the feminine given name Maria. People * Mariya Abakumova (born 1986), Russian Olympic javelin thrower * Mariya Agapova (born 1997), Kazakhstani mixed martial arts fighter * Mariya Alyokhina (born 1988), Russian politica ...

, the voice actresses for Riko and Reg, respectively, performed both the opening theme "Deep in Abyss" and the ending theme "Tabi no Hidarite, Saihate no Migite", the latter in collaboration with

Shiori Izawa is a Japanese voice actress from Saitama Prefecture. Biography Filmography Anime television *'' Hell Girl: Three Vessels'' (2008–2009), Tsubaki *''Durarara!!'' (2010), Shiri *''Princess Jellyfish'' (2010), Gocchan *''Maji de Watashi ni Koi S ...

(Nanachi). The first season premiered on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...

programming block on January 16, 2022. Two

compilation film A compilation film, or compilation movie is a film composed of scenes and shots taken from two or more prior films and edited together so as to make a new film, whether on the same or a different subject. The most common example would be a docum ...

s, titled (encompassing episodes 1–8 with new scenes for introduction) and (encompassing episodes 9-13), were released on January 4, 2019 and January 18, 2019, respectively. A sequel was announced at an event in November 2017. Following the release of the first compilation film, the sequel was revealed to be a film titled . The film premiered in Japan on January 17, 2020. The film had been set to premiere in the United States at Anime Boston on April 11, 2020 before that convention's cancellation due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Regular theater showings in the U.S. had been planned for April 13 (English dub) and 15 (English subtitles). Following the release of ''Dawn of the Deep Soul'', a new sequel was announced. On May 5, 2021, it was announced that the sequel was a second season, officially titled , which aired from July 6 to September 28, 2022. The main cast and staff reprised their roles.

Riko Azuna is a Japanese singer and songwriter who is affiliated with KADOKAWA. She made her major debut in 2018 with the song , which was used as the opening theme to the anime series '' Bloom Into You''. Her music has also been featured in '' Re:Zero − ...

performed the opening theme "Katachi", while

Myth & Roid Myth & Roid (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese pop rock band centered arounTom-H@ck(guitars, bass, composer, production) and hotaru (keyboards, lyrics, story planning), featuring multiple vocalists. The band made its debut in 2015 with the re ...

performed the ending theme "Endless Embrace".

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...

has licensed the series, and streamed it on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

Anime Strike Anime Strike was a subscription-based video on demand service for Amazon Channels, focused on anime series and movies from various anime distributors. The service launched on January 12, 2017, and was closed on January 5, 2018, after which its ...

service in the U.S. and on HIDIVE outside of the U.S. Sentai has since released it on home video with an English dub.

MVM Films MVM Entertainment, also known as MVM and MVM Films, is a British licensor and distributor of Japanese animation. The company also sub-licenses anime titles from US anime companies such as Media Blasters, Geneon, Nozomi Entertainment, Urban Visio ...

has acquired the series for distribution in the UK and Ireland, and

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatr ...

has acquired the series for distribution in Australia and New Zealand. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the two compilation films, and screened the first film at

Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. A division of Cineworld, Regal operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with over 7,200 screens i ...

in Los Angeles on March 15, 2019, with a subtitled theatrical release on March 20, 2019, and an English dubbed theatrical release on March 25, 2019, in collaboration with

Fathom Events Fathom Events is an entertainment content provider that broadcasts entertainment events in movie theaters throughout the United States including Metropolitan Opera Live in HD, the performing arts, major sporting events, and music concerts. Th ...

. During its panel at

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first w ...

on July 5, 2019, Sentai Filmworks announced that they had acquired the license for ''Dawn of the Deep Soul''. Sentai Filmworks planned to screen the film in North America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland with English subtitles on April 13, 2020 subtitled, and with the English dub on April 15, 2020. However, the screenings were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sentai Filmworks also acquired the second season for distribution worldwide except Asia, France, Germany, Italy and Middle East and North Africa, and streamed it on select digital outlets.

Video game

, titled , was developed by Chime Corporation and published by

, with Numskull Games publishing the physical versions in Europe. It is fully voiced in English and Japanese and features an original story supervised by Tsukushi. The game was released on

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

, and

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

on September 1, 2022 in Japan, and the following day in North America and Europe.

Live-action film

In June 2021,

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

announced that a live-action film adaptation was in development. The film will be produced by

Roy Lee Roy Lee (born March 23, 1969) is an American film producer. Lee's production company, Vertigo Entertainment, has a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Early life Lee was born in 1969 at Wyckoff Heights Hospital, in Brooklyn, New York, to Korean p ...

and

Masi Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's ''Heroes'' as Hiro Nakamura and in CBS's ''Hawaii Five-0'' as Doctor Max Bergman. Early life Oka was born in Tokyo, Japan, to Setsuko Oka. Hi ...

and adapted by Kevin McMullin.

Reception

Manga

''Made in Abyss'' was nominated for the 11th

Manga Taishō The is a Japanese comics award recognizing achievement in manga. It is awarded annually to a manga series published in the previous calendar year of eight or fewer collected volumes in length. The Manga Taishō was founded with the aim of re ...

awards and received a total of 40 points, coming in at eighth place. The series ranked 13th on ''

Kono Manga ga Sugoi! is an annual reference mook series published by Takarajimasha since 2005 featuring yearly rankings and reviews of manga. The rankings are compiled by surveying people in the manga and publishing industry. The series is part of Takarajimasha's ...

s top 20 manga for male readers 2018. It was nominated for the French 12th ACBD's Prix Asie de la Critique 2018. As of February 2020, the manga had over 3 million copies in circulation.

Anime

''Made in Abyss'' has been met with positive reviews and is widely considered to be one of the best anime series of the 2010s.

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

listed the series in their "Top 100 best anime of the 2010s". ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' also listed it among the best anime series of the 2010s. It was one of the Jury Recommended Works in the Animation Division at the 21st

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by a ...

. Nick Creamer of ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

'' praised the anime for being adventure-focused, as well as its efficiency in establishing its premise. Creamer also praises it for its artwork and music that highlights the beauty and terror of the Abyss. Julian Malerman of ''

THEM Anime Reviews THEM Anime Reviews, otherwise known as THEM or T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews, is an anime review website that writes about current and past anime in any form, including OVAs and ONAs. The website offers reviews, editorial content and hosts forums. ...

'' praises the show for being a well-executed emotional drama saying "The manner in which the show approaches this conclusion is often brutal and alienating, but the final answer is simple and pure. It sings." ''Made in Abyss'' was awarded Anime of the Year and Best Score at the 2nd Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2018. The series won the 2018 ''Anime Trending Awards'' in the Best in Adaptation, Best in Soundtrack and Action or Adventure Anime of the Year, and was nominated for several other categories. It also won the 25th Spanish

Manga Barcelona Manga Barcelona, formerly known until 2018 as Saló del Manga de Barcelona ( es, Salón del Manga de Barcelona) is a Spanish anime and manga convention held annually in Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spa ...

award for the Best Anime category in 2019.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Made in Abyss 2017 anime television series debuts 2022 anime television series debuts 2022 video games Adventure anime and manga Anime films based on manga Anime series based on manga Anime Strike Crunchyroll Anime Awards winners Dark fantasy anime and manga Hideyuki Kurata Japanese webcomics Kinema Citrus Muse Communication Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Science fiction anime and manga Seinen manga Sentai Filmworks Seven Seas Entertainment titles Spike Chunsoft video games Takeshobo manga Toonami Webcomics in print Windows games