Made in Abyss is 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 Abyss captures 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 the Made in Abyss franchise back?

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The Change In Direction

One thing fans picked up on in the second season of Made in Abyss is 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 were sweeping landscapes and extraordinary flora and fauna for 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 village they 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 other reason? It had been so long since the first season. Although there were other pieces of media for Made in Abyss, like films and a game, that did decently, the original season that had the most excitement came out in 2017. Five years later for the second season was too long to wait. Many fans simply lost interest in the series, and even those who wanted a second season weren’t aware it was happening, with minimal advertisements to international audiences.

The Anime Market Is More Saturated

Or more specifically, the anime market is more saturated with good content. Although Kakegurui and the first season of Classroom of the Elite came out in the first season, there weren’t any other significantly memorable anime. Even if the anime Fastest Finger First was 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 as Made in Abyss, Kakegurui, and Classroom of the Elite were.

Now, in the current anime season, competitors for Made in Abyss include Lycoris Recoil, the second season of Classroom of the Elite, the second season of The Devil Is A Crybaby, the second season of Rent 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 for Made in Abyss to keep up with this season’s roster.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check out Made 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 idolized her 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 can watch season two of Made in Abyss exclusively on HiDive