The Language of Irumyuui

I know Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 12 was twice as long as normal. But, this review is still going to be the normal length. There’s not much more to discuss despite the added length.

The first thing I want to discuss, though, is Irumyuui’s language. It was only in this episode that we learned the language spoken by the Hollows in Iruburu was Irumyuui’s. It’s the language of her tribe, which originally lived in the jungle surrounding the abyss.

Now, how that became the official language of Iruburu, I don’t know. When the Ganja Party first settled within Iruburu, they didn’t speak this language. We know Belaf learned it. But aside from him, there’s no indication that the others did. So, it could be that they all instinctively knew how to speak it upon entering Iruburu.

It’s pretty cool that we now know what the language of the Iruburu Hollows was. But, we also now know what the markings Faputa made at the start of the season mean. After taking Prushka, Faputa leaves markings on a drawing of Reg, Riko, and Nanachi.

There were no markings on Reg. Riko had what appeared to be an upside-down stick figure drawn over her. And it looked like Faputa crossed Nanachi out. At the time, I figured these markings meant that Faputa wanted to get rid of Riko and Nanachi. But, we now know that’s not the case.

The upside-down stick figure marking represents HAKU. That’s the highest form of value something can have. By drawing this on Riko, Faputa was acknowledging her as the thing Reg prized most. The marking on Nanachi was SHII, which also means to have value — but not as much.

Iruburu’s Last Hollow

By the end of Episode 12, all the Hollows of Iruburu are dead. Faputa massacred some of them. The beasts of the Sixth Layer ate some others. And there were also those who succumbed to the curse of the Abyss once it entered the village.

I want to talk about the deaths of two Hollows in particular. The first one is Pakkoyan, whose name I don’t think we knew until this episode. Pakkoyan is the cyclops Hollow who I mentioned in my review of Episode 8 as being Vueko’s former lover.

Toward the end of Episode 12, Pakkoyan dies from exposure to the curse of the Abyss after saving Vueko. Her death could have been one of the most emotional parts of the entire season. But, because the anime didn’t establish a connection between her and Vueko, it wasn’t. I’m sure many viewers didn’t understand why Pakkoyan’s death was a big deal.

Now, for the final Hollow of Iruburu — Maaa. Okay, so technically speaking, Maaa is the final Hollow of Iruburu at the time of their death. But, that’s not actually who I want to discuss next. I want to talk about Vueko.

First, the reason Maaa is the final Hollow of Iruburu and not Vueko is because of how they became Hollows. We can infer Maaa became a Hollow by entering Iruburu. That’s not the case for Vueko. The curse of the Abyss turned her into a Hollow as she ascended.

This is why Vueko didn’t simply disappear when exposed to the curse like the village Hollows. But, anyway, Vueko’s death wasn’t all that impactful either. I would rather her have made it to wherever she was trying to get to. I assume she wanted to get to wherever Irumyuui’s “true” body was.

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Is Faputa Joining Team Riko?

Back in my review of Episode 10, I said that I didn’t want Faputa to join the party. And now that the season is complete, I still feel that way. As I said back then, Faputa is annoying in both how she acts and speaks.

Also, we already have Nanachi. Do we really need another furry Hollow to join Team Riko? If we’re going to add another member, I’d rather it be someone a bit more unique. Think of how different the current members of the group are.

There’s Riko (human), Reg (robot), Nanachi (Hollow), and Prushka (rock). And before you try to argue that Prushka isn’t a member of Team Riko, she is. The series already established that despite her current form, she still has a will and can “speak.” Now, only Faputa can understand Prushka. But, maybe someone else will gain that ability.

Other than her ability to understand Prushka, what does Faputa bring to the party? She brings combat ability, and that’s about it. Reg already has that and helps the party traverse the landscape of the Abyss. So, I’m not sure Team Riko needs her in that regard.

Also, Nanachi is an important member of the party because of her knowledge. She knows a lot about the Abyss and can even see the forcefield. And, she has first-hand experience with the dark side of cave raiders. As the party continues its journey, Nanachi’s experience is sure to be invaluable.

The big problem Faputa has is that all she’s ever known is the Sixth Layer and her desire for revenge. Luckily, it doesn’t appear that she’s going to join Team Riko right now. But, I have a feeling that she’ll eventually join the party later on.

Conclusion

What do you think of the final episode of Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun? What did you originally think the markings Faputa drew on Riko and Nanachi were? Did you find Pakkoyan’s and Vueko’s deaths to be impactful? And do you think Faputa will join Team Riko? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Nanachi the Fishing Hero

Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 11 was alright. I’m not liking this final part of the season as much as I liked the start. But, Nanachi got a new outfit, so that’s something to celebrate.

After Faputa defeated Reg, it seemed like nobody would be able to stop her. Gaburoon stopped a single attack from her aimed at Riko. But, that was all he could do. If Faputa tried to kill Riko again, there’s not much the Hollows protecting her would be able to do.

Luckily for Riko, and the Hollows, Nanachi and Belaf showed up to save the day. It looked to me like Nanachi was using a fishing rod with something on the hook to lead Belaf in Faputa’s direction. I guess by this point, Belaf could no longer see due to exposure to the forcefield.

Although he started out attacking Faputa, killing her wasn’t actually Belaf’s goal. As I mentioned in the Episode 10 review, Belaf wants to die. And it’s preferable to him if he dies at Faputa’s hands. But, he doesn’t only want Faputa to kill him so that his suffering and guilt can end.

Belaf realized that there must have been a reason for Irumyuui leaving him with his memories of the past. And he believes the reason was so that he could pass those memories on to Faputa. He already did this for Nanachi. Now it’s Faputa’s turn to learn the truth.

Nanachi received Belaf’s memories of the Ganja party so they wouldn’t die with him. Faputa, on the other hand, received the memories so she could witness another side of her mother. Until now, Faputa only knew her mother’s rage. She never knew of the happiness she experienced.

Faputa vs. The Sixth Layer

With the wall of Iruburu destroyed, the beasts of the Sixth Layer can now make their way inside. And, make their way inside they do. After all, there are a bunch of tasty Hollows inside. Who could possibly resist such a feast?

Now, the fact that beasts are entering Iruburu may not be that big of a deal for the Hollows. Sure, the beasts are hunting and eating them. But, Faputa planned to kill them all anyway. So, it’s not like the end result is all that different. Is one death all that much better than the other?

Yeah, nobody wants a beast to eat them alive. But, it’s not like Faputa was killing the Hollows in any more humane way. She was tearing their bodies apart from the inside. I guess the benefit there is that at least the Princess Faputa noticed you.

Anyway, Faputa’s the one who really takes issue with the beasts of the Sixth Layer showing up. If the beasts kill and eat all the Hollows, it means Faputa didn’t get to kill them with her own hands. And if Faputa’s not the one to kill them, how can she say she got her revenge?

We also see that the beasts don’t view Faputa as anything other than another prey item. They attack her the same as they attack the Hollows of the village. The beasts don’t recognize her as their princess; only the Hollows do.

With the beasts attacking Faputa, we see the limitations of her immortality again. There was one time when she regenerated her body after her head came off. But, aside from in that one case, her injuries don’t seem to have healed on their own. She only heals after she eats the flesh (value) of the Hollows.

Faputa Awakens Her Dōjutsu

At the very end of the episode, something strange happens. Faputa awakens something within her eye. We don’t yet know if this symbol appears in both of her eyes. But, it at least appears in her right eye. And what’s strange about it is how technological it looks.

The symbol that appeared in her eye looks like it has some connection to Reg’s creators. This seems strange because we know Faputa’s origins. She shouldn’t have a connection to the civilization that created Reg, right? Well, it’s actually not as clear as you might think.

Yes, we know where Faputa comes from. She’s the final child of Irumyuui. But, that doesn’t mean she’s not connected to the mystery civilization in some way. For example, Irumyuui’s people could have been the ones to create the robots in the distant past. That’s one possible connection.

Another possible connection is through the Cradles of Desire. Irumyuui had three of these ancient artifacts implanted into her body. Her children, Faputa included, are products of these artifacts. So, Faputa has a reasonable connection to ancient technology there. To me, this seems like the more likely reason for the symbol in her eye.

I’m sure we’ll get some sort of explanation eventually. So, let’s move on to theorizing about what this special eye is going to do. My guess is that it will allow her to control the beasts of the Abyss to an extent.

She might not be able to control them completely. But, it wouldn’t surprise me if the lower-level beasts followed her commands. A turbinid-dragon is probably too much. However, it’s possible she’d be able to get the other beasts to attack the turbinid-dragons. That’s just my guess, though. I have no idea what her eye does.

Conclusion

What do you think of Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 11? Do you like Nanachi’s new outfit? Would you rather be eaten by a beast or exploded from the inside by Faputa? And what do you think Faputa’s special eye does? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 12 is available now.

Goodbye Mitty (Again)

Well, Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 10 had a twist I wasn’t expecting. Belaf decided to let Nanachi go. And before he did, he also shared his dreams of the past with her. So, Nanachi knows the truth of the Ganja party.

While I wasn’t expecting this twist, it does make sense for Belaf’s character. With Faputa entering (and destroying) Iruburu, this was Belaf’s chance to finally die. Remember, ever since he realized he ate Irumyuui’s children, he’s wanted to die. But, he was never able to until now.

Along with his memories, Belaf gives Mitty to Nanachi. But, he says that Mitty is unable to survive beyond the barrier. This version of Mitty is a part of Iruburu. Nothing made from value within Iruburu can leave. But, this also doesn’t mean Mitty will continue to survive if Nanachi keeps her there.

You see, the village protects the objects and Hollows of Iruburu from the Abyss. The forcefield of the Abyss can’t normally get into the village. This is why Riko doesn’t have a problem ascending within Iruburu. It’s also the forcefield that destroys value.

Once something made of value crosses the barrier and enters the Abyss, it gets destroyed. We now know that this is why the village Hollows can’t leave. When they entered Iruburu originally, their bodies were turned into value. And now that Reg destroyed the wall of the village, the forcefield of the Abyss can get in.

So, Nanachi decides to do for Mitty now what she was unable to do in the past. She decides to take responsibility for Mitty’s death. She carries Mitty out into the forcefield and kills her. Oh, and some other Hollows follow Nanachi to their deaths too.

Reg vs. Faputa

Despite agreeing to help Faputa and being the one to let her into the village, Reg now must fight against her. Why? Because Riko told him to. It didn’t seem like Reg cared about what happened to the village all that much. But, Riko wants to save her new friends.

The big problem for Reg, though, is that Faputa is immortal. How can he possibly defeat an immortal being? Well, there are a few ways by which he could accomplish this. And, you may have already figured out the first (and most likely) option.

Reg could take after Naruto and use the Talk-no-Jutsu. It seems to me like the easiest way to stop Faputa is with words. Of course, that’s still not going to be easy. But, it seems like the easiest. There must be something Reg — or even Riko — can say to her to get her to stop.

Now, Reg almost achieved this feat in this episode. However, as we saw at the very end of the episode, Faputa’s not ready to give up yet. So, what other option is there? The next option is for Reg to handicap Faputa by eliminating her regeneration.

Faputa claims to be immortal. Some of the Hollows have also called her immortal. But, we know that her body doesn’t naturally regenerate. When she tore off her ear/arm (still not sure about that), she didn’t regenerate it until entering Iruburu.

The souls of her siblings within Iruburu are what regenerate her body. So, if Reg can remove her from the village, he can cut off her immortality. With that said, I don’t see Reg choosing to kill Faputa, even if he was able to. But, he could at least pressure her into peace.

Faputa the Cave Raider?

Okay, so why am I saying that Reg could defeat Faputa by removing her immortality? Clearly, that’s not going to happen, right? I mean, we saw Faputa take Reg out at the end of the episode. And, sure, that’s fair. I was just saying that it’s one possible avenue.

As I mentioned, it seems far more likely that Faputa stops her rampage due to words. And if Reg is out of the picture, those words seem like they’ll come from Riko. But, what could Riko say to Faputa to get her to give up on revenge?

The first answer is… nothing. I want to put out the possibility that Faputa doesn’t stop her rampage. You may have noticed, but Made in Abyss is a pretty dark anime at times. Look at what happened to Mitty and Prushka at Bondrewd’s hands. So, it’s possible that Faputa slaughters all the Hollows without being stopped.

But, what if someone (Riko) does stop her? To me, there’s one main thing Riko could say to accomplish this. She could invite Faputa to join them on their journey. Faputa would get to be with Reg and she would have the chance to find a new goal in life.

Something tells me that she’d be able to get along well with Riko, too. After all, Riko is on a journey to reunite with her mother. That seems like something Faputa would want to help her do. Faputa’s mother is the most important person (village) in her own life, as well.

But, even if Riko invites Faputa, I actually hope Faputa declines. It’s not that I want her to kill all the Hollows. I just don’t want Faputa to join Team Riko. She’s pretty annoying — both in how she acts and how she speaks.

Conclusion

What do you think of Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 10? Do you think Belaf’s choice to free Nanachi makes sense? How do you think our heroes will stop Faputa? And, would you like to see Faputa join Team Riko? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 11 is available now.

Vueko x Cyclops

Right after the OP of Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 9, we got a great scene. No, I’m not talking about all the Hollows surrounding Reg to witness a piece of Faputa. I’m talking about Vueko’s former lover standing next to her.

In my Episode 8 review, I pointed out that we now know Vueko’s former lover is the cyclops Hollow. Now, the anime skipped over their sex scene in the Ganja Party backstory. But, this scene at the start of Episode 9 makes me think this Hollow girl still has some role to play.

I liked how she stood nervously next to Vueko and glanced over at her. It’s clear that she recognizes who Vueko is despite her disguise — just as Wazukyan did. But, we got no indication that Vueko recognized her.

So, the question is, does Vueko know who the cyclops Hollow is? It’s possible that she doesn’t. There hasn’t been any evidence pointing to her recognizing most of the Hollows. She recognizes Wazukyan. But, that’s because she’s seen his Hollow form before. And, from what I remember, she also saw Belaf transform. So, she’d recognize him, too.

Beyond those two, Vueko never saw the Hollow forms of her former party members. While imprisoned, she could sense what was happening in Iruburu. But, she couldn’t see anything. I wonder what her reaction will be when she finds out who the cyclops Hollow is.

Will we ever get to see her figure this out? I don’t know. While I’d like for it to happen, there’s no reason it has to. It’s not important in the grand scheme of things. But, it would be nice to get a bit more information about the relationship those two had.

Wazukyan’s True Wish

I hate to admit it, but Riko might be smarter than I am. She figured out that Wazukyan’s true wish is for the Ganja Party to continue exploring the Abyss. But, how did she come to that conclusion? And if it’s true, why did the Ganja Party settle down?

The answer to the first question is actually pretty simple. What kind of person would willingly descend into the Sixth Layer? The only people who would risk not being able to return to the surface are those who live and breathe adventure.

If you descend into the Sixth Layer, you’ve decided adventure is more important than your life. This was true for the Ganja Party. This is true for both Riko and Lyza. And, this is even true for Bondrewd — the only person to successfully return from the Sixth Layer.

Let’s talk about Bondrewd for a moment. If he didn’t continue beyond the Sixth Layer (as far as we know), why am I putting him in this category? Well, he sacrificed himself to get there. His White Whistle is made from his own body. And, while he’s not on the same kind of adventure as Riko, I’ll still count his experiments.

So, how did Riko know that Wazukyan wants to continue his adventure with the Ganja Party? Because that’s what everyone who reaches the Sixth Layer wants. But, that leaves the question of why the Ganja Party settled in Iruburu.

My best guess is that Wazukyan didn’t intend for this settlement to be permanent. His followers were dying from parasites, monsters, and the environment. They needed somewhere safe to stay, or they’d all die before reaching the bottom. And so, Wazukyan bet that someone in the future would help them continue on their journey.

Faputa’s Revenge

Even after finishing Episode 9, I’m still not sure how Faputa removed an arm by tearing off her ear. We do see that she’s missing an arm. But, the very clear wound on her head isn’t where her arm connected. So, what happened to her ear?

I don’t have an answer to that question. But, I guess it doesn’t matter in the end because Faputa was completely healed. So, moving on, let’s take a look at Faputa’s attack on Iruburu. After Reg blows a hole in the side of the village, Faputa and Gaburoon show up.

The difference between how Faputa and the Hollows act is very interesting, to me. Faputa’s much more serious than normal. And she explicitly states that she’s there to slaughter all the villagers. She doesn’t plan to leave any survivors. And yet, the response of the Hollows doesn’t match the situation they’re in.

The Hollows are excited to see Faputa up close. Majikaja even says that he’s “so happy!” But, why is this the case? Are the Hollows happy that Faputa is going to kill them? According to Wazukyan, they have been living in the village for about 150 years, after all.

I don’t think that’s why they’re happy to see Faputa. Well, that could be how Belaf feels. We know that he wanted to die after finding out what he ate to survive the parasite infection. But, for the rest of the Hollows, this doesn’t make much sense.

It could be that Faputa is the key to the Hollows escaping from Iruburu. What if the only way for their souls to be able to leave Iruburu is for Faputa’s to take their place? Iruburu is all about balance and value. If she’s sealed in Iruburu, maybe they can leave.

Conclusion

What do you think about Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 9? Will Vueko ever realize who the cyclops Hollow is? Do you think Wazukyan knew that someone would one day release the Ganja Party from Iruburu? And were you surprised to find out that the red things on Faputa’s head are horns?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 10 is available now.