Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 2

Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 2

The Adventure Is Only Beginning

I don’t know how long Made in Abyss is going to be by the time it ends. But, based on The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 2, it seems that we’re now out of the prologue.

Everything in the First Season and The Dawn of the Deep Soul was the prologue. And, that’s kind of odd considering that together they covered most of the known Abyss. Based on the map of the Abyss we have, there are seven known layers. Dawn of the Deep Soul ends with Riko’s party exiting the fifth.

We’re five-sevenths of the way through the Abyss, right? Maybe. But also maybe not. Nobody knows how deep the Abyss is. There may be far more layers than seven. All we know is that there are at least seven, the seventh starts at 15,500 meters, and the bottom is beyond 20,000 meters.

The scenery of the Sixth Layer from the anime series Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 2
The scenery of the Sixth Layer

To put those numbers in perspective, the Mariana Trench is only 11,034 meters deep. And the deepest hole ever drilled by humans is only 12,262 meters deep. So, by the time a cave raider makes it to the Fifth Layer, they’re about as deep as the deepest hole in real life.

Anyway, why am I saying that the real content of the series has finally begun? There are two reasons. The first, I’m pretty sure I mentioned in the Episode 1 review. That is, the subtitle of this season comes from the Sixth Layer.

That implies we’ll be spending as much time in the Sixth Layer as we did on the surface and in the first four layers. The second reason is that Riko mentioned in this episode that they need to create their own map. From this point on, they’re in uncharted territory.

Sending a Letter Home

I don’t remember when Riko sent her first letter back to the surface. But, I kind of feel like it was very early on — like after the First or Second Layer. Now that she’s arrived in the Sixth Layer, it’s time to send another.

The problem with sending letters from the lower layers of the Abyss is that it requires a lot of luck. There are a lot of things a letter needs to get passed if it’s going to make it to the surface. Not only is there the terrain, but all the creatures of the Abyss, too.

As we saw in this episode, the creatures got in the way this time. Some sort of dragon snatched Riko’s letter out of the air shortly after Reg released it. What if that had happened to all the information Lyza sent up to Riko?

Reg, Riko, and Nanachi sending a letter to the surface from the anime series Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 2
Reg, Riko, and Nanachi sending a letter to the surface

As far as we know, Lyza is the person to have made it deepest into the Abyss. In the previous episode, I said I thought there were 7 White Whistle holders. It turns out there are 5. But, that number may not include Wazukyan’s party. It may be that there are 5 who are currently known.

Still, Lyza’s letters to Riko came from beyond the Sixth Layer. It might have even come from the very bottom. I don’t remember if she said that she’s currently waiting for Riko at the bottom or if she’ll meet Riko at the bottom.

Regardless, it’s amazing that Lyza’s letters made it to the surface from that depth. And we still don’t know anything about 2 of the other White Whistle holders. If Riko runs into them in this layer and the next, that should confirm Lyza is the deepest.

Majikaja and the Hollows

While searching for Prushka (Riko’s White Whistle), Riko, Reg, and Nanachi make their way to a village. According to the title of the next episode, this is the village of the Hollows. Hollows are those like Nanachi who suffer from the curse of the Abyss.

But, before discussing the village of the Hollows, I need to go over something that happened on the way there. Team Riko found some dead animals with Riko’s and Nanachi’s hair sewn inside them. Surprisingly, I don’t have an issue with the hair being sewn into the carcasses.

It’s obvious that whoever did this has a reason for doing so in their mind. I also viewed the “message” left on Riko’s letter as a death threat. So, this hair-stuffing could be some sort of “curse” to kill them. But, what did shock me is that Riko’s party opened the carcasses.

Nanachi, Riko, and Reg meeting Majikaja from the anime series Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 2
Nanachi, Riko, and Reg meeting Majikaja

In their defense, they probably have no reason to think like this. But, when I saw those corpses sewn up, my first thought was that it was a booby trap. In my mind, it was clear that some sort of explosive or toxic chemical was sewn into those animals. Luckily for Riko, I was wrong.

Now, as for the village of the Hollows, we saw a bunch of different Hollows in it briefly. But, the one that I’m most interested in is Majikaja. Majikaja isn’t like the other Hollows. He’s mechanical. Or, at least that’s how he appears.

I’m assuming that Majikaja’s real body is within his mechanical one. And I hope we get to see it at some point. I’d like to get a backstory for him — he could be from Wazukyan’s original party. The Ganja Party could have founded this village.

Conclusion

Before next week’s episode, I want to make a prediction. I think the Hollows in the village are killing humans. They might think they can turn themselves back somehow. But, the fact that there are human body parts all over the village implies something sinister.

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My review of Episode 3 is available now.

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