Stairway to the Fifth

Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul (Made in Abyss Movie 3: Fukaki Tamashii no Reimei / 劇場版メイドインアビス 深き魂の黎明) is the sequel of Made in Abyss. It’s called Movie 3, but the first 2 movies were recaps. The movie picks up from where the first season left off, with Riko, Reg, and Nanachi in the Fourth Layer.

Now, I watched and reviewed the first season of Made in Abyss way back in 2017. So it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. But, that season covered the first 3 layers of the Abyss. This movie covers layers 4 and 5. But, we don’t spend much time in layer 4.

This “speedrunning” of the layers is something I’m not a huge fan of. And it’s very possible I brought up the same complaint 4 and a half years ago. I’d rather each layer of the abyss get its own arc so we could explore the world a bit more.

The main feature we get to see in the fourth layer is the Field of Eternal Fortunes (name taken from the soundtrack). This field of flowers has been overrun by a dangerous insect that made its way up from the fifth layer.

Unfortunately, we don’t get to see much more of the fifth layer. We see some giant water tower things, and then spend the rest of our time in the fifth layer at or around Ido Front. Ido Front is the forward operating base in the fifth layer used as a launch point for going deeper down.

And, something I want to bring up here is that it’s said the sixth layer is the point of no return. Once you pass through Ido Front, there’s no coming back. Even from the fifth layer, you can get back to the surface.

The Girl with the Curly Green Hair

Prushka is a new character introduced in Dawn of the Deep Soul. And in case you haven’t seen the movie yet, let me warn you that this is where the major spoilers begin. It’s kind of hard to talk about the characters without spoiling things.

Alright, so Prushka is Bondrewd’s adopted daughter. Though, as we later learn, it’s hard to say that Bondrewd is even Bondrewd at this point. Anyway, she’s a pretty good character. And, she’s interesting too. Prushka has lived in the fifth layer for her entire life. She was born there.

But, while I like Prushka, she confused me a bit. You see, Prushka is the same size as Riko, Reg, and Nanachi. But as we can see from her chest, she’s not a very young child. I don’t remember if character ages were ever stated. But I was thinking Riko was like 10 at most.

The issue here is that these characters are all so small compared to the adults. They come up to about waist height on Bondrewd. And yet, they’re actually supposed to be pre-teens/teenagers. I looked it up, and Riko is around 12, while Prushka is more like 14.

I get that the size of these characters has to do with style choice. But, Prushka’s chest threw me off when I was thinking she was an 8-year-old based on her height and personality. Speaking of style, though, Prushka does have a great character design. I love her outfit.

Unfortunately, I can’t talk about Prushka without bringing up her end. Prushka gets chopped up and stuffed in a suitcase (alive) by her “father.” That’s pretty brutal. But, I also think that was a good end for her character storywise. She got to be the focus of the emotional climax.

Encounter the Umbra Hands

Bondrewd looks cool. Can we all agree on that? But, I have to say that I wasn’t a huge fan of his voice. The voice itself, but also the way he spoke, didn’t fit very well to me. I guess it fits his “dad” persona. But it doesn’t fit him.

I wasn’t all that impressed by Bondrewd for the first half of the movie. It’s only once we got the reveal that he’s immortal that I took a real interest in him. And the use of “Transcendence and Hanezeve” (the best song on the OST) during that scene made it all the better.

Okay, so the part at the end of the movie with the Prushka cartridge was the emotional climax, as I’ve stated. But, it can’t match Bondrewd reviving as the organ of “Transcendence and Hanezeve” hits. That’s the point at which he became the villain.

Not everything about how Bondrewd is immortal made sense to me. I get that he uses some giant machine to transfer his consciousness between bodies. But, we never got a good explanation for how it works. And by the end of the movie, he was still alive in a new body.

Something that did get explained is the true nature of the white whistles. A white whistle is the product of a human sacrifice. Prushka “sacrifices” herself to become Riko’s white whistle. And Bondrewd sacrificed his original body. Why is this important? Because a white whistle unlocks the sixth layer.

But, this made me question something. If you can’t come back from the sixth layer, what are Bondrewd and Ouzen doing with their white whistles? Does that mean they’ve never gone down into the sixth layer despite being able to? Or did Bondrewd use cartridges to return?

Conclusion

Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul is an 8/10, which is the same score I gave the first season. It’s a very good movie. But, there was some questionable content, because of course there was. I may have given it a 9 if that stuff wasn’t in there.

What questionable content? Well, there was a lot of weird stuff with Reg. For example, there’s the scene when the Umbra Hands are examining his body — and his urine. In that scene, and a few other times, there’s also a focus on penetrating his belly button. Oh, and Reg getting “excited” is a recurring theme.

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My review of The Golden City of the Scorching Sun is available now.