Made in Abyss S2 – 11

「価値」 (Kachi)
“Value”

Princess Usagi

Faputa really is fate’s doormat- a mere cog in the cold, hard wheel of fate. When she finally manages to blast into the village (courtesy of Reg), even her main reason for living is snatched from her, the creatures beating her to her prey. It was excruciating to watch her ripped to shreds by the monsters-just once is awful enough, but over and over again-that’s a fate worse than I care to imagine.

Nanachi is back in action in a gorgeous new blue get up. Nanachi brought up something that hadn’t occurred to me before-is Wakuzyan planning to use Riko the way he used Irumyuui to insulate the village? Riko meets the criteria in age and ambition. With Riko, it would become the village 2.0 version. What would Wazukyan benefit from this? Even if history did repeat itself, it’s not like things would change- the barrier would just be stronger (which would be the point). Is his deal creating a safe space or playing god in messing with the fates of others? At this point, I don’t know if I trust Wazukyan. In the end, however, I highly doubt that a Riko-village would come into being given how hard she, Reg (who also has the power to re-write the fabric of the Abyss, need I remind you), and Nanachi have striven thus far to continue on their travels against all dangers and odds.

In the midst of the bloodbath, there was great beauty in symbolism. Take for example the fire. Faputa cries that she is a raging fire while gazing down at her bloodied hands- red like the inferno blazing in her heart. Just as a crimson fire burns everything in its path, she seeks to destroy everything, burning herself along with the village. Fire is not just a destructive force-there is fire that purifies, forges. It is this fire that Faputa becomes in the end. This fire of purification, of forging sheds light on the imagery behind Reg’s metal turning white when activated by Prushka’s cries. Interestingly, even the balancing goo turns white in the end when Faputa is re-made into Princess 2.0.

Faputa’s restoration had a mystical, almost religious quality to it. It was poetic how the villagers did for her what was done for them in reviving her by flesh, almost like a rite of communion. The flesh that solidified the curse in the same way restored Faputa, helping her understand her own value apart from revenge through their selfless act. That’s not to say that the whole cannibalism bit wasn’t gross-it was. I suppose it makes her one of the villagers now, with the main difference that Irumyuui’s offspring had no choice in becoming food. Whereas the villagers willingly made the choice to offer themselves to Faputa’s palate.

Memory is key here-Reg having lost his memory added fuel to Faputa’s fire. At the same time, Belaf’s memories of her mother bring her back to her senses- literally hitting her in the face with the reality that she doesn’t know everything. There are inexplicable things in visions of the mother she never really knew and in the villager’s kindness that show her the unknown is still out there waiting for her. There is more to life beyond the village and its history. That things are turning out surprisingly positive with Faputa’s new outlook on life holds deep dread for me. That can only mean a steeper precipice into the despair when things dive off the deep end (which undoubtedly they will). I hate being pessimistic and usually tend to lean more towards optimism, but this show almost drives me to it.

FJ Freeman

Very much felt like a filler episode to me, even though some important things were mentioned like Faputa screaming that the primordial beings that came through are stealing her value, a whole episode had to be carved out of moments that are very much just passing. This episode was full of flashbacks, even though one of those flashbacks was for Faputa to know the context behind the village and her mother. A cute little detail is that Irumyuui considers Belaf part of her family, or in some interpretation even maybe as her dad. Since Vueko would be her mom.

The things that happened throughout the episode were of importance but I still can’t help but feel that episode 11 was an intermediary between this and the final episode of MiA S2. Which consequently will not air next week, but instead the week after that. As we’re getting a special treat and a 45 minute special will air. Rounding out the manga and this arc entirely. Quite spectacular I must say as there is still very little material comprising the new chapters of made in abyss, so leaving the anime at a good point where not only the arc is finished but it leaves enough room for the story to grow into a third season or potentially another movie. (Depends on how much more suffering the manga makes us endure)

I wouldn’t find it weird or shocking that they adapted this S2, into another one of those recap movies, in fact, this whole season has felt like a long movie that had to be cut down into little pieces in order for it to air on a weekly basis. Not that that’s bad, in fact, I think it speaks heaps for MiA, and most of the animation is already movie quality.

One more episode to go and this season of MiA is done, can you believe it? I certainly can’t, it sort of flew by, in the blink of an eye.

HAKU – if I remember correctly is that one precious thing you hold dear, as the robot is dying he holds out to faputa and says that the time he spent with her was his Haku, Faputa was the  robot Haku, the most precious thing that he held dear. And is trampled by that giant giraffe in the process. Really a tender moment squashed right in front of us. Can’t have anything good in MiA unless it involves bodys dismorphing or losing all of their limbs.

In a weird turn of events, some of the villagers start giving Faputa their body parts and asking her to regain her immortality, through eating she is able to regain those limbs that she lost, it’s also the episode where she asks over and over again what exactly is her value, what is her purpose in life if these primordial creatures just take it away. What’s the point of Faputa being immortal if things are just going to end up the way they did?

And I personally think that Faputa is meant to live a full life, that is her value, a life full of tasty food and good company, or maybe she was meant to explore the rest of the abyss as maybe some of that idea of wonder and exploration got transferred to Irumyuui in the short time she spent traveling down to the six-layer with the Ganja group. Of course, that is a stretch, as Irumyuui placing Faputa outside of the village to me gives the impression that Irumyuui was trying to protect Faputa against those that sought against her, right? And maybe some of that also means that Faputa was born to explore the abyss by some weird part of Irumyuui. Maybe just maybe, this is a big stretch.

I don’t know, this is very much just speculation. Wazukyait’n trapped Vueko in a little cocoon and threw himself down with her into the depths of the abyss. Just remember that in two weeks’ time.

Even if it felt like an unimportant episode, it was an episode that set things up for the finale, this arc is about to hit it’s climax and I can’t wait, but with bated breath!

Guardian Enzo

Let’s be honest – none of this is likely to end well for anybody. This is Made in Abyss. I expect the big three to come away relatively intact – probably bloodied but more or less unbowed. The show must go on and all. But everybody else? When do these stories ever end happily for any of the in-house characters? I don’t think Tsukushi-sensei is moralizing here, because that’s not something he does. None of the principals have totally clean hands. But they’re all victims to one extent or another, no matter how some would like to simplify the moral argument. That’s what the Abyss does – make victims of all kinds.

One of the core truths I see here is that Faputa’s entire existence is futile and hopeless. She’s chasing a peace she can never achieve by the means she’s using, but she’s been committed to it for literally her entire existence. Everything is being taken away from her – Reg (from her perspective), her very purpose, and now Gaburoon. One gets the sense that Gaburoon has known all along Faputa was lost and headed down a path that would never lead to being found, but knew he was helpless to do anything about it. His last gift to her, really, was to prevent her from making a terrible mistake (killing Riko) that would have implications far beyond her perception.

Losing her closest companion is a blow, no question. But Belaf’s gift to her is perhaps even more impactful – he shows Faputa the memories of her mother’s life. For Belaf, passing these memories on to Irumyuui’s daughter was the only reason he was sticking around. Dying is no tragedy for Belaf – it’s clearly something he’s longed for since the creating of Maison Irumyuui. What she sees (smells) further clouds Faputa’s sense of purpose. All along she believed what she was born to do was simple, and people and events keep making it more complicated.

Belaf’s other gift is bringing Nanachi back into the game, which was pretty much a necessity if anything is to be salvaged from this situation – especially with Reg out cold again. Nanachi urges Moogie and the surviving villagers to take Riko and hide in the deepest part of the village, though there’s no way to hide from what’s coming. She also theorizes that Wazukyan – who Belaf warned her categorically not to trust – may be planning to use Riko to create another village in his pursuit of the Golden City. There’s no proof that she’s right, but that would be quite a Chekov’s gun to introduce to the plot at this stage if she’s not.

This being Made in Abyss, The immortal Goddess intent on obliterating it isn’t even the worst thing to happen to Iruburu today. With the protective barricade down it isn’t only Faputa that can get in – so do the horrific beasts that thrive at this depth (including that ridiculously OP dragon). They soon set in to graphically dispatch whatever hollows are still around, which pisses Faputa off pretty good (though to be fair, she’s usually pissed off) because they’re stealing her prey. Those beasts do a number on her too, and her being immortal doesn’t mean she’s immune from damage and discomfort.

The hollows deciding to literally feed themselves to Faputa to see her survive is the closest thing to a redemptive moment we get, which paints quite a picture of this episode’s tone. In spite of her nature so many are sacrificing herself for her just in this episode – Gaburoon, Belaf, the villagers. If there’s to be any real redemption for Faputa it will be if these sacrifices help her see that this path she’s been on is not the only one available to her. Now that she knows what Vueko meant to her mother, she might even bond with her over their shared love for Irumyuui. But that would be too neat for Made in Abyss, I think that much is pretty obvious.

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