C-TIER: Made in Abyss

 Premise: 

The titular "Abyss" stars as the premise of this show, a  thirteen episode, fantasy-adventure anime. Two children-the optimistic and naïve Riko, and the amnesiatic robot Reg, travel down into the abyss to find Riko's mother, and hopefully the memories that elude Reg. 

Animation:

Produced by Sentai Filmworks (Toradora, Akame Ga Kill) the animation, along with the soundtrack for this show does a good job of creating a mysterious and beautiful atmosphere. The premise, which I would say is the best part of this show, is built on the gorgeous background paintings, and lighthearted cinematic music that makes it easy to be swallowed up in the world of the abyss along with the characters.

The actual character animations are fluid and satisfying to watch, emotions are easy to tell and the one part where Riko gets injured is almost to hard to watch because of the phenomenal animation.

Story Critiques and Other Thoughts:

The story of Made in Abyss is the only part of the show that is handled poorly. Instead of having a fast-paced adventure story, there seems to be a lot of purposeless meandering that involves little to no character growth for either characters. Riko stays the same optimistic, naïve little girl, and Reg stays the same serious and protective little robot throughout the series. The pacing takes away instead of adds to the story, there's unnecessary and uncomfortable sexualization of the child protagonists, and their are almost no resolutions to the questions asked in the shows beginning.

Made In Abyss has a serious issue where it introduces characters and teases the audience with meaning, and then drops the ball on delivering any of those promises. They introduce a whole cast of characters at the beginning, and then slowly we, along with the protagonists, just forget about them. I would be hard-pressed to remember any of the other characters names or understanding why they were introduced. They aren't important to the protagonists, or vital to the plot.

The other big issue-pacing-could be attributed to the fact that the creators weren't sure whether they would have gotten a second season or not. That aside, there are a few big problems with the pacing. They introduce "the villain" in the last episode, the series only got interesting once Riko was injured, and any real characters that we can sympathize with are introduced all at the end of the series. Its feels unfair to the audience to promise so much and deliver so little, so late in the show. If these events were moved up to the front or middle of the show, it would be a better anime and higher on my list.

Conclusion:

Made In Abyss tries and, in my opinion, unsuccessfully straddles the line between a kid's and adults show. It has unsavory and weird parts that try to sexualize the child protagonists, the pacing is off and dulls any potential that this story might have had. The animation, soundtrack, and premise are all top tier. All in all, if you are an anime fan who enjoys filler and good music, but don't need a plot, then this anime is for you.

Link to trailer:

Made In Abyss (Official Trailer)