All That You Gather
Episode 10 of Made in Abyss Season 2 begins with Nanachi and Belaf glaring out into the distance as sounds of rumble and destruction lay in their wake. Belaf informs Nanachi that Faputa has entered the village (Iruburu) and is causing the ruckus. This causes Nanachi to recall memories concerning the Cradle of Desire and Faputa’s birth. Belaf tells Nanachi that he allowed Nanachi to peer into his memories through some mystical smells he had created. Belaf tells her he must go. He entrusts his memories and value to her. The reason is because he adores Riko, Reg, and Nanachi for not turning out like himself–emotionally. He informs Nanachi that she should leave and be with her friends. He decides to release his grasp over her, freeing Nanachi. Nanachi hesitates, but quickly decides to follow through with his wishes. Belaf points her toward a boundary line. He warns Nanachi that if she crosses it, Mitty will disappear. Nanachi grows concern and glances at Mitty. She turns to Belaf and asks him why Mitty disappear if she’s immortal now. Belaf tells Nanachi that since this version of Mitty was created in Iruburu, she can only exist within its territory. He argues that since he was created as the village’s limbs, he can endure a little pain after he leaves. However, he says that going past the boundary point is where Iruburu’s protection melts away. He feels this area won’t hold out much longer anyway. Nanachi glances outside and notices the force field is slowly creeping in. Belaf promises her that he will do his best to protect her when they depart. At the same time, Belaf lets her know that his other values have taken a liking to Nanachi. Nanachi is torn on what decision to make. She values Reg and Riko’s friendship, but doesn’t want to let Mitty go. She never thought she would see her again, and doesn’t want to lose her a second time. Mitty comforts Nanachi, who thought she could be together with her friend forever. Nanachi makes the difficult choice to let Mitty go. Nanachi grabs Mitty, thanks Belaf, and heads toward the end of the barrier. Unlike last time, Nanachi wants to be the one to send Mitty off. As she approaches the barrier, Nanachi reminisces about all she’s learned and gained since they’ve last met. During this exchange, Nanachi’s eyes water-up as she promises Mitty they will meet again some day. Mitty fades away as Nanachi continues crying. Belaf’s Hollow companions approach Nanachi and hand her a gift. They are in the same boat as Mitty and slowly fading away. The gift is a new headpiece that they made out of material from the area. They promise her that it won’t disintegrate or fade away. Belaf approaches Nanachi, but unlike Mitty and his companions–he’s fading away at a slower pace. Meanwhile, Reg awakens after passing out due to his incinerator. Riko notices and rushes toward him. She informs Reg that Gaburoon (Faputa’s Interference Unit companion) has protected them while he was asleep. Reg turns to Gaburoon and thanks him. Gaburoon tells them that this situation happening before their eyes is all because of Reg’s actions. Riko pulls Reg up and pleads with him to do something to stop Faputa. Reg glances at the aftermath of Faputa’s wrath in horror. Many Hollows have fallen as she continues biting and tearing up one of them with her claws and arms. As Faputa’s tearing at some of the Hollows, some try to put up a fight. Unfortunately, Faputa’s strength, speed, and abilities are too much for these Hollows, who join the ranks of their fallen comrades. The Iruburu balancing monsters side with Faputa and begin attacking the Hollows. These balancing monsters also start destroying nearby buildings and walls. We transition to Vueko and Wazukyan briefly. He still has a grasp on Vueko. Wazukyan fears they only have about thirty minutes left. He alludes to some plan becoming more challenging to execute. Vueko asks him what he’s planning to do, but Wazukyan tells her that he can’t tell her. We focus our attention back on Riko and Reg. Riko recounts the fond bonds she made with most of these Hollows, and worries that they all suffer Faputa’s wrath. Reg comforts Riko and tells her she has done all she can do. Reg decides to support Riko and heads toward Faputa. Once Reg is within eye distance of Faputa, he calls out to her. He asks Faputa to stop murdering the Hollows and destroying the village because Nanachi’s still being held captive in the village. Faputa tells Reg she won’t interfere in his plan to save Nanachi. However, she will not stop her carnage, and doesn’t appreciate using his friend as an excuse for her to stop. Faputa doesn’t like how he’s trying to hide the truth from her, so she doesn’t feel hurt. Faputa wants Reg to speak clearly about what he truly wants. Reg apologizes for acting selfish and tells Faputa that he plans to stop her and save Nanachi. Meanwhile, a Hollow tries sneak attacking Faputa. Faputa retaliates by grabbing the Hollow by its neck. Reg uses his arms extension feature to grab Faputa’s arm, relinquishing her hold of the Hollow’s neck. This makes Faputa realize that Reg’s serious about stopping her. She tells Reg that she will make him remember what he was set to do, even if it means beating that memory back into him. Shes rushes toward Reg with a tear in her eye. The anime uses Faputa tear-drop to transition into a flashback involving Faputa, Gaburoon, and Reg. This flashback depicts Faputa’s first encounter with Reg, back when he had his memories and knew where he came from. Before Reg walks into the picture, we see Faputa crying over Gaburoon’s injuries he sustained from a Turbinid-Dragon. Reg stumbles upon Faputa and Gaburoon. He tries talking to her, but she doesn’t understand the language he’s using. Reg tries to examine Gaburoon’s situation, but Faputa attacks Reg. She doesn’t know his plans and immediately uses her teeth to remove Reg’s helmet. This moment leads to a smooth transition into the present, where Faputa and Reg are fighting. Faputa leaps off Reg with his helmet in her hand. Faputa explains to Reg how their first encounter went. She says that when they first met, Faputa thought his helmet resembled that of Gaburoon, leading her to assume that he was one of his allies. Faputa throws his helmet back at him, and he catches it. Despite not understanding his language, Faputa valued his attempt to protect her until Gaburoon’s wounds healed. Meanwhile, the balancing monsters start swarming around Faputa, who asks Reg how he managed to forget everything about their history together. The balancing creatures enter Faputa’s mouth, healing her gums and teeth. Reg stares at Faputa in worry. He fears this fight will never end because the balancing monsters will heal Faputa’s wounds. While Reg ponders, Faputa vanishes. Startled, Reg wonders where she’s gone. Faputa immediately ends up behind Reg. She notes that she cannot hurt Reg from the outside because of his defensive body. Therefore, she stuffs one of her arms down his throat, hoping to defeat him from the inside. At the same time, a Hollow tries attacking Faputa in hopes of assisting Reg. Faputa notices the Hollow and throws Reg at them. She heads toward Reg and the Hollow. She’s in disbelief that Reg opted to save the Hollow from falling. He’s shown coughing out and throwing up some mucus. Faputa asks Reg if he remembers anything yet. Reg ignores her question. He yells at Faputa to never perform that stunt again as it’s not graceful or anything a princess would do. As Faputa sighs, she argues that she is acting gracefully and using the graceful vocabulary Reg taught her. Reg questions Faputa, stating that he would never tell her to speak in a strange way. We enter another flashback, showing viewers how Reg’s time with Faputa and Gaburoon went. Gaburoon comments that Reg’s language resembles the diction spoken by delvers. Faputa concurs, saying that it sounds like the language spoken by delvers carrying “stone people.” By “stone people,” she’s referring to their whistles. Faputa states Reg doesn’t feel as threatening as them. Reg introduces himself as Gaburoon explains the meaning behind Faputa’s name. It stands for “the princess who won’t perish.” Reg acknowledges Faputa’s stellar wit for picking up on a new language, and Faputa, full of glee, thanks him. Faputa starts harassing Reg a bit in a playful manner. He tells her to act more graceful. Gaburoon informs Faputa that adding the word “sosu” after every sentence will make her appear graceful. Faputa prances around saying “sosu” after Gaburoon’s praises her. Reg offers Faputa his goggles as a gift. He feels wearing them would make her feel and look more like a princess. Faputa takes Reg’s gesture as a form of friendship, and the two bond. We revert to the fight happening between Reg and Faputa. Faputa mocks Reg, who fears that he may pass out before he can remember anything about him and Faputa’s past friendship. He notes that Iruburu is collapsing before their eyes. Reg calls out to Riko to blow her new whistle (made from Bondrewd’s adoptive daughter Prushka). Riko blows the whistle, allowing Reg to activate his white-knight like power-up he displayed a couple episodes back. Faputa’s startled by Reg’s transformation. With his enhance speed and strength, Reg rushes toward Faputa and somehow get hers entangled by his arm. He grabs ahold of Faputa, planning to drag her outside of Iruburu’s boundaries. Faputa’s infuriated and curses at Riko for using Prushka against her. Faputa manages to break free from Reg’s grasp, and heads toward Reg in a skater-like fashion. She attacks Reg, but he manages to deflect her attack. While in the air, Faputa reveals that she had Gaburoon steal Prushka because she couldn’t express how cramped up she felt inside the original stone. Angered, Reg asks Faputa why she didn’t tell him about this. Reg slams Faputa to the ground and reels her into his view. Faputa confirms that she wanted to test Riko’s bond with Prushka to see if it was authentic. She also wanted to bring Reg to Iruburu because she thought it would trigger his memories to return. The two end up bouncing near Iruburu’s entrance with great force. Suddenly, the sixth layer’s iron rain falls, wreaking havoc on Iruburu and its Hollow residents. Using his body as a shield, Wazukyan extends himself into long wood-like terndrils to create a protective barrier for Iruburu. Faputa rushes toward Reg, and we steadily pan into another flashback between her, Reg, and Gaburoon. Our trio is outside of Iruburu’s boundaries as mild iron rain starts falling around her. Faputa refers to Iruburu as her mother (Irumyuui/Iruburu village), and Reg’s curious why she’s not bothered by the rain. Reg notices that Irumyuui has the same symbol that Gaburoon has. Faputa tells Reg that it’s a “haku” mark. A haku is a symbol that you attach to something that’s most precious to you. Reg asks Faputa why she has more than one haku mark. Faputa explains that since she was born from three wish-eggs (Cradle of Desire), she can have up to three haku marks. This leads Reg to ask Faputa why she wants to destroy Iruburu if it’s one of the most precious things to her. Faputa argues that as long as her mother is alive, she will continue to be eaten away at. By exterminating the people inside her, she believes her mother can be put to rest. Faputa tells Reg that she can’t visit the village because of the mystical barrier protecting it. Gaburoon tells Reg that Faputa knows of society and infrastructure established in Iruburu. He also says that he enters Iruburu in her stead. However, he confirms that Faputa wants to destroy it because it feels like she was born to do so. Faputa asks Reg to reconfirm to her that he has the power to rewrite the rules of the abyss. Reg states that he can release a powerful beam from his hand that has the rewrite power. He tells her that he cannot utilize this power right now, as he fears what will happen to him if he uses it. Reg also journeying through the upper layers of the abyss to find his own haku. He tells Faputa that he’s fulfilling a favor for an unknown entity. Reg promises Faputa that he’ll come back, with his haku, and will help Faputa figure things out regarding her mother. Faputa hugs Reg in glee. Before her departs, Faputa takes him to her miniature cave-like home. Faputa makes a little doll of Reg, so that she will have someone to talk to while he is gone. She doesn’t want to forget about him. Reg and Faputa head outside. Faputa tells Reg that since she is a princess, she hopes he will return and stay with her forever. She wants him and her to have children, signalling Faputa’s love for him. Reg slightly accepts her offer, but asks Faputa to forge a promise with him. He tells Faputa once they have settled her fate, they’ll head on a journey together–holding hands. Faputa smiles as Reg departs. She’s sad to see him go but optimistic about their future. We get a brief montage showing how long it’s been since this exchange. Faputa’s made many rock figures and doesn’t look as happy as she was when Reg departed. Due to her long-term loneliness and disappointment, Faputa cries. As a tear falls from Faputa’s face, we slowly transition to the fight between her and Reg in the present. One of Reg’s tears lands on Faputa’s face. Reg pinned Faputa down, as both characters have tears flowing from their eyes. Reg admits that as they exchange more blows, he’s starting to remember the fun and sad times he had with Faputa in the past. He’s upset that he can’t remember any of the important details, though. He warns Faputa that if she keeps treading down this bloodlust path, she will keep burning herself until nothing’s left. He pleads with Faputa to stop what she’s doing, as he argues he can’t think of a way to stop her. Faputa admits that Reg’s a kind but foolish person. As he was lecturing Faputa, his white-knight form had vanished. Faputa utilizes this opportunity to gain the upper-hand on Reg. The episode concludes with her violently slamming Reg to the ground as the scene fades to black.
The Episode Review
This week’s episode of Made In Abyss pulled out all the stops to create an impactful and emotional work of art. This episode had me hooked from its start to its conclusion. It featured neat narrative transitions, touching developments for Nanachi, Reg, and Faputa, and gorgeously brutal action scenes. With a hint of mystery thrown in the mix, episode ten is the best yet this season. To start, I’m satisfied with Nanachi’s decision to let Mitty go. It shows how much her character’s grown since her first appearance, depicting how much she “values” her bond with Reg and Riko. Her voice actress did a phenomenal job at portraying Nanachi’s heartache and sorrow during this scene. Belaf’s decision to let Nanachi go didn’t come off as a surprise to me. It felt right for his character to relinquish his hold over Nanachi as the flashback from episode 8 shows how much of a caring person he is deep inside. Unfortunately, I still find Belaf’s 3D design off-putting and janky in areas. However, his computer-generated model doesn’t hamper the immersion too much. On that note, I found the art and animation piqued during Faputa’s rampage. Don’t get me wrong; I expected Faputa to unleash a fierce attack on the villagers. I didn’t expect the bloodshed to reach this high level of brutality and gruesomeness. You can tell Faputa’s favorite video game franchise would be Doom or Mortal Kombat. With the crazy and intense manoeuvres she pulls off – it would be unwise to doubt the power of the Hollow princess. Episode 10’s action doesn’t rest there, as Faputa and Reg’s bout builds upon the adrenaline with fluid animation and breathtaking visuals. As Reg and Faputa moved across the screen, I couldn’t help but cheer for both characters. Faputa’s call to destroy those who wronged her family makes sense after seeing what the villagers did to her mother and siblings. At the same time, we can’t help but feel the same empathy for Reg. Although he abandoned Faputa for ages, an accident led to him forgetting about her and their promise. These few scenarios alone gave their fight more meaning and weight, which I appreciate. With that said, this fight brings more questions into the limelight. All of these questions regard Reg’s true origins. We know that not all Interference Units are the same in design and ability. If that were the case, then Faputa could’ve asked Gaburoon to make an entryway into Iruburu for her instead of counting on Reg. It makes you wonder who or what created Reg, how did they grant him his “rewrite” incinerator power, and for what purpose – good or evil? Unfortunately, this is a question that I have a feeling won’t be addressed until we reach the abyss’s seventh layer, but I can’t help but be a little curious. Overall, I feel this was Made In Abyss’s best episode between its two seasons, possibly surpassing the events featured in the Dawn of the Deep Soul sequel film. It featured everything I’d come to expect out of the series involving heartbreaking and brutal scenery but amplifying it a million. I’m unsure how the final two chapters will compare to the brilliant writing and gorgeous visuals of this one. However, it’s hard not to be excited about what lies ahead!
