Made in Abyss – S2 02 – Fire Bubbles, Dragons, and Eggs, Oh My!

As soon as Riko, Reg, and Nanachi set foot in The Golden City, its striking, terrifyng beauty is almost too much to handle. That said, once she’s acclimmated Riko has a grand old time checking out all the new stuff, like the ruins of what look like fallen, fossilized cities, or ornate dragon mega-bosses the trio dare not get near.

It’s not just creatures they need to worry about. Riko almost falls through a trap to her death three steps into the city (Reg rescues her with his extendo-arm), while a raid on the nest of a more docile animal for eggs is seemingly met by the Golden City showing why it’s Golden: mammoth bubbles of magma bursting and carpet-bombing the landscape with flame and poison gas.

As for the eggs? Neither boiling nor grilling will keep them from twitching, but Reg eliminates the threat of poison, and once Riko (and, most reluctantly, Nanachi) tuck in, they find the taste grows on you. This layer is full of wonders and hazards, but it’s a good time so far.

That is, until Riko gets excited about sending a message balloon up, only the second she’s ever sent to her friends back in Orth. Nanachi adds a drawing of the three of them to the package, but despite covering it in anti-animal ol and its launch accompanied by one of Kevin Penkin’s signature Abyss themes full of yearning, a critter snatches it out of the sky. Riko is upset, but that’s how it goes.

The three turn in for the night with Reg protecting them with his arm being used as a perimeter fence, but the next “morning” Riko wakes up to find that Prushka, AKA her White Whistle, is gone. In its place is Nanachi’s drawing of them with a strange symbol that looks like an upside-down person scrawled in red ink (which Reg remarks is at least not blood. Too true!)

With Reg and Nanachi’s heightened senses, finding Prushka is not outside the realm of possibility, so the three set off, again affording us still more achingly gorgeous and weird vistas and structures. When they find the red ink-soaked hair of Riko and Nanachi stuffed into the sewn-up butts of dead critters, they’re certainly appalled, but press on.

Riko isn’t going to let fear keep her from finding Prushka. They continue following the scent, leading them to a vast plain with a shambling cityscape in the distance. Where they end up, the bleached, bone-like stone of everything is suddenly painted in all manner of reds, oranges, which combined with the green of the plants is quite festive…but also a little disconcerting.

They eventually end up in a cave decorated with countless human bones, then encounter a rickety-looking but ultimately solid bridge to a very smooth, tree trunk-like shaft stretching hundreds of feet tall. There’s an opening stained red like a wound, and despite how foreboding this all is, the trio presses on.

Even moreso than other Layers, The Golden City is a blank slate; Riko says her mom’s notes are mostly about food and so they have to draw their own maps from here on out. But I doubt they’d have expected to encounter an entire city full of strange, diverse creatures.

One of the more mechanical ones approaches them, making all manner of funky noises while moving. He initially speaks in the same language spoken by the pre-Orth island natives, encountered by Vueko years ago, before switching to Riko’s language. No doubt these are either Vueko and her friends transformed into something beyond human, or more likely their descendants. Can’t wait to meet ’em!

Akebi’s Sailor Uniform – 09 – Pipe Organ of Light

After a string of episodes in which new classmates were introduced, it’s nice to get back to the “core four” of Akebi, Erika, Usagihara, and Koujo, as they meet up on the weekend for a trip to the mall for festival supplies. After getting a haircut from her mom, Akebi actually encounters Koujo on the bus, but Koujo is so absorbed in her book, Akebi doesn’t disturb her, resulting in a beautiful, silent little scene of a bus ride through the gorgeous landscape.

When the four meet up, they all praise each other’s street attire, which is very appropriate for their respective characters: Akebi’s practical tee, slacks, and sturdy sandals; Usagihara with a flowing skirt, pink nails and classy braid; Erika in a very smart, mature blouse, tiny purse, and heels; and Koujo in a super-comfy overalls with huge pockets. A look at the directory is vetoed by Akebi, who says she’ll be their guide.

A number of non-festival-supply-related detours ensues as she gives them a tour of the places in the mall she goes to most—and, this is key, has gone to the most. Akebi has been coming here since she was little, and has a lot of fond memories of shopping with her mom and sister then meeting up with their dad if he was off work. When Usagihara recognizes clothes and accessory chains Akebi never visited, she gains a whole new appreciation for the place.

Everyone gets something out of the mall. The gang follow Kojou’s lead as she’s drawn to a bookstore, and Erika happens to pick out the very book Kojou had just finished on the bus, and offers to lend Erika her copy. Akebi also comments on Kojou’s pressed flower bookmark, which her mom made for her. At lunch, Erika, new to malls, experiences her first fast food hamburger, and her friends get a kick out of how happy she looks eating it.

But when the four are about to leave the mall, Kojou notices the bookmark her mom made her is missing. Since it’s a good luck charm to her, and she has nice friends, the four comb the mall, but come up with nothing. It’s not at the lost and found, nor did it turn up at the depot. Kojou, clearly upset about losing it, nevertheless suggests they head out anyway, as the bus will be there soon.

As luck would have it, somebody found her bookmark by the exit, and tied a red balloon to it, which Akebi spots through the windows of the exit. I breathed a sigh of relief with Kojou, but then the balloon slips out of her hand, and since it’s full of helium, starts to rise into the sky. Kojou’s past memories of the bookmark flash before us. Fortunately, the balloon gets snagged on a tree, but it’s out of reach…or is it?

I half expected Akebi to climb the tree like a lemur and grab it for Kojou, but instead, offers her shoulders as a boost. Kojou says she couldn’t possibly. Usagihara suggests they get all get into mock cavalry formation, but Kojou still needs a few more inches of height. That’s when Akebi suggests they hoise her up by her leg so she can jump up and reach it. Kojou is successful, and for a tick fears she’ll fall to the ground…but Akebi’s got her.

When it starts to rain, three of the girls seek shelter, as the bus stop’s a ways away. But Akebi simply dances in the rain, and her energy and joy compels the others to join her in racing to the bus stop together, wet clothes be damned. They laugh as they run through pink, purple, and blue hydrangeas, Akebi leading the way with her red balloon.

The rain suddenly stops when they reach the bus stop shelter; it was only a passing shower. But the rain causes crepuscular rays, of the same kind Akebi saw a pretty photo of at the bookstore, and which are also called “a pipe organ of light” by a famous writer. The rays might as well be pure love descending from the heavens.

This just might’ve been the loveliest, most life-affirming and heartwarming shopping trip episode I’ve ever seen, and by far the most dramatic lost bookmark dilemma! But it’s also the longest and best sustained interaction between these four and only these four girls. The simplified cast of the episode allows all four to shine.

We’re even given the possibility that Kojou, inspired by her friend of bottomless energy, optimism, and love, might just end up being the writer of Akebi’s Sailor Uniform! This outing was peak comfy slice-of-life/friendship/youth anime, and made me yearn for the days I was actually in awe of the fancier malls of my own youth.

Shimoneta – 11

Thankfully, it’s not long before Kosuri’s idealism and desire for revolution is crushed by the realization White Peak really is only interested in dirty panties. She in turn realizes she mad a mistake in betraying Kajou and attempts to stop him with her stun gun, but she’s unsuccessful due to something about Peak’s special area being too wet with wine for the charge to get through to his junk.

Meanwhile, in the woods, Tanukichi encounters Fuwa, who provides another assist by telling him where the GF busjackers ended up. He then meets up with Kajou and he formulates a risky and, naturally, extremely lewd plan to foil GF.

Otome does her part by painting a mural of her and her fellow bus passengers on the floor as an optical illusion to fool her guard, and gets to work drawing 2D paper panties to distract others.

Tanukichi’s plan involves convincing Anna, who will do anything for the sake of “justice” and “righteousness”, to temporarily team up with Blue Snow and SOX in order to rescue the one thing she values over all else: Tanukichi’s stolen underwear.

He makes sure to mask his scent with vast quantities of soap to prevent her from realizing she’s talking to the object of her obession. The plan works like a charm, and Anna proves invaluable at taking out various GF guards. It’s a clever use of Anna, while also being open about the fact it is a little sleazy and manipulative. Then again, Anna is pretty sleazy herself when something she wants (or thinks she needs) is on the line.

The use of non-SOX members to help out SOX continues with the participation of Goriki, Tsukimigusa, and the prefects, who end up neutralizing all the remaining GF members, leaving just White Peak to deal with. Peak has a stun gun attached to his junk somehow, but after a protracted battle, his opponents aim for his balls, and he ends up being kicked out a window and arrested by the PM officers amassed outside.

Thanks to some great teamwork and a brilliant if nasty gambit by Tanukichi, Gathered Fabric is defeated and Kajou is able to publically denounce them and separate SOX from them, over Kosuri’s father’s television network, no less. Kosuri herself prostrates herself and is forgiven and welcomed back into the fold (even though she deserves exile), while Kajou and Tanukichi escape via worm balloon.

There, the two have a very warm and tender exchange in which Kajou even tells Tanukichi that she loves him, albeit as much as she loves dirty jokes…which is a lot! As for Tanukichi, Anna’s antics have definitely turned him off of her, and his affections of well and truly shifted to the brave, stubborn, and if we’re honest, beautiful Kajou Ayame.

Not that anything of consequence will ever come of that affection, but it’s important to note that Tanukichi finally knows the difference between lusting after an ideal (as Kosuri tried to do with GF) and accepting a more natural, realistic love. Tanukichi didn’t choose to fall for Kajou, but it happened, and he’s rolling with it.