Back in the day we used to have a saying: “there’s nothing in the world like a Grateful Dead concert”.  I’ve applied it to Golden Kamuy before, and you could definitely apply it to Made in Abyss.  Crotch-sniffing, extended toilet scenes, and the most epic world-building this side of Miyazaki – this series is as unique as it gets.  It looks and sounds so gorgeous, even as it shocks and disgusts you at random moments.  In a way I think it’s better that MiA is so singular, because I wouldn’t want every anime experience to be this intense.  And because I enjoy the weekly reminder of just how exceptional it truly is.

Tying this all together, of course, is Tsukushi-sensei’s mastery of intricate fantasy plot construction.  I do get the sense (accurate or not) with him, as Togashi, that there’s a finished story in his head before he sets out to write the first chapter.  Obviously this is a complex web we’re entering into now, and this episode raised more questions than it answered – but it did give us a few answers.  It also split the main trio up and gave us three separate storylines, which is not something Made in Abyss typically does.

Let’s start with Reg and Faputa.  Poor Reg’s dignity is never safe, and Faputa has no boundaries.  She even reopens the wound on Reg’s navel (oddly, still unhealed), rather thoughtlessly.  She clearly knows Reg – or thinks (or acts like) she does.  This teases Reg with the prospect of learning more about who he is, but between the sniffing and the puncturing Faputa makes it clear she’s a threat.  Reg losing his memories of their relationship would be unsurprising, given what we knew literally from the very beginning.  But – as Reg points out  – how is it that Faputa calls him “Reg”?  That was a name Riko came up with on the surface, from after the time of Reg’s memory blackout.

Meanwhile, Majikaja and Nanachi have more rather philosophical discourse about the village and its value system.  Majikaja tells her that it’s based on “signals of the soul”, the only things that reveals true worth.  When Nanachi points out that some are experts in self-deception Majikaja says something rather profound: “If someone can fool themselves with their own words, then that is their truth.”  When he asks her what she values, Nanachi replies “Mitty” first, unsurprisingly.  Then “also, those other two.”  And, effectively, “everyone else can go to Hell.”

As for Riko, she’s still on the (incredibly gross) toilet, which Tsukushi lingers over with lurid glee.  She remembers the words of Jiruo, who scolded her on the importance of drinking lots of water after diarrhea (very true). and then to force herself to eat as soon as she could.  With that in mind she sets off looking for Reg and Nanachi (she’s rather panicked at their absence), blundering into the village with her usual absence of caution.  She manages to get herself in a very tight spot, where Meinya is once again subject to some extremely rough handling.  One suspects this would not have ended well if Maaa hadn’t come along and saved the day (it’s not about to let Meinya be squished after already having suffered so much for doing so itself).

Now the reveals start coming along, hot and heavy.  Maaa leads Riko to the market (Riko takes pity on it for its obvious dismay at being left behind), where the smells of a local lunch counter (delicious mixed with feces) draw her in.  Unsurprisingly Riko dives right into the food (roast testicle) without a thought for what it will do to her, and the proprietor speaks her language.  Not only that she says one of the patrons does, too – Wazukyan, who she introduces as one of the three sages.  That’s two from the premiere now accounted for, albeit with different appearances.

Nanachi is about to encounter two more, as Majikaja leads her to Belaf’s lair (I certainly wouldn’t have recognized him).  Not only is he there, but Vueko seemingly as well – and perhaps in control of the shadowy entities that execute the balancing in the village.  And something that looks very much like Mitty, too – enough to convince Nanachi, who should know intellectually that such a thing is not possible.  As I said, more questions than answers – but at this point we can be assured that Tsukushi will tie all this together in an elegant fashion that respects the rules he’s already established.