At least fans get to this latest episode of Made in Abyss with some genuine suspense. In the latest episode – titled ‘Friend’ – Reg gets some one-on-one time with the creature known as the Hollow Princess and discovers that she is part robot just like he is.
He also discovers that she is the one who left them the note the night they were robbed in episode 2. This all happens in the first minute of the show before the intro, and already more has happened in this short minute than what happened in the previous episode.
Interesting Questions Arise
The intro plays, and the episode cuts over to Nanachi, who discovers from Majikaja that there are sages in the village who wanted to lure Riko to the Hollow Village to use her for some reason. Back to Reg and the Princess Hollow (whose name is Faputa) are getting to know each other, and Reg feels that he knows this girl from somewhere before. He can’t remember of course (there are still those lost memories he’s been dealing with the entire series), but Faputa feels she can tell if they met before by checking out his arm, puncturing his skin, tasting his blood.
Besides, it doesn’t last very long on account that Reg doesn’t fancy being poked with holes just to discover who he is. He’s about to leave when Faputa expresses shock that he wants to go back to his human friends. She points out that as a robot Reg will outlive Riko and Nanachi. The way she says it leads the viewers to believe that she may be speaking from experience, as she acts almost traumatized by the idea. Fans finally meet up with Riko at this point, who is making use of the Hollow Villages’ strange style of toilet.
The next sequence is very hard to explain, as it builds suspense and mystery in all the right ways. It appears there may be some truth to the creatures having a particular fascination for Riko, as she finds herself surrounded by hollows and handled in ways that suggest they may want to do something strange with her. The scene doesn’t really make it clear what the Hollows intend to do with her if left to their own devices, but the looks on their faces and the lack of understandable dialog make this scene more creepy than you would expect. It is followed by a sequence where Riko goes to a restaurant and eats something strange (this season’s obsession with strange food is truly bizarre).
In all fairness, during this dining scene, one of the three sages Majikaja was talking about early on is introduced, so it’s good to know the story is still moving forward despite the pitstop. For that matter, Nanachi runs into someone she doesn’t expect to see while audiences are left with a mysterious red-haired girl (whose identity certainly won’t be revealed until next week).
Things Are Finally Happening
The previous episode of Made in Abysscould drive audiences crazy with how much time was being wasted. That episode was so boring and uneventful that one could wonder if waiting in line at the DMV would have resulted in a more entertaining use of your time. Nevertheless, it is great to report that this episode is a VAST improvement over what fans got in the previous episode. Yeah, there are still more questions being asked than answered, but at least they are questions fans find interesting and want to know the answers to. While dinner is still being used way too much as a way to stall for time, at least the purpose here is to introduce a potentially major character rather than just being there to have the characters make faces while eating strange things.
Unlike last week – where the characters seemed to wander around aimlessly without much to do – the show is getting back to the world building fans fell in love with in the first place, with promises that fans may find out where Reg came from, weird creatures who have a strange fascination with Riko, and Nanachi seeing someone she recognizes. Throw in a mysterious redhead into the mix, and I feel like the show is capturing my attention for the first time since the first episode. It should be noted that the pilgrims sit this episode out as well, so maybe their contract runs for every other episode? Whatever, it’s great to be enjoying Made in Abyss again!