EPISODE SYNOPSIS:
Ozen has brought Riko, Reg, and Marluk to her chamber to reveal a secret box. The truth behind the box is mortifying for Riko and Reg, and spells out terrifying things for what lies deeper in the Abyss. As Ozen reveals more about her nature and about the nature of the Abyss itself, we are left to wonder…how are these poor kids ever supposed to make it to the bottom of this awful place?
Review:
Oh my…Hello Made in Abyss. What’s that you have there? That’s…an awfully large hammer..
An..awfully…large…sweet Jehosefat don’t swing it over here!
Ozen is insane….and I love her character.
With that out of the way, I’m going to tackle the incredibly unsettling ideas that are presented in this episode. Spoiler Warning: The contents of this review have massive spoilers for Ep. 7
Riko and Reg get to see the mysterious box that Ozen has in her chamber and it is…horrifying. We learn that the box is an Abyss artifact that can bring the dead back to life. It goes beyond that though. If something that was once living has been altered, and then is put in the box, it reverts back from whence it came. Hint: that thing Riko saw in the hallway in Episode 6 was Ozen’s dinner previously…
Ozen discusses how Riko was stillborn when Lyza gave birth in the Abyss. When she was placed in the box, she magically started moving again. Her creepy mocking voice in conjunction with the fact that the interior of the box bears an uncanny resemblance to female genetalia, give the show an edgy, pseudo horror vibe. Made in Abyss has been doing an amazing job of fusing the beautiful atmosphere of the Abyss with the sheer horror of the creatures that inhabit it. Episode 7 pushes this boundary and leaves us with a terrifying notion. Riko is literally birthed by the Abyss itself. What this means for her character, only fills me fear for her future.
Afterwards Ozen makes mincemeat out of Reg simply to prove that the kids aren’t ready to brave down into the deeper parts of the Abyss. Ozen’s outfit is awesome, and we learn the secret to her seemingly eternal “youth” (she calls herself an old-lady and her character design makes it hard to distinguish if she actually looks young). We also get a glimpse into the mentor/mentee relationship between her an Lyza. As Dan and I predicted, there’s a certain degree of care and dare I say “compassion” that she has for Lyza which extends down to Riko…although it’s very twisted.
That isn’t to say she goes easy on these kids. Good gracious Ozen…
She wrecks Reg and with mere flick of her index finger practically crushes Riko’s skull. Heaven help whoever gets in the way of her punch.
To end, I want to discuss another important discussion that Ozen has with Reg and Riko. She explains that the fact that nobody has even seen the bottom of the Abyss is akin to people believing in God. The Abyss has become God itself, which opens the story up to being an exploration of numerous themes. It all make sense and adds to the slightly eerie feel of the show overall, but also gives the tale a sense of grandeur. The closer people get to “God”, the more warped they seem to become.
Ozen nearly killing Reg and Riko turns out to be a setup for her teaching them a lesson about how tough the journey into the Abyss will be. She then strands them in the middle of Zone 2 (that’s where we are…right?) and tells them to survive for ten days. Training montage here we come! Before anyone else states it, the parallels between this and Fullmetal Alchemist are uncanny. Ozen is the Izumi to the Fullmetal Bros/Reg-Riko pair.
My only real concern lies with how far the show will go, and I’m already hoping there’s enough love for this gem to merit a second season. With a stopover for training it looks like we might not even make it out of this floor. Let’s hope the show continues to be as fantastic as it has up until this point. Be sure to catch the next episode of Fullmetal Abyss!
SUMMARY:
Made in Abyss is fantastic but the halt for training episodes may cause the series to drag out a bit. We’ll have to wait and see how it goes. Episode 7 serves as a character building episode for Ozen, and we gain a new perspective on the Abyss and Riko/Reg’s journey to the bottom.
The show blends in the fear factor flawlessly as we learn the origin of Riko’s birth and gain insight into just how powerful these Abyss artifacts can get. The show has kept the artifacts and other details about the Abyss close to the vest so here’s to hoping we get more knowledge about these items as the show closes out in its second half.
As a final note. What is it with this punishment?!
The Con Artists 
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