Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul

 Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul (メイドインアビス 深き魂の黎明) is the third theatrical movie for the Made in Abyss franchise.  The movie is based on the manga of the same name by Tsukushi Akihito.  The movie played theatrically in Japan in January of 2020 and April of 2020 in America.

     While it is the third movie of the series, Dawn of the Deep Soul is the first new material following the 13 episode TV series.  The story picks up with Riko, Reg and Nanachi heading to the entrance to Sixth Layer.  the entrance is a safe zone known as the Ido Front and is overseen by the White Whistle Bondrewd, the same person who performed horrific experiments on Nanachi and Mitty.  They make it to the Ido Front relatively unharmed and are surprised to be welcomed by Bondrewd and his daughter Prushka.  Bondrewd seems to be well aware of who they are, which puts Nanachi on edge.

    Even though they seek safe passage to the Sixth Layer, they are informed that the only way they can access the portal to it is with a White Whistle.  Bondrewd confirms for them that no one other than the original owner of a White Whistle may activate it.  With their plans interrupted they wait to figure out what they will need to do in order to proceed.  While awaiting their fate Riko and Prushka become friends and Nanachi confronts her tormentor about his evil acts.  But things are not exactly as they seem at the Ido Front and the way forward will prove the hardest challenge they have faced so far.

    As with the TV series before it, Dawn of the Deep Soul crams as much cuteness as it can before turning a switch and becoming sadistic and cruel.  Horrific secrets and motives are revealed through the course of the film which greatly tests the resolve of our heroes.  It's incredible to see how far and how much these seemingly innocent characters have overcome to end up in the horrific mess that awaits them on this leg of their journey.

    There is not much more to discuss honestly, without getting into details of the plot that will spoil too much.  The artwork is little changed from that of the TV series, which was already fantastic.  The movie is close to two hours in length but the story seems to be shorter than it really is.  You will have to have watched either the series or the first two recap movies to understand most of what is going on in this film, but it is all worth it.  The adventure and world setting of Made in Abyss is as fantastic as it is horrific and well worth the experience.

    The film was released earlier in 2020 and then made available for streaming with a purchase in the Summer of 2020 in most English speaking countries.  At the time of this review it is not yet available on disc in North America.