For this installment of learning Japanese through anime titles I’d thought I’d mix it up and use an anime with a simple and English derived title, but with anime I’d actually recommend.

An orphaned girl named Riko lives in the Belchero Orphanage in the town of Orth. The town surrounds a strange, giant hole descending deep into the earth, which is known as the Abyss. The Abyss harbors artifacts and remnants of civilizations long gone, and is, therefore, a popular hunting spot for so-called Cave Raiders, who undertake arduous and dangerous descents into the mist-filled pit to recover whatever relics they can find. Returning from the Abyss can be dangerous as “the Curse of the Abyss,” a mysterious and potentially fatal malady, manifests upon ascension. The deeper one goes, the more acute the effects of the curse; few who have descended into the lower regions have returned to tell of their experiences. Some legendary Cave Raiders earn the title of White Whistles, one of them being Riko’s mother, Lyza, who is presumed dead after taking a “last descent” into the Abyss.

Riko’s longing in life is to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a White Whistle. One day, she discovers a robot resembling a human boy in the first layer of the Abyss and names him Reg. Riko and her friends sneak Reg into Belchero and quickly welcome him into their close-knit group. Sometime later, a number of findings are made from the depths of the Abyss, including Lyza’s White Whistle and pages of discoveries and observations she had made, as well as a message presumably for Riko, stating she is waiting at the bottom of the Abyss. Riko, determined to find her mother, bids farewell to her friends and secretly departs into the Abyss with Reg as her companion.

Source: Wikipedia

メイドインアビス

メイド – MEIDO

イン  – IN

アビス – ABISU

MEIDO IN ABISU

In this case the Japanese title is simply English adapted to Japanese pronunciation. Many Japanese are unlikely to actually know the English word “abyss” so it will actually make the title more mysterious. Commonly when the katakana syllabary is romanized capital letters are used as I’ve done above.  The Japanese spelling here makes no distinction between “maid” and “made” as they sound identical.

I was initially very reluctant to watch this anime.  Fantasy isn’t my favorite and genre and I thought this particular story was going to be going to be the typical shōnen manga which are typically very much fighting the “monster of the week” kind of story.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  However, if you only watch roughly the first half of the first season you could definitely be deceived into believing this is just a typical juvenile quest type story.  The reason I continued to watch was both the number of good reviews and the high quality of the Japanese voice talent.  Since I’m learning the language good voice talent and dialogue is just as important to me as the story.

However, if you push on past the first half of the first season you will well understand just how dark this anime is going to become.  It’s animated in a bright and cheerful character style similar to Disney films.  The main protagonist is outgoing and does her best to cheerfully overcome any obstacles in her way without getting depressed.  However as she descends into the Abyss the story become a true mix of the Divina Commedia and H.P. Lovecraft horror. The juxtaposition of the cheerful animation and the horror makes the horror all the stronger. It’s an example of playing to the strength of the animated format instead of just presenting a story that happens to be animated.

Given the interest in Lovecraftian horror here at Glibs this seemed like a good anime to recommend with a few caveats.  The manga (comic) continues so there is no finale to the anime yet.  The anime and films based on the manga basically assume the viewer remembers what happened in prior seasons so the plot can be a bit confusing when you start a new season.  However, it’s still worth the investment.  The current season would have to be blackest story yet.