Made In Abyss – Season 2 Episode 9 “The Return” Recap & Review

The Return

Episode 9 of Made in Abyss Season 2 begins with Reg traveling with Faputa to the village. As they’re walking, Reg asks Faputa if her wound will be okay. Faputa responds that she is Immortal and that she’ll be fine. Faputa pesters Reg about his worriment for her and asks him to pat her on the head. Reg accepts her offer.

They run into Faputa’s bulky Interference Unit friend, and his presence startles Faputa. He recalls that creatures are going ballistic because they can smell the blood from Faputa’s wound. Although Reg’s concerned, Faputa tells him to let her Interference Unit friend take care of them. We also learn that its name is Gaburoon. They continue their travels.

Meanwhile, Riko and some of Iruburu’s residents are waiting outside of Faputa’s domain for Reg’s return. Reg arrives with Faputa’s arm and tells Riko that he’ll explain everything to her back at Iruburu. This is because Faputa’s blood is luring in wild beasts. Before Riko follows Reg, she looks at Faputa, who is looking back at her in response. Riko departs as Faputa remarks about Prushka’s new whistle design–for a bit.

At Iruburu, everyone from Riko to the Hollows stares at Faputa’s “arm gift” to Reg. Vueko hides in a corner and questions if Faputa is immortal. Suddenly, shrieks can be heard in the village, causing the dark “balancing monsters” to spiral out of control. Riko argues it’s because a piece of Faputa has entered Iruburu. Reg suggests bringing the arm to Belaf immediately, but Vueko stops him.

She states that he can’t bring the arm to Belaf since he’ll succumb to a mental breakdown. If he were to undergo said breakdown, something terrible could happen to Mitty and Nanachi. Reg informs Vueko that he convinced Faputa to hand it over after promising to fulfill a past deal he made with her. Vueko asks him what the promise was. Reg doesn’t respond back.

We get a brief flashback involving Reg and Faputa. They’re going over the details of the promise. Remember, Reg promised to help her eradicate Iruburu and its residents. During their exchange, Faputa knows that Reg is a kind person and would never want to harm anyone. She informs him that she wants him to help her get inside. She tells Reg that he can open an entryway for her–by using his Incinerator beam. She recounts Reg telling her in the past that it can rewrite the laws of the abyss, including those set in the sixth layer.

Back in the present, Riko repeats this knowledge to everyone and explains how Reg’s Incinerator can burn anything up. Suddenly, Wazukyan enters the conversation and congratulates Reg for getting a piece of Faputa. He confirms that Iruburu’s been thrown into chaos because Faputa’s value shouldn’t exist within its boundaries. He also acknowledges Vueko’s presence, startling her in the process.

Instead of being angry about her leaving Dogupuu (Irumyuui’s head), he’s glad she took the initiative. He asks her if she informed them about Faputa and Iruburu’s past. Vueko confirms his suspicions but tells Wazukyan that she centered it around her. Wazukyan proceeds to ask Riko if she hates him now after learning the truth.

Riko dodges the question (kind of) and tells Wazukyan that she adores this village because she can relate with many of its residents. He asks her why, but she throws another question his way. She asks Wazukyan about his exploration into the abyss. Wazukyan confirms that he did know that he and the others would never return. However, he had no issues embarking on the journey.

He recalls some words he attained from Bondrewd and discusses Riko’s and the others’ reasons for traveling down the abyss. Moogie shares her own experience with this village and her reasons for traveling. After pondering it over a bit, Riko asks Wazukyan another question. She asks him what he wished for when he had the Cradle of Desire (the wish egg) in his possession.

She understands his goal was to find out if the Golden City exists in the abyss but states that he only found its “entrance.” She doesn’t believe a hardcore adventurer like himself would stop at the “entrance.” This leads her to wonder why he’s pretending to have given up on his adventure. Wazukyan semi-confirms her suspicions but states he can’t leave the village like the other Hollows here.

Riko ponders further. She recounts that Faputa is in possession of all three wish eggs. Riko asks Wazukyan if he wants her to use the power of Faputa’s Cradle of Desire to make it so Wazukyan and his people can go adventuring again. Wazukyan asks her how she came to that conclusion, and Riko responds that he’s the type of guy who’d conjure a plan like that.

Wazukyan praises Riko’s theory but doesn’t downright confirm if it’s true. He glares over at Moogie and tells her he’ll rely on Riko and her friends to decide for him. Suddenly, the ground rumbles and Juroimoh enters the fray enraged. Reg informs everyone that Wazukyan stalled them, while Vueko tells Reg that Juroimoh is after Faputa’s severed arm.

Wazukyan grabs Vueko as Reg urges Riko and the others to find safety. He asks Maaa to watch over Riko as he plans to fight Juroimoh. While Reg’s fighting Juroimoh, he notices the balancing creatures rising up beside Juroimoh. Wazukyan and Vueko stare at the fight from a nearby balcony as they discuss more Juroimoh’s existence.

We learn that Juroimoh was named after the cruel sailor who tortured Vueko during her childhood. Wazukyan states that Irumyuui created him from the signals she received from Vueko while she resided in her head. He recounts that Irumyuui was lonely and that Juroimoh magically appeared one day and declared he was one of the Three Sages. Whenever Iruburu’s in danger, he acts as Iruburu’s guardian and exterminates the threat.

He confirms that Juroimoh is the “will of the village” and can’t succumb to damage by the balancing creatures. We see Wazukyan’s words spring truly as Juroimoh takes on a new form after merging itself with the balancing monsters. Juroimoh blocks every route possible with the help of the balancing monster’s slimy nature.

Reg watches in horror and notices Juroimoh’s about to shoot a projectile full of balancing creatures from his mouth. He dodges each attack but notes that Juroimoh is covering the walls with balancing monsters.

Reg ponders his next move while Wazukyan laughs. Vueko calls out to Reg and informs him that the balancing won’t negatively affect him since its creation stems from her. She says Juroimoh plans to consume Reg and Riko since it deems them a threat to Iruburu. He suggests he run while Wazukyan notes that he’s never seen Vueko act out before.

Reg acknowledges Vueko’s words but knows there’s nowhere to run. Juroimoh creates a giant film (made of balancing monsters) that he plans to cover the entire village with. Although Reg’s a safe distance away, he notices Maaa, Riko, and the others are in danger. Juroimoh catches Reg by surprise and manages to steal Faputa’s arm. He falls into a pool of slimy balancing monsters.

Left with no choice, Reg fires his Incinerator at Juroimoh as he falls to the ground. To make matters worse, Reg left a large hole in Iruburu, providing Faputa a way to enter the village. He warns Riko that she’ll be here soon and that she’ll need to lead everyone to safety. This is because Reg faints and stays asleep for two hours after using his Incinerator. He tells Moogie to watch over Faputa’s arm and to keep Riko safe.

Before they can formulate a plan, something terrifying catches everyone’s attention. Faputa arrives, causing everyone to panic and glare at her in awe. Juroimoh attempts to attack Faputa but gets blasted back by her friend Gaburoon. Faputa thanks Reg for his help. She declares that she won’t forgive any of the Hollows for the pain and suffering they caused her family.

She tells Gaburoon not to interfere as Juroimoh attempts to strike her down through the power of the balancing monsters. Unfortunately, his attack only buys Faputa time to heal from her wounds. He also gets pushed back as Faputa turns the balancing monsters into a white paste. With Juroimoh injured, Faputa pounces at the Hollows in rage.

As the ground rumbles, we transition back to Nanachi, Mitty, and Belaf. Nanachi awakens after hearing a song. She recalls a dream she had with Mitty about Wazukyan, Vueko, and Irumyuui. She notes that the Ganja reminded her of the journey she and Mitty endured. She glances at Belaf, who is in the midst of glaring at the sky.

Belaf tells Nanachi it’s time for her to wake up as something is about to go down in Iruburu. The episode ends with Belaf telling her that she’s no longer dreaming.

The Episode Review

This ninth episode of Made In Abyss’s second season was a great set-up to get us ready for the carnage between Faputa and the Hollows. This episode featured a nice mix of action and dialogue and gave us more insight into Wazukyan’s mindset and the development of Vueko’s character.

While I adore the new characters introduced this season, I’m happy the anime hasn’t forgotten Riko’s character. I feel many will look past Riko’s interrogation scene in favor of this episode’s action-centric and thrilling moments. Like Wazukyan, I’m always impressed by Riko’s intellect inside and outside of battle. Her ability to formulate constructive arguments and hypotheses is formidable for a child her age.

Her methods for semi-confirming Wazukyan’s evil plans show that Riko is just as capable as someone like Faputa. Despite learning more about Wazukyan, he gives off this mysterious and deceitful energy every time he’s involved in a scene. He never confirms nor denies Riko’s assumptions and always finds a way to steer the conversation in a different direction.

He feels like the physical embodiment of the abyss itself. While I hope Faputa tears him a new one for his horrid actions, I can’t help but smile whenever he’s on screen. Speaking of Faputa, I agree that she made this episode more impactful and thrilling. Her voice actress portrayed Faputa’s anger and frustration with the Hollows by adopting a more serious tone.

This made Faputa feel like an entirely new character (in a good way) and properly reflects her endless hatred toward those who digested her family.

On top of that, this episode was animated wonderfully. You can tell a lot of time and detail was put into its more mobile scenes. The action looks fluid, and the scenes following Faputa’s arrival look just as immaculate and visually appealing. The music enhances the tension felt during these sequences too. The vocal song inserted at the episode’s conclusion is soothing and provides a nice parallel to the chilling track we had to sit and listen to during Faputa’s semi-rampage.

The one gripe I had with this episode was how long the conversation took between Riko and Wazukyan. I appreciate the anime taking the time to showcase Riko’s sharp detective-like skills. However, they could’ve gotten to the point quicker. It would have been best to eliminate Wazukyan’s explanation of his past goals since Vueko’s retold story provided an excellent explanation.

Overall, this is one of the best episodes from Made In Abyss’ second season. I predict the next three will feel more action-centric because of how things ended. While Reg can stall for time, I’m unsure if he’ll be able to defeat Faputa before his time runs out. Regardless, I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next week!