The long-awaited second season of Made in Abyss, the anime originally aired in 2017, is scheduled to air in July 2022! The charming and soothing character designs are believable given the profound storyline, making it a hit series with a feature film adaptation. With the second season on the way, we've compiled a list of the terms that have appeared so far! We've also compiled some terms that aren't story-related but are interesting to know for meta purposes!
Glossary #1: Abyss
The Abyss is said to be the last uncharted territory for humanity. This is the setting for this work, a hole of unknown depth. Its interior harbors a unique ecosystem, including some incredibly dangerous creatures. Within the Abyss lie numerous artifacts, known as "relics," far beyond our current technological capabilities. Some relics can bring immense wealth simply by retrieving one. Furthermore, time flows differently within the Abyss. Simply put, it's an Abyss-level dungeon that seriously threatens to kill adventurers.
Glossary Part 2: Ascending Load
Also known as the Abyss Curse, this phenomenon involves various penalties depending on one's current location when attempting to ascend from the Abyss. At relatively shallow levels, this usually results in mild dizziness or nausea, but the deeper one ascends, the more severe the penalties become. The first layer causes "mild dizziness and nausea," the second layer causes "severe nausea and headaches," the third layer causes "the curse of the second layer plus loss of balance, visual and auditory hallucinations," the fourth layer causes "severe pain throughout the body and bleeding from every orifice," the fifth layer causes "loss of all senses and accompanying clouding of consciousness and self-harm," the sixth layer causes "loss of humanity or death," and the seventh layer causes "certain death." Returning is a penalty, and the deeper you go, the greater the penalty; if this were Etrian Odyssey or Wizardry, it might be treated as a shitty game.
Glossary Part 3: Last Dive
Descent to the Sixth Floor is virtually impossible due to the stress of the ascent, so it is called a Last Dive. However, there are people who have traveled to and from the Sixth Floor using relics or other means.
Glossary #4: Cave Explorer
Adventurers venture into the Abyss. Oath has a cave explorer guild, and explorers are ranked by the color of the flute they wear around their neck, which determines the depth they can dive to. Ranks are Apprentice Bell, Red Flute (up to the first layer), Blue Flute (up to the third layer), Moon Flute (up to the fourth layer), Black Flute (up to the fifth layer), and White Flute (no restrictions). White Flutes, in particular, are legendary and are often referred to as "Lord XX."
Glossary Part 5: White Whistle
White Whistle Ozen is a living legend, a top-ranking cave explorer. Also known as the Nether Star, each has a title. There are currently five known White Whistles: "Immovable Lord" Ozen, "Dawn Lord" New Bondrewd, "Mystic Lord" Mystic Thrajo, "Guiding Lord" Chosen Wakuna, and "Extermination Lord" Liza the Exterminating. The whistles White Whistles wield are made from a special relic, the stone that resonates with life (Yourworth).
Glossary Part 6: Protozoa
The creatures that inhabit the Abyss. They have their own unique ecosystems, and some are so dangerous that encountering them can mean death. Each protozoa has a level of danger assigned to it, and the deeper you go, the higher the chance of encountering a more dangerous creature. Basically, humans cannot fight them, so navigating them is crucial.
Glossary #7: Incinerator
Reg's attack function. It is a weapon that fires super-powerful heat, powerful enough to incinerate even the most powerful primitive creatures. While it can fire continuously if there is energy remaining, once fired, the user will fall unconscious after a short time and will not be able to wake up for two hours. It has the power to rewrite the rules of the abyss, capable of killing immortal beings and even breaking the barriers that exist within the abyss.
Glossary #8: Surveillance Base (Seeker Camp)
This is the base of Ozen, the "Immovable Lord." There are several locations within the Abyss where the rising pressure can be avoided, and the Surveillance Base was built in one of these locations. It is also the base of a group of cave explorers called the Jigaseri, led by Ozen.
Glossary 9: Madeinabyss
An entity that has lost its humanity due to the strain of ascending to the sixth floor. While personality and reason are generally lost, if the curse is avoided somehow, the entity can retain their personality and reason while enjoying the benefits of beast transformation.
Glossary 10: Blessing
Those who are subjected to the strain of the Sixth Floor's ascension become transformed into monstrous creatures, devoid of reason or personality. However, this heavy curse also comes with benefits. If the burden is avoided or alleviated in some way, the transformation into a beast can bring about benefits such as improved physical abilities. Bondrewd refers to this as a blessing for convenience.
Glossary 11: Frontline Base (Ido Front)
This is the base of the White Whistle Lord Bondrewd the New, Lord of Dawn. It contains relics that allow travel from the Fifth to the Sixth Floor. Bondrewd took in orphaned children, showering them with love and using them as subjects for human experimentation.
Glossary 12: Umbra Hands
Bondrewd's subordinates. They serve as Bondrewd's assistants at the frontline base, and all of them wear powered suits similar to Bondrewd's. In reality, they are individuals who have been implanted with Bondrewd's cloned consciousness using the special relic "Zoaholic," meaning that they are essentially all Bondrewd. When the main body becomes incapacitated, another Umbra Hand takes over the mask as a symbol. The main body's consciousness is apparently completely taken over, but the Umbra Hands vary in gender from individual to individual.
Glossary Part 13: Light Returned to the Cardinal (Sparragmos)
An artifact attached to Bondrewd's elbow. It possesses properties similar to the Cremation Cannon, which has the power to rewrite the rules of the Abyss. Mitty's eyes were burned by it, preventing her from regenerating despite her supposed immortality.
Glossary #14: Cartridges
A groundbreaking invention invented by Bondrewd. It has the effect of eliminating the otherwise unavoidable upward stress. If the upward stress of the sixth layer is eliminated, the user can only receive the benefits of beast transformation. However, its true nature is unethical, as it is a living human being packed into a portable box. It is packed with only the bare minimum of functionality needed for survival and allows the person to shoulder the upward stress. Bondrewd manufactured the cartridges using the orphans he adopted as materials.
Glossary 15: Life-Resonating Stone (Your Worth)
The raw material for the flute possessed by the White Whistle. By crafting it into an instrument, the relic's powers can be unleashed. However, the material is human, and when the offering dies while deeply thinking of someone, it becomes a Life-Resonating Stone that can only be wielded by that person. Furthermore, the Life-Resonating Stone is the key to activating a relic located deepest within the frontline base, and without it, you cannot proceed further.
Glossary Part 16: Lord Bondrewd
This is the nickname for the new Bondrewd, the White Whistle and Lord of Dawn, who appeared at the end of the first season of the anime and in the movie. It's not a term used in the series, but rather a nickname used by fans of the series. (｜) ← Sometimes expressed like this. Despite causing Riko and her friends so much pain and being a genuine psychopath with no sense of ethics, Bondrewd is a symbol of the series and one of its most popular characters. Unfortunately, the second season of the anime begins with Bondrewd being sent off by Lord Bondrewd and proceeding to the Sixth Floor, so he barely appears in the series. However, Lord Bondrewd is always watching over Riko and Nanachi.
Glossary Part 17: Etrian Odyssey
This game (probably) had a major influence on the setting of this work. It's a so-called 3D dungeon RPG. It's known for its challenging difficulty, but there are no unreasonable penalties for returning.
[Made in Abyss: Golden Land of the Fiery Sun] Glossary Summary
Here's a list of terms that appear in Made in Abyss! The setting and story are elaborate, so it's necessary to understand the worldview and terminology to a certain extent. However, I think its profound development makes it one of the most memorable works out there! If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend watching the first season and the movie, or reading the original manga, before watching season two!
