Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun

The Golden City of the Scorching Sun is the second TV season of Made in Abyss. It aired in Japan in 12 episodes, from July 6 to September 28, 2022. The studio Kinema Citrus returned, along with director Masayuki Kojima and writer Hideyuki Kurata, who wrote every episode. The opening song is "Katachi" by Riko Azuna, and the ending song is "Endless Embrace" by Myth & Roid. The season picks up right after the movie Dawn of the Deep Soul, so it is best watched after that film.

The heroes are the same three friends. Riko is a brave and curious girl who wants to find her mother at the bottom of the Abyss, a huge and deadly hole in the earth. Reg is a robot boy with a strong arm cannon and no memory of his past. Nanachi is a soft, rabbit-like creature who was once human and now travels with them. Together they have already gone deeper than most divers ever do. In this season they reach the sixth layer, a place people call the Capital of the Unreturned. The name is a warning: anyone who climbs back up from this layer loses their humanity because of the curse of the hole.

The sixth layer is hot and dry, almost like a desert. It is full of ruins and wild, dangerous animals. Early on, Riko's white whistle, the mark of her diver rank, is stolen. The friends chase the thief and find a large building. Inside is a strange village. The people who live there are called Hollows. They were once human but have changed into new, odd shapes. A friendly Hollow named Majikaja guides the friends around. In this village, everything is traded by "value", a strange idea that the visitors must slowly learn.

The season also tells a second story in flashbacks. Long ago, a group called the Ganja went down into the Abyss to look for a golden city. Their leaders were Wazukyan and Belaf. A young girl named Vueko joined them after running away from a cruel guardian, and her compass helped the group find their way. Bit by bit, the old story and the new one start to connect, and the viewer learns how the village came to be. A fierce figure named Faputa also appears outside the village walls, and she becomes very important.

Like the first season, this part looks gentle but hides very dark and violent moments. It deals with loss, hunger, love that turns harmful, and the high price people pay for their wishes. It is a mystery story as much as an adventure. Its world is beautiful and strange, but also cruel.

Sentai Filmworks released the season for most of the world outside Asia, and an English dub began airing on Adult Swim in November 2022. The story then continues in a new film series, Awakening Mystery, starting in 2026.