Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery opens in Japan and confirms a Part 2 in production, adding Nana Mizuki's Srajo and the Hail Hex squad
On the day the first film of Kinema Citrus' new Made in Abyss theatrical series reached Japanese theaters, the official site announced a second part, five more cast members and a second key visual.
Riko and Reg's descent will not stop at one film. On October 23, the same Friday Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery (Mezameru Shinpi) opened in Japanese theaters, the franchise's official website and X account confirmed that a second part of the new theatrical series is already in production. Part 2 picks up where the first film leaves off; when it arrives, and who is making it, is still unknown.
A White Whistle and her crew
Opening day also brought five new names and a second key visual built around Srajo and her delving squad, Hail Hex.
- Nana Mizuki plays Srajo, the squad's leader and a White Whistle whose epithet is "Lord of Mystery."
- Akeno Watanabe plays Nishagora, a delver of "beast-aspect" origin who is extraordinarily hard to kill.
- Shunsuke Takeuchi plays Yataramar, a big, well-mannered member of the group.
- Nao Toyama and Yume Miyamoto play Sherumi and Menae, sister-and-brother twins who carry whistles that delver regulations do not permit.
The returning leads keep their voices: Riko, Reg, Nanachi and Faputa are again played by Miyu Tomita, Mariya Ise, Shiori Izawa and Misaki Kuno respectively. Sumire Morohoshi and Takanori Hoshino round out the film's newcomers as Tepaste and Cravali.
Picking up at the seventh layer
Awakening Mystery follows directly from the 2022 TV season The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, whose finale sent the three explorers and Faputa down toward the Abyss's seventh layer. Kinema Citrus, the studio behind the 2017 TV anime and the sequel season, is animating again. Masayuki Kojima is back in the director's chair, Hideyuki Kurata wrote the screenplay, and the character designs come from Yuka Kuroda together with Kazuchika Kise. Kevin Penkin returns as composer, and his theme "Chain of the Abyss" features Mori Calliope. Cast appearances at cinemas around Tokyo continue until early November, the last on November 8.
The source material is Akihito Tsukushi's adventure manga, which began on Takeshobo's Web Comic Gamma in October 2012. Its 15th volume came out in Japan on August 26, and cumulative circulation has reached 22 million copies. Seven Seas Entertainment publishes it in English and has scheduled volume 15 for March 30, 2027.
