Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun – Episode 3

We’ve made it to episode 3, aptly titled “Village of Hollows.” And we immediately see a whole legion of creepy crawlies. Majikaja, who introduced themselves briefly last episode, is leading them towards where they need to go. Nanachi explains that the forcefield isn’t present in this village, so they can ascend the stairs without issue. We get a quick nod back to Bondrewd, the Sovereign of Dawn, who was a major antagonist in the previous arc, before we make our way into the place where Prushka is. This was the first hint in the manga for me that this arc was going to be weird. Prushka is being chiseled away at, but when Reg jumps to defend the whistle, Riko says that Prushka strangely doesn’t seem to mind. The whistle as it was isn’t her true form, and the creature working on it is changing it to have the right value. That word is going to be important so keep track of it. 

Kaja explains their real body consists of smells, and this is just a vessel they’re using. Second hint for me that this arc is weird. And now we’ve arrived at the circus of value, hahahaha. Sorry, I’ve been replaying the original Bioshock and the vendor machine boldly exclaims that. What I meant to say is that we’ve arrived at the market of value. Reg’s noticed the trend as well. Riko finds a part of her mother’s letter but she’s told to turn herself into value. The symbols on the money, Nanachi notes, are the same as the threatening symbols on the threat letter they received. The person who wrote that assigned value to Nanachi and Riko, as if planning to pawn them off, but not to Reg. Riko is way too unbothered by the strange things happening around her. In a sense it’s clear she was made for a journey like this in how easily she adapts to the craziness around her. We get introduced to a bunch of vendors and Kaja explains that hollows’ bodies have the shape of their desires. Meinya jumps on the head of one hollow who proclaims “maaa” and then very quickly kills Meinya.

That’s what it seems like but after some quick inspection Nanachi shows that it’s fine. Just a bit hurt by the squishing. The discussion is interrupted by a scream which Kaja refers to as the balancing. The hollow known as Ma quickly runs away in fear. Ma is caked up by the way, which is a strange sight to say the least. THey get enveloped by strange tentacles that take things straight from their body to balance out the attack on Meinya. The customs hollows have are very different from Riko’s sense of justice. There is no such thing as subtlety in the way they deal with things. It’s a very interesting way of looking at things. Oh, and Ma gets part of their body brutally torn off. This place is pretty metal. Riko quickly switches gears and tries to talk to the locals. They’re looking for a bed and breakfast and Riko learned the word for it. With Kaja bidding them goodbye, they move on.

They’re led to what looks like an inn of sorts and the innkeeper just kind of blindly stares at them and takes some of their money. The rooms look pretty good, the toilet and the food less so. There’s also insects everywhere. Riko takes some shots at Nanachi’s cooking and they eat the awful looking but surprisingly edible food. Should not have done that, should not have done that. The author’s obsession with little girls pooping has quickly returned. I’ve been saying for months this season is going to be weird and I’m even reminded of exactly how weird it is. A commotion outside catches the attention of Reg and Nanachi. Kaja explains that it must be Faputa, the embodiment of value. Faputa can go anywhere and usually isn’t seen. Reg goes to see Faputa. Here we finally meet Faputa, princess of the hollows and her bodyguard. Once again it confirms for me that the human expedition from Volume 8 is important, as we’re shown a quick flashback to the young girl that they picked up at the edge of the abyss. Having now made their way to the hollows, we’re shown a little bit more from their story, although not much. There isn’t much room to look at the splendor though, since the hollows they found are almost immediately attacked.

So that gives us the conclusion to this episode. Like last time, this covers more of Volume 6 of the manga, with a hint of Volume 8 in the last minute of the episode. Can we all pour one out for Ma who just wanted to play with Meinya and ended up watching all their prized possessions destroyed before being shredded to bits. The village of hollows don’t fuck around. Where the first two episodes were fairly tame, this episode really started upping the weirdness that I’ve come to know from this manga. At some point the manga went from a curious and cool idea to a challenge of how weird can it get before people lose interest. I think that’s the reason I’m still reading this manga. It’s so incredibly bizarre and I’m pretty sure the author has some issues with the way he likes to portray little children but at the same time it’s also such a compelling story that I can’t look away. And the show’s popularity makes me think I’m not the only one. Enough rambling from me though, I’m already looking forward to next week’s episode. And as always, thanks for reading.