#visual studies

Thumbnails

Issue 26 of Cover. Download here.

Made in Abyss is both an anime and a manga. The beginning of the story takes place in a town called Orth, which is located on a small island that has a giant pit in the center, which is called ‘the abyss’. Riko is an orphan who is required to go into the abyss to find relics. The abyss has a kind of subconscious calling to it that makes people want to delve into it, often in the search of rare relics that have powers. However, the abyss has a curse that affects each layer of it. With the upper layers, closer to the surface, the curse causes ascension to have the side effects of dizziness and nausea. The middle layers can cause bleeding and hallucinations. The lower levels cause death and/or loss of humanity when a delver attempts to move up, towards the surface. While Riko is looking for relics in the upper layers, she comes across an aggressive creature. She is rescued by Reg, and together they journey through the abyss to find Riko’s mother. The pair eventually come across Nanachi and Faputa, who join them on their journey. 

Despite the story seeming like it will be a cute and positive journey, through the whimsical art style and environment, as well as the pure child characters, it is actually a deeply saddening and traumatic experience for the characters. The harsh conditions, morally gray people of the abyss, and the powerful creatures in each layer create situations full of violence, death, and cruelty. The creator of Made in Abyss, Akihito Tsukushi, recognized that if the storyline was absolutely horrible for the characters the entire time, the fear and anguish would quickly lose its edge. In order to create some balance, he added multiple cooking scenes throughout the series. In these cooking scenes, Riko cooks a meal for the group she travels with. She uses the notes that her mother wrote to create recipes using the creatures she comes across. Some of these creatures are neutral and do not bother the group, while others are aggressive and try to eat the adventurers. 

These cooking scenes allow for the group to rest together (Figure 1). These resting periods are a time of happiness and bonding. The fire is what fuels these moments. According to Alan Krell, fire can act as a kind of home. Krell brings up a parable that he cites from Luis Fernández-Galiano, about if people have to make the decision of either building a shelter out of wood, or starting a fire with wood. Fernández-Galiano poses the question, “what is a house but a hearth?” While the adventurers are making their way through the abyss, they have no home to return to each day. Even at the beginning of the series, when Riko was living in the orphanage, one could argue that she did not feel like it was a true home. In addition, when Nanachi was a human, they had lost their family and their home. When Reg first encountered Riko, he lost all of his memories. As such, he had no home or family to return to. Gathering around the fire gives this group the opportunity to live together as a family. Despite not truly having a home to live in, the fire serves as a home for the group to rest and sleep by. 

Kress states, “the discovery of fire and the commencement of language go hand in hand.” The fire allows the group to build their relationships together as a family. In addition to bonding, the fire also serves as a setting to communicate about the abyss and reflect on memories from the surface. In line with Timothy Morton’s discussion of the hyperobject, the abyss can be thought of as one. According to Morton, a hyperobject is a concept that is so large and grand that it is not comprehensible to the human mind. Morton uses the example of global warming being a hyperobject, which fire is connected to. However, in the case of Made in Abyss, fire is used to approach the hyperobject. The abyss can stand for many concepts, but one is the human condition. The bonding that occurs between the group is part of the human condition, and thus the fire that brings them together is a part of it. Thus, fire is a central element of bonding, communication, and the hyperobject. 

In season one, episode four, Riko and Reg set up a fire pit to cook (Figures 2-4). This setup is similar to the Japanese irori. The irori is a traditional “sunken hearth used for cooking[, lighting, and drying] around which people sat,” and were spaces for family gatherings and communication. In the twentieth century, “children lived together with their parents and even grandparents. For these extended families, the irori was where everyone gathered around to sit and talk with one another.” Although Tsukushi has not explicitly stated that Riko and Reg’s setup is based off of the irori, the similarities are clear (Figure 5). The design and function, both literally and symbolically, are the same. 

Through the cooking of creatures, fire in cooking is also symbolic of the circle of life and a testament of human perseverance. Despite the creatures trying to kill and eat the group, they are able to defend themselves and even kill the creatures for their own source of food. Through fire, humans are able to overcome the circle of life, shifting from prey to predator. The fire is used as a tool to complete this process, something that is only harnessed by humans. Even the fact that the group is able to start a fire in the harsh ecosystems of the abyss displays the ability of humans to survive in unforgiving conditions.

Figure 1

Figures 2-4

More about the Antique Photo Sage GPT: two case studies on Medium.

On one instance APS even provided me with the approximation of the camera viewpoint coordinates (!).

Case studies

Antique Photo Sage GPT

78/365

Zamansele Nsele - How her Black Visual Studies research influences her teaching