Made in Abyss watch order
The orphan Riko sets out with Reg, a robot boy she found in the Abyss, to descend the enormous pit where her mother vanished, layer by deadly layer. Based on Akihito Tsukushi's manga. The art is cute; the story is not.
First time? Watch Season 1, then the film Dawn of the Deep Soul, then The Golden City of the Scorching Sun. Skip the two 2019 recap films.
Story order
The main story only: Season 1, the Dawn of the Deep Soul film and Season 2. The recap films and the two sets of shorts are left out. Add Marulk's Daily Life alongside the film and Together with Papa after Season 2 if you want them.
- Made in Abyss
Riko and Reg leave the town of Orth and head down through the first four layers, meet the White Whistle Ozen, and find Nanachi after Riko is badly hurt. The finale is double length. Covers manga chapters 1–26.
- Dawn of the Deep Soul
A direct sequel to Season 1, not a recap. Riko, Reg and Nanachi reach the fifth layer and Bondrewd's base, Idofront, where they meet Prushka. Rated R15+ in Japan. Covers chapters 27–38, and Season 2 continues from it.
- The Golden City of the Scorching Sun
Season 2. Picks up right after Dawn of the Deep Soul as the three enter the sixth layer, the Capital of the Unreturned, and the village of Ilblu. Episodes also follow an expedition there long ago. The finale is double length. Covers chapters 39–60.
Release order
Everything in the order it came out in Japan. The recap films came out a few weeks apart in January 2019, a year before Dawn of the Deep Soul.
- Made in Abyss
Riko and Reg leave the town of Orth and head down through the first four layers, meet the White Whistle Ozen, and find Nanachi after Riko is badly hurt. The finale is double length. Covers manga chapters 1–26.
- Journey's Dawn (optional)
A compilation film of Season 1 episodes 1–8, with a short new opening about the Abyss's distant past. Skip it if you've seen the series.
- Wandering Twilight (optional)
A compilation film of Season 1 episodes 9–13. It cuts a lot, but adds a short new scene with Bondrewd and Prushka that leads into Dawn of the Deep Soul. Optional.
- Dawn of the Deep Soul
A direct sequel to Season 1, not a recap. Riko, Reg and Nanachi reach the fifth layer and Bondrewd's base, Idofront, where they meet Prushka. Rated R15+ in Japan. Covers chapters 27–38, and Season 2 continues from it.
- Marulk's Daily Life (optional)
Four 3–4 minute shorts shown before Dawn of the Deep Soul in Japanese cinemas: three light episodes about Ozen's apprentice Marulk, and one about how Marulk met Ozen. Optional.
- The Golden City of the Scorching Sun
Season 2. Picks up right after Dawn of the Deep Soul as the three enter the sixth layer, the Capital of the Unreturned, and the village of Ilblu. Episodes also follow an expedition there long ago. The finale is double length. Covers chapters 39–60.
- Together with Papa (optional)
A 7-minute comedy short on the first Season 2 Blu-ray box, imagining an ordinary home life for Prushka and Bondrewd. Non-canon. Best after Season 2. Optional.
Explained
Do I need the movies?
Only Dawn of the Deep Soul. Journey's Dawn and Wandering Twilight are recaps of Season 1. Dawn of the Deep Soul is new story that sits between the two TV seasons, and Season 2 starts right where it ends, so skipping it leaves a big hole.
Is it for kids?
No. It looks like a children's adventure, but it has graphic violence and body horror, much of it happening to child characters. Dawn of the Deep Soul was rated R15+ in Japan after first being rated PG12, and Season 2 is just as harsh.
What's next?
There's no TV Season 3. The story continues in a new series of films (reported as a trilogy), starting with Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery (Mezameru Shinpi), which opens in Japan on October 23, 2026. Kinema Citrus and the main cast return. No international release date had been announced at the start of October 2026.
Where do I start the manga after the anime?
Season 2 ends around chapter 60, so start at chapter 61, "You Can Go Anywhere". The manga is still running.