More recently, Made in Abyss, an anime from the summer 2017 season, has risen to acclaim using a similar style. Though positioned as an adventure story rather than a magical girl one, like Madoka★Magica, Abyss’ key art and marketing materials look to be drawn straight from a children’s show, depicting two young protagonists, with round faces and saucer-like eyes, and a third bunny-like creature that could easily double as an adorable stuffed animal. Its plot centers around a 12-year-old orphan girl named Riko who lives in a town on the edge of a giant pit, referred to as the Abyss. Her goal to explore the Abyss and unlock all of its secrets takes on a new urgency when her mother Lyza, a legendary Cave Raider, sends a vague message to the surface, telling Rika to find her at the bottom. With a young humanoid robot named Reg as her faithful companion, Riko dives fearlessly into the Abyss, with little to no idea of the extreme challenges that await her.

enjoy this gif of my actual children.

While Madoka★Magica hits the viewer with tragedy in its notorious third episode, Made in Abyss is a much slower burn, utilizing most of its run for world and character-building purposes, while also heightening an eerie level of suspense lurking in the background. Though some would regard this slow start as one of the show’s weaknesses, Abyss navigates its pacing skillfully and purposefully, in order to organically flesh out its two protagonists and cultivate the intimate relationship between them. Far from being filler, the time spent watching Riko and Reg overcome smaller obstacles with lower stakes only reinforces their growing bond and makes us, as viewers, more attached to seeing them eventually succeed together.

Mirroring their literal descent into the Abyss, the show leads Riko and Reg closer and closer into danger until they suddenly hit a point of no return. In one harrowing scene, a near-death Riko lies next to Reg, begging him to crudely cut off her arm in order to save her life, mimicking the heartbreaking moment between Madoka and Homura. In both shows, the most deep-seeded sense of horror involves the violent disfiguration of the overly cute cast of characters, both emotionally and physically; however, created six years post-Madoka, Made in Abyss takes this body horror to an entirely new level. Without giving away too many details, Abyss pushes its characters to their limits and there is no shortage of bloodshed, suffering, and moments of self-sacrifice, some leading to disturbing levels of permanent disfigurement. In the worlds of both Madoka★Magica and Abyss, several characters start the series appearing one way and end it dead, mutilated, or brutally transformed, the darkness of each show’s unique narrative etched onto their bodies.

WHO DID THIS TO THEM THEY DONT DESERVE THIS