# Made In Abyss and pedophilic acceptance...?



## Hurricane Matthew

After months of hearing praise and then seeing it win the popular vote at the Crunchyroll Awards for best series of 2017, I finally checked out Made In Abyss over the weekend, both the anime and the manga. For those of you who aren't familiar with it or aren't into anime/manga in general, the story is about a young girl ((about age 12, though with the "chibi" style she and the other characters are drawn in, she could pass for being younger)) and an amnesiac robot boy having an adventure into a bottomless pit called the "abyss" in search of the girl's mother who is apparently at the bottom of the abyss somewhere. The characters are cute and the world they're adventuring in is an interesting one with a lot of potential for great mystery and exploration.

It sounds like a promising series, right? Perhaps a bit of a standard adventure story with kid characters, and it's been a while since a good ol' fashioned adventure anime came out and since I love adventure, I decided to give it a shot.

So I give it a try and, quite honestly... I'm disturbed as heck from it, especially the manga... where themes of child abuse and pedophilic artwork/scenes are far from subtle, leaving me with a really disgusted feeling after reading it and wondering what kind of sick-minded person must have made this manga. I've always known that weird kinks and fetishes for underaged children existed within the manga/anime world, but never before have I seen this stuff in something as mainstream, as popular and as widely praised as with Made In Abyss and I have no idea how to interpret this. There is no avoiding the fact that lolicon/shotacon is an underground thing in the dark corner of the anime/manga fandom and this is something I accepted to exist since long ago. I think it's creepy but whatever, I don't have to deal with it and most people aren't into it, and yet here we have Made In Abyss... with its blatant pedo-pandering moments and everyone is either overlooking it completely or they're defending it as "Well, it's natural for kids at that age to be curious about penises and piss themselves a lot" but I'm like "That's not a reason to go into so much detail about it, though, or as _often_ as this manga does it." The dark themes to the ((rather mediocre)) plot already proved this wasn't a kids' manga, so the target audience is definitely adults... 

Currently on MAL, a popular anime/manga site where users can rate series, the anime for Made In Abyss is ranked #20 _of all time_ and the manga is ranked #7... It's been mindless praise for this series that is creepy and essentially pedo-pandering, especially in the manga. The anime tones it down but it still has many unnecessary moments and implied details that took away from my enjoyment of the series... and I can't imagine why anyone would praise a series that puts such young characters through so much mental and physical _pain_. It's extremely uncomfortable.

Alright, so we have a very creepy series on our hands... fine, this exists, but then everyone treats it like it's some masterpiece and it sort of makes me question the anime/manga community as a whole for the series they're promoting here. I find it weird that I'm in such a small minority of people who are feeling put off by this series, as if the fandom is so starved for something "different" they will even accept this in a series. The plot isn't even that good; it's just different from the mainstream and the anime has really well-done animation so it's pretty to look at. It's bad to promote this series, though, especially to people who aren't into anime/manga because they will be the most prone to thinking all anime/manga is like this and that those of us who like anime/manga are probably sick perverts of some kind. Another thing is that I wouldn't doubt that we'll see other series in the future trying to mimic the success Made In Abyss has so more "mainstream" anime may follow suit...

Why am I posting this here on PerC? A part of me wants to talk about this with people who aren't into anime/manga since I'm feeling put off by the community right now over this. I know too many people who love this series but shrug the disturbing parts off as being "nothing" or "acceptable" and they think I'm overreacting because "it's a masterpiece" and "it's just fiction". 

I've heard rumors that the author of the manga posts/likes pedophilic things on twitter but I haven't tracked down his account to verify it.

So what do you guys think? Have you seen the Made in Abyss anime or read the manga? Or if you aren't into anime/manga, what is your impression of the fandom? Will the success and popularity of this series hurt the reputation of anime/manga fans as a whole?_ *What's the boundary between "art" and pedophilia?*_


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## Antiloop

I'm not an anime enthusiast. I read Dragon Ball as a kid, and tried watching some anime as a teenager but didn't like it. However browsing the web I unavoidable come across it anyway. I can't say I'm too surprised. Seems pedophilia isn't as taboo in Japan as in a lot of other countries, and some anime enthusiast appear to pick up on it. As you say, lolicon/shotacon is already an established sub-genre, or whatever, in anime. 

I, like a lot of people, like Leon the Professional, despite its pedophilic "undertones." It's even #27 on IMDb. Honestly I don't even think about it when watching it, but I can absolute understand is someone can't stand watching it. Perhaps something similiar is going on with this anime.


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## Judson Joist

I've been an otaku since '92 and I've gotta say...

...it should be legal to hunt pedophiles for sport.


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## Conscience Killer

There is no difference between 'art' and 'pedophilia.' There is a difference between 'art' and 'child abuse.' 

Nevertheless, there is a distinct problem within the artistic community of ignoring or outright refusing this connection, or assuming that it is harmless. 

There's this pervading idea that written and drawn depictions of extreme child abuse are not inherently predatory, which is quite dangerous, because it permits individuals to mindlessly engage with these concepts without any form of checks and balances. It glorifies a predatory behavior, and people are reinforced over and over again that there is nothing _wrong with it_ because no _offense_ is being committed. 

Pedophilia is taboo for a reason, and if you are consuming this form of media, you absolutely should be fully aware of its repercussive impact.


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## Raison

I have not seen this anime, but I will offer some thoughts on the highlighted subjects. 
First of all, we have to remember far eastern culture is very different from western culture. They still hold to some old habits that have been civilized out of the western psyche. There are still countries where child prostitution is legal, which is far more vile and loathesome than fictional depictions thereof. Sexual morality, like all morality, is learned. And where it is learned, it can often be forgotten through the perversions developed from repression. 
I hate to say that deviant behavior is "natural," but looking at human behavior on the whole (look at our prison systems), unnatural behavior is more natural than those of us who are civilized care to admit. It's one of the big reasons conservatives take issue with liberal libertinism--they look to shatter one taboo after another, until eventually the only ones left to break down are the most vile. (I knew somebody who insisted anybody should be able to experience any sexual desire they are inclined to without shame or judgement... but if a sex offender lived nearby and wanted to babysit her kids, she'd grow a set of morals awfully fucking fast)

While I have not seen the work in question, I've studied quite a bit of sex psychology, and I remember one documentary that compared social trends in different parts of the world. Japan is fucked up in many ways by our standards (just look at some of their gameshows, never mind the fetishistic focus of their pornography!), and they interviewed a mangaka who focuses on loli/monster porn. Surprisingly, he was able to rationalize it by psychoanalyzing his demographic, saying that women being the gatekeepers of sex (this is historically true, by the way, going back to ancient literature--anybody who thinks that before emancipation, any man could just get sex whenever he wanted by force fails to recognize that rape is an act of dominance/aggression moreso than of sexuality, and that even where it is "permitted" does not mean it is what a man may want) and their increase in social power diminishes men (look at any high school movie/show dating back to the 80s--when a boy is rejected by a girl, it's always to a gaggle of popular blondes laughing at him; sexual rejection for males has become synonymous with social humiliation[with female characters, the trope seems to be more commonly one-on-one smug condescension by the alpha jock; seems to indicate an element of paternal rejection built into the social female psyche]), thereby the mangaka claimed that the best symbolic representation for repressed male sexuality is in reducing women to a more submissive social status they feel more confident in dealing with (lolis) and elevating the male libido to something less socially tamed or castrated (monsters). 
It was actually a very bizarre experience, hearing intelligent social commentary on sexual psychology from somebody who makes monsters rape children for a living. 


@Conscience Killer 
This is tricky, as I both agree and strongly disagree, on principle, but in a general sense. I am fond of Freud's quote "The virtuous man contents himself with dreaming that which the wicked man does in actual life." While it is true indulging impulses via fiction is exciting tendencies we'd think it best to stifle, stifled impulses often find their way out more fiercely. Just look at all the people who hide their sexuality until in their forties and then undergo abrupt and drastic life/personality changes when the beast finally breaks free from Gliepnir's hold. My ESTJ friend, a mother of two, is very outspoken in hating censorship, and while she detests lolicon shit (she reviews anime), she advocates its right to exist on the premise it might entertain some perverts enough to satisfy them from obsessing over their curiosity until it comes to action. She is adamant in the contrast between indulging fiction and reality. 
Personally, while I cannot speak to which is better for the human mind, repressing or sublimating, on the long-term, I can take a logical stance and compare the argument to other fields. 
There was a time the games Doom and Mortal Kombat were blamed for school violence, and angry mothers wanted them banned. Grand Theft Auto has been used as a legal defense for crimes, and politicans have waged war against the publisher, as these fictional depictions of violent acts motivate impressionable minds to try these things in real life. 
Before that, it was movie violence--Arnold Swarzenegger movies contribute to violent crimes. 
But this can be taken back even further: Wagner's Die Walkurie makes us want to kill god *high fives Nietzsche for multi-tiered nerdjoke*, Dumas encourages us to take revenge on people who wrong us, Goethe and Shakespeare make us want to kill ourselves or others, or whatever. Further back still, The Prose Edda, The New Testament, The Septaguint, Homer's Odyssey. Works depicting shit we shouldn't do have always been around. Sometimes, whether they are meant to be or aren't, they are best taken as satire, as guidelines for action NOT to take, regardless of whatever intent the authors may have held. But should they be burned because they might also contribute to the development of thoughts we consider dangerous? 
Personally, I find burning books more dangerous to society in the long term than individual monsters who can be slain.


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## The Poet

Neverrrrrrrrrrrrrrminnnnndddddd!!!!!!!!


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## Cal

Hence why there should be more strict regulations and guidelines when it comes to anime. In most cases, if pedophilia were to be the case in an American cartoon, the chances it would be cancelled would be a lot higher in comparison to anime shows(which mainly debut in Japan), which may relate to a difference in culture.

The West tends to take these things more seriously than Japan I guess, which may explain why this may be a problem. I personally am not a big fan of manga or anime(strange considering my avatar but if you go the INTP anime thread, I explain why), but the times I have I do tend to notice many pedophile undertones sometimes. I have never seen Pedo's in the abyss, and I do not plan on doing so anytime soon.

I know really annoying anime fangirls who are actually fine with the pedophilia in it and even make pedophile ships between younger and older characters(especially young boys and full grown men), which is disturbing...

The popularity while spoil the reputations of anime fans, but only to an extended point(that mainly revolving around how much the word gets out, and how reasonable others are in terms of stereotyping others(do they stereotype a whole group, a certain part of a group, or do they not stereotype a group at all)).

The boundary between art and pedophilia as far as I go is that it is never exceptional to go around posting pedophilic artwork or making pedophilic artwork mainstream(such as in manga's, illustrations in books, cartoons, etc). I could care less if you are making pedophilic artwork at your own home, but it is when you are posting it and trying to make it mainstream when I draw the line.


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## Conscience Killer

Raison said:


> I have not seen this anime, but I will offer some thoughts on the highlighted subjects.
> First of all, we have to remember far eastern culture is very different from western culture. They still hold to some old habits that have been civilized out of the western psyche. There are still countries where child prostitution is legal, which is far more vile and loathesome than fictional depictions thereof. Sexual morality, like all morality, is learned. And where it is learned, it can often be forgotten through the perversions developed from repression.
> I hate to say that deviant behavior is "natural," but looking at human behavior on the whole (look at our prison systems), unnatural behavior is more natural than those of us who are civilized care to admit. It's one of the big reasons conservatives take issue with liberal libertinism--they look to shatter one taboo after another, until eventually the only ones left to break down are the most vile. (I knew somebody who insisted anybody should be able to experience any sexual desire they are inclined to without shame or judgement... but if a sex offender lived nearby and wanted to babysit her kids, she'd grow a set of morals awfully fucking fast)
> 
> While I have not seen the work in question, I've studied quite a bit of sex psychology, and I remember one documentary that compared social trends in different parts of the world. Japan is fucked up in many ways by our standards (just look at some of their gameshows, never mind the fetishistic focus of their pornography!), and they interviewed a mangaka who focuses on loli/monster porn. Surprisingly, he was able to rationalize it by psychoanalyzing his demographic, saying that women being the gatekeepers of sex (this is historically true, by the way, going back to ancient literature--anybody who thinks that before emancipation, any man could just get sex whenever he wanted by force fails to recognize that rape is an act of dominance/aggression moreso than of sexuality, and that even where it is "permitted" does not mean it is what a man may want) and their increase in social power diminishes men (look at any high school movie/show dating back to the 80s--when a boy is rejected by a girl, it's always to a gaggle of popular blondes laughing at him; sexual rejection for males has become synonymous with social humiliation[with female characters, the trope seems to be more commonly one-on-one smug condescension by the alpha jock; seems to indicate an element of paternal rejection built into the social female psyche]), thereby the mangaka claimed that the best symbolic representation for repressed male sexuality is in reducing women to a more submissive social status they feel more confident in dealing with (lolis) and elevating the male libido to something less socially tamed or castrated (monsters).
> It was actually a very bizarre experience, hearing intelligent social commentary on sexual psychology from somebody who makes monsters rape children for a living.
> 
> 
> @Conscience Killer
> This is tricky, as I both agree and strongly disagree, on principle, but in a general sense. I am fond of Freud's quote "The virtuous man contents himself with dreaming that which the wicked man does in actual life." While it is true indulging impulses via fiction is exciting tendencies we'd think it best to stifle, stifled impulses often find their way out more fiercely. Just look at all the people who hide their sexuality until in their forties and then undergo abrupt and drastic life/personality changes when the beast finally breaks free from Gliepnir's hold. My ESTJ friend, a mother of two, is very outspoken in hating censorship, and while she detests lolicon shit (she reviews anime), she advocates its right to exist on the premise it might entertain some perverts enough to satisfy them from obsessing over their curiosity until it comes to action. She is adamant in the contrast between indulging fiction and reality.
> Personally, while I cannot speak to which is better for the human mind, repressing or sublimating, on the long-term, I can take a logical stance and compare the argument to other fields.
> There was a time the games Doom and Mortal Kombat were blamed for school violence, and angry mothers wanted them banned. Grand Theft Auto has been used as a legal defense for crimes, and politicans have waged war against the publisher, as these fictional depictions of violent acts motivate impressionable minds to try these things in real life.
> Before that, it was movie violence--Arnold Swarzenegger movies contribute to violent crimes.
> But this can be taken back even further: Wagner's Die Walkurie makes us want to kill god *high fives Nietzsche for multi-tiered nerdjoke*, Dumas encourages us to take revenge on people who wrong us, Goethe and Shakespeare make us want to kill ourselves or others, or whatever. Further back still, The Prose Edda, The New Testament, The Septaguint, Homer's Odyssey. Works depicting shit we shouldn't do have always been around. Sometimes, whether they are meant to be or aren't, they are best taken as satire, as guidelines for action NOT to take, regardless of whatever intent the authors may have held. But should they be burned because they might also contribute to the development of thoughts we consider dangerous?
> Personally, I find burning books more dangerous to society in the long term than individual monsters who can be slain.


Uh huh. I never said anything about censorship. But my _logical mind_ compels me to dispel the myth that _lolicon provides a healthy outlet_. A pedophile who is _likely_ to offend is _more likely_ to offend after exposing themselves to media which perpetuates their deviancy, not the other way around. Just read or listen to any interviews done of pedophiles. 99% of the time both themselves and their therapists advocate total refrain from such concepts.


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## wums

I saw Made In Abyss, and yeah, I cringed a lot... 

But in terms of the boundary between fiction and reality? I dunno, I've never heard of any of these lolicon people abusing children. I've also never heard of a child molester who was addicted to lolicon. Seems like usually child molesters are addicted to Jesus.


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## The Poet

Conscience Killer said:


> Uh huh. I never said anything about censorship. But my _logical mind_ compels me to dispel the myth that _lolicon provides a healthy outlet_. A pedophile who is _likely_ to offend is _more likely_ to offend after exposing themselves to media which perpetuates their deviancy, not the other way around. Just read or listen to any interviews done of pedophiles. 99% of the time both themselves and their therapists advocate total refrain from such concepts.


 I can confirm this. From when I was 13 to when I was 16, I suffered from sexual attraction to children. Even when I was 17 and sometimes 18 I was sometimes attracted to 12 and 13 year olds. I'm 19 now, and have outgrown most of it, though recently I've been trying to suppress feelings for a 15 year old. I have been to therapy for it for years. I knew my desires were wrong, and I never acted on them, and I knew that if I ever acted upon them I would never forgive myself. My therapists always told me if I fantasized about these girls, I would have stronger urges. And that's exactly what happened. But when I took my therapists advice, I found I could suppress these thoughts better and not go insane and anxious and depressed and suicidal. Association creates desensitization.


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## Riven

Anime is becoming close to pedophilia acceptance, IDK. I don't really watch it though.


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## Raison

@Conscience Killer
I didn't mean to imply you advocated censorship; sorry if it came across that way. I was just addressing the logical conclusion of socially acknowledging that a work of fiction is "dangerous" or influential on psychology/behavior, as the natural tendency of accepting that something increases one's capacity/liklihood for committing crimes is to remove the dangerous element. And that would set the precedent I elaborated. 

@Cal 
Anime is very much subject to Sturgeon's Law, but the small margin of good anime can be very good. Have you tried any of the smarter, more mature shows like Ghost in the Shell, Ergo Proxy, Berserk, Baccanno, Fate/Zero? 


And back to topic, I've come to dislike anime over the past decade, and very seldom find a show/movie I like because of reasons relating to OP's identified trends. Back in the nineties anime was more mature, featuring grittier stories with adult characters (or kids forced into adult situations [not the type highlighted in this thread]). Now, it seems everything takes place in a damn high school. Fantasy settings seem to be on a rise, but the trend reflects childhood escapism hearkening back to the 80s dimension-crossing trope, where some average otaku gets thrown into a fantasy world where he gets to be more than a mundane loser, so there's still that element of ego-identification that the protagonist needs to be able to personally identify via projection with the character for the sake of wish-fulfilment. 
Even modern seinen, what few I've seen, seem more like they're geared to younger audiences. 
I have noticed a lot of anime afficianados have childish tastes, and tend to value aesthetics more than plot, so this would imply a tendency to indulge a childhood love of cartoons, unsurprising given the sterotype of otakus being overgrown children, as reflected in anime communities being notoriously childish. So in these instances, it's not surprising that as anime fans become less and less mature, both the quality/themes and sexual targeting is aimed more at those with immature minds and under/maldeveloped sexualities.


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## Conscience Killer

Yeah, it's tough. I think you can do both. You can acknowledge a thing's inherent danger without censoring it. The thing is that most people present it as this dichotomy of, _oh well I'd rather a pedophile watched lolicon than raped a child_, as though those are the only two options available. Sadly, it doesn't work like that in real life. Most offending pedophiles start by consuming fictional media, and this idea that _if there were no fictional media of child abuse, pedophiles would just run around abusing children all day_ is patently false. Both generally go hand-in-hand. Nuance! Nuance is good. People are nuanced. Our views should reflect this.


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## Judson Joist

Cal said:


> INTP anime


Who's more trash: INTPs or INTJs?
:tongue:


> pedophile undertones


Ephebophilia too. The "good" kind of anime (mostly from the '80s and '90s) doesn't have those undertones.



> I know really annoying anime fangirls who are actually fine with the pedophilia in it and even make pedophile ships between younger and older characters (especially young boys and full grown men), which is disturbing.


Back in my day, people got into anime for the high-energy action, the hyper-detailed artwork, the face-melting soundtracks, and the spirit of adventure! What happened since then?!
:shocked:


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## Cal

Judson Joist said:


> Who's more trash: INTPs or INTJs?
> :tongue:


 Both equally.



> Ephebophilia too. The "good" kind of anime (mostly from the '80s and '90s) doesn't have those undertones.


But the ones I mostly grew up with do(I was born in the 00's, Si most of this is in reference of my own experience).



> Back in my day, people got into anime for the high-energy action, the hyper-detailed artwork, the face-melting soundtracks, and the spirit of adventure! What happened since then?!
> :shocked:
> View attachment 777497


I have no idea, but most females and males who I know watch anime only do so for the shipping and sex.

It is quite disturbing. I have watched anime before(it's okay, but not my style), and for the most part I mainly judge on quality, but most people I know who watch do not care the slightest about that. As long as they can ship whoever(even a minor with an adult) or "get off too it", then they do not care.

I still cringe because of it! Some only watch it because it is Japanese!


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## Judson Joist

Cal said:


> most females and males who I know watch anime only do so for the shipping and sex.


What a disconcerting paradigm shift!



> It is quite disturbing.


Disturbius maximus, even!



> I have watched anime before


But have you seen "the good stuff" from the '80s and '90s? I'd suggest Trigun. It was the standard-setter in the late '90s. Vampire Hunter D was what got me into anime in 1992.



> most people I know who watch do not care the slightest about that.


Looks like we "old guard" '90s otaku need to represent!



> As long as they can ship whoever (even a minor with an adult) or "get off to it," then they do not care.


Squick.
:angry:


> I still cringe because of it!


As well you should!



> Some only watch it because it is Japanese!


Ah, see?! That proves that "otaku" does not equal "weeb."
(Coincidentally, I'm a slavaboo.)


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## ShinjiteFlorana

So i did the exact same thing Hurricane Matthew.

Everyone in the anime community was praising this Anime, and i was all about it when i read the premise. then i watched the anime. then i skimmed the manga. (by the way, i'm not sure how far you got, but it gets waaaay worse in the manga. Both the sexualization and the mental/physical abuse) I was really, really disturbed. Putting aside for the moment the inappropriate sexualization of the characters, the mental/physical abuse was obviously supposed to be disturbing, but it had never effected me like this before. I read Berserk, i thought for sure this could not possibly be worse.

I truly believe that this felt way, WAY more disturbing from a combo of how young the characters are (accentuated a ton by how young/chibi they are drawn. Riku is twelve. Naruto in the beginning of the show, is ALSO twelve. All the characters are depicted much, much younger in MiA.) and how oddly sexual and fetish-ish all the awful things that happen to them feel/are depicted. Like i said, from my pursuing of the internet and skimming of the manga, it is much worse in the manga. Perspective plays a lot into what i mean by the feel, the depiction. People do not point at a cherub or a Renaissance depiction of Madonna and child and scream "pedophile!" for seeing under-aged nudity. I remember back when i was getting my graphic's design degree how this was a major focus. That HOW something is depicted, the lines the art create that draws your eye, the focus on the subject, perspective, what themes you create with use, impart meaning to the work -- influence its nature. After a lot of research, I have concluded that the intentions behind too much of this work (not all, but a large enough chunk) make it, for me, consumable and debatably , "immoral". (though that is such a subjective/decisive subject, i'd prefer to pass on it)

The mangaka's social media (pixiv, twitter) does strongly suggest a pedophilic inclination. But trying to separate the art from the artist, i really don't think that the interesting world, plot, art, and characters can redeem this manga. I've struggled with it for months. I watched defenses, i've had discussions on reddit and with personal friends, and as torn as i was, gripped by aspects of the story and repulsed by others, but i simply cannot redeem Made in Abyss. I'm very shocked with how many people do not share my opinion. I am comforted to find a like minded person here, and made an account to attribute to the discussion and let you know that i also think that they are kind of normalizing pedophilia and child abuse. 

sorry for the long post. thanks for reading it if you did.


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## animefigurejunkie

Hurricane Matthew said:


> After months of hearing praise and then seeing it win the popular vote at the Crunchyroll Awards for best series of 2017, I finally checked out Made In Abyss over the weekend, both the anime and the manga. For those of you who aren't familiar with it or aren't into anime/manga in general, the story is about a young girl ((about age 12, though with the "chibi" style she and the other characters are drawn in, she could pass for being younger)) and an amnesiac robot boy having an adventure into a bottomless pit called the "abyss" in search of the girl's mother who is apparently at the bottom of the abyss somewhere. The characters are cute and the world they're adventuring in is an interesting one with a lot of potential for great mystery and exploration.
> 
> It sounds like a promising series, right? Perhaps a bit of a standard adventure story with kid characters, and it's been a while since a good ol' fashioned adventure anime came out and since I love adventure, I decided to give it a shot.
> 
> So I give it a try and, quite honestly... I'm disturbed as heck from it, especially the manga... where themes of child abuse and pedophilic artwork/scenes are far from subtle, leaving me with a really disgusted feeling after reading it and wondering what kind of sick-minded person must have made this manga. I've always known that weird kinks and fetishes for underaged children existed within the manga/anime world, but never before have I seen this stuff in something as mainstream, as popular and as widely praised as with Made In Abyss and I have no idea how to interpret this. There is no avoiding the fact that lolicon/shotacon is an underground thing in the dark corner of the anime/manga fandom and this is something I accepted to exist since long ago. I think it's creepy but whatever, I don't have to deal with it and most people aren't into it, and yet here we have Made In Abyss... with its blatant pedo-pandering moments and everyone is either overlooking it completely or they're defending it as "Well, it's natural for kids at that age to be curious about penises and piss themselves a lot" but I'm like "That's not a reason to go into so much detail about it, though, or as _often_ as this manga does it." The dark themes to the ((rather mediocre)) plot already proved this wasn't a kids' manga, so the target audience is definitely adults...
> 
> Currently on MAL, a popular anime/manga site where users can rate series, the anime for Made In Abyss is ranked #20 _of all time_ and the manga is ranked #7... It's been mindless praise for this series that is creepy and essentially pedo-pandering, especially in the manga. The anime tones it down but it still has many unnecessary moments and implied details that took away from my enjoyment of the series... and I can't imagine why anyone would praise a series that puts such young characters through so much mental and physical _pain_. It's extremely uncomfortable.
> 
> Alright, so we have a very creepy series on our hands... fine, this exists, but then everyone treats it like it's some masterpiece and it sort of makes me question the anime/manga community as a whole for the series they're promoting here. I find it weird that I'm in such a small minority of people who are feeling put off by this series, as if the fandom is so starved for something "different" they will even accept this in a series. The plot isn't even that good; it's just different from the mainstream and the anime has really well-done animation so it's pretty to look at. It's bad to promote this series, though, especially to people who aren't into anime/manga because they will be the most prone to thinking all anime/manga is like this and that those of us who like anime/manga are probably sick perverts of some kind. Another thing is that I wouldn't doubt that we'll see other series in the future trying to mimic the success Made In Abyss has so more "mainstream" anime may follow suit...
> 
> Why am I posting this here on PerC? A part of me wants to talk about this with people who aren't into anime/manga since I'm feeling put off by the community right now over this. I know too many people who love this series but shrug the disturbing parts off as being "nothing" or "acceptable" and they think I'm overreacting because "it's a masterpiece" and "it's just fiction".
> 
> I've heard rumors that the author of the manga posts/likes pedophilic things on twitter but I haven't tracked down his account to verify it.
> 
> So what do you guys think? Have you seen the Made in Abyss anime or read the manga? Or if you aren't into anime/manga, what is your impression of the fandom? Will the success and popularity of this series hurt the reputation of anime/manga fans as a whole?_ *What's the boundary between "art" and pedophilia?*_


I will come back later and talk more. But, I agree with all your sentiments. I watched and loved the anime series. I own all the figures. I watched the movie and remembered the plot being weak, but I had been drinking, so maybe my judgment was off. I recently got into manga about eight months ago, and I just finished volume four of the manga. After about the 75% mark, it all fell to shit. Setting aside the BLATANT pedophilia, the story was trash. I’ll be completely honest. If the story was absolutely amazing, I could overlook the pedophilia. That being said, it was off-putting, and that’s a very rare thing for me to say. I am commenting here, because I want to emphasize to anyone reading that I a female who can’t stand the world of feminism today or most of the far left culture. I’m not your typical person ranting on a PC blog. But, that doesn’t mean I accept anything, and Made in Abyss is too much to be acceptable from ANY American standpoint, at least. I usually review stellar series, so I actually probably won’t be back to edit this. I’m just being done with it. Gross. This mangaka is undoubtedly into child pornography. I mean, he fucking draws it and comes up with crazy concepts to make it violent. He’s praised but the author or Rurouni Kenshin is bashed ruthlessly for viewing child porn a few times? Nah.


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