The Form the Wish Takes
In a previous episode, Reg faced off against Faputa for the first time. Reg told him that he would pay him a ransom for Nanachi and Mitty’s freedom if he could fulfill an old promise. Faputa accepted his offer, but warned Reg that he would only do this if Reg could provide him with the right information.
Reg doesn’t remember much about his past, including this promise to Faputa. While Faputa’s distraught that Reg doesn’t know, his admiration wins her over. Reg doesn’t want Faputa to relinquish a piece of her body to him, but she has no issue doing so. This leads to Faputa ripping off one of her arms, as she’s down to sacrifice anything for the promise. The promise in question revolves around Reg helping Faputa destroy the village and its residents.
Meanwhile, Vueko continues to share more insights about her, the Ganja, and Irumyuui’s past. In the past, Vueko leaves Wakukyan and heads to Belaf’s quarters. She informs her of what had gone down regarding Irumyuui, her children, and Wazukyan’s attempts at saving them all. ..
Belaf feels guilty for not being able to stop Wazukyan from committing his heinous act. He’s also ashamed of himself for eating Irumyuui’s children via Wazukyan’s soup. As he sulks in misery, Wazukyan enters his corridors and asks Vueko to join him in visiting Irumyuui.
Upon entering her room, Wazukyan informs Vueko that Irumyuu’s been giving birth to new offspring at an alarming rate. When they enter Irumyuui’s room, Vueko’s left speechless. Irumyuui had transformed into a blob-like beast and gave birth to another Hermit Rat-like baby. Vueko approaches her and realizes how attached Irumyuui had become with this baby, despite being born only a day ago. ..
Wazukyan takes his child from his, causing Irumyuui to scream in dismay. Although Wazukyan doesn’t want to take Irumyuui’s baby from him, he values his comrades’ lives over Irumyuui’s timely happiness. During Wazukyan’s killing spree, he realized that Irumyuui’s babies had a greater impact on their health while they were born fresh. He proceeds to executeIrumyuui’s new child in front of Vueko.
Vueko denies Wazukyan assistance and flees the area to be with Irumyuui. She apologizes for not having the courage to stop Wazukyan from murdering her children. She couldn’t choose between the two factions she held dear to her heart. As a result of her guilt, she draws a dagger and threatens to end her life. Vueko drops the dagger as Irumyuui holds her close. Vueko shares a few words and leaves Irumyuui be.
We revisit Belaf in his room. He’s full of guilt, but Vueko decides to work alongside Wazukyan in preparing everyone’s soup. She argues that her life of that time was punishment enough and has no qualms about what happens to her afterward. She begins feeding Belaf the meal, but he asks her to stop. Although he finds the meal irresistible, he doesn’t want to consume it out of respect for Irumyuui.
Irumyuui had another wish egg jammed into her system. The initial egg had collapsed because of her transformation, which led to Vueko’s curiosity. ..
Wazukyan explains that he found the second wish egg while exploring the Interference Units. He became interested in it because it had the power to weaken someone’s body in response to a wish. He asked the units if they could find more eggs and they confirmed his theories. Wazukyan then inserted the egg into Irumyuui’s insides and she regained her strength.
Vueko asks Wazukyan if Irumyuui’s newfound transformation was her wish or his. Suddenly, Irumyuui starts spiraling out of control, causing Vueko to comfort her. Wazukyan informs Vueko that it’s time to see Irumyuui’s new wish take shape.
We journey down the abyss’s sixth layer,accompanied by Irumyuui as their guide. Some members are killed by giant birdlike creatures during their expedition; however, Wazukyan informs everyone not to worry and focuses on following Irumyuui. As a result of his guilt over Irumyuui’s children, Belaf asks Wazukyan to leave him behind. Wazukyan denies Belaf’s request because of his importance to him, and they continue following Irumyuui.
Irumyuui stops at the edge of a cliff. Wazukyan asks the Interference Unit if it knows where they are. The Interference Unit tells him they are in a hidden spot near the center of the pit. Vueko checks up on her but immediately stands back when Irumyuui’s pink-like skin cracks. Irumyuui grabs some of the monstrous birds from earlier using her new tentacle arms and feasts upon them. ..
Belaf crouches and pleads with Irumyuui to devour him in retaliation for eating her children. He remarks that he’s strong enough to subdue hunger and pain, but couldn’t stop eating the soup. This is why he’s willing to sacrifice his bones and soul for Irumyuui out of respect for her. ..
Irumyuui, the planetoid that orbits the star Irumyuui, opened a hole in its center and a figure walked through it. That figure was Belaf, who had been summoned by the Ganja. Once he entered Irumyuui, he was immediately attacked by gooey monsters that had the same form as those we’ve seen in the present. After defeating them, Belaf found himself in a room with a giant snake and flower-like Hollow. ..
Everyone in the village is in awe of Belaf’s new body. Wazukyan acknowledges Belaf for his sacrifice and informs everyone that it’s time to relinquish their souls and bodies to Irumyuui. He remarks that Irumyuui has transformed into a shelter they can call home. Everyone but Vueko follows suit with his demands. ..
Wazukyan confronts Vueko, who is against following through with Wazukyan’s request. She doesn’t believe Irumyuui wished for this and argues the second egg’s power is responsible for everything. Vueko walks to the cliff and plans to end herself. Wazukyan warns her that this will go against Irumyuui’s wish. Vueko apologizes for being selfish and jumps off the cliff.
Before she could fall to her death, Wazukyan saves her. Vueko blacks out but notices something strange about Wazukyan’s arm. A good chunk of it had turned to stone, and she wonders if he had gained or utilized a wish egg for himself. Wazukyan admits that he only saved her because she is Irumyuui’s only mother figure. ..
She wakes up and finds herself imprisoned inside Irumyuui’s head (the location Riko finds her at in episode six). Wazukyan informs her that she can form a tighter connection with Irumyuui here. Vueko notices that Wazukyan is no longer human and has transformed into a Hollow–just like Belaf. He confirms that he did use a wish egg on himself, but he decided to give his body over to Irumyuui. His Hollow form only serves as a remnant of his former self.
Vueko questions Wazukyan for his decision to use a wish egg on himself despite the warnings they received from the Interference Units. He did so to encourage the others to have faith in Irumyuui and because he’s known for having superb instincts. Vueko and Wazukyan discuss homesickness and share their differing interpretations of it. Wazukyan leaves Vueko and tells her to stay put and listen in on Irumyuui’s feelings.
Vueko shares her experience inside Irumyuui’s head with Riko and her friends. She says that she sensed faint signals informing her that the other Ganja members had given up their flesh and souls to become a part of Irumyuui. Although Irumyuui lost her human intellect and consumed everyone, including the Golden City’s power, she had one purpose.
Irumyuui’s goal was to create a child who would be able to survive and resist any Interference Units who had followed her. She had done so in secret from Wazukyan and the other Ganja. When Faputa broke free from her egg, she attacked and murdered the remaining Interference Units who had accompanied the Ganja since they arrived.
Vueko argues that Faputa’s ferocity symbolizes her mother’s pent-up rage, sadness, and aggression she attained from Wazukyan’s murderous ploy. Although she never saw what Faputa looked like, Vueko could hear her screams while imprisoned inside Irumyuui’s head. She also argues that Faputa knows everything that transpired between her mother and her siblings. It is Vueko’s hope that Faputa will fulfill her mother’s wish, break the village’s curse, and forge a new and joyous path for herself.
Vueko explains that the creatures feel like a reimagining of Irumyuui’s former children and those who never got the chance to be born. Since Irumyuui’s no longer around, Vueko felt it was necessary to act as these creatures’ mothers. She’d sing them songs and give them names.
This concludes our look into the Ganja, Vueko, and Irumyuui’s past as we see Riko, Moogie, and Maa astounded by what they heard. Vueko confirms that Irumyuui doesn’t have the strength to maintain the village because Faputa inherited all three wish eggs. Remember, she attained the third egg from Wazukyan’s human body. However, the value system established in Iruburu helps keep Irumyuui alive.
Riko interrupts Vueko and asks her what Faputa plans to do. Vueko argues that Faputa wants to free her mother by destroying the village, but it won’t be an easy feat for her. Faputa cannot enter the village through the membrane due to her nature. ..
Riko asks Vueko if there’s a way for her to reason with Faputa, but Vueko shoots that option down. Riko asks Vueko what her desired wish is. Vueko tells Riko that she does not wish to be forgotten at the conclusion of the episode.
The Episode Review
The eighth episode of Made In Abyss’s second season was a decent follow-up to its seventh. It gave us all the intel we needed surrounding the backstory of the Ganja’s experience with the sixth layer alongside the origins of Iruburu Village. We also received shocking revelations concerning Faputa’s character and her qualms with Iruburu village’s residents. ..
However, I was pleasantly surprised by the anime’s handling of this story. While Made In Abyss often resorts to dark and gory violence to tell its stories, Vueko’s retelling manages to keep the characters in a state of limbo between life and death. This allows for a more nuanced and emotional experience, as the characters are forced to confront their darkest secrets.
I felt the voice actors and actresses did a great job in this episode. You could feel their pain and turmoil in their voices. Vueko, Belaf, and Irumyuui’s personalities came through well. Vueko’s determination to throw away her life because of her failed attempts at safeguarding her companion’s wish was fitting with her personality.
Although I have my gripes with Belaf, I argue the scenes depicting him in a mentally ill and broken light were crucial in establishing his regret and sorrow for devouring Irumyuui’s children.
Despite no longer being human, you can tell Irumyuui’s screams and body language captured her heartbreak beautifully during these scenes. It’s unforgivable what Wazukyan did to her, so I’m glad the anime punished him by forcing him and his crew to relinquish their soul and human bodies to her as an offering. ..
Wazukyan is a cold-hearted character who is always pleasant and easy to get along with. He has a selfish motive for giving Irumyuui his wish egg, and I found it selfish of him. However, after hearing he had given it to Irumyuui, I felt much better about him. There will be a few viewers who feel that he deserves a harsher punishment since his actions were not in the slightest for Irumyuui. Hopefully, we’ll see him severely punished for his actions.
Despite being a great follow-up, I found myself scratching my head and curious about some of the reveals and content in this episode. For example, I mentioned that I had issues with Belaf’s character. While I understand he’s a noble figure, it didn’t feel right for him to have this strong attachment with Irumyuui. We’ve never seen the two spending time together, so his reactions to the situation feel contrived and bizarre to me. A more wholesome interaction between Belaf and Irumyuui would have convinced me of Belaf’s disgust regarding his consumption of Irumyuui’s children. ..
I had some issues with the reveals and responses to dreadful situations in this episode. For example, I’m not sure I can buy into Wazukyan installing a wish egg into his chest and surviving that long without the side effects kicking in. ..
I was disappointed when Wazukyan walked away from the Interference Units with minor injuries. While he is known for having a “divine intellect,” I wasn’t sure he had a divine body.
I didn’t like the Ganja members’ reaction to Belaf’s transformation and their immediate decision to follow Wazukyan’s orders to end themselves. While they’re known for being a suicide corps group, many of them had shown fear of losing their lives numerous times in these past two episodes. This is most apparent when we see them react in fear of losing their lives to the winged creatures in this episode. But for some reason, they don’t show a shrivel of fear seeing their noble comrade Belaf getting his body torn apart inside Irumyuui’s body.
It just doesn’t seem plausible that Vueko would disobey Wazukyan’s orders to follow Belaf. It’s more realistic than contrived to fit with a storyline and therefore, I argue it would’ve been better if there was an even split between the faction. One side would follow Wazukyan’s orders while the other would stand alongside Vueko. It would even make her banishment to Irumyuui’s head feel more like a punishment than a gift.
The episode was a nice follow-up to the horrors depicted previously. Now that we know how Iruburu came to be, the anime can focus more on Faputa’s plan for revenge. Let’s hope that things turn out alright for everyone. ..
