Made in Abyss
A 2012 manga about androids in a giant hole.
1900 years before the beginning of the story, a giant hole with a diameter of 1000 metres was discovered in the world of the series. For some reason, humans cannot observe it from the outside and must explore its depths in person. This Abyss is the series world's last uncharted region.
In the present, a young girl called Riko wants to become a "white whistle", an explorer of the Abyss that doesn't have a depth limit set for them. One day, in the middle of a expedition, she and another young explorer called Natt are attacked by a monster of the Abyss, but are mysteriously saved by something that attacks and repel the giant creature. Soon after, Riko find their "saviour"; a robot with the appearance of a young boy called Regu. Regu has no memories of the past and it isn't even aware that he is a robot at first, but whatever is his past, he is Made in Abyss.
Written and Illustrated by Akihito Tsukushi. Serialized online in Takeshobo's digital publication Web Comic Gamma. An TV anime adaptation by Kinema Citrus aired its first season in 2017. A follow up movie, Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul, was released in 2020. The second season is released in 2022. A third season is in production.
- Amnesiac Hero: Regu has little to no memories of his past outside of quick flashes that reveal nothing to him or the audience.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The Scarlet Maw is a species of giant red snake.
- Forbidden Zone: The depth that explorers can go is restricted for their safety thanks to hostile lifeforms and a phenomenon known as "Curse of the Abyss".
- Girlish Pigtails: Riko's hairstyle, emphasizing her youthfulness.
- Parental Abandonment: Riko's dad and mother are dead at the beginning of the story; her father died before she was even born, and her mother supposedly dies sometime around the beginning of the series.
- Ridiculously Human Robot: Regu has a navel, behaves much like a boy of the age who is supposed to look like and, for some reason, have a penis. And that penis can get bigger and harder under a state of sexual arousal like a human penis.
- Robot Kid: Regu is one.
- They Would Cut You Up: Reg is convinced to pretend to be human after the kids in the orphanage reach the conclusion he would be pierced apart for being a relic of the Abyss.
- Too Much Information: Riko examines Regu thoroughly, and after describes her examination in such excruciating detail that the other kids ask her to stop.
- We Named the Dog Indiana: Regu is baptised with the same name of Riko's dog.