TFW you are ill as fuck and open the spoiler tag...
@Holt, what kind of reply do you expect after throwing such a splendid summary at my face? Just kidding. : )
Well, to be honest, there is not much I can add. I pretty much agree with every sentence. Otherwise, neither niichan nor my humble self would have put MiA on a pedestal.

I said it countless times but can't stop to repeat it over and over again. This series gives off true adventure vibes. Something I kinda miss in Tower of God, which actually has a lot of unused potential in that regard. I can't even remember any other anime series which does such a stunning job, maybe games such as Uncharted or the Last of Us, but no anime series.

Agreed on Reg's incinerator and its pros and cons. Even in the manga, it's not something which gets ignored (guess that's not much of a spoiler). Granted, they can still mess up the powerlevels, but they haven't so far. I appreciate how they handle the incinerator and more than that, I like how they portray Reg thinking about it and its consequences in every damn fight he takes part in. Reg in general is one hell of a fighter and I'm not talking about his muscles. Regardless of the situation, he makes incredible good use of everything he has got. Even in times of failure, you can't think of anything which he could have done better.
Ozen is the best character of MiA, period. I won't allow any fools who think otherwise wander through my thread! How is it even possible to not like her from the getgo? I adore Ozen. I would let her train me 24/7.
Guess you were not troll enough to submit to Ozen's epicness right from the start. Disappointing, Holt-kun.
At least, you realized Ozen's epicness later on.
Whoever watched these episodes and didn't think "guess, I'll cry then..." is a heartless human with no sense for tragedies whatsoever. Those were perfect episodes. I mean, you said it yourself, the Abyss is described as one hellish place but it was only in that episode where this was proven for real. Take One Piece for example: the New World is stated to be a horrifying world, yet there hasn't been a single arc or a single instance which comes even remotely close to Sabaody Archipelago in terms of being completely outclassed, out of options, despair and misery. Not to mention that the Sabaody Archipelago arc didn't even take place in the New World. Anyway, back to topic. It was very painful for me to watch as well. When Reg was about to cut Riko's arm, you ended up shouting "It has to be done... do it!.... no wait, DON'T DON'T DON'T... but..."
Those episodes really grabbed ones heart and squeezed it. And Nanachi's request was shocking. I was prepared for a lot of shit, but this request came in like a bomb. In the end, it was as if you could feel the struggle and pain of all the characters yourself. And this is what makes a great series in my opinion. When you end up thinking that you are not a simple watcher anymore, but - strange as it sounds - a character involved in the series, then you know this series is legit!

The interactions between the trio are hilarious. Let me share some stuff I posted in the Anime League, haha:
By the way, Nanachi is an amazing addition to the cast. Cuteness level over 9.000, smart, funny, caring and much more, NYAAAAAAA. 
Not gonna say much about Bondrewd though. You should really start to catch up with the manga as soon as possible. You only have to read 20ish chapters if my memory serves me right. I assure you, it's nothing short of greatness! I can spoil you this much:
All the rollercoaster of feels you got through the anime, you will get in the remaining chapters as well.
Thank you for the great post, Holt. I'm sorry that I couldn't reply in the same manner. You deserved better. Hope you forgive me.
@Holt, what kind of reply do you expect after throwing such a splendid summary at my face? Just kidding. : )
Well, to be honest, there is not much I can add. I pretty much agree with every sentence. Otherwise, neither niichan nor my humble self would have put MiA on a pedestal.
It's the same for me. The anime got a 10/10 from me and I don't even have two handful of those. There is hardly anything to complain about this series.Now where to start, overall, this is easily one of the best anime I've watched.
Haha, see my post in the Anime League thread from back then. It was one of the most hilarious scenes ever.or the when Riko and the other kids were trying to wake Reg up at the beginning (I could go on and on). Reg's cluelessness was also a very interesting bit. I like the concept of the abyss as well. Indeed, it's like a reverse ToG.

I said it countless times but can't stop to repeat it over and over again. This series gives off true adventure vibes. Something I kinda miss in Tower of God, which actually has a lot of unused potential in that regard. I can't even remember any other anime series which does such a stunning job, maybe games such as Uncharted or the Last of Us, but no anime series.
Oh boi... you should start to read the manga, because a blast of a fight waits for you, man.Also, watching Reg struggle and fight desperately to protect Riko was very nice. Gives a little adrenaline rush when things are looking bleak XD. I also like the fact that he's incinerator is balanced. It was made clear that descending the abyss is extremely dangerous, and considering there are only a handful of white whistles, it wouldn't really have made sense if Reg and Riko had it too easy. So the fact that he had a super op move (incinerator) but gets knocked out for 2 hours is rather apt, because then he has to gauge the threat level and also consider his timeout. Plus there's the bit about control and accuracy, plus charge time. It was a well balanced power for him to have.

Agreed on Reg's incinerator and its pros and cons. Even in the manga, it's not something which gets ignored (guess that's not much of a spoiler). Granted, they can still mess up the powerlevels, but they haven't so far. I appreciate how they handle the incinerator and more than that, I like how they portray Reg thinking about it and its consequences in every damn fight he takes part in. Reg in general is one hell of a fighter and I'm not talking about his muscles. Regardless of the situation, he makes incredible good use of everything he has got. Even in times of failure, you can't think of anything which he could have done better.
Next, on to Ozen. I'm not sure my opinion of a character has changed so fast before, or that I'd feel so bittersweet about a character XD. Initially, I was eager for Riko to meet her, and maybe uncover some information about Lyza in the process. I almost imagined she might have been like an aunt...then after she was introduced, it became apparent that if this was an aunt, she was the difficult type, not friendly ones. And then she seemed to be completely despicable when she started beating up Reg (and plucked Riko on the head too), and even when it was revealed she did it for training/testing sake (even though she wasn't holding back), that didn't really change my opinion of her, since it seems she went way over the line (understandable considering abyss threats though at the time it didn't seem like there might be anything remotely as scary as her), and then through flashbacks of her and lyza and overtime, I came to love her as well. So she ended up making a mess of my emotions XD. Marulke was also pretty cute too.
Ozen is the best character of MiA, period. I won't allow any fools who think otherwise wander through my thread! How is it even possible to not like her from the getgo? I adore Ozen. I would let her train me 24/7.
Guess you were not troll enough to submit to Ozen's epicness right from the start. Disappointing, Holt-kun.
At least, you realized Ozen's epicness later on.Why... just why you had to bring up these episodes...And finally, the fight against Orbed piecer. To be honest, the abyss up to that point seemed dangerous indeed, but not quite impossible. And then came along an extremely formidable opponent. Riko got stabbed, and then they were forced to ascend to escape. Perhaps it was the lesser evil considering they were completely outmatched by orby, but I'm not sure classifying the abyss curse at that layer as 'lesser' is even fair. Riko suffering by bleeding from everywhere, in addition to the poisoned swollen hand was very saddening. Then Reg was forced to break and half cut through her hand and she stopped breathing. I must admit, my eyes got a little moist there. It felt like shit just got VERY VERY REAL. Up to that point, it didn't seem like they'd face anything that would be so dire, and Reg's helplessness at that point was painful to watch. Even more painful was watching him blame himself for hesitating. Maybe if he had shot incinerator, or gotten her to stand behind him or the numerous other things he thought he could have done to prevent the tragedy. A very natural response given his circumstances. I truly felt sorry for the both of them, because they were both in immense pain, physically for one, and emotionally/psychologically for the other. And of course his cries and pleas for her not to die were heart wrenching as well. Well of course, you know how it goes from here, but I give that whole scene a perfect score for portrayal. It was brilliantly done.
The next important scene of course, was Mitty and Nanachi's backstory and how Mitty came to be like that. And this perfectly ties in with why Nanachi was moved to help Reg when he saw him despairing over Riko's state. And finally, Mitty's death. Another incredible moment of the series. Initially, when Nanachi asked Reg to kill Mitty as a favor, after I got over my wtf moment, I realized that it made sense given Mitty's state, although initially I thought it was because Nanachi simply couldn't bring himself to kill Mitty which tbh I thought was cowardly or at least inconsiderate, but after the backstory, I could sympathize with him. It certainly was a painful decision, even for Reg, I tried to imagine what it would be like if I was Reg, asked to take another's life for a perfectly justifiable reason. I understood why Reg also asked if it was necessary since Mitty seemed content, but again Nanachi had perfect reasoning for his request. Given his relationship with Mitty, evidently he only resorted to that painful decision because it was seemingly the best way.
Whoever watched these episodes and didn't think "guess, I'll cry then..." is a heartless human with no sense for tragedies whatsoever. Those were perfect episodes. I mean, you said it yourself, the Abyss is described as one hellish place but it was only in that episode where this was proven for real. Take One Piece for example: the New World is stated to be a horrifying world, yet there hasn't been a single arc or a single instance which comes even remotely close to Sabaody Archipelago in terms of being completely outclassed, out of options, despair and misery. Not to mention that the Sabaody Archipelago arc didn't even take place in the New World. Anyway, back to topic. It was very painful for me to watch as well. When Reg was about to cut Riko's arm, you ended up shouting "It has to be done... do it!.... no wait, DON'T DON'T DON'T... but..."
Those episodes really grabbed ones heart and squeezed it. And Nanachi's request was shocking. I was prepared for a lot of shit, but this request came in like a bomb. In the end, it was as if you could feel the struggle and pain of all the characters yourself. And this is what makes a great series in my opinion. When you end up thinking that you are not a simple watcher anymore, but - strange as it sounds - a character involved in the series, then you know this series is legit!It was indeed the best way to end the season. I think I couldn't have handled a big, sad cliffhanger as a closure. It would have been too much for me.Finally, there's Riko waking, as well as the role Mitty played in bringing her back, Her slow rehabilitation, Nanachi agreeing to join them on their journey as they prepare to carry on. It was a sort of perfect way to end the season. The other bit was also rather hilarious with Riko and Reg both naked in the water, then Riko asks what's up with his penisThey're both really cute together XD. Bondrewd was also set up rather nicely as an antagonist, and I'm pretty sure they would encounter him on the way, especially since he realized Mitty's signature was gone with Nanachi having something to do with it.
Well, I tried to keep it short, not sure that really worked out well. But again, it was indeed an incredible show. Thanks for recommending it. I'll probably rewatch it sometime haha

The interactions between the trio are hilarious. Let me share some stuff I posted in the Anime League, haha:

Not gonna say much about Bondrewd though. You should really start to catch up with the manga as soon as possible. You only have to read 20ish chapters if my memory serves me right. I assure you, it's nothing short of greatness! I can spoil you this much:
All the rollercoaster of feels you got through the anime, you will get in the remaining chapters as well.
Thank you for the great post, Holt. I'm sorry that I couldn't reply in the same manner. You deserved better. Hope you forgive me.





Yes, more or less like the photos Farfy showed. 