The controversial manga turned anime, ‘Made In Abyss’, has placed many K-pop Idols, including TXT Soobin, NCT Taeyong, ATEEZ Mingi, SEVENTEEN Woozi, and more, under the scrutiny of fans for recommending, reading, and watching the series. Read ahead to find out why the series is so controversial and which Idols have admitted to allegedly enjoying it.
What is ‘Made In Abyss’ and why is it so controversial?
The anime series ‘Made In Abyss’ is a controversial manga adaptation with polarizing reviews. It has frequently received backlash for featuring horrible child abuse, torture, and physical and se*ual assault. On the other hand, the die-hard fans of its creator, Akihito Tsukushi, believe that the anime is thought-provoking.
https://twitter.com/rintubein/status/1726597016011382963?t=F1Aygt4BH3snL47LrmCKBg&s=19
The series was first published in 2017 and it follows the story of an orphaned girl, Riko, who befriends, a part-robot boy, Reg. Together they begin a search for Riko’s mother who has lost her way in ‘the abyss.’
The road to this Chasm stretches down into the depths of the earth and it is surrounded by alluring and dangerous magical relics and monsters. It is a particularly attractive place for Riko’s mother because she is a cave raider and Riko also dreams of following her footsteps someday.
the genre for made in abyss is dark dystopian fantasy, finding out that the anime was heavily censored in korea and broadcasted on national tv and a lot of koreans are unaware of its paedophilic innuendoes, not defending soobin and mingi and woozi but please read. pic.twitter.com/YL11M20axk
— yeosang’s sugar momma (@babygirlyeosang) November 20, 2023
In the journey, she encounters many morally indefensible circumstances created by the antagonist and an obsessed researcher Bondrewd. Although the show has won many awards including Anime Of The Year, it has repeatedly been criticized for fetishizing children and graphically portraying child abuse.
Netizens react to K-pop idols recommending the series
Recently, the clips of K-pop Idols including TXT Soobin, NCT Taeyong, SEVENTEEN Woozi, ATEEZ Mingi, and WEi’s Yongha. recommending the manga and the anime has resurfaced on social media. Many of the users are claiming that their comments about the series allegedly expose their preference for child abuse and p*dophilia.
https://twitter.com/yujngyu/status/1726426830972830119?t=50fNcqX_KbkEXOLMdOFTPg&s=19
an apology will not fix this btw
— 🐈 (@markleefan69) November 19, 2023
Many of the netizens have also pointed out that the Idols’ comments such as ‘I liked it’ or ‘I enjoyed it’ are problematic as they defy the aim of media capturing triggering themes. Meanwhile, many have come to their defense saying that their recommendations are being taken out of context and it doesn’t mean that they promote or support child abuse.
The amount of subjects that Korean pop artists can discuss has always been limited. Many of them including BTS Namjoon and Red Velvet’s Irene have received immense backlash for reading feminist novels. As the response to ‘Made In Abyss’ has always been polarizing, it isn’t surprising that K-pop Idols are receiving backlash for talking about it.
Kpop idols are being cancelled rn for watching/reading Made In Abyss. And non-anime fans think it's some child torture p*rn 💀💀
It's a dark adventure story about two kids exploring a deep abyss full of creatures and treasures. Like Monster Hunter shit. pic.twitter.com/LlWrmY43Rp
— 𒌐 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 𒌐 (@_DarkTheEnigma) November 20, 2023
Just adding on to this for anyone who has never watched Made in Abyss. The show's plot never focused on torturing kids or whatever people say it to be. It's an ADVENTURE series with a world that's worked on by former Studio Ghibli background artists. The plot centers this world. https://t.co/rmJdxGe03i pic.twitter.com/DwhJ8Oab1G
— Jay Senki 🌶️ (ia for 3 months) (@beyondthewoodz) November 20, 2023
However, taking their recommendations as a sign of their support for the controversial themes of the anime is rash. Even the anime’s author, who is frequently criticized for writing problematic themes, has never been critically criticized for depicting favoritism towards them. Overall, the Made In Abyss controversy once again challenges the polarising reviews of the anime and K-pop Idols’ image.
