Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery (2026) — Release Date, Watch Order, and What to Collect
Made in Abyss is coming back to the big screen. Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery (Japanese title Mezameru Shinpi) opens in Japanese theaters on October 23, 2026, and it is the first film in a new theatrical trilogy that continues the story — not a recap, prequel, or side project.
This guide answers the three things English-speaking fans are searching right now: what the new film is, how to watch every Made in Abyss anime in order before it, and which figures the series' collectors chase. Every date and staff name below comes from the announcement materials and is sourced at the end.
Made in Abyss is a dark-fantasy adventure by manga author Akihito Tsukushi about children who descend a vast, monster-filled pit called the Abyss. If you fell off after the last season, this is the fast way back in before the movie.
Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery — Release Date and What's Confirmed
Here is the short version for anyone who just wants the facts.
- Release date: October 23, 2026, in Japanese theaters.
- Format: Part 1 of a new theatrical film series (a planned trilogy), not a TV season.
- Title: Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery, or Mezameru Shinpi in Japanese.
- Studio and staff: Kinema Citrus returns, with director Masayuki Kojima and writer Hideyuki Kurata.
- Cast: Miyu Tomita (Riko), Mariya Ise (Reg), Shiori Izawa (Nanachi), and Misaki Kuno (Faputa) all return.
Crucially, the film is a direct sequel to the 2022 second season, The Golden City of the Scorching Sun. The main trailer arrived in August 2026, showing the party preparing to push deeper into the pit. The franchise's music, composed by Kevin Penkin since 2017, remains one of its signatures.
No Western theatrical or streaming date has been announced yet, so overseas fans should expect a wait after the Japanese premiere. That makes the months before release the right time to catch up on everything that came before.
Can you watch it outside Japan right now? Not yet. Only the Japanese theatrical date is set, and the film's international rollout has not been announced. The upside is that the earlier seasons and films are widely available to stream in most regions, so the wait is an opportunity rather than a dead end.
If the new film has you thinking about rebuilding your shelf, Akibato ships anime scale and prize figures from Japan — you can browse its figures collection here.
How to Watch Made in Abyss in Order (2017 to 2026)
In what order should you watch Made in Abyss before the new movie? Follow the release order below. The story is continuous, so release order is also the correct chronological order.
- 1. Made in Abyss, Season 1 (2017): 13 episodes from Kinema Citrus. This is the foundation, and where every newcomer should start.
- 2. Compilation films, Journey's Dawn and Wandering Twilight (2019): two theatrical recaps of Season 1 with some new footage. Optional if you have already finished the series.
- 3. Dawn of the Deep Soul (2020): a feature film that continues past Season 1 and covers the fifth-layer story. Watch this before Season 2.
- 4. The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, Season 2 (2022): 12 episodes that take the group into the sixth layer, where Faputa is introduced.
- 5. Awakening Mystery (2026): the new film, picking up directly from Season 2.
Short on time? The essential path is Season 1, then Dawn of the Deep Soul, then Season 2, then Awakening Mystery. The 2019 compilation films are skippable unless you want a theater-cut version of the first season. For a sense of how big and dense the world is, note that the anime has spent four entries getting only as far as the sixth layer.
What the New Film Continues: Deeper Into the Abyss
Without spoilers, here is where the story stands. Season 2 left Riko, Reg, and Nanachi in the sixth layer after the events at the Village of the Hollows, with the seventh layer still ahead of them.
Season 2 was a turning point for the anime. It shifted the focus from pure exploration to the residents of the Abyss themselves, introduced the Village of the Hollows and Faputa, and ended with the party ready to descend further rather than turn back. Awakening Mystery is built to answer the question that ending left open: what waits below.
Awakening Mystery follows the group as they press below the sixth layer toward the seventh, the deepest and most dangerous region reached in the anime so far. The film draws on the manga's later arcs, and the production has signalled that it may add original scenes for pacing, since the amount of adapted source material is limited.
For context on that source: the manga is written and illustrated by Akihito Tsukushi, published by Takeshobo, and has run since 2012, reaching 15 volumes by August 2026. It is still ongoing, and the continuation is being told as theatrical films rather than another full television season.
Made in Abyss Figures Collectors Chase
Made in Abyss has a small but devoted figure niche, and demand skews hard toward its most iconic characters. Nanachi is one of the most reliably popular figure subjects in dark-fantasy anime, while Faputa, Riko, and Reg have all been produced as scale and prize figures over the years.
One reason the niche stays active is that these characters are unusually distinctive to display. Nanachi's fur, Reg's articulated frame, and Faputa's design all read well on a shelf, which keeps secondhand demand steady even between new releases. It also means prices can swing with hype, so a major film is exactly the kind of event that moves the market.
A few things are worth knowing before you spend on any figure, and our own reference guides cover each one:
- what 1/7 and 1/8 scale actually mean in centimeters, so a listing's numbers make sense before you buy;
- what anime figures are made of (PVC, ABS, resin), which affects both durability and price;
- whether anime figures hold their value, if resale is part of your thinking.
Because Made in Abyss releases are spread across several makers and several years, availability moves a lot, so check current listings rather than trusting an old price. And if you are catching up on 2026's other returning series while you wait, our Sword Art Online 2026 watch guide covers another franchise fans are re-entering this year.
The Bottom Line
- Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery opens in Japan on October 23, 2026.
- It is Part 1 of a new theatrical trilogy and a direct sequel to Season 2 (2022).
- Kinema Citrus, director Masayuki Kojima, and the main cast all return.
- To catch up, watch Season 1, then Dawn of the Deep Soul, then Season 2, then the new film.
- No Western release date has been announced yet, so use the wait to finish the earlier entries.
Akibato is a Japan-based store that ships anime scale and prize figures worldwide. If the new film has you rebuilding a dark-fantasy shelf, browse Akibato's figures collection to see what is in stock now.