Kevin Penkin's breathtaking debut score for Made in Abyss — the anime about children descending into a chasm where the deeper you go, the more you lose. "Hanezeve Caradhina" featuring Takeshi Saito is the standout — a vocal piece in an invented language that became one of the most recognizable anime tracks of the 2010s.
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It sounds like the Abyss itself singing. "Underground River" featuring Raj Ramayya brings a different vocal dimension. "Riko's Theme" captures the protagonist's boundless optimism. "Theme of Reg" carries the robot boy's mysterious origins.
"Tasukete" (Help Me) scores the moments when the Abyss reveals its cruelty. "Days in the Sun" and "Those Everyday Feels" establish the surface world's warmth. "Depths of the Abyss" and "Forest of the Abyss" descend layer by layer.
"Beni-Kuchi-Nawa" names one of the Abyss's creatures. "Orth Waltz" dances through the city built around the hole. "The First Layer" begins the descent. Penkin created a score that's simultaneously beautiful and deeply unsettling — music that makes you want to descend into something you know will destroy you.
That duality is what makes both the anime and its soundtrack extraordinary.