Ozen

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“	As your mind comes under attack in the depths of The Abyss, gradually the effects show up physically, too. They don't manifest immediately like the sixth layer's curse does. But if you tread the boundaries of sanity as well as life and death each time you descend, the skin on your head is bound to get all twisted.	”
—Ozen, to Lyza

Ozen
Japanese	オーゼン
Rōmaji	Ōzen
Profile
Gender	Female
Species	Human
Status	Alive
Occupation	Delver
Class	White Whistle
General Information
Manga Debut	Chapter 12
Anime Debut	Episode 5
Seiyuu	Sayaka Ohara
Eng.Voice	Christine Auten

Ozen "The Immovable" (動 (うご) かざるオーゼン, Ugokazaru-Ōzen), also known as the "Unmoveable Sovereign" (不 (ふ) 動 (どう) 卿 (きょう) , Fudō-kyō), is a legendary White Whistle Delver who has made outstanding discoveries in The Abyss and retrieved numerous Artifacts of incredible value.

Even among her fellow White Whistles, Ozen is renowned for her incredible physical strength. She is a mysterious person, shrouded by countless rumors that are absurd, but hard to refute.

Ozen lives in the Seeker Camp within the 2^nd Layer of The Abyss, where she commands a small team of cave raiders known as the Subterranean Bandits.

Appearance

Ozen is a very tall and rather slim woman, speculated to stand at over 2 meters in height. She has a strangely shaped monochrome hairstyle that conceals scalp deformations caused by extensive exposure to The Curse of the Abyss.

Her eyes are pitch black and lusterless, giving her an unsettling and disturbing gaze. When fully equipped for delving, she wears bulky armor and a disc-shaped hat that conceals her eyes.

Her White Whistle is adorned with a pair of horns, giving it a bovine appearance. Despite being a White Whistle for over 50 years, she appears deceivingly youthful, with only her white hair showing her age.

Personality

Coldness dominates her personality. She can often be cruel, cynical, and apathetic. Even after discovering Reg's high durability, during their fight, she continued to hit him anyways, citing that "after a while she just got too into it". She despises lying to children, and rarely does so, even if it means telling them brutal truths. Ozen has absolute control over her facial expressions, making her actual feelings (or lack thereof) ambiguous.

However, she is not completely devoid of warmth. She privately and dearly cares for Lyza. When Riko and Reg leave the Seeker Camp, Ozen reflects to herself that she would have preferred that they stayed longer, so that she could continue to reminisce about Lyza. She also treats her newest apprentice, Marulk, (for the most part) kindly. Fostering him at the Seeker Camp and also protecting him from having to suffer from a sensitivity to surface light.

History

Spoiler warning: The following section contains spoilers. Read with caution.

Early Life

Despite her youthful appearance, Ozen has been a White Whistle Delver for over 50 years. Some time in her life, she came to know a young Lyza. Initially unwelcoming of her, she attempted to drive the young girl off by threats of violence. It was only through Lyza's stubbornness and refusal to leave Ozen alone that Ozen was convinced of allowing the young girl to become her apprentice. The two became very close with each other and with time Lyza became a fellow White Whistle Delver. They were very fond of each other, as evidenced by Lyza once vowing to annihilate whoever attacked Ozen.

Unheard Bell Flashback Arc

She was one of the members of the expedition to descend to the 4^th Layer in search of the Special Grade Artifact, the Unheard Bell, along with Lyza and her husband Torka. Though she is deeply fond of Lyza, Ozen was disdainful of Lyza's marriage to Torka. As they journeyed down to the 4^th Layer, the expedition suffered many casualties, including the death of Torka. By the time they had recovered the Unheard Bell, only Lyza and her remained.

While still in the depths of the 4^th Layer, Ozen aided Lyza in the delivery of her baby. Tragically, the child was stillborn. On a whim, Ozen took the child's corpse and placed it inside the Curse-Warding Box.

While planning how to best resume the expedition, Ozen was startled by the child's cries. The miraculous resurrection of Lyza's baby prompted the two to abandon their mission and carry the Curse-Warding Box to the 2^nd Layer, with the child in tow. Although not fond of the newborn, herself, Ozen assisted out of loyalty to her friend.

Two years later after Riko's birth and just before Lyza's "Last Dive" into the depths of the Abyss, Ozen had her last conversation with Lyza while looking at Orth from a balcony. She commented on the disturbing actions made by Riko when coming out of the Curse-Warding Box. The moment Riko was released, she tried crawling towards the center of the Abyss. Ozen then promises Lyza that, when the time came, she would reveal to Riko the true story of her birth. At some point in time, she became the guardian of the Seeker Camp, the commander of the delving team the Subterranean Bandits, and a mentor to Marulk after he was involved in an airship crash in the Abyss which took the lives of the crew.

Seeker Camp Arc

When Riko and Reg come to the Seeker Camp, she instructs her apprentice Marulk to lower the camp's gondola down so that the two can enter the camp. Recognizing Riko immediately, Ozen leads them inside. Seating the pair down in a sitting area of the Seeker Camp, Riko gives Ozen her mother's White Whistle so that she can examine it. Ozen is surprised to see the whistle, as she thought that she would never see the whistle ever again. Right after, Riko thanks her for lending her help in carrying Riko back to the surface after her birth. Hearing that, Ozen coldly admits that she often pondered ditching her and leaving her body behind during the ascension to the surface. Reminiscing about the Unheard Bell excursion further, Ozen begins muttering cryptically.

After being brought back to her senses by Marulk, Ozen inquires to Riko, wondering how she arrived at the Seeker Camp, given her status as a Red Whistle; Red Whistle Delvers are prohibited from descending more than 400 meters. Aside from rules dictating that Red Whistles cannot venture further the 1^st Layer, the difficulty of the 2^nd Layer also acts as a deterrent for inexperienced Red Whistles — the harsh environment of the 2^nd Layer is too difficult to bear.

Interested in finding out how two Red Whistles arrived at the Seeker Camp of their own merit, Ozen instructs Marulk to lend an ear to Riko and Reg in her stead; her reasoning was that it would be easier for children to talk to children. At Ozen's instructions, Marulk gives the two of them Blue Whistles; Ozen notes that it would be troublesome to explain the presence of two Red Whistle Delvers in the Seeker Camp, so for the time being they will wear Blue Whistles. In exchange for the Blue Whistles, she takes Lyza's White Whistle, as a collateral, and she tells them that they can exchange the Blue Whistles for the White Whistle when they are about to leave. After explaining, Ozen requests that Reg and Riko stay overnight, telling Riko to take a bath because she smells of vomit.

The next morning, following Riko wetting Reg's bed, Ozen walks into Riko explaining to Marulk and Reg what caused her to lose control of her bladder — a strange monster. Ozen then notes mysteriously that Riko's ignorance was not due to herself, but due to negligence by Hablog and Jiruo.

Bidding Riko to follow her if she wishes to know the answers to her questions, Ozen begins to walk up the stairs inside of the Seeker Camp. During their ascension of the stairs she tells Riko several things; Ozen tells her that the letter supposedly sent by her mother was fake, that her mother was dead and buried in a grave in the 4^th Layer, and that she happened to have found the letter and the whistle on that grave. When Riko expresses disbelief at the revelation by bringing up the note telling her to come to the bottom, Ozen retorts; the handwriting on the letter wasn't Lyza's. Furthermore her mother wouldn't have ever written such a message, not even as a joke.

Soon Ozen brings Riko and Reg to her chamber, where she shows them a white cube. Immediately, Riko notes that the design present on the cube is incredibly complex, suggesting that it is an Artifact above 2nd grade. When Riko questions why the cube isn't in the Artifact catalogue, Ozen explains that it had been bought by Lyza before being auctioned off and hence won't be found in the Artifact catalogue. Riko then guesses that it is the Curse-Warding Box, to which Ozen admits that she was half-right.

Ozen reveals the true nature of the box; although the box is reputed to protect those contained within, this isn't actually true. Beings within the box will still be affected by the Curse of the Abyss, and will still die. However, instead of remaining dead, the beings within the box will start to move.

Without pause, Ozen gave Riko a chilling truth; the only reason she knows the effect of the box is because it is demonstrated to her through Riko; she was born stillborn and when Ozen placed her corpse into the box, she came back to life. The monster that Riko had saw the night before had been created by Ozen, when she had been reminded of the box's power and tried placing some meat she had for a meal into the box.

The monster that she had created the night before stopped moving after some time had passed, and Ozen disposed of it promptly. She reveals an observation she had made between Riko and the monster she created; both were trying to reach the bottom of the Abyss. Ozen continues to agonize Riko by assuming she probably also will stop moving at some point; just like the meat. Hearing that, Regs steps in and tells Ozen that she has gone too far and a fight erupts between them. In their fight Reg is overwhelmed by Ozen's sheer strength.

Marulk witnessing the scene is dismayed, but Ozen instructs him to stay put and not to interfere. As the fight continues, one-sidedly in Ozen's favor, Reg arrives at the conclusion that only a shot from his Incinerator will be able to beat Ozen. He shoots the Incinerator, but misses. Ozen stomps him until he falls unconscious, while Riko can only watch helplessly.

During the time Reg is unconscious, Marulk had panicked and went to get the other Subterranean Bandits to stop the fight. Afterward, it is revealed that Ozen was trying to provoke Reg and Riko into a fight in order to test if they are ready to make their way further down the Abyss.

She tells them Riko's lack of communication in battle, as well as Reg's lack of being able to judge the right timing to use his Incinerator are fatal flaws that would have them wind up dead sooner or later. Furthermore, because Reg falls unconscious within ten minutes after using his Incinerator, Riko needs to be able to protect herself.

As such, she instructs both of them to stay ten days in the forest behind the Seeker Camp as survival training. During their survival training Ozen keeps track on their development via her scouts. Reg and Riko return to the Seeker Camp after ten days and Marulk congratulates them on passing as most people don't even manage to make it even a week.

After the training, Ozen tells Reg and Riko the Abyss causes a person's sense of time to get lost to the point of the possibility time moving far slower in the lower layers. She also shares secrets only known to White Whistle Delvers with them, and gives the Artifact, Blaze Reap, to Riko. Afterwards, Riko and Reg leave the Seeker Camp to advance down to the 3^rd Layer.

Birthday-Death Disease Arc

Since then, while Ozen has not interacted directly with Riko or Reg, she has been shown talking with Jiruo in the Seeker Camp about the Birthday-Death Disease. Some time later, she and Jiruo went up to Orth together. Ozen confesses that there exist strange circumstances around twins born in Orth: they may only be born every 30 years and that they all share the names "Sherumi" and "Menae". The two pass by a mysterious man using a Communication Device. Ozen takes the man's communicator and locates a limbless person that had been on the other end of the signal. She introduces the person as the "sole survivor of the 'curse'" that is currently spilling into the city.

Abilities

Superhuman Strength

She is a peerless fighter. She is said to have embedded as many as 120 Thousand-Men Pins in her body. These pins grant her superhuman strength. However, she notes Reg's durability for not breaking no matter how much she hit him.

Quotes

• (To Reg) "Do you have a conception of God? The people around here, you see, don't believe in God. Do you know what is it they believe in? The answer is this place - the Abyss itself."
• (To Riko & Reg) "Don't stay in the deep layers if you don't want to kill those who are waiting for you."

Trivia

• Ozen is known for her penchant for unusual flavors.
• According to series author Akihito Tsukushi, Ozen smells like an animal after having been outside.
• She has a high calorie expenditure and will eat anything, but likes delicacies.
• Ozen is one of the few characters of Made in Abyss to not have white sclera and colored pupils, her eyes appearing entirely black.
• In her younger days, before venturing deep into The Abyss, Ozen used to be quite energetic and a little sadistic.
• Ozen grew as tall due to the use of Artifacts. She owns more than just the Thousand-Men Pins.
• According to the author, Ozen's design is based on that of witches and the Minotaur.
• Initially, Ozen was intended to be a "gigantic silent grandpa". After reading The Art of Captivating People by Kazuo Koike, around the completion of Volume 1, Tsukushi altered the character into the "superstrong granny" we know now.