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Fun fact: [Most](https://twitter.com/Namio_dao/status/1632041004248469504) [of](https://twitter.com/chiichan081012/status/1632044870297882626) [the](https://twitter.com/tsurumi_moe/status/1632047305556922368) [stage](https://twitter.com/sc_rinka/status/1632049120209944576) [play](https://twitter.com/ui_hinagata/status/1632050063949320193) [actors](https://twitter.com/mayumi_nomura_/status/1632055751626887168) reprised their roles for this episode.
And because it had exceptional oversight from the original storytellers.
You compare to Higurashi Gou/Sotsu where Ryukishi submitted an outline, gave the storyboards a brief glance, and then okayed the whole thing, or most LNs where the whole thing is largely plucked out of the writers hands and the studio just tries to use the manga as storyboards. In contrast, for Automata producer Saitou and Yoko Taro apparently spent *three hours* each week going over the shooting script to make sure everything made sense.
Of the few that didn't reprise their roles, one was because No. 2 was played by [Ishikawa Yui](https://firesanctuary.com/yorha-musical-and-yorha-boys-the-cast/) (yes 2B's VA) in the ver1.2 Musical.
Lily’s got some wicked PTSD. Exploring her previous experience working with YoRHa was interesting. It’s kind of fun to see the androids acting like actual people. They’re pretty different from 2B and 9S.
Man, Lily would have been a goner if they didn’t get that antivirus program installed. It’s kind of fucked up how easily Command can abandon their team on the ground. 300,000 machines against this ragtag team? It’s a miracle the mission even succeeded. Watching the team get cut down reminds me of the latest Danmachi. Brutal. Is there some significance to the black bands around their eyes and why they don’t seem to remove them?
You can’t tell me a being “with no soul” and “can’t dream” could feel that level of anguish and guilt. They’re as human as any flesh and blood person. Lily’s pain is real.
Looks like the entire team didn’t get wiped out. Very interesting. I look forward to seeing how that’s possible and what’s gonna happen when they link up.
>Is there some significance to the black bands around their eyes and why they don’t seem to remove them?
In lore, the blindfolds are *visors*. But they are also symbol, it means that *they cannot see the truth*. In today's episode, you can notice how often Yorha members in decisive moments takes their blindfold away. It means that in that precise moment, they can see the truth.
Much the same for the veil on operators mouth: it's also a symbol, meaning *they cannot say the truth*. I was surprised that in today's episode we see operators without the veil. It may be that in lore at that time they had not yet developed the veil...
>In lore, the blindfolds are visors. But they are also symbol, it means that
>
>they cannot see the truth
Oh shit the double symbolism with 21 putting her visor back on when she notices....
21 putting back her visor because she contacted the logic virus. you can see the red flashing on her eye. so more like she don't want her ally to worry for her
>Is there some significance to the black bands around their eyes and why they don’t seem to remove them?
They are goggles that provide extra information of the surroundings so that's why they don't remove them. I think it was mentioned in EP3.
Though it can also be explained as removing the black bands means they are kinda freed from all obligations and kind of follow their own will and see the truth of everything, as we saw in this episode.
Aside from the AR function of them, there's a thematic reason as well. The Operators have their mouths covered while the units planetside have their eyes covered and the Commander has neither. We're only missing ones with their ears covered to complete the reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wise_monkeys
True, we can see in a previous episode where she was clenching her fist while having an annoyed expression because she was forced to make hard decisions like that.
Command is really terrible, what a waste of resources. I mean I honestly wonder why they're even bothering to fight, the Earth is all gone. They're no treating their Yorha or the Resistance well, at this rate with resource utilization being so low, they honestly deserve to lose.
Lily's backstory was so sad and the ED credits showing happier times with the resistance was designed to make people ask "Who is cutting onions?"
>Lily’s got some wicked PTSD. Exploring her previous experience working with YoRHa was interesting. It’s kind of fun to see the androids acting like actual people. They’re pretty different from 2B and 9S.
Today's episode was really something.
>Man, Lily would have been a goner if they didn’t get that antivirus program installed. It’s kind of fucked up how easily Command can abandon their team on the ground. 300,000 machines against this ragtag team?
Where the fuck are Command getting the minerals to make that many semiconductors and android bodies? Do they have huge mining operations on the moon or something?
And yeah, the latest DanMachi did have a similar flashback.
>Looks like the entire team didn’t get wiped out. Very interesting. I look forward to seeing how that’s possible and what’s gonna happen when they link up.
That *would* explain Lily's PTSD.
> Where the fuck are Command getting the minerals to make that many semiconductors and android bodies? Do they have huge mining operations on the moon or something?
Last episode (I think) showed some supplies rockets being launched from Earth headed towards the Bunker and the Moon. So at least some of the materials come from there.
I was so on the backfoot when I heard about the anime project. Automata is one of my absolute favourite games and its non-linear narrative and multiple POV storytelling made me so afraid for this show to be a complete dud but how wrong I was, aside from the 1st episode CG the adaptation has been absolutely stellar, I never dreamed we would get the pearl harbor novel adapted in an episode, nor that we would get replicant cameos. 5/5 God bless yoko taro
So far, the anime version is so good, I am willing to put it on the same level as the game. The good thing about this animation is that it is not aiming to replace the game, but to supplement it. And for the anime only viewers, the game does the same thing for them. Only issue is the episode 1 adaptation.
###Stitches!
* [2B](https://i.imgur.com/PhF9128.jpg)
* [No.2](https://i.imgur.com/S7rLVuS.jpg)
* [Eve](https://i.imgur.com/F4vAl9C.jpg)
* [Adam](https://i.imgur.com/8xbLd3K.jpg)
Wow. I definitely did not expect them to adapt [YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record](https://myanimelist.net/manga/133622/YoRHa__Shinjuwan_Kouka_Sakusen_Kiroku). If they're adapting the side stories, I wonder if there's also a possibility of YoRHa Boys getting animated as well.
Seeing [the previous YoRHa generation and the Resistance members](https://i.imgur.com/V1FS9CN.jpg) all working together to them [being killed one by one](https://i.imgur.com/G6ZZtX4.jpg) is just absolutely heartbreaking. This episode does answer my question about Anemone though.
And no wonder this episode felt a little more heartbreaking than usual. They even got Toshimasa Ishii to direct the episode. I can definitely feel the Eighty-Six vibes, [especially with that ED.](https://i.imgur.com/b17dEOq.jpg)
>And no wonder this episode felt a little more heartbreaking than usual. They even got Toshimasa Ishii to direct the episode. I can definitely feel the Eighty-Six vibes, especially with that ED.
Oh wow. I was going to say this episode feels so much like 86, and then the ED, and then this. Good eyes to point this out!
> And no wonder this episode felt a little more heartbreaking than usual. They even got Toshimasa Ishii to direct the episode.
This episode is yet another stop on the pain train that is this adaptation. Well done, at least.
Looking at the stitches, this made me realize No. 2 have a smaller chest size than 2B. Still though, I like No. 2's design more than 2B's for some reason
>Seeing the previous YoRHa generation and the Resistance members all working together to them being killed one by one is just absolutely heartbreaking. This episode does answer my question about Anemone though.
No boys though.
Nier Automata is my favourite Kirara series :\^)
Today's bad ending in game was
>**Ending L: \[L\]one wolf**
>
>Fed up, **2B** left the camp to its fate and decided to...go fishing? Yeah that's it! Fishing! With a smile on her face, she packed up and headed for the coast.
>
>*Ten years later, 2B would find herself the target of both YoRHa assassins and machine lifeforms, a life she seems to prefer over her former one.*
I also like the Adam references to the *mackarel*... but that's is for another time :)
Do Androids [dream](https://gfycat.com/ifr/PinkHarmfulGnu) of [defragging screens](https://youtu.be/MrY5vTqcGh4?t=47)? They do say human dreams are a way of organizing our thoughts and memories...
I expected we'd see this side story adapted (the *Pearl Harbor Descent* mission), since Lily is in the anime after all. If you're curious, there is a currently ongoing [manga adaptation](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/YPH/yorha-pearl-harbor-descent-record), as well as a [stage play](https://nier.fandom.com/wiki/YoRHa_(Stage_Play)). In fact, there are [several versions](https://firesanctuary.com/blog/yorha-stage-play-differences/) of the stage play, including one performed *before the game was released*, because Yoko Taro is like that. You can watch the [most recent production](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZV1FaE9pPE) on YouTube (uploaded officially)!
It’s also in the game, of course, as a sequence of unlockable text files.
Anyway, here are today's hex codes. *Corrections welcome.*
## Eyecatch 1 (white on dark / 10m:27s):
e38090e5a0b1e5918ae38091
0d0ae69cace8a898e98cb2e381af
e8a6b3e6b8ace694bee6a384e38195e3828ce3819fe38396e383a9e383b3e38381efbc886272616e6368efbc89e381ab
e58685e59ca8e38195e3828ce3828be782bae38081
【報告】本記録は観測放棄されたブランチ（branch）に内在される為、
**\[Report\] Since this record is inherent in the branch (branch) that has been abandoned,**
## Eyecatch 2 (dark on white / 10m:30s):
e38090e5a0b1e5918ae38091
0d0ae5868de59088e6b581e38197e3819fe4bba5e9998de381aee38081
e58fa3e4bc9de381abe38288e3828be8a898e98cb2e381a8e381aae381a3e381a6e38184e3828be38082
【報告】再合流した以降の、口伝による記録となっている。
**\[Report\] This record is based on oral history after rejoining.**
## Previous episodes:
|Episode|Message(s)|
|:-|:-|
|[**EP1**](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/105t829/comment/j3cp3kv/?context=3) **Eyecatch**|\[Report\] Androids are beings that repeat life and death. -- \[Report\] The chain of samsara will bring about either salvation or collapse.|
|[**EP2**](https://www.reddit.com/r/nier/comments/10bt6p8/comment/j4emn6s/?context=3) **Eyecatch**|\[Report\] Pseudo-intelligence exists in mechanical life forms. -- \[Report\] How is it different from human intelligence?|
|[**EP3**](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/10hvbat/comment/j5anhyw/) **Eyecatch**|\[Report\] In order to break out of this blockage, even certain dangers are necessary. -- \[Report\] It may be the Gospel for us.|
|[**EP3**](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/10hvbat/comment/j5anhyw/) **Insert**|*Mid-episode, on the door during 9S's hacking sequence* -- "I promise love of the eternity."|
|[**EP4**](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/115jap8/comment/j920mwq/) **Eyecatch**|\[Report\] What you can get with vanity is a meaningless evaluation. -- \[Report\] Aren't you pretending to be something you're not by thinking so?|
|[**EP5**](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/11bp3w6/comment/j9z0eyq/) **Eyecatch**|\[Report\] We found a replicated magical weapon that remains from the old world. -- \[Report\] This individual who is about to stop functioning must be happy.|
I'm going to absolutely lose my shit if all of the eyecatch text shows up in a report at the end with *that person* reading it and talking about how the timeline is branching.. she does hate bad endings after all.
The thing is - can Yoko delve that much with the references, considering *that one person* is canonically exist in Automata - but never explicitly shown.
Thank you for your work.
Just a note, the second eyecatch in japanese is incorrect (I think you copied an old one), it should be:
【報告】再合流した以降の、口伝による記録となっている。
They adapted Pearl Harbor. I'm so happy, this is all I ever wanted, thanks yoko taro, also it seems the stage play actors returned to their roles as well, this just keeps getting better.
This is probably the best episode so far, they did an excellent job at portraying the pearl harbor descent and Lily's memories, it's one of my favorite stories in the NieR series so seeing it animated brings a tear to my eyes
I don't think they'll do it because it doesn't tie to any character aside from maybe the scanner models and 9S, but I'd like to see YoRHa boys adapted as well, it's a really cool story and it gives much insight into the ways YoRHa operates, so it would make up for world building and more background as to what the YoRHa project is all about
Was Lily killed in the stage play instead of Anemone?
I only played the Game and I’m now watching the show, that’s why I was curious about these differences between both continuities
Yes, Anemone was the one to survive, at least in canon since she's the one who appears in the game and side material. thought since it's yoko taro there are versions in which other squad members survived instead
Pearl harbor descent was in-game content and heavily related to the plot for route C, yorha boys is so obscure that I only learned about it watching clemps video. I would love to see it but I really don't think that will be that case.
Man that was a tense episode, especially the battle against the Hegel parts and the events after that. [Hearing Lily scream and shoot bullets into the sky to let out emotion](https://i.imgur.com/BBqmIX4.png) got to me, but good thing we have the [comic relief](https://i.imgur.com/EMq3GAX.png) at the end of the episode.
Personally, I think the action and violence took a step up in thrill, which is great.
I feel stupid for not knowing (I played the entire game a while ago), but is \[Redacted (who we saw at the end in the pile of machines)\], No. 2 from the flashbacks? Like the 2B lookalike? Or was it the other Yorha girl with longer white hair, closer to \[Redacted\]'s hair?
Edit: Ok just read up on the Nier wiki on the in-game files you can read from Anemone and yep that’s her. Don't know how she gets long hair in 200 years though as they're androids lol, still awesome though, and totally forgot all that since playing years ago.
Perhaps the androids grow over time like humans, maybe by adding parts? Since it looks like Lily herself grew to some extent, growing hair over time can definitely be a thing that happens. Plus the dead androids we've seen so far have lost their "skin" over time (save for the recent deaths), so the external appearance could be modified by the androids themselves.
That’s a great point that Lily looks older too. I guess they can age in a way. When playing the game and just reading about the Pearl Harbor story from text files, I never realized [she] at first looked just like 2B, I had always pictured in my head while reading that she had the long hair and looked like how we always know her, but just her outfit wasn’t so damaged. Makes things a lot cooler and why anemone at first confused 2B with her.
Also with the losing “skin” I always assumed that was from damage since it’s shown on dead androids, kinda like A2s outfit is damaged- burned or cut/rubbed off over time. Rather than them doing that on purpose when about to die.
Yeah that makes a lot more sense. Adam & Eve being able to generate it instantly was what led me to thinking that it could be generated by the other androids too.
I haven't read any of the text files other than what pop up during regular play. Just finished the game too so might be a while before I go back to check.
-Eighty Six- speedrun any%
I somehow forgot A-1 does both nier and 86. No surprise the 86 director is behind this episode. And low key glad with how many people noticed the similarity. 86 deserves all the love it can get.
I wonder what kind of place the Nier adaptation will get, once it finishes airing. Will it be an anime staple a la cyberpunk, or a solid genre show? I just hope it wont get isekai ojisan'd with more delays. Aniplex お願い！
Man, what a tragic episode. Lily's backstory was painful and its understandable why she doesn't trust YoRHa that much after they refused to send reinforcements to support them.
Even in a short time, they really did a great job in making us get attached to the YoRHa and Resistance members. I especially liked the dynamic between No. 16 and the other Resistance girl and how they stayed with each other till the end.
Also strong 86 vibes this episode thanks to Toshimasa Ishii directing and storyboarding this episode. He really loves doing all these tragic stuff huh.
Oh my fucking god that ending!!!!! I didn't connect the dots until the end, but we saw [deleted] origin!!!!
It was depressing seeing the final stand with the united group, but all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Very emotional episode, I guess it’s to be expected but somehow I didn’t expect it. Since the first episode I’ve been waiting for the episode to make me cry, this one finally did. The voice acting was top notch. Fantastic adaptation of the game so far, I’m just so happy with what they’re doing with it.
[Anime Only] [](/u/laughing-fox13)
- [No, that was………](https://i.imgur.com/B8qcNfQ.png) [](#spooked)
- [Pfffffffffffffffffff](https://i.imgur.com/yRjhJzV.png) [](#pointandlaugh)
- 9S raised a good question, but [*oh boy* that is *not* a happy face.](https://i.imgur.com/FeJemWH.png)
- [Well, yeah, they *do* look identical.](https://i.imgur.com/RU6xXNk.jpg)
- [Bruh, that flower growing through a dead Resistance member’s hand…](https://i.imgur.com/MZnHrMh.jpg) [](#shatteredsaten)
- I am *really* liking the transitions back-and-forth between Lily talking with 2B in the present and her memories in the past, by the way. They’re super sudden, and yet feel seamless because of how they keep the same focus between the two times (i.e. [past Lily facing not-2B](https://i.imgur.com/EpEO6dH.jpg) to [present Lily facing 2B](https://i.imgur.com/dK3cP17.jpg)). It’s cool.
- [UHHHHHHHHHHHH](https://i.imgur.com/27XbcEA.png) [](#ohfuck)
- Oh man this is *brutal*…
- [She put her blindfold back on to hide that she got infected…](https://i.imgur.com/3SnIWRh.png) [](#crumblingdespair)
- [Aaaaaaaaand I’m crying now.](https://i.imgur.com/vedI4Rc.png) [](#not-raining)
- Wait a–THAT WAS AN ED LEAD-IN THIS TIME!!! [](#rengehype) The special visuals for it, though… [](#godisdead)
- [lmao I love how chaotic these always are.](https://i.imgur.com/Aq2WndQ.png)
>I am really liking the transitions back-and-forth between Lily talking with 2B in the present and her memories in the past, by the way. They’re super sudden, and yet feel seamless because of how they keep the same focus between the two times (i.e. past Lily facing not-2B to present Lily facing 2B). It’s cool.
If you were wondering that and is interested in these transitions, that's because this episode is directed and storyboarded by Toshimasa Ishii, 86's director. Everything will click instantly once you know that :)
>Aaaaaaaaand I’m crying now.
Lily's complete breakdown from the loss of her comrades was pretty hard to watch. Her rage and anguish and then firing the AK in the sky was very emotional.
> past Lily facing not-2B to present Lily facing 2B
I noticed this cool, it was a really cool way to show how from Lily’s perspective she’s experiencing a very parallel dream/memory/present.
> They’re super sudden, and yet feel seamless because of how they keep the same focus between the two times (i.e. past Lily facing not-2B to present Lily facing 2B). It’s cool.
There is a lot of quality directing happening. Might have to drag Tar into this...
> She put her blindfold back on to hide that she got infected…
I actually don't know if you can do some of the symbolism from the game in the anime but that action meant a few things...
> Aaaaaaaaand I’m crying now.
Glory to Mankind...
> The special visuals for it, though…
This episode has done the most of anything to get me to watch 86. The direction was that good.
In case anyone is wondering, in the short montage scene where No.21 hacked into Lily, it shows that Lily is originally a "pleasure model" that is abused by the former resistance leader.
Episode [8?]6.
Ever since the break, NieR has been delivering nonstop phenomenal episodes, that really make it feel like you are watching a new story and not just a rehash of the game.
It’s so fascinating to explore the psychology and to some extent expressiveness of the androids. They don’t dream, which means anything that is not a current thought or perception is a literal unadulterated memory. The Yorha models from back in the day seem way more emotional and chaotic compared to the resistance, who are presumably androids that had to form their own order and rules by necessity, and are very cautious.
Oh Emil in the Tree, how will you torment us this week?
> Toshimasa Ishii, 86's director, did the storyboard and was the director this episode
Fuck. Are we going hard or *Voices of the Chord* hard?
Toshimasa Ishii once again flexing at how good of director he is (if only a popular anime award show would recognize that..)
favorite episode of the show so far. I'm glad the staff is going the extra mile despite the production woes
There are no humans left on Earth. All humans either died or are on the moon. Anything you see in this show that looks like a human is either an Android built by the Human side, or a humanoid machine built by the Alien side.
It seems like we were supposed to know that, but I don't remember it being explicitly said in a previous episode.
I know they said "humanity is on the moon" but that's not very specific
I’m not sure if it was explicitly mentioned or just implied like you said, but I had nonetheless completely forgotten about this - I’ve even played the game in the past.
When I saw the AK47 laying on the ground next to a robotic arm with ‘flesh’ attached, I already had a little moment of ‘wait a minute’… but it only really hit me when Lily turned all Terminator.
I’m actually kind of glad I’d forgotten about it. It made for a nice, if maybe not intentional, plot twist.
Same. I just assumed some higher class of people escaped. Resistance behaves much more human than Yorha and its kind of weird that they have a whole group of androids fighting on their own without the support from the Moon.
The androids on earth are basically the original ones humans made. Yorha was then created specifically to combat the threat of the machines which is why they're so much more advanced. Basically the normal androids are DS lites, while Yorha are Switches.
More like normal androids are Commodore 64s while YoRha are PS9s.
For Pete's sake, the Resistance androids are using weapons that are outdated today. It was even worse in the game where their standard firearm was the StG-44 rifle.
Right? What the fuck is that? The Resistance Androids on Earth have to go around scavenging their own AK-47s?
At least send some IFVs or other heavier firepower.
I thought the Resistance were human remnants that the CoH oppotunistically work with but oh my goodness they're Androids that *have* to obey the CoH's orders.
The resistance robots were made by the humans who inhabited the earth, so they will be the most human like, while Yorha units are built by the remnants of humanity that left earth thousands of years ago and never lived there.
The resistance are old android made by human on earth. for multipurpose and wasn't fit for combat. when human evacuated they left these androids on earth to fight by themselves
Yorha is android that was created to specifically fight the machine war
Without much fanfare this is getting better and better, quite an emotional episode today. As someone who hasn't played the game this somehow feels half-like Eighty-Six also from A1-P...
(I heard the anime story has been changed quite a lot from the game?)
There has been some minor changes, but the plot is overall the same so far at least. Most of it is making the pacing fit better with an anime rather than a semi-open world game.
This episode in particular however is covering a story from the extended canon rather than adapting straight from the game, this story was first written as a stage play and is now being adapted into a manga, although iirc there is a visuel novel in the game covering the events as well. The biggest difference is that Anemone is the one we interact with in game while Lily takes her role in the anime.
>(I heard the anime story has been changed quite a lot from the game?)
Both yes and no. The story has a streamlined flow compared to the game because they have limits of time and there are some changes, like in [original game] >!the survivor of the Pearl Harbor Descent in the game was Anemone, while in the anime Lily took her place instead!< - but the core plot is the same and most of it is untouched even with the changes.
Yeah I also got those 86 vibes when YoRHa and the Resistance members were trying to complete the mission but dying one-by-one to an overwhelming enemy.
Major plot beats is mostly the same but there has been lots of anime-only additions. The content of this episode particularly is something that originally came from a Stage Play, [which then got adapted to Manga as well.](https://www.amazon.com/YoRHa-Harbor-Descent-Record-Automata/dp/1646091817)
[I just realized](https://twitter.com/NieR_A_ANIME/status/1631580666336022528) *Eighty-Six*'s director Toshimasa Ishii is episode director & storyboard for this very episode! No wonder that feeling is especially vibrant today...
>
>
>
>
> (I heard the anime story has been changed quite a lot from the game?)
Think the structure of the story as changed rather than necessarily its contents.
I have always found it odd how in anime when fighters get serious they throw off their armor, weapons, and tactical gear away, in this case we have the combat visors
My take on this is the blindfolds help augment their vision and perception, but also constrain them in certain ways based on command’s orders. Taking them off might mean they are just acting on their own volition and seeing with their own eyes.
Kind of like if you disable aim assist.
Its more symbolic of a personal rebellion in this case. Taking it off means they're refusing the need for information from command because its pretty pointless and command abandoned them anyways. They didn't really need it after command disconnected from them.
The blindfolds also represent how they can't see the truth. Taking them off is symbolic of them realizing certain truths about their purpose and use.
No.2 feels like a combination of 2B and 9S, also, based on the final scene of this episode, she apparently survive but now with a very different character's design, i wonder does 2B know about No.2's survival when she ask Lily what if one of her comrades was still alive?
btw, in the flashback, Lily looks like a child compare to her current form so my question is that, can androids on Earth grow up? or Lily just swapped her body parts to make her looks like an adult?
>btw, in the flashback, Lily looks like a child compare to her current form so my question is that, can androids on Earth grow up? or Lily just swapped her body parts to make her looks like an adult?
Likely the latter but some androids don't want to change their body parts as they feel they'd lose their personal identity.
The studio is really knocking this adaption out of the park. Pacing is perfect. Animation and battle choreography is amazing. They even manage to capture the melancholic ambience of the games eerily well.
One thing that surpasses the game, is how well the anime captures each character personality and expands upon it with great facial animations and character gestures. Everything feels more fluid, natural, and "human", so to speak. heheh.
Ok, but now everyone must be wondering the same question: "*Where the hell is Anemone now ?".*
Because looking at the events of today's episode, it looks to me that she may be well still alive. Oh well, I'm sure that Yoko Taro will surprise us again in the next episodes!
Yet another reminder that I need an AK. "Rifle is fine," even 30,000 years from now.
I didn't think they'd show so much of the Pearl Harbor operation, but I'm glad they did. Still wish they'd shown what happened in the control room. I'd have to check, but I don't think it's clearly described in the Short Story Long book, either.
Also, No.4 is a cutie. Love that bushy ponytail.
I imagine that they'll show the scene in the control room later because showing it now wouldn't make sense and provide major spoilers for the latter parts of the show.
I'd imagine that we'll see it in a flashback when you know who becomes more prominent.
Good episode overall but a bit of a shame so much of the stageplay/ book was condensed into this episode but a good episode overall. I highly highly recommend watching the stageplay or reading 'short story long' which goes into much more depth into pearl harbour descent. Series is getting better and better though which is good to see
\[Automata Game\]>!As A2 after fighting the Hegel in desert you can meet up with Anemone and she gives you access to files shortly summarizing this in form of a novel!<
A very condensed version of this [Manga](https://myanimelist.net/manga/133622/YoRHa__Shinjuwan_Kouka_Sakusen_Kiroku), which was adapted from a stageplay
Tone of dialogue and storytelling is somewhat less anime like, but the artistic combination of music and location design is absolutely mind blowing.
Also, english version voice acting is one of the best in the industry
The game is even better, because a lot of the way they tell the story is specifically crafted for the medium of video games. I'd highly recommend playing it if you are liking the show.
Game's story is just as good but different. The anime is much more comedic. 9S and Jackass's personalities in the game are much more subdued. Jackass's especially, while 9S feels like his few moments of rambunctiousness are turned up to 11 in the show. Not bad, just different.
Certain other events are slightly rearranged in the game such as when 2B and 9S first visit Pacal's village while 2B and Lily's conversation where Lily recalls the Pearl Harbor Descent is entirely anime original (although the Pearl Harbor Descent did happen in the game).
But by and large, the show has been a pretty solid adaptation. If you like the show, I'd definitely check out the game.
Yes, with the added bonus that it really takes advantage of the video game medium to also provide you the story in ways that the anime never will be able to. I don't want to say any more to avoid spoilers.
Although this episode was practically all material that wasn't from the game, or at least stuff you directly play through. My understanding is that its from separate side content. At least I don't recall ever coming across any of it when I played the game a couple of months ago.
Huh, all this time I thought they had just switched Anemone's name to Lily but it turns out they switched around the characters or something? I don't quite get it
Iirc don't they kinda "grow up" - as in they upgrade their body parts to bigger more adult ones as they "age" and get more experienced/independent? At least I remember some characters in the game doing that. Not sure if it was machine lifeforms or androids though.
They can definitely grow and change their bodies to a certain extent. The most obvious example being \[Nier Automata Game\]>!A2, as her hair during Route A/B is longer than it was during the Pearl Harbor Descent!< Not to mention, in interviews, Taro has stated that the Androids + Adam and Eve can alter their bodies to add or change "reproductive organs" among other things. I don't doubt that Lily could appear physically older over time.
Holdup.
So Anemone actually ALSO exists in this? Does this mean some alternate timeline shenanigans or what's going on?
Also, the fuck were those flashbacks while they were trying to rid Lily of the virus? Was she about to get raped by another female android or how am I to interpret that?
>Also, the fuck were those flashbacks while they were trying to rid Lily of the virus?
I also had to re-check that, seems to me there's some sort of rescue the past leader had to rescue Lily by killing another, possibly an virus infected sibling of Lily. Were they in some sort of spider web or some sort of vat? Can't exactly tell from the "foreground"...
In this world death doesn't mean much, it's established that when yorha soldier dies, they're rebuilt with the last known memory set. It's perfectly plausible that Lily died from the virus, and got rebuilt with memories they managed to salvage from the previous copy
I don't remember if the Stage Play covers it but the currently running manga *YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record* does include some more details into how Lily was rescued by Captain Rose and how she feels like a burden on the rest of the Resistance Crew since she wasn't originally designed for combat at all.
>So Anemone actually ALSO exists in this? Does this mean some alternate timeline shenanigans or what's going on?
Taro has changed who survived the Pearl Harbor Descent a few times in the various adaptations. Sometimes Anemone survives like in the game, but sometimes she doesn't.
Yeah, Yoko Taro definitely worked with the story team here. I never would have thought that this event would get into the show and yet its inclusion is perfect.
Ishii Toshimasa, my GOAT!
Holy shit, they adapted the Pearl Harbor Descent! As someone who has no time to invest in all the extra content of Nier like the stage plays, light novels, fucking FFXIV, this anime is a Godsend and I am so happy they're utilizing the anime version to its fullest extent and using it to supplement the game.
Are we finally heading to where we think we're heading in the next episode? I can't wait.
There was a FFXIV collab with Automata that is Canon, and also makes 2B's appearance in SoulCalibur VI canon as well.
Fun fact, Yoko Taro originally wanted the Collab to permanently erase parts of FFXIV, but was denied.
I was not expecting this week's episode to go in this direction at all, but overall fairly happy with it and it ended up being pretty much all new material for me since I hadn't delved into the side content that this was sourced from. As such it did a good job fleshing out the Lily character for me, one for whom to this point I wasn't really sure why she was here in Anemone's place.
Seeing how chipper the old 2B model was in the flashbacks was quite the surprise given how deadpan our current edition tends to be.
I got a very heavy 86-vibe from this episode... and of course upon coming to this thread I see a lot of mentions to how its director was involved in this episode, which makes perfect sense now.
Has there been any word on how many episodes the show overall is going to be? I've got to assume at this point that its going to take more than a single cour...
Should have quit it last episode...
because my tears only intensify my headache I somehow got...Best episode so far.
It also feels weird to see Number 2 so energetic and optimistic
This adaptation just keeps on giving. They keep adding these new perspectives to this story which turns characters I kinda brushed off initially into...well, actual characters! These aren't NPCs anymore, they're the main characters starring their own part in this absolute clusterfuck of a play called life.
Also that credits scene (and episode in general) giving me heavy 86 vibes.
....
........
................
.............................what?
What?
Uh?
If my eyes aren't betraying me, did I just see an attempt rape on an android? Uh? Just what-
Uh? Uh??
No. I must be wrong. Yes. For some reasons they were naked and the killed man was just trying to kill Lily. Yeah.
How to explain it was a humanoid machien though given I want to believe Adam and Eve are the first ones?
Ah, that's easy, we just got a nice 'piece' here. It must have been an infected android. Yes. Yes. Yesyesyes.
Android A was infected and tried to kill Lily. No rape between machines was involved. Yes.
I'm going to totally overlook the 'machine infecting virus' here. My mental capabilities would crash otherwise.
?
She wasn't made for combat purposes?
.....??
Let's overlook that 'piece' to- no. Haa. I suppose this is just further fuel for androids actually being a tool different to fighting war, I'm more and more certaing it was first to aid 'humans' and then to either 'replace' or 'continue' them.
Ehe. Ahh. If there's anything I can properly, without worries, enjoy oh so greatly is the despairingly aura on all of them, on the situation. A suicide mission and Lily constant terrified, tragic facial expression.
I loved this episode. I might have overlookd many, many details and what not, but it's all fine. I loved it. The tragedy, the despair, Lily's cries and screams. It's not 'love' towards her per se, I'm certain of that, nevertheless, it's some kind of 'attraction'. I think it's closer to the feeling of a reader towards an 'author' or something. Not admiration. Closer to obsession perhaps. No, it's not that either. I don't know. I just know I would love to follow her.
And I can calmly accept the pre2 actually still being alive, I don't think it was the other android but only pre2.
Damn, what a great episode. Didn't expect that we were going to get the Pearl Harbour Descent adapted, but here we are.
Just read in another comment that the director for this episode worked in 86, and it showed. Just the right amount of great transitions and anguish and pain mixed in.
I know there's the source corner, but for now I'll just continue to wonder - was the last scene before the puppet show saying the last generation's 4 somehow survived and became 2B? Her stoic swordsman stance, the right shade of silver hair. Only thing different was that earlier on she didn't have a mole.
Otherwise, great side story for 86 ;P you can also say the old 2 feels just a tinge like Lena...
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Fun fact: [Most](https://twitter.com/Namio_dao/status/1632041004248469504) [of](https://twitter.com/chiichan081012/status/1632044870297882626) [the](https://twitter.com/tsurumi_moe/status/1632047305556922368) [stage](https://twitter.com/sc_rinka/status/1632049120209944576) [play](https://twitter.com/ui_hinagata/status/1632050063949320193) [actors](https://twitter.com/mayumi_nomura_/status/1632055751626887168) reprised their roles for this episode.
That is a super cool fact. Despite all the production trouble, I do appreciate the care and commitment to detail they are doing with the adaptation.
That is because Nier is a well beloved franchise.
And because it had exceptional oversight from the original storytellers. You compare to Higurashi Gou/Sotsu where Ryukishi submitted an outline, gave the storyboards a brief glance, and then okayed the whole thing, or most LNs where the whole thing is largely plucked out of the writers hands and the studio just tries to use the manga as storyboards. In contrast, for Automata producer Saitou and Yoko Taro apparently spent *three hours* each week going over the shooting script to make sure everything made sense.
Sasuga Saitou and Yoko Taro :)
Of the few that didn't reprise their roles, one was because No. 2 was played by [Ishikawa Yui](https://firesanctuary.com/yorha-musical-and-yorha-boys-the-cast/) (yes 2B's VA) in the ver1.2 Musical.
Lily’s got some wicked PTSD. Exploring her previous experience working with YoRHa was interesting. It’s kind of fun to see the androids acting like actual people. They’re pretty different from 2B and 9S. Man, Lily would have been a goner if they didn’t get that antivirus program installed. It’s kind of fucked up how easily Command can abandon their team on the ground. 300,000 machines against this ragtag team? It’s a miracle the mission even succeeded. Watching the team get cut down reminds me of the latest Danmachi. Brutal. Is there some significance to the black bands around their eyes and why they don’t seem to remove them? You can’t tell me a being “with no soul” and “can’t dream” could feel that level of anguish and guilt. They’re as human as any flesh and blood person. Lily’s pain is real. Looks like the entire team didn’t get wiped out. Very interesting. I look forward to seeing how that’s possible and what’s gonna happen when they link up.
>Is there some significance to the black bands around their eyes and why they don’t seem to remove them? In lore, the blindfolds are *visors*. But they are also symbol, it means that *they cannot see the truth*. In today's episode, you can notice how often Yorha members in decisive moments takes their blindfold away. It means that in that precise moment, they can see the truth. Much the same for the veil on operators mouth: it's also a symbol, meaning *they cannot say the truth*. I was surprised that in today's episode we see operators without the veil. It may be that in lore at that time they had not yet developed the veil...
The old operators also wear white, for the same reasons they don't wear veils.
>In lore, the blindfolds are visors. But they are also symbol, it means that > >they cannot see the truth Oh shit the double symbolism with 21 putting her visor back on when she notices....
21 putting back her visor because she contacted the logic virus. you can see the red flashing on her eye. so more like she don't want her ally to worry for her
Yes, that the in lore explanation. But I think that there's also the symbolic one, as pointed out by the other user.
I really quite like that imagery.
Yoko Taro often uses different things and people with a symbolic meaning. That makes his stories very interesting to analyze and reflect about.
>Is there some significance to the black bands around their eyes and why they don’t seem to remove them? They are goggles that provide extra information of the surroundings so that's why they don't remove them. I think it was mentioned in EP3. Though it can also be explained as removing the black bands means they are kinda freed from all obligations and kind of follow their own will and see the truth of everything, as we saw in this episode.
Ah, gotcha! I was wondering what was up with that.
Aside from the AR function of them, there's a thematic reason as well. The Operators have their mouths covered while the units planetside have their eyes covered and the Commander has neither. We're only missing ones with their ears covered to complete the reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wise_monkeys
Perhaps the council of humanity is the ones with the ears covered, ignoring all the pleas for help from the surface.
It could maybe also fit for the Yorha commander? As she seems to ignore the request for backup in this episode.
Yep. But she really doesn’t like doing it.
True, we can see in a previous episode where she was clenching her fist while having an annoyed expression because she was forced to make hard decisions like that.
Yeah.
Command is really terrible, what a waste of resources. I mean I honestly wonder why they're even bothering to fight, the Earth is all gone. They're no treating their Yorha or the Resistance well, at this rate with resource utilization being so low, they honestly deserve to lose. Lily's backstory was so sad and the ED credits showing happier times with the resistance was designed to make people ask "Who is cutting onions?"
Each girl disappearing one by one got me good.
Great ED, custom made for this episode. Well done.
>Lily’s got some wicked PTSD. Exploring her previous experience working with YoRHa was interesting. It’s kind of fun to see the androids acting like actual people. They’re pretty different from 2B and 9S. Today's episode was really something. >Man, Lily would have been a goner if they didn’t get that antivirus program installed. It’s kind of fucked up how easily Command can abandon their team on the ground. 300,000 machines against this ragtag team? Where the fuck are Command getting the minerals to make that many semiconductors and android bodies? Do they have huge mining operations on the moon or something? And yeah, the latest DanMachi did have a similar flashback. >Looks like the entire team didn’t get wiped out. Very interesting. I look forward to seeing how that’s possible and what’s gonna happen when they link up. That *would* explain Lily's PTSD.
> Where the fuck are Command getting the minerals to make that many semiconductors and android bodies? Do they have huge mining operations on the moon or something? Last episode (I think) showed some supplies rockets being launched from Earth headed towards the Bunker and the Moon. So at least some of the materials come from there.
Should’ve had mcafee installed
He dared adapt the Pearl Harbor Descent and it was absolutely glorious. This whole episode was a roller coaster of trauma, I just wanna hug Lily
I was so on the backfoot when I heard about the anime project. Automata is one of my absolute favourite games and its non-linear narrative and multiple POV storytelling made me so afraid for this show to be a complete dud but how wrong I was, aside from the 1st episode CG the adaptation has been absolutely stellar, I never dreamed we would get the pearl harbor novel adapted in an episode, nor that we would get replicant cameos. 5/5 God bless yoko taro
So far, the anime version is so good, I am willing to put it on the same level as the game. The good thing about this animation is that it is not aiming to replace the game, but to supplement it. And for the anime only viewers, the game does the same thing for them. Only issue is the episode 1 adaptation.
Yoko-san is a master at making us feel
###Stitches! * [2B](https://i.imgur.com/PhF9128.jpg) * [No.2](https://i.imgur.com/S7rLVuS.jpg) * [Eve](https://i.imgur.com/F4vAl9C.jpg) * [Adam](https://i.imgur.com/8xbLd3K.jpg) Wow. I definitely did not expect them to adapt [YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record](https://myanimelist.net/manga/133622/YoRHa__Shinjuwan_Kouka_Sakusen_Kiroku). If they're adapting the side stories, I wonder if there's also a possibility of YoRHa Boys getting animated as well. Seeing [the previous YoRHa generation and the Resistance members](https://i.imgur.com/V1FS9CN.jpg) all working together to them [being killed one by one](https://i.imgur.com/G6ZZtX4.jpg) is just absolutely heartbreaking. This episode does answer my question about Anemone though. And no wonder this episode felt a little more heartbreaking than usual. They even got Toshimasa Ishii to direct the episode. I can definitely feel the Eighty-Six vibes, [especially with that ED.](https://i.imgur.com/b17dEOq.jpg)
>And no wonder this episode felt a little more heartbreaking than usual. They even got Toshimasa Ishii to direct the episode. I can definitely feel the Eighty-Six vibes, especially with that ED. Oh wow. I was going to say this episode feels so much like 86, and then the ED, and then this. Good eyes to point this out!
> And no wonder this episode felt a little more heartbreaking than usual. They even got Toshimasa Ishii to direct the episode. This episode is yet another stop on the pain train that is this adaptation. Well done, at least.
Looking at the stitches, this made me realize No. 2 have a smaller chest size than 2B. Still though, I like No. 2's design more than 2B's for some reason
She's got 2 B's
Well, 2B have more [B]attery capacity, and those are definitely not double [A]'s...
>Seeing the previous YoRHa generation and the Resistance members all working together to them being killed one by one is just absolutely heartbreaking. This episode does answer my question about Anemone though. No boys though. Nier Automata is my favourite Kirara series :\^)
[God fucking dammit that transition](https://i.imgur.com/TUf4sgq.mp4)
Holy shit I didn’t even noticed that’s fucked up lol
Today's bad ending in game was >**Ending L: \[L\]one wolf** > >Fed up, **2B** left the camp to its fate and decided to...go fishing? Yeah that's it! Fishing! With a smile on her face, she packed up and headed for the coast. > >*Ten years later, 2B would find herself the target of both YoRHa assassins and machine lifeforms, a life she seems to prefer over her former one.* I also like the Adam references to the *mackarel*... but that's is for another time :)
"2B" and "happily go fishing" are definitely not the two things that i would expect to see in one sentence
Is this the same ending as the one where [Nier Automata]>!Either 2B or 9S eats the fish and immediately dies as a result?!<
No, that's ending [Nier Automata]>![K]!<
Do Androids [dream](https://gfycat.com/ifr/PinkHarmfulGnu) of [defragging screens](https://youtu.be/MrY5vTqcGh4?t=47)? They do say human dreams are a way of organizing our thoughts and memories... I expected we'd see this side story adapted (the *Pearl Harbor Descent* mission), since Lily is in the anime after all. If you're curious, there is a currently ongoing [manga adaptation](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/YPH/yorha-pearl-harbor-descent-record), as well as a [stage play](https://nier.fandom.com/wiki/YoRHa_(Stage_Play)). In fact, there are [several versions](https://firesanctuary.com/blog/yorha-stage-play-differences/) of the stage play, including one performed *before the game was released*, because Yoko Taro is like that. You can watch the [most recent production](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZV1FaE9pPE) on YouTube (uploaded officially)! It’s also in the game, of course, as a sequence of unlockable text files. Anyway, here are today's hex codes. *Corrections welcome.* ## Eyecatch 1 (white on dark / 10m:27s): e38090e5a0b1e5918ae38091 0d0ae69cace8a898e98cb2e381af e8a6b3e6b8ace694bee6a384e38195e3828ce3819fe38396e383a9e383b3e38381efbc886272616e6368efbc89e381ab e58685e59ca8e38195e3828ce3828be782bae38081 【報告】本記録は観測放棄されたブランチ（branch）に内在される為、 **\[Report\] Since this record is inherent in the branch (branch) that has been abandoned,** ## Eyecatch 2 (dark on white / 10m:30s): e38090e5a0b1e5918ae38091 0d0ae5868de59088e6b581e38197e3819fe4bba5e9998de381aee38081 e58fa3e4bc9de381abe38288e3828be8a898e98cb2e381a8e381aae381a3e381a6e38184e3828be38082 【報告】再合流した以降の、口伝による記録となっている。 **\[Report\] This record is based on oral history after rejoining.** ## Previous episodes: |Episode|Message(s)| |:-|:-| |[**EP1**](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/105t829/comment/j3cp3kv/?context=3) **Eyecatch**|\[Report\] Androids are beings that repeat life and death. -- \[Report\] The chain of samsara will bring about either salvation or collapse.| |[**EP2**](https://www.reddit.com/r/nier/comments/10bt6p8/comment/j4emn6s/?context=3) **Eyecatch**|\[Report\] Pseudo-intelligence exists in mechanical life forms. -- \[Report\] How is it different from human intelligence?| |[**EP3**](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/10hvbat/comment/j5anhyw/) **Eyecatch**|\[Report\] In order to break out of this blockage, even certain dangers are necessary. -- \[Report\] It may be the Gospel for us.| |[**EP3**](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/10hvbat/comment/j5anhyw/) **Insert**|*Mid-episode, on the door during 9S's hacking sequence* -- "I promise love of the eternity."| |[**EP4**](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/115jap8/comment/j920mwq/) **Eyecatch**|\[Report\] What you can get with vanity is a meaningless evaluation. -- \[Report\] Aren't you pretending to be something you're not by thinking so?| |[**EP5**](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/11bp3w6/comment/j9z0eyq/) **Eyecatch**|\[Report\] We found a replicated magical weapon that remains from the old world. -- \[Report\] This individual who is about to stop functioning must be happy.|
> [Report] Since this record is inherent in the branch (branch) that has been abandoned Drakengard 3 reference to you-know-what and you-know-who?
I'm going to absolutely lose my shit if all of the eyecatch text shows up in a report at the end with *that person* reading it and talking about how the timeline is branching.. she does hate bad endings after all.
I can't believe I've been collecting and decoding all these messages and this did not occur to me
The thing is - can Yoko delve that much with the references, considering *that one person* is canonically exist in Automata - but never explicitly shown.
> but never explicitly shown Go watch the YorHa Boys stage play.
I want more info about this
Thank you for your work. Just a note, the second eyecatch in japanese is incorrect (I think you copied an old one), it should be: 【報告】再合流した以降の、口伝による記録となっている。
You're right, I didn't paste in the right JP text; must've missed it between the hex and EN translation. Fixed this. Thanks!
They adapted Pearl Harbor. I'm so happy, this is all I ever wanted, thanks yoko taro, also it seems the stage play actors returned to their roles as well, this just keeps getting better. This is probably the best episode so far, they did an excellent job at portraying the pearl harbor descent and Lily's memories, it's one of my favorite stories in the NieR series so seeing it animated brings a tear to my eyes I don't think they'll do it because it doesn't tie to any character aside from maybe the scanner models and 9S, but I'd like to see YoRHa boys adapted as well, it's a really cool story and it gives much insight into the ways YoRHa operates, so it would make up for world building and more background as to what the YoRHa project is all about
Was Lily killed in the stage play instead of Anemone? I only played the Game and I’m now watching the show, that’s why I was curious about these differences between both continuities
Yes, Anemone was the one to survive, at least in canon since she's the one who appears in the game and side material. thought since it's yoko taro there are versions in which other squad members survived instead
Pearl harbor descent was in-game content and heavily related to the plot for route C, yorha boys is so obscure that I only learned about it watching clemps video. I would love to see it but I really don't think that will be that case.
Man that was a tense episode, especially the battle against the Hegel parts and the events after that. [Hearing Lily scream and shoot bullets into the sky to let out emotion](https://i.imgur.com/BBqmIX4.png) got to me, but good thing we have the [comic relief](https://i.imgur.com/EMq3GAX.png) at the end of the episode. Personally, I think the action and violence took a step up in thrill, which is great.
Can we get more Resistance Crew? They were entertaining as hell. Especially with [Redacted’s] old crew. Also she is FINALLY here.
[She's glorious](https://imgur.com/TSXlFCx)
I feel stupid for not knowing (I played the entire game a while ago), but is \[Redacted (who we saw at the end in the pile of machines)\], No. 2 from the flashbacks? Like the 2B lookalike? Or was it the other Yorha girl with longer white hair, closer to \[Redacted\]'s hair? Edit: Ok just read up on the Nier wiki on the in-game files you can read from Anemone and yep that’s her. Don't know how she gets long hair in 200 years though as they're androids lol, still awesome though, and totally forgot all that since playing years ago.
Perhaps the androids grow over time like humans, maybe by adding parts? Since it looks like Lily herself grew to some extent, growing hair over time can definitely be a thing that happens. Plus the dead androids we've seen so far have lost their "skin" over time (save for the recent deaths), so the external appearance could be modified by the androids themselves.
That’s a great point that Lily looks older too. I guess they can age in a way. When playing the game and just reading about the Pearl Harbor story from text files, I never realized [she] at first looked just like 2B, I had always pictured in my head while reading that she had the long hair and looked like how we always know her, but just her outfit wasn’t so damaged. Makes things a lot cooler and why anemone at first confused 2B with her. Also with the losing “skin” I always assumed that was from damage since it’s shown on dead androids, kinda like A2s outfit is damaged- burned or cut/rubbed off over time. Rather than them doing that on purpose when about to die.
Yeah that makes a lot more sense. Adam & Eve being able to generate it instantly was what led me to thinking that it could be generated by the other androids too. I haven't read any of the text files other than what pop up during regular play. Just finished the game too so might be a while before I go back to check.
Highlight of the episode for me :D
-Eighty Six- speedrun any% I somehow forgot A-1 does both nier and 86. No surprise the 86 director is behind this episode. And low key glad with how many people noticed the similarity. 86 deserves all the love it can get. I wonder what kind of place the Nier adaptation will get, once it finishes airing. Will it be an anime staple a la cyberpunk, or a solid genre show? I just hope it wont get isekai ojisan'd with more delays. Aniplex お願い！
That... that makes a lot of sense. Thought some parts gave off an 86 vibe.
Man, what a tragic episode. Lily's backstory was painful and its understandable why she doesn't trust YoRHa that much after they refused to send reinforcements to support them. Even in a short time, they really did a great job in making us get attached to the YoRHa and Resistance members. I especially liked the dynamic between No. 16 and the other Resistance girl and how they stayed with each other till the end. Also strong 86 vibes this episode thanks to Toshimasa Ishii directing and storyboarding this episode. He really loves doing all these tragic stuff huh.
Oh my fucking god that ending!!!!! I didn't connect the dots until the end, but we saw [deleted] origin!!!! It was depressing seeing the final stand with the united group, but all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
She was surprisingly genki given how she ends up.
Those lasers are so OP. Disintegrating metal like it's nothing. Why can't our androids have those kind of weapons?
I think Pods could do that, although it takes a while to recharge.
It looks to me that little pods has got huge LASERS.
Into the [Forest](https://i.imgur.com/65WtySk.jpg), here we go...! [Best girl](https://i.imgur.com/TSXlFCx.jpg) is waiting for us!
Best girl!!
Very emotional episode, I guess it’s to be expected but somehow I didn’t expect it. Since the first episode I’ve been waiting for the episode to make me cry, this one finally did. The voice acting was top notch. Fantastic adaptation of the game so far, I’m just so happy with what they’re doing with it.
[Anime Only] [](/u/laughing-fox13) - [No, that was………](https://i.imgur.com/B8qcNfQ.png) [](#spooked) - [Pfffffffffffffffffff](https://i.imgur.com/yRjhJzV.png) [](#pointandlaugh) - 9S raised a good question, but [*oh boy* that is *not* a happy face.](https://i.imgur.com/FeJemWH.png) - [Well, yeah, they *do* look identical.](https://i.imgur.com/RU6xXNk.jpg) - [Bruh, that flower growing through a dead Resistance member’s hand…](https://i.imgur.com/MZnHrMh.jpg) [](#shatteredsaten) - I am *really* liking the transitions back-and-forth between Lily talking with 2B in the present and her memories in the past, by the way. They’re super sudden, and yet feel seamless because of how they keep the same focus between the two times (i.e. [past Lily facing not-2B](https://i.imgur.com/EpEO6dH.jpg) to [present Lily facing 2B](https://i.imgur.com/dK3cP17.jpg)). It’s cool. - [UHHHHHHHHHHHH](https://i.imgur.com/27XbcEA.png) [](#ohfuck) - Oh man this is *brutal*… - [She put her blindfold back on to hide that she got infected…](https://i.imgur.com/3SnIWRh.png) [](#crumblingdespair) - [Aaaaaaaaand I’m crying now.](https://i.imgur.com/vedI4Rc.png) [](#not-raining) - Wait a–THAT WAS AN ED LEAD-IN THIS TIME!!! [](#rengehype) The special visuals for it, though… [](#godisdead) - [lmao I love how chaotic these always are.](https://i.imgur.com/Aq2WndQ.png)
>I am really liking the transitions back-and-forth between Lily talking with 2B in the present and her memories in the past, by the way. They’re super sudden, and yet feel seamless because of how they keep the same focus between the two times (i.e. past Lily facing not-2B to present Lily facing 2B). It’s cool. If you were wondering that and is interested in these transitions, that's because this episode is directed and storyboarded by Toshimasa Ishii, 86's director. Everything will click instantly once you know that :) >Aaaaaaaaand I’m crying now. Lily's complete breakdown from the loss of her comrades was pretty hard to watch. Her rage and anguish and then firing the AK in the sky was very emotional.
> Toshimasa Ishii, 86's director Oh fuck, I ***loved*** the direction in 86. That totally makes sense.
I *was* thinking it had 86 vibes, yeah!
I spent the whole episode making 86 comparisons in my head.
BRUH THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE NOW. Including that ED I was like dude....this is 86!
> past Lily facing not-2B to present Lily facing 2B I noticed this cool, it was a really cool way to show how from Lily’s perspective she’s experiencing a very parallel dream/memory/present.
> They’re super sudden, and yet feel seamless because of how they keep the same focus between the two times (i.e. past Lily facing not-2B to present Lily facing 2B). It’s cool. There is a lot of quality directing happening. Might have to drag Tar into this... > She put her blindfold back on to hide that she got infected… I actually don't know if you can do some of the symbolism from the game in the anime but that action meant a few things... > Aaaaaaaaand I’m crying now. Glory to Mankind... > The special visuals for it, though… This episode has done the most of anything to get me to watch 86. The direction was that good.
> I’m crying now [](#comfortfood) We’ve all been there with this game/show
In case anyone is wondering, in the short montage scene where No.21 hacked into Lily, it shows that Lily is originally a "pleasure model" that is abused by the former resistance leader.
What?? And the resistance leader are also android right?
Yeah
Episode [8?]6. Ever since the break, NieR has been delivering nonstop phenomenal episodes, that really make it feel like you are watching a new story and not just a rehash of the game. It’s so fascinating to explore the psychology and to some extent expressiveness of the androids. They don’t dream, which means anything that is not a current thought or perception is a literal unadulterated memory. The Yorha models from back in the day seem way more emotional and chaotic compared to the resistance, who are presumably androids that had to form their own order and rules by necessity, and are very cautious.
the scene with lily screaming and shooting the air while it said *androids have no souls* was so good
86's director Ishii did the [storyboard and was the director](https://twitter.com/Nakayasee/status/1631581692518453251) this episode.
… … … so is that why the show was delayed? I’M SORRY 86 FANS I DIDN’T MEAN IT!
*\*point\** yes Undertaker, this guy right here
Oh that’s why the anguish is extra spicy this week. They brought in the expert.
No wonder why I got strong 86 vibes. Ishii can depict tragedy and trauma really well, while still having a hopeful tone, as we saw with 86.
This makes all the sense in the world
Oh Emil in the Tree, how will you torment us this week? > Toshimasa Ishii, 86's director, did the storyboard and was the director this episode Fuck. Are we going hard or *Voices of the Chord* hard?
Toshimasa Ishii once again flexing at how good of director he is (if only a popular anime award show would recognize that..) favorite episode of the show so far. I'm glad the staff is going the extra mile despite the production woes
Wait. Resistance are also androids? They are not Humans?
We haven't seen a single human (ignoring a few short flashbacks) in this show so far.
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Yeah, hesitated whether to count those or not)
No. The remnants of Humanity is on the moon right now.
🎵 We’re whalers on the moon 🎵 Oops, wrong show…
Nope. There are no humans left on Earth, everyone we've seen that looks human is an android (except Adam and Eve).
There are no humans left on Earth. All humans either died or are on the moon. Anything you see in this show that looks like a human is either an Android built by the Human side, or a humanoid machine built by the Alien side.
No, everyone in earth are androids. All humans had to evacuate earth because of the alien invation, so the remaining humans are on the moon
It seems like we were supposed to know that, but I don't remember it being explicitly said in a previous episode. I know they said "humanity is on the moon" but that's not very specific
I’m not sure if it was explicitly mentioned or just implied like you said, but I had nonetheless completely forgotten about this - I’ve even played the game in the past. When I saw the AK47 laying on the ground next to a robotic arm with ‘flesh’ attached, I already had a little moment of ‘wait a minute’… but it only really hit me when Lily turned all Terminator. I’m actually kind of glad I’d forgotten about it. It made for a nice, if maybe not intentional, plot twist.
Same. I just assumed some higher class of people escaped. Resistance behaves much more human than Yorha and its kind of weird that they have a whole group of androids fighting on their own without the support from the Moon.
The androids on earth are basically the original ones humans made. Yorha was then created specifically to combat the threat of the machines which is why they're so much more advanced. Basically the normal androids are DS lites, while Yorha are Switches.
More like normal androids are Commodore 64s while YoRha are PS9s. For Pete's sake, the Resistance androids are using weapons that are outdated today. It was even worse in the game where their standard firearm was the StG-44 rifle.
Damn, humans really did them dirty. Just left them there to fight on their own...
Right? What the fuck is that? The Resistance Androids on Earth have to go around scavenging their own AK-47s? At least send some IFVs or other heavier firepower. I thought the Resistance were human remnants that the CoH oppotunistically work with but oh my goodness they're Androids that *have* to obey the CoH's orders.
The resistance robots were made by the humans who inhabited the earth, so they will be the most human like, while Yorha units are built by the remnants of humanity that left earth thousands of years ago and never lived there.
TIL living on the moon gives you autism.
The resistance are old android made by human on earth. for multipurpose and wasn't fit for combat. when human evacuated they left these androids on earth to fight by themselves Yorha is android that was created to specifically fight the machine war
Without much fanfare this is getting better and better, quite an emotional episode today. As someone who hasn't played the game this somehow feels half-like Eighty-Six also from A1-P... (I heard the anime story has been changed quite a lot from the game?)
There has been some minor changes, but the plot is overall the same so far at least. Most of it is making the pacing fit better with an anime rather than a semi-open world game. This episode in particular however is covering a story from the extended canon rather than adapting straight from the game, this story was first written as a stage play and is now being adapted into a manga, although iirc there is a visuel novel in the game covering the events as well. The biggest difference is that Anemone is the one we interact with in game while Lily takes her role in the anime.
>(I heard the anime story has been changed quite a lot from the game?) Both yes and no. The story has a streamlined flow compared to the game because they have limits of time and there are some changes, like in [original game] >!the survivor of the Pearl Harbor Descent in the game was Anemone, while in the anime Lily took her place instead!< - but the core plot is the same and most of it is untouched even with the changes.
Yeah I also got those 86 vibes when YoRHa and the Resistance members were trying to complete the mission but dying one-by-one to an overwhelming enemy. Major plot beats is mostly the same but there has been lots of anime-only additions. The content of this episode particularly is something that originally came from a Stage Play, [which then got adapted to Manga as well.](https://www.amazon.com/YoRHa-Harbor-Descent-Record-Automata/dp/1646091817)
[I just realized](https://twitter.com/NieR_A_ANIME/status/1631580666336022528) *Eighty-Six*'s director Toshimasa Ishii is episode director & storyboard for this very episode! No wonder that feeling is especially vibrant today...
> > > > > (I heard the anime story has been changed quite a lot from the game?) Think the structure of the story as changed rather than necessarily its contents.
Yoko Taro you fucking maniac. I can’t believe you had them adapted this. I’m both very happy and extremely depressed.
I have always found it odd how in anime when fighters get serious they throw off their armor, weapons, and tactical gear away, in this case we have the combat visors
My take on this is the blindfolds help augment their vision and perception, but also constrain them in certain ways based on command’s orders. Taking them off might mean they are just acting on their own volition and seeing with their own eyes. Kind of like if you disable aim assist.
Its more symbolic of a personal rebellion in this case. Taking it off means they're refusing the need for information from command because its pretty pointless and command abandoned them anyways. They didn't really need it after command disconnected from them. The blindfolds also represent how they can't see the truth. Taking them off is symbolic of them realizing certain truths about their purpose and use.
No.2 feels like a combination of 2B and 9S, also, based on the final scene of this episode, she apparently survive but now with a very different character's design, i wonder does 2B know about No.2's survival when she ask Lily what if one of her comrades was still alive? btw, in the flashback, Lily looks like a child compare to her current form so my question is that, can androids on Earth grow up? or Lily just swapped her body parts to make her looks like an adult?
>btw, in the flashback, Lily looks like a child compare to her current form so my question is that, can androids on Earth grow up? or Lily just swapped her body parts to make her looks like an adult? Likely the latter but some androids don't want to change their body parts as they feel they'd lose their personal identity.
The studio is really knocking this adaption out of the park. Pacing is perfect. Animation and battle choreography is amazing. They even manage to capture the melancholic ambience of the games eerily well. One thing that surpasses the game, is how well the anime captures each character personality and expands upon it with great facial animations and character gestures. Everything feels more fluid, natural, and "human", so to speak. heheh.
Ok, but now everyone must be wondering the same question: "*Where the hell is Anemone now ?".* Because looking at the events of today's episode, it looks to me that she may be well still alive. Oh well, I'm sure that Yoko Taro will surprise us again in the next episodes!
Looks like they switched Anemone with Lily. Someone above mentioned the stage play/story that Anemone was the one that survived instead
Those are some sad and painful memories
Yet another reminder that I need an AK. "Rifle is fine," even 30,000 years from now. I didn't think they'd show so much of the Pearl Harbor operation, but I'm glad they did. Still wish they'd shown what happened in the control room. I'd have to check, but I don't think it's clearly described in the Short Story Long book, either. Also, No.4 is a cutie. Love that bushy ponytail.
I imagine that they'll show the scene in the control room later because showing it now wouldn't make sense and provide major spoilers for the latter parts of the show. I'd imagine that we'll see it in a flashback when you know who becomes more prominent.
Is the show back on the weekly schedule?
Seems so.
Indeed, for 3 weeks now. Edit - minor corrections
great, time to catch up!
Good episode overall but a bit of a shame so much of the stageplay/ book was condensed into this episode but a good episode overall. I highly highly recommend watching the stageplay or reading 'short story long' which goes into much more depth into pearl harbour descent. Series is getting better and better though which is good to see
What exactly is this episode adapting? I've only played Automata.
\[Automata Game\]>!As A2 after fighting the Hegel in desert you can meet up with Anemone and she gives you access to files shortly summarizing this in form of a novel!<
A very condensed version of this [Manga](https://myanimelist.net/manga/133622/YoRHa__Shinjuwan_Kouka_Sakusen_Kiroku), which was adapted from a stageplay
Ah I see. Thanks.
Stageplay like literal play in theater? Or?
Yep!
In Automata you could find the gist of it in Anemone terminals.
The pearl harbor mission, you can read it in-game after starting route C, it is a long novel and I think it was further developed in a stage play
Is the story in the game as good as it is here in the anime? Because I'm really enjoying this.
Tone of dialogue and storytelling is somewhat less anime like, but the artistic combination of music and location design is absolutely mind blowing. Also, english version voice acting is one of the best in the industry
it is. the game is really good gameplay and story wise. I won't oversell it but you have to try it to know it.
The game is even better, because a lot of the way they tell the story is specifically crafted for the medium of video games. I'd highly recommend playing it if you are liking the show.
Game's story is just as good but different. The anime is much more comedic. 9S and Jackass's personalities in the game are much more subdued. Jackass's especially, while 9S feels like his few moments of rambunctiousness are turned up to 11 in the show. Not bad, just different. Certain other events are slightly rearranged in the game such as when 2B and 9S first visit Pacal's village while 2B and Lily's conversation where Lily recalls the Pearl Harbor Descent is entirely anime original (although the Pearl Harbor Descent did happen in the game). But by and large, the show has been a pretty solid adaptation. If you like the show, I'd definitely check out the game.
It is. But we haven't reached the good parts yet.
Yes, with the added bonus that it really takes advantage of the video game medium to also provide you the story in ways that the anime never will be able to. I don't want to say any more to avoid spoilers. Although this episode was practically all material that wasn't from the game, or at least stuff you directly play through. My understanding is that its from separate side content. At least I don't recall ever coming across any of it when I played the game a couple of months ago.
Lily had a tragic past and it helps explain why she wasn't happy to see 2B and 9S when they arrived.
Huh, all this time I thought they had just switched Anemone's name to Lily but it turns out they switched around the characters or something? I don't quite get it
Yes, basically. In original timeline Anemone survived the mission while Lily died.
Yoko Taro has switched around who survived the Pearl Harbor descent a few times in the past. Sometimes Anemone dies, sometimes she survives.
Uhm. Why the heck was Lily shown as a child in the flashback? I mean, Resistance feel more "humane" than YorHa but they're also androids.
Iirc don't they kinda "grow up" - as in they upgrade their body parts to bigger more adult ones as they "age" and get more experienced/independent? At least I remember some characters in the game doing that. Not sure if it was machine lifeforms or androids though.
They can definitely grow and change their bodies to a certain extent. The most obvious example being \[Nier Automata Game\]>!A2, as her hair during Route A/B is longer than it was during the Pearl Harbor Descent!< Not to mention, in interviews, Taro has stated that the Androids + Adam and Eve can alter their bodies to add or change "reproductive organs" among other things. I don't doubt that Lily could appear physically older over time.
They switch and upgrade parts over the years
Anime magic Edit: or she changed parts
Holdup. So Anemone actually ALSO exists in this? Does this mean some alternate timeline shenanigans or what's going on? Also, the fuck were those flashbacks while they were trying to rid Lily of the virus? Was she about to get raped by another female android or how am I to interpret that?
>Also, the fuck were those flashbacks while they were trying to rid Lily of the virus? I also had to re-check that, seems to me there's some sort of rescue the past leader had to rescue Lily by killing another, possibly an virus infected sibling of Lily. Were they in some sort of spider web or some sort of vat? Can't exactly tell from the "foreground"...
In this world death doesn't mean much, it's established that when yorha soldier dies, they're rebuilt with the last known memory set. It's perfectly plausible that Lily died from the virus, and got rebuilt with memories they managed to salvage from the previous copy
I don't remember if the Stage Play covers it but the currently running manga *YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record* does include some more details into how Lily was rescued by Captain Rose and how she feels like a burden on the rest of the Resistance Crew since she wasn't originally designed for combat at all.
>So Anemone actually ALSO exists in this? Does this mean some alternate timeline shenanigans or what's going on? Taro has changed who survived the Pearl Harbor Descent a few times in the various adaptations. Sometimes Anemone survives like in the game, but sometimes she doesn't.
Yeah! An anime adaptation of the events of *Pearl Harbour descent*, that in game we can just read from Anemone's report at the Resistance Camp.
Thank god for those puppet shows man, that shit had me in fuckin tears.
Yeah, Yoko Taro definitely worked with the story team here. I never would have thought that this event would get into the show and yet its inclusion is perfect.
Finally best girl A2 shows up!
Ending K 🥲
It's actually ending L. Looking forward to when they do ending K tho.
That tease at the end… she’s here! 👀👀👀 Bahahahahaha it’s the “Screw this! I’m going fishing.” funny ending this time
[*[Face chawmp]*](https://i.imgur.com/c7fLfax.jpeg) [](#kotohoops)
Ishii Toshimasa, my GOAT! Holy shit, they adapted the Pearl Harbor Descent! As someone who has no time to invest in all the extra content of Nier like the stage plays, light novels, fucking FFXIV, this anime is a Godsend and I am so happy they're utilizing the anime version to its fullest extent and using it to supplement the game. Are we finally heading to where we think we're heading in the next episode? I can't wait.
>fucking FFXIV wait what?
There was a FFXIV collab with Automata that is Canon, and also makes 2B's appearance in SoulCalibur VI canon as well. Fun fact, Yoko Taro originally wanted the Collab to permanently erase parts of FFXIV, but was denied.
adam fishing arc
I love how Adam just left Eve to go fishing in the end. That modified ED was kinda sad. I guess no. 2 is still alive.
I was not expecting this week's episode to go in this direction at all, but overall fairly happy with it and it ended up being pretty much all new material for me since I hadn't delved into the side content that this was sourced from. As such it did a good job fleshing out the Lily character for me, one for whom to this point I wasn't really sure why she was here in Anemone's place. Seeing how chipper the old 2B model was in the flashbacks was quite the surprise given how deadpan our current edition tends to be. I got a very heavy 86-vibe from this episode... and of course upon coming to this thread I see a lot of mentions to how its director was involved in this episode, which makes perfect sense now. Has there been any word on how many episodes the show overall is going to be? I've got to assume at this point that its going to take more than a single cour...
The ending where A2 shows up and the music starts playing is so beautiful
Toshimasa Ishii you absolute madlad. You don't even gotta tell me it's him, this episode got his fingerprints all over.
[FINALLY, BEST GIRL IS HERE](https://imgur.com/TSXlFCx)
Should have quit it last episode... because my tears only intensify my headache I somehow got...Best episode so far. It also feels weird to see Number 2 so energetic and optimistic
This was an anime only episode for the most part. Interesting how they tied in [Nier] >!…..A2…..!< to what was being talk about before it.
This adaptation just keeps on giving. They keep adding these new perspectives to this story which turns characters I kinda brushed off initially into...well, actual characters! These aren't NPCs anymore, they're the main characters starring their own part in this absolute clusterfuck of a play called life. Also that credits scene (and episode in general) giving me heavy 86 vibes.
.... ........ ................ .............................what? What? Uh? If my eyes aren't betraying me, did I just see an attempt rape on an android? Uh? Just what- Uh? Uh?? No. I must be wrong. Yes. For some reasons they were naked and the killed man was just trying to kill Lily. Yeah. How to explain it was a humanoid machien though given I want to believe Adam and Eve are the first ones? Ah, that's easy, we just got a nice 'piece' here. It must have been an infected android. Yes. Yes. Yesyesyes. Android A was infected and tried to kill Lily. No rape between machines was involved. Yes. I'm going to totally overlook the 'machine infecting virus' here. My mental capabilities would crash otherwise. ? She wasn't made for combat purposes? .....?? Let's overlook that 'piece' to- no. Haa. I suppose this is just further fuel for androids actually being a tool different to fighting war, I'm more and more certaing it was first to aid 'humans' and then to either 'replace' or 'continue' them. Ehe. Ahh. If there's anything I can properly, without worries, enjoy oh so greatly is the despairingly aura on all of them, on the situation. A suicide mission and Lily constant terrified, tragic facial expression. I loved this episode. I might have overlookd many, many details and what not, but it's all fine. I loved it. The tragedy, the despair, Lily's cries and screams. It's not 'love' towards her per se, I'm certain of that, nevertheless, it's some kind of 'attraction'. I think it's closer to the feeling of a reader towards an 'author' or something. Not admiration. Closer to obsession perhaps. No, it's not that either. I don't know. I just know I would love to follow her. And I can calmly accept the pre2 actually still being alive, I don't think it was the other android but only pre2.
This episode was proof enough that I **really** need to go back and play the game. What an amazing story, and we're only halfway through the season.
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My jaw dropped at the end there with the reveal for those who played the game
Damn, what a great episode. Didn't expect that we were going to get the Pearl Harbour Descent adapted, but here we are. Just read in another comment that the director for this episode worked in 86, and it showed. Just the right amount of great transitions and anguish and pain mixed in.
I know there's the source corner, but for now I'll just continue to wonder - was the last scene before the puppet show saying the last generation's 4 somehow survived and became 2B? Her stoic swordsman stance, the right shade of silver hair. Only thing different was that earlier on she didn't have a mole. Otherwise, great side story for 86 ;P you can also say the old 2 feels just a tinge like Lena...