Tag Archives: Novel

Grimoire NieR & NieR Replicant Recollections Novel to be Officially Released in English

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The much anticipated Revised Edition of the 2010 Grimoire NieR complete guide as well as the first of the two-part NieR Replicant Recollections novels are scheduled to be released officially in English in 2023 by Square Enix’s very own Manga & Books brand!

THANK GOD!!! It’s so hard to get good translations done when the work is outsourced to companies simply translate what’s written on the page without any deeper understanding of the context…

Here are the official announcements by the Square Enix Manga & Books Twitter account:

And here are the quick links to the item pages on the Square Enix Manga & Books site:

I’ve previously written in detail about these novels, but I’ve removed my personal translations of various passages to respect the official release later next year. Please note that there are two novels in this series, Project Gestalt Recollections File 1 and File 2, which means the release of File 2 will likely come a few months after the first… maybe summer or fall 2023!

The Revised Edition of Grimoire NieR is largely the same as the 2010 version that’s been updated with assets and information from Replicant Ver.1.22… If you’ve seen a great big fan translation of the original book floating around, please delete it and purchase the official English translation when it’s released! Since it’s being released by SQEX themselves, I have no doubt that it will be of the utmost quality! I’m super excited to see it!

YoRHa Boys Novel

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The new novel by Eishima Jun and Yoko Taro was just released yesterday, July 27, 2018. I will post various notes and such about it as I’m able to read through the book.

Table of Contents

  • YoRHa Boys Ver.1.05 – Prologue (Project YoRHa)
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3
  • Chapter 4
  • Chapter 5
  • Chapter 6
  • Epilogue
  • Flashback
  • 1994X, Treasure Hunting Trip

Written by: Eishima Jun
Supervised by: Yoko Taro
Cover Art by: Koda Kazuma
Illustration Art by: Itahana Toshiyuki

Notes and Such
(Spoilers are discussed below, so this is your one and only warning.)

  • The prologue is a novelization of the “Project YoRHa” recitation drama which was performed at the NieR:Automata Music Concert. You can read my translation of that script here, but this novelization seems to have reworked a bunch into a concisely formatted novel form.
  • We know that Zinnia was pretty much the one who created YoRHa, but it’s blatantly stated in this novelization (p.7).
  • No9 mentions that Zinnia’s words are really difficult to read whether he’s merely joking or is being serious. It’s just part of his personality.
  • No9 wants to know more about the situation and illegally accesses the server on the Lab and discovers that machine lifeforms have taken over a gigantic portion of Eurasia. He wanted to ask Zinnia more about it, but then he would know that he accessed the server without permission…
  • No9 sets off on his mission to create Project YoRHa after discovering the truth about YoRHa, why they were created, and also the truth that humanity is already long extinct.
  • No9 sets all the YoRHa into a deep sleep when they go in for a scheduled screening check and sets a fire to eventually ingulf the entire satellite. He made sure that No2 would be outside, testing a flight unit.
  • On the way to Zinna’s room, No9 comes across No4. He kills No4 and opens Zinnia’s door, where he finds No21 and he talking inside. No9 quickly dispatches No21 before she/he (unknown) can even utter a sound.
  • No9 then wants Zinnia to suffer. He stabs Zinnia straight through the gut, severs his arm at the shoulder.
  • The Lab has suffered major damage due to the fire and the artificial gravity no longer works. No9 freaks out when Zinnia’s door suddenly opens–he thinks that it’s No2–but discovers that it’s No4’s dead body floating in the air. It must have triggered the mechanism to open the door.
  • Eventually No2 makes it to Zinnia’s room. Just as she enters the room and before she has the chance to react to what No9 has done, he stabs her… and her blood slowly flows out as round balls floating in anti-gravity. No9 explains to her what happened and that he’s already set in motion his so-called “Project YoRHa”. There is no stopping it now.
  • Still she reluctantly stabs him through. He tells her, “The person I am now… I’m glad… you’re the one… to kill me…”
  • No9 dies thinking about how much he wants to see No2 again. He knows that new YoRHa will be made, there will be other No2s and No9s… And he wishes to meet No2 again somewhere warm and washed in light. “I want to see you again. What about you? Huh, No2?”

 

  • The flashback chapter is from Black’s perspective. There’s a scene that takes place before the start of the M001 mission and he’s talking with White…! The rest are sort of flashbacks that take place here and there at different points throughout the story, but it all takes place within the last couple seconds before No6’s core implodes, taking Black with him.
  • No6 was never infected with the Logic Virus, like No3 or No21.
  • No6 tells Black that he didn’t really want to be intimate with him… but rather he wanted to torture him…
  • The last chapter is of Cactus, Phlox, and Lotus… they meet Anemone, and even come across Emil. They initially think he’s a machine lifeform…
  • The three of them ran into Jackass…and she about killed them, saying how interesting they seemed. She wanted to “study” them…
  • “We don’t need to fight and kill each other. No one shall die. How I wish to go to such a place. After all, even a coward has the dream of a coward.”–last thought by Cactus.

A Quick Look at the Japanese NieR:Automata Novel – A Short Story / Short Story Long

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Updated: May 18, 2022 – 10:45pm

※ Spoiler Warning ※

October 24, saw the release of the second novel from the NieR:Automata series. Here’s the quick look at the book!

◾️ A Short Story

▶︎ Table of Contents:
● The Fire of Prometheus, by Yoko Taro – p.3-30
● YoRHa Ver.1.05＊, by Eishima Jun – p.31-158
● The Memory Cage, by Eishima Jun – p.159-188
● Bunker, by Eishima Jun – p.189-206
● Little Flowers, by Yoko Taro – p.207-220
● The Great Sea of Tranquility, by Eishima Jun – p.221-248
● The Memory Thorn, by Eishima Jun – p.249-276
● Emil’s Memory＊, by Eishima Jun – p.277-318

＊ YoRHa Ver.1.05: A Few Notes
● The novelization of the YoRHa stage play looks pretty accurate from the original script. Many of the lines of dialogue are exactly the same; it just has additional narration in between. It is split into sections that are all designated by a precise timestamp like this:

【1208/8:05】

● It appears like they entirely cut out No2’s line where she mentions her “false memories” of living on a peaceful farm with her grandmother… Hmm…

I was mistaken about this→ I just had another look at the book and found the line where No2 remembers her past. Here’s my translation of the few lines that address this:

−Page 129−
“But me… I only have the memory of a bullied child,” Gerbera sighed.

Compared to Gerbera, No2 thought her false memories were rather pleasant.

There lie the memory of living in the country with her grandmother. It was a warm, peaceful memory. Ever since her parents died young, she lived together with her grandmother, just the two of them. She “remembered” working on the fields everyday, feeling the earth running through her hands, even the scent of the grass.

With this passage, thankfully, my initial speculation about a Kaine/No2 connection might still be possible.

● There’s a new narration from No2’s perspective after the No4 detonates in the server room. It is…beyond emotional. Maybe it’s because it’s the first bit of new material from the play’s script that’s got me wrapped up again, but… As No2 crawls out of the rubble, saved by a miracle, she hears the voices of her fallen comrades: No4, No16, and No21. They all give her a little encouragement to keep living. The last portion of the chapter shows Pod saying “Good morning” to A2 in the desert…

＊ Emil’s Memories: A Few Notes
● This is pretty much Ending Y… It ends with Emil screaming the same lines he says during his last fight… but it ends with him being reunited with three of his most beloved people… <3 …prepare the tissues…

 ▲ Cover – Long After Androids Dream of the Glory of Mankind, Magical Experimental Weapons Continue Rolling

A First Look at the Japanese NieR:Automata Novel – A Long Story / Long Story Short

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Updated: May 18, 2022 – 10:38pm

I just got the novel and flipped through it today. It was 318 pages and seems to follow the narrative of the game well from what I’ve skimmed through thus far.

■ Table of Contents and More

  • Prologue
  • Chapter 1: 2B’s Story – Activation
  • Chapter 2: 2B’s Story – Resonance
  • Chapter 3: 2B’s Story – Contact
  • Chapter 4: 2B’s Story – Alienation
  • Chapter 5: 2B’s Story – Confrontation
  • Chapter 6: 2B’s Story – Reunion (Ending A/B)
  • Chapter 7: 9S’s Story – Loss
  • Chapter 8: 9S’s Story – Pilgrimage
  • Chapter 9: 9S’s Story – Obsession
  • Chapter 10: 9S’s Story – The Truth (Ending D)
  • Epilogue

There are several “side” moments in chapters that give a personal look into the character’s thoughts and additional scenes. My summaries below alternate between an omniscient third-person view to a first-person view from a specific character. Please accuse any awkward shifts between views and/or tenses. 😛

Continue reading →

A NieR:Automata Novel Has Been Revealed!

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The Square Enix e-STORE has just posted a NieR:Automata novel up for pre-order at the following page (click the image):

Title: A Long Story
Teaser: When Androids Dream of the Glory of Mankind, Do Machines Dream of Mankind?
Author: Eishima Jun
Supervision: Yoko Taro
Publishing Date: August 5, 2017
Pages: 322 pages (tentative)
Size: B6 (tentative)
Price: 1,008 yen

When you purchase this novel from the SQEX e-STORE, it will come with the following bookmark as a bonus:

Written by Eishima Jun with supervision by Yoko Taro. The story is to take place during the events of the game and give us a better insight into the characters.

“When I said, “Eishima-san is more knowledgeable about NieR, so she can write the novel without me supervising it,” she was like nope.”