Updated: June 28, 2024 – 17:57pm (JST)
Welcome to yet another long-form reaction piece dedicated to the Yokoverse. This is in direct relation to the recent NieR Automata Ver.1.1a special broadcast that aired early this morning at 12:30am (JST). I wonder if anyone was able to see it? If not Aniplex made it available on their YouTube channel, which you can watch below!
That being said, this post is rather long, so please feel free to skim as you like, and if you find something interesting here, I would love to hear from you! It’s been a while since I’ve posted something this long, so if you find any goofs or other oddities, please feel free to let me know and I will rectify the issue right away!
Moving on, this is again in response to the latest information that we’ve been giving about Season 2 of the NIeR:Automata Ver.1.1a anime.
The first segment of the program recaps Season 1, introducing the characters, the overall plot and conflict between androids and machines.
▶︎ Interviews with the Creators
With the release of season 1, they’ve heard from many people who haven’t played the game but still enjoyed the anime without any problem, so Yoko first reiterates that it’s not necessary to have played the game to enjoy the anime. “I’m really happy to hear that people who haven’t played the game have in fact enjoyed the anime.”
“The project started with me wanting to do an anime, so it’s really become a deeply thoughtful work. It’s quite profound.”
(The sign on Masuyama’s logo in the background says: “Work comes first,” which is a sort of excuse why he didn’t appear in this program.)
For the most part, since Season 2 is merely a continuation of Season 1, animation producer Shota Fujii mentions that there won’t be any great changes. They are still dedicated to authentically reproducing the events of the game in the anime format, so Director Masuyama is still working to that end.
Yoko goes on to say that he really feels as though Director Masuyama has pulled out all the stops for Season 2. There was more interaction between the game and anime sides for Season 1, but this time for Season 2, Masuyama has really stepped up to really hit this season out of the park; Yoko mentions how impressed he is with the quality and vision of the scenes.
Regarding the conclusion of the anime, Saito mentions that there’s generally two different ways to enjoy the anime: one from the perspective of someone who’s already played the game and knows the ending, and those who begin with the anime and are curious how things will turn out.
“Season 2 will absolutely not disappoint!” ーYosuke Saito
Regarding the “original” feel of the anime, Yoko goes on to explain:
“Prior to the broadcast of Season 1, the scenario for both seasons were already complete, but so much has actually changed since then. For example, somethings have changed in part with direction by Masuyamaー It’s not anything huge, but the small nuances with the details and wording.”
Fujii continues:
Merely in translating the story from a game to the anime medium, things are bound to change. In a positive sense, the further on they progress with the anime, the further separated it gets with the game, and therefore there’s a lot of adjustments that have to be implemented. For example, if it’s an anime, “it’s okay for this much of a character’s personality to come up to the surface, right?” Things like that. For characters like Lily and Jackass, we’re able to see them from a different perspective in the anime this time around, so we adjust them to best draw out their character in the anime format.
Regarding the bits of information that were told about the Pearl Harbor Decent Record, which was told in Season 1, Yoko mentions that more will be revealed in Season 2, and of course anyone who has been a fan of the YoRHa stage plays since the beginning, will know what he means. We were already given an amazing shot of the whole YoRHa/Resistance team last season; I can only imagine what else we might get this time around. Of course, it will be heavily A2 related.
▶︎ See More: YoRHa Stage Plays
In terms of the ending, it seems as though both Yoko and Masuyama had different ideas regarding the conclusion of the anime and they had a little back and forth about it, to which in the end, they came to something that neither one of them had discussed before but still does a nice job of literally meeting halfway. So, although it had been hinted at before, it seems that we might be getting an entirely new ending for this version of the NieR:Automata story, which will be quite interesting.
Lastly, Yoko mentions how impressed he was with Director Masuyama when he said that he wanted to do something a particular way. Saito continues on this thought by saying that Masuyama often gave his input on how to best depict various scenes, which always made people gasp in amazement, “Wow, that’s great!”
Regarding Yoko himself, Saito mentions that he can be a bit difficult to work with, but once you reach a point of trust, things tend to flow smoothly. “I think we were able to create a team that really works well together.”
▶︎ Action Scenes with IDEAL
Since so much of NieR:Automata is focused on the action, Season 2 will be utilizing a slightly different method of producing those amazing action sequences that NieR:Automata is known for.
And so the multi-talented Kaori Kawabuchi and several members in her sword performance team, IDEAL, were asked to assist the animation team by providing video resource materials with specific camera angles for various action scenes in the anime. By utilizing multiple camera angles, they hope to create more fluid and realistic movements for those intense battle scenes.
▶︎ See Also: TOKYO wa CHAOS Live Report with performances by IDEAL
- Kaori Kawabuchi (@KaoriKawabuchi)
- HIroyuki Miyazono (@hryk0007)
- Atsushi Murao (@atsushi_aratame)
Fujii goes on to explain that even if they are able to create more realistic movements in the anime through this method, they have to be careful that they’re going too far away from the original source material in the game, and therefore the characters don’t feel right.
“We’re not just aiming to make things look cool.”
ーShota Fujii
Explaining further, Fujii mentions that the animation team talked a lot about what other shows had done with certain movements and scenes and wondered if they could do the same thing in this, but often times it lost the feeling of what makes NieR “NieR“, so they weren’t able to use some of those ideas. The image was to make it feel more like the game and closer to what the viewers expect.
If you haven’t seen the anime yet, and you’re wondering where to begin, Yoko says it’s okay to start with Season 2 since there are so many action-packed and memorable scenes in the second half.
“I just recently saw the video of the rough storyboards, but there was hardly anything for me to say other than ‘That’s awesome’, and so ended the conversation with Director Masuyama.”
“I hope you watch it!” ー Yoko Taro
▶︎ Season 2 Key Visual
Saito mentions that we’ve all probably seen it already, but the certain character that appears in the key visual for Season 2… we’ll be seeing a lot more of her this time, so be prepared for that!
As an aside, this is the Red Girl, which first appeared in the original YoRHa stage play in 2014, penned by Kaoru Asakusa. The play wasn’t acquired by Square Enix until 2018 with the release of the YoRHa Ver.1.2 Musical, from which was largely inspired by the design aesthetics in NieR:Automata.
▶︎ The Puppet Play (Ningyou Geki)
From the start of Season 1, each episode ended with a really cute “puppet play” segment, as you can see below. These were largely humorous, often giving more detailed information on the story and characters that might not be so easily assessed simply by watching the show. The good news is that Season 2 will continue this tradition, so you can look forward to many more fun instances of these silly puppets!
Below is a look at the 2B puppet, and you can really get a sense of scale with the final picture. The puppet is hardly any bigger than your typical ballpoint pen!
Now, if you weren’t already aware, each and every aspect of these “Puppet Plays” were created from scratch, from the original illustration designs, to cutting out the materials and building the puppets, to even the background setting and stage to be photographed. They’ve really done an amazing job!
▶︎ Side Quest: Amnesia
This is a pivotal yet optional side quest in the game, in which it details the events of a former YoRHa Type E android and her struggle between duty and autonomy. It will be really great to see this depicted in full within the anime.
▶︎ Season 2 Opening Theme
The opening song for Season 2 will be performed by LiSA and is entitled “Black Box”.
“As a fan of both artists, I’m beyond elated to hear them collaborate together.” ー Yoko Taro
- Lyrics & Composition by Hiromu Akita (amazarashi)
- Performance by LiSA
Hmm… Let’s take a look at that again…
As an aside here, while this shot looks oddly reminiscent, I’d like to display them together…
I’m pretty sure this was used in reference for… Absolutely amazing job!!
“First and foremost, as a fan of both artists, I’m beyond elated to hear them in a collaborate together. As for me personally, as someone who’s involved on the NieR series, I’m also very, very happy.” ーYoko Taro
“The first time I heard LiSA sing this song, I felt like it was such a great “anisong” (song for anime) and it was really put together well.” ーYosuke Saito
“I thought it was a really cool song, and combining it with various imagery, I feel like it really comes alive.” ーShota Fujii
“We wanted to go with projection mapping for the Season 1 opening, so we thought it would be cool to continue that tradition and expand upon it for Season 2. We hope everyone will look forward to it! I think it’s really come together in an awesome way, so I’m really excited for everyone to see it!” ーShota Fujii
And going forward with this thought, it seems as though this is right around the main climax of the story which deals with an all-out attack by the YoRHa forces against the machines, in which 2B and 9S are active participants on the front line.
▶︎ Season 2 Ending Theme
“After so many talented people like LiSA, amazarashi, and Aimer, simply thinking the Season 2 ending would be just me and Okabe, I really didn’t want to do it…” ーYoko Taro
Saito goes on to say that “I don’t often ask Yoko for favors, but this time I was adamant about it, and that I wanted him to write the lyrics and Okabe would do the composition. Since I was the one who got the whole thing rolling to begin with, I really wanted to end it with Yoko and Okabe.”
“I was honestly very happy but also felt a great deal of pressure. It was a joyful moment that encompassed the feeling of wondering if I could actually pull it off.” ーKeiichi Okabe
Basically, they’re given the same amount of time and opportunity given to super famous names like Aimer, amazarashi, and LiSA, so that alone puts a lot of pressure on them to create a really great song. If you line them all up, you begin to see their sort of style, whether it be rock or more like a typical anisong, but that actually helps them to choose the road less traveled. So, rather than being worried about how it will fit in with the other big-names, Okabe says that he’s more excited to share it with everyone in the end.
▶︎ Main Points in Song Creation
Since the majority of the NieR themes were originally written with companion vocals, and so Yoko explains that he wanted to do the same for the anime. The lyrics shouldn’t be the main focus of the track, however, and should be on the same level as the BGM, how the two complement each other. He mentions that he wanted to try for something complex. Rather than the lyrics slapping you across the face, he wanted you to experience it first and be confused, but upon listening to it again, you gain some semblance of reason.
- Lyrics by Yoko Taro
- Composition by Keiichi Okabe (MONACA)
- Performance by GEMS COMPANY
GEMS COMPANY is an all-female virtual idol group that was created by Yosuke Saito in 2018. Produced by Square Enix, management by Dear Stage, music composition by MONACA, and video production by ILCA, the idol group leans more toward a real-life idol group rather than the typical Vtuber identity. Basically, this is exactly how the original YoRHa group was founded as early as 2012.
Saito goes on to explain that since two members of GEMS COMPANY already had experience with the “Yoko World” via new renditions of the classic YoRHa stage play themes like Guadalcanal, that would be an easy way to involve the entire group on the project.
What’s maybe unique about this song is that it’s based on 3-lines that interact in unusual ways, for example, the starting or ending point, or maybe there’s an interesting syncopation with the lyrics that don’t necessarily line up perfectly together. Yoko mentions since he was working on each line individually, he initially thought he’d need to put in 3x the effort, but it quickly became more and more complex so it was more like putting in 10x the effort. It took quite a long time to complete.
Although, Saito initiated the order to GEMS COMPANY, which is pretty much an idol group, it was Yoko’s wish to have them sound NOTHING like an idol group. For example, he didn’t want a main vocalist in the center with the others mere accompanying them, nor did he want a melody line sung in unison.
“When he told me this, I was like… Oh, okay…”
ーKeiichi Okabe
It seems like Okabe was rather inundated with various creative ideas to produce a song, so he must have been tasked to the limit to create something that would satisfy all parties involved. He first began working on the song with the idea that it will be a 90-second piece for the ending, and from there he worked on how to layer the different voices upon each other.
“It might not live up to everyone’s high expectations, but I think we were able to come up with something close to the sound of NieR, so I hope you look forward to it.” ーYosuke Saito
Plus, as a special bonus for this program, Yoko asked Saito to release the full 90-second version of the ending theme.
“Yeah, all I can do is oblige…” ーYosuke Saito
They may such a great team!!
▶︎ Looking at the Lyrics
Here’s a brief look at the lyrics and a basic translation (click to view the page).
This idea of 3 voices reminds me of the early days of the YoRHa stage play in which the imagery of the Three Wise Monkeys was heavily prevalent, aka See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil. I’m not sure if that was the intended reference here, but I simply couldn’t ignore it.
According to Fujii, the imagery in the opening is meant to reflect 2B, whereas the ending is meant to reflect 9S.
Okabe says that he feels like he was able to wrap things up well with the ending theme and that this has turned out to be a really great job to work on, but more than that, if anyone who watches the show and feels anything extra from the ending theme, then he will know that he did a good job.
“No one can live alone. Not even us YoRHa…” ー2B
▶︎ Final Words
Fujii: I think you’ll really get a taste of what NieR is from these up-coming episodes, so I hope you look forward to it. This is after all the “World of Yoko”, so take that with a grain of salt. There will be moments where you think “Ah, yah… that’s Yoko alright!”
Saito: For those who are fans of NieR:Automata, or just NieR fans in general, I really hope you all watch the second season of the anime.
Yoko: The scenario has undergone multiple revisions, so at this point, I don’t really know where it’s leading, but I can really feel that Masuyama’s really turned up the dial on the second season, so even I’m super excited to see where it’s all leading. I really hope you all tune in! I think it will be even more interesting than you could possibly imagine!
▶︎ Related Links
- NieR:Automata Ver.1.1a Anime – Official Site (Japanese)
- NieR:Automata Ver.1.1a Anime – Official Twitter (Japanese)
- GEMS COMPANY – Official Site (Japanese)
- GEMS COMPANY – Official Twitter (Japanese)