Volume 7 of Yoko Taro’s manga “Thou Shalt Not Die / Kimi Shi ni Tamou Koto Nakare” is out today with again several bonus items available from various stores. You can order a copy from Amazon here.
There will also be another digital live drawing and signing event with Moriyama Daisuke and Yoko Taro on Monday, February 11 from 11:00am at the Gamers in Akihabara. This time, however, participants will be selected by a lottery drawing, and names will be released at the store and online on February 1.
This is something that I started working on earlier last year but never had the opportunity to finish it until now. There’s some pretty interesting information here, so I hope you enjoy!
A couple interesting things to note:
The Commander was against the M Squad project but was overruled by the Council of Humanity.
No2’s battle data was used in the development of future No2 models, which were rebranded as Type E units.
The “false memories” installed into prototype YoRHa models was later abolished since they often caused hesitation in battle.
There is mention of “black boxes” in the stage play but they are often referred to as “fusion core reactors”.
See also the Secret File from the YoRHa Boys Ver.1.0 stage play pamphlet here.
Ever since this past summer, I’ve been extremely slow with reporting on events, but rather than just let the memories fade to nothing, it’s better to be late than never, right?
Anyway, this is my brief recap of the Shoumetsu Toshi LIVE EXPERIENCE Vol.1 held on Sunday, November 25. On the way to the event, my train was STOPPED for a long while. I left quite early so I didn’t need to rush, but that saved me from being late. I got to the venue about five minutes before the scheduled start time. I was so entirely thankful! My little music angel must have helped me out!
The event was a live music concert with several continuing recitation dramas (朗読). Performers included:
Coming into the hall, I very briefly spoke with someone from noisycroak whom I’m met and seen many times before…but I’m horrible with names. He was very nice and seemed just as relieved that I was able to make it in time!
The concert itself was SO MUCH FUN! You could say the style of music from Shoumetsu Toshi is a kind of EDM, which Kato Hiroyoshi, one of the composers for the game, is a major fan. The majority of the tunes had all of us jumping and pumping our arms; we were all pretty sweaty after just a little while.
Throughout the show, the music segments would give way to acting segments where Asai Ayaka, the seiyuu for Souma, the main protagonist Yuki’s little brother. I was never able to get very far into the game because of all the massive grinding and leveling up of your characters you need to do, so I never really knew how the story ended, but I knew enough to not be entirely confused with these segments.
All four of the walls were entirely decked out with LED lights that displayed character illustrations from the game, scenic shots, and more. There were several moments during the recitation segments where the entire room was filled with a flash of bright, red lights. It really helped you to emote with the character and feel his pain and anguish.
There was one particular sketch that moved me so emotionally that I couldn’t help but sob through the whole thing, and I wasn’t the only one. Everyone around me, on either side, in front and behind me–even the tall dude to my right–we were all pretty well sobbing. The segment ended with the audience singing “Stay with me forever…” to give Souma the courage and strength to continue on… and SAK-san ripping the script book from Asai and chucking it to the ground.
This concert was also Emi’s last performance before going on maternity leave with her second child. <3
I had a premium ticket, so we were given some really nice goodies which included a wristband, acrylic stand, and mini 2019 calendar. At the show, I also purchased the official staff book and concert T-shirt and was able to meet and briefly talk with Asai-san. I was glad to let her know how much I enjoyed and was moved by her performance.
I also talked briefly with Kawagoe-san beforehand on Twitter; he was also part of our group at GameTakt last year. At some point during the concert, I waved at him and he seemed to remember me. xD Such an awesome guy– they all are. It’s been a while now since the concert, but I want to say that just about everyone was in tears by the end– I seem to recall both Kato and Kawagoe a bit emotional.
It was such a great show, I was really upset that I only got a ticket for the evening show. The two girls behind me mentioned that they had gone to the afternoon show and still cried just the same in the evening show. haha But, this concert was subtitled “Vol.1”, so hopefully there will be a similar show again sometime in the future! I really liked the smaller, live house sort of feel. This sort of music begs to be danced to, so it was perfect!
As for the game, the newest update “Ver 0.” was released that night! Each new version still allows you to play all chapters in the story, but adds a lot more aspects to the overall game– new chapters, characters, items, etc.
Shoumetsu Toshi is also getting an anime version, which will be released later this April. More information can be found on the official site for the anime here.
The following images are courtesy of SAK and Gamer.
This post contains spoilers and speculation. Please read with caution.
This is a thought that I had last night that’s delving a little deeper into the realm of speculation. Things may or may not fit well with the new idea connecting everything, but let’s just have a little fun and suspend disbelief for a little while and let me indulge in this thought.
Firstly, let’s review the theory about Emil & the machine lifeforms that I’ve been contemplating for a long time:
Emil was originally known as No7 as a subject in the National Weapons Laboratory that was performing experiments on Maso during the early days of the post-6.12 world of NieR. After losing his “human” form and merging with his sister Halua aka No6, he gains not only her body but also her Maso based magical ability.
When the aliens invade in 5012, Emil fights them off with many copies of himself. Within the 100 years after the invasion, Emil has created over 84 million copies of himself, effectively also spreading more Maso into an otherwise Maso-free world, assuming that the Replicants succeeded in cleansing the world as they were originally intended to do. At least during the time of Automata, we know Maso still exists in the form of the YoRHa and Pod attacks.
12 years after the beginning of the alien invasion, the aliens began constructing machine lifeforms, the majority of which all have a round head that resembles Emil. The question remains why the aliens designed their machines in the image of Emil.
Perhaps the aliens commandeered many of Emil’s copies, reprogrammed and stripped them of their individual thought to accentuate his original programming (as acquired when he merged with his sister, Halua): Destroy the enemy.
So, in this theory, it’s plausible that:
Emil’s Secret…
Now, moving on to what Yoko said in the Game Informer interview:
“Emil actually holds a great secret of the part of the Nier world and it’s not all revealed with the games I’ve created so far. I’m not sure if I’ll have an opportunity to disclose that secret, but if I do, I might one day create a game that delves more into why it’s Emil and why I continue to wear Emil’s mask.”
According to this statement, Emil seems to hold a secret that we haven’t heard about yet, but what if this secret is exactly this theory? That essentially all of the machine lifeforms are Emil copies? And this is also why Yoko continues to wear an Emil mask; basically because everyone is Emil, or rather “a child of Emil”.
Okay, hold on to that for a moment. Following the Maso “crumbs”, Yoko had stated that Maso does, in fact, still exist in the time of Automata. This is what he says in the 50 Q&A segment from the NieR:Automata Strategy Guide:
Q38. It appears as though “Maso” also exists in the world of NieR:Automata, but how is it used in battle?
Yoko: There isn’t a lot of Maso, but it still exists (in Emil’s attacks and such). Additionally, Maso is converted into the skills of the YoRHa androids among other things.
50 Questions asked to yoko taro, nier:automata strategy guide, as translated by rekka alexiel
EDIT: It was suggested that perhaps the secret about Emil has something to do with his original self, aka, something that occurred during the National Weapons Laboratory time when he was made into a weapon to combat the Legion. But I’m a little skeptical about that because Yoko also mentioned that whatever secret Emil is hiding is directly related to why Yoko continues to wear the Emil head mask. My thought behind that is that there are still multiple Emils around, that… almost everyone is “Emil” at this point.
So, if you followed my train of thought in the post above, I think it might still be closer than speculating what could have happened to the original human Emil when he was made into a weapon.
In a recent interview with 4Gamer, Yoko Taro answers a couple questions as he reminisces over the past year… and it ends on a typically odd Yoko note.
Q1: Among the games released in 2018, which one impressed (or shocked) you the most?
The “Tiny Arcade” series. Releasing licensed mini arcades first began on Kickstarter. As one who pretty much grew up in arcades, I was surprised that the feeling of the times could fit into such a tiny thing, and before I knew it, I ended up importing them all. It’s pretty easy to get through domestic forwarding services, so if you’re a fan of these mini arcades, by all means… (And I’d really love it if somebody, somewhere, could make mini table arcades in the future.)
Q2: What do you think was the most impressive piece of entertainment sold or released in 2018?
I was shocked the most by the move “The Greatest Showman” this year. It’s about a man who’s failed at his job and starts a freak show. The story is pretty flat and it’s not a movie that appeals to your ideological beliefs, but the “show” that fits between the story scenes were amazing. The idea of the showman who “abandons all and devotes himself to the show” is embodied in the movie itself in a meta-structured way that “abandons the humanity of the main character and the story”. When I realized this, I found myself crying in the theater and I couldn’t get up for a while after the end of the movie. I think I was just overwhelmed and tired with various things going on in my life at the time, though. As member of the entertainment business myself, it made me think what you win and lose. I think this was a movie that really confronted me with this.
Q3: In 2018, who spiked your interest the most?
I thought about talking about “someone who released something in 2018”, but I suppose I’ll change that thought a bit and answer candidly. I would say Ueda Fumito and Iuchi Hiroshi. I honestly can’t wait for their new work.
Oh, I’m also curious about Hijikata Kurone and her needle felting dolls. The way she melds the soft curves of animals with a feminine figure is so facinating. I’d like to get one someday (although it’d be difficult to obtain since they’re sold separately).
Q4: What is your New Years Resolution for 2019 and message for our 4Gamer readers?
I feel like this was a year of events, with the YoRHa Musical, YoRHa Boys and KimiShini Zero_KAI stage plays, as well as the NieR and SINoALICE orchestra concerts. This is all because these titles were a hit and all the fans and customers supported us. Thank you very much.
Therefore, I plan to be reduced to nothing in 2019, Simply, I will not die that easily. Yoko Taro
Yo Yo
Gaming industry hang on shining young guys crush 'em find the cute guys kill 'em
medical exam escape the numbers here is my liver all worn out here is my doctor all pissed off
