NieR:Automata Ver1.1a (Potential Spoilers May Be Untagged)

After a few weeks of delay, episode four did release yesterday. I liked the take on the hacking in this case. Would've been a lot more freaky if that would've happened in game, that's for certain. They can be a lot more liberal with how it's portrayed here than in there, and I appreciate that artistic license. Also, what a quaint little bit of ... ugliness ... to end on.

9S is already starting to lose his marbles, nice.

This anime really is at its best when it takes some liberties. Seeing the progression of Simone’s, err, beautiful faces was also a nice touch.

Episode 5 changes Emil’s role quite significantly, while episode 6 integrates flashbacks from the Yorha spin-off.

Man, A2 was surprisingly cute back then.

I do wonder if Emil will be more of a spectre in this series, a legacy cast by the last human as it were. Remains to be seen I suppose. And agree, I've thought of A2 as a lot of things: cheery was never one until now. She's had it rough. Curious to see that in this fate's are changed, Amenonie staying behind, presumably to put 21 out of her misery before she fully succumbs.

Episode 6's thematic thread of androids dreaming gave it enough substance to distinguish itself nicely from both game and stage play/novel, which is helping the anime shape up to be its own thing yay.

I wish they had given the machines in the village more distinct designs, like they had changed their bodies and not just put accessories and paint on them. But on that topic, how are they animated? I can tell it's not 3D models because those always look a bit out of place, but Pascal moves so seamlessly and still very mechanically, it's like they took the CG model and rotoscoped it. I like that Pascal also has some non-human movements like rotating hands and head.

Well, the whole point is that the machines are mass-produced, so obviously their designs wouldn’t vary that much.

Though why the aliens would mass-produce machines that are so obviously not designed for combat (or anything else), I’m not sure.

I always felt the aliens were a weird part of the plot. I was expecting them to be another fabrication, made by the Council of Humanity as a scapegoat for some grave mistake someone made. But no, it's quite clear they were real. At the same time, we are told their motivations don't matter. They are basically there as a wild card that Yoko Taro can use to arrange the backstory as needed without worrying about why anyone would do so.

I'm left under the assumption that the machines at Pascal's village were originally made for combat, but had modified themselves in line with their ideals to eschew the dangerous parts.

Or also you know, the machines building each other like YoRHa seemingly does (I also expect something like this in Murder Drones, but that is more tangential).

I can tell it's not 3D models because those always look a bit out of place, but Pascal moves so seamlessly and still very mechanically, it's like they took the CG model and rotoscoped it.

Cel-shading has come a long way

Though why the aliens would mass-produce machines that are so obviously not designed for combat (or anything else), I’m not sure

I think the aliens were killed off before the sphere-line came into production?

Isn't the sphere line a direct result of using Emil as a template to mimic though?

New episode, featuring Jackass’s fishing tutorial. Seems like they reworked Adam into a stalker artist?

I like how they emphasize 9S’s "It’s not illegal if you don’t get caught" mentality in this one.

The bonus bit also explains that Androids deliberately rebuild old human buildings in case the humans return, which is why the cities are in surprisingly good shape after being abandonned for millenia. Not sure I’m very convinced, but sure.

The first episode of this is making me remember how much thirst I had for 2B.

Kind of miss the line that 2B said at the beginning of the game.

Also, the hint about 2B's true nature seems more blatant in this version. I like. It felt kind of like an afterthought when I played Automata.

After a very lengthy hiatus, they released all four of this season's episodes this week. Only finished episode 9 myself, but there's a major divergence as Eve dies in Adam's place in the Copied City so I'm intrigued to see how they differentiate the anime's take on Ending A/B compared to the game's version.

A lot of divergences but ultimately ends in basically the same place. Which is kinda weird, ending A/B doesn't flow well into the rest of the game. I'm assuming some of these changes will be more relevant later. They do need more material; the remaining portion of the game is shorter than what they've covered so far, and that already had to be substantially bulked up

But it was a rather enjoyable set of episodes. I hope they can get the rest done without major issues

Season 2 trailer