YoRHa (ヨルハ Yoruha) is a series of Japanese stage plays written by Yoko Taro. Born from a collaboration between the reknowned writer and the Akihabara-based production companies Dear Stage and MONACA, YoRHa follows a group of androids eight thousand years after the ending of NieR, during the events of the 14th Machine War.
Dear Stage idols Yuna Ichikura, Tamaki Sakurai, and Eri Aino made their group debut as the unit YoRHa in 2011, performing two major shows and six smaller performances until 2012. The group would go on to perform themes for Drakengard 3, with a modified version of one of their singles, "Guadalcanal", making an appearance in the game. The stage shows were expanded into a full play in 2014, with a rerun in 2015, before the project ultimately went silent.
For a time, the YoRHa unit and play went down as one of Yoko's eccentricities... until the release of NieR: Automata two years later, which greatly utilized motifs and themes from YoRHa before outright being confirmed to be in the same universe. Riding on the piqued interest NieR: Automata brought, YoRHa Boys, a play focusing on male YoRHa, premiered in 2018, kicking off a series of revival shows. YoRHa Boys was eventually given a novelization in 2018, while the original YoRHa play was adapted into a short story as part of NieR Automata: Short Story Long as well as a manga, Pearl Harbor Descent Record, in 2020. The events of the play were also recapped in episode 6 of NieR Automata ver. 1.1a.
- YoRHa Ver. 1.0 (2014) -The first play in the series, showcasing four YoRHa — No. 2, No. 4, No. 16, and No. 21 — working together to fight the Living Machines stationed there. Was casted with two groups, collectively known as the "Heaven and Earth" casts. Reran as Ver. 1.1 in 2015, with both "Alpha and Delta" dual casting.
- Musical YoRHa Ver. 1.2 (2018) - The first and only musical of the series.
- YoRHa Boys Ver. 1.0 (2018) - Focuses on the deployment of M Squadron, a group of male YoRHas as well as their instructor Black and commander White. Recieved a novelization the same year under the NieR: Automata branding, with an English release in October 2020.
- YoRHa Ver. 1.3a (2019) - A special all-male arrangement of YoRHa. Reran in 2020 with the subtitle Ver. 1.3aᵃ, with the character of Anemone replaced by a mysterious man named Jackass.
- YoRHa Girls Ver. 1.1a (2020) - A special all-female arrangement of YoRHa Boys.
- First ACT (2012): The first performance of the original 3 YoRHa vocalists, who would go on two do 6 more shows together between 2012 and 2013.
- Second ACT (2014): The second major stage production. Introduced the songs "Normandy" and "Guadalcanal", eventually released together as a single.
YoRHa Boys
Tropes:
- Dark Is Not Evil: The YoRHa androids are dressed in black, but they are ostensibly on the side of the regular androids.
- Downer Ending: Number Two survives, but the rest of the group has been killed save for Anemone, whose fate is unknown. Now labeled a traitor to YoRHa for knowing the truth, Number Two goes rogue, disappearing from the organization's radar.
- He Knows Too Much: With Number 2 learning the truth and failing to die with it, YoRHa labels her a traitor, to be killed on sight.
- You Are in Command Now: With Number 1's death during their decent to the planet, Number 2 assumes command of the YoRHa squad.
