An institution in blockbuster films, the post-credits scene is now so commonplace it’s almost more notable in a major franchise film doesdo not have any. But on TV? They are wild cards that appear randomly, a rebuke to those who keep going at first glance at the text on the screen. Sometimes they’re gags, sometimes teasers for what’s to come, and sometimes – like in the premiere for Nier Automata ver1.1athe anime adaptation of the video game Nier: Automata – these are puppet shows.
There is nothing about the premiere of Nier: Automata ver1.1a, nor the game it’s based on suggesting this is in stock. For the most part, the anime’s premiere closely follows the source material, with the first episode roughly matching it Nier: Automata‘s opening mission. Like the game, the show throws the audience straight into things as a squadron of androids piloting fighter jet mechs launch an attack on a “Goliath-class weapon” that ends pretty badly for all of them and our protagonists in the Terminal leaves: The taciturn and femme 2B and the boyish and sweet 9S.
For those unfamiliar with the game, there’s not much to do here, aside from the mood: it’s a skewed en media res opening that hints at the dark and bittersweet nature of the story to come. As such it is absolutely
Doubly odd is the fact that the point is the scene so difficult to see. It’s not just one m istake – there is one vital
As with almost everything Nier franchise creator Yoko Taro has to do with, the startling nature of this scene is the crux of the matter: Much like how he almost always engages with the public behind an unsettling mask, there’s measure in everyone of pro-wrestling-like kayfabe play he makes. Is it a joke or sincere? And what is actually the difference?
The only way to find out is to keep watching.