English Dub Review: NieR: Automata Ver1.1a: “break ti[M]e

Overview: 2B (Kira Buckland) and 9S (Kyle McCarley) venture into an abandoned desert city to investigate the strange behavior the machine lifeforms have taken as of late.

Our Take: The resistance’s ragtag group, like the chummy, bickering vendors, reflect the close-knit nature of their unit. It’s only until we get to know them through more zanier members, such as Jackass, that YoRHa’s neglect of them especially burns. Using them as decoys brings out the Commander’s colder side with her own objectives focused solely on humanity, ironically, devoid of any for the resistance. 

9S’s disbelief of machine aliens evolving emotions is an interesting wrinkle with how kind-hearted he is. The development becomes even more so when he’s confronted with robot memories that call his notions into question. The robots’ consciousness also teases a puzzling, ritualistic part of their history. The desert area, unfortunately, highlights the cracks in Nier’s production with off-looking shots and inconsistent quality of certain character designs. 

A new machine lifeform hatched from haywire machines is an intriguing and unnerving development of their biology. The progression comes out of left field, but the fight is effective, highlighting their offspring’s potential like energy shield capabilities. The sephiroth look-alike spawned and its seemingly infinite regeneration creates tension in the battle against 2B and 9S.