Rating: ***
Review Date: 3/8/25
Cast: Yui Ishikawa, Natsuki Hanae, Ayaka Suwa
Twelve episodes
Continuing where season 1 left off, an infected 2B (Yui Ishikawa) finally reaches her limit and begs A2 (Ayaka Suwa) to kill her. Her death drives 9S (Natsuki Hanae) insane and he vows to destroy all machine lifeforms as well as take revenge on A2. The shift to A2 as the story's protagonist changes the tone dramatically, and 9S's deteriorating mental state makes everything even more bleak and scary. The final tragic chapter of the "Pearl Harbor Descent Record" is played out, and Devola and Popola show up to share their own cursed lives regarding the failed outcome of Project Gestalt from the original "NieR" video game. Let's just say that everything ends very badly, in what is the feel-bad anime series of the year. A word of advice: Don't watch this show if you're already depressed or emotionally vulnerable. It will wreck you.
Since I was never able to finish the video game, I'm not sure how close this adaptation of A2's story is, but it feels like there are some radical changes based on my memories and the reading I've done. The episodes like to bounce all over the place, so it's difficult to keep track of a linear narrative, but time is meaningless to both androids and machine lifeforms, and 2B and 9S are trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. The animation seems to be an improvement over the first season and the action scenes are exciting and brutal. While 9S was a super annoying whiny emo boy in the first season, he's evolved into a full blown homicidal maniac this time around. A2 is far more grim and cynical than 2B, but she's also seen way more horrors during her time on Earth. It took me a while to warm up to her, but I ended up really enjoying her character.
The puppet show epilogues are back, but only for the first half. They continue to be very silly, but not nearly as entertaining as the first season segments. Overall, the show does a nice job of wrapping up all of the loose ends and explaining the true nature of Project YoRHa, while introducing a third player in the proxy war. The series ends in a blaze of glory and sacrifice, but there's a tiny glimmer of hope as the final credits roll. The first season was eventually released on Blu-ray through Crunchyroll, and I'm hoping they do the same for this one.