REVIEW: ‘NieR: Automata Ver. 1.1a,’ Episode 8 – “aji wo [K]utta ?”

Having survived their confrontation with A2 in the last episode, 2B and 9S are assigned to hunt down the rogue YoRHa unit. But with little to go, the duo soon find themselves wandering through a sinking city, taking a moment to relax in NieR: Automata Episode 8. And it’s a good thing too, something ominous seems to be looking for them.

This episode is focused on character. With our stars lacking any real clue as to where to find their query, the show takes some time to let the two relax and interact in a more casual fashion. Exploring the duo in these more laid-back moments, NieR: Automata Episode 8 does some good work as it builds out the two characters, showing the complexity of their personalities. This is especially useful for 9S. With some of his more upsetting decisions in past episodes making him look pretty bad, these moments help to endear the character to viewers again, so that the struggles to come will hit a bit harder.

The low-key energy that most of this search resides in is delivered wonderfully by the animation. While it has shown it is more than able to depict blistering action sequences, NieR: Automata Episode 8 shows that it can also deliver calm in a way that makes it feel impactful and important. Seemingly small actions are given an immense amount of weight thanks to how excellently delivered the visuals are.

While much of the focus in this episode is on 2B and 9S, we get moments from other characters that hint at things to come. The biggest of these is when our protagonists stop to question the redheaded twins, Devola and Popola. While largely innocuous, this moment hints at the twins’ past and their reputation among the rest of the resistance, as well as why they are given the sorts of tasks that they are. Given how willing this show has been to dive into the background of its cast, I can’t help but look forward to when we get the full reveal of these two’s history.

We also get a more reasonable dose of humor in this episode thanks to the return of Jackass. The character’s appearance here is worthy of a chuckle, as she once more attempts to get her android compatriots to do recklessly dangerous things. For the science, of course.

If you are a fan of the game, this week’s direction will be an obvious shift from the sequence of events in the original narrative. A couple of sizable moments have been either omitted or shifted drastically in their placement in the timeline. While one of these would’ve simply been cool to see given a full animation treatment, the other is a moment of great significance to the larger themes of the narrative, as well as serving as a sizable moment for a couple of characters. While its omission concerns me, I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt for now.

NieR: Automata Episode 8 delivers a slower-paced story that focuses on its cast and lets their personalities grow a bit. How its changes to the core narrative will play out remains to be seen, but there is still a strong chance that the series will ultimately stick its landing.

NieR: Automata Episode 8 is streaming on Crunchyroll.