The new Nier Automata anime began its first episode with some awesome action scenes, but it was a puppet segment at the end of the episode that surprised the most by promising to bring the game's alternate endings to life, too.
For anime series, particularly those which can get a little heavy at times, it's not uncommon to see a small, jokey segment attached to the end of the episode. These are often based on omake (brief, comedic bonus chapters) from the manga, but can also draw inspiration from character data sheets, or just explain concepts of the world in a fun way. They often use a different art style from the main series, usually a cutesy chibi style, and are animated very simplistically, if at all. Since Nier Automata isn't based on a manga, they've opted to do a little puppet segment at the end of the episode, with puppet 2B and 9S featured prominently in this first episode's ending.
The puppet segment opens with a puppet Pod 042 declaring that they will now initiate the task of showing each of Nier Automata's endings. It then cuts to 2B and 9S, who introduce themselves and reiterate their purpose. They then explain how androids in Nier Automata are given their names and jobs, for example 9S's "S" standing for "Scanner." 9S then introduces the Black Boxes, which were seen in the episode, and begins to explain a bit about them as well. However, as he's speaking, 2B touches her Black Box to his, setting off an explosion that destroys the bunker and kills everyone. The episode ends with a comment stating that, while everyone is dead, "[the explosion] sure looked pretty from Earth!"
Alternate Endings as a Gag
If the first episode's puppet segment is any indication, these poor puppets are likely in for a lot of dying ahead. This ending corresponds to "Ending U" as it's known in the Nier Automata video game, which similarly involves self-destructing inside the bunker. Given the nature of some of the alternate endings, it will be interesting to see how they're adapted to this puppet form; many, but not all, are essentially fail states that provide a bit of insight rather than just a "Game Over" screen. Multiple endings are very much central to the gameplay of Nier Automata, so they had to be acknowledged somehow in the anime. Using them as the basis for this little gag segment at the end is pretty clever, and it allows for a little bit of exposition to be dumped without cluttering up the episode proper with it.
The Nier Automata anime is off to a great start, and clever moments like this puppet segment would seem to promise that more good stuff is in store for future episodes.
Nier Automata ver. 1.1a is now streaming on Crunchyroll, with new episodes released on Saturdays.
