Even with the story dying down,Nier: Automata Ver1.1acontinues to deliver excellent content andepisode #23is bound to be even better. The series still has plenty to offer in terms of both action and drama, and with everything the story has left to cover, it’s all sure to be great to see.

Nier: Automata Ver1.1aepisode #22 picked up where episode #21 left off with 9S heading to the recently-opened Tower to put an end to the machine lifeforms once and for all. Once at the Tower, though,9S found himself assaulted by a major revelation about his relationship with 2B, all of which was followed up by the tragic loss of another pair of supporting characters.

Devola and Popola in episode 22

There are only a handful of named characters still around in the story, and with how episode #22 went, theNier: Automata Ver1.1aanimewill surely have plenty for them to do.

What Time Nier: Automata Ver1.1a Episode 23 Releases

As with previous episodes,Nier: Automata Ver1.1astreams exclusively on Crunchyroll, accessed through their app, website, and third-party streaming services like Amazon Prime. Assuming there are no further delays,Nier: Automata Ver1.1aepisode #23 will premiere on Friday, September 20 at 9:00 AM Pacific Standard Time (PST), 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), and 5:00 PM British Standard Time (BST).

What Happened In Nier: Automata Ver1.1a Episode 22?

Produced By A-1 Pictures; Directed By Kazumoto Yokoyama

Nier: Automata Ver1.1aepisode #22, “just y[O]u and me,” opened with an explanation of how Devola and Popola are a specific model of android created as part of Project Gestalt, an operation designed to save humanity from a mystical plague born from the events ofDrakengard, but as shown inNier: Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, Project Gestalt fell apart when Nier killed the Shadowlord.

Devola and Popola-model androids like the ones in the anime are still blamed for the end of humanity, and centuries later, Devola and Popola still struggle to make amends for their counterparts’ failure. Back with 9S, after hacking into the Tower, 9S was confronted with a copy of himself constructed from old data, and the copy revealed that 2B’s true identity was 2E, an Executioner model who killed him countless times whenever he learned too much about YoRHa.

2B’s true identity as 2E

It was a struggle just for 9S to acknowledge that, but the copy assured him that 9S being alive while 2B was dead meant that he was the first version of 9S who could live life as freely as he wanted, but 9S was thrown back into reality before the copy could explain more. The experience with his copy left 9S physically and mentally drained just as an army of machine lifeforms converged on his location, but Devola and Popola arrived just in time to help.

The two had 9S enter the Tower while they dealt with the machine lifeforms, despite his protests, and while all the enemies were dealt with,Devola and Popola died in their efforts to protect 9S. 9S’ hatred of machine lifeforms grew once more, and with Devola and Popola’s deaths on his mind, he continued his journey through the Tower.

9S' anger over Devola and Popola’s deaths

Nier: Automata Ver1.1a Answers A Major Question About The Game

One of the more ambiguous points aboutNier: Automata’s story had always been when 9S had learned the truth about his relationship with 2B, as that revelation was never shown to the player, and it was sometimes implied that he knew from the start. By comparison,Nier: Automata Ver1.1aepisode #22 erases the ambiguity of when 9S learned the truth about 2B by having it happen when he hacked into the Tower, and while that entire sequence was original to the anime, it’s still nice to have a more concrete answer of when 9S learned the truth.

Nier: Automata Ver1.1a Enters Its Final Act On A Beautifully Somber Note

Nier: Automata Ver1.1aepisode #22 is the true beginning of the anime’s final act, and it brought that out on as great a note as possible. The art and animation were great to look at, andNier: Automata Ver1.1aepisode #22 using live-action to narrate the events ofDrakengardandNiermade the animation stand out even morethanks to the stellar use of mixed media. The end of the joke segments made it seem like there wouldn’t be anything else of that caliber, so it’s nice to see that wasn’t the case.

Returning toDrakengardandNierlore, episode #22 was also a perfect sendoff to Devola and Popola. While they aren’t the same Devola and Popola fromNier, their arc can still be seen as a continuation of that story, and as such, Devola and Popola dying to protect 9S can be seenas redemption for the part they played inNier’s storyand a tragic, but thematically appropriate end to their characters. Everything is winding down inNier: Automata Ver1.1a, and with any luck, it will more than stick the landing.

NieRAutomata Ver1.1a (2023)

Be sure to watchNier: Automata Ver1.1aepisode #23 when it releases on Friday, September 20.

NieR:Automata Ver1.1a

Cast

In a distant future where humanity has fled to the Moon, androids 2B and 9S are deployed to Earth to battle the alien-created Machine Lifeforms threatening to eradicate the remnants of civilization. As they fight for survival, the truth about the world and their purpose begins to unravel, revealing deep existential mysteries​.