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During the NieR Presentation from TGS this past Friday, we've received word that another YoRHa stage play is in the works for later this year! For all those of you who might be fans of the Drakengard and NieR franchise, or maybe of the man Yoko Taro himself, you'd better buckle up for this one!
What is “YoRHa”?
The storyline of “YoRHa” was the product of Yoko Taro. He collaborated with MONACA and DearStage among others to create a story that involves traditional Japanese idols who sing, dance, and later perform in the YoRHa stage play. This story later became the basis for the game NieR:Automata.
History
Collaboration between Yoko Taro, MONACA, and DearStage
“YoRHa” originally was the brain child of Yoko Taro with an association with MONACA and DearStage. He had the idea to “do something new” by getting involved into the “idol” scene in Akihabara. So, with his connections with Okabe Keiichi at MONACA and Iwasaki Takuya at ILCA and DearStage, they selected three idol vocalists, Aino Eri, Ichikura Yuna, and Sakurai Tamaki, who were already performing in other groups produced by DearStage and created the group “YoRHa”. They performed the “First ACT” in May 2012. The group continued to meet an additional 6 times throughout 2012 and 2013. In 2014, they performed the “Second ACT” and also released a single CD of two songs: Normandy and Guadalcanal. This same trio of vocalists is accredited by the name “YoRHa” for the boss battle themes on the Drakengard 3 soundtrack. The music for the YoRHa CD was composed by Okabe Keiichi (MONACA) with lyrics written by Kikuchi Hana. Mysteriously, a version of the Normandy song appears embedded in the data on the Drakengard 3 game disc.
Yoko Taro’s Involvement with YoRHa
The YoRHa single CD came with a booklet containing a detailed storyline which was written by Yoko Taro, creative director of NieR and the Drakengard series. Because of this, I originally speculated that there could be a connection between YoRHa and NieR. This was in January of 2014.
The Different Plays and Their Separate Versions
There have been a total of 6 separate YoRHa stage plays not including this new one, but there have been only 2 unique stories or plots: One dealing with the Pearl Harbor Descent Mission on December 8, 11941 and the other focusing on the M Squad (or as the soon-to-be-released official English novel calls it, the M Unit) in July 11942. Both stories take place during the 14th Machine War which is the focal point of the game NieR:Automata, but both take place in very different regions during vitally different points of the war.
Additional information on YoRHa and the various stage plays can be found here.
So, what exactly is this new play then?
This is specifically "YoRHa Girls Ver.1.1a" which is an "alternate" version of YoRHa Boys Ver.1.0, which was performed in early 2018 with an all-male cast. This new version is an alternate because instead of featuring an all-male cast, it will feature an all-female cast this time around. It will also have a complete quartet of musicians performing live during the play with two lead vocalists. For anyone who knows Yoko Taro and how he likes to change things up, it will be quite interesting what portions of the script he tweaks, removes, or even adds to it...!
Since this is an alternate version of the play, some of the characters' names have changed as well, such as the three Resistance members Cactus, Phlox, and Lotus. This time around, they have Japanese names of exactly the same meaning, so nothing of any import has changed there.
Staff / Cast
Dates & Times:
Thursday, December 3
Friday, December 4
Saturday, December 5
Sunday, December 6
Venue:
Social distancing measures: Staggered seating with one seat in between on all sides.
Tickets:
Pre-order Ticket Seating:
Daily Ticket Sales:
Other Notices:
There is a possibility that additional sales will be made depending on the situation in the future, but seats will be arranged with priority given to those who apply for advance lottery sales. Therefore, please note that tickets will be issued from 2 weeks before the performance.
Related Links
I personally went as freelance press to multiple stage plays by Yoko Taro in the past, so if you're interested in reading up on those, you can find a ton of interesting information and official photographs at the links below!