YoRHa: Assault on Pearl Harbor – Review of the first issue

The impact that NieR: Automata had on the players was great, both for the aesthetics and the protagonists of the video game, both for a plot and a development that left millions of gamers speechless. In a short time, the title became the flagship product of “Taroverse”, but not everyone knows that in addition to the NieR and Drakengard video games, there are many other related works, including theatrical shows, anime and so on. A manga series is now added to this long list of collateral products, which takes place in a time frame that acts as a prequel to NieR: Automata. It's about YoRHa: Assault on Pearl Harborand in this spoiler-free review we will talk about the first issue.

First of all, we want to reassure the fans. YoRHa: Assault on Pearl Harbor is a series where the original story and the supervision I am edited by Yoko Taro, the brilliant mind behind this whole dystopian universe. So clearly it will be a canon series, and it will tell what happened before the story of 2B, 9S and 1A.

Reclaim the Earth!

Those who have already played the game will know that we are in a distant future, where an alien life form has attacked the earth with incredible technology, biomachines. Humans were inevitably overwhelmed by such power, and for this reason the survivors took refuge on the Moon, to try to develop android technology capable of competing with this threat. Or at least, that's what we know. The war goes on for a very long time, bloody to say the least, and it reaches a stalemate.

The story we will live in the comic will start fromyear 11,941where the unit in question, the YoRHa, after countless simulations it is ready to begin the counterattack. These are incredibly skilled androids, all created with female features, and who in addition to different abilities also have some personal characteristicsnot only physical, but also character.

After an introduction that we will let you discover, the first pages are dedicated to the presentation of some characters, including theunit No.2., and the descent of the unit towards Earth. Without telling you anything, not everything will go exactly as hoped, and the mission risks being compromised. In this first volume we throw the basics of storytellingwith the first intrigues, and we are also given some little taste of combat.

A good opening

YoRHa: Assault on Pearl Harbor number 1 is a decent opening, perhaps a little short and fleeting in its development, but still intriguing in the right way. Everything you need to know to have a has been contained in a small space switchboard of the situation, but also what are the various parts, the roles, the prominent personalities, and the potential of the development. Clearly also the cliffhanger finale did its duty very well, bringing that to the reader right curiositywithout exaggerating.

The work done from a graphic point of view is very good, with the drawings by Megumu Soramuchi who have been able to paint a clear, if only sketchy, picture of the Earth of this dark millennium. The management of the spaces is excellent, and also the balance between the space dedicated to cartoons and balloons it is very pleasant.