NieR Automata Ver1.1a: Episode 2

Well, I think I got my prediction from last week wrong. I was right that they'd continue where they left off, but the direction was entirely different.

Obligatory spoiler warning line in bold text.

I found it interesting that they'd focus so heavily on the DLC's story.

The in-game version felt very disconnected from the rest of the game. You'd need to take a break from the story to play three mostly-unrelated arena mini-games, followed by a story-heavy section that felt even more unrelated to them. It almost felt like their was a gap in story between the main game and the DLC's story portion. (They also tied it in really close thematically with that band and the androids==dolls thing, in addition to the music video.) That said, it's not that I didn't like the DLC. It just didn't feel like it fit in well.

I feel the same way with the anime. I liked that Plato's story was included, but I also think there's a reason why most shows save the "focus on a side character" for at least a few episodes in. Violet Evergarden didn't really do it until episode 10 of 13 (Ann Magnolia's episode). I don't think House did it until season 4 or 5 (Wilson's episode). The show needs to establish a norm before breaking it.