The entry is a music video for amazarashi's new song "Antinomy" by the Japanese rock band. It serves as the ending theme for the anime adaptation of the game "NieR Automata." The video, created in collaboration with the game's creator, presents a complex, deep, and philosophical story through a puppet show that merges analog and digital elements. This innovative and visually distinct work stands out from conventional music videos.

With a focus on social issues like mental health and inequality, rock band amazarashi introduces their latest track, "Antinomy."

Antinomy means a contradiction between two ideas that seem true. The song warns about the modern world where life without emotions seems easier.

Chosen as the ending theme for a new anime based on the 2017 game "NieR Automata," amazarashi also provided a hidden track for the game. Our aim is to deeply share the artist's message through this one-of-a-kind Music Video, showing the special bond between NieR and amazarashi, from the game to the anime.

NieR continuously releases new stories in various formats, not only through games, but also through novels, manga, theater, stage readings, concerts, and now anime. As a result, a solid fandom has been established, eagerly anticipating new works from Yoko Taro.

We decided not to make a conventional music video for the band amazarashi.

Collaborating with Yoko Taro, we crafted a new NieR story and presented it in a unique expression as amazarashi's music video.

Our strategy is to engage not only the band's fans, but also the fandoms of the NieR series, games, and anime, to broadly and deeply convey amazarashi's message.

In an era where superficial and short videos are popular, how can we convey complex, philosophical, and deep messages?

Based on Yoko Taro's original script, we created a 10-minute puppet show blending digital and analog elements. The artist's song first plays during the ending credits, resulting in a music video with a unique and challenging structure.

The lifelike characters controlled by 12 strings represent our lives, seemingly manipulated by unseen forces.

The story is a prequel to "NieR Automata" and delves into the struggles of modern people lacking guidance in their way of living. They create their own beliefs, become bound by them, and ultimately destroy them, reflecting the sadness and antinomy of possessing emotions and free will in modern times.

The puppet theater features a full-display background as its stage set. Puppeteers control analog characters, with effects like UI and bombs added in sync. An unprecedented puppet show seamlessly integrates digital and analog elements.

The video starts with the audience in a gallery. A buzzer sounds, and the show begins. Emotion-driven machines go to war at their parents' command, losing eyes, ears, and mouths as they question the purpose of fighting.

An inner voice tells them to live before losing everything. They explode with emotion, killing their parents, who are revealed to be their own creations. The cycle repeats 108 times.

The camera zooms out to reveal fallen audience members and a desolate landscape. A child's innocent narration, emotive puppets, digital displays, story-linked ending credits, and amazarashi's powerful vocals mix together to form an unparalleled puppet show and music video.

Not only in music media but also in anime and game media worldwide, the band recorded over a million plays on streaming platforms at their fastest pace ever, and the physical CD ranked high on the charts. The video deeply moved viewers' emotions, with comments like "I cried," "I got goosebumps," and "It made me think" flooding social media.