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Edit: Shit, that's what I get for sitting there for like 5 minute stretches trying to expound on something.
whowhatwhere posted:
I remember that way back in the thread someone posted an interview where the...director, I think it was, said that he wanted Brother Nier to be the main character. After this shift I can see why; it seems to fit much better with the five year shift than Papa Nier.
While Brother Nier does have a metric ton of internal workings in the background of his character over the time skip that results in a clear, radical change, Father Nier's own angle is more subtle and harder to place.
Brother Nier essentially has a nervous breakdown at having every possible thing in his life go wrong all at once. His cheery world view that everything will work out and be okay, his preconceived notions of the world and the people in it, and his idealistic vision of the future are all shattered in the span of like a couple weeks in Part 1. He's left to grapple with a grim reality which he simply can't deal with. His failings take a harder toll on him physically and mentally in a more visible fashion as we can clearly see a change in his personality and appearance. He acts more violent, puts up with less bullshit, and is prone to angry outbursts. We clearly see how he's changed, he talks a lot more about how he's "going to kill every last Shade" and his life's goal is no longer just about protecting Yonah, it changes to killing Shades. It's the beginning of what Father Nier becomes.
Father Nier's change is more cryptic, it's the final step of Brother's path. He's a man who's endured decades of this terrible world and managed to deal with it, but he's ultimately been numbed to the struggle of those around him. It just piles up on his shoulders, but to keep himself from going absolutely insane he has to simply accept his reality and deal with it. His failures and the ones of those around him pile more and more, but instead of collapsing mentally he deals with it. He reaffirms his belief that Shades are the enemy, that people need him, and that the world is only going to get worse if he ignores it. His mental foundation stands firm. His physical appearance on the outside barely changes and his true inner change is only reflected through the rare moments of dialog with his friends.
They both work, but Brother Nier's change is the one that's presented clearly. A young, naive, optimistic young man's world is torn down and he becomes a brooding, violent psychopath obsessed with a single goal.