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NieR's Yokō Tarō, Evangelion's Yoko Takahashi Collaborate on The Weeknd's Latest Tour

Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) showcased a visual presentation produced by NieR:Automata game director/writer Yokō Tarō with Japanese singer Yoko Takahashi in his "After Hours Til Dawn Tour" on Saturday. The "Tokyo” presentation features clips from the popular anime franchise Neon Genesis Evangelion, samples from Takahashi's Evangelion opening theme song “A Cruel Angel's Thesis,” and imagery evocative of Evangelion:

Before the video of the presentation streamed online, the Evangelion franchise's social media accounts shared three photos from The Weeknd's September 19 concert wth the caption, “As part of a special visual stage during 'The Weeknd: After Hours Til Dawn Tour,' The Weeknd, 'NieR:Automata,' and "NEON GENESIS EVANGELION" came together for a special visual collaboration! For everyone who saw it at the venue, we hope you enjoyed the experience!” The NieR franchise's social media account quote-reposted Evangelion's post.

Takahashi then took to her own account to post, “Thank you for the wonderful time,” with a reupload of the video.

The presentation debuted during the first night from the Asia leg on "The Weeknd: After Hours Til Dawn Tour." The concert took place at the Belluna Dome in Saitama on Saturday. The tour stayed at the Belluna Dome on Sunday before moving to the Jakarta International Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 26-27. The tour is set to continue until November 5 with stops in Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.

Not coincidentally, Tarō is working on the brand-new Evangelion series. The "Evangelion:30+; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion" festival announced the new series after performances by Takahashi in February.

This is not the first time The Weeknd has partnered with creators in Japanese pop culture. This same tour featured a “RIO” video collaboration directed by Takashi Miike at its April 26 stop in Rio de Janeiro:

Sources: The Weeknd's X/Twitter account, Evangelion's X/Twitter account, NieR:Automata X/Twitter account, Yoko Takahashi's Instagram account, The Weeknd's website, The Weeknd YouTube channel, Fader