After just 3 episodes released since its premiere last January 7, NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a will be on hiatus for the foreseeable future. The series by Square Enix and Platinum Games announced that the anime’s 4th and succeeding episodes would be delayed due to the increase of COVID-19 infections on its production schedule. Instead, the anime will air three first three episodes of the series again starting on January 28.
The original game creator, Yoko Taro addressed the situation in a tweet. Taro writes, “In fact, from episode 4 onwards, it seems that it will be a while later because of that [thing]…”. That [thing] of course is the pandemic, as fans know. Episodes from several other series have been in the same situation before.
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The production staff issued an apology to the fans for the delay and stated that they will announce the return of the series on the official anime website and official Twitter soon. Hopefully, the fans won’t wait long for the anime to return to its regular schedule.
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The series has barely begun to take off but it has garnered praise for the animation made by A-1 Pictures. As the anime is heading to episode four the connection to the game is getting more obvious.
NieR: Automata Ver1.1a is based on Platinum Games’ action role-playing game NieR: Automata, which was published by Square Enix in 2017. A-1 Pictures created the series, which premiered in January 2023 to commemorate the video game’s sixth anniversary.
The series’ official website describes the plot as:
The distant future, 5012. The sudden aerial invasion of Earth by ＜Aliens＞ and their creations ＜Machine Lifeforms＞ led mankind to the brink of extinction. The surviving number of humans who took refuge on the moon to organize a counterattack using ＜android＞ soldiers to recapture Earth. However, the war reaches a stalemate as the ＜Machine Lifeforms＞ continue to multiply infinitely. In turn, humanity deploys anew unit of android soldiers as an ultimate weapon: ＜YoRHa＞. Newly dispatched to Earth ＜2B＞ joins＜9S＞,the analyst currently stationed there, where amid their mission, they encounter a myriad of mysterious phenomena… This is the story of these lifeless ＜androids＞ and their endless fight for the sake of mankind.
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