With the first half of the series finally complete, I can say I’m thoroughly thrilled with how the NieR Automata anime adaptation has gone so far. With video game adaptations increasing in popularity, we are seeing a rise in quality as studios are investing more in bringing some of our favorite interactive stories to new mediums. While there are several that have been praised for their quality of work, NieR Automata Ver 1.1a is easily the best I’ve gotten to experience. It manages to do so much with the story I love and the characters I treasure in ways that I hoped for, as well as never knew I wanted. So, I thought I’d take a moment and talk about six of the reasons why I think the NieR Automata anime adaptation gets things so right.
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The NieR Automata Anime Keeps The Voice Cast From The Original
A character’s voice goes a long way to crafting the personality and energy that character brings to their role. While recasts can certainly work, keeping the original voices guarantees that the tone and personality of the cast remain unchanged from the ones that fans fell in love with in the first place. This is especially true whenever the dialogue exactly copies that of the original. Getting to hear Yui Ishikawa and Natsuki Hanae reprise their roles as 2B and 9S again assured a strong foundation for the NieR Automata anime to build upon.
Incorporates Content From The Larger Franchise
Game narratives these days often exist outside the game itself. Not only do other entries in a series expand and inform the story, but supplementary materials like books, audio, or even stage plays can build upon the core story of a game. Working in elements of these expanded universes can help smooth out wrinkles in a game’s story. The NieR Automata adaptation does this when it explores the resistance’s history with YoRHa, as well as when 9S gets a peek at Emil’s memories, giving viewers a glimpse of the cast from NieR Replicant. These elements can both help a narrative feel larger and more solid, as well as reward long-time fans who have delved into the game’s larger world.
Pays Attention To The Small Details
Every story has small elements that come to be recognizable to its fans. Whether it’s a recurring element of a character’s personality or a one-time moment that fans come to love, these moments can be as impactful as the larger beats of a narrative. Making sure to incorporate these familiar elements helps the world feel like it is the same as the original, just presented through a different medium. The NieR Automata anime does this in numerous ways, allowing the story to maintain that familiar feeling for fans. Whether its visual elements like 2B’s pirouetting flip she uses to finish a climb up a ladder or audible moments like 9S repeatedly being admonished for his dismissive, “yeah, yeah” response to requests he doesn’t like, these elements are important to the story, even if they don’t look it at first glance.
The NieR Automata Anime Utilizes The Orignal Score
While this one feels like a no-brainer, it’s an element of gaming some recent adaptions have managed to fail. Gaming music, much like its voice acting, can become intrinsically linked to the property. Failing to properly represent the original score can leave critical moments of the story feeling off, even if they are narratively delivered well. While the NieR Automata adaptation does occasionally stumble with how it implements the game’s iconic music, it never fails to make sure the biggest moments are accompanied by the music fans expect to hear.
Incorporates Gameplay Moments
While the biggest focus of discussion about video game adaptations tends to center around the portrayal of the story, including gameplay elements when possible can also go a long way in making a project feel authentic to the original. In the NieR Automata anime adaptation, this is best seen in the iconic opera battle. The anime takes great pains in recreating this battle’s elements in as near a one-for-one way as possible. The bouncing energy balls spewed from the antagonist move just like in the game, while the captured androids explode, sending out rings of energy that would look strange anywhere else, but perfectly comes together to establish the chaos of the original’s gameplay. There is a lot in gameplay that doesn’t translate well to a passive experience, but when something does work, it elevates an experience to see it there on the screen.
The NieR Automata Anime Changes Things While Staying The Same
One of the trickiest elements of anyanime is how closely you should cling to the original story. Keep too close to it, and some will question why bother remaking it; stray too far, and fans will say it is no longer the story they love. How the NieR Automata anime manages to strike this balance is one of its most brilliant achievements. While there are numerous alterations to the moment-to-moment beats of the story, none make it so where the first core of the series ends is noticeably different from the original. Even when what initially feels like substantial changes occur, like replacing the resistance leader with the new character Lilly or Eve’s dying in the Copied City instead of Adam happen, the narrative directs the story back onto the familiar course in a way that feels holistic and natural. This is fantastic, as it allows the die-hard fans to enjoy a story that has moments of surprise while still getting the core story they love.
These six elements come together with the great visual work that A-1 Pictures has delivered to make the NieR Automata anime a smashing success thus far. It serves as a great example for others who may be considering adapting a video game into television or film, some of the key components in making a faithful adaption that still brings something fresh for fans.
NieR Automata Ver 1.1a is streaming now on Crunchyroll.
