{"id":4172,"date":"2022-02-28T22:00:47","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/?p=4172"},"modified":"2022-03-01T13:34:50","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T04:34:50","slug":"the-big-problem-with-turning-nierautomata-into-an-anime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/28\/the-big-problem-with-turning-nierautomata-into-an-anime\/","title":{"rendered":"The Big Problem with Turning <i>NieR:Automata<\/i> into an Anime"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>NieR:Automata<\/em> is one of my favorite games of all time. Rarely does a week go by that I don\u2019t think of it\u2014despite having not played it in years. So, while you\u2019d think I\u2019d be excited for the recently announced anime adaptation (which I admittedly am), I also worry that it will lack the emotional impact of the game. After all, <em>NieR:Automata<\/em> is one of those rare stories that relies on the interactive nature of video games to reach its greatest heights.<\/p>\n<p><strong>*This article contains major spoilers for <em>NieR:Automata.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">It&#8217;s actually happening.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NieR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NieR<\/a>:Automata anime is on the way! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3yIx2IWuVU\">https:\/\/t.co\/3yIx2IWuVU<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jiDp4u61NB\">pic.twitter.com\/jiDp4u61NB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NieR Series (@NieRGame) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NieRGame\/status\/1496476859822972942?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>NieR:Automata<\/em> is a game with five main \u201croutes\u201d through the story\u2014though not in the traditional sense. The \u201cA\u201d route is your first playthrough. The player controls 2B as she and fellow android 9S try to defeat the machines that have taken over the Earth. The \u201cB\u201d route is the same story as the \u201cA\u201d route but from 9S\u2019 point of view instead of 2B\u2019s. The \u201cC\u201d and \u201cD\u201d routes are sequels to \u201cA\u201d and \u201cB\u201d and are largely identical except for the ending\u2014which changes based on whether you choose to play as A2 or 9S in the final battle. The \u201cE\u201d route is a short sequel to the \u201cC\u201d and \u201cD\u201d routes and will start automatically after the \u201cC\u201d or \u201cD\u201d ending is shown (whichever is completed second).<\/p>\n<p>This odd structure is the first major hurdle for when it comes to adapting the game into a different medium. In the \u201cA\u201d route, the story is rather straightforward. 2B and 9S battle the evil machines to retake Earth so that it can be returned to the last remnant of humanity living in exile on the moon. Along the way, the pair begin to realize that the machines are more than just mindless monsters and are trying to evolve into something greater\u2014though that doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t need to be stopped. The \u201cB\u201d route, on the other hand dramatically redefines the story. Not only does it delve deeper into what is going on with the machines, it also reveals the secrets of the android pair\u2019s own organization and the true fate of mankind.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/DgOhs2XUEAA-m8Q.jpg?w=700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\"  \/><em>Image source: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NieRGame\/status\/1009828536402808832\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NieR Series<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>As any anime adaptation would be unlikely to show the same events twice as the game does, it\u2019s likely that the two routes would be combined into one. This would effectively remove the \u201cA\u201d route baseline telling of the story\u2014and in the process erase the surprise that comes from seeing how differently 9S interprets the events on screen based on his extra knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cC\u201d and \u201cD\u201d routes of the story, on the other hand, could be adapted much easier. The only issue would be choosing a canon route ending\u2014as the game\u2019s \u201cC\u201d ending and \u201cD\u201d ending directly contradict each other. But the biggest issue of making a <em>NieR:Automata <\/em>anime comes from trying to adapt the \u201cE\u201d ending.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NieR: Automata - TruE Ending E: the [E]nd of YoRHa (Deleting Save Data)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WCmnOvidOn8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To be frank, the \u201cE\u201d ending is the reason that <em>NieR:Automata<\/em> is so critically acclaimed. Both the \u201cC\u201d and \u201cD\u201d endings are equally tragic with our heroes all dead and the machine\/android war proved to be both meaningless and eternal. These endings are staggeringly, heartbreakingly nihilistic\u2014but they are the story that Yoko Taro and his team decided to tell.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cE\u201d ending is the player outright rejecting these dark endings. You literally choose to fight the creators themselves\u2014the game\u2019s credits becoming a bullet hell shooter where you blow their names out of the sky. Yet, of course, they are the makers of the game\u2014they have total and complete control. They can ramp up the difficulty as high as they want. You, a single player, have little to no chance of winning\u2014forcing them to change the story as they have told it.<\/p>\n<p>So you lose again and again, ramming your head against an unbreakable wall. Yet, each time you die, things change. At first, there is nothing but soon you are given a message from another random player\u2014urging you to not give up. Soon, the messages multiply, and you are flooded with positive words from numerous real people from all across the world just like you who have refused to let 2B, 9S, and A2\u2019s story end in tragedy. And then comes the moment when a player offers you, their direct help.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/DBEapcrU0AExDKu.jpg?w=700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\"  \/><em>Image source: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NieR_JPN\/status\/869505633522864130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NieR\u516c\u5f0fPR\u30a2\u30ab\u30a6\u30f3\u30c8<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Suddenly, you are not a lone ship shooting names but a fleet of ships. The music changes from a single voice to a swelling chorus as your fellow players surround you\u2014adding their firepower to your own. Each time you should be hit, one of your newfound allies takes the bullet for you and is destroyed\u2014leaving you with the system message that their save data has been lost. Yet, for each fallen ally, another joins your fight and, in the end, you triumph and Yoko Taro and his team are forced to give 2B, 9S, and A2 a new ending\u2014not a happy ending, mind you, but one where there is at least hope.<\/p>\n<p>And once you have received your reward, you are given the single most impactful choice in all of gaming: to either help another gamer reach the \u201cE\u201d ending or not. Now, to be clear there is no incentive to help\u2014no rewards gained or achievements earned. In fact, helping comes with a real world cost: your <em>NieR:Automata<\/em> save game will be permanently deleted. All you have done\u2014the tangible proof of all your time and effort spent on the game\u2014will be lost.<\/p>\n<p>There is no logical reason to delete your game but there is an emotional one: someone deleted their own game to help you. And now, you have the chance to do the same for someone else\u2014to spit in the face of Yoko Taro\u2019s nihilism and show that people can choose to be good for no other reason than that they want to.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/DhbqhEDWAAAkTyq.jpg?w=700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\"  \/><em>Image source: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NieRGame\/status\/1015256621738549251\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NieR Series<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The whole \u201cE\u201d route is staggeringly impactful\u2014and only possible within an interactive medium like video games. Anime, on the other hand, is a one-way piece of art. The creators put their vision on the screen and you take it in. But in the game, you not only respond to the creators by battling against them to change the ending but connect with other players on a philosophical level while confronting your own morals about what is right and wrong.<\/p>\n<p>How could a <em>NieR:Automata<\/em> anime even begin to replicate something like this? Perhaps show the downer ending one week and let viewers vote to see the true ending the next\u2014but if the vote passes the episode will be aired only once and the whole series will be deleted from streaming services immediately after and will never be put out on Blu-Ray? But let\u2019s be serious, such an act would hurt the anime\u2019s bottom line and will thus never come to pass.<\/p>\n<p>This is the big issue facing the <em>NieR:Automata<\/em> anime. The most beloved part of the game is something that cannot practically be adapted into a non-interactive media genre. No matter how enjoyable the plot of the game is, the anime will almost certainly be a pale shadow of the game on which it is based&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;unless it\u2019s not a direct adaptation, that is.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EqAFEdmVEAE8UHy.jpg?w=700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\"  \/><em>Image source: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mangaup_PR\/status\/1342478454608969728\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u30de\u30f3\u30ac\uff35\uff30\uff01<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n<p>At the moment, all we know about the <em>NieR:Automata<\/em> anime is that it is in production. We don\u2019t even know if it\u2019s an adaptation of the game\u2019s story. Based on the key visual alone, it could just as easily be an adaptation of the Yoko Taro-penned YoRHa Girls stage play which tells A2\u2019s backstory. (Heck, that story is already being adapted into manga form with <em>NieR: Automata: YoRHa Shinjuwan Kouka Sakusen Kiroku.<\/em>) Likewise, it could be a completely original spin-off set in the same world\u2014or even a sequel of some sort. We just don\u2019t know at the moment.<\/p>\n<p>But regardless of how it turns out, I am excited to see what happens with this anime. And who knows, maybe Yoko Taro has a trick up his sleeve that will leave us all stunned. After all, it wouldn\u2019t be the first time.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><em>Top image source: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/aniplexUSA\/status\/1496467525273780226\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aniplex of America<\/a> on Twitter.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/28\/the-big-problem-with-turning-nierautomata-into-an-anime\/\">Click to Read<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Big Problem with Turning &lt;i&gt;NieR:Automata&lt;\/i&gt; into an Anime<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[157],"class_list":["post-4172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-nier-automata","excerpt","zoom","full-without-featured","even","excerpt-0"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biggestinjapan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/NA-01b.jpg?fit=800%2C451&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4172"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4182,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4172\/revisions\/4182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}