Hello everyone, I hope Monday is kind to you and you’re ready to take on the week ahead. I revised my seasonal anime list to review yesterday, and minus continuations, I still have 16 anime to go. Which means, 3 more weeks of first impressions. I might try to bundle some isekais together or go for two posts a day to speed up the process, but just letting you know how things will go!
Nier:Automata Ver1.1a is originally a video game and its scenario is written by Taro Yoko. The adaptation is handled by A-1 Pictures. Some recent favorites from there are Lycoris Recoil, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, and 86:Eighty Six, to name a few.
Did I know this series beforehand? I have heard the game and thought the visuals were cool but haven’t played it myself and have no idea about its storyline. So will my review be a fresh take? Will it be an ignorant one? Will it be a bit of both? I’ll let you decide.
What is it about? Earth has been invaded by aliens and their machine lifeforms. A small group of humans that are able to survive evacuate Earth and settle on the moon to recapture the world using androids to fight the machine lifeforms.
What to look out for? No warnings.
What do I think? Hmmm… pretty much sums up my feelings.
Visually, NieR:Automata Ver1.1a does a great job of conveying the bleak atmosphere; lots of steel structures with rusty browns, dusty greys, and washed-out blacks. Although battling against machine lifeforms with a sword that’s meant to cut is a little counter-logical, the machinery and weaponry in general look pretty cool.
However, I find there to be some inconsistencies, and I’m not sure if it’s because I haven’t played the game or if we’ll get explanations later. If these androids are creations of humans, why give them feelings and then ban them from feeling? Why is 9S so friendly? Currently, YoRHa androids we meet feel no different than your average human character.
This issue I have is ultimately tied to creating non-human characters who lack “human ethics” ending up pretty much like a human but don’t think I’m doing a good job of explaining, so let me give an example from a different anime. We all know Power from Chainsaw Man, right? And how she’s insufferable from time to time but she’s really cute so we let that slide? I think she’s a great example of a character who lacks “humanly morals” because she has no regard for someone else than herself and her cat Meowy. Only cooperates when she has a personal gain, otherwise acts however she wants. And we should be frustrated with her when she’s this self-centered. I consider that good character writing.
But these androids don’t feel any different than your usual over-friendly character meeting the tsundere. And after literally one (1) fight they suddenly care about it each other so much to a point of self-sacrifice. Not for humanity but for each other. How is that supposed to be believable?
Unless the powerful and heartbreaking scene we got at the very beginning with 2B carrying 9S in her arms is something that happened before this fight, and not much later as I thought it to be, then the two being familiar with each other would make more sense and it would better highlight the cyclical destruction these androids have been going through a bit better. Still, I have so many reservations about the inconsistencies, but they all end up being related to androids’ nature so I won’t continue speculating and take up your time.
Science fiction is a genre that’s hit or miss for me because I need reasonable explanations behind the technological details introduced into the story. Yes, I have a STEM background, but when it comes to fiction, I’m a gullible person. I go into a work, willing to believe the fictional world created, I just need these details to be consistent within the world itself. But I don’t think NieR:Automata Ver1.1a has a solid introduction in that regard.
Will I continue watching? I am not inclined to, however, I feel like checking out the game itself. If you’re interested in the theme of having “others” fighting your war and dying in the process, I suggest you go for 86:Eighty Six instead of NieR:Automata Ver1.1a.
What are your thoughts on this series? If you have played the game before, I’d appreciate your input! With that I take my leave, only to greet you tomorrow once again for another review. Ciao!
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IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT I'M NOT POPULAR! 
Honestly, as someone who has played Nier Automata (all routes etc) i am a bit hesitant to watch the anime as well because I don’t know how well executed it is. I definitely get where you are coming from in your first impression and I would recommend you to try out the game actually – the plot of the Nier/Drakengard franchise is a bit confusing at times too, so adapting this into an anime is probably not that easy either? But yeah, as for the game, I loved them… If you want you can play the original Nier (which has been remastered for a lot of consoles a while ago) but you don’t need to in order to play automata.. what I’ll say though is: there’s some references you’ll understand better if you do so
Sorry that was a long comment but I’m quite enthusiastic about this franchise 😂
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No, on the contrary I’m grateful for your comment! From what I see it’s a game liked by many, so I guessed the problem probably lied with the adaptation and not the source material. And your enthusiastic response made me more eager to try out the game! Thanks a lot for the input ~
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