Konnichiwa everyone! It’s Nozaki from Doujin Republic! New Years!! I refreshed quite a bit by eating delicious food and enjoying new manga and games~! Those of you reading this article, how did you spend your new year’s holiday season?

Now...... Today’s article introduces...... the trending winter anime work where its first episode aired the other day! It’s actually based on a game...... but is the anime version enjoyable even if you hadn’t had played the game (or reviewed it)!? I was curious and did some research, so I summarized about it in this article!

【NieR:Automata Ver1.1a】Interested in the anime, but haven’t played the game!? This article is for you! Reasons why you can enjoy the winter anime NieR:Automata Ver1.1a without playing the game!

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Yes! I’m also really interested in NieR:Automata among all the winter anime! It’s based on a game from few years ago, so I was worried whether I would be able to enjoy the anime without playing the game version......

but apparently, there’s news about enjoying the anime version without playing the game version! I’d like to share about it with those of you reading this article!

To begin with, what kind of work is NieR:Automata and NieR Series?

To begin with, NieR Series is a dark fantasy RPG series that takes on common (to some extent) settings as NieR Gestalt and NieR Replicant which released simultaneously in 2010! (It actually take on the setting and atmosphere of DRAG-ON DRAGOON series also released by SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.!)

●Released in 2010. The main character experiences the ‘same story’ as a 21-year-old and 44-year-old in “NieR Gestalt” and “NieR Replicant.”

NieR, which is the origin of the name ‘NieR Series’ is the main character’s name from the first (and the second) of the series, NieR Gestalt and NieR Replicant. (In the work itself, it’s not explicitly stated as NieR, but it becomes established as a nickname.) The two works were much talked about as a unique RPG where the 2 works share almost the same story but have different age for the main character and so different relationship with the heroine!

NieR Series currently has 4 works: NieR Gestalt/Nier Replicant, the recently animated NieR:Automata, and a smartphone game NieR Reincarnation!

Going back ......What is NieR:Automata like?

Now, chronologically, this animated NieR:Automata comes after NieR Gestalt / NieR Replicant! Even though it’s a sequel to NieR Gestalt / NieR Replicant, there isn’t crucial overlaps. Because significant amount of time has passed since the predecessor, the single work NieR:Automata is enough to complete and enjoy the story even without needing to play the previous series!

To describe briefly...... the story begins when humankind is forced to evacuate to the moon to avoid extinction due to a sudden alien invasion. To take back the Earth, humankind entrusts the mission to Automata (androids)...... The 2 characters that are on the anime version’s main visual image are the Automata who play active roles to take back the planet, Automatas YoRHa 2B and Yorha 9S!

●YoRHa 2B

2B (YoRHa No.2 Type B)

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●Yorha 9S

9S (YoRHa No.9 Type S)

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The 2 individuals(2 bodies)are Automatas called ‘Yorha’ and 2B is specialized in battles and 9S is specialized in information-gathering! The Earth is invaded by aliens and becomes a desolate world filled with mysterious machines. The two continues to do various investigations and defeats the oncoming machine-attacks to attempt to take back the Earth!

How is it that you can enjoy the anime even without playing the game version? The secret behind ‘Ver1.1a’ name given when animated!

Now, regarding this animation...... Yoko Taro-san who came up with the NieR:Automata story and the scope told the anime production crew: ‘Let’s have a (slightly) different story than the game version’.

The anime production crew was taken by a surprise. ‘Shouldn’t we replicate the game version’s story as is for the fans?’ But Yoko Taro-San said, ‘Game version’s scenario is designed specifically to make the best of the RPG game specificity and gimmicks. It works well because it’s a game. Most likely, we cannot plug-it directly into the anime and express NieR:Automata’s best appeal. Therefore, we should brush-up the scenario for the anime version a little bit.

The anime production team agreed! According to their interview, they respected the game version’s fully completed movies and event scenes as much as possible, while they produced the anime version so that the NieR:Automata appeal can be maximized within the anime world!

So, to indicate that NieR:Automata anime version has slightly different presentation and story development than the game version, they’ve added ‘Ver1.1a’ to its title!

As we said in the beginning, the reason why the anime version can be enjoyed even without playing the game version is because they’ve arranged it for new viewers while keeping the beauty of the game version. Therefore, even for the people who didn’t play the game version, they’ll be able to enjoy watching just the anime!

NieR: Automata’s Doujinshi can be checked out from HERE!

NieR: Automata

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And so, if you haven’t seen NieR:Automata Ver1.1a yet, how about checking out the anime’s first episode!? There could be new experiences, surprises or excitement that comes precisely because you haven’t played the games! And if you have played the game, please check out how they replicated the movie scene with attention to the smallest details and enjoy the anime!

Now, that’s about it for now! See you at the next article~!

Bye~!