The following contains speculation for the storyline of the new NieR Automata Anime and discusses spoilers for the original game. Spoilers ahead.
Yoko Taro's penchant for dramatic, high-concept, esoteric fantasy went underappreciated for a long time within the gaming sphere until a collaboration with Platinum Games made NieR a big name. NieR Automata Ver1.1a is an animated take on the video game of the same name, but with the confirmation that Yoko Taro is writing the adaptation, there remains a chance for there to be more under the surface.
NieR Automata was released in 2017 and became an international sensation praised for its hack-and-slash gameplay, its haunting depiction of the future of humanity, and its heartbreaking story. On the fifth anniversary of the game's release, Aniplex announced that the game would receive a TV Animation Project, getting fans excited for what surprises might be in store.
First Impressions
In the absence of a full trailer for the series, the producers have been releasing small bite-sized teasers focused on the individual characters ever since Aniplex Online Fest in September. It started obviously enough with 2B and 9S, the principal characters, and has since then widened the scope to the supporting cast.
With six PV's released at the time of writing, the promotional material seems to be playing things very close to the chest. The teasers spotlight the admittedly pretty art design that seems to be adding just the right amount of color to the gray and sometimes washed-out look of the original, but there isn't much to go off of.
A more cynical eye might raise flags that 1.1a's animation might be underwhelming in the finished product. The series could well be a victim of pressure to adhere to the art direction of the original, thus eclipsing the scope and limiting how consistently the animation can meet expectations. For many, the 3D robots might already be a turn-off.
More optimistically, looking at A1 Pictures' recent reputation, and taking into consideration the source material being adapted, it's possible that the staff are simply keeping things under wraps. Not content to merely be an adaptation of the material with returning voice actors, the production is being written by none other than the original creator himself, Yoko Taro.
The Mysterious Mr. Taro
Taro is one of those eccentric figures in Japanese pop culture that brings a smile to peoples' faces with their personalities and personas, despite some incredibly heavy stories that they write. His philosophy on storytelling and game design to accompany it often leaves his works heavily niche and often not for everybody, assuming one can't get invested in the story.
Even when his stories contain sandbox elements, exploration, and side quests, the stories are fairly linear, building up to a series of infrequent but highly potent choices. His games aren't too different from Visual Novels, where the linear storyline is effectively an engrossing novel, but one that starts from the beginning with some new insight.
NieR has multiple endings, but not in the conventional sense like games such as The Witcher or Mass Effect. Route A in Automata tells the story from 2B's perspective, then Route B tells the same story from 9S's perspective, with new revelations only they discover. Route C begins a new story, but one that jumps back and forth between the characters, resulting in more choices that lead to one of three endings: C, D, or the True Ending, E.
And it seems that Taro understood that adapting this large story into one TV series might be limiting, as he's commented on the difficulty with capturing the story. It could be done, and fans might even be able to piece together where each story might go, but would it truly be NieR if the fans knew where it was headed next?
"...the title 'NieR:Automata' was a story we created to be a game, so copying it as is wouldn't6 make an interesting story for an anime."
- Yoko Taro, on NieR:Automata Ver1.1a, during Aniplex Online Fest
According to Taro, he pitched a pilot episode that was completely different from the game, which was quickly rejected, but fans of his work likely aren't surprised at all by such a thing. Every new ending and every hidden secret in his works isn't just a fun hunt, but a further exploration of an already dense work of art.
Many fans would argue that if anything new were to be released bearing NieR: Automata's namesake, then outside a mere port, it would have to somehow expand and change. But what does this mean with regard to the animated series set for a January 2023 release? Does it mean that the story will merely be told differently, or could it expand upon the game?
A New Ending?
NieR: Automata famously had 27 endings, 26 in the base game and another in the DLC expansion. To be accurate, most of these endings were jokes based on a failure to complete certain objectives or willfully performing certain unadvisable actions. Endings A and B are completed through the course of the game, leading to the end when players choose between C, D, or E.
Ending E, the True Ending, is itself an open-ended one, that closes the door on the story while leaving the player with no doubt plenty of questions. After seemingly all the characters die and the entirety of YorHa is to be erased and restarted to preserve a lie, the AI Pods that have followed the characters come to another conclusion.
The player fights the literal credits of the game at the cost of their own save data, and as a result, they witness the closest thing to a happy ending the game could offer. The pods are seen carrying spare parts to 2B and 9S, who appear to be sleeping, and discussing the events as if they are all about to happen again. However, the story ends with the hope that another ending might be possible.
What if Ver1.1a's story is just another cycle of NieR's story, one that diverges and shares a new message or expands on the existing one? Optimistically, it could be the ending that Pods 042 and 153 have waited for. Alternatively, it could be a cycle set before the game that's even darker and more violent.
Taro's stories are often so intrinsically built around gameplay and mechanics that can only exist within the gaming medium. One wonders if this story can emulate such an experience absent the interaction of the player at the pivotal moment. Can the anime's ending hit as hard as losing the saved data? The only way the anime could do such a thing would be if it only streamed once and was never viewable again... which feels like something Taro would try to do.
Source: Yoko Taro on Twitter