As it gets closer to the premiere, the expectation surrounding NieR: Automata Ver1.1a keeps on rising, and to please the fans A-1 Pictures revealed the teasers and posters for three vital characters in the videogame's story. After a good year in the videogame adaptations department, with the mayor success of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and the Sonic Hedgehog 2, we will open 2023 with the anime of one of the most acclaimed videogames in history, NieR: Automata, in what is without a doubt a high-risk, high-reward situation.
The first good news for this anime adaptation came in September when the fans could finally see the first full trailer which also confirmed a January 2023 release date. The news of the adaptation being in the works broke back in February during the celebration of the game's 5th anniversary. Since then a lot of questions have been recurrent, mostly wether or not it will live up to the great storytelling displayed on the game or how can an open-world game make this transition, perhaps hoping that Yoko Taro's talent and experience with manga will do the trick.
But if there is something certain is that so far ir looks pretty good, at least in the animation and design department. After being able to see 2B, 9S and a little bit of the world and aircraft, A-1 Pictures has been showing teasers for different characters that will have an important part on the show. First it was the Promotion File 003 that presented Commander White, Promotion File 004 brought the beloved Pascal, and now, Promotion File 005 showcased Adam and Eve, followed immediately by 006 that gave the first look at Lily a new, but not exactly new, character that will appear on the anime.
Very difficult to forget Adam and Eve for anyone that played the game, as they take part in one of the most compelling arcs of the game and are definitely eye-catching. Adam will be voiced by Daisuke Namikawa (Luka in Bayonetta and Eustass Kid in One Piece among many others) and Eve by Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Noctis un Final Fantasy XV and Draken in Tokyo Revengers among many others). Although the anime is also a good entry point if reticent to play the game, something that doesn't really work out with these teasers clearly directed to a public well aware of the story.
On the other hand, the teaser for Lily presents a character that didn't appear on the original show, which also means this is the first official change for the adaptation. However, Lily is not a character created exclusively for the anime. Her placement in the NieR universe happened in the YorHa stage play written by Yoko Taro that narrates the events prior to NieR: Automata, taking place in the year 11941 AD (friendly reminder that the game is in the year 11945 AD). Lily is an android resistance fighter that plays a big role fighting alongside A2 in the Pearl Harbor Descent, which suggest that this conflict and story will appear in the anime adaptation, and also hints that an A2 teaser may be coming next.
They also left some key visual art for these three characters.
This announcement revealed one of the many changes the show will suffer in comparison to the game, as Yoko Taro himself deemed necessary taking into consideration the multiple endings in the original work, the open-world and the unique narrative with three protagonists and their different points of view. The NieR: Automata Ver1.1a anime airs in Japan in January 2023. News on broadcast plans for the rest of the world are still pending, but it will most likely stream in Crunchyroll in most parts, given that Sony owns both Crunchyroll and Aniplex, the latter being involved in the anime project.
Source: TVアニメ『NieR:Automata』（ニーア オートマタ)/Twitter and Official Website
