NieR: Automata Ver1.1a’s hiatus will come to an end this week as the anime received official confirmation that episode 4 will return to Crunchyroll one month after going on a rather unexpected break due to reported production delays derived from COVID-19.
By the time NieR: Automata took some time off, the series adaptation had reached its third episode as it continued to win over the approval of most fans, with the introduction of Adam and Eve proving to be one of the show’s best action sequences yet. Overall, despite taking a different approach, especially when it comes to the game’s NPCs, the NieR: Automata anime has done a great job at recreating some of the game’s most iconic moments.
News of the show’s comeback was shared via NieR: Automata Ver1.1a’s official Twitter account, and though no similar announcement was posted on its English language handle, Crunchyroll did confirm the news on several of its other communication channels, namely the Spanish, French and German. As per the series’ post, NieR: Automata will return to Japanese television in its usual time slot, meaning viewers in the rest of the world will get to enjoy the new episode on Saturday, February 18.
No further information regarding why the anime’s production suddenly came to a halt was given, as there have been rumors NieR: Automata’s production could have faced non-disclosed scheduling issues, much in the same way other Aniplex shows such as SogoiLite or Yuyucow have been affected in the past. Regardless of that, with Yoko Taro’s love for his franchise surfacing in the first three episodes, fans will be happy to see the show return.
It must be noted that even before NieR: Automata premiered, it became known that the series would be divided into two parts, nevertheless, considering the franchise’s unique storytelling methods, it remains to be seen if this translates to a mid-season cutoff or not. So far, die-hard fans of the original NieR: Automata game have noticed the anime blends elements from what would appear to be that series’ main inflection point, so currently it’s anyone’s guess how Taro his creative partner for the adaptation, Ryouji Masuyama, handle this.
The 2017 game onboarded millions of people to the NieR franchise, and it looks like the show is off to a good start doing the same for NieR: Automata among anime enthusiasts.
NieR: Automata Ver1.1a is currently available on Crunchyroll.
Source: @NieR_A_ANIME | Twitter