Square Enix has revealed that Nier: Automata is the next game to jump to television. Japanese anime and music production company Aniplex premiered the news on its YouTube channel before word reached official social media channels.
Aniplex revealed the new show in a short 30-second teaser that features a familiar track from the RPG’s soundtrack, glitching text, and a sketch of 2B. Aside from confirming that the project is an anime that focuses on Nier: Automata specifically, details are thin on the ground. A website and Twitter account have been set up, though further details aren’t currently available at the time of writing. Rumours of a Nier: Automata anime did began to swirl earlier this month when a Twitter user with a solid track record of revealing anime projects tweeted about it. Even then, the account did not provide more details past the project’s existence.
Nier: Automata’s release in 2017 has sparked a rejuvenation for the series. As of June 2021, the sombre RPG had sold six million copies. We’ve also seen the original Nier remastered, and a mobile spin-off game launch.
Here’s the trailer:
Animation projects based on videogames are proving popular. While League of Legends’ Netflix show Arcane enraptured plenty last year, we’ve also seen Dota 2 and Castlevania shows generate steady buzz. There’s more to come, too, as The Witcher is also getting two animated shows.
Director Yoko Taro has spoken about his admiration for anime before, so it would clearly be very remiss of me not to pass on what he said. Speaking to Vice about mobile game SINoALICE, he was asked what his favourite fairytale growing up was.
“When I was younger all I watched was anime, and I had no interest in fairy tales,” he answered. “Anime is the best. The pictures move and talk. It’s all you ever need.” Taro also noted that “As long as I have beer, everything is fine.”
If you’re looking for something to binge-watch in the meantime, though, our sister site The Digital Fix curates lists on the best anime series and the best anime movies. Anime is all you need, after all.