The Winter 2023 anime season is upon us andNieR Automata Ver1.1ahas the unfortunate pleasure of having to meet some incredibly high expectations placed upon it. After all, the source material in question is one of the most critically praised video games of the last decade, by one of the industry’s most divisive game developers and storytellers.
The success ofNieR Automatain 2017 was a surprise to many, not least of all the developers themselves, but the bizarre, dark, andbeautiful story struck a chord with many. Many are likely curious if the show is in the right hands and judging by the staff list and A1-Pictures' recent work, they just might be able to recapture the magic.
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The Director
Ryouji Masuyama is younger than a lot of anime directors, and his directorial credits are consequently few, but his work as an animator spans the late 2000s. His first time directing was in 2008 on the fourth short fromGurren Lagann: Parallel Works, and since then he’s animated for the likes ofEvangelion,Black Rock Shooter, and more.
While not exactly comparable toNieRin its genre, audiences would no doubt recognize one of his more recent directorial works: 2017’sBlend-S. And more recently, he served as the assistant director ofGreat Pretenderfor WIT Studio, working alongside director Hiro Kaburagi. He also wasa storyboard artist on 2019’sPromare.
While his career is certainly not without promise, he isn’t a particularly well-known director in the mainstream, which makes his appointment to such a role for this show so exciting. Getting to be director of a project as big as this is a fantastic chance to see what they are capable of and in anime, a “no-name” isn’t a reason to be worried, but excited.
Animation
NieR is a game that is especially notable for its visuals, be it the flashy sword fighting or the gorgeous locations, and as such the adaptation has to balance maintaining the style and animating it properly. Things like detail have to be measured against the practicality of being able to make such gorgeous and complex designs move effortlessly.
Enter, Jun Nakai, an animator/Animation Director who many might recognize from Studio TROYCA projects likeRe:CreatorsandLord El Melloi II’s Case Files. In fact, on both of those shows, he served as Animation Director and Key Animator on several episodes throughout. Not only that, he served as the Character Designer forCase Files.
While NieR is not a TROYCA production, it sometimes looks like it, especially looking at some of the character designs, which look similar to that of Nakai’s work onCase Files. Having the AD and Character Designer be one and the same might be just the right kind of economical decision to keep the visuals looking fresh throughout.
The characters look gorgeous in the promotional images, but if they can’t animate well during combat, it can lead to some very flat climactic moments. ButNakai is an experienced animatorwith some great character animation that pops out even when there is a lot of CGI or digital effects work.
Artwork
Background art and the photography that goes into anime is such a rich process in itself that it almost warrants a separate deep dive to explore its intricacies. However, at a base level, audiences generally know what they want from aNieRanime, and that is somewhat bleak yet beautiful vistas of an overgrown Earth.
Takeyuki Takahashi is serving as Background Artist for the series, having previously worked on such shows asHigurashi,Blue Exorcist,Empire of Corpses, andYour Name.That last one in particularshould tip audiences off as to the kind of quality one can expect from the scenery. Takahiro Mogi has been tasked with color design, a role they’ve executed onGolden KamuyandMegalo Boxamong other projects.
Lastly, the Director of Photography is Toshiaki Aoshima, whose works whether recent or within the last decade speak for themselves. They’ve done composting work onSilver Spoon,Erased,Blend-S,The Millionaire Detective, andA1-Pictures' recent hit,Lycoris Recoil. With regard to the art department, this show could not be in better hands.
The Writer
Quite frankly, theNieRanime’s best weapon is the writer of the original game himself, Yoko Taro. After all, adapting games into animation can have mixed results at times, so having the original writer involved offers some assurance, though not a guarantee. A writer of one medium may not automatically thrive in another.
With that said, Taro isn’t exactly a writer afraid to make something divisive, as evidenced by the beloved games he himself has made.And judging by his statements regarding the productionof the anime, he seems intent on making something distinct and possibly different from the game. The only question is how different.
NieR Automata Ver1.1awas quite an unexpected announcement when it was first revealed, and like with every project Yoko Taro is involved in, there’s a lot that we simply don’t know. The biggest hurdle will be that aforementioned balance between respecting the game’s aesthetic while letting the animation thrive in the ways that best bring the characters to life.
