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IcyOrio t1_j5eafkm wrote

Reply to comment by sara-ragnarsdottir in NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a Anime Delays Episodes 4 & Beyond Due to COVID-19 by DemiFiendRSA

Can you explain what was wrong with it without spoiling the game? I wanna finish the game before I watch this, but I'm curious as to what was wrong with Episode 3.

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sara-ragnarsdottir t1_j5ebuim wrote

As for me, there is a very major scene in episode 3 (that was also hinted at the end of episode 2) that didn't quite hit like it did in the game. When I played that part I felt somewhat shaken by what was happening, but in the anime it felt too rushed, I didn't feel many emotions in it.

The whole episode had a weird pacing, as it presents two different locations (the refuge and the desert) of the game without spending enough time with either of them. Especially the part in the desert deserved more weight and a slower pacing to create a stronger sense of immersion imo. And even in terms of animations it felt too much unpolished to me, as if they were doing the bare minimum to release the episode.

Anyway, it's a very difficult game to adapt: it's dense, there is a lot of hidden lore, it's very introspective and has a peculiar narrative structure, so I don't blame them. I'm still hoping that the following episodes will do it justice since the author of the game is part of the team.

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NomaanMalick t1_j5g5pqx wrote

From experience, all anime adaptations have pacing issues because they cover multiple manga chapters in a single episode. I haven't seen any anime adaptation yet that didn't have this problem.

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TchoupedNScrewed t1_j5j3oe7 wrote

Idk Vinland omitted a little bit, but having read and watched both, as far as season one goes it’s as close to 1:1 as an anime is gonna get.

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NomaanMalick t1_j5j5zke wrote

Fair enough if you think that. For me, anime doesn't work so well as the manga mostly because the pacing's off because the animation staff are so slavishly following the panels instead of trying to rework the story into animated form.

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TchoupedNScrewed t1_j5j76ki wrote

I will say it’s episodic and maybe 2% of the manga wasn’t included, but I’d say even more 1:1 was Mushishi and the pacing was hit with perfect stride. Some JoJo stands work better in animation than they do in the manga as well imo, but the opposite exists.

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sara-ragnarsdottir t1_j5j5k2j wrote

I don't think adaptions from a manga (especially if compared to video games and novels) are actually that difficult when the animation studio has the time and money to do a good job. Some adaptations are nearly identical to the manga (an example: Monster). But with videogames it's different, since a completely faithful adaptation is almost impossible due to the nature of the media itself. Imagine what a nightmare it would be to adapt Dark Souls and Bloodborne, and Nier Automata isn't much easier.

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Hexdro t1_j69uo9u wrote

I've found a lot of anime adaptations for games end up feeling more fast-paced and like a promo anime instead of a proper series. Going off The World Ends With You & Scarlet Nexus anime adaptations.

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