SPOILERS FOR NIER:AUTOMATA VER1.1A AHEAD!!!
better [ ˈbe-tər ]
Definition of better:
adjective
More advantageous or effective.
NieR:Automata Ver1.1a is far better than its video game counterpart.

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Very rarely do video game anime adaptations live up to their predecessors, but in the case of
NieR:Automata Ver1.1a that is not true. The anime far surpasses its video game counterpart in every single way.
Plot: 9.9/10 | 
The plot of the anime blows the games plot away for one reason and one reason alone. You do not have to replay the first half of the story two times in a row to get to the second half of the story. The anime manages to weave "Ending A: flower for m[A]chines" and "Ending B: or not to [B]e" into one coherent storyline that saves viewers the slog of having to replay the same story from two nearly identical perspectives. With that aside, the anime also includes new material that was not shown in the game such as the "Pearl Harbor Descent" and references to NieR Replicant. The "Pearl Harbor Descent" was only found in text in the game and was easy to miss, but the anime shows the audience the events firsthand. This additional scene adds much needed backstory to characters like A2 and Lily, which makes future scenes much more impactful. These new additions and streamlining of the game's original plot push the anime's plot far beyond the game's plot.

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Characters: 9/10 | 
The anime opts to replace
Anemone with Lily which allows for a fresh new take on the game. Lily feels like a much better character than Anemone ever was in the game, because of the added scene covering the "Pearl Harbor Descent." A2 also benefits heavily from the depiction of the "Pearl Harbor Descent," which greatly boosts her anime character over her game counterpart.
Main characters, 2B and 9S, both are just as good of characters as they were in the game. Them both slowly uncovering the lies of the YoRHa and learning that machines are not as different from them as they think throughout the story makes for great character development for the two of them.
Machines such as Pascal, Adam, and Eve are also all interesting characters. All three of them attempt to mimic humanity in some way or form which is a stark contrast to the YoRHa androids who are supposed to show no emotion.

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Animation: 9/10 | 
I have seen many complaints about the use of CGI for the YoRHa flight units in the anime, but they are meant to look like that because they are ripped straight from the game. Even then, the use of CGI for many other things in the anime has been great such as the pods and machines. Not quite on the level of CGI as
Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc, but it is still good CGI. The 2D animated parts of the anime are also done really well and have a very nice art style that translates the games 3D models to 2D. All in all, NieR:Automata Ver1.1a does not quite have
Demon Slayer levels of animation, but is still respectable in its own regard.

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OST: 9/10 | 
The game already had a good OST and the anime stays faithful to the game by using its OST throughout the anime.

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Op/Ed: 8/10 |
Aimer and
amazarashi both do a good job for the opening and ending. Aimer's "
escalate" is not quite as good as her work on
Demon Slayer 's opening, "
Zankyou Sanka," but it is still pretty enjoyable. amazarashi's "
Antinomy" is also pretty enjoyable, but is not enough to be considered an all time great ending.

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Overall: 8.9/10 | 
What was originally a 6.5/10 video game has been adapted and elevated to new heights for many anime viewers around the world.

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To all the Peak Slayer and NieR:Automata Ver1.1a enjoyers, I love you :)
Thanks for reading my review to the end!
Click here to read my other reviews

Spoiler, click to view

the [E]nd of yorha