Usually, anime based on video games tend to be little more than cheap cash grabs or may ruin the story, characters, or vibe that made the original game special in the first place. Fortunately, that doesn't apply to Nier: Automata Ver1.1a, which remained faithful to the game's gripping story, strong characters, and uniquely melancholic vibe while remaining accessible to people who haven't played the game, and carefully adding new elements to keep the people who have hooked. Unfortunately, it's been hit with delays more than once due to Covid, according to A-1 Pictures, with only 8 episodes released since January on what should've been a weekly release schedule.

The first hiatus went on for about a month from late January to late February, after only 3 episodes had dropped. The second, most recent one has left us dry since March. They've now confirmed that the anime will return on July 24, and we don't just have episode 9 to look forward to, but the final 4 episodes of the series released at once to make up for the long wait.

The last we saw of 2B and 9S in the anime they were hot on the trail of A2, which is about halfway through the game's first playthrough. There's plenty more of the game left to cover, and we've yet to see if the rest of the season will finish off 2B's route or go completely off the deep end. Guess we've only got to wait a month to find out.

Nier: Automata Ver1.1a episodes 9 through 12 drop on July 24. Do you guys think it'll stay faithful to the game or will it be a classic Yoko Taro bait & switch? Sound off in the comments below!