You know how NieR:Automata Ver. 1.1a just had its third episode make its debut on Crunchyroll? Unfortunately, that’s going to be the last we see of 2B and the other android soldiers for a long while. All thanks (or rather, no thanks) to a certain COVID-19 yet again.
2B and Co. Undergoing Quarantine Procedures?
The official Twitter account of NieR:Automata Ver. 1.1a reported that the anime will be going on hiatus immediately following the premiere of Ep. 3 on Crunchyroll on January 21, 2023. The cause of this hiatus is specifically a COVID-19 outbreak that’s happening in Japan. Unfortunately, this hiatus is effective immediately. So if you were hoping to see one more episode next week on Saturday, then you’re out of luck.
Even more unfortunately though, the Tweet gives zero indication as to when NieR:Automata Ver. 1.1a will air again. They don’t give a new air date anywhere in the Tweet. There’s not even a window for when we might see 2B and co. again. For all intents and purposes, they’ve all gone into an extended maintenance period with currently no set release date. We’ll just have to wait for A-1 Pictures or Crunchyroll to give us more news about this at a later date.
The only decently good news here is that all 3 episodes of NieR:Automata Ver. 1.1a are still available to watch on Crunchyroll. Unfortunately, even that has a caveat. You need to pay up for a premium Crunchyroll account to watch this anime and all others on Crunchyroll. Because the days when Crunchyroll believed in letting people watch anime for free are long over.
NieR:Automata Ver. 1.1a: Synopsis
Are you perhaps someone new to NieR:Automata and have no idea what this anime is? Then don’t worry. Crunchyroll has an official synopsis for NieR:Automata Ver. 1.1a that you can read below:
The distant future, 5012.
The sudden aerial invasion of Earth by <Aliens> and their creations <Machine Lifeforms> led mankind to the brink of extinction. The surviving number of humans who took refuge on the moon to organize a counterattack using <android> soldiers to recapture Earth. However, the war reaches a stalemate as the <Machine Lifeforms> continue to multiply infinitely. In turn, humanity deploys a new unit of android soldiers as an ultimate weapon: YoRHa.
Newly dispatched to Earth 2B joins 9S, the analyst currently stationed there, where amid their mission, they encounter a myriad of mysterious phenomena…
This is the story of these lifeless <androids> and their endless fight for the sake of mankind.
