Nier Automata fans are in for a wait in order to complete the anime based on Yoko Taro's masterpiece. It seems we are once again amidst those times, as the broadcast of the show has been postponed due to a rise in cases of Covid-19. The news of the postponement came via a Tweet containing a statement by the studio.
"Thank you for your continued support of the Nier: Automata Ver.1.1a TV anime," says the statement. "Due to the impact of COVID-19 on production, we have decided to postpone the broadcast and distribution of episode four and all subsequent episodes. Information regarding the broadcast and distribution schedule for episode four and beyond will be announced on the official anime website and official Twitter soon," the statement continued.
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"We apologize for any inconvenience and concern this may cause our fans who have been looking forward to our work due to these unforeseen circumstances," it concludes. "Thank you for your understanding."
As things currently stand, it's unclear when episode four of the anime will air, and when we'll see the rest of the show. It's highly unusual for a show to get postponed like this, in the middle of a season. Once a season launches, it usually means that all episodes are either ready or only require finishing touches. Perhaps the studio, Aniplex, has been working on the show with very little lead time. It could also be that the Covid outbreak in the studio is widespread, affecting almost every employee. Regardless of that, we wish everyone affected the speediest recovery, and hope to see the anime resume as soon as possible.
It appears that the anime isn't only sticking to the events of Automata. One eagle-eyed fan spotted a reference to the desert city known as Facade in the prequel game Nier Replicant. At some point in the anime, 9S hacks one of the robots and sees a setting that looks very much like the desert city of Facade. It's unclear if we'll get to see the actual Facade in the show, since this one was only thanks to hacking.