Kara Dennison
August 29, 2024 
After a rough (and short) run, the Borderlands movie is coming to streaming services extremely soon. But if you’ve got a hunger for video game adaptations, you can absolutely look elsewhere… for instance, these three anime series! And two of them are airing as we speak!
Restore your faith in the power of video game adaptations with this trio of animated series. Which ones will you be streaming?
NieR:Automata Ver1.1a
Looter-shooter Borderlands and psychological drama NieR:Automata are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to play styles. But both are part of running series with otherworldly stories and a fair number of robotic characters. Yoko Taro’s masterwork, woven into the Drakengard universe, found new life as NieR:Automata Ver1.1a. Now in its second cour, this anime adaptation goes down a slightly different road from any of the game’s potential routes.
Viewers will notice a few changes, from who leads the Resistance to a swapping-out of Adam and Eve. The relationship between 2B and 9S, while hinted at across other media, is also ramped up in the anime adaptation. Whether you’re a long-time fan of the game or are coming to the story fresh, it’s an intriguing place to start.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
The Borderlands are littered with all sorts of god-tier beings, from the mystical Sirens to the terrifying Vault Guardians. But godhood is downright cozy in Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. Based on the hybrid farming sim/side-scroller from Edelweiss and Marvelous, this anime follows a lazy harvest deity forced to get her hands dirty. And along the way, we meet a lot of delightful characters.
Relocated (read: “banished”) to the Isle of Demons for one year, Princess Sakuna reluctantly befriends a found family of humans. Together, and with limited abilities across the board, they must learn to fend for themselves. Most importantly, they must learn to cultivate rice and grow enough for Sakuna’s next offering. It’s a cute and comforting show, bringing with it the vibe of its source game.
Ace Attorney
The Borderlands games are full of bizarre characters, but all you have to do is shoot them. In Ace Attorney, you have to go up against them in court. Worst case scenario, you have to defend some of them! The beloved, long-running game series got itself a two-season anime adaptation, covering the first three games of the franchise’s main storyline.
But that’s not all it did! Even connoisseurs of the original games will find several surprises scattered throughout. We get flashbacks to young Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth, and even some brand new cases written especially for the anime! As much of a treat as it is to see our favorite characters brought to life, it’s even more fun to get brand new stories.
Prefer games of a tabletop variety? Jump on the Kedamono Opera crowdfunding campaign!
