86

The word masterpiece gets thrown around so much these days, it’s nearly lost its meaning. The literal meaning being the defining work of an individual’s career. I’m here to tell you now, Eighty-Six:86 is a masterpiece in the truest sense of the word and is one of the best stories in the modern history of the medium. 86 depicts the brutal nature of war, racism and oppression in such a way that you can’t help but to be absorbed into the story, characters and fall in love with the series.

From the time it was announced that my favourite LN series would be getting an anime ... adaptation, I was filled with excitement at the prospect of seeing my fave scenes and characters adapted. Unfortunately, I could not help feeling a sense of dread as well given the studio that would be adapting it. A-1 have had a pretty inconsistent track record over the past decade or so. They’ve given us some amazing works like Anohana and Bokumachi, but also some…. less than stellar works like SAO season 2 or War of Underworld PT.2. A-1, and the anime industry as a whole’s main issue is that LN adaptations are usually just cash grabs and glorified promo material to get people to go out and buy the books. Usually large swathes of stories are left out or butchered. As a result, I was worried that A-1 may rush through the story and omit key aspects of 86. Thankfully, I could not have been more wrong. Not only did A-1 remain faithful to the source material, they even enhanced it in many instances. With arguably their best LN adaptation ever, A-1 gave us the anime of the season.

86 is a very character driven story. Volume 1, which the first cour of the anime covers, is quite slow at time just because of all the detail that goes into the world-building. Asato sensei does a great job of humanising characters and creating a connection between you and them. There may be times during the anime where you feel it drags on or it’s going a bit slow, but I can guarantee you there’s a pay-off coming around the corner. Every second you spend in this world and with these characters matters. The cruel nature of war and child soldiers is on full display, and unfortunately death is always only a moment away. At the core of 86 is the theme of racism. The light novel and anime by extension, do an amazing job of showing how easy it is to fall into the cycle of hatred. On one hand, you have the Alba living peaceful lives within their cities, on the other you have the 86 being forced into a war they didn’t start and left to die. The psychological trauma that both the kids and their commanding officer, Lena go through is conveyed masterfully and really drives home the toll these things can take on humans. If it sounds like this is a dense story, it’s because it is. There is a LOT to unpack in 86, which is why I am so happy A-1 took their time and only adapted one volume for the first cour. This is something that’s nearly unprecedented in today’s era of profit over fidelity.

From a cinematic perspective, A-1 eloquently employ the use of split perspectives in 86. The story is told through the eyes of Lena and Shin and is usually split halfway each episode. It’s a great way to flesh out the world and the characters and I’m glad they went this route. I also loved the use of camera angles, particularly as it relates to facial expressions in the show. During tense moments and conversations, I found that the cuts and angles used added to the moment and helped drive home the significance of the scene.

I mentioned it briefly earlier, but I can’t help but reiterate how much I LOVED the pacing of the show. Usually with these types of adaptations we would get 1-3 volumes for 12 episodes. For a series like 86 which is quite frankly extremely dense, this would have been a disaster. Doing the first volume, at a rate of one chapter per episode and with the quality we got artistically with amazing character designs, the best CGI I’ve ever seen, etc etc., perfection.

Anyone who knows me knows I’ve been pushing the 86 agenda on Twitter and facebook for years. Part of that agenda was an OST by Sawano Hiroyuki. I could not imagine the world of 86 being animated without an OST from the GOAT himself. Sawano has done the OST for several aniplex mech series so it’s not really a shock that he hopped on 86, but bringing his kouhai Yamamoto Kohta onboard was a pleasant surprise. As you’d expect, the two of them SNAPPED on every track featured in the anime. Both EDs are amazing and several inserts like “The Answer” are on repeat on my phone daily. Could not ask for more.

In closing, 86 has been my favourite Light Novel series for years, and at this point it’s probably safe to say the anime is now my favourite anime series. A-1 put together an all star team of talent to work on this show, took their time and gave us something really special. Even if you don’t normally like mech or science-fiction anime, 86 is well worth a viewing due to the amazing handling of real life themes. In today’s hyper-political and tense times, a story on the dangers of racism and hate couldn’t be more relevant.

Eighty-six gets 10 Para-Raids out of 10.

The number 86 doesn't sound very special at first glance, until you realize the dark story behind it. Plagued by an ongoing war for 9 years, you can imagine how both Republic of San Magnolia and Empire of Giad's lives have been shattered. War itself lays the foundation of this show and with it, characters comes to understand what it means to live, survive, and fight. Yet, the story of 86 runs far deeper than just a frontline war. Behind the closed doors of their society has unimaginable secrets.

Advertised as a military science fiction, I first want to mention that above all else, the anime ... manages to maintain a stellar force of animated quality. A-1 Pictures can sometimes be a missed bag but make no mistake, this show doesn't step over its toes and overestimate itself. It manages to capture the essence of a military sci-fi by the high quality animation. From the machines, battle sequences, to the character design themselves, every bit of production makes a strong impression. Producer Nobuhiro Nakayama has previously worked on other sci-fi projects such as Heavy Object, A Certain Magical Index, and Accel World, among others. Let's of course not forget about the director, Toshimasa Ishii. He managed to put together a storyboard to compensate with the artistic talents of the staff and make this show into a reality.

However, I do want to distress not to think too hard into this show. While 86 may be somewhat more complicated than the average sci-fi anime you see these days, it's also fairly watchable for new viewers. You don't need a rocket science degree to understand the technological advancements of their world. However, it make take a bit of time to understand what our characters are capable of and why they exist. Off the bat, we have Major Vladilena 'Lena' Milize, who serves as a Handler in the Republic forces. Coming off as one of the most human characters in the show, she treats others like humans than tools. It seperates herself from her superiors and above all, she fights for equality rather than winning the war. Lena's character is portrayed as human by her actions. She often speaks out and challenges morality issues with her superiors. Within her squadron, she tries to forge a bond together even during their toughest times. As such, Lena represents much more than just the average Handler. She's a beacon of hope for the 86 Squadron.

Speaking of which, what exactly is the 86? In general definition, they are pilots representing the Republic of San Magnolia. However, these members are not treated equally as other sectors as result of many complicated events. The show follows a group of elite 86ers (as part of the Spearhard Squad) with Shinei Nouzen as their leader. Taken for granted, Shinei carries a burden of responsibilty for his squad members. This is seen through his actions, when he disregard his own life to fight in what he believes in. Throughout the show, Shinei faces death straight on without fear even when taking inconceivable risks. His actions are not gone without notice as characters have come to respect him as a capable leader such as Kurena. I'm not here to convince you whether Shinei is a likable character or not. His actions can sometimes be questionable but the sheer bravery he shows on the battlefield is undeniably respectable.

With that in mind, 86 deals with war drama elements by showing and telling, a combination that is achieved with its historical background storytelling. From the very start, we learn about the state of their world and how characters are shaped by what they are. Most prominently, Lena and Shinei explifies their leadership role, and they must make important decisions even if they have to do it themselves. It's also important to realize that Shinei's squadron has character bonds within the group. When we see its members outside the battlefield, most of them behave like normal people despite knowing what future may lie ahead of them. It's because of their bond, there seems to also be a glimmer of hope for the 86ers.

It's a 1-cour show, at least for the first half and not only that, this falls short on one episode compared to the standard 12-episode formula. By no doubt, there's content omitted in this adaptation such as the death of a certain important character on-screen. And also, if you came expecting this show to tell some romance, then look elsewhere. Sure, there are some hints dropped from Lena's point of view and her growing affection towards Shinei. However, this doesn't bloom into a relationship. After all, Shinei is the last type of guy who wants a girlfriend in this series. He's a fighter, not a lover. Looking back though and among the Spearhead squadron, their relationship is perhaps one of the most important in the series.

I've already mentioned about the high quality production of 86. But who can forget the music? Hiroyuki Sawano is well known for his previous involvement in sci-i projects such as Aldnoah Zero and Guilty Crown. Here is no different as we see the sheer amount of talent poured into the soundtrack. Every episode is able to synchronize the soundtrack to make scenes impactful. It accomplishes this to make viewers feel what the characters feel, especially during the more emotional scenes. That's important too, because war itself can have emotional impactful on anyone. It feels like the author and producers wanted us to experience what war is like hence the soundtrack enhances that experience.

Science fiction military anime isn't an uncommon trend in today's industry. Darling in the Frankxx, Aldnoah Zero, and the infamous Code Geass are just a few examples. What 86 manages to do is capture the feeling and reality of war, in a way that makes us realize what lives really is like for the characters. From day one, you can see grim reality of how war can change a world and people. Let's just hope the second half of 86 will be as memorable as the first, because this anime is just getting started.

People often say that the mecha genre is dying nowadays. There is no place for the giant robot stuff in the era of the light novel fantasies and battle shounens, and it’s difficult to disagree with it. After the ridiculous success of FranXX three years ago, this genre fell down into the void again, and suddenly I realized that literally nothing new was released in the past two years. Yeah, some movie sequels of already established franchises, some cheap and weird trash like Listeners or Revisions, and another rehashing of the same ideas for the tenth (eleventh? twelfth?) time by Trigger. Wake me up if ... something happens.

Because of that, I really had some hopes for 86. About a year ago, I read the first volume of the LN and found it pretty mediocre and way too teen, but with an unusual concept that could be developed into something passable with a good director and studio. I hoped that Sunrise or Satelight will take care of the source material as they can and give us something at least visually good. What have we got instead? Yeah, an amateurish guy who has never directed TV series before, A-1 Pictures, a studio who can’t make mecha at all, and the animation director whose previous works were Asterisk and Oreimo s2. And holy fuck, all these dudes gattaied into one big dude and gave me a mediocre experience that made me lost all of my hopes and dreams.

Let’s shortly talk about the good things first: action and music. After the averagely directed first episode, I expected nothing but was really surprised at how lit the first full-fledged battle was. Great direction, well-done CGI by studio Shirogumi, and OST by Sawano combined and became something surprisingly well done (yeah, the action was unrealistic a bit – but it is a mecha and we always forgive it to this genre, so shut up and enjoy the show). Mr. Hiroyuki produced another superb stuff as usual and made most of the scenes as hype as possible, thanks to him. That’s all.

People often say that 86 has a really complex story and doesn’t afraid to speak on deep and provocative themes like human freedom and slavery. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not. 86 is basically your run-of-the-mill teenage dystopia like Hunger Games or Divergent that was really popular only a few years ago. No, seriously, all of the components are here – dystopian Nazi country, ridiculous world-building with primitive plot holes, black and white sides of the conflict without any depth, and young teens as main characters. It’s not awful itself, because light novels (and most anime shows nowadays) are teenage-oriented, and simple stories about the heroic anime boys and girls who are fighting against fate can be enjoyable and well-done too – but sad bad true, 86 sucks even as a teenage mecha action.

Story? World-building? Imagine that you suddenly (what a surprise) knew that one of the “pig” pilots somehow killed a bunch of the handlers. What will you do? Kill him? Interrogate about how he did it and kill after that? At least, forbid him to communicate with the handlers? What a fool! The best decision in this situation is… do nothing and allow him to kill even more people! More than that, the next handler will be a kawaii 16-years old naïve girl who doesn’t know anything about real life – what a good decision! Let’s hope that this pig wouldn’t kill her next (but don’t be afraid too much, because plot armor is the strongest armor).

How about the war against the Legion? Once again – nobody cares! We won’t use anything that could help us to win the war - intelligence, cartography work, artillery are just a bunch of words for us, so let give our enemies some cardboard mechas and force them to fight for us by themselves while we are drinking the vodka under the giant wall’s protection. Why does nobody care? Because the Legion will stop in two years, of course! What will we do if Legion wouldn’t stop? What will we do if the Legion will destroy the army of 86 earlier than two years and attack our wall? What will we do if the rest of 86 wouldn’t protect us for the two years and will make a suicidal attack on the wall or just stop resisting? Well… something, I guess? Who even cares? Let’s drink vodka because we are edgy cartoonish villains. What a time to be alive!

I won’t even say anything of minor stupid situations in this “deep anime” because this is just a preliminary review and it’s already way too huge – but I really need to say about the most degenerate moment of this show that was happened in episode two and made me lost any hope of this abomination. Imagine this: a Nazi military school where the future officers are studying how to be successful commanders (on paper, in anime all of the students don’t give a fuck at all - because, as we remember, nobody cares). Suddenly, a liberalistic military equivalent of Greta Turnberg stands up, interrupts the speaker, and starts to make her own propaganda about eighty-six who are “boys and girls, just like us”. Yeah, she directly said it in front of the students and the teacher in a fucking Nazi totalitarian country where you can be killed just because you have the wrong color of eyes or hair. If this show was a bit – a bit! – realistic, Lena would have been eventually killed, strictly punished (like a few years in the jail for the propaganda or direct transfer to the battlefield with 86 - they will be really happy to see a real Alba among them), or, at least, prohibited to be an officer and a handler anymore. In this show… imagine what? Yeah, you are right – nobody cares. What a masterful writing.

Yeah, Vladilena is an awful character. Not only because she acts like a typical Mary Sue (hey, I'm a kawaii 16 years-old girl, and I'm already the strongest handler in the whole Republic cause all other Alba's are just a bunch of degenerates) with plot armor, but because of her extremely naive personality and idealism. Girl, you have already lived in this country for about 16 years, you know that they treat 86 like pigs, and you STILL don't understand why Jerome can't give Shin's squad any help? You STILL can't understand that Albas don't give a fuck about eighty-six? What's wrong with you?

Shin is basically a standard "cool black-haired boy with a tragic past" archetype. It's not bad and I personally like this type of character, but the main problem is that he is just a generic dude without any memorable qualities. He is cool, he is a skilled warrior, he is perfect and dramatic, yeah yeah how cool how original never saw this before.

The other 86 squad tried to become someone memorable but failed, even with some well-done anime original scenes that tried to give them some personality. They are nothing but boys and girls with different hair colors who fight... and sometimes die. Should I feel sad about them or what? They don't have enough screen time to become someone more than just a forced drama squad.

The animation by A-1 is fine at best – lots of cheap CGI (cars, robot on the 86’s base, backgrounds) + character designs like «hey, I can’t draw more than two faces so let’s give viewers a bunch of similar anime boys and girls who differ from each other only with their hair color». Of course, your favorite bright backgrounds that ruin all the atmosphere are also here, same as amateurish direction. Yeah, Ishii Toshimasa tried to carry this show by dynamic editing and switching the scenes between each other, but it doesn’t work at all, and even more, sometimes editing is so random that it feels like the director skipped a bunch of the scenes.

86 is lousy and doesn’t deserve this hype at all. Meh storyline, generic characters, and overall mediocrity made me disappointed. Yeah, A-1, disappointed, even with some actually great moments like 86's names in episode four. And yeah, LN is much better – of course, it is still a typical teen sci-fi, but it also has better world-building and some interesting conversations between Lena, Shinei, and Spearhead that were cut or replaced by stupid fillers like academy one. Will I continue watching? Yeah, because I’m interested in how they will animate Shin’s backstory and Volume 1 final fight, but after 4 episodes of this mecha I have no hopes whatsoever. Wanna see a better show with a similar idea? Watch the first season of Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans, watch The Sky Crawlers, watch Schwarzesmarken – all of these shows are much better than this. 86, however, is more like Egao no Daika for me, but even Egao no Daika tried to show viewers a potentially promising sci-fi world with two equal sides of the conflict instead of this overhyped Nazi mediocrity. «I do not understand why such wasteful shows like this one are made or even allowed to exist». Yeah, bro, me neither.

Life, land, legacy: all reduced to a number.

Discrimination, privilege, pride and unlikely bonds form the basis of Eighty-Six. The story revolves around the French-coded nation of San Magnolia, a state which, cornered in its war effort, turns on its own minority citizens in a dehumanizing way similar to WWII era Germany. In the first three episodes especially, no punches are pulled to show the extent of the dehumanization of those minorities now branded as “86”, and the depravity of those stationed above letting it happen. It’s a deeply unsettling premise showcasing how easy it is for humans to justify cruelty once backed in a ... corner, and avert their eyes from it. Slapping a label or number on the oppressed makes it all the more simple to distance oneself from atrocities committed onto fellow human beings.

Writing a story about discrimination is easy: sympathy is easily gained when you depict one side as the oppressor, mercilessly beating down on the poor oppressed. It’s a formula that worked for most of Code Geass. However, Eighty-Six takes it a step further, delving into the dynamics of oppression and privilege, in a nuanced manner rarely seen in these types of anime.

Eighty-Six mainly follows the story of Vladilena Milizé, an idealistic officer within a rotten system that forces the “86” into internment camps and out on the battlefield to fight for their sake. She constantly apologizes to the “86” that she commands from behind the safety of her country’s walls, talks nicely to them, and overall seems like an angel among the Alba (San Magnolia’s majority race) oppressors. My first pleasant surprise was Eighty-Six’s treatment of this kind of character. The narrative acknowledges that no amount of niceties on her part make up for the fact that she is partaking in the system that actively oppresses people. It doesn’t validate her or put her on a pedestal for merely being nice. Lena’s attitude, similar to the “white savior” phenomenon, is called out – the story aims to deliver the message that acting nice and setting oneself apart from the oppressors, like “one of the good ones”, isn’t enough: if one is in a position of privilege, they must rather take action using said privilege. Anything less would be fulfilling one’s own ego, and not much else.

This more nuanced treatment is also seen in other Alba characters like commander Karlstahl or Annette Penrose, representing the privileged people who acknowledge the injustices in a system but simply deem themselves too powerless to do something against it, or fear the repercussions on their own privilege should they try speaking up or taking action. Sadly enough, Karlstahls and Annettes in fact form the majority of the public in such cases of blatant societal injustice within the real world.

On their end, a fair amount of characterization is devoted to the “86”, with a particular focus on Shin. They live in a completely different world compared to the Alba cast (one much less artificial), and the story doesn’t fail to make that clear with its visuals or directing. Eighty-Six takes care not to represent the oppressed minority as “victims” ; the focus is rather on the pride that keeps them going, their individual bonds, and their conflicts not wholly related to the situation of oppression at hand (Shin’s goal comes to mind). Similarly to how the narrative doesn’t treat every Alba as racist devils, the Eighty-Six aren’t angels – though rare, implications of conflicts and evil within the Eighty-Six are present, though difficultly spotted. I recommend paying close attention to Anju’s character in that regard. That being said, if the average named Alba character is grey, the average “86” character is presented a lot more positively, save for one or two instances. Part of me wishes that conflicts and evils within the “86” weren’t only left in implication (and just one direct scene), as humans are complex creatures – but I also perfectly understand that showing too many negatives in regards to the oppressed would be counterintuitive.

What opposes these human characters is the mechanized Legion. Tying into the Bible in ways I can’t explain without delving into spoilers, these foes are terrifying, and I must applaud A-1 Pictures’ competent CGI for bringing these mechanized monsters to life seamlessly. They exist to set up the overarching conflict of the story, but also tie into the more personal arcs of some characters. The directing is often spot-on when it comes to Legion scenes.

I’ve been very pleased with the sound design of the show, although sometimes an ED playing in the back may not fit with the scene at hand, and the J-Rock OP song hardly matches the visuals (nor, in my opinion, the quality of the story). Storyboards and directing are consistently good, with some kinks here and there. I have no reservations regarding the animation or voice acting.

There are a couple of scenes that I will criticize (both of which are anime changes or anime original moments): the very first minute of the anime, and a later lecture hall scene, do more harm than good to the messages the story tries to convey by being rather caricaturized. I should also say that at times, also owing to the source being a novel, where information is delivered through prose rather than dialogue, the dialogue in the anime feels inorganic and expositional. These aren’t deal breakers, but I felt them worth pointing out.

All in all, though, my experience with Eighty-Six was a very positive one – and emotional, too, at certain points. Characters like Lena, Annette, and Shin, aside from the themes I mentioned above, all possessed endearing traits that made me invested in them. In such a seemingly depressing premise, Eighty-Six doesn’t fail to provide moments of levity at the right instances, and I even found myself stupidly attached to a robot dog thanks to such moments. I will also praise A-1 for setting a great example in regards to novel adaptations; adapting only one volume within 11 episodes allowed not only some much needed breathing room for the story, but also space for extended or additional scenes. In an industry where publishers would rather squeeze 3 or 4 volumes into one cour, at the cost of major cuts, this sets a very good example. I am grateful for the extra foreshadowing and characterization these extensions provided.

Oh, 86. What can I tell about it? An anime that, judging by its first two episodes, was sure to be a solid 4 out of 10, and that now makes part of my top 20 anime and a good candidate for anime of the year (at least until the release of WEP finale). How did an anime that started with such a negative impression become my undisputed best of the season?
First of all, I want to talk about two names: Jin Akategawa and Ishii Toshimasa. Jin Akategawa, as you may know, is one of the greatest sound directors of the industry; on the other ... hand, Toshimasa is a rookie director that was making its debut with 86. So when I was almost deafened by the first minute of the anime, I was sure to blame Toshimasa. Moreover, after 3 transitions between scenes that were made with food falling in the floor and making the sound of a f*cking atomic bomb while falling, my only thought was ‘there we go again, another project from studio A-1 Pictures that is left in the hands of an incompetent director. What isn’t my surprise then, when, by the end of the season, I’m considering Toshimasa for one of the best directors of the year (together with another rookie, Shin Wakabayashi)? That symbolisms hurt…god if they hurt.
And yeah, on the bad side of things, I might say that 86 sound effects, despite being good, are quite too loud, and they even ruin some OSTs from Hiroyuki Sawano. And that’s the next thing I have to talk about: the OST compositor by excellence, the one that dismisses any presentation. As I said, 86 has some problems with its OST; the sound effects are too loud and the inserts often aren’t fitted in the ideal moments, starting and ending in the wrong parts. But Sawano doesn’t need to be at his best to be unquestionably excellent, and 86 is the living proof of that sentence. Not to mention that the ending song, written by Sawano itself, is straight up beautiful.
Now concerning the narrative… I might confess that 86 isn’t compelling at all in it’s first episodes. It sounded like the story of the princess of justice that lived among a country of maniqueistic pigs and was the only one with a good enough soul to care for the poor edgy teenagers called 86 that were fated to die. The only good point at the beginning was the interactions between the 86; even though the context was cruel, all of them (or at least, all of them that were not Shin) were acting like normal adolescents, having fun, teasing one another and jovially hating the alba processors that were in charge of them. This atmosphere was immensely aided by the good character animation involving them, making each one quite unique, even if there were too many characters to give focus to each of them.
Nevertheless, this convoluted start showed itself to be really necessary soon after, in order to break all expectations. I won’t go in further details on 86 plot, in order to not spoil anything, but the anime manages to overcome and positively utilize its bad introduction to make a great discussion about discrimination and acceptance of difference (which for me, a white privileged guy that lives in the notably unequal society of Brazil, hits astonishingly close and sincerely puts me in a bad position), and a hell of a great worldbuilding, which, far from being unpredictable, manages to be still hugely impacting and rock-solid. My 9 out of ten for the anime might sound too much, and I’m still not sure that I will be able to keep it, but judging by the way the context is escalating, I trust that the second season, that is announced for this year, will validate my score.
Now about the characters: some may say they are the weakest point of the anime, and, though it’s difficult to state otherwise, I will try to do so. For me, Lena is one of the best characters of the year due to its evolution, which is special by the fact that there are almost no introspective dialogues to show her emotions; just the visual narrative and the context she’s in are enough factors to build her progression. About the others, the only one that really shows any development is Shin; I don’t really like his character arc, but I really appreciate to see such and edgy stereotype being deconstructed in order to make the character relatable and likeable.
Finally, I want to highlight the great work of CGI on the fighting scenes. Since many people dislike the use of CGI- and have they’re solid reasons to do so-, it’s good to see such a solid work being done.
In conclusion, 86 in one of the animes with greater potential I’ve recently watched. I suggest that, instead of the 3 episodes rule, you give it some more time, maybe 5 episodes, to really engage in it’s world, and from there on it will be a great experience, with plenty of good messages and impacting scenes potentialized by a hands down great direction and astounding OST. Maybe not a 9 out of 10, or at least not until Season 2 airs, but still a worthwhile experience that stands above the other seasonal animes.

The first season of 86 is a scathing critique of ethnic nationalism and its connotations, those being that it lends itself to the mistreatment and othering of groups of people that do not fall under the main (or dominant) ethnicity of the state. It shows the incredible ease at which people not only accept racism against another group, but also are willing to neglect doing the right thing (even when such a thing is readily obvious for huge segments of society) for the sake of wider conformity. This multilayered approach to how racism, discrimination and war is portrayed - complimented by excellent writing, phenomenal direction ... and fantastic sound design - makes 86 especially compelling. Perhaps more than anything, 86 keeps war drama tropes on the characters it focuses on to a minimum, with characters that possess a more black-and-white perspective on the world portrayed negatively and nuance being something the narrative promotes above all else...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

86 is many things, its nuanced discussions on racism notwithstanding. It's a story that discusses what exactly makes up a nation, whether it's its populace or the values it adheres to, and discusses how the very soul of what a state may stand for may be stripped bare even with the aesthetics of that remaining. The Republic of San Magnolia is the example provided by the narrative in the first season, with everything from its foundation to its flag celebrating its diverse heritage, yet throughout the fridge horror experience that is episode 1, it becomes readily apparent that this is a façade kept alive by a government that was willing to collectively punish a group of its citizens for belonging to the wrong ethnic background, with this disgustingly racialized notion of what it means to belong to the Republic having been normalized and accepted throughout the state - with the persecuted non-Alba citizens, the 86, being regularly dehumanized in all of the Republic's institutions. This extends so far as to have said 86 have their citizenships stripped from them and serving forced conscription in the military with the promise of gaining citizenship back for themselves and their families should they serve their full terms. Like many an oppressive dictatorship, this is a lie propagated with the intent on sending the 86 near the end of their service - all while intentionally undermining their military capacity and underfunding them - on a death march that bears more than a passing resemblance to infamous instances of genocide, ranging from the Trail of Tears to the Armenian Genocide to the Nakba. And yet, 86's nuanced enough to neither portray Alba citizens of the Republic as full monsters nor innocent bystanders, instead showing the painful complicity through which ordinary people might be in the persecution of their fellow man. More than anything, 86 possesses the nuance to show just how easily can the tables turn on the opposite direction - what with 86 themselves often treating the Alba or half-Alba within their ranks (who were often themselves political dissidents of the new order in the Republic) with the same contempt that was showered on them. This understanding of racism as being conditioned rather than simply something people do because they're evil helps paint the series in a more mature light, whereas the author has a clear understanding of the subject matter that she is tackling.

There's more to 86 than merely what it has to say about racism. Perhaps just as important is on the sentimentality the series portrays about life in the midst of chaos, and how being conditioned that you might drop dead on any day so radically alters one's life to the point of being unable to imagine much in the way of well, living, beyond what is temporary. Many conversations are had - usually between both main characters Shin and Lena, but also among other members of the cast - on what exactly purpose even means in such a radical situation, and what comes after the fighting ends, if it even ends. That last point is key, because the cast are so used to fighting tooth and nail to survive that they can't visibly imagine a world where the end to their journeys don't come with their brutal deaths on the battlefield. Shin himself is an exemplary example of this, being someone whose purpose in life had become his role as a death reaper carrying his comrades' reminders to whatever final destination he finds as well as his own grudge against his brother, trapped in a Legion who he seeks to both liberate from his suffering as well as take revenge on for his own scars. Perhaps a more symbolic analysis of the Legion in this context - and one complimented by later events in the light novels - is that they are walking, symbolic reminders of trauma and how they can haunt the suffering of those alive now, that the past isn't simply something you can tow away to be forgotten once you're no longer part of it. Much of Shin's purpose in such a context - one that's also complimented by Raiden, Theo, Anju and naturally Lena - is how exactly to take meaning out of people who simply are no longer around, what with someone existing here and now. It's difficult to describe where this goes without spoiling events in future seasons and volumes, but needless to say that many of 86's finest moments are when it rubs home that it's perfectly fine to pursue happiness for its own sake, without perceiving the past as a burden but rather something that can compliment and empower a person, even through all the pain someone had previously undergone.

Both the underlying themes exploring racism and sentimentality tie insanely well into what it has to say about memory and what that means to its cast of characters but also its setting at large. Historic revisionism is at the core of why the Republic does what it does, and yet characters struggle with how their own perception of history clashes heavily with that of the state, where instead of the 86 being monsters whose country of origin brought forth the Legion to ransack and torment the world, they're...otherwise ordinary humans who are not responsible for what the Glad government that existed at the time had done. The 86 remember having fellow Alba serve alongside them who similarly are not the xenophobic ghouls that they consider them as, serving heroically in battle alongside their fellow 86 kin against the Legion and in spite of their atrocious government. And more than anything, memories of people who had died, irrespective of who they were in life, are frequently shown via photos contrasting them with the people they are now (or were when they died), in one amazing instance with video footage summarizing the entire journey these characters took together until the end. Shin's own self-perception is also explored, what with him perceiving himself as a dead man walking yet having that thrown into question, and the same applies to Lena's own memories of being saved by an 86 when younger. Memory - both memory politics and insofar as deeply subjective perception of events present and past goes - is at the core of everything in 86's story, and it's this hauntingly fascinating yet human understanding of how perception is flexible to change that makes 86 such an amazing story.

The cast of characters are wildly varied in both the screentime they receive and their characterization, but the characters that the narrative focuses on the most are incredibly multilayered and complex. The Spearhead Squadron as a whole are a fun cast whose chemistry is just always a joy whenever they're on screen, Shin being the character who receives the most focus over the course of the series. Raiden, Anju, Kurena and Theo all also receive a lot of characterization, with Lena also receiving a lot of characterization (her internalized racism and self-righteous attitude being viciously criticized by the narrative, with her growing increasingly attached to the Spearhead Squadron heralding in her being outright antagonistic towards the Republic by the end of S1). Annette and Jerome are both cases of characters who act as contradictors both to information Lena believes about the Republic as well as her own memories involving people she holds dear, all while putting her convictions to the test considering their opposition to her ideals. Even minor characters like Daiya, Lev or Kaie get decent amounts of characterization despite their comparatively minor roles in the story, and characters who are merely mentioned in passing or hardly feature at all still have their deaths affect the overall story with lasting impact being felt.

The character designs and artwork are a noteworthy but understandable step down from Shirabii's gorgeous illustrations in the light novel volumes. Much of the detail had been sacrificed in favor of simpler character designs, but this actually stood to benefit the series rather than detract from it; the animation is fantastic from start to finish, with facial animation and expressiveness being absolutely amazing and always reflective of the tone of a scene or more importantly, how a character feels in a given moment. They're dynamic and fluid, and it helps set the stage for just about anything the series is trying to do; these are complimented by gorgeous backgrounds, excellent use of CGI for the mechs, phenomenal voiceacting (with relative newcomer Ikumi Hasegawa being worthy of particular praise for her excellent role as Lena, a worthy followup to her also amazing role as Minami in Bottom Tier Tomozaki-kun) and a great soundtrack courtesy of Hiroyuki Sawano, even if not a soundtrack I'd consider among his best (that would go to Gundam Unicorn). The direction - both visual and sound - is fantastic from start to finish, and there's very little to say on this front that wouldn't be self-described by the series itself - episode 1 is a fantastic example of how to perfectly set up a story while keeping exposition to a minimum by contrasting both the 86 and the Alba in the Republic's day to day lives as well as their reaction to something as mundane as dropping food on the floor, with excellent transitions and shots layered throughout.

The only reason there somehow isn't more to discuss involving 86 is because, well, volume 1 (which season 1 covers) acts as a sort of prologue to the entire story, with more to discuss in subsequent arcs. I cannot await how future arcs will be explored in future seasons hard enough. 86 is a marvelous story that tackles just about everything exceptionally well, and perhaps more than anything is a reminder after the relative drought the mecha genre suffered during the 2010s that the genre has not run out of fantastic new stories to tell. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Thank you for reading, any and all feedback would be appreciated.

A1 Pictures has returned, and has returned with an ambitious investment: adapting a Light Novel very renowned by its readers, 86. In the beginning, it was imaginable to see a very good arsenal in the staff and in the show's advertising. No wonder that the name of the show itself caused interest by many. However, we need to keep our feet on the ground. This ambition makes 86 leave an anime that still needs to really show its objective to a level that suffocates and embodies a quality... that doesn't exist yet.

Looking at the construction of the episodes, the show brings an innovation in its ... way of structuring the story. It is not usual for an anime to go back a few moments and repeat them in a single episode, for example, or even give greater importance to the cast of characters instead of applied politics. Even though the anime has "militaria" as its main theme, that's not what the show actually stands out about. In fact, militaria is the last topic to be measured. Lena, or Vladilena, is a very young Major. She is practically an inexperienced when it comes to losses of military power. She is a sweet girl, who yearns to be competent at her job. She has her charm, like every character in the show, but stands out precisely for her unique and impactful propositions. Of course, this is to be expected from an army officer in San Magnolia, the country Lena defends. However, there is a social disruption that Lena is constantly trying to end: the prejudice against District 86. Shinei is the character who makes the connection with Lena and the rest of the people who are contained in the District. They are the largest active military force in the country, fighting robotic equipment called the Legion. They, in their Juggernauts, defend a country rotten in politics, because in addition to institutionally causing this social fissure, it causes ideological discrimination and even differences in military investment.

The entire drama involves Shin and his most personal relationship with Lena's past, where her brother saved her during the war a few years ago. Shin, or "Undertaker", is someone who has a disturbance in his mind of listening to other people in the District who have already died. This leads to the assumption that the Legion uses the brains of these dead humans to fortify their machines and fight the Juggernauts of San Magnolia. Shin, because he thinks he is "dead" and because he wants to find his brother's brain, has been searching for 5 years for a human peace within himself.

And being a human is one of the themes of the show. All this social pressure that is imposed on the District causes an increasingly oligarchic policy, where the rich and generals are decorated with many merits, while for the soldiers of '86, they are nothing more than Pigs (or "Buta Yarou"), people without any charisma or who do not like them in any way, because they are the same segregationists. Lena would be one of the thousands of Operators who would go into a mental frenzy if she were weak and didn't have a purpose with it. Her father was an important person who changed his mind, so that he had a different destiny from the rest of the commanders. Lena exerts this pride to the flag in a revolutionary way, but at the same time she is realistic with her ideals, even if the ideals themselves were not achievable, as the anime itself once mentions. It is not because it is a nation that the motto of the flag becomes possible. In fact, an unattainable goal brings problems of idolatry and problems of politics. Lena is the character that goes through this the most, because to have an experience with the most subdued District in the country, she is not just any character who can withstand constant repression simply for commanding a team of Processors. Even her friend has a role in the anime, which is to represent the opinion of all the other leaders. The very name "Undertaker" within 86 is already causing a stir. Lena has survived difficult days during her work and deserves applause for her efforts.

But it is not just about qualities that 86 deserves to be commented. In fact, you need to demystify your potential from the actual delivery of it. The show, over the course of 11 episodes, brought a lot of cool and intriguing discussions, causing a very felt popularity during this Season. Of course, it's an anime that produces a sense of security, as Studio A1-Pictures was extremely competent with the original material. Sawano is also a creator of wonderful songs, which turned down the show of praise. He is still a living artist and he deserves to continue producing his works, as they are works of art.
But the question that leads me to think that 86 is not all of this is precisely his undecided goal. Of course it's an anime with potential, but it needs to show better what it wants to convey. Whether it's a relationship between Lena and Shin, whether it's militaria as a negative cataclysm for the anime's history, or whether it's about survival, all these topics are presented, but at the same time they're not detachable. It is a show that is truly consolidated in its proposals, but that did not stand out from its own limits. Maybe it's something the anime wanted to do. The light novel has apparently greater general force and is much more admired, even if the audience is small. 86 is a show apart and really interesting. I like what it brought, but at the same time it didn't evolve so well. Yes, episode 10 was great, really the climax of the anime, but what about after that? Will the show ever get lukewarm again? Will it be another show with a visionary goal, but without much precision about what it wants to be? Mushoku Tensei was a recent anime that caused this same sensation. And I'm really scared that 86 is another one of those animes.

-"But it's a show that will demonstrate its superiority after a while, just wait."

Yes I hope so, actually I'm happy to hear it, but it's more for the sake of causing a brief interest. Any show can wreck itself if it doesn't have a great effect at first, but I reiterate: 86 needs more stuff and this is a problem to be solved as soon as possible.

Finally, 86 is one of the shows that I've had a different experience from the others recently. It's a great production, with great scene executions and animation composition, but it can't fool us.

It's not because it's a pretty show that makes it easy to be liked. Kimetsu no Yaiba and Jujutsu Kaisen, for example, even with their amazing animations, have some reason to exist. I hope that 86 has its reason to exist too. Whether this is going to take a while is something to be discussed in a second season, which is coming soon. We hope that the show continues and that it has greater courtesy and greater representation in current animes, it's a good title that certainly deserves its space in 2021.

At first glance, 86 appears to be your standard war drama that tackles the concept of a government using propaganda in an effort to suppress the voices of a marginalized group. While it does succeed in handling that topic very well, what elevates this series as a whole is the fact that this may be A-1 Pictures best work yet. Not only is it an outstanding adaptation, but it is perhaps the best adaptation of a source material that I’ve ever seen. With an already great light novel series to base itself on, A-1 Pictures could’ve just adapted it normally and it still would’ve been ... a solid anime. I say “normally” here because this isn’t your standard production quality, but rather a production quality that just screams both confidence and passion.

A-1 Pictures truly gave it their all when it came to almost every aspect of this adaptation. In terms of staying true to the source material, they went beyond that and dedicated this entire season to just one volume. While that appears risky at first as that usually entails either poor pacing or filler, it actually ended up benefiting both the characters and the story for the better. With the addition of anime original scenes that allowed us to spend more time with certain characters and provide foreshadowing for future events, it makes the anime feel more cohesive as a whole. I mean seriously, the fact that they adapted a single paragraph into an entire episode in a way that doesn’t feel like filler deserves to be praised. This is definitely an anime that warrants a second watch as the overall viewing experience significantly improves when you notice all the foreshadowing that was left in the smallest of details. It definitely feels like they had more than enough time on their hands when animating this, which is most likely due to some superb directing and planning by the staff.

Besides being a perfect adaptation though, what does this anime actually do that is so praiseworthy? Well as you most likely can already tell, this anime primarily focuses on two characters that exist in two very different locations. It’s pretty much almost impossible to tell who the true protagonist and deuteragonist is. (Which isn’t a bad thing by the way, it actually makes this series much more enjoyable to watch). To avoid leaving either one of the two feeling left out and to also avoid pacing issues, what this anime does is essentially split every episode into two halves. With one half focusing on our protagonist, Vladilena Milizé, and the other half focusing on our other protagonist, Shinei Nouzen. Though while these two share very different circumstances and overall objectives with each other, their separate perspectives come together to add another layer to the experience. Without experiencing Lena’s side of the story, Shin’s side of the story feels incomplete and vice versa. It should honestly be the standard for how stories that deal with multiple perspectives should be moving forward.

It’s clear that they took their time with each and every scene, from the way that they are animated to even the way they are framed. I don’t think I ever noticed a dip in animation quality, and for an anime that deals with such depressing themes it certainly has some vibrant colors at times. (Which isn’t a bad thing either, as they clearly know how to handle lighting and how to set the tone right). Some scenes go from 0 to 100 real quick, but it never feels jarring as a major theme in this show is exploring the dichotomy between hope and despair in the face of an oppressive government. I know CGI has become a major talking point within anime discussions as of late, and it can very easily turn into something that is visually unappealing. (This isn’t a jab at CGI artists though, as it can be quite difficult to perfectly blend 2D and 3D). With that being said, I think 86 has the best usage of CGI that I’ve seen in a long time when it comes to anime. I think a common mistake that is made in a lot of anime is when they try to make a 3D model appear 2D in another scene. While 2D is usually more visually appealing, it always feels jarring seeing a model flip between 3D and 2D. 86 knows this and sticks to having their 3D models remain in 3D. The CGI adds a certain rhythm to the battle sequences and without the usage of it, this anime would lose some of the unique identity that it has.

Speaking of identity, this anime wouldn’t be what it is without the masterful OST being done by Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto. It’s honestly right up there alongside the Attack on Titan OST, which is no surprise at all since both Sawano and Yamamoto worked together on that as well. The score just elevates every scene even further and it definitely helps deliver that thrilling excitement or emotional punch that is needed. If you aren’t interested in this anime, then at least give the OST a shot as it is just that good. From “Avid” to “Hands Up to the Sky”, to even “Voices of the Chord” from the recap episode, I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen an anime with this many ending songs within just the first cour. They could’ve just stuck with one and I would’ve been happy, but along with everything else in this show they obviously had to go the extra mile. Each one gives off a different impression and I’m really a fan of how they decide which ending song to play at the end of each episode. They could’ve just alternated between each of them, but instead they always chose the one that best fits the mood of the final scene. Another thing I want to point out is that each ending song gives a sense of finality to each episode as it timed perfectly. It never feels poorly timed and it doesn’t even give off a “to be continued” vibe. This anime isn’t episodic, but I think each episode stands strong enough on its own as they all have a different message to tell.

But perhaps my favorite aspect of this anime is the social commentary it provides, particularly on racism. I remember seeing a lot of anime viewers say that racism is an overdone topic at this point and that they are tried of it being shoved down their throats. I wholeheartedly disagree, and I think the reason many feel that way is because they are privileged themselves. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anime, or any show in general for that matter, deal with this concept in such an engaging way. (It also reflects a lot of what happens in our society today, despite what others may think). It’s not often where you see an anime like this try to explore such complex topics, and I feel as if many of the topics it does delve into will remain prevalent in our society for as long as we exist. These topics include, but are not limited to: the ignorance of the masses, the oppression of marginalized groups, the stripping of cultural identities, racial discrimination, and how ideals such as equality may never truly be achieved. Hell, even one of the other topics they explore can be seen as a metaphor for white privilege. Though my favorite quote from this series would probably have to be this:

“No country would ever consider it an act of evil to deny a pig human rights. Therefore, if you were to define someone speaking a different tongue, someone of a different color, someone of a different heritage as a pig in human form, any oppression, persecution, or atrocity you might inflict upon them would never be regarded as cruel or inhumane.” - Vladilena Milizé

For those of you reading, I highly suggest you give this series a shot as it means a whole lot to me. As far as criticisms go? I don’t really have that many, especially since this series is only just getting started. I feel as if nitpicking the details of the plot or critiquing the character development wouldn’t really be fair as the groundwork for all that has just been laid. I also wanted to say thank you to the staff at A-1 Pictures for doing such a phenomenal job, and I can’t wait to see how the second cour goes from here.

I tried REALLY hard to like this show. I really did. But when I found the answers that I was looking for, they just added to my frustrations.

After watching the second episode, something felt very off to me. There were giant red flags waving around, indicating the typical "A-1 light novel adaptation" style in the days of yore. But jumping to the conclusion of blaming A-1 for this atrocity - even that felt off to me too. So I browsed the forums and stumbled upon a podcast that dubbed this series as "a modern anime masterpiece." I thought I would give it a shot because ... maybe this podcast had some insights to why this show is hyped up. At first, I thought of it as nothing more than a joke, because they were using buzzwords like "Nazi Germany" and "emotions" and "ROMANCE" or something like that. But then I realized that they were talking about the light novel, and that's when I paid serious attention. Unfortunately, I don't really remember the precise wording of the podcast, but I do remember them saying that they were hoping that the anime adaptation would do this series justice. But after the third episode...

I am so sorry to announce this, but 86 is fucking garbage.

Everything happens for a reason, especially war. I'm a junkie for this kind of stuff because war is just inherently so complicated. It unites countrymen to fight against the looming threat, be it communism or whatever. The stakes are always high, proper logistics and coordination are required, the unparalleled camaraderie with your fellow squad members, and I can go on and on... But yeah. You get the point. I'm a junkie.

86 is about a war between a longstanding empire and the Republic. The empire used autonomous drones, slapping around the Republic and decimating their forces for a good year. After that, the Republic developed their own autonomous drones, promising a 'bloodless' war, but things are never that simple. The Republic drones are not only piloted by actual human beings, they're piloted by citizens that are stripped of their own humanity! What a shocker.

From this point on, there will be very light spoilers, containing information from the 86 wiki and VERY mild spoilers from the show. And strap yourself in, because this is a good one.

Story - 0/10, not even a 1/10.

It's easy to see why this show is so appealing. 86 draws a few parallels to Nazi Germany, with the Alba's (silver-haired people and eyes) blatant "racism and jingoism", but that's about it. On the other side of the spectrum we have the 86. Consisting of Colorata, a bunch of ethnic groups (26 of them to be precise) that are basically the Jews of the Republic. The biggest problem 86 has is the near absence of realism when portraying the war. Here's a simple question. Why is there a war? This question can be the most rudimentary and primitive one, but it's one that 86 fails to address, even in the wiki. World War 2 happened because Hitler convinced the Germans that they can get out of the economic rut by bullying the rest of the world. The Vietnam war happened because the US wanted to rout the communism out of North Vietnam. The War on Terror happened because of 9/11. Even Valkyria Chronicles, an underrated anime war RPG (ALSO adapted by A-1) taking place in an alternate WW2, the East European Imperial Alliance (anime Russia) invaded the Atlantic Federation (anime Europe) over what's basically anime oil! War happens for a reason. It isn't baseless. It's complicated. It's why mediocre works depicting war are often seen as a joke. They fail to capture the intricacies that make war so complicated and interesting.

86 is no different in that regard. There is no reason to have this war, no politics to complicate things, no ideologies to side yourself with, and no fight to fight for. You can say that the 86 are fighting for their own survival, but that's about it. They've been persecuted by their own country, so there's very little reason for them to fight outside of just trying to see another day. So why are they forced to pilot these garbage death traps then? Well... it's because of shitty politics.

Before I continue though, if you somehow don't know what democracy is, here's a very brief and quick lesson: Democracy is where the people vote in the representatives that represent the people's interest. Say you really want Taco Tuesdays at McDonalds for whatever reason. If you're of legal age to vote, you'd vote for someone that would make that a reality. If enough people vote for that one person and they get elected, they promise you that they'll work towards implementing Taco Tuesdays at McDonalds. Keep this in mind while I describe the politics of 86 to you.

In the world of 86, the Republic became the world's first 'modern democracy.' Everywhere else is ruled by a Monarchy. This isn't explicitly said in the wiki, but the words 'modern democracy' would imply that the Republic is a progressive country. This is seen through the immigration of the many ethnic groups the Colorata has. But because of how the Alba's advocated for this democracy, "the most humane form of government," they somehow became anime aryan supremicists overnight. So I guess the phrase 'modern democracy' got isekai'd into a brand new world, because the Republic president signed presidential order #6609 "Special Wartime Peace Preservation Act," or SWPPA. The SWPPA declared everyone of Colorata descent (remember, the 'minority') to be supporters of the Empire, and thus enemies of the state. This act revoked their civil rights and property, setting the stage for the 86 piloting the Republic's "autonomous bots." Of course, there were people that rebelled against this presidential order, but somehow the Nazi Alba put a violent end to the peaceful protests. So much for 'modern democracy.' So much for the voices of 10 million Colorata citizens who just wanted Taco Tuesdays at McDonalds, but received the equivalent persecution of a gas chamber. Life is simply unfair, don't you think?

Needless to say, this is one of the dumbest implementation of politics that I have ever seen. You don't just drift from "modern democracy" to fascism overnight. There has to be a significant catalyst involved. Just take a look at what happened to Germany before WW2. A very quick and dirty TLDR is that the world HATED Germany for the events of WW1. Treaty of Versailles, one of the main catalysts to WW2, heavily crippled Germany to the point where they had enough. But does 86 come anywhere close to this? Absolutely not. To me, it felt like the author just didn't think about this at all. As if they didn't want to deal with the can of worms she willingly opened herself. As such, they lose an important layer of worldbuilding that gives the war and everything around it more meaning. The light novel is around 9 novels in, and the anime? Well, there are bigger things than just worldbuilding. In fact, 86's world building is some of the worst worldbuilding I've seen in a while. It's been a long while since I had to actively search out information for a show, because I seriously didn't understand the world after 3 episodes. Nobody should have any lingering questions about war... because it's war. And yet, I don't see or understand anything that proves that 86 has a legitimate war.

As stated above, the lack of realism is what really makes this show absolutely lifeless. Why does realism matter THAT much to me? Well let me put it like this. If anime is a gourmet dish that everyone indulges in, then realism is how much salt you add to it. You'd add a pinch of salt to the dish to brighten up the flavors, to make the flavors just right, but adding too much salt makes the dish unbearable. 86 is the blandest chicken noodle soup MRE that I've ever had. All 86 needed was a simple reason for why the current events are what they are. A simple sentence like "The Empire wishes to prove their military superiority so they invaded the Republic with autonomous drones" or "The Republic of San Magnolia's president had a meeting with their cabinet members and they convinced the president to persecute literally every ethnic group (except the Alba, of course) in the country." Holistically speaking, these simple reasons don't need to make a lot of sense. At the end of the day, I'm watching an anime, not a war documentary on how the 86 got persecuted. But it's the subtlety that lets me be a bit more empathetic with the actors in this god-awful theatre of war.

And so, this brings us to the anime, which I haven't talked about at all up until now. There's a good reason for that. After doing my research and letting my thoughts simmer for a bit, I came to a simple conclusion. The fundamental problems that exist in the anime are also the same fundamental problems that the light novels have. That's why, even with zero expectations going into the first episode, I was massively disappointed by the world that 86 has to offer. It unnecessarily brings in extreme themes without properly fleshing it out. It downplays any consequences to any of the characters that does something absolutely BONKERS and OUT OF LINE. That's why I can't bring myself to blame A-1 for this dumpster fire, because it's very clear that the author just wanted the shock value of racial supremacy for their dumb little melodrama.

Characters - 2/10

You would think that the poor depictions of war would only fester within its lore and world, but it's also poorly depicted in the characters. Nevermind the dysfunctional military that the Republic has, that's part of the worldbuilding and I've already roasted it enough. Though, it's bad enough that I do have to reference it here.

The first problem that I should bring awareness to is twofold. First of all, the main cast (Lena and Spearhead Squadron) are all around 15-16 years old. Being underage in a war is one thing, but the kicker is that the main cast are all highly ranked within the military. This is a big deal, since military rank actually matters. It determines who gets to call the shots and who would make the harder micro decisions in a tense situation. You want to rely on higher ranked officers due to how much battle experience they have, and you wouldn't want to disobey them for a shitty judgement call made by a lower ranked person. You would think that due to their military rank that everyone would act somewhat like an adult, BUT THEY DON'T. THEY ALL JUST FALL INTO THEIR OWN ANIME TROPES. But, whatever. At least they all look cute/hot, right?

The Spearhead Squadron are all 2nd Lieutenants, which means that you would think that you can safely assume that these guys are battle-hardened war veterans, but this is one of the worst anime military squadrons I've ever seen.
Lena on the otherhand, somehow got the rank of Major at the young and tender age of 16. She may be very impressive at face value, but she has never actually fought in a battle before. This is one of the biggest red flags I have EVER seen in a war drama. There's a big reason why people need to "earn their stripes" before they have any actual authority.

Because not only does your military rank determine how much battle experience they have, it also determines how emotionally hardened they are. And from what I've seen so far? The cast is 100% anime and melodramatic, 0% realistic. Take the Spearhead Squadron for example. Even with how serious they are when it comes to the themes of this show, I can't get invested in these characters. None of them display any actual military experience. They're just there to pilot their dysfunctional toilet mechs on the battlefield and be typical anime characters outside of it. Any tension that this show tried to build through the use of extreme themes are immediately lost on me. There's already a pointless war, and now there's a pointless squad for a main cast? What's the point of all of this god damn FLUFF in my eyes?

UN-DA-TE-KA, the LAMEST squad leader I've ever seen, is just there to sit and look cool. And I guess he's edgy too, since he has been seen reading various books on war and politics (one of them includes Mein Kampf). But the fact that he's the leader of the squad makes it that much more disappointing when he doesn't display any real camaraderie to his squad. What's even more disappointing is that we haven't had a chance to see him be an actual leader. You can say that we haven't seen anything yet, but anyone whose as much of a junkie as myself would immediately spot the one instance where he could have displayed leadership. Y'know, the one instance where someone acted COMPLETELY OUT OF LINE and LAMBASTED THEIR OWN COMMANDING OFFICER FOR BEING AN ARYAN (she absolutely didn't deserve that because it wasn't her fault in the first place, but whatever. The entire scene was disappointing anyways).

And before I continue to Lena, I'm not going to review the rest of the squad. I already hate them due to the fact that they're all just there pissing around and not appreciating the work THEIR OWN COMMANDING OFFICER PROVIDES. Sure, I get it, the point of the series is to have fictional tension between the anime Nazis and the anime Jews. But hating on their commanding officer for trying to make things better would be like the Jews dunking on Schindler for being a part of Nazi Germany... despite the fact that Schindler is a very famous man by saving around 1200 Jews during WW2. And that was during THE HOLOCAUST.

Moving onto Lena, the character who I hate the least by a paper thin margin, she's the typical protagonist who's kind, prideful, smart, beautiful, and innocent. If it were up to actual Nazi Germany, she would have immediately been sent to the firing squad for her stunts in the lecture hall. But nevermind the fact that she's a major, she literally got saved from any consequence due to NEPOTISM OF ALL THINGS. I only hate her the least because her VA performance really does sell the fact that a 16 year old should NOT be entrusted with the rank of major. She also could have had the opportunity to prove why she is the major, but it's all about placating the viewers with pure and genuine (ONLY in the VA performance) shock value. If you think I'm being too hard on her, that's because of her military rank. There's someone else in a different anime series that has the same rank as her. It's Mokoto Kusanagi, from Ghost in the Shell. She's even nicknamed "The Major" for being a badass, for being battlehardened by the various missions she's on, AND DOESN'T LET EMOTIONS CLOUD THEIR JUDGEMENT IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT. And Section 9 is the PERFECT compliment to her, as their synergy is world-class! So, why shouldn't I be hard on Lena for being a mere 16 year old prodigy Major? Don't answer that. I already know you can't.

One very, VERY appalling aspect about 86 is the fact that it doesn't contain an antagonist. I'm not joking, if you look up the word "antagonist" on the wiki, you won't get any results. Something something the real war was the friends we made along the way? I understand that it's half drama and half action, but not having a villain in a war drama implies that the character's growth are based purely on survival. Which is fine... except for the fact that 86 takes itself too seriously. Oh, am I suddenly supposed to ignore the racial supremecy bullshit that they're shoving down my throat? Sure, I can do that. In fact, I'll even just ignore the war in its entirety. If we simply ignore the war, then we're just left with the "drama" and the "action" that's supposed to push our characters forward. But because of the lackluster worldbuilding and the fact that EVERYONE IS A TEENAGER HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE WAR, I'm starting to get a feeling that this is going to turn out to be yet another shitty melodrama. If I wanted a pointless war drama, I would have changed the direction to focus more on the smaller battles (Spearhead Squadron are constantly deployed to the frontlines) and day to day interactions. That way, the series could still use whatever... extreme themes they want, but the main focus would be on the characters itself and not exactly a 50/50 split on war AND drama. The war would still affect them, because war affects everyone. It just solely depends on how the author utilizes the factor of war... which should be painfully obvious that they don't want to utilize it at all.

Okay, I've dunked on this show too hard, so I'll dial it back a bit. Whenever I think about characters in a War Drama, I ask myself a simple question. "Can I trust these people to have my back?" If the answer is begrudgingly yes, then they've already failed me. I can trust their combat experience well enough I guess, but I don't expect them to have my back when times are dire for myself. Especially if I was an anime Nazi in their squad. They would probably let me die in the next mission. And that's where the war drama fails, because there's an untapped wealth of potential in exploring these types of relationships. But... whatever. It's just a light novel. I've already showcased how irrationally angry I can get.

Art and sound - 8/10

I do have to give credit where it's due, though. A-1 Pictures have done a fantastic job bringing the light novel to life. The designs are great and the world looks... well I can't comment on that because they haven't shown enough of the world yet.

If there's one thing that I hate, it's the mechs the Processors use. They look like a rust bucket and work like a dysfunctional toilet. But don't worry, I'm not dunking on it just because I can, the wiki also agrees with my sentiments. So, they got that right. And this brand of... mechs... aren't my style. I'm not a big fan of spider mechs in general, but maybe that's because I've been spoiled too much by the Tachikomas.

Enjoyment - 1/10

I wrote around 1.2k words for the story segment. That should tell you how much I enjoyed it (I absolutely hated watching this show thus far).

Overall - 2/10

Maybe I'm just too cynical, because that podcast put me in the mindset of wanting this anime to be a 'modern masterpiece.' But it wasn't like I was expecting a complete representation of Nazi Germany in anime form, that'd be way too easy to roast. What's clear is that 86 was never about the war, and it never will be. It's about the tension between the anime Nazis and the anime Jews being forced to work together. At face value, even I can appreciate what this show is going for. But after giving it a mere shower thought, 86's foundation of war crumbles like SAO's foundation of a game. All that's left of the husk are the raw anime emotions that everyone loves and consumes. And this show is hyped up because of those raw anime emotions. Another contributing factor would be that the show doesn't throw any punches depicting war, outside of the blatant anime aryan supremecy. And that's also okay with me, because war is rightfully a terrifying prospect that not a lot of people want to talk about. But if I were to describe to someone the complexities and intricacies of war, I would just say three words and walk away: War never changes. Any deviations to the formula would leave a disgusting aftertaste in my mouth because it's more of a parody at that point. But don't let me stop you from enjoying this show, more power to you if you do enjoy everything that I absolutely abhorred. After all, I'm merely a war junkie and am a fellow connoisseur of anime tiddies. I've been desensitized due to the frequent 'nam flashbacks that I get. I simply won't be able to experience the same emotions you would while watching this show.

Which is a shame because A-1 have supposedly done an amazing job adapting this light-novel. The fact alone that I managed to suppress my urge to defaultly blame A-1 for this monstrosity of a dumpster fire is a testament to how well A-1 have improved their presentations. But I can't be a proper judge of this, as I won't be touching the light novels at all. But if it means anything to you, I will still watch the rest of the season, just to see how the melodrama turns out.

If you wanted recommendations of something that's infinitely more hapless and impactful than this, pick up Muv Luv Alternative on Steam! It's +50hrs for $40USD without a sale, which is already a great deal for depression in anime form, but therapy is not included. I'm only plugging this here because apparently people haven't seen stories like these before, and I guess that's true to a certain degree.

In conclusion, 86 reminds me why I can never take light novels seriously. The author should have never borrowed ideas from something so established and terrifying without following up on it. To use those ideas solely to create tension in the dumbest melodrama... it's proof enough that 86 is one of the most pathetic pieces of war media I have had the displeasure of ever witnessing.

Please note while care has been taken to minimize story related spoilers there may still be spoilers within character analysis. You have been warned.

Based on a popular light novel of the same name 86 is a military sci-fi, mecha and drama based anime that gives us the unique opportunity to see what will happen if one day the central government of one’s homeland was to experience a shared sense of madness that planted in their minds a belief that while one that was totally irrational and downright inhumane was one that they all willingly not only subscribed too but also spread it to every ... person within their population the belief that apart from the genetically enhanced Alba that make up the majority of the population every other minority race within the republic was from henceforth an alien that was to be stripped of their entitled rights and shipped to the containment camps where they will reside until death. But alas when the forces of the Empire of Giad began their march the same government that had willingly exiled half of their population to certain death in their quest to maintain genetic purity was forced to modify these orders and conscript the minorities now labelled as 86 that were able-bodied and have them serve on the frontlines as their guardians against the legions of the empire. In a curious twist of fate, the people that they had exiled in their quest to maintain genetic purity had become the only things standing between the republic’s people and a bloody death an irony that Shinn and his squadron take grim pride in as day after day they by surviving against both the legion and the republic’s attempts to kill them they are not only living a good life free from the scorn of the Alba but do so in the company of their brothers and sisters that will last until death claims them.

The overall story of the series follows the lives of Vladilena Lena Milze a major within the Republic of San Magnolian’s military and her counterpart within the darkly famed Spearhead unit field commander Shinei Nouzen who commands that unit as they both fight to not only stop the plans of the legion but also to for the first time in their life try to overcome the sense of discrimination and racism that the Alba in their quest to maintain genetic purity had created by not only labelling them as monsters but exiling them from their homes and try and find a sense of common ground where genuine trust and friendship can once again flourish between them and the bonds and trust between them long-strained can be reforged once more. But as Shinn and Lena were to discover on the battlefield the truth about the legion and their prophesized time limit was far darker than even they had suspected the bonds that both sides are trying to reforge may well be the very last thing that they will have if the Alba and the 86 are unable to put their differences aside and realize the true threat that the legion represents. For when death comes it will not care what colours your skin are only that as a human you deserve only annihilation.

Shinei

Shinei Nouzen better known as Shinn to his comrades and friends and as the reaper to his Alba overseers within high command is one of the main characters of the series and serves as the representative of the common soldier’s perspective of the war by allowing us to see what it was like fighting tooth and nail against the forces of the legions on the frontlines. The combat commander and the acknowledged leader of the 86th spearhead squadron of the Republic of San Magnolian’s military Shinn from his initial appearances was shown to be a quiet, calm, and taciturn person by nature who while having no problems in socialising and befriending others was shown to be one that preferred to spend his time in solitude. While this can be seen to be a result of his quiet nature this instead was a means to allow Shinn to rationally determine the best way forward for he and his team that will allow them to accomplish their objectives while minimising the number of casualties that they can potentially incur while doing it. However, while doing his best to ensure that his friends and comrades have the highest chances of surviving their missions the unique nature of battlefields meant that the chances of there being a fatality were exceptionally high and it is in these sorrowful circumstances that Shinn would have to assume a role than not many would envy which is that of an undertaker whose role was to ensure that those that are too heavily wounded to survive are given a merciful end and their lives and deeds are recorded and engraved within his mind until the day when their time as soldiers comes to an end and only then would Shinn be able to relinquish the box of makeshift dog tags that represented the deeds and lives of every one of his comrades that had been lost since they joined the squadron. Though nominally shown to be loyal to the republic and obeying their orders Shinn and the members of his squadron after years of abuse and belittling at the hands of their superiors were seen to have little respect for them and indeed was all too willing to demean them based on what they believe they are like in their worlds and ensuring that their relationship with command while professional on the surface was in reality a turbulent one that had until the coming of Lena been one that drove their assigned handlers crazy. However, with the coming of their new Handler Lena this curious relationship that Shinn and his team had with their overseers soon changed to something that neither side expected to encounter in their lifetime which was a relationship where trust between the two sides actually existed.

As the series progresses and Shinn’s personality is expanded upon it can be seen that beneath his steely exterior Shinn was someone that had been profoundly changed by the experiences that he had experienced as a result of being forced upon the role of a soldier. As a result of always being treated by their overseers as beings other than human Shinn and his squadron had until meeting Lena been saddled with perhaps the worst members of the military as their Handlers people who not only advocated the most costly of strategy when confronted by complex objectives but at the same time ignored their recommendations for alternatives as well which when combined with the minimum amounts of resupply of ammo, fire support and critical components for their juggernauts ensured that Shinn’s attitude toward their overseers was not only cynical but also one where he not only expected them to backstab him and his team but also abandon them to the legion if given the opportunity aspects that served to ensure that to Shinn any new Handler that’s assigned to the unit needed to prove themselves first before they can be trusted to assist them. While the long years of being a soldier had allowed him to become an effective field commander that was not only able to make effective usage of Spearhead’s strengths but also pair them with effective usage of strategy and effective reading of the flow of battle that had served to humble many a legion attack it can be seen that the mental cost that came from not being able to protect everyone had served to create a heavy emotional burden that weighed heavily on his mind. This burden while a heavy one but itself was also complicated by the fact that in his desire to not diminish the overall morale of the unit and place more burdens on his friends meant that Shinn while perfectly capable of delegating tasks to his friends preferred to take upon the lion’s share of the work and responsibilities that if not for his strong will would have broken many a man. However, with the coming of Lena and the renewed bonds that came from learning to trust his closest allies this burden while never completely gone was instead lightened as his friends and the one Handler that he trusted stepped in to support him.

As a character Shinn I felt was an excellent character that was both well designed and developed with his skills as an effective field commander and soldier being complemented nicely with the developing bonds and relationship that he had managed to forge with not only his friends within the squadron but also with his new Handler. While the relationship between Shinn and Lena started off as being a perfectly professional relationship that despite the latter’s best efforts were unable to make a lasting impression on Shinn and his team due to the animosity that existed between them and the Alba as time passed, and Lena persevered in her attempts Shinn while still distrustful of her began to realize that despite all odds that their new Handler was indeed something different. For unlike their previous ones’ Lena not only treated them as humans with genuine respect but also took great pains to not only bond with them as individuals by asking them for their names a development that was as alien to Shinn as it was to his friends within the unit. Perhaps the most significant aspect of their developing relationship was the endless hours of talk that Shinn engaged with Lena over the most trivial of matters that ranged from his past memories to fireworks and a desire to attend his old home district again aspects that served to for the first time in his life show to him that while the majority of the Alba were scumbags there were still good people within their ranks who despite not being able to change society still did all they could to support them on the field a fact that Shinn was thankful for.

While the relationship between Lena and Shinn served well to showcase the positive aspects that can come from meeting someone that was willing to see the wider truth of society and change themselves to compensate I felt that the other half of Shinn’s core arc which explored the turbulent bond that Shinn had with his brother was the opposite in the spectrum in that it showed the worst effects that the combination of exile, loss and grief can have in creating a sense of madness within what pre 86 had been a caring and loving brother who cared for Shinn deeply. Though in the end the struggle between the two was resolved it can be said that he was just as much a victim of the law as the rest of the 86 were and while Shinn had served to protect himself and his friends the results were bittersweet at best.

Vladilena Milize

Vladilena Milize more popularly known as Lena to both fans of the series and to Shinn and his squadron is one of the main characters of the series representing the command level’s perspective of the series that showcases the viewpoint of the war from the perspective of the now dominant Alba race within the republic. A major within the republic’s military and one of the youngest to attain that rank Lena while never actually serving on the frontlines as her charges as per the lie that the republic tells its people never less serves as Handler One the militaries assigned handler to Spearhead squadron and provides them with not only intel but also command and control via the orders that are given by high command that dictate their contribution to the war against the legion. From her initial appearances Lena while a member of the Alba race was shown to different to her fellows in that she not only treated the members of non-Alba races with respect, humility and honour but also did not outright discriminate against them based on their race, unlike her fellows. As one of the youngest commissioned officers within the military Lena was shown to be someone that was calm, composed, serious and professional in the conduct of her duties. While her serious, diligent, and determined attitude served her well in allowing her to climb the ranks this was complemented by her kind and understanding nature that allowed her to not only gain ranks but in the process allow her to forge strong bonds with the few like-minded personal within the ranks as shown in her bond with her friend Anette. However, what can be said to truly define Lena as a person was her belief in the founding moral principles of the republic that was represented within their flag that stated that all citizens of the republic should be subject to freedom, equality, justice and a sense of brotherhood that they can share with their fellow citizens regardless of their skin colour a belief that while central to the republic had largely been disregarded by the citizens of the current republic who prefers to live within their own dream world rather than face reality a fact that was seen to give Lena much lament as they were beliefs that she cherished deeply that acted as her foundation.

As the series progresses and Lena’s character is expanded upon it can be seen that like the great majority of the Alba Lena while knowing the surface details regarding the members of the squadrons of the 86 did not quite know the whole truth about the crimes that were committed against them by her people. While Lena’s confidence, kindness and friendly nature allowed her to bond easily with people within her world her attempt to replicate the same results with the members of the squadron by trying to empathize with them and motivate them via her idealistic read on the high ideals of the republic unfortunately backfired on her despite her sincerity since she not only knew little of the larger picture but also because her directness was seen as condescending as well. Despite this setback, however, Lena was seen to be undaunted in her efforts to bond with her charges and while her persistent nature served to annoy many this was offset by the increasing curiosity that they displayed towards an Alba that was trying hard to bond with what to them should have been the outcasts of her world with this ultimately being the deciding factor that shattered the unit’s reluctance and allowed her to befriend them for real. However, to Lena, while this one move may seem to be a simple step to her it also served as an effective foundation in which she can use to walk her path and correct the sins that the Republic had committed. As part of this desire Lena while still nominally serving as the unit’s overseer was seen to fight hard to not only try to enhance the overall effectiveness of the squadron by providing not only accurate intel and supplies but also trying to get them to submit battle data that can be analysed and used to improve their ability to defeat the legion. However, Lena’s attempt to help was not simply restricted on military matters as on a personal level she also persevered in her attempt to bond and befriend the members of the squadron with her usage of putting a personal name to a face that was created after they reveal them to her and her breach of military law to send them fireworks being the best examples of Lena’s desire to not only build a rapport with them but also allow them to enjoy the relaxation time that their duties prevented them from having and in doing so allow Lena to start her journey of walking her own path that was built along the foundations of equality, respect and friendship.

As a character Lena I felt was an excellent character that was both well designed and developed with a level of complexity that really surprised me. While her initial appearances of a young woman that was friendly, polite, humble, efficient, and professional broadly conformed to the image I had of her by looking at the series overview her persistence in trying to not only improve the units’ chances of survival and her determination to bond with the members of the squadron really served to surprise me. Complementing these aspects was Lena’s ability to both self-evaluate and adapt on the fly in her desire to change the republic and its bond with its people an aspect that made great use of the revelation of the 86 program to kickstart Lena’s transition from a simple cog of the republic to someone willing to do all she can to help those that the republic had so cruelly abandoned whether or not the rules let her or not with her unauthorised usage of the long-range mortar batteries in ep9 to support the squadrons assault on the legion being the best first step possible.

AMV

In terms of the former, I felt that overall, the animation that was seen within the series was not just top-notch in terms of graphical quality but was also used well to complement the series overall story by showing just how much the war against the legion has cost them as well as how deadly the new lives of the 86 had become after they were exiled from their lives within the republic to become its sacrificial pawns. Environmentally while the number of locations that the two casts of characters that represented the command and common soldiers’ perspective was not especially large I felt that the locations that were seen served to showcase the fact that while both sides ultimately live in the same world and serve the same country the worlds in which they exist within while similar are not the same.

In the world that Lena and her friends reside in that too me resembled a futuristic version of 18th century Europe the carefree nature of the genetically created Albas and the leisurely lifestyle that they lived as well as the beautiful architecture of their streets and buildings I felt was contrasted greatly by the sense of both their fanatic belief in their government and their desire to sacrifice everything that was deemed necessary by the former if they desired to survive a sacrifice that many of the Alba was all too willing to make as seen in their widespread discrimination towards the members of the 86 that eventually forced them from both their jobs within society and for many of them later on their lives as well. While the world that they gained by sacrificing their co-workers, friends and neighbours was indeed a beautiful one it came at the cost of losing much of their humanity, empathy, and territory as well and ensuring that while safe the food that they eat and the time they can spend exchanging ideas with likeminded people is gone forever a fact that represented well that the world that they created was safe, yes but empty of the things that made a world whole. In contrast to the sterile and hollow world that Lena resided in the world in which Shinn and the squadron resided in while certainly far more dangerous than the former due to the presence of the legion was one that featured not only much more diversity but also more freedom of action as well as while exiled from their former lives and fighting tooth and nail with the grim reaper at every party with the legion during their downtime Shinn and his friends while still subject to the deliberate supply shortages mandated by high command were able to freely spend time with their comrades and bond with them over their shared sense of hatred towards both the legion and the Alba who had banished them so readily from their world. Perhaps more than ever for Shinn and his friends being able to freely mingle with each other and forge bonds that transcend not only social class, but race as well allowed Shinn and his squadron to not only survive countless parties but also get stronger as they learn how to deal with the legion and in doing so get the final revenge on their overseers.

In terms of mecha design and combat animations and scenarios overall, I was impressed by what I saw within the series. Outside of 86 the realm of mecha anime while certainly not as large as it was in the past was still dominated by the juggernaut that is the Gundam franchise and while the designs of the mecha’s shown within the series was a tad basic I felt that in this case, their simplicity served to give them all their own unique role within both the line of battle and in the story. Within the series, the standard issued equipment for the republic’s military was the allegedly unmanned M1A4 weapon system that in reality was anything but unmanned. The M1A4 while the most advanced of the republic’s weapons was, in reality, sub-par in every regard owing to its poorly designed body, weak armour and low firepower when compared to the legion. However unlike the legion when placed in the hands of skilled pilots that are commanded by veteran commanders gifted with the ability to formulate effective tactics on the fly even the jug can be used to devastating effect on the battlefield as shown in ep2 when Spearhead’s ambush resulted in the devastation of a significant legion force with only minimal damage to themselves with the highlight of this battle being Shinn’s solo rampage that broke the back of their assault in spectacular fashion.

As the primary hostile force, the legion I felt proved to be a potent opponent for Shinn and Spearhead. While the standard mix of classes was represented well in the form of the Ameise scout types, the Grauwolf dragoons, the Lowe tank types and the Eintagsfliege electronic warfare types the legion also made great use of elites in the form of the Scorpion gunner type and the shepherd’s that acted as the legions command and control units that served to enhance their overall effectiveness when deployed. However, what proved to be the most unique of the legions line-up however were not the units that made use of firepower as their main offence but the unique black sheep’s that made use of Psychological tactics to unnerve their foes as their primary a tactic that I felt added an excellent new dimension to the nature of the combat that Spearhead faces on the field that was demonstrated the best in ep5 when spearhead squadron was forced to deal with a black sheep that had assimilated the memories of one of their most cherished friends. In addition to the tension that came from facing this, I felt that this battle also showcased the hard decisions that the members of the squadron had to make in the field to save the living in the form of the almost synchronised pulls of Theoto, Daiya, Anju and Kurena as they dealt with it which almost resembled an execution that was done to put to rest a dear friend that the legion had stolen from them.

Music-wise the series made use of one opening and two ending themes which was 3-bun 29 byo that was performed by Hitorie and Avid and Hand’s up to the Sky that was performed by the famed vocal project SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]. While each of these songs was excellent ones I felt that the songs when used with their respective accompanying visuals served to give off a different sense of feelings and emotions with the former showing well that while Lena and Shinn serve and live in very different worlds without the aid of one another the members of the squadrons deployed on the frontlines would not survive the first three minutes and twenty nine seconds and that while every death on the field is a tragedy by working with handlers that care about your well being and provide you with whatever is needed they will be able to survive another day with the friends that you managed to protect. In contrast, the series ending theme Avid while lessening on the action compensated by infusing it with some excellent displays of emotions and feelings that reflected well not just on the feelings that came about from witnessing the loss of friends on the field but also the effects of meeting and bonding with people that did not follow the status quo and instead of being compelled to follow society was instead willing to change it by treating their subordinates as human and not as expendable pawns. While the two songs were both equally excellent I felt that the series was also backed by an excellent OST that really showcased the talent of noted composer Hiroyuki Sawano which served to add an additional layer of tension to the scenes presented within the anime’s overall story.

Voice acting wise overall I felt that the series main voice cast all did an excellent job at portraying their assigned characters however I feel that Shoya Chiba, Ikumi Hasegawa, Seiichiro Yamashita, Natsumi Fujiwara, Saori Hayami and Sayumi Suzushiro all did an excellent job at portraying their assigned characters of Shinn, Lena, Raiden, Theoto, Anju and Kurena, respectively. Of this ensemble group of talented seiyuu’s, I have to say that Ikumi Hasegawa and Sayumi Suzushiro really surprised me with their portrayals of Lena and Kurena as in my view both characters were complex ones with Lena being especially as she had to portray a wide range of emotions and feelings as she had to wrestle both with her own development as a person as she came to terms with the scale of the crimes that her own people had perpetrated on the 86 as well as her own desire to reverse this by treating her charges as normal people rather than objects. For Sayumi while her character Kurena did not speak that much I felt her pent-up rage when unleashed really served to showcase the kind of pain, grief, and grave injustices that the members of the 86 had been subject to as a result of the republic’s exile of them with Sayumi’s inlaying of heartfelt feelings and emotions into her lines serving to add a little more punch to its effects.

Overall conclusion

In overall I felt that 86 was an excellent anime that had among its main strong points a unique premise, powerful and heartfelt story, highly detailed and well-designed battles, excellent variety of mecha, excellent voice acting and its bold usage of a serious subject topic that while rarely seen in modern-day anime is one that is especially relevant within both the world of 86 and in the current strife-filled world that we inhabit.

The series overall story and premise is without a doubt one of the main highlights of the series due to its excellent weaving of several different elements that while strong by themselves served to enhance and complement each other when used together and serve to improve an already well thought out story. While the series’ world-building and usage of mass discrimination and exile had served to create a solid foundation from which the Republic was able to stand upon served well to create the two worlds that Lena and Shinn reside in on a physical level this usage of the two worlds was bolstered by the usage of the legions unique method of gaining strength via their absorption of memories and the 86’s desire to make use of all available means to fight against their sworn enemies in the form of the legion but also prove to the ones that exiled them that even after they were booted out of their homes and had everything taken from them they are not only surviving but able to enjoy a better life outside the walls as well. This sense of a group of underdogs that continued to survive mission after mission despite high commands desire to whittle them down I felt was used well in conjunction with Lena’s desire to change the republic by changing her attitude towards her charges really served to make great use of the twin sides of hope and despair that is ever so common on a battlefield.

On the psychological side of things within the series apart from the laughingly bad legion knockoff in the form of the M1A4 another technology that served to showcase the two sides of hope and despair on the field was without a doubt the Para raid which when used correctly was able to allow handlers to share senses with their charges and allow the former to give timely intel to them and aid them on the field when needed. However, this sharing of senses between the two sides was as much of a double-edged sword as the M1A4 was as prolonged linking of senses can have the unfortunate effect of having a handler who is unaccustomed to the perils and strong negative feelings that can result from seeing your friends atomized suffer heavy mental damage that if managed incorrectly can easily result in fried brains if they did not have a strong enough will to weather it. However, while the potential of losing oneself to the negativity may seem overwhelming the reverse can also be true in that positive feelings supported with a helping of determination can also serve to forge new and lasting friendships with people that had considered you as enemies and when used correctly can also lay the foundations for changing the world.

Overall, as a final score, I would say that 86 easily deserves a final score of 9/10 for its solid weaving of an excellent story, characters, combat, voice acting, animation and a well-designed and thought-out fractured society that when used with the emotional aspects of the bond that is forged between Lena and Shinn made this show one of the highlights of this season.

Every season, one can find countless anime adaptations of light novels or manga applauded by its dedicated fanbase as being deep, provoking, emotional, amazing, etc. Some live up to or even surpass that hype. Others are an honest adaptation, but an adaptation is all they are. Then, there are those that, quite frankly, are just straight up overrated.

And 86 is in my eyes overrated.

Before I have Milizé simps knocking at my door calling for my head, I just want to make it clear: overrated doesn’t equate to being bad. I don’t think 86 is a bad anime; it’s okay and pretty watchable. But is ... it the masterpiece that many light novel readers claim it to be? Not even close

For the record, I haven’t read the light novels nor do I plan on doing so. Biases arising from the source material shouldn’t factor in when you're scoring an anime adaptation, so rest assured this review is coming entirely from a first-time 86 material viewer.

Story: 4/10
There are things I like about 86’s story, and lots of things I dislike. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.

I don’t like 86’s worldbuilding: it’s done very poorly and while some may claim it builds “mystery” or “suspense” for reveals, I’d argue that it’s counterproductive in a medium like anime which progresses much more slowly than readable material you can easily binge. Unless you’re inhuman and watch anime at 4x speed. We don’t learn anything about the Legion or the outside world until the final few episodes really. The only setting we know about is Magnolia, and it’s explored pretty poorly.

As displayed in the story, the “pure-blooded” race in Magnolia is highly valued over the 86, to the point where no actual soldiers exist that are from the main ethnic group. Despite this, we have no investigations or punishments handed out to the squadron responsible for the mental hospitalizations or deaths of countless officers from the ethnic majority. What? You’re also trying to tell me that of all the handlers the army has gone through, Lena was the only one who possessed a conscience to realise what’s happening is wrong? Hell, being wrong aside, any greedy motherfucker would realise the benefits of selling out how the army is abusing humans for a big special scoop from the newspaper: I refuse to believe that the Magnolia government has been able to keep a secret this big for this long without the public finding out and eventually caring. The empire is purported as being ruthless and stuff, but we never see Milizé punished for voicing the truth either. It’s all beyond unrealistic in a world that “tries” to be realistic.

And don’t even get me started on the actual war related side of things. How the Magnolia army can figure out the Legion’s supposed expiry date but can’t figure out they steal human brains, have “shepherds,” etc. beats me. Ok, I can understand getting complacent over the expiry date of the Legion, but what about the 86? We never see any countermeasures in place to stop a squadron of 86 from supposedly attacking: all we hear about is the successful 86 getting sent to the Spearhead squadron for a death sentence… but what if all these “powerful” individuals suddenly decided to rebel? You’ve literally got the cream of the crop of a group you’re trying to eradicate festering in one spot: doesn’t seem like a smart way to commit genocide to me.

Bad stuff aside, I will praise 86 for its storyboarding and direction. I like the way episodes are structured and executed. It never feels like any time is wasted, as cliche as that sounds. I’m also a big fan of the dual-perspective we get in many episodes, either first starting with the Major’s side and then flipping over the Spearhead’s side (but from the very beginning again) or vice-versa. It’s a unique approach and I like it a lot.

Overall, 86’s worldbuilding has lots of holes, and being built on a shaky foundation means you can only accomplish so much before everything eventually comes crashing down. Who knows, maybe worldbuilding will be better in S2 now that we’re actually in the outside world, but I’ll remain a (hopeful) skeptic.

Art: 8/10
Art style and animation is very crisp and clean, CGI use doesn’t stand out at all since I can’t clearly tell when do/don’t use CGI. Best of all, this quality is consistent throughout all the episodes, so that’s a job well done. That being said, the visuals aren’t blockbuster and blow my mind suck me dry Jesus levels and the action scenes are anything to go apeshit crazy over, so I can’t give it anything higher than 8.

Sound: 8/10
VAs and sound mixing in 86 is quite good. OSTs and music are nice too, although I’m not a big fan of the OP. ED is nice though. I will say the combat sound effects are quite pleasant, reminiscent of the audio work done in Fire Force, so props to A-1 for that.

Character: 3/10
Yea, I’m gonna say it. I dislike a lot of the characters in 86.

For starters, they plopped way too many characters down at the beginning. Even now, the only fucking characters I can name off the top my head are Milizé, Shin, Raiden, Anju, Laughing Fox, and Gunslinger; notice how the last 2 aren’t even their real names but their military nicknames? Hell I don’t even know the name of the science chick, and that’s kinda sad.

Now, I get that the people I did manage to recall are basically the main cast, but why bother dumping all those expendable characters in the beginning then? I don’t even feel emotional or anything watching these expendables getting killed on and off-screen, because I literally don’t know their names: I haven’t been able to establish a connection with them. And that to me is very cheap writing and character design.

Speaking of cheap character design, practically all the expendables had plain character designs like mob characters, which made it even harder to tell them apart from each other. I guess that makes sense since they were literally designed to be killed for “emotional impact” or something like that. However, the main cast is also way too similarly designed. It’s pretty much just slight facial feature differences and hair style/color changes that you have to go off of. Like literally look at the MAL photos for Theoto and Daiya, and tell me the 2 don’t like 80-90% the same, smh.

On the other hand, I think the character design for Milizé is not bad. I like that Milizé had some wake-up calls that made her realise her virtue signaling was batshit useful. However, her angsty teen romance felt very forced and random: what reason does she have to suddenly fall for a dude who’s voice she can only hear, and who, relatively speaking, she’s barely interacted with over the course of her life.

On the note of Shin, I found certain traits and quirks about him interesting, but overall I consider him to be as generic a secondary main as you can get. Aside from bad-assery during fights, there’s really not a whole lot he’s got going. I felt that his struggles with his brotherly bond, which was his defining trait, was really underdeveloped and suddenly rushed/crammed into the episode where he confronted his brother. That final confrontation also felt pretty, idk, underwhelming? The action aspect was meh and the emotional side was alright, but felt overly forced because of the lack of sufficient prior development.

Enjoyment: 4/10
Again, overrated != bad folks! Did I enjoy watching 86? Eh, I guess? It was watchable and had a few bright spots. But I didn’t consider myself inspired or touched by anything going on in the show. Ultimately, 86 just felt like a very superficial, typical anime that you can turn on and watch for the season, but when all is said and done and you’re looking back on it, you can’t think of anything notable that actually happened. We met a few characters, watched them do stuff, some of them died, saw a "major" plot point resolved, and then watched them leave for greener pastures: everything that happened in the middle 70% of the series is basically a blur to me.

One of the best adaptations that I've seen!

Finally arrived the time to comment on the anime and the experience that the adaptation of 86 gave me. When I finished reading volume 1 of the novel I was wondering if the "story" could go beyond that, in this case an anime adaptation ..

When they announced the anime I was very euphoric and extremely happy with the announcement, but after some doubts in my mind and if it would be something as incredible as Light Novel.

As everyone knows, adaptations on the same level or even better than the original material is a very rare case of whether ... currently in the industry, I may be mistaken to say that 86 is the best adaptation of recent times. A lot of adaptations usually have between 11-13 episodes and some end up adapting an absurd amount of volumes in just a few episodes. As an example: Re:Zero that suffered some cuts in relation to the novel, but it is still a very good adaptation.

Nowadays people have come to be quite critical of Manga/Novel adaptations. Imagine you seeing your favorite work being adapted in a way that does not follow the same tracks as the original material this is sad to see. But everyone dumb knows that the changes always made will be in relation to a Novel/ Manga, the changes that can sometimes be ruined or pleasant.

But in the case of 86 it is something that deserves all the praise and I am not saying this just because I am a long-time fan of the work, I say this because we are blessed with a studio that took all possible care for the adaptation from 86 would become what we are seeing this season.

The scenarios presented in this first part were a little different from what I imagined when I read the novel, but I think they hit the nail on virtually everything. In the novel, the base of the Eighty-Six was something that looked like a place totally similar to a concentration camp, but here in the anime it was something totally different.

The CGI was one of my big concerns and not to mention that A-1 pictures had never done anything like that and it turned out they got the CGI and the action parts right. It's amazing how a soundtrack makes such a difference in an anime. I think the only composer who could work on the part of the soundtrack this guy was Sawano.

I confess that I was a little worried when they announced that A-1 Pictures would adapt 86 and I think everyone was left with the receipt that a novel would not be so well adapted, when it changed the first promotional image of the anime it was worrying and thankfully that they adjusted it like things like character designs.

When I read that the author of [86] supervised all the storyboards for each episode, I was even more relieved and that may have been one of the great factors of the anime being incredible.

I wonder if another studio had taken 86 to adapt and I wonder if it would be something at that same level, well .. although I had some doubts when it was announced that A1- Pictures would adapt, but I didn't think it would be something at that absurd level. I saw a lot of people complaining about the original partrs that were implemented in the anime and that they didn't have in the novel. Sometimes implementing new things in works can be good or bad, but as volume 1 of the novel leaves something to be desired, the anime corrected and not to mention that it was really good.

It's really amazing how the anime made me have a greater appreciation for the secondary characters and that's one of the things I don't like very much about the novel, we have Daya's death which in the novel is only mentioned in a few volumes farther ahead. It was fantastic to see that even the very important characters had a bit of prominence and that's something that added a lot to the plot.

86 is everything that a mech anime should be and more. Its roster and quality is absolutely stacked, with Hiroyuki sawano with the music, A1 pictures for the animation, a light novel that is a best seller, a director who worked on Anohana, and a producer who worked on Keijo. Everything it tries it does so well, and in just 4episodes I am convinced that this will be a masterpiece. Its been a while since a military and politically based mecha tale has come out, and this one had brought a fresh new outlook on the genre. So, what can you expect?

The first thing ... that comes to mind that makes this so good, would be its underlying story and themes. Despite being a mecha anime, the focus is really not on the fights, just presenting good animation and short battles and skirmishes. If anything they are just a vehicle for character development and the world, despite being a vital part of the show. We follow the stories of two kinds of people, the lives of the Pretentious and upper-class Alba, and the broken and beaten 86, a people whose sole purpose is to fight. In a tale of society, discrimination, what makes a person, and how we view others, 86 takes strides ahead, and comes in with some of the best writing a show has to offer.

Mech shows and military tales depend heavily on its society, causing the show to require good worldbuilding, but this show blows it out of the park. The society and the world that they live in is fascinating, victim not to exposition dumps, or instant knowledge of the whole thing, just slow development and exploration. A constant theme hangs in 86, is the world they live in, and how the two different kinds of people live. Constantly contrasting the lives of the two people, and how they live, and what the war has done to society. Slowly and subliminally bringing in themes of Discrimination and racism, the show is not only a mech show, but one about war, people, and humanity.

The Characters in this show are by no means amazing, but the impact they have on the theme, and building these moments, are phenomenal. The two main characters, are of course contrasted heavily, the overly reactive and innocent Alba, and the calm collected and weathered 86. The 86, who pilot these Robots, are treated not even as humans, just pigs who could not evolve, and the main character is that one Alba who views them as people, attempting to humanise them. However things aren’t that simple.

The journey that the female lead takes, while simple in premise defiantly is realistic, and deep. Its not simple to erase the hatred of generations just by playing nice. Constant reminders, facts and things are brought up, and shakes her core and ideals, as she sees how discriminatory she is, despite advocating for them losing, and never winning . And while she defiantly does overreact in some moments, it does plenty to show her side of things. The development is not only on her side but the 86, as their squad are all on the same path of hatred, just at different points. Hearing their conversations, dialogue, thoughts, and deep and meaningful words, brings another level as the show dives straight into these themes, having the luxury of delving deep inside these, instead of forced to go into mech fights. And while its not the only selling point of the show, it does an amazing job with.

All of these characters have been promised development, and watching the development is a highlight, as the show captures and does it so well. I revealed only a small development that happened, and honestly, the changes that the world and society force on the characters, makes such realistic and believable characters who work extremely well. And the way each episode/ part ends, more development seems obvious, constantly setting these scenarios up both effortlessly and without large exposition dumps or drops in quality.

The final thing I want to mention is the amazing Direction, Art, and soundtrack which have become the new standard at A1 pictures. Sawano, who has some fascination with Giant Mechs and Titans, does yet another amazing job with his soundtrack. And bringing a wonderful blend of 2d and 3d animation that blends perfectly and puts Aldnoah.Zero’s animation to shame, A1 easily gives the two categories no choice but to go in 10/10. And similar things can be said with the direction. The direction is honestly amazing, and I encourage you to look closely. While the animation is Sakuya filled, and perfect in every frame, the subtle hints, and contrast simply in frames is crazy.

The 86 place always had bright colors, but is full of old and broken things, while the Alba have dull colors but near perfection, always one only mistake in the frame, or out place object. The characters are portrayed differently in each society, the Alba quiet and regal, while the 86 are always free and wild,with a darkness underneath. Messages of the world and the place are hidden in the back of frames, and rarely the center of attention, just small hints about the world. It really stretches the limits of storytelling using animation, and does amazingly with it. I have not read the light novel, however it seems to capture descriptions and backgrounds that the light novel would have described, and more.

Of course this has only had 3 episodes and you may think I am overvaluing certain things, but that could be farther than the truth. The story knows where it's going, constantly builds off itself, and does wonders with what it is. If you are looking for a mech or military show with lots of action this is not for you. It's hard to put on words, but it's a show that focuses on its characters and society as the main point, many reflective and quiet scenes. The show is rich with information and interesting concepts, and the world is developed nicely. The story works perfectly and the fights, while short are a blessing to see. Watch it. You wont regret it.

86 is actually a slang meaning banned/shunned or removed goods where in the 86 who were shunned by the "republic" a racist country/government that judges superiority by the race (not limited to hair colors) forces the 86 to fight for the republic in the 86th district and for them to defend their fellow 86.

And now the scoring

Story 9
In just 2 episodes its clearly shown that racism has a pretty big role here and the ignorance of each individuals. And i also like how both shin and lena POV are shown

Art 10
Mesmerized, beautiful animations as always A1

... Sound 10
Love that op especially hiroyuki sawano w:mizuki ed

Character 9
Enjoyment 10
Overall 9

Inform you guys that i have read the light novel
This is unrelated but if you guys are also a fellow LN reader well... GARTER BELTS! This close to thin elastic fabric that hides stretched horizon what a wonderful creation

Well there goes my first ever review

(TLDR Review at the bottom, as usual, thanks for reading)

86 is literally Girls' Last Tour meets military anime, all directed by Dhar Mann.

As much as I'd like to say that this is not some sort of figure of speech, as well as being a 100% factual statement. It may get my review removed, which would render my efforts futile...

Anyways, in seriousness, my earlier statement actually holds some water, maybe not to that extreme length, but that is what this review is for, explaining why. 86 was ultimately a major disappointment in my eyes, being incredibly ambitious in telling what it must, but missed out on ... the very basics to make itself work. It would have been so good in my eyes if it didn't act so pompous. I mean, with the themes that are in this story, you can only really praise the idea, but the execution leads to an untimely downfall, as for why? Let's have a look.


Narrative:
I would be a liar if I said I remember the beginning of 86. I don't really want to check Wikipedia or some other place too as well. But there isn't a need to worry, I don't have to explain the beginning since the synopsis does it for you. All I will say is that 86's beginning (from what I remember) seemed really good, a bunch of things are thrown at you and you have to make do as the anime progresses, you are not really given enough time to make do, however, with a full-blown world already in your face not even halfway past the first episode, it makes for some unnecessary struggle in understanding exactly what is happening. Once you do understand though, there are many fundamental problems that make for this anime to be more flawed than meets the eyes. Now, I don't want to sound like some kind of astute intelligent oh so great myanimelist.net reviewer. But usually, when I see stories that do not work on the most basic levels, there has to be a shout for problems. Usually, I brush off any kind of side plot superficial illogical mess as something literally no one will care about, because no one will care about it. But when the fundamentals are broken, there is an easy problem to say something about. Which is what I see in 86.

The first problem is representations of themes, like racism and the "hell of the outside world". Starting with the "racism". There is barely any that made it liable to a theme I even cared about, seriously. The racism here is also used slightly ambiguous words like "pig" which is used by both parties, so it makes it seem like kids screaming racial slurs after losing a game on Rocket League, in other words, something to not take seriously. I don't remember too much on racism in this story, though, it isn't like it doesn't exist, it does show up, but with 86 being ambitious as it was, it didn't really dive into it and it became a side topic to not care about. This also leads me to the "oppression" that kinda stems off. It's honestly a joke. Hence why I said it is like Girls Last Tour. One moment the Eighty-Sixers are reincarnating scenes from beach episode #41457, then next they want to shame the Alba for oppressing them and dehumanising them. Are these people joking? Because it makes it seem like some deranged mess that doesn't even take itself seriously. I am quite lost with how anything in the presentation of "racism" was anything good for its kind. Maybe that is me being too harsh, but I didn't think it was anything to actively tell people is good. With "hell of the outside world", basically what I just said just before, though I need to talk about the Legion and death in this anime. The Legion is a good idea, I will give the anime that, however it isn't as hellish as meets the eyes, I won't complain about plot armour of some characters, hell, if there is any, but the Legion and death work hand in hand for this idea that they are some kind of demonic force only made to enforce to the tragic life of the Eighty-Sixers. Well, that is true to some extent. However, death is an important factor. Considering how most character deaths are irrelevant people who have little development, it suddenly becomes harder to take the Legion as seriously as you should. They are a very harsh force, yet the damage doesn't really hit the viewer, I suppose it does for the actual characters, but they aren't real-life people. At the end of it, it's just these mad robots killing, well, the wrong people. It is like if Attack On Titan or Akame Ga Kill went and annihilated every undeveloped character, it suddenly becomes harder to take titans or the empire seriously, as you know what to expect.

Now, I talked too much about the themes, the story in itself is quite interesting, there isn't a lot to glorify with it, especially with a lacking world-building, but for the most part, the writing was decent, and the story carried itself with sufficient pacing. If they had just stopped with the random people coming and going, it would have made for a more fun anime to watch.

As for characters, the only one to praise is Lena. She is someone I can't take seriously though, because one moment she is waifu bait #104039 the other she is a serious general I can actually respect. Not sure why 86 loves these on and off switches, but they do I guess. I do think that her development was pretty good on the whole, but considering how at the end of this season, this is nowhere near finished, it does seem like she has ways to go. Being the only person with a high position actively going against her own country's values can make for some interesting battles and development to invest into. As of now, she is probably the best character this show has to offer. Looking past some of her melodramatic moments I quite like her and I would imagine most people watching would be the same. Now Shin, at first, this dude is like the star of the show, something about him screams secrets and "that man to change everything". I legit thought he would pull a Tombstone Piledriver or a Death Blossom at one point. Man did I get my hopes too high up. I won't complain and dislike him for not being what I would have liked, but this man doesn't really hold himself up too high and ends up being a little mid. Having a somewhat dramatic background to his name and a very simple inside job. There isn't too much to go on with him, kinda wasted potential. But this is just the beginning and maybe something big will happen. Who knows. Overall, he is fine as he is, but more would be nice.

Other characters here are generally something I don't find myself caring about, and I don't have a vivid memory of some of the actions they have committed, though from what I remember, I will give them the praise that they do have a human feel to them, they aren't completely generic and I do also believe that a few have their own individual backgrounds to show off. Overall, could be way better for sure, though nothing shocking or awful.


Audiovisuals:
For A-1, this is fine stuff really, not as best as other works they have produced, but fine. I must say, this could be better, especially with the years being 2021 as of this review, this looked like something out of 2015-ish times. I suppose we just need to wait for the generation change in average style thought, but the CGI was really good, I will give it that. Maybe not as good as something out of Trigger or Shaft or some S-tier studio like those. But it isn't anything that would make you dread the action. So good stuff basically.

As for audio. Very good, probably the best thing in this series. Quite a bit of great OSTs to remember from though none really stuck to me. As for OP and ED, OP was really good, not so much ED though, it varied as well so ended up not caring. Voice acting was really good here and the characters were conveyed well in that fashion. Nothing more to report.


Enjoyment:
I tend to enjoy most things, but 86 was hard to take seriously, I mean, I was told this is a mecha, but why is there only like 3 episodes with actual mecha moments. The balance doesn't check out here. There is also the lack of serious moments actually holding through because some prior event would negate that making it look like something you shouldn't take too seriously. But I mean, in a universal sense, there is quite a bit to like about 86, and if I am honest, looking past everything I did, you will probably enjoy this quite a bit. What I have given out seems to be a minority opinion, but I won't say I am right or anything, because there are legitimate things to like about 86. Whilst the balance between genres isn't great. It is there for a more mixed story. I think people will enjoy that.


Overall - 5.23 (5)
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TLDR Review:
Story - 4: Doesn't handle themes well. So it is hard to appreciate what is going on. The actual writing is fine though.
Visuals - 7: Good visuals and CGI is good too.
Audio - 8: Great OST and OP. Decent ED. The good voice acting really conveyed.
Characters - 5: A little miss with some details behind them that doesn't match up to the world around them.
Enjoyment - 5: It is hard to take seriously. Balance isn't so good, but it is generally really good in a universal sense.

Overall - 5.23 (5)
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I tend not to rate anime low. Because I couldn't possibly imagine myself getting angry at some east Asian cartoon that didn't quite meet my oh so great standards. However, I don't have a like for stories that don't hold themselves well on a basic level. Because then it is hard to actually like what is happening because of illogical moments. At least I have Naruto.

"We've Destroyed Machines Beyond Counting. Perhaps Someone Sees That As A Sin."

I don't think that humankind is worthy of trust when we can't let go of war, draw borders between neighboring countries, seek to become richer than others, find joy in defeating others at sports, and choose someone of the opposite gender based on their appearance.

I felt that just looking at the world in general, there are so many types of people, and some hide who they truly are. And I feel that every person has some kind of warped identity inside them that they decide if they want to show or not.

I've always ... felt that it didn't feel right for me when a protagonist goes through a storyline where they're killing a lot of enemies, and at the very end of the story he ends up kissing the heroine and that's where the end.

"It Always Ends Like This."

"I Seek To Learn And Adopt All Facets Of Humanity! Some Desire Love! Others Family! Only Then Did I Realize The Truth...The Core Of Humanity... Is Conflict. They Fight. Steal. Kill. This Is Humanity In Its Purest Form!"

Ever feel like that there is more to a show then meets the eye? Something that you can clearly see happening, and you're just eagerly waiting to find out what is going to happen next? That's basically 86 in a nutshell. Because it's turning out to be one of the best shows of the season, with how it keeps us at the edge of our seats with each and every episode, with it's story, and it's characters. Let me explain.

Story
Do you ever feel like that the ones above don't care for you? Or some do, but those some, are very little, and a lot, just ... see this as a mindless game, and a few lost lives don't really matter to them? It's what 86 is. Some have become operators, handlers if you will, commanding the team behind the scenes from a desk, while actual humans are in the battlefield, risking their lives, each and every day, and while the lead operator can go home, to their nice warm beds, their lovely food, some of these soldiers, may not even make it back. It's real gripping stuff, and I've only touched the surface of what the show is presenting, as I mentioned previously. Some of these handlers don't really seem to care about life, or that they just don't know that they're putting real lives at risk((episode 2 really shows the context of that and more so.)) Which can majorly effect someone's mental state.

86 seems to be going from strength to strength wen it comes to it's story. I honestly cannot wait to see what happens next, and how many times it's going to try and tug at my heart strings even more.

Characters
There is a lot to say about the characters. Our main lead in particular is someone you can actually root for, as she knows that she is dealing with actual human life, and not some AI. She seems like she's making an effort to get to know her unit, and the people behind it, and not just tapping in to do her job and go home. Someone very likeable like her, will drive the show forward.

As for her unit themselves, they;'re a colourful bunch of mixed personalities that also really drive the show forward. A great bunch of people, that I can only wish all of them somehow make it out of this predicament that they find themselves in.

Art and Sound.
86 does super well in both of these areas. Making certain scenes look really bright and nice, but also make certain other scenes look either dark, or sometimes just real depressing. Really not only setting the tone, but also really adding to atmosphere of the whole show. Much like the sound choices within the show. It's top notch stuff, and they really can be credited for a job well done here.

86 for sure is a show that you should be watching this season, so go and check it out now!

To be honest, I was biased to "mecha" series. After this anime started, I saw the cover and I really loved it even if it is not that flashy. I am not a person that judges the anime by just its cover but I really wanted to watch this serie. I don't know, maybe something attracted me. I have watched all the episodes that came out and I can say that:

"This serie is more than robots, mechanical items".

The subject covered in the background, musics... they all so good and definitely worth watching. I really loved it!

I heard that it adapted from light novel. I ... didn't read it, only watched the anime so I don't know much about characters, their personalities. Therefore, I can't talk about the character's I liked and disliked sides. But I want to talk about Shinei Nouzen (Undertaker). He is a little bit quiet, cold person and he does what he wants. He has same voice actor with Ayanokouji from Classroom of the Elite (Shouya Chiba) and this voice fits him so well!!

This is the first "mecha" serie I have ever watched and I am really happy to overcame my prejudice. Waiting for the next episode with a great excitement.

Best anime of the season so far for me 4 episodes in

Going in as an anime only it has not disappointed, 4 episodes in and I have been able to unravel the general plot/story about the show

Not going into spoilers ill rate the show

Story = 9 (Show not tell, recommended re watching episodes to pick up on things if you feel lost the first time round, its managed to get me hooked enough to buy the first 2 volumes of the LN)

Art = 10 (Great animation in the first 4 episodes same goes with the CGI hopefully it doesn't slack off later on, Also the ... food transitions are very unique. A1 Studios has done a great job)

Sound = 9 (The OP and Ending are great, along with the voice acting)

Character = 9 (Both Lena and Shin are interesting characters along with the rest of the eighty sixers. I want to see how the relationship between Lena and Shin develops also what her country will think of her being to kind to them. Lena is a strong willed character who is disliked by fellow soldiers for supporting the 86, she doesn't care that the government treats them like animals and is wanting to help them find there way in this war.)

Enjoyment = 10 (I've personally enjoyed every moment of this series, how it goes from Lena's perspective then to the 86ers is good and just shows us how both sides view each other and the war)


I recommended giving this series a chance, it will leave you wanting to know more every episode.
From the first 4 episodes I give it a 9, will update as the season goes on

So I gave it the tried and true; watch four episodes before rating. However since some in the anime group I'm in like this anime, I joined them for episode five which is where my patience dropped for this anime.

The themes of exploring racism, first / third world countries, proxy conflicts and acceptance of fate. These are interesting topics, but the way the anime tries to present this to me I consider bad. This is because while the initial backdrop of the entire show is interesting, the characters are not. I've watched many, many anime and this series attempt at this is the worse ... I have in recent memory. All I can think when watching this is, I've seen it done much much better.

All I can say is the characters, especially the Major with whom they relay the themes through to try and get you to sympathies with the situation falls completely flat. The inept commander angle just makes the whole situation come off as cliché. I come off cringing during serious moments because the character mediums for the themes are terrible, often throwing in, what I can only call "typical Japanese" with the worse timings. Stuff like something serious happening but a girl see's her crush looking at her and blushes, it's - it's just frustrating.

The action is just whatever, just a canvas for whatever topic is being explored with at the time. Explosions going off, it's "cool" but there's no strategy or deeper grandeur to it so it's all flash.

The grievance I had with this anime that lead to me to come on and immediately write a negative comment was, they lead the already weakly presented story to mysticism as well as ass pulling a plot thread that my response was "you never thought to tell anyone about this up until now? / no bothered to figure this out until this late." I gave up at this point. The greatest sin of this anime is that such a good animation studio is wasting time animating this rubbish.

EDIT: I'm still watching this as my anime watching group is still viewing it, it's gotten better over the last 2 episodes. We'll see how the ending goes but I still would of dropped it personally on episode 5 if it weren't for my group.