I honestly would've preferred that they made it into 1 combined season instead like they did in Netflix. But to be clear, 86 season 2 as a standalone season is definitely a 6 or 7, but as a continuation of the first season it does it job very well so I will give it a 9 in that regard.
Watching it with a seamless transition between the first and second seasons really helps shape my perspective.
Story:
The story is as I stated pretty slow in the second part, especially how it felt exceptionally dull at the first couple of episodes, which I suppose is made that way to convey how the characters felt during that period as well before we rush back into action packed episodes. But watching the seasons consecutively, you really get to see all of the foreshadowing going on in the first season that gets realized in the second, which I find a very very nice story telling and attention to detail.
Character:
I was honestly praying that someone in the squad would die to add a bit more melodramatic scenes in the season that would possibly give Shin a bit more of a character arc, but what happened instead was mediocre and could've been better. The characters have nonetheless progressed throughout the seasons very well at a good pace, but a complaint I have is that the other members of the squad besides the main characters had little to no development at all which was disappointing to say the least.
The Intro (kyoukaisen - Amazarashi):
If you haven't searched up the lyrics or even heard of the intro yet, I advise that you do, as it will definitely affect how you feel about this season. The intro is the best anime song I've heard ever since the release of 'Your Name' or the outro of AOT s4 pt2. And not only does it sound great, to my surprise it fully encompasses the entire character arc of Shin in the first and second season in its lyrics which is a feat that I find exceptionally impressive.
Art:
It's beautiful and the cgi mixes very well the hand-drawn background, very clever use of motion blur, props to the studio.
Overall:
Watching it consecutively with the first season makes it a much better experience, because as I stated, it is pretty average as a standalone season but as a continuation it fits in like clockwork and improves the viewing experience a lot.
86 overall is a very nice series that I enjoy enough to put it at my top 5, it's got a lot of action, some above average cinematography, a compelling story, a conflict of morals, and a some interesting characters. It's great to say the least it has everything that I'm looking for in a fiction and has done it well enough to get a 10 for the series overall.
