86

(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)
----------

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)
----------

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.

An anime about mecha and politics, that can't seem to do either of them right.

Story 6/10
Endless talking with a minuscule amount of story sprinkled in between. The only purpose this endless talk seems to have is to introduce us to the characters, but this could be done in a lot less time with how little personality the characters have. World building works surprisingly well and is somewhat interesting. Once we're done with the basic world building, the story tries to get deep, but instead takes a route so generic I didn't even know it could be done.

Characters 5/10
Most have a nonexistent personality, others are generic. ... Our main girl Lena is okayish but still not well enough written to praise.

Art 8/10
Usually quite good. In a few scenes, characters were visibly worse animated. The scenery and background often great.

Sound 8/10
Good voice acting and environmental sounds and great music.

Enjoyment 7/10
Even with how much there is pointless talking scenes, and not so good drama, I couldn't find myself getting bored even in the slightest. I also must say that if I'd watched this a couple years back I would've most likely loved this.

Overall 6/10
A totally fine watch. I most likely just grew out of liking this kind of series.

This anime started with a very strong first impression. It makes it seem like you're about to see a look into a dark interesting world full of intrigue and mystery. However, the further into the show you get, the more you realize that it has basically none of that. About halfway into the show, I found myself skipping forward through scenes to try to get to the part where the let us know more of the plot, and generally found that there wasn't any in a lot of episodes. This anime seems to want to focus more one style than substance, but it has very ... little of either. A lot of it is the main 86 kids sitting around talking about nothing that is interesting, new, or will contribute to the events of the story. I can tell that it would be possible to set an interesting story in this universe, but this anime does not seem to feel the need to do this. If you stripped out any of the show that is just people sitting around doing nothing, you're left with maybe enough to have 3 or 4 episodes, and there will not be a satisfying narrative in that episode. The country this takes place in is filled entirely with fiction's dumbest evil villains, and the lead character is incredibly cliche in her attempts to oppose this. This series leave a lot of questions unanswered, and honestly I no longer care to see them answered. Unfortunately, wanting those answers bin the first place is the reason I was watching the show. The ending also seemed very sudden, although I can't get into specifics. It feels like the characters are about to maybe do something interesting, and instead it just says "lol, jk" and ends.

86 plays in the year 2144 in a post-modern scenario with highly advanced technologies. The empire of Saint Magnolia is currently defending itself in a war against drone like mechanical war machines. For their defense, they use mechanized war machines themselves but contrary to their opposition they need to be manually controlled by humans.
In this story element lies one of 86's biggest story anchors. Theirs much focus on such topics as segregation, oppression and racism. The only people working/being used as soldiers are the people called 86. However, officially the war is fought "ethically and without human casualties" The 86 are distinguished from "real ... humans" by their hair color. People with a different hair color other than white are damned inhuman and not worthy to live under Saint Magnolia's prosperity. As such they end up fighting the war to protect the people they hate. Both parties use the term pig to refer to one another.

The main story follows Lena Milize a young rebellious "Handler". Handler coordinate a designated troop of soldiers who are fighting on the frontline remotely from a military HQ inside the walls of Saint Magnolia. She is tasked to become Handler of the Spearhead unit. A special unit that consists of only the most experienced mecha pilots. Their leader, who is the 2. main character, has the nickname Undertaker, not only because he has the most takedowns out of all the 86 soldiers but also because he and his squad are known for having their former handlers either killed or driven into insanity.

As the series progresses observant viewers will acknowledge a double edged sword 86 has to deal with. There will be a lot of questions like a lot lot. This is a minor blessing and a bigger course. The way the narrative is presented keeps your attention high because you are longing for answers to all the questions you will have. The structure and order in which mysteries are revealed and new plot elements pop up is rather linear yet logical however they don't feel rewarding to discover. The more episodes you watch the better your understanding of the world and its playing pieces becomes. The inevitable conclusion will be that 86 is a pile of wasted potential. At a given time some questions will be explained. A few with a logical and satisfying outcome however unfortunately the most crucial ones by irrational, thoughtless and superficial writing. The best parts about the story are probably those that haven't been revealed yet. If you pay close attention and think a bit for yourself you could easily come up with way more original and complex explanations to the potent topics and themes 86 throws at you.

86 first season would have been better if it had featured a more intuitive worldbuilding and overall a clearer explanation on some topics. It stays very discreet about the bigger picture and the greater context of most things that happen. Most questions still bug me quite a bit either because they are still unanswered, and answering them should not take away content of future seasons I believe, or because the given explanation is just garbage.
If you don't watch super carefully you will find yourself in a wasteland of plot holes and even if you do you are surrounded by holes filled with the whole table of elements most of them being toxic to the human.
Yet I haven't lost all hope for season 2 because there's still so much possible content untouched to deliver a more rewarding and enticing storyline.

One point which I personally really liked was that 86 had usable parallels to modern history and, to a certain degree, today's society. The way the "86 being inhuman" narrative is displayed features many parallels to the Third Reich and other oppressive regimes as well as the everyday segregation many people face today. However, at least now in the first season the why's and how's on this topic lack proper explanation and are only touched upon on a superficial level.

Another bigger flaw, at least for me it was very irritating, that stems from this is the fact that 90% of the overall screenplay is probably pure dialogue between characters. It gets really daunting seeing the same characters discuss the same topics over and over again.
I expected that the show is carried a little bit more by action driven story elements.

Taking a look at all episodes together as the full season I thought that the story has weird and unintuitive pacing. The way they set and change focus between worldbuilding, character development, action and giving further insight to other plot elements is truly wearing. At first, the only focus the show has is worldbuilding for several episodes. To compensate for the missing character introductions and first development they use staggering amounts of time to fill episode after episode with that. Throw in an action scene here and there and 20 seconds of more or less useful dialogue that try to explain the last 40 minutes. And repeat.



While the heavy focus on dialogue is a downer in terms of story perception it is great when it is used to portray the interpersonal relationships between each character especially between Lena and Shin (Undertaker) but also, though to a lesser extent, the 86 from the spearhead legion and the people in Saint Magnolia. Lena and Shin are really good main characters they are not static in how they feel and think about one another and their fellows. That is also reflected in their changing opinions and emotions. Both of them are driven by clear reasons and goals which are rooted in the story. Those also change and adapt to new situations and relationships.

The side cast is quite bad though. Be it the other members of Spearhead or Lena's peers in Saint Magnolia. Most of them are really generic in a way that if you look at them individually they don't feature any lasting impact on the story or other characters. There is no actual thoughtout individual behind them. I wouldn't say that they are useless because as units (Spearhead Legion, Saint Magnolia peers) they have do have an important role but the individuals are bland and replaceable. The viewer doesn't get to connect to them just as well as he can with Lena and Shin. The only side character I genuinely liked was Henrietta, Lena's close friend in the military.



Above average quality for A1 Pictures overall when it comes to serieses, not movies. Some nice backgrounds, fitting and adaptive coloring but nothing too fancy. The few action scenes we have are really fun to watch. The fights are quite well choreographed and accompanied by good looking visual (CG) effects. I wished there were more, there's noticeable potential in them. Overall more high speed and impactful action scenes would have been a better fit for the given setting. The extensive focus on dialogue goes so far that even when there are fights ongoing we mostly see either somebody sitting in their mech or Lena doing her handler work behind a screen in a dark room. When it comes to direction outside fights the inexperience of the team has a lasting impact. There's little to no original or appealing camera work, mostly plain and simple settings are being used. This makes all the dialogue even more daunting to consume.
We also have to experience one of A1 biggest weaknesses yet again: Incredibly generic Character design. I swear, judging by looks I've seen each and every character somewhere else already.



Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto. What's their left to explain. There's a fitting theme in almost every scene. The music manages to hype up action, accompany emotion and build up tension. Great work, as always. Especially the later episodes shine with incredible vocal songs that are just beautiful and touching.
Action scenes feel lively and impactful due to great sound effects.



To conclude I would say that 86 is a bad representation when it's categorized into the mecha genre. There's too little action actually going on to appeal to any fan of the genre. The heavy focus on dialogue pushes it more towards a mystery, with a bit of thriller, type. 86 Story has many really hot takes that are unfortunately executed quite lackluster. The world is interesting and offers much potential for a better second season. Lena and Shin are a good main character duo and following their journey can for sure still be interesting.

86 is probably one of the the most disappointing anime this season.

Not because it’s bad , because it’s just too lazy to do anything surreal.

Why are the Republic composed of cartoonishly evil villains?

Why do the 86 fight without a map? Why the hell can’t Lena just upload one?
These people be fighting sentient robots but a service such as google maps?
Nope too much work.

... Why is Lena such a useless person who besides helping the 86 in the battle with the mortar strikes ( good job finally ) is a whining annoying girl?

Why does Lena, when she confronts her fellow people, never bring up the fact that the robots can fucking harvest brains and be a danger to their society?

Because the republic wouldn’t believe her? I agree. However If she didn’t try to lecture why 86 are humans every goddamn time maybe her uncle would have listened to her? It’s like convincing a overlord racist by saying all races are equal.

The art and music are top notch. No complain there.

Now characters. Shin is pretty bland. I get that they were trying to go with the tragic backstory however when the dude kills his brother in a single episode….I couldn’t care less yea? Don’t get me started when they tried to show how shin has “changed” after killing his brother. Dude just laughs at every sentence for no reason.

Now Lena. Meh. I really don’t get how she’s a big shot. Mind you this girl is a teenager. Why doesn’t she know the 86 don’t come back into society while almost all of her colleagues know? She acts surprised hearing the 86’s circumstances so I assume it’s her first time hearing this. I don’t get how she didn’t know that already.

Rest of the squad. I actually liked them. Sure they weren’t the deepest ones but they were pretty fun to watch.

Now Worldbuilding.
I wish the show actually tried to show me what the actual fuck happens outside 86.Republic is laughably bad. How can we show these guys are giant asshats? I dunno.. make them act like drunkards going through their 4th divorce. Major plots like How the para raid functions and why shin can hear the voices of the legion were handled poorly.



Overall: Not a bad show. Just wished it handled it better.

86 is all flash and no substance. It refuses to dive deeper and actually explain what is going on. Para Raid? Oh shin has superpowers.

Huh?

Conclusion: Well I hope the new season actually explains why the people are cartoonishly incompetent and actually give us viewers a reason to watch this show.

5/10.

Reinventing the wheel has seemingly never been this boring. The focus is on the characters and their relations and yet the catalyst, the political climate and ongoing war, is just so poorly written which in turn affect the quality of relationships.

We see the tropes and archetypes (which is not necessarily bad) while the series tries to have some self-consciousness about it. A large part of the premise of the series is racism. The problem is the execution, because on one hand the characters have introspection and reason, which is the driving engine of the show, on the other they just magically throw it away whenever ... this dogma is brought up.

There is for example a point in the plot where the main character must defend their views to help others, and while failing to do so, could very well have argued from a position of practicality and necessity while not reneging on her own views (ie. security threat against the nation). This is never done, as if the other person would have said "Ah sorry, our safety is less important than being racist".

Really?

No wonder, because the anime would soon be over.

It wants to be taken seriously through its fleshing out of characters, while making it impossible for the serious watcher to do so when they act in conflicting ways. Even a lighthearted approach to the story makes it a sour experience for those who just wants some casual viewing, because while some moments are in good fun, we're always reminded of the "serious" and edgy nature it wants to present.

All in all, it's not a bad series. It just doesn't know what it wants to be and that makes it a confusing viewing.

(minor spoilers)

86 is possibly one of the most disappointing anime this season. That is not to say that it is bad, but rather that it failed to meet my expectations for, perhaps, every aspect. I believe that this could have been a great show had it not been for a variety of factors; and, to be fair, perhaps the cover art and synopsis had raised my expectations far too high for this before it began airing. However, it is still fair to say that what could have been a 7 or 8 out of 10 is instead a 6 or 5 out of 10 ... due to these factors.

Before I explain what I did not like, let us start with some positive aspects. The art and animation are decent with certain character designs such as Lena and Shin standing out. The music, while not particularly mind-blowing, does fit the "mecha" aspect and gets the job done well. I can't really name any stand-out tracks, however, because none of them really stood out to me.

The base plot is also not terrible. The beginning effectively introduces the world that this story is set in, the various characters involved, the inner conflicts and tensions between them, as well as other aspects that will be important to understand later on. Discrimination against the “Eighty-six” occurs in San Magnolia as they are forced to make up the sole fighting forces in the ongoing war while the “Alba” live free from conflict. The only news they ever receive about the conflict is that there were no casualties, despite the Eighty-six dying in every battle.

No, it is after the initial start to the show where the bad aspects reveal themselves. First off, there were way too many characters introduced to keep track of. All of them were the Eighty-six, yes, but having so many made it rather difficult to keep up with them. Remembering their names proved to be a challenge, and eventually I gave up and just referred to them as “the red one,” “the ara ara one,” and “the bratty one.” My thought process has always been to pick a few characters that seem the most important, but even then, 86 frequently tried to develop all of them instead of picking a few to flesh out. This approach made a lot of scenes that should have been dramatic, emotional, or impactful completely devoid of those feelings. The most that they ever got out of me was, “Oh, that’s a real shame,” or “Oh, good for him.” You could not feel for those characters. This problem would not be remedied even after the cast was reduced to a smaller group.

As far as the pacing of the story goes, it feels as if we are watching a condensed version of what was intended to be a 24-episode anime. As I mentioned before, a very small amount of time was given to develop these characters. Various smaller conflicts do develop into the reveal of a larger, more pervasive conflict; but this is done so quickly that it is hard to just accept and go along with. It almost felt as if everything that occurred up until that moment was somewhat meaningless. Then, the final conflict begins and ends too quickly as well. It legitimately felt like Episode 9 was the last episode with how perfectly it seemed to set up a conclusion but also leave certain questions hanging in the air. Those questions could have been expanded upon and resolved in a second season or something. However, it decided to continue after the 9th episode, and these episodes felt completely out of place; almost like they only served to set up a second season.

It feels like there is a better version of 86 somewhere other than this anime; perhaps in the light novels. Like I said, there were way too few episodes given to 86 for this to be impactful in any way. Although, the first half was pretty good and there was still plenty to enjoy about 86 if you can ignore the pacing issues. If you liked older mecha anime and want to see how the genre has evolved, you might be pretty disappointed with this one. I'd say just go watch Darling in the Franxx or something like that instead, even though that, too, was somewhat mediocre. Either way, I would still recommend giving 86 a try as it held my interest at the beginning pretty well.

English Version:

Eighty Six was the anime that many people bet their coins on, coming from a very well rated Light Novel. This anime promises to deliver high-level political, ethical and social conflicts, which many didn't know was if these would be worked in a cohesive way. and not biased.
That said, I must say that the anime fails to deliver such a debate, writer Asato, perhaps out of inexperience or lack of grounding, delivers the obvious that is said in most current works that carry these themes, “hey, fascism is wrong and racism is a bad thing!”, having said that, don't expect complex dialogues and debates ... about these themes, because one of the flaws of this one is not having a design that facilitates the difference of ethnicities, since the characters follow the line of “generic anime character design” (search Google Images if you don't understand), of course we have exceptions, for example those who live in the republic are all white (almost albino) and have the same hair color, one of the characters that is shown in battlefield is black, the rest has the same skin color, so it's up to us to find out what their races are, one of the tips I give is to see the origin of their names.

But for all that reason, what was delivered by the anime is bad? By no means does he work very well with what he has and, as simplistic as it is, the message is catchable.
Of course those who expected more due to your proposal may be disappointed with the delivery, but I must say that at no time did I bother with what the anime discussed, as much as it doesn't raise the debate to grandiose levels, it doesn't offend, and it can to put the most lay people to reflect on something bigger.

The anime can also divide viewers on the issue of empathy for the characters, it goes well when putting together short scenes and small moments for each of the secondary characters so that we have an appreciation for them, however, which for some can be seen as sad for others it will be just generic montage to catch us in the fragile part of our feelings. I'm particularly torn between both situations, in some moments I was moved, but in others I don't care.

The soundtrack is also something to highlight, Sawano once again did well, and alongside the singer Laco created striking themes, the same cannot be said for the responsible for sound design, Jin Aketagawa is great for creating ambient sound (sound from the breeze in the trees, raindrops, burning wood), but the same cannot be said in battle sounds, where the noise of trucks and machines, in addition to muffling the soundtrack, hinders the concentration of the dialogues.

86 is a good anime, which entertains and raises debates that need care, despite its mistakes I believe it's better than a lot we've had recently on the market, it's worth being seen and discussed, I'm looking forward to the continuation.

Português/Brasil:

Eighty Six era o anime no qual muitas pessoas apostaram suas moedas, vindo de uma Light Novel muito bem avaliada esse anime promete nos entregar conflitos políticos, éticos e sociais de alto nível, o que muitos não sabiam era se esses seriam trabalhados de uma forma coesa e não tendenciosa.
Dito isso, devo dizer que o anime falha ao nos entregar tal debate, a escritora Asato, talvez por inexperiência ou falta de embasamento, entrega o óbvio que é dito na maioria das obras atuais que carregam esses temas, “hey, facismo é errado e racismo é uma coisa ruim!”, dito isto, não espere diálogos e debates complexos a respeito desses temas, até porque uma das falhas deste é não ter um design que facilite a diferença de etnias, já que os personagens seguem a linha do “generic anime character design” (procurem no Google Imagens caso não tenha entendido), claro que temos as exceções, por exemplo aqueles que vivem na república são todos brancos (quase albinos) e tem a mesma cor de cabelo, um dos personagens que é mostrado no campo de batalha é negro, já o resto tem a mesma cor de pele, sendo assim cabe a nós buscarmos saber quais são suas raças, uma das dicas que dou é ver a origem de seus nomes.

Mas por mais que razão, o que foi entregue pelo anime é ruim? De maneira nenhuma, ele trabalha muito bem com o que tem e, por mais simplista que seja, a mensagem é captável.
Claro que aqueles que esperavam mais devido a sua proposta podem ficar decepcionados com a entrega, mas devo dizer que em nenhum momento me incomodei com o que o anime discutiu, por mais que não eleve o debate a níveis grandiosos, ele não ofende, e pode colocar os mais leigos para refletir em cima de algo maior.

O anime também pode dividir os telespectadores na questão da empatia pelos personagens, ele vai bem ao montar cenas curtas e pequenos momentos para cada um dos personagens secundários para que tenhamos um apreço por eles, porém, o'que pra uns pode ser visto como triste para outros será apenas montagem genérica para nos pegar na parte frágil de nossos sentimentos. Eu particularmente fico dividido em meio a ambas as situações, em alguns momentos fiquei comovido, mas outros pouco me importam.

A trilha sonora também é algo a dar destaque, Sawano mais uma vez mandou bem, e ao lado da cantora Laco criou temas marcantes, o mesmo não pode ser dito para o responsável pelo sound design, Jin Aketagawa é ótimo para criar som ambiente (soar da brisa nas árvores, gotas de chuva, madeira queimando), mas o mesmo não pode ser dito em sons de batalha, onde o barulho de caminhões e máquinas além de abafar a trilha sonora atrapalha na concentração dos diálogos.

86 é um bom anime, que entretém e levanta debates que necessitam de cuidado, apesar de seus erros acredito que é melhor do que muito que tivemos recentemente no mercado, vale a pena ser visto e discutido, aguardo ansiosamente pela continuação.

PT-BR:
Deixarei claro que essa minha visão sobre o anime pode ter sido causado por um erro meu, enfim, anime interessante até
se você tiver um certo nivel de empatia até que consegue ficar triste com o final, mas como sou um pouco apático me sai bem
Sinto que houve muitos furos na história e coisas mal explicadas, pode até haver alguma parte ue eu desconheça ou continuação, porem sinto que poderiam ter aproveitado mais alguns personagens
esse anime tambem me passou uma sensação de rapidez nos episodios que até no momento nenhum outro anime tinha passado
Na minha visão o anime merece mais porm dou 6/10

English:
I'll make it ... clear that my view on anime may have been caused by a mistake of mine, anyway, interesting anime even
If you have a certain level of empathy until you can be sad about the ending, but since I'm a little apathetic I do well
I feel like there were a lot of holes in the story and things that were poorly explained, there might even be some part that I don't know about or continuation of, but I feel like they could have taken advantage of a few more characters
This anime also gave me a sense of rapidity in the episodes that until now no other anime had gone through
In my view the anime deserves more porm dou 6/10

I wasn’t feeling this one. It looked great, sounded great, and was well-directed, but none of the relationships or tragedy felt earned. It was the anime equivalent of “Press F to pay respects”.

Story
The story seemed pretty good on paper. You have a segregated society and characters who are trying to bridge the gap. There is the backdrop of a war, a conspiracy, a long-lost brother / childhood friend, and a little bit of a love triangle. You get soldier comraderie and tragedy when they get killed off. It’s solid stuff to work with.

The execution was the problem. Lena, our main gal, didn’t seem to ... have a good reason to have such a strong sense of justice or to be so interested in her troopers. What made her different from the rest of the people in her city? I questioned her motives.

The script doctor in me hoped that they would have had an arc where she discovered that she was being misled, felt betrayed, went through the proper channels to protest, got swept under the carpet and reacted to trauma or injustice that made her empathize with the 86. They kind of did that in the middle episodes but it didn’t feel dramatic. She just had a two-minute conversation with her uncle and that was that. It didn’t seem like she tried very hard to make things right. I would have bought into her sympathy if the situation was handled better. It felt weak that her character ended up in her rebellious mindset after just a few phone calls.

The battles were disjointed from the plot. With the exception of the battle involving the brother, the battles didn’t add to the plot or the story. The 86 could have been out there farming and had a high fatality rate due to disease or poor farming tools and it would have led to the same story. I just finished Attack On Titan and the battles there were integral to the plot. They were a device where characters showed who they were, the who/what/where mattered, and the stakes were immense. Then here, the 86 chill in the barracks, go to fight someplace, euthanize their wounded friends, and then go back to the barracks to chill some more. There didn’t seem to be stakes besides their own survival. I wish the battles progressed the plot and didn’t just kill off the characters.

It took until the end of the first season for the 86 to finally take some decisive action and to run away from it all. Their road trip was the best part of the story. We got a good reaction from Lena when they left. The situations they encountered on the road (living by the river, passing through the ghost town, hanging out at the abandoned school) were good story and character revealing moments and could have been done much earlier in the story. Lena could have experienced those things with them and that would have been a much better way to illustrate her bond to them then a few Zoom calls.

I started to relate to the characters and feel for them only during the road trip. It’s a shame that it happened in the last third of the story. If they showed off their characters better earlier, the drama of the first two-thirds of the show would have been more meaningful. It was a missed opportunity.


Characters
The characters could have been done better. I understand what they were going for but I think the characters fell short of what they could have been.

As I mentioned with Lena, her character didn’t seem to have good justification to be the champion of the 86. Her relationship and empathy to the 86 should have been the foundation of the entire series. It was supposed to be her prime motivation for everything she did in the show but it didn’t feel earned. All of a sudden, after a couple of phone calls, she just feels that they’re her best friends. It was weak. Why not have her teleconference with them on the road trip and have her see how they were deprived their childhoods and lived harshly? That would have been a great motivation for her and a meaningful turning point in her character if she had started out with the standard Alban mentality.

Her friend, Annette, had a decent arc. She is the innocent techie who was bought into the situation as it was presented. She tried to be a good friend for Lena and was concerned for her when she started to care for the 86. In the second half, Annette did a good heel turn. She lashed out at Lena and seemed to turn into a bitch. However, it turned out that she had a previous connection/relationship with an 86 and ignored the situation to protect her own emotions. That’s a pretty good arc.

The 86 members were mostly forgettable. They had some good bonding moments in the barracks and a cute cat, but didn’t do anything to stand out for me. This was especially true of the side characters. I just finished watching Attack On Titan and I may be spoiled on side character development. I loved Jean, Conny, and Sasha. They all got their time in the spotlight and had believable arcs. None of the side characters in 86 were distinguishable apart from their hair. There were times when they had to put their teammates out of their misery, but I wasn’t feeling sorry for the characters because I didn’t know them. I mean, the violence and the act of euthanasia was jarring, but who was this guy they were shooting?

Shin was our 86 MC. There was a thing with his brother that was not engrossing on a plot level at all. The episode with his brother looked great and had decent action. I liked how the role the hands played throughout the flashbacks and the battle scene. But when the dust settled, his brother could have not been there and all the characters would have been in the same place plot-wise.

It wasn’t until the 86 ran away and started their road trip that I started getting interested in their characters. There should have been situations where they demonstrated their character traits earlier in the show. Without knowing the characters and feeling for them, much of the drama from the earlier episodes felt forced.

Art
The art was consistently great throughout.

The characters looked amazing. Lena had a cute character design - she looked great in the uniform and the stockings were always a plus. Her friend with the short hair looked every bit a scientist. The 86 members all looked like the world-weary soldiers.

The backgrounds were incredible. The city was amazing. It looked like postcards from Italy or France. The building interiors were opulently decorated and looked fit for royalty. The exteriors and roads were beautiful. Sunlight hit everything and made the screen pop. Almost every frame outside looked like a perfect golden-hour photo. The countryside was gorgeous. Their barracks looked lived-in and had tons of personality. The environments were spot-on for the vibe they were trying to convey. It was really great work.

The direction was creative and engaging. The camera angles, the cuts to the symbol objects, the camera following the character’s gaze, and the integration with the music were visually exciting. In the last episode, one of the characters got frustrated and kicked a rock that flew and hit our POV camera. The scene cut on impact. Pretty cool stuff!

This anime looked wonderful.

Sound
It sounded really good. The music was great for the situations. There were many musical montages that amplified the characters, their emotions, and the anime on the whole. The edits and music beats were spot on. They chose good music for the show.

I liked how they snuck in some scenes after the credits. It was a nice treat for people who enjoyed the ending theme.

I watched most of the episodes in Japanese and switched to the dub for the final episode. The dub was not bad at all. The voices fit and the dialogue was not as stilted and awkward as other dubs I’ve seen. Dubs have come a long way since the 90s and I’m glad for it. The voice acting was good.

The sound effects were standard. Nothing really struck me as knocking it out of the park or sub-par.

With the lackluster story and characters, it was the art and music kept me watching through the 11 episodes.

Enjoyment
I was pretty bored throughout most of the show. I was expecting a character driven show but the characters were not engaging. The plot didn’t seem to have relevant stakes. The battles were very standard shooty-shooty with no strategy, turn-arounds, or character revealing/developing moments. I did not have a good time.

I did enjoy the direction, art, and music. The camera angles were on target with the symbolism and cut to the different items (flowers, cake, eggs, cups, . . .) with great effect. Every episode looked great. There were frames that I wouldn’t mind printing out and hanging on my room wall. They were works of art. I am going to look for other animes put out by this studio. The animation was really a that much of a visual treat. The music was cool and the montages were a welcome injection of excitement into this bland anime.

Overall
The characters didn’t feel like they had human motivations and without that foundation, all their relationships, the events, and the tragedy didn’t land for me. I’ll compare it to the Star Wars prequels. I started watching 86 wanting to like the show. I wanted to get taken for a ride. I wanted to buy into the characters and experience their successes and the losses. But without the characters seeming human or properly motivated, I couldn’t care for them.

I get their commentary on social stratification, racial bias, and war, but the vehicle of the story and characters couldn't deliver it. And it was a shame because all the story elements were there on paper, the art was amazing, the music was poignant, and the direction was skillful.

5/10 for masterpiece level artwork and cool music but disappointing plot and characters.

SPOILER watching Major Milize sprint at full speed half-way across town, bawling her eyes out, rolling her ankle, nearly getting hit by cars - all this beautifully animated and drawn by the way - was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

After an entire season trying to convince us that she will be the one Nazi to treat the non-uberfolk under her command as the human beings they are, she's flat-out-run-to-nowhere sad that they're leaving? After discovering and being mortified that they would be forced into impossible fight after impossible fight until they were all dead? She should've thrown her head back in ... her chair and laughed with joy and a witty remark, probably... just a first thought, thinking about her character and events in the show up until that point. I would have been more forgiving if they'd ended with something other than this hilarious "futile sprint" - so symbolic! Lol.

Most of the show is spent watching kids talk to each other on the phone and that's boring. Also, no justice whatsoever is done to the WWII and Nazi concepts used to construct the plot - which would be fine except that a large percentage of the runtime is devoted to meandering "exploration" of such topics while the mechabugs don't fight each other. The legion are so completely uninteresting, that they actually outright state they will cease to even exist in a very short amount of time. Legion never break into the capital, or "subvert expectations" past the big reveal that they harvest brains that "The Reaper" doesn't scramble first. Wow, so vey horrific... but can they DO ANYTHING THOUGH!?

The power of ploincidence is strong in this one - first, the guy's brother was the guy that saved the Major when her chopper went down on the battlfield. How convenient! Then, Shin was the neighbour that her friend called a "dirty colored" and that's how she convinces her to hack into the artillery controls or whatever. Hack into the artillery command! One does not simply hack into artillery whats-it-called so that we can draw a beautiful sky-splitting reign of fire which was admittedly fantastic - that was stupid. No political intrigue, she didn't blackmail her uncle or her friend, where are all the damn nazis is my question? This whole "make the 86 fight" is a threadbare operation at best. Tsk.

Look it's watchable, there's nothing so offensive it can't be seen - it's just not anywhere close to what it might have been, not much happens, and the most central character is basically our focal point and she's boring to a fault. I liked the scene where the one girl shot herself in the jaw, that was well drawn and an interesting character moment. Shin is a ridiculous character, and there is never any good explanation as to why he's so good in a bug tank. Where the HELL ARE THE ADULTS!?

For the final scene alone, I am very happy I watched it and I probably won't watch season 2. Run forest run!

If you combined something like the plot of Code Geass and the plot of a teen melodrama, you get 86.
There were multiple points where I was just wondering: "Why the hell am I watching this?" The characters and plot are so illogical sometimes that it really takes away from any sort of realism that the story might be trying to present. Sure, if you ignore all the inconsistencies, I guess it serves the function of a dramatic mecha show, but it really doesn't go farther than that.
Think about it for a moment. There are many moments in the show where the Undertaker group are acting ... out like they're in a slice of life show rather than being in a squad basically sentenced to death, slowly watching their comrades die. These conflicting perspectives of Undertaker group just do not ever merge. It's just so contradictory.
Sure, you could say that the Undertaker group are just faking a facade, and sure, they do cry and break down sometimes, but where did the comradery come from? Where does their pride in soldiers ever manifest? The undertaker group is a death sentence, yet all of the 86 soldiers have this belief that they have to fight till the last man standing, because they do not want to be like the "white pigs" that they despise so much. Noble ideal, really, but it doesn't make any sense. They do not owe anything, and to just say that all of these soldiers with differing personalities and perspectives to just have this belief is beyond stupid. Laughing fox even said to Lena that they were forced to fight, in order to survive, not for some noble ideal. You know, it's not like these soldiers have a self destruct button that the Alba have on them. The Alba have no leverage over these soldiers, so these 86 soldiers could literally just walk out. This idea was even toyed with, but stopped for the sole reason of their "pride as soldiers," and that they might as well die to the machines rather than die giving up.
Another dumb thing is again, comradery. What's the point of making friends with others if they're just going to give you grief when they die? At some point, you've got to be numb to the pain as a soldier, but no, Undertaker group just always stays cheerful and have strong bonds with soldiers. I'm not saying that this theme has to be applied, but just the fact that this avenue is not even explored is terrible. It makes sense, no? You're going to die, and the people around you are going to die as well. Might as well not bother getting to know anyone since there's no hope.
That brings me to the last point: Hope. Why the hell does this undertaker group have such a happy go lucky vibe? There's no hope, only despair, in the spearhead operative group. They've got to be fighting for a reason, or they would all just kill themselves or try to run away, or become despondent, but no, they're fighting desperately for no good reason.
I bring these ideas up because it's not like 86 is the first story to have a group that gets exploited (the 86) for the profit of the privileged (The Alba). Code Geass does it, Way of King does it, a billion other shows, books, etc, use this idea of "discrimination/racism bad," and 86 executes it on such a surface level because it only uses this theme when it's useful for the plot, and ignores all the strings attached to such a theme.
Ok sure, the group says that there are good alba and bad alba, just like there are good 86 and bad 86. Then why not make a revolution, a rebellion? They don't. Despite having no hope and only despair in their future, they do not want to forge a path that makes them equal? Take the good 86 and the good Alba and make a better society just like Code Geass?
Also, ah yes, melodrama. This show introduced high school level melodrama into a serious scifi war series which is just super cringe. Lena cries and screams and works her hardest to save the 86 while also assuaging her ego, as she's the only Alba trying to right a wrong. Or again, the "slice of life" happy scenes that are so ever present in every post mission. There's never any conflict within the group that amounts to anything relevant when there should be. It's so weird to see everyone not on edge, and again, forcing a facade only goes so long. The fact that this act continues on even to the last episode with no change really makes me want to believe that this group really just "gets over it," which dos not make any sense at all. Everything related to Lena's character progression just seems like a completely different world than Undertaker's group. And for the most part, I'm sure that's the intention. But...again, why could Lena not join in on a rebellion operative to overthrow the Republic and be a double agent? Instead, it's always Lena playing by the rules, bending the rules, or just helpless against the rules that the Republic enforced on her. For a story that really tries to nail the hypocrisy, evil, and stagnation present in Lena's kingdom, there's no real follow up themes that try to rebel against it.

Of course, what the hell is this sense sharing BS? This hearing sense sharing mechanic in the RAID- whatever it's called is only there because of a plot point relating to Shin's special powers. After all, Lena has access to their locations due to trackers, and there are cameras installed on the machines. Why not just issue commands through radio? It's clearly a viable option since Lena always has information on their coordinates, but opts to, instead of having visual confirmation with cameras, use an interface straight from an atari 2600 where there are just numbers on a grid. Saying that this method would not work since communication would get jammed and intercepted would also imply that the current interface with coordinates would also get jammed and intercepted.
But sure, I mean, it's okay enough for me to have finished it, I suppose. Visually, the CGI is probably one of the best I've seen in anime, and the fight scenes are nice. Like I said, the interface that Lena uses is shown a lot, and Lena's portion of the show is really easy to animate. There's also just a ton of still frames, so there's clear compensation for the budget heavy fight scenes. It's a give and take, and it's done pretty well enough, I suppose. If you take the contradictions that Lena tries to incorporate into her personality, she's insufferable, but actually an alright character that I want to know more about. Shin's the "cool" main character, and his whole plot arc is nice. If you just turn your brain off and don't try to make sense of any characters' actions, then this show is OK.

I'll keep it brief. If you like dark/serious animes, don't waste your time.

86 is a show in which teenagers of minority "inferior" race are sacrificed in a pointless war to keep the superior race safe and happy. The premise of the show is very dark and depressing which makes room for emotionally gripping dialogue and imagery but instead, 86 has very predictable dialogue and teenage clichés. The tone of the anime is just too lighthearted for the context. Furthermore, the themes are explored at a very surface level.

86 is like if you take a dark premise similar to Attack on Titan and pair it with ... Fairy Tail/My Hero Academia-esque dialogue that revolves around ideals - but instead of the ideals being friendship and perseverance, it's about equality and racism. All in all, it's just not executed properly.

For a war drama, 86 doesn't feature nearly enough war or drama. Too much of its runtime is spent on slice of life, which wouldn't be such a bad thing if it helped me care more about the characters when it mattered. But 86's cast has a widespread personality problem. This is why the drama failed to make me feel anything. If a character has a personality at all, they're basically the embodiment of a trope. The two main characters are a bit better than the rest, but even they have glaring issues. One is overpowered just because. The other has paper-thin feelings that are ... torn to shreds far too often for someone in the military. But to 86's credit, it creates a compelling world with a sadly realistic and nuanced portrayal of a Nazi Germany-esque society. Meanwhile, 86 also features some excellent animation, visually interesting direction, and a soundtrack by Hiroyuki Sawano (although it's far from their best work). I'm interested in what happens next, if only barely. 86 has strong concepts that I would like to see to their conclusion, but its first season felt like a weak beginning.
[FINAL SCORE: 5.5/10]

It’s aight- it honestly didn’t live up to the hype for me.

The story was pretty predictable, nothing really too exciting. I guess you could say there was 1-2 “plot twists” in the show but they were not doing much for me. Throughout watching I got bored then a little excited just for me to be overall frustrated and the cycle goes on repeat. This story had the potential to be something great but it fell flat for me. I wanted more interaction and just more from the Major. Her character just disappointed me a lot. Wish the author did more with her. ... The art style was nice tho and the animation was pretty good too. Very fitting for this type of anime in my opinion. The characters were mostly boring to me. A few stood out to me and I liked but due to the nature of this show didn’t get a lot of screen time on them. I felt like I couldn’t connect with anyone unless they were the Major or the Commander of the first squadron. (Of course since they’re the two main characters). Honestly I just wish I had more moments and more context of other characters, would totally make the show even better.

All in all, if you like military type shit this your show. 50/50 shot on enjoying this show if mecha is your thing. If you like both and don’t know what to watch go ahead and stream this on Crunchyroll cause you might like it.

Overall rate it like a 6 maybe a 7.

This is going to be a spoiler-free review.
Please keep in mind that I am not familiar with the source material, therefore my review will present my thoughts about the show from the point of view of anime only viewer.

After hearing about 86 for the first time, this show sounded too good to be true. Mature war story about such difficult topics like racism, discrimination, and everything handled in a good way? Well, since I have some experiences with animes that were hyped a lot, but at the end of a day were underwhelming (at least to me), I decided to not be that much excited. ... I was right, however even so, 86 made me have mixed feelings about this show.

From its positive aspects for sure such things as amazing visuals and beautiful music should be commended. Be it landscapes, interiors, battlefields or cities, each location had its own charm and unique color palette fitting to the place the action was taking place at certain moment. One scene showing clouds bathed in sunset light, slowly becoming darker and darker with each second as the Sun was going down, looked really enchanting.

Apart from that, 86 also has very vague plot and one-dimensional take on complex problems. They were presented as the very core of its story, so it was not wrong to expect them to be presented in at least fine way. Sadly, they weren't. Most of characters were fodder type of characters whose name I didn't remember nor I cared about them in general, due to short screen time. I remember how one side-character died offscreen and the show seemed to place emphasis on the fact that the Spearhead Squadron lost one of their members. Well, for sure it was sad for them, but not for me as a viewer. I didn't even know who was the person over which others were grieving.

Those characters who were actually relevant didn't represent any depth or something more than one-dimensional personality I've mentioned earlier. The way in which they acted like, both on the battlefield and outside it, was bizarre and unrealistic. I get that it was probably to make the show more entertaining, but sadly - it made it look worse to me.

I'd put Shinei Nouzen and Henrietta Penrose as exceptions, but two characters like that (and one of them being only a supporting one) is not a good result, given how many characters were presented in the show. Even main character, Vladilena Milizé, seemed to look bland, or even inconsistent in terms of her ideals and actions.

As for complex problems, they were simplified in an extreme way, making the whole political and social situation in the Republic of San Magnolia really unrealistic in how it had changed very, very drastically in just several years.

Action scenes were fine. Dynamic, spectacular, with fine CGI. A lot of scenes had quite chaotic direction, but I think it was intentional. In my opinion it was done to place emphasis on how intense situation on the battlefield actually was.

Well, that's pretty much everything I wanted to say. The show was alright to watch, however not good enough to make me hyped or even interested in checking out its second cour. It's definitely worth checking out and I recommend checking it out. It's still a fine anime and I guess it might be really entertaining if a viewer approaches it without any high expectations. I didn't have high expectations myself, however hearing so many times from other people about how 86 is close to masterpiece of animes about war surely had affected the way I had imagined this show to be like before starting watching it.

One thing I'd like to add: as a fan of Erich Maria Remarque's novels, I didn't like how his classic "All Quiet on the Western Front" was used to make such simple story (though trying to be something more serious) slightly more deep than it actually was.

Story: Unbelievable and slow
Characters: extremely generic, and most of them are barely have much writing or development. You are supposed to feel sad for characters that you barely get to know
Animation: The best part of the show

86 is a war drama with children soldiers who are forced to fight for an empire that for some reason doesn't want to fight except by sending children to die.
your MC is the typical naive dumb girl who wants to fix everything by crying and screaming all the time.
Your other MC is the typical emo silent sad boy with tragic past that barely talks.
The rest of the show are ... random asshole kids that somehow keep smiling when they know they are going to die but whenever someone dies they blame the girl MC for trying to help them. Don't ask why and how, because the show doesn't have any believable writing at all.

The mech actions are all the same and they aren't exciting because they just happen to repeat the same characters' interactions over and over.

On the bright side, The animation and art are great. The world-building is interesting even though it's poorly explored.

I hope Season 2 fixes the issues of this show because it has potential but ended up being cliche and rarely makes any sense.

The anime 86 asks viewers an interesting question: What makes a human being? Segregated by their race, societally distant because of their brutal experience of war, labelled as sub-human by their overlords, the Alba Kingdom, the Eighty-Six, named after the sector which they have been encased within and made to fight a war that they did not sign up for are not considered as humans by people of the Alba kingdom.

What exactly makes them different to their white-haired supposed superiors? Sadly, the answer is exceedingly obvious. By the blatant juxtaposition between the life of a particular Alba, Lena, an Eighty-Six sympathiser who enjoys a ... relatively luxurious lifestyle from within the kingdom, and with the lives of a group of Eighty-Sixes who are forced to meet death in the face during the war, 86 repeatedly dangles in front of its viewer's faces an easy sympathy to make the characters of Eighty-Six likeable and sympathetic, and the Alba kingdom (except Lena, the sympathiser) as unrighteous.

Its approach to providing viewers with an emotional narrative is notably heavy-handed, and though there are some nice subtle moments where we see the effects of the war take a toll on our likeable Eighty-Six soldiers, 86 is very much a tell us how to feel more than show kind of story. This tell, not show can be seen with Lena's repeated arguments to fight for the rights of the Eighty-Six only to be met with an expected powerlessness about their plight, and the conversations between Lena and the Eighty-Six where monologuing about a depressing backstory, nihilistic philosophy and about the horrific experiences of war seems to be modus operandi. Perhaps in writing, this would be much more endurable considering that words are the primary mode of storytelling. But, in the visual medium, where there is the choice of visual storytelling which is simply much more affective and effective, its repeated and constant use of exposition makes for many moments of un-subtlety where viewers are explicitly told to feel something for the character's hardships. It is honestly rather condescending.

86 is about war, humanity, and most notably, racism. I've not seen many good war animes, likely because most war animes that I've seen aren't very good at portraying war (although there are some notable WW2 anime movies, Graves of the Fireflies and In this Corner of the World come to mind), and 86 is sadly no exception. While I have to appreciate much of the war-like imagery and language that 86 has adopted, such as the occasionally crass language and the casual vandalisation of the dead, 86 ultimately falls back onto a typical anime-esque depiction of banter and relationships. This choice was most likely made to create a juxtaposition between the horrors of the battlefield with their mundane lives and ring home that these characters are in the end, merely kids. While I can see and appreciate the reasoning, the execution here walks no fine line and most of the time, this contrast appears jarring. However, I do like the fact that death in 86 has weight. When characters die, they are not given grand monologues to say their goodbyes. It simply happens.

I am no soldier, but if there is anything watching too many great war movies like Full Metal Jacket or Come and See has taught me, it is that war is messy, nihilistic and chaotic. I've always wondered how the chaos of war would be able to translate into the animated medium, but as it turns out, it would likely not be particularly easy. Though 86 pushes for a valiant attempt with its impactful deaths and injuries, the supposed war sequences resemble action scenes more than anything. Maybe that is the point but in that case, Francois Truffaut's quote: "There is no such thing as an anti-war movie." is ever more poignant here. Despite 86's lean toward an anti-war message, the sequences of war are depicted as exhilarating set-piece spectacles rather than scenes of horrific agony as war should perhaps be. Now, this is not really a criticism, as tons of movies and series do it to the point where we have come to accept it as the norm, but perhaps this may be an interesting point to ponder upon.

While on one hand, with its multitude of characters and exploration of their history and story, 86 seems toward a character-focused stance. While the characters do have a nice degree of depth in terms of their personal history and values, we never really get to discover who they are individuals beyond the requirements for plot contrivances, their pitiable status as Eighty-Six, and beyond their set-ups for their eventual deaths later in the episode. The lack of details when it comes to their thought process and actions, the plot that never really slows down enough to allow the characters to shine and become 'real', and not to mention lack of subtlety due to exposition in their depiction, and rather typical characterisation make it difficult to view them as 'real'. Also, the build-up to the inevitable romance between the two leads was so painfully transparent that it was quite painful to watch.

Let's discuss the racism and social commentary of 86. Though I appreciate its commentary on racism and the horrors of societal discrimination, the way it is presented here makes it rather hard to believe. The transformation of the 86 from citizens to sub-human, disposable soldiers requires more explanation other than the typical 'oh, they have a different hair colour' explanation. Were they, just like the Jews in Nazi Germany the scapegoats for a failing economy? How did this prejudice run rampant in Alba? I am aware that in Nazi Germany, there was countless propaganda to drive anti-semitism in the young such as the young Hitler camps and children books. Now, an explanation like that is certainly something that I can get behind. Sadly, it's just not found here to justify the discrimination of the Eighty-Six.

Now, there are quite a few nice things about 86. Namely the production value and the occasional interesting choices in direction (the slight temporal play in sequencing throughout the series was interesting though maybe thematically questionable). And, I have to admit that the final part of the last episode was quite effective nostalgia and rather ephemeral. Yet, for all of 86's bold attempt to convey a meaningful message about war, humanity, racism, and about how the invisible threads of society can impact individuals and change their lives, it seems that 86 has bitten off more than it can chew. Story issues aside, I think my biggest grievance with 86 ultimately lies in its almost bog-standard anime direction. Despite some interesting ideas for storytelling here and there, the director covers plot points sufficiently but never effectively. I suppose for entertainment, it can do, but if someone was looking for something life-changing, well it certainly isn't here.

In the far-flung future of the 22nd century, where technologies such as land mines, air-to-ground missiles, tether guidance, radio, strategic bombing, and post-Napoleonic military doctrine are all far lost to the sands of time, our caring heroine Major Lena Milizé spends about 275 minutes of screentime trying not to lose a war while everyone else could clearly care less for victory and more for really giving it to anyone without suspiciously white hair.

Reading over that initial description, one could likely ascertain my position right from the inception of this review. I will make the argument that this show absolutely should have been an OVA, ... or even a 90 minute animated film. Plainly, 86 includes too many scenes with so awkward of placing that there are several sets in the show that, to be frank, I think could be omitted entirely and the series would be none the poorer for. Whereas I might critique The Rise of Skywalker for feeling too similar to a 24-episode TV series crammed into the space of about 2 hours, I would say that 86 has the opposite dilemma of being an animated film stretched to fill the course of an 11-episode series. The establishments between both parties - the Undertakers and the military echelon of Lena - are well portrayed within the opening minutes of even the first three episodes, and likewise I would entertain the notion that 86 would be likewise a far superior product had it not reiterated itself to such its monotonous degree. Indeed, I very much would call much of 86 unrelieved, if it is not without imagination.

If you're a military history enthusiast like I am (and I understand why you are not), there will generally be many-pence a quip about 86 that will simply drive you up the wall in ways that these same facets will simply bounce off of other viewers. Why the Republic has devised an entirely new communication system that appears to be neurally bound as what seems to be a replacement for radio, or why their "undesirable" citizens are likewise given military hardware as part of what we see is the primary military force of the Republic are both mysteries which we do not see practical considerations for.

I likewise did not find any of the twists that 86 had to offer anything that could not be seen. I would not even ascertain the notion that 86 brings much *new* to the table - and while I do not think this will be in any way a controversial take, I would addend that 86 does little to full realize its own themes it so desperately wishes to explore. For all the show has to play upon its ideas of status, hierarchy, and the costs of war, it is likewise stifled by the series unfocused runtime until all that is left is a hashed-together assortment of ideas.

While the idea behind Lena's character - *id est* the intimated "virgin" whose idealism comes to conflict with the world she is surrounded by, and her steadfast paradigms are likewise honed in with the present realities - at the same time, 86 is none the richer for it. Lena remains an oddly static, if empathetic, character, but one whose potential for growth likewise seems hampered by adherence to her archetype. An inverse of her archetype, one more apropos the many officers we are treated to whom treat their units with the same amount of thought as they might the day's sunlight, but comes to make exceptions to their bigotry with the interactions of Spearhead ("Undertaker isn't like *other* 86ers") until their basis of the world is near-completely upended by what they have experienced right before them. If only 86 were more of the vintage of Starship Troopers or Jojo Rabbit - both of which were titles I fondly connected to during my time with 86 - then I might more loudly laud the series to the degree that so many other have.

But then, I am left with a troubling question: How harsh should I be on 86 for not being all that I wish it could be? For how much it reminded me of things I liked more than it? For all the things I want it to do better? And how much of that should distract me from what it is?

See, much of that is my imagination coming up with scenarios in the place of what 86 has presented and inserting them. That's my preoccupation, not that of 86. I think it speaks to volumes of how much I engaged with 86's core ideas: If not even these entertained my fancy, then I would never have bothered completing the show, to say nothing of writing an entire review on it. Many of its aims are clear and quite admirable, if they often miss the mark.

As an overall package, 86's place is positioned in something that is nothing less than awkward. It both overstays its welcome and never completes itself, toying with ideas that it so clearly wants to explore, and bounces between scenes so much that it never completes many of its own thoughts.Our end result, then, is something that is an admirable first draft: 86 clearly has a vision for what it wishes to tell - and for that I can't in good faith fault it for having a prospect. But when time came to realize its cherished ideals, 86 - in all its poetic justice - could never quite find the strength to fully commit its focus to see them realized.

Not enough world building was done for my personal tastes, which is fine for something that is meant to be mostly a character-driven show. However, the characters themselves fall pretty flat as well.

There is very little explanation for their motives. This refers mostly to the 86, who have seemed to uncovered the plan to exterminate them. With this knowledge, they often still head into battle for reasons such as: 'not all Alba are bad and not all 86 are good.' They also are way too used to the death of their friends. It actually makes no sense for them to randomly be attached to ... certain people, but others are just shot in the head and added to the tally. Well, it makes sense of they are all psychopaths. However, that really doesn't mesh with how they are presented and their undying obedience to fighting.

Furthermore, the characters all have no depth (except maybe one). The rest are shrugging off the war or hellbent on changing what is presented as unchangeable. Maybe they are setting up for something better though in Season 2. Who knows?

I honestly think the only thing this anime brought to the table was the premise of a '0 casualty' war. It was a unique idea, but that's literally where all the ingenuity ran out.