86

What an emotional ride that was. It might as well have been series finale. A bit sad at the end really with a flicker of hope for the squad.

A very well adapted LN series 86 certainly made an impact in its season 1. If you love military action packed anime along with emotional moments (for instance ep 9 was an absolute banger) and a touch of mysterious world then 86 will certainly amaze you. The closest thing to the world of 86 is the universe of AOT, in terms of disagreement among the races of people. So I recommend you watching it, it's a short anime which will continue its journey in the fall of this year.

The story will be great in future. Absolutely recommended. Watch it or you will miss a very good story line. One of the good anime series that I will recommend for you to watch.

I started watching 86 because I was intrigued by the song "Voices of the Chord" from the score, which I stumbled across. Wow, am I glad I did. This took me completely by surprise and is now one of my favorite stories. I read everything that's out in the light novel series immediately after finishing Season 1, and I'm really excited for Season 2. Some things I liked (spoiler-free):

• The depiction of war felt appropriately heavy. Some stories use death as a cheap plot-thickener and then slide it under the rug right away, but 86 treats death with dignity. This is especially well-written because it isn't just told to the viewer; it's naturally shown in characters' actions and dispositions, whether they're good, bad, or lukewarm.

• The story explores issues of racism and prejudice that reflect the real-life complexities of interacting with those who aren't like oneself and the consequences of not treating each other like humans, worthy of respect and love. This is well-written in the subtle and natural building tension between characters.

• MUSIC. Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto did the score. If that's not enough to grab your attention because you haven't heard the OST for AOT, then just know their music improved every scene. If you're not sure, look up Avid, Voices of the Chord, or the previews of the OST (it's not out officially on Spotify yet :/). I recommend "Shin" and "Hear My Voice." I mean, a song got me into this, right?

• 86 didn't tell me what its world was like right away. I had to keep watching to figure out why certain things were the way they were, which I love. Natural world-building for the win!

• There was minimal sexualization of women. One scene does show some nudity from the back, but it didn't feel like a sexualization; it had a very different intention and wasn't the focus, at least in my opinion. If you're someone who is made uncomfortable by "fan-service" in anime, know you don't have to worry about that being shoved into every scene here.

• Many scenes reached a new level because of thoughtful, artistic cinematography that deepened the meaning of the moment subtly. Some were so beautifully done that they are still ingrained in my brain.

• There's some excellent sci-fi, mecha action! This is even better because the machines are not these awe-inspiring, top-of-the-line technological advances; it allows the tactics and skills of the soldiers to stand out. But not all the tension in the plot is drawn from action, thankfully. :)

Honestly, I believe this show is completely worth your time, whatever your typical genre preferences. It's a heavy story, but it still brims with hope and moments of pure life that are brighter for the darkness. I know I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

If you needed a little push, I hope this review does it for you. I've only ever written one review here, and 86 was so good that it necessitated my second. I hope it is as meaningful to you as it is to me!

I'll need to update this review in the future, but so far this is becoming the product that I wish Code Geass had been. Imagine the most wasted Code Geass character, Monica Krushevsky, who canonically held no prejudices but was still murdered by her own comrade Suzaku for awfully-written shock value, gets transported to an alternate universe to finally get proper characterization on-screen. Heading a troupe of discriminated teenage soldiers who are fighting a war that they were forced into because of a restructuring of borders and caste systems thanks to an AI invasion from an opposing country, Lena faces the ironic hypocrisy of her beliefs that all "Numbers"--in this case called "86"--are equal to her race when she only needs to passively observe the battles on the sidelines of the war and not face the consequences firsthand. Unlike Code Geass, the story remains tight and focused without throwing in any annoying fanservice or diverging into a dumb subplot about a school festival. Deaths actually carry weight since we get to know the characters and their comrades actually get time to grieve. It's an emotional, smartly-written tale that shows just how far anime has come from the plethora of tropes or comically bad overdramatic "plot twists" that plague its fakely smart counterpart Code Geass.

I hope to see more truly introspective writing like this in the future with more anime and that "86" will consistently hit those strong emotional notes while staying true to what it originally set out to do.