Anime 48569 86 Part 2 Reviews

For the past 4 years, I have patiently waited and envisioned what the adaptation of volume 2 of 86 would look like. I am so happy that I can confidently say A-1 surpassed my wildest expectations for this adaptation and gave my favourite Light Novel the love it deserves.

In contrast with the action packed first cour of 86, the second cour primarily focuses on interpersonal relationships and the 86’s struggle between a peaceful life in the Giad Federacy or returning to the battlefield. Volume 2 and the second cour explore themes such as the psychological trauma of being a child soldier and the quest to ... find purpose in life. It’s an interesting departure from the action of the first 12 episodes. This is mainly due to the fact that 86’s first volume was originally intended to be a standalone story prior to its success.

Despite the lack of action scenes, A-1’s quality was on full display in the second cour. The cinematography, direction, art, OST, transitions and storyboarding were all superb. A lot of people were rightfully upset with the delay for the last two episodes, but it certainly paid off for A-1. The masterpieces that were episodes 11 and 12 were well worth the wait. The finale of volume 2(episode 11) was by far one of my most anticipated episodes ever and it was perfect. You can truly see the love that A-1’s staff have for the story in every single episode and that is the highest praise I can put on any LN adaptation. Too often do we get adaptations which are clearly just extended ads for the LN and only made to get books bought. 86 bucked that trend and I can only hope and pray we see season 2 soon. I want to clarify that we are nowhere near the peak of 86, if A-1 continue at this pace and dedicating time and resources, seasons 2 and 3 will be absolutely mind blowing.

86 second cour gets the easiest 10 I’ve ever given.

Many of times, shows that get derailed by production and scheduling issues end up having poor or rushed endings. We’ve seen this with Wonder Egg Priority, and The Promised Neverland Season 2, both of which got massively rushed due to poor production. I’m glad that this second cour of 86 did not fall into that hell, despite the huge delay before the last two episodes. The high quality did not falter throughout, and we as fans can all appreciate such a thing.

My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20

STORY: 21.5/25

This takes all the good war themes from ... Part 1 and expands upon them. This time, there are in fact, scenes outside just simple fighting, as our characters attempt to reintegrate themselves into society. A lot of the narrative is realistic, as the characters struggle with war memories, the rush of fighting, and the feeling of not being on the battlefield. There isn’t much to be said here, the narrative continues to be as solid as ever, and while there are spots that were a little boring for me personally, the story is able to suck you into a world of war and many other things as well, and of course, what I can say about the emotional reunion of Spearhead and Handler One?

ART: 9.4/10

An improvement to part 1. Fight scenes are spectacular, background shots are spectacular, just great.

MUSIC: 9.3/10

Sawano’s soundtrack continues to impress, even if it’s much of the same. Opening and ending themes really set the stage and ended episodes on an emotional note.

CHARACTERS: 16.0/20

With a smaller cast of characters this cour, it felt easier to keep up and allow the characters to leave a stronger impression on me. Shin continues to struggle with being “The Undertaker”, breaking as many of his companions have left him behind, which is a very gripping thing to watch, and it’s great to see the development.

We also have a new addition to the cast, Frederica, and she compliments the cast pretty well. She’s lightens the mood a bit, keeps Shin in check, and has her own set of problems that plague her.

The other characters have their moments, but give off much of the same vibe we have seen throughout the series, and continue to be enjoyable to watch.

ENJOYMENT: 12/15

Despite the delay in between, my immersion was not broken severely, and I found myself right back to enjoying the show after the long break.

THEMATIC EXECUTION: 17/20

The wartime theme is executed in a brilliant manner, on and off the battlefield. It’s gripping, realistic, painful to watch, and emotional. The dialogue is great, and the world of 86 is great.

OVERALL: 85.2/100

It was definitely a shame that there were many interruptions in between the show, but the quality remained very good throughout. As was the same with Part 1 for me, some spots did feel a bit repeated or long-winded, especially as Shin’s struggles are portrayed to us, but regardless of that, there is simply a lot of good in this show, and if you enjoyed Part 1, chances are Part 2 will be even more immersive!

The continuation of the 86 franchise can be described by one word:

Beautiful.

Although the story of 86 may be lacking in some areas, its amazing characterizations and visual presentation continue through to the second half of 86 becoming better throughout the show.

The story of discrimination and racism is not one I find to be that interesting. They often feel bland and shallow. Naturally, this hurt the story of 86 in the first installment as it really didn’t do anything to change my grievances with these types of stories. However, this recurring theme was better done in this installment as the Republic did not play as ... big of a role. Of course, this theme is still present in the Giad Federacy, but it isn’t being constantly shoved down my throat as much. I Still have my problems with it, but overall, it was done better.

As for the characters, I can say I have mostly praise for them. The change in characters is subtle but evident. Shin, although he has quite a blank-slate personality, is not just some overpowered self-insert protagonist. He has real emotions, burdens, and struggles he deals with. While certainly not all of them we can relate to, his struggle of finding a goal in life is something many young people can come to appreciate.

Lena although still being idealistic comes back with more resolve and a clear goal in mind. She is no longer spouting empty speeches: she is actively trying to accomplish something.

The rest of Spearhead Squadron—Theo, Anju, Raiden, and Kurena—do not get as much development as I would’ve liked, but they continue to be characters I enjoy.

There are plenty of new characters most notably Frederica who adds a lot of comic relief to the show. That is not to say she is only there for comedy though. She has plenty of character moments that define who she is. Besides Frederica, there are not too many new characters that stand out to me; granted, that may be subject to change in later installments.

Regarding villains, the Legion continues to play that role as the warmongering faction of mindless machines (although some may see the Republic as villains in some ways). The main antagonist does of a good of job of flushing Shin’s character—an essential component of an antagonist. I wish we got more backstory on him besides just the same montage of clips, but for the most part I was very pleased with his character.

The way the characters and their development are handled may seem simple at first, but 86 manages to grab that simplicity and take it to a level of greatness with great execution.

All these elements are elevated by the outstanding production quality A-Pictures put into the adaptation of 86. The art in 86 is amazing: The visuals of 86 can exemplify the current mood and emotion in many of its scenes—something I can say only a few shows have done so well. This is done by the many motifs, symbolisms, and allusions that complement the themes present. The soundtrack also perfectly captures the mood of both the epic battles as well as the cruelty and sadness found in war. It is clear from the first half of 86 that A-1 Pictures had a lot of passion for creating the show; that passion is clearly seen again in the second half.

Those who enjoy the first installment of 86 will most likely enjoy the second installment as well. I certainly did. The end of 86 Part 2 left me excited for what the show will do with its story and characters in future seasons, and with how impressive this season was, I can only be optimistic.

Thanks for reading.

This review covers both cours (Part. 1 & 2) and has some spoilers!!

It’s been a while since I reviewed something but if there’s an anime that I thought it was the right one to write again, that anime is “86 - Eighty Six -“.

I didn’t know a thing about the Light Novel other than its praise (won the “23rd Dengeki Novel Awards”) and eventually the synopsis, so while I had no idea what I was getting into, I still had some hype mainly due to Toshimasa Ishii’s solo directorial debut.

Story (8.5/10)

86 takes place in a future world threatened by autonomous drones ... known as the “Legion”. Those soulless mechas were created by the Empire of Giad as they declared war on all neighboring countries, 9 years before the story starts.
One of those countries, the Republic of San Magnolia, home to the silver-haired and silver-eyed Alba race, managed to withstand the invasion without any casualties.. at least, that’s what they say to the population, but there is the “86 district”, the one that it shouldn’t exist, a minority looked upon as human filth, “pigs”, ordered to pilot the “Juggernauts” (mecha created to fight the Legion) in order to keep the false peace.

From here, the story is basically character-driven. We got 2 point of views, Vladilena Milizé, also known as Lena, a republican soldier with a naïve personality trying to end all the prejudice and save the people from the “86 district” and Shinei Nouzen, the captain known as “Shinigami” fighting the Legion.

The first part focus more on Lena, she starts as a naïve soldier, thinking everything can be solved merely with dialogue but as the story progresses she realizes that those words don’t mean a thing if there are no actions involved.
The second part’s approach is more on Shin’s group, how they are surviving after they left the 86 district and how Shin’s character will manage to overcome the need of a clear goal after his brother plot and its conclusion.

Characters (9.0/10)

Being a character-driven story, the show has naturally great characters. I will talk about Shin and Lena, as they are the main characters and the ones who get the most development.
She was assigned to command the “Spearhead Squadron”, a group of 86’ers with bad reputation (every commander before her was driven mad).

Lena’s sense of justice is different from the majority of the alba race, she doesn’t see the 86’ers as people different from her, she thinks everyone deserves the same treatment regardless of the hair color, eye color, and her bright ideals are seen as a mere whim from the Alba’s pov. Now, that’s only what she thinks, her ideals, but in reality she never experienced what the 86’ers did, she was privileged for living a peaceful life and not having to face death each and every day, and that’s what Shin and his group make her realize whenever they talked to her, she knew nothing about the battlefield.

That’s her turning point, she had to change her ideals, she had to take action in order to help and actually do something instead of just spitting empty words, even if only a little bit, and to do so she even confronted her best friend, Annette, to gain access to the army, restocking then Shin’s group because they were about to be part of a big operation (she basically went against San Magnolia, something that would never happen if she kept her initial motivations).

Now, talking about Shin, my favorite character from the show and the one that is a lot more complex. He has been carrying the grief of his late comrades and also his brother who has been haunting him ever since he died. His only goal (originally) is what makes him alive, is what makes him fight the Legion, is basically what gives his life a purpose. After reaching it (end of the 1st part) he realizes he has nothing else to lose and doesn’t really consider any of his comrades real friends because he thinks sooner or later they will just die like everyone else who was part of his squadron.

The 2nd part of the show tries to give a new meaning to his life and the last 2 episodes are one of the best episodes I’ve seen in the past years. After Shin promising that he would wait for Lena, he would survive so she could one day get to them, and seeing him, after losing all the hope, smiling and crying was just phenomenal. It never felt rushed, it never felt like his characterization was out of nowhere, it was a process, a long one.

Still unsure about his future, Shin has now something valuable, something he wants to protect and will do whatever it takes to end the war against the Legion.
There's still room for development and that's part of the reason why his character is so goddamn well written.

Art, direction and sound (9.9/10)

I already mentioned, Toshimasa Ishii’s solo directorial debut was what made me watch 86 in first place, I had high expectations to see what he could achieve as the head of a project and goddamn I was right, his work was magnificent even with production problems (small team, schedule problems *cough* Aniplex *cough*).

Ishii was one of the most promising (future) directors from A-1 in these past years, he directed some of the best episodes of Erased, Neverland (s1), Kimi no Uso and was about time to give him a work that he could show us all his skills and 86 was simply the perfect match.

From using storyboard in many creative ways to his trademark transitions, he and his team always tried to do something I really appreciate in a media like anime which is basically show instead of explaining everything with monologues or exposition. There were moments that were really subtle and were meant to people interpret, something that he could do even in a restricted production, with the power of godly storyboard.

Episode 11 of part. 2 is the perfect example, the episode has a cinematic feeling, with the different aspect ratio, and we could argue that it looks cool and all, but it’s more than that. It starts with black bars when Shin is remembering all he did until there, all the ghosts who keep haunting him, what his brother did, it’s like he’s ready to die. Then, Lena arrives and when he realizes that is her, the black bars start to fade until they completely disappear which is when Shin finally finds the reason to live. In the same episode, we see multiple times Lena’s foot stepping on the black bars which is basically saying that she is ignoring Shin’s loneliness and is getting him out from there (for us viewers, she's obviously not aware of that).

I could be writing a long essay only about Ishii’s incredible work but that isn’t the purpose here. Also, Asato (the author) had a lot of reunions with the director and scriptwriter, Oono (who also deserves a lot of praise for adapting the story to the anime media with the utmost care and mastery), making sure that Asato’s vision was always there and that nothing that they considered important would be lost.

I would also like to mention the animation producer Shouta Fujii. He was basically responsible for assembling the team and while it wasn’t the perfect show when it comes to the animation itself, had some key scenes with good character acting but nothing outstanding, it was his first work as an "AniPro" so it was pretty good in a big scheme (Aniplex really tried their best to make it fail).

The CG was outstanding, one of the best when it comes to TV Anime, Hiroyuki Yoshida (and all the Shirogumi team) did an incredible work. I would be lying if I said that I prefer 3D Mechas over 2D, but since that’s something rare nowadays, at least they outdid themselves with this one (great textures, framerate, designs, etc…)

The OST was also really good, Sawano and KOHTA delivered yet again. I didn’t particularly like the first opening (both visually and the song) but the 2nd one was incredible! We also got an extra insert from Sawano for that final scene which enhanced what happened in a fantastic way.

I’m not giving 10 to this because unfortunately the production was far from being the best, like I already mentioned, some episodes suffered more but in a way it makes Ishii’s work even better. You can see that there’s true passion in adapting this work.

Enjoyment (10/10)

I hadn’t felt like this in a while, each episode caused in me different emotions, I never felt like pausing the episode to do other things (which I do a lot lol) and waiting for the next episode was always kinda painful because I really wanted to see how the story would unfold and what could Ishii to surprise me more than what he was already doing.

We had to wait 3 months to see the last 2 episodes but I can say that it was worth every second.

Overall (9.5/10)

Light novel readers say that Volume 2 and 3 (basically what was adapted in part.2) are probably the weakest volumes of the series and Ishii still managed to create such a cinematic experience with a cohesive storytelling and gradual character characterization, so if in the future, we get Season 2 with the same team, I just can’t imagine what is coming.

Well, that’s it from me, there might be some grammar mistakes or something but I think the message is there and if anyone read until here, thank you so much!

86 2nd Cour! Where do I start? Well it's definitely a step up from the first cour, I'll tell you that. I believe this had a faster pacing when you compare the part prior to this one. I didn’t have a problem with it, in fact shit had me at the edge of my seat, it managed to condense everything in a digestible way. If you’re watching it as it's airing, there was a continuous delay in schedule which is understandable. However, that's the only bad thing I had to say for the production as there were two recaps, I've heard they were good although ... I skipped them because of my own reasons.

Schedules aside the production team is not playing around, it's like season 1 but on drugs, the art style is definitely sharper, the animation and CGI is more refined. You definitely see the budget at play, and work that has been put into making the art style, and the animation. The transitions in 86 have been so clean, and incredible since part 1, they managed to keep it consistent in this part as well. The music is phenomenal, they have improved and have adapted more into the apocalyptic feel of s2 with its ending song which I absolutely loved. The SFX is also really praiseworthy, the sounds of the mechs are jarring, every time there is action, you know you're going to get an eargasm. The voice acting is consistent as always, some might find Frederica’s voice annoying yet I think it's fitting and underappreciated, since it highlights the time where she's serious in a shift of tone. For the tense moments the Seiyuus of each character manage to nail the scenes perfectly.

Now onto discussing what happens in the 2nd cour, I’ll keep it spoiler friendly, as there’s quite a lot that happens, I’ll explain it briefly with my own version of the synopsis. Then we’ll go over discussing the narrative, the themes, the setting, and the characters.

On the verge of what should've been their deaths, Shinei and his fellow squadmates got saved and quarantined in a military base controlled by the former Giadian Empire, now known as the Federacy where they’re treated differently as opposed to the Republic. They were then taken in by Ernst its President, that’s when they meet our Tritagonist, the president’s adoptive daughter Frederica. As they were kept safe and everything was calm, the 5 quickly realized that their purpose was on the battlefield. They felt as if the country pities them and as you would know taking pity on them is just as, if not the same as the republic with how they looked down on the 86. They wanted to be back in the battlefield, although they were required to go to a quick school for the federacy's army, in order to do so. I won’t explain any further as that would be spoiler territory.

In the 1st Season the screen time for Lena and the 86 were near equivalent with Lena being more of the main focus, we saw the story in her perspective. Now it's completely flipped, she barely has any screen time, with the exception of important episodes such as 1 and 5, as well as the later episodes for the purpose of seeing her side as well as the other 86 besides the spearhead squadron who she assumed had passed. There’s a few things to note about Lena this season despite her short screen time: she’s way more serious, and stands up for herself, which implies she had learned from season 1. Appearance wise you would notice that she now has a red strand of hair, I'd interpret it as her tribute to the spearhead squadron. Although her low screen time for this season does have a point, to give way to- and I assume you know who gets attention this season. The last 5 of the spearhead squadron especially Shinei Nouzen and this is where a lot of the 2nd cour’s themes are presented. It still covers its main concepts established through season 1, but it definitely introduced certain concepts or rather gave more of an insight on the show's brutal take on fatalism, primarily in the perspective of Shin and his comrades. Yet even with that in mind they still make the best out of their situation, as they try to find purpose in the battlefield. The show further explores Shin’s loneliness, seeing as how he’s always the one being left behind and dealing with survivor’s guilt. In terms of storytelling they made good use of how he perceives every side as he recalls all the voices he’s heard and the ones he’s hearing in present time. It gets highlighted as the episodes progress, as a build up as well to provide more emphasis on what he had to go through as he tries to find his self worth.

I think that I much preferred this season. There were so many scenes that just kept me invested. A lot were action packed and they delivered, but there were also scenes that I consider memorable, which encapsulates the beauty under the harsh reality of things. Whether that may be Shinei and Frederica’s conversations, or the scene where the squad sees a beautiful scenery of the sea, as they realize how captivating it is, especially due to their circumstances. The show constantly reminds us how reality and ideals are kept separate, and it always considers every point of view. Giving us something to agree or disagree with or a neutral ground. The emotion was strong in this one and they directed it astonishingly. Every episode flourished in its adaptation, however what stands out to me were Episodes 11 and 12, they were just beautiful. The anime adaptation surpassed my expectations as someone who read through the last chapter of volume 3 of the Light Novel as it was airing. A-1 pictures did an outstanding job at directing every episode and even added minor details which weren’t in the Light Novel, yet it fits so perfectly that it just elevated the adaptation in many aspects.

86 portrays a realistic depiction of the military, how each character reacts in the battlefield and they do it well. I heard comments from vets about how accurate the portrayal is, it gives its military aspects justice to the genre. It’s also really good as a sci-fi mecha/action, as well as a drama and a small tease of romance, which would most likely be explored after this season, very exciting to see. I wouldn’t say it's a standalone of one genre as it all blends perfectly together to create the show one genre compliments the other. I really appreciate how they made this combination of genres work and made it stand out today as there aren’t many new anime which would take this approach to storytelling.

The Anime really sold me on the Light Novel, as of the time I’m writing this review I’m still on volume 4. I recommend you both give the Light Novel and the 86 Anime a shot if you haven’t already. It has a ton of potential and it really showed this season. The ending left me with a huge grin of excitement on my face. It's fascinating to see what will be in store for us in the upcoming seasons. I am definitely craving for more, I like that feeling in an anime, and maybe you would too. Season 1 was a good start, and its 2nd part delivered really well fixing some of its issues. There are still questions left unanswered, so you best know I will be staying for the ride. I'm not writing a review for the season prior to this, however I might write more reviews regarding 86 come other seasons. With all that said I’ll give the first season a rating score of an 8, and this one a 9.

Spoiler Warning:

There were many things I realized throughout my time watching this second half of this series, so I want to give Eighty-Six a re-review, this time going into better detail. This series is a masterpiece, everything about it was phenomenal, from the storytelling to the animation and music, and I regret not acknowledging the little details. I now understand that this is more than just a simple mecha anime. This anime adaptation had so many intense yet realistic moments, and the aspects that relate to reality are perfect in terms of story direction. Although the number of delays during this second half was ridiculous, ... the wait was worth it. For now, here's how I felt throughout my time watching Eighty-Six.

First off, I'd like to show my respect to the incredible director, Toshimasa Ishii, for directing this phenomenal adaptation and for everything he's done with the series so far. The portrayal of racial discrimination still lingers with this series, and I found it portrayed perfectly, making it similar to the real world's situations. The amount of emotion-driven moments made this anime what it is: a roller coaster of emotions. The writing in this series is some of the best I've ever heard, taking in the representation of human emotions the characters feel throughout the episodes and making the content so well done in that field. The voice acting also made the characters feel like they came to life with their raw emotions during the remaining episodes. The events from the first half to the second half are connected perfectly, and the way the season ends is beautiful. I am excited to see what will happen next in the future.

The story for the second half of Eighty-Six continues from the cliffhanger last spring. The anime also continues to focus on two sides of the story. It expands further into the war with the antagonistic force in the series. However, another primary plot point the anime takes note of is the male protagonist's continuing character arc. During the anime's second half, it focused on Shin finding his reason to live, even after the events of the first part. The story is incredibly realistic, showing what war is like, even if it involves AI as the central force of good and evil. Many moments made this anime shine, such as a massive battle that even outshines the previous half. The season's climax is easily one the most anticipated moments to be animated, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. Combined with the two-month delay, the final two episodes were the best in the series. Everything about that part of the story is incredible. Here's hoping that the source material will give its justice when the later volumes of the light novel get adapted.

Even though many new characters were introduced, their spotlight was easily stolen from the returning cast. Most of the character's designs are still as beautiful and realistic as it originally was in the first part. However, the primary characters that stole the show are Shin and Lena. Shin himself is easily one of the most well-written characters in the show, portraying his character arc perfectly. Shin finding his reason to keep on living is inspiring in its own right personally, and it's also relatable to certain people as they want to know what they want to achieve in their lives. Even though he's serious most of the time and tends to go crazy during battle, it was still intense to see him overcoming his obstacles, but it's worth the content to see him find happiness. As for Lena, her character development deserves respect, even if it was off-screen most of the time. Despite having the same personality at times, she now found her resolve, earning her the nickname: Bloody Reina. Seeing those two finally meet was done so beautifully, and it was worth over twenty episodes of waiting to see the potential for their character arcs to improve in future seasons. As for the other characters, I wish they received an equal amount of character development as Shin and Lena, but there's always next time, which shouldn't be a problem.

Even though I felt like the anime should've aired during 2022, the animation during the exciting moments of the series gave it the justice it deserves. The usage of CGI is one of my favorites in anime, and it's not looking out of place with the background and was smooth in the final product. The visuals in this adaptation, primarily the ones in the eleventh episode are so done beautifully at times. At times the visuals look beautiful, but depending on the location of each episode, there is so much more meaning to it. A common thing that appears in the anime is spider lilies, which portray death, foreshadowing character deaths. However, it doesn't always mean that, and I liked it very much. The bars made the anime feel like a cinematic experience, but it also relates to Shin realizing his reason to live, with him meeting Lena for the first time. At first, the bars are black, but once Lena steps into them, it turns white, then fades away, giving Shin even more character development. Overall, the animation made this Eighty-Six improve even more to become gorgeous in terms of quality.

I'll be honest, I never realized that Hiroyuki Sawano composed the soundtrack, but it was one of the most emotional music I've listened to in anime. The moments the soundtrack was used in each episode made it feel like it was worth the delays we had to endure. Even though one of his songs sounds similar to the first opening, it still sounds beautiful, giving the last two episodes justice from waiting two months for its arrival. The opening and ending did incredible with expressing the same tone the anime contains. The beginning song for the opening animation matches with the struggles the cast of Eighty-Six endures, but the way it ends makes it feel like they'll reach their happiness after overcoming many hardships. The ending sets the stage for the next part of the anime, but the raw emotions in the singer's voice were powerful that it made my heart tremble at least once.

Overall, everything about Eighty-Six is a masterpiece. The storytelling and writing are some of the best I've seen in anime adaptations. The animation and music made each scene perfectly. It's been a long time since I've seen a good mecha anime, and this series may be my favorite in the whole genre. Despite the delays in production issues, the anime adaptation gave justice to the source material, and I look forward to seeing how Shin and Lena's relationship will kick off in the future. A-1 Pictures, you better make better production decisions for future anime, and please make more seasons for Eighty-Six, it deserves to be successful.

"They called it pride. At the time, pride was all they knew." ― Frederica Rosenfort, Recollections of the Battlefield

I don't typically write reviews on this sight, but seeing as this is one of the only anime I consider to be a "10/10", I feel that it would be right to write one for this.

(This review is being written for the second part, and as such may contain spoilers for the first cour)

Story: 10
Following the events of the first arc, Shin and the rest of the Spearhead Squadron find themself in a foreign land, the Federacy of Giad, the nation that overtook the Empire. Having ... found their way to a new world, they're faced with the choice of finding a new purpose in life beyond the horrific battlefield -- however. for the Eighty-Six, such a thing isn't so easy. This second arc speeds up the pacing a lot more over the first one, most likely due to how much content was adapted, and the story goes in directions that change the course of the story forever.

Art/Animation: 10
I'd say A-1 has always been a rather good studio when it comes to animation quality, but this is just something else. The symbolism, the lighting, the CGI, the background; it's all just so spectacular. It makes me happy that they decided to delay the episodes as much as they did because other wise we may not have gotten this same result.

Sound: 10
The voice acting in this show is just superb, especially in the last few episodes. The emotion that is put into some of these scenes truly bring them to life. And beyond just the voice acting, Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto have created one of the most powerful soundtracks in the anime medium. Like, they really couldn't have picked a better duo for the job.

Character: 10
This is definitely my favorite part of the show. While the first arc was about the oppression against the Eighty Six in the 86th district, as well as the means of surviving such a hellscape, this new arc focusses on one of the hardest parts of war -- coming back home, and finding a reason to live beyond the war. We see this concept especially in Shin, as we see the deaths he takes with him start to hurt him more, and the frustration his recklessness in battle has on all of those around him. And the culmination of such an arc in one of the last episodes is just pure perfection.

Enjoyment: 10
This show has affected me almost more than any other. I tend to find enjoyment in the shows that I feel have the most complexity, the ones that affect me the most emotionally. And let me just say, 86 Part 2 undoubtably does that. I haven't come this close to crying at an anime since like To Your Eternity.

Overall: 10/10
So, to close out my review, let me just say that I cannot wait for future volumes to be adapted. Give it a couple more seasons and this show will definitely go down in history as one of the greats. After the quality of the last three episodes, I can say I'm sure of that.

Like any show, 86 has a lot of haters, but this is the first time I think I’ve ever disliked a show this much for a reason unique to myself. I may be a better writer than some, and others may be better writers than me, but usually, everything bad anyone has to say about any show is criticism echoed by someone else. However, no one I’ve seen seems to share my biggest single issue with 86. The first time I came into contact with this show was probably the first time you did too. I was just minding my own business, when suddenly the ... internet was flooded with pictures of the first volume’s cover art. And wow! That cover art sure is pretty. Lena’s gorgeous outfit, the artist’s excellently balanced color contrast. Of course, it does a good job of conveying the intrigue in the story and the setting, but on an artistic level, everything about it was just so visually striking, and it’s no surprise that book sold like hotcakes. When I went to investigate, the light novel only had a few thousand members on MAL, but the preliminary aggregate score was already a 9.00. Even after that initial buzz died down, I would always see that beautiful image in passing and wonder to myself, “When will this get an anime?” The second time I came into contact with 86 was when I watched the Eromanga Sensei OVAs. Eromanga Sensei was an abhorrent piece of trash, and not just because it was an incest show. Its characters, when they weren’t being completely two dimensional, were just being horrible people, or confusing, or self-contradictory. It was always one of those. It had fan service, and I don’t mind fan service, but here it was creepy, and the voyeuristic angles it took made me feel legitimately uncomfortable, like watching a hidden-camera show in a little girl’s room. The OVA series wasn’t hideously animated like the TV anime, but its writing didn’t improve in the slightest. In the second episode of these OVAs, the main character gets sick, so two of his friends come over to help out. Unfortunately for them, his little sister (who is in love with him) doesn’t want to let other women into the house to get close to her brother, so she refuses to let them in. They are for some reason okay with this, and they hand her the get-well present they brought for her brother to give him on their behalf. That present, to my surprise, was volume five of 86.

Right now, there’s a show airing called Ousama Ranking, but its content doesn’t matter. What matters is how it looks. When people first saw its storybook art style, they immediately distanced themselves from the show because, in their words, “it looks like a kids show.” I visited many of these peoples’ profile pages and wasn’t shocked by what I found. Many considered Re:Zero and Demon Slayer to be among their favorite anime. Others considered My Hero Academia, Clannad, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, etc. I don’t want to say anything judgmental or make any dangerously sweeping statements, because I know reviews can be taken down for less and people love mass-reporting my work, but those anime I just listed are, in fact, kids shows. “What are you talking about? My Hero Academia has fan service and violence, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU has ‘mature themes’, and Re:Zero and Demon Slayer have gore! How can you possibly call these kids shows?” As an American living in the Bible Belt, I wasn’t surprised when I learned Demon Slayer: Infinity Train was rated R17 by the MPAA, nor was I surprised to learn Eirin had rated it PG12 in Japan. They understand that while, yes, these anime contain certain words and certain images which may be seen as inappropriate, they also present these words and images with the gravity of kids shows. The fan service in anime like My Hero Academia is sexual, but it’s not pornographic. It’s comedic, and it’s there not to violate the purity and innocence of children, but simply to keep the attention of horny kids going through puberty. The so-called “mature themes” in anime like My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU aren’t mature in the slightest, consisting entirely of melodramatic high schoolers fumbling over their feelings, and shows like Re:Zero and Demon Slayer spend time on similarly juvenile bullshit and include cringeworthy meme comedy. As far as the gore goes, sure, I guess Subaru has some fairly visceral death scenes, but the fight scenes in Re:Zero are all cartoonish anime nonsense, and everything in Demon Slayer is outwardly silly no matter how conventionally graphic it may seem. Goons get shredded in underwater blenders, and others get their heads popped like balloons with goofy CG volleyballs.

There’s a lot wrong with 86, and I’ll tackle all that in a second, but the main problem—which makes it almost completely unwatchable for me—is how much of a kids show it is. “WHAT?! 86 is mature! It addresses themes of war, classism, and racism! It has intense scenes of violence and death! How can you POSSIBLY call it a kids show?!?!” I knew 86 wasn’t going to be worth the hype as soon as I saw it featured in that Eromanga Sensei OVA not because I’m a cynical bitch who hates everything, but because I knew there was no way Dengeki Bunko would shill the light novel like that unless its fanbase had the exact same demographics as the viewers watching Eromanga Sensei. Yes, 86 is technically about war, and when you look at it from afar, you see war. Eromanga Sensei is technically about a damaged hikkikomori grappling with deep anxiety issues and the tragic loss of her parents, and when you look at it from afar, you see a damaged hikkikomori grappling with deep anxiety issues and the tragic loss of her parents. However, when you actually watch these shows, what do you really get? You get waifus and contrivance. This is not a show concerned with war, classism, or racism. It’s a show concerned with waifus and contrivance, but it dresses itself up with paper-thin themes of war, classism, and racism in an attempt to make itself appear more sophisticated despite its obviously sophomoric grasp of such themes and to make its audience feel more intelligent for watching it. At least in my case, it failed to do so, because its tone shifts clash in such a jarring way. My brain can’t reconcile the hard-ass war story with the waifu-bait trash. They’re like oil and water, and the resulting anime is whatever greasy slime would result from such a mixture. You’re of course missing the point if you think I’m suggesting there can be absolutely no comedy, romance, or lightheartedness in a military drama whatsoever. That would be ridiculous. It’s simply a matter of presentation, and this anime presents itself with frilly bra straps, goofy oujo-sama loli princesses, and chibi-faced moe blobs in military uniforms eating cake, exclaiming, “Oishii!” When I say “kids show,” I obviously don’t mean you can throw on 86 for your five year old son after he’s done watching Blue’s Clues and Dora the Explorer and shit, but given the increasingly violent and sexual nature of video games and Hollywood film, I would be VERY surprised if your average twelve or thirteen year old child didn’t find this show to be totally benign.

Even if 86 didn’t actively squander its tone, its actual content is just plain bad. I knew this series would continue to have the subtly of elementary TV time as soon as Lena walked into the military HQ in episode one, because what follows is the most ostentatious, in-your-face sequence of hamfisted social commentary I’ve ever seen, and so far the show has yet to improve. Some of the plot devices are downright asinine, like characters being able to hear the cries of literal ghosts on the battlefield thanks to their magical bloodlines, and the characters themselves are just terrible. Shin is a fucking brick whose stock edgy trauma does little to deepen his character, the entire supporting cast is lucky if they get even a single piece of characterization you haven’t seen a billion times in other highschool anime, and Lena spends most of the show a crying emotional mess with the strategy skills of a barely potty-trained toddler. Most women in uniform are dressed in otaku fetishwear with short skirts, boob windows, stockings, and garter belts, while all the men in uniform are wearing your average discount 1930s Hugo Boss uniforms. The 2D animation generally doesn’t look as bad as you’d expect from A1 Pictures, but it’s still nothing special, and the drawings can still look about as shoddy and rushed as that of your average anime, so if you actually go out of your own way to scrutinize it thoroughly, you can find yourself some truly awful looking, off-model in-betweens. However, the backgrounds are exactly as bad as you’d expect, the character designs are forgettable boilerplate trash when compared to the gorgeous LN cover art, and the CG—of which there is a fucking ton—is utterly abysmal. Every action scene in this show is a nightmarish fever dream of hideous CG mech monstrosities, disgusting digital particle effects, overbearing sound direction, and headache inducing visual direction, so Hiroyuki Sawano’s music is nowhere near enough to distract me from the repulsive shit being smeared on screen before me. And all of this is being delivered, by the way, with multiple MONTHS of delays and recap episodes in between what I can only imagine is a hellish production crunch. No matter how juvenile its presentation may be, 86 does have a few worthwhile bits of personality, like how the soldiers used as fodder on the front lines refer to their Aryan overlords as “white pigs,” which is pretty funny, but these small, isolated sparks of life are no replacement for a well-written narrative.

I genuinely do not blame high schoolers or college kids for finding this kind of thing provocative, and while the horrendous action sequences might push some viewers away, I imagine the vast majority of the anime community will have nothing but good things to say about 86, and to them I have no harsh words. Please, enjoy it if you will. However, I also have to recognize that when you have a little perspective and are able to take a step back, it’s difficult not to see 86 as a completely generic melodrama with anime romcom trappings, teenage characters grappling with teenage identity issues, purely decorative themes, and your typical self-insert brooding gigachad protagonist surrounded by a selection of waifus for the promotional material.

Thank you for reading.

WARNING: Might contain some spoilers!

I’ve been on MAL for a few years and the only function I used to track my anime progression, until 86 came around. Because of this anime I visited the forums and started talking about this anime with the users. I didn’t write a review regarding part 1, but I’ve decided to sit down and tell you my thoughts regarding the second cour of 86.

While part 1 only covered the first volume of the LN, the second part covers the 2nd and 3rd volumes, which leads to vastly faster pace than we experienced in the first cour.

Story:
86 like to deal with ... heavy tropes, like racism, segregation and privilege. Now these are still part of part 2, but take a back seat and some new one arise like PTSD and war veterans’ reintegration to society.
The show picks up exactly where it left off with Shin and his friends. However, the country that takes place changes from San Magnolia to its former enemy Giad, the country who built the Legion and started its world conquest. Although we find out eventually that this country is not exactly the same as we were told by the Republic since after the war started some changes went through, but since the Eintagsfliege blocked all sort of long distance communication, the country had no information regarding it. The main focus of the story so far is how Shin and his co. can fit into this new country’s society and eventually military.

Characters:
While part 1 had a massive cast of characters, part 2 operates on a smaller scale. This leads more time and development for main and side-characters. Also this anime focuses more on Shin, rather than Lena this time.
We get to see the result for Lena’s character development in part 1, how she evolved from being a naïve girl into a woman who is ready to do what needs to do. She now walks the walk, not just talks.
Shin is the very same Shin as you met him, however after he finished his life goal to free his brother from the Legion he needs to find a new meaning in his life.
We also managed to get a new character, a little girl named Frederica. She is a bit obnoxious at first, but as the story goes om we realise she is much more mature.

Animation/Music
Well, I’m not going to lie here. They are pretty much the same as part 1. Sawano still behind the wheels, and aside from a few new songs they use the same tracks. So if you did not like it previously, you probably won’t enjoy it either. I can only speak from my experience that loved the soundtrack, even bought and imported the CD from Japan when it got released.
In my opinion they improved the animation. The anime still uses traditional animation and CGI. The latter got enhanced. Similarly with the Music, if you weren’t a fan, it won’t be enough to make you love it either.

In conclusion 86 part 2 is an excellent continuation and a LN adaptation. If you loathed the first part, I would not advise you to continue it, since the themes and characters remain the same. If you were in the middle, give it a chance, maybe the new country, themes and more focus on Shin might fit your taste better than cour 1 could! And lastly, if you loved every inch of the first part then you’ll definitely won’t get disappointed. Highly recommend. 10/10

86 tells the story of discrimination, human rights, and the moral values that are built on the societal structures that were put in place. 86 as a series is the byproduct of a liberally indoctrinated ideal society. In liberalism, one of the fundamental values it believes in is the rights of human beings and the unquestionable equal treatment of all people. But of course, that is impossible to achieve because discrimination will always be present. 86 demonstrates these aspects clearly through the first cour and a bit more in the second cour.

This is why 86 is very typical. We have seen these types of ... stories from other entertainment mediums: be it books, live-action TV series, films, and most importantly, history. The series as a whole offers nothing more insightful that goes beyond the usual tragic tales of the oppressed. As I progressed through this series, I began to form an overall arching question: What’s the point? The series incorporates the element of contrast between the Federal Republic of Giad and the Republic on the treatment of human rights. Yet, the hypocrisy is still there. On the one hand, the newly formed country of Giad proudly claims that they’re different from the Republic. They claim that they treat everyone, even the foreigners which are the Spearhead Squadron, the same. But the soldiers alongside the members of the squadron and some of its citizens despise them by blaming and ill shaming. This is all true in the real world, but what are the changes that are needed to be made to alter this type of behavior in a rigidly constructed society? I feel that for a series that has delved into this aspect needs to continue exploring it. Because as of currently, 86 as a entertainment is utilizing these elements in its narrative to victimize and only victimize. 86 is manipulating the viewers by giving in to the never-ending victimization, to squeeze out the emotions of the viewers because the series has no affirmative values to offer other than the surface-level presentation.

The victim-playing aspect becomes even more apparent during the turning point of the second half of 86 Part 2. During the turning point, 86 chose to shift the focus away from it. By shifting the focus away from continuing exploring for possible solutions to the problems at hand, the series is telling us that it doesn’t have affirmative answers. To which, in my eyes, this is no different than any other liberal media that have presented the same stories that contained the same themes as 86. This is where my problem lies with 86 as a series. I understand what the series is trying to portray, but I can’t help to feel that I’ve seen these types of shows before. I can’t help but feel that the same old themes and message that the series is trying to convey are not offering any distinctive answers; or in any profound way in its presentation. And over time, I can only predict that it’ll lose its meaning. In a world where these types of stories are saturated into our everyday lives, I can only see 86 as something that’s nonunique and nonrevolutionary when it had the potential to do so. I’m not saying 86 is downright terrible or utterly bad, but what I’m saying is that the series as a whole feels redundant given the field that 86 is playing in. To me, it’s upholding the same old status quo regarding the executions of its narrative and themes while not offering anything new for me to ponder over.

In consideration of its characters, 86 is at times feels more worth the investment when the series has little moments that are dedicated to the characters--specifically, the Spearhead Squadrons. When the series spends an episode or two on the character study of someone like Anju Emma, Shinei, or Raiden Shuga, it gives more insight into the minds of these characters. We get to learn more about their personas beyond being soldiers and apathetic war machines. I find that when the series utilizes their past to develop the people they are today is more interesting to watch because there’s a huge potential for explorations and again, character study. One of my major problems with the first installment of 86 was that I found Lena to be distracting and uninteresting. But by taking Lena away and focusing the narrative around someone like Emma—who’s not privileged and ignorant like Lena—it creates more compelling reasons for me to care and give a damn. However, I lament that part 2 doesn’t present enough of it. And that the increase in character dynamics between the rest of the cast and Lena will further decrease my liking of the series as a whole.

Overall, 86 is still a solid series that has a decent amount of attractive elements in its narrative and characterizations. But at the same time, it has nothing that innovates this media as others would claim it does. I find it very typical of how series like 86 in presenting themselves. I guess what I’m saying here is that 86 could’ve been a series that offers a more unique way for us to think about its presentation of its message and themes. If only 86 could be that unique.

Score: 5/10

86 is a series that wears its themes on its sleeve and like many other modern stories surrounding oppression and class disparity, the writing can come off amateurish and lacking in subtlety. Lack of subtlety is an issue you simply must accept when reading many light novels (and Y/A in general) and 86 is no different in this regard. But the anime adaptation is truly something else.

As a reader of Asato's work I can't help but gush over how amazing this adaptation really is. While the novels suffer from slow pacing and excessive exposition, the anime condenses everything important into tight, 20 minute directorial ... accomplishments. Watching episodes of 86 feels like watching a film, because the editing and storyboarding has been so well done. The framing of character expressions, the objects they interact with in scenes, and of course the combat, all exude care and intentionality. The first season split the episodes between Lena's and the 86's perspectives, repurposing the commercial break to great effect. Even without that organizational tool, the director has continued to make every episode flow perfectly. The visual transitions are spot on and not only serve as a showcase of the anime's editing, but also help bridge large timeskips the show writers made when reorganizing the LN's plot.

On the note of great visual direction, this season's OP is simply amazing. I put it up there with FMAB's 1st opening in terms of meaningful images and song choice.

But the anime does more than just pace the story better, it also tells its messages better. The 86 LN has a habit of mercilessly beating you over the head with it's themes, the most egregious of which you've already encountered in season 1- that the 86 are different than normal people. It's very important for sure, but I don't need to be reminded Every. Other. Page. The anime on the other hand loves to practice the art of "show don't tell." Cracks in the fountain of San Magnolia. Lena's newfound smugness at authority. The expressions of Shin and Crew when at the memorial. These are great ways to repurpose the LN's exposition into concise and poignant scenes. It's a fresh of breath air getting a production that cares so much about how it's telling its story and that leverages its visuals to do so. You can really tell that the show writers used the LN as a means of inspiration, instead of a script to follow.

86 is one of the most concise and well done adaptations I have seen. In an industry that is rife with uninspired copy cats and phoned-in productions, this one manages to not only do the source material justice, but give it new life. I have nothing but great expectations for the rest of the cour, and hope to see this series return for another season. Given the love that A-1 has given the work so far, I think our chances are pretty high.

Sidenote: I don't think Asato is that bad a writer (especially when she is writing combat and character driven moments) she just sort of brute forces the story's messages and has a habit of using filler. I mean, she's released TEN books since 2017.

(Note: - It would probably make sense to watch the 86 season 1 summary before watching the second season)

86 is back pretty soon for its second cour and the first few episodes did not disappoint. The OP is a complete banger and the art is amazing. Hopefully the show will continue to be great.

The 5 remaining members of the spearhead squadron have made it to the kingdom of Giad and are living a very different life there. This life has a sharp contrast to their life back in the republic, and they discover a whole new side to themselves, which I quite like. Episode 2 ... gives off a slice of life vibe and shows this very contrast. Eventually, they do decide to join the army again. The war with the Legion is nowhere close to over.

The best part about this show is definitely its OP. The visuals are phenomenal, and the song is insanely good. The art in the whole show is god tier, but A-1 went above to animate that opening.

The 86 have rediscovered themselves but have still decided that their heart lies on the battlefield. Lena has asserted dominance in the republic and has gone from being an innocent saint to a complete badass. For the new characters we have Ernst, the president to Giad, who has some pretty extreme ideals that one just can’t refute. I do find Fredrica quite annoying, but she does occasionally say something wise.

In conclusion, this show must be watched and is amazing.

There was a big gap during the airing of this show right before the final two episodes. As I write this now, the last two episodes are fresh in my mind while everything else is washed away despite the recap episode that also just came. So my review and rating is much more strongly affected by the last two episodes than by the prior ones. I know this is a bit "unobjective" but I'm not going to try to correct for it in any way. I expect a lot of other reviewers will be in a similar situation right now. To the people that wonder ... if they should watch this later on: you might want to look for some reviews from people that binged it after airing than relying on the reviews of the "early birds".

Now for the actual review.
There is a lot you can dislike in this anime if you decide you want to get critical. The politics part of the worldbuilding, and especially the Nazi country, make no sense. The technology as well, i.e. not being able to remote-control the machines or the weird mind-link comms they use. The combat too - the main characters do not have any actually logical skill or advantage with which to explain their success and survival (Yes, one of them has a special power, but it's not like it lets his mech move faster or avoid shots better or anything of the sorts). The writing has plot armor and drama elements that would not hold up under any degree of scrutiny. And I was probably annoyed by some of it at some point during the season. But right now, after the last two episodes, I've forgotten or at least forgiven all of these drawbacks and instead am very glad with what I just watched and remember. I loved the ending, 10/10 would watch again. Nah maybe not, I'm not much of a rewatch guy, plus it may actually remind me of the worse parts. The rating stays though.

86 Part 2 needs a review ASAP because this season slaps much, much harder than the first season did - and I thought the first season was pretty good. Just THIS season is on pace to put 86 on "Top 10 ___ Anime" lists for at least this year, if not years to come.

Give it 10 years and you might be telling people who ask if they should watch 86 to just force their way through part 1 of season 1, because "it gets gooooood after part 2, trust me" or instructing those people to start with part 2. I have not read the source ... material, and we all know that nothing feels the need to randomly climb into a dumpster and set fire to itself like a promising Anime... but for now, 86 part 2 is must see.

Why? Story has stepped out into a grander stage, one with geopolitical conflicts between nations who all have nasty secrets to keep brewing in unpredictable ways. Tensions are high, what comes next is uncertain. The part 2 arc is ripe for a massive upgrade in the character development department - and we got it, folks. First of all, where the story has landed is more fertile ground for the indominable spirit of the 86 who were somewhat sidelined as Major Milize's phone pals until the very end of part 1. That cheapened the development they did receive, but as it was in the last few episodes of part 1, in part 2 the 86 now have room to run. Related improvement, the Major's character development has finally reached a tolerable, even a good place. It was a bumpy road, ankles were sprained - but her experience as handler of spearhead has hardened her and it is clear from the few lines she's uttered in part 2 that she will be written as a mature woman with convictions and a strong basis for having them going forward. This is similar to how the 86 have always presented, and how new characters are being presented. Overall, this is a great sign and has already resulted in bouts of fantastic dialogue that I found surprisingly engaging and felt "authentic" to the parties involved.

In part 1, scenes with the Major were a mixed bag. In part 2, they've all been welcome and natural. If anything there is tension and suspense building around when/if/how the Major will re-establish contact with the surviving 86. Direction and storyboarding has joined the character development and reached "state of the art" levels of quality as well. What we are asked to see simply makes more sense than it did in part 1, and it feels like we have watched more than what could fit in the runtime, yet also feels like it was over too soon and like each scene and each conversation conveyed more and was longer than it's actual proportion of the runtime merits. In a word, part 2 is gripping. Part 1 was good, but it wasn't gripping.

Production values have seen a similar jump, and synergize better with the storyboarding than in part 1. It is a cohesive, reasonable balance where the emphasis for art/animation, color and effects flows well and does not suggest to the viewer that it is misplaced among the flow of events, or possible alternatives. In the scenes where the art and color must be striking, it is so. When keeping it simple is just fine, they do. In part 1 there were (to me) odd selections for backing tracks, and scenes with higher production values that didn't require them and were even jarring (*ahem* LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS DON'T NEED SAKUGA *cough*). Overall, the team appears to have hit a very impressive stride and begun telling the story and creating the show that 86 was envisioned as - and in this form, I can't help but love it.

If you're on the fence after watching a few episodes of part 1, IT GETS BETTER TRUST MEEEEEE.

I knew 11 episodes was far too short for an anime based on a light novel if you go at 12 episodes every year or 2 years. It'll take you a decade to finish it off (cough Overlord cough). Anyways I’m just happy we’re getting a second season of 86. Don't listen to the haters this show is not a 2/10 or a 6/10 get out of here this show is worth your time it has a great story, great characters, and a lot of heart.
Art:
Now that we’re finished with my boring ass introduction we can talk about the interesting articles of the show. The ... art as always is awesome, definitely some of the best work I have seen to date, I must say there is a level of sophistication and familiarity amongst the studio workers as everything seems more polished and better than the first season. You can tell this is an anime made in 2021 with incredible CGI. The best aspect of this season is the vibes you get from Giad which is by the looks of things an incredibly humane and sane nation at least in contrast to Nazi-like dictatorships like San Mangolia and the Legion. The Christmas and Eastern European settings are truly wonderful to look at when you see how terrible the 86 concentration camp looked this season benefits purely off geographical location. 10/10 I have no complaints

Story:
I’ll keep this short as I don’t feel like spoiling anyone although if you are reading this you should have watched cour 1 by now. Now starting right off the bat I want to talk about the racist themes in this show thankfully we get the reasoning behind why all the republics are racist. Kings and queens of course always come back to royalty. I would roast the aristocracy but 1) we don’t have time and 2) I’m Canadian. The second season features a very well-done transition into a new storyline now the 86 can finally have their revenge on the Republic of San Mongolia we’ll see how far the relationship between Shin and Lena gets (I’m talking about how Shin and Lena are the main characters). 7/10

Characters:
The characters are the same as last season one of the weaker aspects of the show is that we have the calm cool sunglasses guy (Shin). His best friend (Raiden), the hot Milf who’s 19 years old (Anju) who is also voiced by the same woman that did Shinobu. The rest of the characters don’t matter although Shin did get a little sister figure. 8/10

Sound:
The OST is great, the opening and ending are both awful which is sad given how great the OP and ED was last season. 7/10

Enjoyment:
Had a good time and I know I’ll have an even better time for the next seven episodes.
9/10 great show.

Overall:
Now the reason the rest of the season as a whole does not get a 10/10 overall is that the first five episodes have been pretty boring apart from episodes 3 and 6 but just like AOT season 2 it is kind of a necessary evil for people to better understand the characters and the world they live in. That being said I've heard from a lot of people that a 10/10 has to be a masterpiece and so far season 2 is not a masterpiece if the next seven episodes are great I'll update the review. Already better than the first season, season two has a lot to live up to. Hopefully, this show ends with a bang this year and comes back in 2023. Averaging the show's scores it receives an 8.6/10 from me when rounded becomes a 9/10.

Well, I'm back from finishing episode 10 so basically, I came back two months later.. Two episodes were delayed so it took eight weeks instead of six and now we have to wait 3 months for episodes 11 and 12 because of complications with the broadcasting channel). The last 5 episodes (available) have been a lot more action packed and drama oriented although I don't believe it reaches the highs in season 1 it's definitely building up to an eventual reunion between Shin and Lena (I'm assuming you already watched season 1 and if you haven't why the hell are you here). Not only a reunion but more interesting plot lines that I won't spoil seriously give this spider-mech Code Geass with Re Zero suffering level (at times) a chance.

Literally an airmech ripoff, Best anime of 2021, good art, amazing soundtrack, realistic characters, badass mecha, each episode keeps you on the edge of your seat, is well written and woven into the story. The thing about 86 is it's mostly character focused. They gave us a kinda long world building digest at the start of the series and after that, everything that happens after comes from the characters themselves and how they see their place in the world; the two main leads display what the story is about in their own perspective, one full of idealism and hope, and one tired, just going on ... in automatic without really living. Turns out the former controls the later.

The "three episode" rule works fantastic here, a heavy turning point happens, and instead of the characters being forced into a situation because of the plot, the system, the world building and how it affects the characters still remains, but now the characters seek to understand each side of the conflict.

About the battles and animation, everything looks great and the direction seems pretty great, with showcases lots of "show, not tell" situations. The premise also has big undertones about certain aspects of our story in real life, so that helps a lot to relate to the characters if your thing is story, wars, and social studies.

What can I really say I absolutely love Eighty Six. The story, the characters, the music, the animation. Basically absolutely everything about it. I am reading the light novel currently and I am on novel 10. The team behind the anime has adapted everything beyond expectations its amazing. If you haven't watched Eighty Six yet I highly suggest giving it a shot. Ultimately in my opinion Eighty Six is a masterpiece, it drives home a variety of deep messages ranging from more personal traits or attitudes you may share with a character, to messages concerning humanity and life. Every single part of this story is ... great. Even the Legion without saying any spoilers is such an intricate concept that leaves a lot to be said. For those who are anime only the story only gets progressively more amazing as the story progresses and I am sure whenever it may end it will be an exceptional ending (I have my theories already as to how it may end but that is all to be seen in due time).

this review is completely spoiler free so no problem, you can read it even if you havent watched s2 or even s1 of 86

86 is a really great anime which i will recommend to anyone without a doubt in my mind with a really. its season 1 started airing in spring 2021 which was a really good season. me and my friend thought of reading its light novel when its s1 ended but they announced the s2 at the last ep. so we waited and that was worth it. s2 didnt miss the chance that the ending of s1 gave to it. s1 was really ... awesome but i never expected s2 to be better than s1.

story : 10
really if you think it deserves anything less than this then you are so wrong my friend. this anime is really underrated but if any of its ep ends up getting famous like jjk ep 7, then its stats will blast off the roof

art : 10
its art style, animation quality, fluid camera movement, fight sequences, all are magnificent. hats off to A-1 pictures for pulling of something like this.

sound : 10
s1 had a banger in the form of 'avid' by sawano hiroyuki but as i already made clear, s2 doesnt fall behind has 'kyoukaisen' by amarazashi, a really awesome opening song. and it doesnt stop there, it still hass really awesome ost both in s1 and 2 and the ep 10 of s2 aired a few mins earlier and it had a really awesome ost so i am not 100 percent sure about the name of the ost but i think it was composed by sawano hiroyuki

enjoyment : 10
well heck yeah i enjoyed it a lot and i dont think there is any thing spoiler free left to say for this which i havent already said so up to the next one

overall : 9
hold on before you think why did i not give it a 10 like every other section from this anime. well thats just because if you check my list, the only anime i ever gave a 10 are those which has ended and i liked them a lot. but this hasnt ended yet, but i did like it a lot so you can say that i gave it a 9/9 but not a 10/10 because the criteria for the 10th point doesnt even exist yet for me.

so yeah that is my spoiler free thoughts about this great anime,

The first part was already a blast tbh but i was doubtful about the path that the story took at the end.

I do believe i was wrong, overall the story has been well written and episode after episode, we're getting more and more hyped without getting frustrated at all.
It's a perfect balance between classic hype and the frustration that comes because we wanna know what's going to happen in the next episode.

Furthermore, this story tries to rebuild itself between the first season and the second one by giving us a lot of new characters, diferents goals and more like Mushoku Tensei.
The outcome is that we ... are not fed up with the story, it doesn't become redundant.

This review is written by Maximus7680 and Space_Boyfriend.

There was a feeling that grew within us as we watched 86, one of the most beloved shows this season. Having read its premise, we expected a sense of lyricism from the show with a thoughtful narrative and vivid interactions. Suffice to say, we did not receive what we had hoped for since the aforementioned feeling was complete and utter frustration. Instead of fulfilling a promise of realism and struggles in a world of war, we were given something that is not exactly commendable, if we’re talking about the series in the broader strokes.

To briefly brush upon the ... first cour, 86’s story is about a war between the Republic and the Empire with members of the 86 piloting ‘autonomous’ robots for the Republic against their will. The show still is a typical war drama with many cliches found mostly in the anime medium. We’ve already seen the theme of ‘ending the cycle of hatred’ with AoT, so how is it supposed to be better this time? Now, Republic military officer Lena is supposed to end said cycle. Instead, she is actually a whitesplaining Karen pretending to do social justice. Despite her claims to be on the 86’s side, she never physically joins the 86 in battle, only offering ‘leadership’ safely in her military base. Even worse, we learned that there are actually white hair people from the Republic who have physically joined and died in battle alongside the other 86, yet Lena has yet to even physically meet them. Her ‘big moment’ was remembering their names. Wow, how amazing. She’s also a mouthpiece for some of the most shallow attempts at explaining racism we have ever seen. On the flip side, we spectate the members of the Eighty Six and their battles with the Legion, specifically focusing upon the main character, Shin. It also turns out, Shin’s brother is actually an evil robot! We totally haven’t seen this cliche of the family member becoming your enemy with enhanced technology just like in Star Wars and Squid Game which is not even a sci-fi!

As for 86 cour 2, the series follows the disappearance of the Spearhead Squadron after a brutal launch of attack by the Legion on our protagonists. Luckily, the 86 are rescued by the Federal Republic of Giad and quarantined in their military base. The fellow Eighty-Six were granted freedom and full citizenship, and were adopted by the Federacy’s president Ernst Zimmerman where they had an encounter with Augusta Frederica Adel-Adler, or 'Fred', who proclaimed to be the last Empress of the fallen Giadan Empire. Shin and his team were able to enjoy a period of calmness and peace. However, feeling that they belong to the battlefield, not the soothing environment of the relatively peaceful inner corners of the Federal Republic of Giad, they found themselves, once again, in the battlefield where more enemies lurk within the meadows, cities and plains, waiting to unleash upon them yet another wave of grief, pain and death.

At first blush, everybody can identify 86’s willingness, need and desire to tackle the themes of warfare, of conflict between races and how racism is driven in a society full of noticeable prejudice towards people of different hair color or those of a lower social hierarchy. It’s relentless in its portrayal, through dialogue, through eye contact, through every discussion in the military units. It’s more than discernible in the anime, we could easily list out the prominent ones: A random character named Marcel in Giad/The Federacy who seems to be eager to berate Shin on every occasion - even on occasions in a certain character’s death, albeit so obviously vapid in its usage. Berating and being angry with a comrade in a war, even claiming he let him die, in a fierce war where countless people died, and he himself had witnessed numerous deaths? What a crude choice to articulate rampant racism and bigotry, playing a wildly overstated version of deranged racism against a person that has saved their army of troops seems to us to be so incredibly juvenile. Are the troops of the Federacy given any lecture, any sort of emotional berating before the war started? Are they given sugarcoats of the semblances of war?

Nevertheless, we were rewarded with a juvenile way of depiction, our protagonists are laughed upon, they might frown a little, and thereafter nothing happens. They went on to fight, return, being feared a little, and then a period of time passed by, clouds fluttered across the sky and everything went silent for a while, then the cycle continued. Being spouted upon insults by background characters as Marcel for being ‘Eighty-Six’ and not saving his comrades. Our protagonists are laughed upon, frowning a little, etc. Rinse and repeat. The term ‘Eighty-Six’ exists for a good reason, they are not yammerings of pathetic bigots who are infuriated for not being able to accomplish the similar feats as our protagonists, they clearly exist for us viewers, to alert us that this is a derogatory term, something that should be abstained from, something ostracized by civilized people. But how it’s framed in the show is similar to a cute caterwaul after the loud roars of thunder. How exactly?

The act of racism was constantly frowned upon by our five protagonists, but yet they could just tolerate it without any difficulty, and how it’s presented is as if they casually ‘shrugged off’ racism. We were promised the greatness of the theme, but what do we receive after the heaping up of promises from the first few episodes, from the first ‘cour’? A shallow depiction of racism, discrimination and bigotry. It’s an epic of ignominious pratfalls. Nothing more egregious than how they treat the most important theme of racism, given that the titular ‘Eighty-Six’ is literally a concept sprouted from the roots of partiality, xenophobia and prejudices. Just like how we have no ear for Fred’s maddening, self-congratulatory quotes of stupid moralizationing, we have to announce sadly that we have no eye for the prophetic nature of many fans who like to placard about this dull pudding of a series. Perhaps more evidence should be given in order to support this aggressiveness of this claim:

Ernst: ‘You made it here because you fought to the end! You have the right to enjoy your reward! That’s what your comrades would want!
Frederica: ‘Silence Ernst. They’ve finally escaped a cage of oppression. Now you’re going to trap them in a cage of pity? You’re not so stupid to miss that you’d be the same as the Republic. They’re not young, ignorant children. If they want to go, let them go. (.........) I understand that you’ve got nothing but your pride to keep you together. But that’s no way for a complete human being to live. It’s blood and soil that make a person who they are. If you have neither, and try to define yourself just by who you personally are, when you lose sight of who you are, you’ll quickly fall apart.’

We’ve never seen a more pro-war propaganda excerpt than this. The fact that the inhuman, the utterly idiotic, the vicious San Magnolia who pastiches xenophobia and preaches racism, is remotely contrasted with the small mistake of an over-protective man who was trying to bring a few unfortunate teenagers out of the battefield – what nonsense. There’s no possible metaphor or rhetorical connection that can be correctly established between a good-willed man and an inhumane, filthy sadistic empire. If it’s established as a simple, thrown-away catchy line, perhaps it wouldn’t be as offensive (it’d still be to a certain degree). However, it is the statement by Frederica that signifies the beginning of Shin and his comrades’ attempt to return to war. Hence, there is an intimate and intense connection between the prologue and after events of this anime that solidifies the incredible amount of stupidity encrusted in the way this series deals with racism. We simply do not appreciate this cheap trick the series has of tucking virtuous characters who are against racism with an actual immoral empire to serve as some set contrast that could bring about an exaggerated sense of racism to provoke instant recognition and comprehension of the theme. Or, how it uses Ernst as a mere tool, using his statements to promote this twisted sense of disparity, highlighting the oppression of the Republic by threatening to equate Ernst’s actions to it, it’s absolutely viscerally disgusting.

Moving on, let’s try to break down the characters. Shin’s only notable trait is quite literally his nickname, “The Reaper”, which is not even a characterization. In the second cour, he comes closer to losing his ‘humanity’ and truly becomes a war machine just as his superiors had intended. Shin also realizes how he became this way and he learns to just accept himself in spite of that. It’s an interesting development, what 86 has been building up to for ages and we’re grateful for that.

While Shin has some good aspects, his fellow 86 are characterized as his friends. They support him and do what friends do. The other half of the time they scream, “Shin! Shin! Shin!” Kurena, Shin’s 2nd potential love interest after Lena, is just another tsundere simping over Shin. Anju and Theoto are background decorations. (Can we also take a second to complain that Anju literally has the same hair color as the white hair Karens of the Republic? Why is the racism in 86 so illogical?) At the very least, the story in C2 has much less fanservice of its female characters that were primarily objectified in C1. Raiden finally gets dialogue, and good dialogue at that! For the first time, he actually has a meaningful conversation with Shin who’s falling down the rabbithole! Also, there’s thankfully less comedy involving Lena eating cake this cour. There’s still some comedy that just completely negates any seriousness the show has, but it’s thankfully less than before.

Speaking of Lena, her ‘development’ as a character was from a Karen tsundere to an angry Karen. When Lena doesn’t get her way, what can she do? Assert herself and…get nothing done. There are moments where she shows her frustration through her hand gestures like clasping her fist tightly and throwing a fit. She manages to convince the Legion to follow her agenda, but do we see her directly affect the 86 positively? Barely. She might as well have not even been there. She’s such an unnecessary character. Why is she in the cast list? So we can have another typical anime waifu with a generic character design? Her biggest moment was near the end of the cour. Imagine if a main character, instead of moving on by himself from trauma he had experienced for most of his life, had this waifu character he barely interacted w/ show up w/o explanation, give a get-better speech, randomly show him a photograph of all his friends causing said main character to cry, and then have him completely move on from his LIFELONG trauma, all in the span of just 3 minutes. That’s legitimately what Lena did, wasting Shin’s entire development on a cliche rather than Shin’s own efforts. We know that really emotional music is playing simultaneously so it must be amazing! Not everyone can just yell continuously like Lena does for 3 minutes. Thankfully, there is one important message she embodies that it seems the world has forgotten since the beginning of time. That’s right, in Cour 1, Lena delivered one of the most inspirational speeches since Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream.” That’s right, Lena explained to her fellow White (Hair) brethren that ‘Racism == Bad’. That’s right, the most deep and insightful comment one can make about fixing societal oppression. That’s right, Lena is best girl. /s

Honorable mention to the worst character in the series, Fred. She’s a moe blob. No surprise, her writing is awful. We always wished she died in battle when we saw her on screen. She is literally a useless character for 86 as a series, wasting screen time when she’s not being a convenient plot device and ‘helping them out’ to avoid spoilers. Also, just cause the writer is aware she is a hindrance to the 86 cast doesn’t make her a good character. We would argue that the show is just making an excuse. She is also a 10 year old girl who gets fanservice sometimes, and of course in the same episode as her backstory. How are we supposed to take her seriously? How bad of a character can you be to get written like this? Why is she a 10 year old? Why is she holding a fucking teddy bear half the time? Even Klee from Genshin Impact looks older than her. It’s not that the writer doesn’t attempt to characterize her as a victim of war, but they picked the worst character trope with the perfect seiyuu to do so. Why not choose a war veteran? Someone who's lived and died countless times? There was one time she was screaming, “Kiri! Kiri! Kiri!”, and Space_Boyfriend thought she was saying “Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!” This one huge mistake in the conception of a character like this killed her potential immediately. The price the show pays is an unbearable character that cannot be saved by any means possible as long as they remain a tarnation moe blob. And what do we get for dealing with her for 12 damn episodes? NOTHING. She is the anticlimax of the whole season for merely existing.

Before anyone defends how badly the female characters are written by saying “OMG Space_Boyfriend! How could you say that Maximus7680? The writer is a woman, so these characters are actually pro-feminism!” That’s legitimately the same as what people said for Shield Hero, quite literally reactionary pro-slavery propaganda. 86 is not the same obviously, but a writer’s objective writing quality does not come from their identity but their actual writing ability, not the other way around. Their identity can shine through their writing quality, but that’s clearly not happening here. 86 should not be any different in its analysis from other stories.

These scenes espouse our belief that the writer had no pre-existing knowledge on war, or how war narratives are treated. Wars are often depressing, extremely bleak, unforgiving, inclement and destitute of any civility. There’s no reason to add a ‘moe block’ in order to sooth the atmosphere, to deliver a sense of relaxation to the viewers. Some would argue that she’s a mascot. Sorry to burst your bubble, there’s no actual mascot, that’s impossible, it’s mostly dogs, cats, donkeys, birds, etc. Why would a brash, maddening girl with ideas of constantly interrupting missions, often slipping herself in dangerous situations that’d cost her life be contemplated as a mascot? That’s not even about fictionalized stories or not, this is plain stupidity. If a military of any fictionalized world would allow a girl of that age to wander around the military units, sneaking in these ‘mechs’ and acting according to her own mind, that military must’ve been epitome of inefficiency, essentially a drivel. Logic is blown asunder in this series and we are honestly impressed by the ignorance used in building this world.

On the other hand, let’s talk about some good characters! Our favorite and in our opinion, 86’s unironically best written character, is Fido the robot. Surviving death and trauma, Fido symbolizes what it means to be objectified as a war machine, Fido is quite literally the 86. Their death in C1 means nothing to anyone except 86, and their revival reunites our protagonists together, rekindling their spirits and allowing them to start anew. Their moment is probably the most resonant part of the show’s theme of objectification, and we honestly wish they got more screen time.

We’d also like to shoutout to Ernst Zimmerman for his incredibly exceptional voice acting in the series. He is one of the only characters whose dialogue is consistently not monotone or annoying to listen to, and he has fairly interesting motives to the point that we wish 86 centered around him as an MC. He is the safe haven for escapees of the Legion/86 and he legitimately hopes to keep everyone from harm. But with this characterization, he’s surprisingly an extremely controlling individual. To say he’s over-protective is an understatement because he’s almost oppressive in terms of his actions. His conversations are intriguing as it shows the double-edged approach he uses to handle everything. That’s why his character development is interesting when he interacts with the protagonists. In order to avoid spoilers, we shall not say anymore.

Back to what 86 is actually about though, one of the worst parts of the show is the dialogue, some of the most mind-numbingly pointless and boring experiences we’ve felt recently. Why can’t this show utilize more show-not-tell? We don’t care about the Federacy in word doc format. Show us what they’re doing! Let us see them fighting for their cause! We don’t want to read what you’re saying. Don’t follow up with more Fred dialogue. That makes it even worse! As a result of these poor writing decisions and mediocre voice acting, the atmosphere is staler than moldy string cheese. All of this could actually be dealt with if they actually focused on the 86 instead of the Federacy or the Republic, since the 86 actually develop together as a group, something interesting and uncommon for a lot of stories. Instead, the writer wastes our time with mindless political drama, fanservice, and shitty comedy. Why?

Also, contrary to popular opinion, we don’t think the directing is good. Sure the animation is above average but that doesn’t change the fact it’s so janky. If anyone thought the directing of Redline or the FFVII: Advent Children movie was overkill, 86 is no different. It does so much with the designs of its mechas and the way they move around that it’s honestly hard to look at some of the mecha fights. There are so many lights flashing to the point it’s almost epileptic; even the mecha character designs are as over-designed as the CGI HoloLive characters, both of which could be subjectively considered ‘good’ but objectively over-the-top compared to the norm. It’s not quite as bad as that one Pokemon episode with Porygon that was banned for sending children to the hospital due to flashing lights causing epileptic seizures, but 86 is almost nauseating to look at personally. This is certainly a personal gripe, but other potential viewers deserve a warning at the very least, because the action scenes were certainly far from enjoyable. The accompanying music is unable to save it from being a bland, forgettable aftertaste because it is just meh. One of the OSTs played sounded like it was plagiarized off of AoT. Unsurprisingly, Sawano Hiroyuki worked on the music for both of them. What do you know? Other than that, we can’t remember a single track worth mentioning let alone recall their tune.

Furthermore, the overall animation is truly nothing to praise. It’s not particularly dynamic and the art might’ve benefited more from a manga adaptation since you also don’t have to hear Fred’s annoying voice. Of course, 86 has still frames and slideshow movement scenes occasionally, because the budget is average. The way to compensate for that is with good directing like A-1 Pictures has done for Kaguya-sama, also boasting an average budget. Because the 86 director has less experience, we end up with a visually mediocre piece of art with over-kill animation during action scenes. Of course, if you like hearing BOOM BOOM PEW PEW, there will be plenty of Michael Bay quality sound fx since we heard the writer was a fan so no worries in that department!

Honestly, we are left flabbergasted by the fact the show generates such a wild saturnalia where people would rave over 86 as if it’s the birth of a new, enduring classic. There’s no nuance, and we are supposed to accept everything as passive readers and viewers with no opportunity to truly engage with the series. Overall, 86 may be one of the most overrated works to have been celebrated in recent years. A teenage war drama being AotS? Really?