Man, this anime really was a tough one to watch. It's been awhile since I've watched something that was super emotional and tugs hard on your heart strings. Not to mention the main subject matter for this series is still a very strong and important subject to this day. I got a lot I wanna unpack, so let's jump into it!
86 is a drama filled, action packed, emotional story that focuses on discrimination and finding your will/resolve during an extremely long and devastating war against a ruthless entity called Legions. The 86 are a group of soldiers who were discriminated against and used to fight against Legions for a country called The Republic of San Magnolia. They are sent to fight impossible missions and treated as if they don't exist as human beings and just machines.
Let's start with what I really enjoyed about 86. For starters, this show has some incredible creative choices when it comes to transitions and establishing moments. I have to give props to the directing choices that were made. For example, the use of aspect ratio was phenomenal to help convey heavy feelings and flashbacks that characters would have. Also, the score for this anime is BEAUTIFUL. The music matched the feeling of this series perfectly and kept me very engaged.
I also liked most of the cast for this series. The 86th squadron really feels like a family and honestly makes you feel like you are part of it as a viewer. They are honest with each other, take care of each other, and treat each other with a lot of love. They are all that they have so they make sure that each of them know they are each other's home. Even though their situation is tough, they provide a feeling of warmth while dealing with the cold hearts of The Republic. Plus, all of them are freaking badass and can put up a real fight.
Now even though we are focused heavy on the members of 86, there was one character who played a major role in the story telling. That character was Valdilena Milize, also known as, Major. Major's role in the story is very important. Major provides the viewer a moral scale and sense of justice the series wants to go for. She doesn't agree at all with The Republic. She thinks 86 should be treated like human beings and be acknowledged. In a place that doesn't feel human, she provides humanity. This also goes for 86. There were times where it felt like 86 didn't think they were human. Major would be a constant reminder that's not the case and that they are more than just soldiers. She does start off very ignorant, but her intentions mean well. Given that she comes from the one place they can't stand, sometimes she forgets how she acts and what she says brings them a lot of pain. The privilege to be able to do, say, and feel certain things as an equal is something that the 86 don't experience because of how they look and it being a right that was taken away from them. She learns this quickly which leads to growth in the character and makes her resolve much more impactful.
Even though I have a lot of great feelings about the series...I do have some gripes. Starting with the main character for this anime...Shin. Shin is known as "The Reaper", a legend that is rumored in the military. He's an incredible soldier and definitely the most skilled out of everyone. He fights hard, smart, and pretty flashy. Now Shin deals with a lot of traumatic moments, but he has a goal he wants to reach...skip through the series a bit and he's reached it. Here is where it gets a little problematic for me. It's very clear that Shin is unsure of what to do with himself after achieving the goal he set. I totally understand that and think it's a great set up for the character. However, it starts to get a little annoying and frustrating as the series progresses. For example, Shin is a very caring person. He does his best to take care of his comrades and to make sure they don't get hurt. Yet, he constantly puts them in danger because of this decision to go off the rails. It seems like it stems from him feeling like he doesn't have much of a purpose anymore, but he's also not willing to acknowledge the fact that the people in his life are his purpose and have always been his purpose. It's brought up several times that he shouldn't take on everything alone, yet he continues to ignore it but is shocked when things go wrong. This narrative is good for a little while, but then it starts to becoming frustrating and honestly goes on for a little too long in my opinion. By the time we get to the end of the series and he reaches that resolution, you're kind of already over it. Like finally, you understand. TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH BRO. Plus there are times where the writing makes it seem like something is controlling him, but it's pretty clear that its just him being emotional.
I also HATED how much exposition we get. For an anime that is pretty creative with transitions, framing, set up, and directing choices....it's pretty freaking lazy when it comes to telling us the plot. There is a lot of exposition that happens and it get's really annoying. Thanks for word vomiting a whole scene that definitely could've been shown for a couple frames. That element of the show really made me disengage. I understand needing some exposition, but the amount we would get was definitely unnecessary ESPECIALLY BECAUSE ITS A 23 EPISODE SERIES. Which also leads me to the pacing of this anime. It felt a little too long for me. I think this could've been wrapped in 20 episodes and did not need any of the special episodes. It just needed to be a little shorter.
Overall, this was a great watch and it had a great ending. I teared up a little bit at the end because of how it all turned out. It has a bit of a happy ending even though you know there is still a war going on. I don't really think I want/need another season. I heard that the manga was cancelled, so I really doubt we would get more. With the way they wrapped the series, I feel pretty content about it. Have you seen 86? What are you thoughts? Let me know! Thanks for stopping by! Peace.
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