LogFAQs > #968045557

I finally finished another recommendation! And the write-up for it is almost 700 words long because I had a lot to say.

BONUS. 86 Eighty-Six
https://myanimelist.net/anime/41457/86
Spring 2021 (11 episodes), Fall 2021 (11 episodes)
My Score: TBA, MAL Score: 8.26/10 S1, 8.71/10 S2
Best Character: Vladilena Milize
Recommended by: @NBIceman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZIMFWAxMxQ

Premise: An oppressed population known as Eighty-sixers are forced to fight a machine army called the Legion in defense of a country that doesnt even consider them human. Vladilena Milize, however, hopes to make a difference as the new handler of Spearhead Squadron.

The Good: 86 is a war anime with lots of battles between spider-like mechas. Im a big sci-fi fan, and the setting really appealed to me. The Legion, in particular, was awesome. I love the premise of an AI army going rogue, plus awesome little details like how they had superior numbers but (usually) predictable tactics, and how theyre expected to shut down in a few years, so humanity just needs to hold out. The later revelations about the Legion appealed to me too, they were an excellent enemy. As for the humans, Lena was my favorite (though Frederica from the second season is also great). Ill talk about the whole eighty-sixer/subhuman aspect below, but I still thought Lena had a good arc within it. For all her good intentions, she still had a long way to go towards unlearning her unconscious racism, which I found interesting. Spearhead Squadron was full of good characters too. I liked everyone and it did an excellent job at showing little moments between them, so it hurt whenever someone died. The combat in 86 was also excellent. It did a thing I always like in fiction where it sometimes showed events from different perspectives. The differences between how Spearhead saw things and how Lena saw it were always interesting.

The Bad: I wouldnt say it ruined 86, but I wasnt a fan of the racism. I understood the themes about how a country can so easily declare a whole group of people inhuman, how absurd it is that they can be so wilfully ignorant and evil by inaction, and how it all has roots in real-life genocides. I still didnt like it. Its a near-hopeless war against a horde of robots. By necessity, some people are going to be making the ultimate sacrifice on the front lines and others are going to be safer in the rear. That was the stuff I found most interesting, and I dont think the racism was needed to explore it. All it did was make everyone in the Republic an irredeemable monster (except for Lena). I watch fiction for entertainment, which isnt to say it all needs to be light and fluffy. 86 was plenty bleak and I enjoyed most of it. It just felt too over-the-top when Lena went into the HQ and everyone was laughing at her for caring about the sub-humans. Theyre locked in a desperate war against the Legion and most of them seemed to care more about exterminating undesirables than winning the war. In my opinion, it was an unnecessary distraction from the far more interesting plot of battling the Legion as a cast of characters I loved were whittled down.

Overall: 86 is my ideal mecha anime in a lot of ways. It had the Legion, one of the most interesting enemy forces Ive seen in a long time. It had compelling characters with Lena and the Spearhead Squadron. The battles were flashy and well-animated, and due to the enemy having superior numbers they always needed to be careful and strategic. All of that was great. A lot of time is dedicated to the Republics racism against the eighty-sixers, however, and I didnt like that at all. Im still not sure where my opinion on this anime will ultimately fall, I need to take some time to weigh the good and bad aspects. Still, I definitely know that I enjoyed it a lot. Itll for sure be somewhere in my top 100 anime, and Lena wouldve easily reached my top 100 characters. Thanks a lot for recommending it, NBIceman! Sorry for the super long write-up.