86 EIGHTY-SIX
a review by ColdRain
a review by ColdRain
The story is definitely interesting. Two nations at war, one nation that has separated it’s citizens into two categories - Alba, and Eighty-Six. Alba all have the same colored hair, and are considered to be human, while Eighty-Six have different colors of hair than the Alba, and are no longer considered human. Therefore, whenever Eighty-Six die on the battlefield, they are not counted as casualties, so each day, on the news in The Republic where the Alba live, they say there are “zero casualties” when in reality there are plenty.
This anime takes a deep look into racism and war and oppression. The Republic is sitting back, drinking, relaxing, stuffing their faces assuming they’ll win the war in two years instead of getting off their asses and doing something about it, while the Eighty-Six are out here dying for no good reason and being treated like shit by the Alba.
And this anime certainly doesn't sugarcoat it's portrayal of racism, it does a very good job of showing us how oppression affects people, and how no matter what, certain types of people will always be considered "lesser" than other due to factors beyond their control. It really makes you take a look at examples of oppression that people still face here in 2021, and it sheds light on how no matter how hard you may try to understand people who are oppressed, until you yourself get oppressed, you'll never understand.
The main character, Major Lena is one of the very few people who care about the Eighty-Six and actually consider them to be human. This is very interesting to see the way she acts compassionately when it comes to the Eighty-Six. She is constantly requesting backup to be sent to them, and always checks in with them. She is a true diamond in the rough. A pure person surrounded by all the impure, bloated bastards of the country she lives in.
The animation is beautiful. It depicts the beauty and the madness of war perfectly. The colors used, the background/environment, the movements of the characters and the machines they pilot into war are very smooth, and the character design is impeccable and incomparable to anything else.
The characters are all unique and interesting, albeit most of them end up dead. My favorites are:
Lena - Her personality is very amazing and unique, and I find it very commendable that she’s able to stand up for the Eighty-Six, even lecturing an entire classroom on how Eighty-Six are actually humans.
Shin - Shin is a very interesting character. He hears the voices of many of his dead comrades who have been turned into members of the Legion army. He’s suffered through so much loss, including that of his own brother, and still manages to be an effective leader and keep his team in high spirits throughout all their hardships.
Lena's Friend - I don't remember her name, but the girls whos dad created the Para-RAID is an interesting character. I was shocked to know that the boy she knew in the past, and had been friends with turned out to be Shin. It's also interesting how all of her marriage candidates are out of her age range, likely because of her traumatizing encounter with Shin when she was younger, where she referred to him using a term that was used to insult and oppress people who weren't Alba.
Lena's Uncle - I don't remember his name either, but he had some interesting moments, despite the fact that he was always trying to stop Lena from siding with the Eighty-Six
Of course there are more interesting characters, but those are my personal favorites.
The opening and outro music and the OST that plays throughout the show at various different sad or happy moments always manages to perfectly compliment the events going on in the anime at that moment. It adds emotion to the already emotional scenes that occur throughout this anime.
The ending of this cour was perfect and amazing. Lena goes to visit the camp that Spearhead squadron was staying at. She find their cat, she finds Shin’s room, and she finds notes that they left her. Knowing they were going on that mission to die, they left a final goodbye on the drawing they had used to mock/make fun of her when they first spoke to her. It made my heart ache a little bit if I’m being honest.
This show is amazingly animated with an interesting story, uniquely designed and animated characters, and so many amazing scenes and moments that keep you on the edge of your chair,
255 out of 279 users liked this review
