86 EIGHTY-SIX

Hey nekoama here, and this is my third anime review, please feel free to browse through my other reviews and let me know what you think. Today I'll be review one of the seasonal anime, 86: Eighty-Six.

Warning: this review may contain spoilers.

Eighty-Six is a mecha sci-fi anime revolving around the war between the Republic of San Magnolia and the Giadian Empire. According to the Republic of San Magnolia, they have, so far, suffered zero casualties. However, that is not the truth. While the silver-haired citizens of the republic live safely within the wall, those of a different appearance is forced to operate juggernauts and against the Empire's autonomous Legion.

Vladilena Milize, one of the main characters of the show and the Handler to the Spearhead Squadron, understands that real humans are being forced to operate the juggernauts and she tries everything that she can to prevent any more 86 from dying.

To start things off, I'd like to say the animation and art are really good. The anime starts off with a nice fight between the 86 and the legion. The CGI was nicely implemented to give the viewer what's to come in future episodes. Animation and artwork were expected because it was produced by A-1, they are one of my favorite studios after all. They also used contrasting colors to easily differentiate between the Alba and 86 too. Well, you could just look at their hair color too.

One of my favorite episodes of the season was definitely episode 7. During the first half of this episode, it is time for the Revolution Festival, and while the Alba gets to frolic around freely, enjoy tasty food, and have as much fun as they can, the 86 still remain fighting for their lives on the battlefield. While Spearhead was preparing their attack on the legion they are suddenly ambushed by ultra-long-range artillery fire, forcing Spearhead to retreat and leaving only a few members alive. We also learn the secret that Spearhead was keeping. Spearhead is a suicide unit meant to kill off every 86 who reaches near the end of their term to ensure that they can never return to the Republic. In addition to showing how expendable the 86 are, more than half of them die and you wouldn't even know how they died. This episode gives a really clear view of the lives of the people living inside the walls and the 86 surviving on the outside.

With most anime, not every episode is amazing, but there are some exceptions. Sadly enough, 86 was not one of those exceptions. This was a show that I tried to give a higher score on, trying to find ways that would make the show better than what it actually is. I have heard only great praise about this show and lots of people were hyped before the first episode aired. However, it is just not up there for me and I don't think it lived up to its hype. To me, the show was pretty interesting at times and other times, it was just boring. It is average at best and personally, I don't think this is a show that will be memorable for me.