86 EIGHTY-SIX

This mecha-anime tackles severe topics such as racism, war, discrimination, segregation etc. I loved how their was a balance between lighthearted and emotional/tragic moments. The CGI(?) used for the Juggernauts looked fluent. The animation was top notch, just like the voice acting.

My fav character: Major Vladilena Milize.
Her unrealistic idealism is likeable, such as her caring for selfrighteousness. She was always looking for equality, but she grows to like Spearhead Squad as friends. I loved how Theo, Kurena who initially disapproved of her, started respecting her. Her dynamic with Shin was great.

Shin Nouzen aka "Undertaker/Shinigami" was another great character in this anime. His leitmotif was a headless "reaper" (on his Juggernaut), which symbolizes death, as Shin was follwed by death his whole life (their parents being killed throught the human experiments, his brother being killed in the war, his comrades dying all around him). Another interpretation of the headless "reaper" could be that this is a symbol for Shin's older brother, Shourei Nouzen, who is a martyr in the war against Legion, as his head was "abducted" by the Legion after his death to make a strong "Legion" robot called Schäfer. Another aspect which would be in favor of Shourei = headless "reaper", is the fact that in the post-credits scene of Ep. 11, we see Shin as a child playing with his younger brother. Shourei is dressed as a knight, similar to the headless warrior on Shin's juggernaut.

My fav moment: Lena crying.
A fitting end for Lena's character arc. The surviving members moving, symbolized by birds, as they are free to travel the world. I felt happy, but at the same time there was some sadness. Lena's desperate attempt to not let the surviving members go had an emotional impact on me.

The methapors used in this anime were phenomenal, birds symbolizing freedom, when the 5 members of Spearhead Squad left. Another great metaphor was the metaphor of "flower", and how it was used. Kaie said that the flowers bloom for a quick time, but they bloom spendidly. The flowers can be interpreted as the young children of the squad, who have to live every moment of their life to the fullest, as they do not know if they will survive "tomorrow".

Another strong aspect of this adaptation was the direction + OST.

The Op had fitting visuals, and the Ed, which was occasionally inserted, into the anime was great.
However, there were some things here and there which were meh imo. First of all, Haruto was one of the most important of the Squad but there were not enough details about his death. I also felt that the concepts and their explanation were bit clumsy. Another aspect in which this anime lacked was any aspect of world building. There should have been bit of expositionary details about the world and/or the situation in which are.

Rating: 8-8.5/10