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Warning: Some (mild) spoilers are included in the 3rd paragraph of this review, and a larger spoiler is included in paragraph 4.


86 is a sci-fi mecha anime based off of the eponymous light novels. It explores themes of race, war and the intrinsic status of being human. It only explores one of those themes well. There are generally 2 camps of thought piece style that sci-fi properties with robots fall into. There’s the trans-humanist camp, populated by the likes of Eva and GITS. There’s the racial allegories (robo-racism!) a la Detroit: Become Human. And of course there are stories that weave together ... both strands, the most successful of which is almost certainly Blade Runner. 86 definitely had the opportunity to situate itself as a laudable member of the 3rd camp. There is obviously a heavy dose of racial observations, as one can see in any synopsis of the show. What are not addressed (because the show regrettably declines to address them) are aspects of the show that would lend themselves to the study of what it will mean to live in a world literally crawling with AI and robots. Without getting into specifics, as to avoid spoiler territory, the Legion demonstrates several surprising capabilities that would lend themselves to this kind of story, and a faithful robot companion of the combat squad the show follows would have provided an interesting counterpoint to the rampaging shiny death spiders. However, both the Legion’s abilities and the friendly bot are used to create much more generic story beats. They are well-executed, but neither of the plot points utilize any of the unique features of those scenarios in an interesting way.

The decision to not take either of those two beats in a more interesting direction would not in and of itself be damning. There are plenty of phenomenal pieces of media that focus themselves on a single, core issue and explore it with a granularity and depth that still provide an exceptional story. And one could argue that the racism angle, since it is being applied to the humans piloting the robots and not the robots themselves, could pose many of the same questions that a trans-humanist focused story would. Alas, 86’s treatment of racism is banal and sorely lacking.

Racism pervades the entire power structure of the Republic of San Magnolia. The existential war they are fighting is predicated on the idea that entire swathes of their population are, literally, inhuman. Seeing as how we follow a prodigy-esque Major in the armed forces, with high ranking family connections, one would think that the show could be a fascinating look into how this racism was built. How do various government officials continue to manufacture consent from the Alba population to ensure that support for the war doesn’t waver? How did they plant the seeds and sow the divisions they then exploited to send the 86 off to labor camps? We find ourselves following a main character who has a relatively important part to play in what appears to be some slightly odd, re-imagined 3rd Reich. One would think that, given that view point, the show-runners would exploit it to really explore how racism is manufactured on an institutional level, for the express gain of political or military elites. For a show that so clearly wants to be about racism, this would be a nuanced tact to take, and one that would be incredibly interesting to watch. Instead, we get the most basic, generic take on racism one can imagine. Our main character rails against a system which she sees as corrupt and inhumanely cruel to the 86. But nothing every happens to her because of this supposed insubordination. She is (off-screen) placed on ‘house arrest’ for things that she does, but her house arrest is so lax that she is allowed to travel to what is quite possibly the BEST place in the country for her to attempt to stage an armed rebellion, if she so wished (and for all her superiors know from her actions and beliefs, she may very well wish it). All the interesting conflict that could potentially surround a person with institutional power who decides to move against that institution is almost conspicuously absent. All we get is the Major yelling at relatives, close acquaintances or, in cause case that is especially egregious for its utter lack of consequences, a room full of officers in training. The only remotely interesting conflict that stems from her actions is resolved by a ridiculously clichéd trope. All we are left with are some cute anime boys and girls complaining about ‘white pigs’ (I watched the dub, unsure what the original Japanese is) and a bunch of old racist white dudes telling the 86 how sub-human they are. If it wasn’t rendered so cruel by the overarching narrative of the war, the racism would almost feel trite.

On that note, the one thing 86 actually executes passably is its exploration of war. Punches are most definitely not pulled, and Shin’s struggle with the role he has put himself in is palpable. The 86 struggle mightily with loss of friends and family, and the contrast drawn between them and the peaceful lives of the Alba is striking, even if the racism component of that relationship is mostly brute-forced. A unique factor that, of course, had to be wasted is the fact that the war is supposed to be over in 2 years, when the Legion’s circuitry will give out. Before we are informed by Shin that this is not the case, and that the Legion will persist for long after that deadline, the scenario poses an interesting look into motivation and the capacity of humans to endure suffering. Is it easier or harder to fight to the death when you know that in 2 years it would no longer be necessary? Does this deadline make the Republic’s decisions less morally wrong, at least by some estimations? How much loss is acceptable to tide the nation over until the combat ends? Again, sadly, we are deprived of these interesting questions. However, what we do get is a well-rendered depiction of the human cost of war played out by likeable characters. Passing grades here.

Overall, the show is to me the definition of ‘Good”. The art is well-done, the battle sequences are frenetic and exciting without being too difficult to follow. I enjoyed the voice work on the English dub, and I also liked the OP. It’s just the lack of something more that hurts, and this drags the score lower than it would be because it so CLEARLY has the potential to be great. As it is, 86 is a good mecha battle anime that adequately explores the horrors of war, but is irreparably harmed by its utter failure to expand on any of the more interesting parts of its plot.

So, anime is usually the only medium in which I go for romance stories, and this one hit me right in the feels at just the right time. This season is significantly better if only for the fact that Tohru is not a literal conveyor belt for all the boys feelings anymore. There's some degree of initiative finally, which is nice. Additionally, I fell for Hatsuharu so damn hard (as evidenced by my new profile pic), and getting to explore his (and the other Zodiacs) story more was really nice. Getting to explore side characters lives, who have no potential compared ... to the 2 main love interests (though that bit also changes, you'll have to watch) is refreshing, and they're actually decently developed, in my opinion. One thing I didn't get is the plot points that take place in the season finale. I could tell what both of the major bits were way before they were revealed? I'm not sure if it was actually supposed to be a secret and I just picked up on it really fast or if it was just supposed to be Tohru being innocent. If it's the later that's honestly kind of a downer because I really liked her actually taking charge finally come this season. I haven't read the manga but I hope she continues to grow through to the Finale and becomes a fully-realized person as opposed to a door-mat.

So, this is a complete rewrite of my previous review, because I honestly didn't like how it sounded nor did I think the points I made were very good. This show is most definitely a classic, both in the sense that it is good and widely known, and that it takes a lot of time and effort to really engage with. The animation is mediocre at best, but that will be the case with any show that is this old and this long. It should not really count against it, though if that's something that will detract from your enjoyment of the ... show then you may not enjoy it too much. The only thing I have any real issue with is the combat action/plotting. Some of the stuff these strategic and tactical "geniuses" get away with is laughable, and while the show does an awesome job of remembering that in space, stuff is REALLY far apart, and thus subject to time lag and all the logistical challenges that come with that, it has other issues. Namely, the way it seems to treat outerspace like some kind of 2 dimensional plane when in combat. The number of times that people fell victim to a "pincer attack" when they could have just gone up or down (or left or right, however you want to set up your frame of reference) was ludicrous, and things like that happen enough that even though this show is a nigh on perfect match for me, given how I'm in grad school for political science, econ, national security etc., I have to give it a 9 instead of the 10 I'd otherwise give it because it frankly got kind of annoying. However, if you like space, war, history or politics, you will most likely love this show, just like I do.

So, this show was a mix of disappointing and great. The biggest issue was the writing. The characters and outline were incredibly well-written, the story suffered big time. The concept of the show is great, and the protagonists are wonderful. Isabella most definitely deserves her villain award at the Crunchyroll Awards. The story is a different, well, story however. The show has a weird penchant for writing itself into a hole, and then instead of creatively solving the issue with the protagonists it has built up to be so intelligent and capable, it goes into a flashback scene and ... essentially retcons itself through like an extremely small plot detail that has no business being as impactful as it is. It tries to be almost Sherlock Holmes-y (without the mystery aspect) but fails miserably. Granted, its still the characters solving the issue, but it feels cheap as hell. Norman Ex Machina is NOT a good way to solve problems in your story, I'm sorry. However, everything else is wonderful, I ADORE the OP and its fun to watch. Isabella's growth especially is a joy. Could definitely be better though.