... can you still smile after seeing the true world ...
Is that the true question behind 86? One line from the haunting Sawano Hiroyuki end theme, wrapping a cloak of melancholy over your shoulders as you finally catch your breath.
86 is not a war story. 86 is not a mecha story. 86 is not heroic. 86 is not supposed to make you cry out huzzah when mecha clash in a dashing and swashbuckling conflict that will, like all all conflicts, be over by Christmas.
86 is about those who fight that war for us. 86 is racism based on the color of one's hair, based on the color of one's eyes. Of how easy it is to make someone not us. How easy it is to believe what we are told, and when it serves us well, how easily sugar coated lies become the truth.
Most war stories, anime or whatever, are set pieces of conflict, the story moving from one battle to the next until the climax and final victory or loss. If you are lucky a bit of character development occurs between the battle scenes. 86 flips that on its back. 86 is a character driven story - it is what happens between the battles that is important, where we hope we don't see our own reflection in the story of Shin, Lena and the Spearhead Squadron.
There are 85 districts of San Magnolia, where the real people live, behind their fortress wall, knowing they are protected by their autonomous army of drone juggernauts, standing steadfast against the Legion - the robotic army of the neighboring Empire ... which fell four years prior because their robotic army was just a bit too good at what it did. But that's okay, right? Their programming will run down in two years, right? With our drones our wars have zero combat deaths.
Except the juggernauts aren't drones. They have pilots. The 86. Those who live fight and die in the 86th District, outside the fortress walls. But who cares - they aren't human, right? Racism based on the color of one's hair, based on the color of one's eyes. Silly isn't it? Look in the mirror. Are our reasons for racism any less silly, any less arbitrary, any less stupid and any less self-destructive?
86 has many subtleties ... but author Asato Asato is skilled in knowing when a two by four is required to derive a point home.
And of course we have the brave and valiant heroine who sees past this prejudice, heart of gold and spirit white. Except Asato shows she actually understands. The 86 point out she is just as bad as everyone else before her, that she just doesn't get it. And they are right.
And - if we are being honest with ourselves - look in the mirror ... we probably didn't get it either.
This is what makes 86 an excellent story.
It's also a good anime. The animation is spectacular, the scripting and directing smart. If you've read the light novels they capture the spirit and tone of the original story fantastically, even accounting for pacing. It was actually extremely enjoyable - having read 86 I found myself not going "oh I know what will happen" but "how will they show this" and have never been disappointed.
And having read the light novels I found myself choking every now and then - realizing that certain small items in the background were way too smart foreshadowing of something that would happen an episode or two later.
Asato Asato is a character herself - no, she does not have a self-insert avatar in the show - but she is very interesting and quirky person. She is a true World War II and military hardware junkie and many of the mecha and maneuvers are definitely - and unapologetically - inspired by historical vehicles and equipment. She likes what she likes and it's reflected in the art. But not enough to break actuality - in one of the light novel epilogues she notes that while she believes science fiction flight suits are way cool ... they didn't make sense for her mecha drivers and thus they wear proper military fatigues.
Yes, she understands she is telling a story of child soldiers. For a very good reason. By the time the story starts ... everyone older has already been killed. And yes, as the story goes on you see just how deeply this has affected how the 86 look at the world, no matter all the good intentions that cross their path.
The music is by Sawano - so of course its excellent - fitting the story and what's happening on the screen seamlessly.
86 is a two-cour anime. The first cour told the story of volume 1 of the light novel, ending in a very satisfying break - part cliff hangar, part with you wanting so much to know what happens next. The second cour fulfills that promise.
All the current episodes are on Crunchyroll.
It is currently on hold, because of covid and the desire to ensure the final three episodes meet the quality of work deserves. They are scheduled for broadcast in March.
I can't wait.
Last edited by Wolf; Sat 26/02/22 15:18 UTC.
