86 Eighty-Six

86 is a really gripping futuristic war drama that incorporates lots of realistic themes of oppression of the lower class, racism, flawed authoritarianism, and the lonliness and bittersweetness of war. It's definitely not one for kids, but it's not overly violent or dramatic just for show. At times it gave me similar feelings to Attack on Titan: watching a squadron rush headfirst into their almost certain peril all while holding a tightknit family-like experience during times of non-combat. This show is quite different than AoT though, but if you liked one you'll like them both. The main plot of the show is that the Republic(home of the Alba) have exiled the lower class 86 into a forced war against the Legion, their enemy from foreign lands. The Alba are considered the pure blood race who live in the center of the Republic in peace and luxury, and those not sharing their genetic features are deported into the region surrounding where the Alba live into what they call the 86th region. The 86 as those people are known are forced to sign up for military service and are considered subhuman by the commanders who rule over them. One of the rising Majors in the Republic gets assigned to be a Handler for the 86's top squadron known as Spearhead. I don't want to spoil anything but from there you get to see the war unfold from two viewpoints: the handler Vladilena Milizé and the Spearhead squadron lead by Shinei Nouzen. The main draw for me is the interesting way you see the soldiers and handler experiencing the same war from completely different positions. There is also pretty excellent world building and character development throughout the show. You feel the drama of war and the bittersweetness of this group of people who are doing their best to live as normally as possible through the horrible realities of war and oppression. I also like the mecha aspect of this show since they're not piloting your normal humanoid looking giant robots, but rather something a little bit more realistic feeling that are more along the lines of a crawling spider-like mecha. The animation is very well done and some of the scenes are downright beautiful. They also did a really great job of incorporating original music into the show with lyrics written for the series instead of just importing in already made songs. Lush orchestral music fills in the dramatic scenes and really helps accompany some of the deeper feelings you get from watching. I thought the voice acting was pretty good, maybe some of the characters could have been slightly better but I'm being nitpicky and there was nothing to complain about. My only real complaint is that at times the plotlines felt a little too coincidental, convenient, and a little flimsy. The story largely holds up nicely however and it's definitely one of the better shows I've ever watched. Overall I'd say unless you just hate any anime that isn't fun and goofy, you'll love this show. It's really a gem. For now I'm saying it does fall short of masterpiece territory, but I have yet to watch the 2nd season. 8.5/10