Nightmare Fuel / 86 EIGHTY-SIX

Without the Reaper, you will never be truly dead.

This page contains unmarked spoilers. You Have Been Warned!

Remember, this is not just a mecha story. For a mecha series, 86 EIGHTY-SIX is probably one of the darkest mecha series in recent years. As one one YouTuber says, this series makes mech warfare feel too real.

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In General

• Just what the Eighty-Six have to go through is chilling, to say the least. Though the reasons for the racism against them are ridiculous (and rightfully so), the treatment is disturbing on its own.
  • By the time of the series, most, if not, nearly all of the Juggernaut Processors are all just kids, very often no older than 18. In just 9 years, so many 86ers were thrown into the Legion's hands, that only the kids are available. No wonder Theo understandably just snaps at Lena in Episode 3.
  • You want to know how badly the 86ers can be treated by San Magnolia? Well, to the point that those converted into Shepherds for the Legion view their assimilation as an improvement.
• Shinei Nouzen. There's a good reason his Handlers either quit very quickly or just kill themselves, as Lena found out in a horrifying way.
  • His ability to hear the thoughts of the "Black Sheep" units, specifically their final dying moments, the voice of the dead. And very often, those thoughts all occur together at once like a crowd whenever there are masses of Legion forces. If it's combined with the Para-RAID, EVERYONE will hear what Shin is hearing. No one is spared.
• The Legion. What was supposed an advanced force to protect the Empire of Giad became the greatest threat to humanity, and they will not stop at their objectives. They will do anything to keep going, and everyone finds out the hard way at various points in the series.
  • The military leadership of San Magnolia thought that the war against the Legion would be over in two years from the start of the series, right? Oh, they are wrong. Very wrong. The Legion, unsurprisingly to the reader/viewer, has found one important way to continue. How? Just use the brain of any recently deceased person, and the Legion can keep functioning on and on. In other words, if you die on the battlefield, and unless you are shot in the brain, you will relive your final moments forever, as you continue on as part of the Legion. Remember, They've been doing this for years, and nobody in San Magnolia except Lena truly knew the implications until it was too late.
    • There's a good reason why Shin kills any of his fellow 86ers after they sustain life-threatening injuries, specifically shooting them in their heads. And if he's not around, well, better hope they have the will to kill themselves.

Anime

Part 1

Part 2

• Episode 4's post-credits scene reveals that, in other words, San Magnolia is absolutely fucked. As this image◊ shows, the Legion, symbolized by a mess of red scribble on the map, is literally right there on the doorstep, and it's too late to stop them.
• Episode 6 sees the anticipated Legion invasion of San Magnolia. Very quickly, the entire country is overrun and torn apart, and guess how much of the population is harvested? Ten million San Magnolians. 90% of the entire population.
• What happens when the most genocidal and mentally insane person becomes assimilated into a superweapon capable of immensely violent destruction? The Morpho, controlled by the absolutely unhinged Kiriya.
  • How unhinged? Whenever Shin hears the thoughts of Kiriya, he is seen repeating his mantra, seeking just to kill. Nothing else but to kill. Even the Legion questions his actions and requests for him to undergo reconditioning.