Eighty Six

The Republic of San Magnolia's proudest achievement— a war with no casualties. Their military is able to protect the 85 districts of their land against the relentless, robotic armies of the Legion, all without losing a single drop of blood, thanks to their automated drones.

But as with all things that sound too good, it's not true.

See, there's an 86th sector, unbeknownst to the public, and it's those people that get to fight the war against the Legion. The people of this 86th district aren't even considered humans, so it doesn't matter how many of them die. And oh boy, do they die.

86 follows the story of Lena, one of the Alba (the "humans") who's seen as a case of cuckoo by her peers due to her considering the 86 as humans. She works as a Handler, who supervises the 86 combat units via Electronic Telepathy.

86 also follows the story of the Spearhead Squadron, which an 86 only get assigned to when they've kicked enough Legion butt. They're the best of the best, and their current captain Shin is infamous for being the sole survivor of every squadron he's been in.

Of course, it's Lena that gets put in charge of the Spearhead Squadron (because she actually gives a shit about fighting the war). And thus begins one of the best war dramas I've ever had the pleasure of watching.

As of the time of this writing, the first episode of the second season has just come out. Feel free to discuss! If you've just dropped in and you're wondering whether to check it— YES you should check it out. This series is fantastic.

Such a great series. War dramas/mechas usually aren't my thing, but stuck around because of Lena and am glad I did. Enjoy the progression we've seen from her now as the Bloody Reina in this first episode of the second cour.

Wow, we finally got a thread lol!

Honestly, can't wait for expanded Lena/Annette/Shiden scenes. Their role in this part of the story desperately needs expansion. Seriously, I want to know how Shiden falls in love with Lena!

^ You HAVE to mean Shoujo Mech Drama lol. Just kidding, but yeah mech isn't my thing either normally.

Edited by onyhow on Oct 3rd 2021 at 8:35:48 AM

This new and improved version of Lena who can sassily bite back at her boss is a thing of beauty.

It was nice to see Lena and Annette are back on speaking terms. At the very least they’re partners in crime.

"Shoujo Mecha War Drama" honestly isn't that far off, especially as of the latest volumes available in english.

It'll be interesting to see how well the second cour does as an adaption. The first was about as good as could be hoped for, but the second gives the staff considerably more freedom to err given it's content. There's also the question of whether or not this might get follow-on seasons, which should influence how they approach things.

Second season started off strong, so I have high hopes.

Can I just mention how much Iove the shots in this show? There’s always some layer to peel back. There’s a part where Lena “walks into” a sword, as if she’s being beheaded, which was recurrent imagery in the first season as well.

Edited by fillerdude on Oct 4th 2021 at 8:30:42 AM

I'll admit I'm somewhat amused by Lena's new look because if this was most series then the black and red would mark her as a bad guy.

I'm getting serious General Halleck vibes from her boss. It is interesting though that she's got her own little clique now. Which really speaks to how her demotion seems to be in name only. Nobody goes down a rank and then gains a staff. Not a very big staff, mind you, but I guess when your qualifications are "competent" and "Not a racist" the pickings are slim.

Speaking of not being racist, I did notice some white haired folks in our new country.

And what are the odds of Shin and Little Miss Lost Her Throne being related?

Here's an appropriate question for the first page:

Do we want to set up a special spoiler policy for this series? The epilogue of the first volume of the light novel series takes place after the story told in the second and third volumes. The anime adaption obviously changed that, but the result is that it's very easy to inadvertently spoil future events that were something of a foregone conclusion in the source material.

Back when I was pretty much the sole curator of the work page I did put up a big warning for Vol 1 spoilers and that I won't spoiler it due to First-Episode Twist, which includes bits from the Epilogue (before I got edit suspended and hadn't touched the page for a year now). I think it's the more specific stuff in Vol 2 that can be easier to spoiler I think. Although for this thread maybe spoiler tag the epilogue wouldn't be a bad idea too for anime-only people. Although honestly, only the reunion is a big spoiler now. Back at cour 1 the team's survival and the existence of the Federacy would be a big spoiler too, but that's out of the bag now..

Also, why the anime only demotes her to a Captain? LN demotes her way down to a Lieutenant. Or is there a translation issue somewhere? Who's right though: anime or Yen LN TL?

@fillerdude: Yeah, Ishi absolutely packed the visuals with things like that and tons and tons of Foreshadowing. Also they back as friends now. Note the matching mug.

@High Velocity Pointy Things: Well yeah, Vol 7 lol. That was a cute and hilarious volume. Nice serious bits too.

Edited by onyhow on Oct 4th 2021 at 9:31:12 AM

I personally would like it if anything not covered in the anime was spoilered. And if you’re discussing anything from the light novel I’d appreciate if it was indicated as such.

^ That can be a slight problem when the event shown in the anime isn't quite as well-described as in the LN though. Specifically, the anime didn't explain how Rei survived that duel with Shin, rescued the gang from the headhunting Lowe, and bring them to the Federacy. The anime also didn't show Annette destroying her and Lena's matched mug during their breakup in EP 8, so symbolism of the matched mug being shown in this episode can be a bit lost. Still it's a sensible policy.

Edited by onyhow on Oct 4th 2021 at 9:43:41 AM

There are certain things in Vol. 2 and 3 that definitely can be expanded upon by the anime to be even more impactful.

The biggest ones to me are: Karlstahl's death and the death of Lena's mom.

Really the entirety of (this one is pretty big): the Legion breaking into San Magnolia and massacring Alba. can be expanded upon a lot.

Asato Asato is heavily involved in the production of the anime so I have hopes.

You can read an interview she did before the start of this cour.

Highlights of that include:

She even had input on the choice of voice actors for the characters:

We should be grateful Asato Asato seems to know how to transition a light novel into an anime format.

Edited by IceAnt573 on Oct 5th 2021 at 6:01:10 AM

Episode 2: Oooh that OP rocks, but I'm averting my eyes as much as I can. I don't want spoilers.

Nice montage scene showing the Spearhead survivors living their lives as citizens of the Federal Republic of Giad. Shin can't help but attract the ladies— oh shit that's the book he used to read as a kid. Ouch.

And understandably all that peace is wracking Shin and the rest with survivor's guilt. That shot of Kaie holding her detached head in her arms, pleading for Shin to "save us"... oh man. It's gonna take a lot of time and healing before our guys can move on. But for the time being, they want to plunge back into battle. I'm not complaining, I want to see them kick ass with actual resources backing them. Ernst also at least got them thinking about what they'll do once the war is over. His party hat was wasted though. Wasted!

I also appreciate those little hints of discomfort that they show whenever they realize they don't have their telepathy anymore.

Wow Frederica was packing a lot more secrets than I thought. She's not only an empress, she actually has the ability to peer into the pasts of people. But uhhh, are they really gonna bring her along to the battlefield? Is she supposed to be their new Handler of sorts?

Guess we enter the high school arc next episode. Funny seeing that trope. They'll likely run into that Eugene Rantz fella at the academy.

Really enjoyed the downtime this episode. After seeing what the Eighty-Six went through, it's nice seeing them have normal lives. Really liked Shin's parts this episodes. With the first cour having been Lena-centric, I'm welcoming more development of him.

This episode and the 86's survivors guilt and desire to go back "till the end" remind me of how, late in the American Civil War, many men who volunteered at the beginning of the conflict had signed up for three year enlistment terms. Well three years of bloody war fighting later and the war's end was nowhere in sight. In fact, it was getting worse around this time. But when their enlistments expired and they had the option to go home, there was an interesting split. Those who had primarily served in the rear mostly left the service. Those who were fighting out on the front overwhelmingly re-enlisted. And they're stated reasons were very similar to what we saw in this episode. So as depressing as it is seeing them feel obligated to go back to the war, it's actually not surprising.

Yeah, the depiction of survivor’s guilt and PTSD was on point. It was most obvious with Kurena, but they were all sincerely trying to be normal, but one glance at the spider-mechs and they felt compelled to go back.

The bright side is at least this time their command isn’t gonna be actively undermining their operations. They’re gonna have support fire and resources. And probably a sizable salary!

Edited by fillerdude on Oct 10th 2021 at 12:25:15 PM

Heck, considering they're going to officer school, they just might be part of command themselves.

Speaking of which, although she's a step removed from the frontlines, you know who hasn't stopped fighting since the show began? Lena!

IMO Raiden's PTSD is also interestingly shown: he's instinctively doing joystick movement like he's back in the Juggernaut.

Episode 3: Shin (and presumably the others) is overqualified for school. Clearly the story knew there was little for them to learn and thus we skip most of the potential high school BS and jump ahead to their graduation to military service. Thank you.

Holy crap, the Republic of Giad was nice enough to build a monument for the names that Shin was carrying. Seeing familiar names there sends pinpricks of pain to my heart. I hope this gesture helps their souls rest a little more easily... wait HOLY SHIT FIDO IS BACK. Okay, Lt. Col. Grethe Wenzel is pretty cool.

It's hilarious that it's Giad tradition to have mascots in their squads. That's one way to justify why Frederica can hang out with them I guess. I allow her existence if only because she returned Shin's gun to him. Just heartwarming to see him smile so much.

We also get a taste of the mecha action this episode. The Monsters of the Republic. You love to see it. Shin has worked his way up to CO of his squadron (by virtue of all his superiors dying before him) and is still giving his mechanics headaches.

Goddammit Eugene why did you have to tempt fate. That shot of his arm holding the locket was already a gut punch, then it turns out the arm WAS DETACHED from his body. Ugh. Nice to know 86 hasn't lost its touch.

And now that's two episodes without even a glimpse of Lena. I hope she's doing well. As well as she can be.

Episode 4: They're Juggernauts, not Reginleifs. Poor Grethe got grilled.

Also expected, but we get confirmation of other countries that are weathering the Legion's attacks. Speaking of which, I'm getting a bit nervous about the Legion's large-scale assault. Shin knows it ain't gonna be pretty.

Aww, Shin and Raiden remember Lena fondly. Hope she's doing well.

From the map at the end the answer is not particularly. San Mangolia is doomed next episode, Giad is preparing for a harsh attack and it'll probably still not be enough so what's going to happen to San Mangolia who aren't even considering that anything could breach their pretty walls?

Things that are okay after this episode:

1. The animation

2. Lena's determination

3. Lena's relationship with her uncle (I'm happy they were able to come to some sort of reconciliation seeing as how this is 100% their last meeting)

Things that are not okay after this episode:

1. San Mangolia

2. Shin's mental health

3. Frederica's mental health

4. Jesus Christ, all these bitches need therapy.

5. Me after that fucking cliffhanger (ENOUGH WITH THE FUCKING RAILGUNS KIRI!!!!!)

Edited by Mami on Oct 30th 2021 at 6:58:25 PM

It's looking like my hunch from last season about Lena's father getting legioned was right going by the voice of the Legion command net.

Frederica seems in a better mental state then any of the Nordlicht 86. Her negatives appear to just be worry for them.

One is technically higher than zero, doesn't make it high number. Besides that I was referring to her unfortunate predicament of dealing with Nouzen men and all their...issues.