86

There are tons of high-quality anime set during wartime (not girls in tanks or with propellers on their feet) that also bravely take on political and social subthemes, and 86 is definitely one of them. The alternating confrontation between the progressive and San Magnolia residents and the almost Nazi-esque ones and their racist conscription of non-whites into dirty life-or-death battlefields is decently handled, and even if this makes the romance-tinged Romeo and Juliet storyline predictable, none of it bothered me. But what grates rather more than less in the first half is the story and execution. We're kept on healthy emotional alert throughout, whether through fierce spider-mech battles or heartfelt political declarations, but the series can't manage a very deft handling of the ridiculous amount of tasks it has to accomplish in the opening episodes. Every now and then it spouts exposition out of thin air like a La Palma volcano. It knows full well that it has an overwrought ensemble of characters, but its effort to get rid of them are inept. Then we spend far too long on boring Skyping, only to spend the last 2 episodes not knowing what to do with all the extra time. In terms of quality it trends in a true sawtooth pattern, up and down, thankfully coming to an end right at the beginning of the second part. As soon as the series doesn't have to explain anything anymore, it revs up to an absolute maximum in all areas. For me, both the civilized and endearing passages about the newfound life of outlaws in an advanced society and the relentless, adrenaline-pumping racket were handled so well it was unbelievable. Suddenly, the anime seemed tangible to me, and so believable; I could empathize with the feelings of the main characters as they struggled with their new sensations of regular life, followed by the strangely antithetical withdrawal from the war that had raised them. The tenderness of caregivers, the fun and comfort of a good Christmas, and yet on the other hand the anger and despair from an unexpected blow: I experienced all of this as well. The 16th episode was fantastically heartbreaking, while the last episode made me shed a tear of happiness. I'm glad that for once the content above all of the 2nd half is up to the standard of the excellent graphics and music from A-1, who to my great joy announced that they would be continuing with this project. For the 1st "bark" I would hover around a respectable 3 stars; I will unashamedly give the second half a weaker 5 for how I gulped down 86 with gusto. (11/05/2022)

86 gets off to a great start where we are introduced to an interesting world of social conflict. The very first episode also features a very good battle between mechanized spider tanks which might interest even someone who is not really interested in a mecha anime series, at least it did for me. However, it also raised a few questions that bothered me, like why 86 does not just pick up and bail on a fight, why Undertaker does what he does... Fortunately, we get some pretty plausible answers to these questions as this anime series progresses. After a really great opening there is a more gradual middle section that focuses on relationship development and social differences, and starts to explain the more interesting points, and relentlessly works on characters we have become invested in. The dynamic conclusion starts around episodes eight and nine, with the caveat that if it had ended there, I do not think anyone would have complained, and yes, I must also say that even I had some doubts about the importance of the last two episodes, as well as wondering what exactly they would do with a second cour, because it is now actually pretty much wrapped up. It was an interesting show, with an erratic pace which in a lot of ways, did not hold back. There were a couple of decent characters that intrigued me, however, there were not that many, and no one I liked so much I would perhaps gnaw at my fingernails suffering nervously over their destinies. 6.9/10 ---EDIT 20.3.2022 - Part 2 (episodes 12-23) - The second half of the season, although it obviously had some production problems that led to frequent postponements of the episodes, culminating in the last two episodes being released after three months, was still, in my opinion, much more coherent story-wise and had a steadier pace than the first half. On the one hand, the delays in releasing episodes are bad for the viewer and some viewers might even lose interest, especially when they have to wait this long for a new episode. On the other hand, when I saw the visual quality of the twenty-second episode, I thought that the postponement might have been the best decision and that I was actually quite happy with the result. Furthermore, the last two episodes were very moving, which also contributed to my feelings about this show. However, I am not here just to just praise. I felt that the main narrative in the second half of the season was not as powerful or deep as the first half, the social subject matter was not as strong either, and the whole thing felt much more ordinary and sometimes a bit predictable. However, I still enjoyed 86, and my rating for the first season is exactly between 8 and 6. 7/10. (20/06/2021)