User Reviews

What an emotional ride that was. It might as well have been series finale. A bit sad at the end really with a flicker of hope for the squad.

I just finished this show and absolutely loved it, the plot was a lot deeper than I thought it was going to be, my only issue was that I felt like it should've been longer, it kinda gave off AoT vibes but instead was only 11 episode. Still recommend watching it.

I'm gonna be straight with you. After completing the 2 seasons, I can gladly say that this thing is one of the best anime of all time. The writing, story, themes, such as freedom, AOT vibes coursing through my veins. CHARACTERS, Shin & Lena, that smooth CGI, and last but not least the SOUNDTRACK, both S1 ED are my favorite anime ED of all time. From none but the LEGENDARY AOT Ost composers themselves, Hiroyuki Sawano & Kohta Yamamoto. Their involvement alone makes this show incredible. It piqued my interest in this 'cause of them, tbh. And I do not regret watching this. Such an underrated masterpiece. My recommendation is 11/10.

The story has plenty of mystery with the enemy, overarching political themes that add to the realism and depth, and lovable characters that make us want more. The OST is god-tier and it's no surprise because it's Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto who did the OST for things like AoT. And the animation is absolutely stellar. The action is quite literally a combo of AoT and Code Geass where our characters pilot tank mechas that swing around like ODM-gear. Yes there is CGI, but the blending of it almost gives demon slayer a run for its money.

If you're still on-edge of watching this anime, go watch the 2nd opening (minimal spoilers, 1st opening is okay) to get a feel. This show is a hidden gem right now within the community.

A very well adapted LN series 86 certainly made an impact in its season 1. If you love military action packed anime along with emotional moments (for instance ep 9 was an absolute banger) and a touch of mysterious world then 86 will certainly amaze you. The closest thing to the world of 86 is the universe of AOT, in terms of disagreement among the races of people. So I recommend you watching it, it's a short anime which will continue its journey in the fall of this year.

I started watching 86 because I was intrigued by the song "Voices of the Chord" from the score, which I stumbled across. Wow, am I glad I did. This took me completely by surprise and is now one of my favorite stories. I read everything that's out in the light novel series immediately after finishing Season 1, and I'm really excited for Season 2. Some things I liked (spoiler-free):

• The depiction of war felt appropriately heavy. Some stories use death as a cheap plot-thickener and then slide it under the rug right away, but 86 treats death with dignity. This is especially well-written because it isn't just told to the viewer; it's naturally shown in characters' actions and dispositions, whether they're good, bad, or lukewarm.

• The story explores issues of racism and prejudice that reflect the real-life complexities of interacting with those who aren't like oneself and the consequences of not treating each other like humans, worthy of respect and love. This is well-written in the subtle and natural building tension between characters.

• MUSIC. Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto did the score. If that's not enough to grab your attention because you haven't heard the OST for AOT, then just know their music improved every scene. If you're not sure, look up Avid, Voices of the Chord, or the previews of the OST (it's not out officially on Spotify yet :/). I recommend "Shin" and "Hear My Voice." I mean, a song got me into this, right?

• 86 didn't tell me what its world was like right away. I had to keep watching to figure out why certain things were the way they were, which I love. Natural world-building for the win!

• There was minimal sexualization of women. One scene does show some nudity from the back, but it didn't feel like a sexualization; it had a very different intention and wasn't the focus, at least in my opinion. If you're someone who is made uncomfortable by "fan-service" in anime, know you don't have to worry about that being shoved into every scene here.

• Many scenes reached a new level because of thoughtful, artistic cinematography that deepened the meaning of the moment subtly. Some were so beautifully done that they are still ingrained in my brain.

• There's some excellent sci-fi, mecha action! This is even better because the machines are not these awe-inspiring, top-of-the-line technological advances; it allows the tactics and skills of the soldiers to stand out. But not all the tension in the plot is drawn from action, thankfully. :)

Honestly, I believe this show is completely worth your time, whatever your typical genre preferences. It's a heavy story, but it still brims with hope and moments of pure life that are brighter for the darkness. I know I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

If you needed a little push, I hope this review does it for you. I've only ever written one review here, and 86 was so good that it necessitated my second. I hope it is as meaningful to you as it is to me!

The series is pretty interesting to watch , you may not understand whats happening in eps 1 but eps 2 is on really different level ,eps 1 may seem boring but when you step on to eps 2 the firework will begin to light and its is a different feel.dont keep reading go watch it while you still can.

The story will be great in future. Absolutely recommended. Watch it or you will miss a very good story line. One of the good anime series that I will recommend for you to watch.

This is a great anime and it's only getting better. Give this a watch. Has a great story for now. The visuals are great.

I'll need to update this review in the future, but so far this is becoming the product that I wish Code Geass had been. Imagine the most wasted Code Geass character, Monica Krushevsky, who canonically held no prejudices but was still murdered by her own comrade Suzaku for awfully-written shock value, gets transported to an alternate universe to finally get proper characterization on-screen. Heading a troupe of discriminated teenage soldiers who are fighting a war that they were forced into because of a restructuring of borders and caste systems thanks to an AI invasion from an opposing country, Lena faces the ironic hypocrisy of her beliefs that all "Numbers"--in this case called "86"--are equal to her race when she only needs to passively observe the battles on the sidelines of the war and not face the consequences firsthand. Unlike Code Geass, the story remains tight and focused without throwing in any annoying fanservice or diverging into a dumb subplot about a school festival. Deaths actually carry weight since we get to know the characters and their comrades actually get time to grieve. It's an emotional, smartly-written tale that shows just how far anime has come from the plethora of tropes or comically bad overdramatic "plot twists" that plague its fakely smart counterpart Code Geass.

I hope to see more truly introspective writing like this in the future with more anime and that "86" will consistently hit those strong emotional notes while staying true to what it originally set out to do.

The newest mecha Spring 2021 anime. In a dystopian world, a group of non Alba soldiers were forced to fight the Legion, a nation with many automatic robots.

As a mecha, the animation is an important factor in making the action entertaining. And 86 had one of the best quality animation this Spring. The CGI of the robots were incredibly smooth, especially in their movement. The robots were spider-like, and they jumped around and made some entertaining action moves. This was easily the strongest part of the series.

The premise showed the cruel reality where kids who did not have blue hair had to go to battle to defend the country that saw them as subhuman. It became more heartbreaking to see what they did to cope with their lost comrades. The injustice was further seen when the group worked with a new handler.

However, like Akame ga Kill, it was hard to care for so many characters in such a short amount of time. Because of this, I didn't feel much impact in the middle of the series when something happened to these side characters.

Despite this, the main 86, Undertaker, actually had a good story that I could latch on. His actions were more meaningful than the rest, and I like his character the most. However, certain parts still felt rushed.

Overall, a good-looking mecha anime with emotions that didn't fully hit me. Hopefully season 2 will be even better. 7/10.

It's top of the line beautiful quality animation full of pointless emotional drama, they know when to queue the piano and violins, unfortunately due to that, the other parts of the story suffer from a lack of attention to detail..

The world building is extremely poor, to a point were the world mechanics does not make sense at all...

The action is subpar and boring, the world feels small because the story is hyper focused on teenage drama and death.. it dwells way too much on the effects and less on the cause in other to capitalize on drama and tear jerking...

It feels like it was written by an algorithm, it lacks purpose....

One of the best anime's I've seen in a while everything about it the characters, the music, the action it's just perfect to be honest one of the best anime's I've ever seen easily do you're self a favor and watch this masterpiece.

This anime's absolutely fantastic. Man I want a season 2 so bad and not at the same time. Reason being I'm afraid that some of the characters my be killed in the next season.

Season two really made this anime some sort of masterpiece for the mecha gender. I usually dislike mecha, except from Code Geass, but this is just perfect; all characters are deep and well developed, and the Lena x Shin relationship (not saying as a couple) is peak fiction. Definitely should give it a try.

It was not bad, but we have to see its continuation and it is really hard to judge. I liked the subject, I hope it gets better in the future.

I have never left a review for any anime, and I've seen thousands of episodes across many many shows.

86 is so good I simply couldn't not review it.

The plot is incredible, with twists and turns you can't predict. The characters are amazing. Season 2 continues to build on season 1 in an incredible way.

The animation is great and the actions scenes have you on the edge of your seat.

The show also explores really deep and interesting themes around racism, war, democracy, authoritarianism, and so much more.

This show is my favorite anime of all time. That is a bold statement and it may not be yours, but you simply must watch it.

I do admit that this anime could have been better. There was a difference between the climax and beginning. The ending was sharper whiles the early and midway episodes were too slow. The first half of the anime relied too much on emotional scenes and shock value which became repetitive without advancing the story any further. However, the show managed to turn tables around in the second half by having a faster pace and unpredictable storyline. The ending calls for more. The first season might have started slowly but it shows potential.

The plot is quite interesting but it didn't be developed well. The character, especially the girls have their own feelings and strength, they didn't be used as toys like most anime ( hey hey calm down, I know there are some excellent anime, but that is a small number )

I THINK. The creators wanted to see what response will the series and the new plot get.

THE RESPONSE: Was people liked the series and the plot.

BUT not the character development so people commented all over the internet about its weak points and strong points.

THE CREATORS: saw potential in the series and a 2nd Season is already Announced.

If they want the series to be loved.

They need to give us some kinda character development and poetic dialogues.

HOPE THEY LISTEN TO THE RESPONSES AND GIVE US A HELL OF A 2nd SEASON.

I Gave it 10/10 just to give this series a chance.

Wonderful anime with very detailed characters and environments. The story is good, but you can't get rid of the feeling that much more would have been possible there.

Eighty Six was the anime that many people bet their coins on, coming from a very well rated Light Novel. This anime promises to deliver high-level political, ethical and social conflicts, which many didn't know was if these would be worked in a cohesive way. And not biased.

That said, I must say that the anime fails to deliver such a debate, writer Asato, perhaps out of inexperience or lack of grounding, delivers the obvious that is said in most current works that carry these themes, "hey, fascism is wrong and racism is a bad thing!", having said that, don't expect complex dialogues and debates about these themes, because one of the flaws of this one is not having a design that facilitates the difference of ethnicities, since the characters follow the line of "generic anime character design" (search Google Images if you don't understand), of course we have exceptions, for example those who live in the republic are all white (almost albino) and have the same hair color, one of the characters that is shown in battlefield is black, the rest has the same skin color, so it's up to us to find out what their races are, one of the tips I give is to see the origin of their names.

But for all that reason, what was delivered by the anime is bad? By no means does he work very well with what he has and, as simplistic as it is, the message is catchable.

Of course those who expected more due to your proposal may be disappointed with the delivery, but I must say that at no time did I bother with what the anime discussed, as much as it doesn't raise the debate to grandiose levels, it doesn't offend, and it can to put the most lay people to reflect on something bigger.

The anime can also divide viewers on the issue of empathy for the characters, it goes well when putting together short scenes and small moments for each of the secondary characters so that we have an appreciation for them, however, which for some can be seen as sad for others it will be just generic montage to catch us in the fragile part of our feelings. I'm particularly torn between both situations, in some moments I was moved, but in others I don't care.

The soundtrack is also something to highlight, Sawano once again did well, and alongside the singer Laco created striking themes, the same cannot be said for the responsible for sound design, Jin Aketagawa is great for creating ambient sound (sound from the breeze in the trees, raindrops, burning wood), but the same cannot be said in battle sounds, where the noise of trucks and machines, in addition to muffling the soundtrack, hinders the concentration of the dialogues.

86 is a good anime, which entertains and raises debates that need care, despite its mistakes I believe it's better than a lot we've had recently on the market, it's worth being seen and discussed, I'm looking forward to the continuation.

If you ever been alone in your journey through life , felt that you had no-one to share your griefs or someone to turn to, then you will propably relate to this series. Losing someone close to you leaves a mark and you carry that burden along. You might lose hope in people and even lose your reason to fight . But i promise you someday you will find people worth fighting for.

The anime is awesome in every level. Animation, visuals , soundtrack . You are in for a treat! An emotional ride in a mysterious world that will certainly amaze you.

86 is a masterpieces it was great storyline and great characters the action sequence are incredible and the ending was so perfect I almost cry I give a +