Hello everyone, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll once again be watching an actual ongoing show, as my generous supporters (that’s you guys!) are keen on facilitating some more timely criticism. This time we’ll be checking out 86, a show that I’ve heard has some pretty solid production chops, but whose light novel origins stopped my interest cold. I’ll admit it, I’ve basically called a personal moratorium on watching light novel adaptations; I generally find their writing sophomoric and frustrating, and since I no longer have to watch every premiere or review seasonal anime, I no longer have to deliberately watch things that I know will frustrate me. That said, the volume of praise this adaptation has been receiving did pique my interest, so it feels worth checking in on how exemplary this production is; I have my own media preferences, but am always open to being wrong about something (I mean, it’s in the site title). Let’s see what everyone’s been talking about, and stroll through the first episode of 86!

Episode 1

Opening on a unique CG cut, following a train forward as an announcer speaks of enemy units up ahead. From what I’d seen, it seemed like this show leaned into the design ethos of Nazi Germany, and these german-sounding vehicle names certainly support that

“Though with that many of them, I bet you’re all gonna die!” The announcer breaks his formal character for a moment, and I tick the “intrusive, overly casual authorial voice” on my light novel bingo sheet

The CG integration is pretty impressive for this battle scene, though there’s not really much sense of developing tension? It’s just a lot of visual noise, with the speaker’s yelling not really seeming to be associated with the action on-screen

Nice series of compositions as we arrive at our heroine; I’m always fond of these partial body shots setting the rhythm of a character’s morning

And of course her costume has those magical school stripper garters, instantly dispelling any sense of non-fetishistic worldbuilding. Ticking another box on the sheet

She salutes a lily with a fallen petal, a clear enough metaphor for a dead friend. Good stuff – using a symbolism flourish to explain the character’s emotions without dialogue

“May 13th, Stellar Year 2148”

In spite of their decadent surroundings, their food looks cold and artificial, like it’s made of plastic. Clearly a deliberate effect, accented by the dish of pills

Very confident direction and transitions so far, people were not joking about that. The pace of the cuts consistently draws the audience forward, while highlighting the unspoken emotional turns of our heroine

In spite of the peaceful scene, staccato cuts create a sense of unease, bolstered by the energetic character animation of the crowd in each cut. We also hear “things are sunny in all 85 districts,” creating an immediate sense of uneasy dissonance, given the title

Yeah, it feels like we’re seeing a real directorial voice emerge here. Strong stuff

Also, everyone has silver hair, which is the clearest anime sign of a segregated society

“Damage taken by our side was minimal, with no injuries or fatalities!” Standard propaganda. So presumably all the injuries and fatalities were inflicted on the un-people of the 86th district? 86 is dabbling in some heavy thematic territory here

Our heroine is a major

It seems like they’re also drawing in some of the symbolism of the French revolution? Interesting mix here

“Those pigs were crying yesterday!” So their unpiloted drones are actually piloted by 86ers

Milize is her name

We pan over empty bottles and trash in one of the marble fountains, another clear metaphor for this nation’s soiled opulence. The production team is really flexing in terms of their visual storytelling

“What’s that Processor’s problem? He’s just a part!” Awkward proper nouns for things that already have names, take another bingo square

“We’re from District 1. Why do we have to listen to bitching from the pigs in District 86?” Aww, and the show was doing so well with its visual storytelling! Well, take another square for “artificial dialogue as transparent exposition,” and a third for “cartoonishly evil contrasts to our protagonist”

“Why do you care so much about the Eighty-Six?” I’m hovering over the “protagonist is celebrated for showing a modicum of empathy, unlike every other character” bingo square, but 86’s rigid, propaganda-driven society could theoretically explain the disconnect of this line, even if it still sounds clumsy in execution

Vladilena Milize

She commands the “drone” pilots from her terminal. Her partner’s call sign is Pleiades

“Every time, you’re so kind to us inhuman 86.” Yeah, I’m crossing that bingo square

Ooh, I love this match cut out of her current moment, and back to whenever she presumably started to recognize the humanity of the 86. The direction really is overperforming here, and making me wish the script was a little more graceful

As a new major, Milize was unexpectedly assigned to be the handler of a veteran ace squad with a key defensive position

The superior here is actually her uncle Jerome, who calls her Lena. Apparently she’s a prodigy

This conversation allows for some natural exposition, informing us that Lena’s father is dead, and her mother wants her to get married

The head of this unit, Undertaker, is known as the Reaper, because any handler who commands it either requests a transfer or commits suicide

“They say they’re haunted by the voices of the dead.” So this guy has some way of making handlers feel guilty for the way they treat their underclass?

“Stop putting your number of fatalities on your reports.” This show’s heart is in the right place, but its depiction of segregation and class injustice already feels a little simplistic. The ways we dehumanize people in the real world are far more complex than simply acting like they don’t exist

Incidentally, if you want a show that actually does dive into the intersection of race, class, and a living society in a thoughtful way, you should absolutely check out Planetes

Milize’s questions about Undertaker also serve a graceful expositional purpose, as we learn more about the nature of the connection between handler and pilot

Apparently they’re fighting “the Legion,” and are confident the fight will be over in two years

It seems Lena inherited a strong sense of honor from her father, which puts her at odds with much of her society

Lena’s friend in R&D tempts her with real milk and eggs for once

Another clever transition out of this scene, as the violent crash of the cream puff doubles as the explosion Lena hears from her console. I’ll certainly be looking out for whatever this director handles next!

Also excellent use of sound design to evoke the disorientation and horror of battle, while we only see these monitor readouts go dead. I see now what they were doing with that opening segment – it wasn’t supposed to be clear action, it was supposed to be terrible pandemonium, in keeping with this story’s general themes. Nice job on that, then!

Ooh, neat structural trick here. After the mid-episode break, the show repeats Lena’s morning routine with Undertaker, illustrating the contrast between their two worlds in the clearest possible terms. Again, just great concept and execution by the production team

The mutual fondness of this crew make for a sharp contrast with their handlers, and their diverse hair colors are echoed by the flowers outside

They also have genuine eggs, another clear contrast – their lives literally have more color and flavor

On the wall, we see them crossing off a caricature of their latest handler

The warrior maiden who’s framed as a glorious protector in the capital, is here spray-painted as a cruel persecutor of the people. No surprises there

The show is almost ostentatious in its on-the-nose visual motifs, but I vastly prefer a director who’s trying and perhaps overshooting to one who’s just going through the motions. Yet again, I’m left eager to see what director Toshimasa Ishii does next

“White Pig always does that.” So do they call the other districts White Pigs, to not just insult them, but emphasize how they’re actually the same as 86ers?

Shin seems to be our leader

And just like with Lena’s cream puff, the crash of a bowl on the ground returns us to the battlefield. Not only is this a neat, energetic style of transition, it also feels like a natural illustration of what life on the battlefield is like, with moments of peace blurring into moments of extreme terror. And it also evokes the experience of PTSD, emphasizing how any sort of violence can draw you back to the battlefield. Just a really strong choice all around

There’s no glory on this battlefield, just fear and death. I appreciate how completely this production is leaning into the horror of battle, and not glamorizing its action in the slightest

This sequence is fantastic! What efficient, effective storytelling – we get that moment of this guy playfully interacting with his friends and the cat, and now he’s gone, without a moment to catch our breath. Great color work too, and layouts that emphasize the impersonal nature of this battlefield. Just a top notch sequence all around

And then the transition from that back to their “carefree” daily life, perfectly priming us in the audience to understand their initial impression of Lena. Really good stuff!

And Done

Alright, fair enough 86, you’ve got some stuff going on here. The actual narrative here is definitely stronger than I expected, though still clumsy in terms of its dialogue, and pretty on-the-nose in terms of its worldbuilding. But there was blessedly little of the canned comedy or otaku-isms I tend to fear from light novels, and more importantly, the actual production here was consistently excellent. Toshimasa Ishii is clearly a director with talent and ambition, and his inspired use of visual contrast, strong emphasis on character-enriching visual motifs, and excellent use of transition shots made for an engaging watch. Additionally, while Lena’s story felt a little too basic and familiar to grab me, that one-two punch of the ending really established the 86ers’ side with gusto. Quite a solid first episode!

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