kilrazan

86 absolutely blew me away. I didn't have very high expectations for this show but it went far beyond anything I'd hoped for, and while I won't claim it's the best show of the season, it's absolutely worth watching.

Story - 86 gives us parallel stories with two main characters whose lives and choices impact each other significantly. Major Milize is a strong-willed but naive woman who spends her days within the safety of the walls of her city as a Handler, giving instructions remotely to the "Unmanned" drones her government has sent into war against the automated enemy known as Legion. She has to reconcile her job against the fact that she knows a well-kept secret about these "Unmanned" mechs; at the start of the war, the government declared the Alba - a race of silver-haired and silver-eyed people - as the only people officially designated as "Human". Every other race - from then on designated as "86" - were stripped of their rights and forced to live outside the safety of the city walls and pilot the mechs. One day the Major is assigned to a problematic unit that has driven previous Handlers to madness and suicide - a unit headed by an 86 known as Undertaker. We come to learn that the Undertaker got his name because after a fellow 86 falls in combat, he takes a piece of their mech, carves their name in it, and carries it with him in hopes of giving them something close to a proper burial at the end of the war. We then get an alternating POV as we follow the Major and the Undertaker through their struggles in fighting against the Legion, and the relationships they have - and lose - with the rest of the unit as their pilots keep passing away in battle. It's at once an inspiring and heartbreaking tale, with one of the most moving and poeting endings I've seen in a long time. 8/10; There better be a season 2, because I need to see where this goes next.

Animation - A-1 Pictures are no stranger to this kind of anime, and they certainly brought that experience to the table with this show. It was a beautiful visual experience from start to finish. The color palletes for various scenes brought some striking visuals that really enhanced the mood of the scene, the backgrounds were all gorgeusly detailed, and there was an incredible attention to detail and consistency in the set pieces. Frankly, I was even surprised at how good the 3d animation on the mechs was. There were a handful of occasions that some rough animation made its way through, and overall I'd say they could have done better with the character animations, so it's not perfect by any stretch. 8/10; Gimme more of them sunsets.

Sound - Ah, Hiroyuki Sawano... If every anime out there could tap into your musical talent, the medium would be in a much better place. Basically everything about this OST fit the scene perfectly - not a single song felt out of place and every track is beautiful in its own right. And surprisingly, I've actually found myself enchanted with the Ending theme over the Opening theme, which is something I never really thought would happen. Beyond the music, the sound effects are great and pack just the right punch, and the voice actors put in some solid work. 9/10; I'm going to be listening to that ED track for quite a while.

Characters - While this show may not provide the *best* examples of amazing characterization, what it does provide is an incredible and memorable cast where each character fits their role perfectly. Everyone has believeable motives that drives them to action, despite what dangers may lie ahead of them. Everyone has hangups, flaws, and serious moral quandries to face, and ultimately shows a great range of emotion. Covering the most prominent of the characters; the Major demonstrates serious character growth as she comes to realize just how much she has taken her safety for granted, despite knowing all along who the 86 truly were. The Undertaker shows us a hidden side of himself that he refused to show even his closest comrades. The military leader above the Major shows a weak side when he discusses how he reluctantly follows the leadership in their decisions regarding the 86. Shoot, even the robot cargo carrier gets a short but beautiful character arc. It's not perfect writing, but it's perfect for this show. 10/10; Why is it that there have been multiple shows lately that make me cry over a robot side character? Because I'm down with this trend.

Overall - This is certainly one of those shows where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If you take any individual component of the show and analyze it in isolation, it looks and feels quite mediocre (except for the sound track, of course). It's yet-another-generic-mech-show about yet-another-group-of-teens fighting yet-another-war-against-faceless-enemies, with yet-another-racist/corrupt-government sitting in the "good guy" seat - it's all been done before. The real art here is how well each of these components mesh together into a grander vision. In a way, this show is a culmination of the tropes and themes of its predecessors and demonstrates what the genre *should* be. 10/10; A genuine work of art.