This article contains major spoilers! I highly recommend this anime overall before reading ahead!

Recently, I stumbled upon an anime that first aired in 2021 by the name of 86 EIGHTY-SIX. 86 is a 26 episode anime–though there is potential for a continuation. It is a mech, drama, and military anime that takes place in the future as the ‘Stellar’ years of 2148-2150. 

It follows main characters Vladilena Milizé, a Republic of San Magnolia commander who is tasked with manning the Spearhead Squadron. Out on the battlefield, the squadron are composed of soldiers who are called the 86. They’re a segregated group of people who are sent to die in the war against the Legion, an army of machines. The leader of the squadron is the other main character, Shinei Nouzen, or often referred to as Undertaker or Reaper. 

This anime ventures into many heavy topics in a cohesive way, confronting ideas like discrimination and the brutality of war. At first glance, this anime seems like a typical mech action anime. It’s a genre I haven’t watched more of, but it humanizes the 86 and you feel for their pain as they continue to lose friends. It’s an emotional experience that I haven’t felt from an anime in a while. In this article, I will dive into this story and explain why I think 86 is an underrated anime.

The Story

The story follows our aforementioned main characters. Lena believes the 86 are people and should be treated as such instead of being sent to fight their war for them. She works as a handler, a commander who remotely controls the squad they’re assigned to. She’s the only handler who doesn’t berate or belittle the 86, something the 86 isn’t used to and don’t respond favorably to. She prevails, wanting to be courageous and fight with them. This is her character arc throughout the anime; She openly stands against the mistreatment of the 86 and wants to do more for them. 

Shinei, or shin, is called the Reaper. When a soldier falls, he takes them out of their misery and carries a piece of their juggernaut, their war machines. They all believe Shin will take them to a final resting place, so that they’re all together. 

The tragedy of the story unfolds more as the show progresses. Shin struggles with the memories of his late older brother, who he thinks hates him. His brother died in battle against the Legion, but the Legion evolved, taking a copy of his brother’s mind. Shin’s ultimate goal is to defeat his brother, who unwillingly became a commander for the Legion. Eventually, he successfully completes this goal, with only a fraction of his squad remaining. 

During this, Lena finds out that when the 86 is assigned to the Spearhead Squadron, they’re being sent on a suicide mission because the republic doesn’t want any of them to survive. However, Shin and the remaining five survive. She spends most of the anime believing them to be dead, and using their sacrifice to continue on. Her new mission is to keep the new Spearhead crew alive. 

The remaining five are rescued by the neighboring nation of Giad, where the president takes them in as his own adopted children. He wants them to lead a war-free life, living with him and a young girl named Frederica, who is the princess of the fallen Legion nation. After some time though, they’re clearly unsatisfied and conditioned to be soldiers. They enlist in their army to press on.

The climax of the anime as it is released comes when a large army is led by a distant relative of Shin, named Kiriya. Frederica was close to Kiri and wanted Shin’s help to defeat and let him rest, as he met a similar fate to his brother. The 86 crew led what everyone believes to be a suicide mission, but they’re willing to go. They defeat Kiri, but Shin, feeling he has no reason to live, wants this battle to kill him. A sudden foe appears as he begs it to kill him, but is quickly taken out by missiles…

Missiles that Lena sent. Shin is in shock as he realizes the commander standing before him outside his machine is their old handler, who they all became fond of. He almost leaves but decides he wants to officially meet her in better conditions. Shortly before this big battle, The Republic of San Magnolia falls. This left Shin to believe Lena was dead as well before she showed up.

The final episode wraps things up and the five members of the original 86 crew are waiting for Lena after she visits a memorial for all the other fallen original Spearhead group. Shin introduces himself to Lena, who breaks down into tears as she realizes the five lived after all this time. The season ends with them looking ahead to continue the fight against the Legion, finally all united. 

Themes and Tragedies

This show explores a lot of important themes, like discrimination against other people. The people of San Magnolia are called the Alba, who all have white hair and blue eyes. They detest the 86, who have a variety of features they deem undesirable. It’s a fictional world, but a real look at how some nations still treat other people in reality. 

Shin struggles with having a sense of purpose, especially after he finally laid his brother to rest. His reputation follows him into the new military and people don’t understand him. Near the end, he’s fully willing and wanting to die, feeling he has nothing to live for. It’s only the presence of Lena and realizing she lived after all this time that reignites passion in him. 

Some tragic subplots that occur is one of the remaining 86, Anju. It’s never explicitly stated, but during a shower scene with another member of the 86, Kurena, we get a glimpse of a tattoo on her back. Whoever did it branded her “Whore’s daughter”. She is half Alba, leading to a lot of abuse as a result. Despite this, she carries a kind demeanor, making it sadder that she suffered such hatred.

Lena herself struggled with finding her footing. She was ridiculed for showing kindness to the 86, simply because they’re people like them. She makes herself stand out vocally and with dying a strand of her hair red, helping give her the nickname of “Bloody Regina”. In the beginning of the show, she’s open on her beliefs, but doesn’t completely understand how to correctly show support. She still fell into the ways she was raised on, asking for the Spearhead Squads’ cat’s name before theirs. 

It’s great to see her change throughout and show real solidarity and strength that the 86 believed she had. She followed them to the battlefield like she said she would, but she believed they would all be dead when she finally caught up. It’s a beautiful moment when she realizes some survived and become one unit together. 

86 is an amazing and underrated anime from start to finish. Though no official announcement has been made, there’s a lot of promising rumors of its return. I just hope one day we can continue to see them fight, finally as a complete unit. The anime only covered volumes 1-3 of the light novel, and there’s 13 out now, leaving so much more potential for a continuation.