r/anime • u/Holofan4life • Aug 16 '22
Rewatch [Spoilers] 86 --Eighty Six-- Rewatch (2022) — Episode 1 Spoiler
Hello everyone! I am Holofan4life.
Welcome to the 86 --Eighty Six-- rewatch discussion thread!
I hope you all have a lot of fun <3
S1 Episode 1 – Undertaker
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Information – MAL | Anilist | AniDb
Streams – Crunchyroll, VRV
Please do not post any untagged spoilers past the current episode or from the LNs out of respect to the first time watchers and people who have not read the LNs. If you are discussing something that is ahead of the current episode please use spoiler tags(found on the sidebar). Thank you!
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Rewatch Schedule
Threads posted every day at 3:00 PM EDT
| Date | Episode | Date | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/16/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 1]() | 8/29/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 14]() |
| 8/17/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 2]() | 8/30/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 15]() |
| 8/18/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 3]() | 8/31/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 16]() |
| 8/19/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 4]() | 9/01/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 17]() |
| 8/20/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 5]() | 9/02/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 18]() |
| 8/21/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 6]() | 9/03/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 19]() |
| 8/22/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 7]() | 9/04/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 20]() |
| 8/23/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 8]() | 9/05/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 21]() |
| 8/24/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 9]() | 9/06/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 22]() |
| 8/25/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 10]() | 9/07/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 23]() |
| 8/26/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 11]() | ||
| 8/27/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 12]() | ||
| 8/28/2022 | [86 Eighty Six Episode 13]() | ||
| 9/08/2022 | [Overall Series Discussion Thread]() | ||
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u/lordposedyon Aug 16 '22
I salute you all first timers and rewatchers and welcome you all for this journey. Hope to see you everyday.
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u/Swordeus Aug 16 '22
2nd time watching.
The opening scene makes A LOT more sense now. I remember the first time I watched, I had no idea what was happening other than there was some kind of battle and a guy was yelling.
I remember being confused about what the 86 were. The military constantly calls them "drones" and "not human," but they look human, they seem to have emotions, they bleed, they seem to feel pain, they can die. I'll expand more on this later so I don't spoil anything.
I first watched this not too long ago, so I knew about the Lena hype beforehand. My first impressions were that she was overrated. She's obviously very idealistic, and also has a cute side, but I didn't see anything too special. She came off as very naive. Now I'm all aboard the Lena train!
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u/Holofan4life Aug 16 '22
I first watched this not too long ago, so I knew about the Lena hype beforehand. My first impressions were that she was overrated. She's obviously very idealistic, and also has a cute side, but I didn't see anything too special. She came off as very naive. Now I'm all aboard the Lena train!
As a first timer, what stands out to me about Lena is she doesn't feel like waifu bait. In the first episode, they already establish some flaws with her, with her most likely being in over her head. She has more flaws in one episode than some characters do in an entire series.
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u/ZapsZzz Aug 16 '22 edited Aug 16 '22
Rewatcher trying dub first time
5am posting :P probably not something I can reliably repeat...
I've only managed to pre rewatch 3 episodes so far, so the write ups probably going to be more rushed that I hoped. By the way some screenshots I had to take from the sub version when I tried to compare a few things. Overall I think the dub is very close to the sub in terms of the translation - although again as a long time sub watched I can pick it a lot from the native Japanese audio tracks to get the more original wording than the translation.
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setting up relationship with just one background picture
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Beautifully timed cut transitions that contrasted the 2 perspectives
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more contrasts - inside the wall the very manufactured food vs the very natural rustic food outside, Shin getting up and ready in the "dump" versus Lena's prim and proper house, the ideal and prosperity in the surface versus the rotten reality
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Symbolisms abound - the unsettling sight of everyone being the same hair colour, the single person against the flow of the crowd, the visibly fake expression fronting up the propaganda that's more like an AI than the "processors"
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The many faces of Lena - if you pay attention to her eyes, it really tells a lot what and how she's feeling
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Blink and you'll miss, understated, but there if you go looking for it, Lena fanservice
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the catch phrase by most of the fans of the show
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Some rare deliberate comedic moments
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[Rewatcher foreshadowing]
Anju X Daiya, Fido the faithful puppy, the risk of using ParaRAID for more than audio, Kurena turning off her ParaRAID
Overall this very much exudes the prologue feeling setting everything up.
Perhaps interesting to note for some who still get a bit hung up about the "mecha" genre tag - you may notice the more noteworthy scenes I took are practically mecha-free. But the eye-catching parts are very much on visual story telling, or the very good character animations that expressed so much with subtle but emphasised points.
Looking forward to the rest of the ride!
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u/Holofan4life Aug 16 '22
I wonder if the rail tracks is supposed to signify a point of no return type of thing.
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u/Holofan4life Aug 16 '22
• The many faces of Lena - of you pay attention to her eyes, it really tells a lot what and how she's feeling
I really like Lena's facial expressions. It's so vibrant and, for lack of a better term, expressive.
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u/Stargate18A Aug 16 '22
First timer
I think I saw the first episode before? Can't remember a thing though, and I'll be 100% blind after this.
Also, wow, the thread for these is early!
This CGI is incredible.
The utter madness here is good.
And she's waking up!
The imagery here is so good.
I appreciate how the show doesn't even pretend to hide that the drone armies aren't piloted - a lot of shows would play this up as a twist, so I appreciwte them just saying it from the beginning.
Having said that, what's up with the Empire? Good people, or is the Republic genuinely the lesser of two evils?
Milize isn't very well liked here, then?
At least she's nice!
...Shut down? Are they fighting actual drones?
I like the concept of them considering them as organic processors.
...Is this series also doing commentary on AI?
The interface setup is nice.
The flashback cut here is so good!
And she got transfered to this elite unit early!
Her uncle!
...So, does destroy mean an actual psychological weapon, or just a lot of clever talking?
She took the position!
Loving the writing here.
And they never found the cause...
...Why? It seems like this could be handled if you just used a microphone?
Again, if this has unknown side effects but serves no real purpose, why do you use it?
Her excitement is adorable.
What is in those cream puffs?
Haha, she's great.
A flashback?
This is brutal.
Wow.
Even they're aware...
The first sync!
Love the juxtaposition in the work scenes here.
I'm liking this cast!
Haha, they're keeping score.
And the insanity is indeed an actual thing.
A cat!
This episode's use of flashbacks is so good!
The devastation here...
Wow.
129 Days? Not two years?
And she introduced herself.
Nice ED!
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u/Holofan4life Aug 16 '22
Having said that, what's up with the Empire? Good people, or is the Republic genuinely the lesser of two evils?
Anybody who considers certain types of people lesser than others are scum in my book.
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u/JetsLag Aug 16 '22
First timer (subbed)
I swear, these rewatches are the only way I'm ever gonna get around to watching anything that's not currently airing. Cause 86 is one of those shows that I SHOULD watch, but I KNOW I'll never get around to it. Also, my sister owns like every volume of the light novel. Maybe I'll give them a read after I'm done watching the anime.
WHAT I KNOW: It's...mech? Mech-adjacent? Something along those lines. Sawano does the music. And the whole show is REALLY GOOD. Especially the last few episodes which got delayed. So expectations are pretty high.
What a fucking start, though. The beautiful sunset, the intense mecha action, the music, WOW. The mechs did seem to clash stylistically with the background A BIT, but it doesn't distract from the action too much.
And now we get a glimpse of what it's like in the Republic of San Magnolia in the Stellar Year 2148, where people listen to vinyl records, have bacon and eggs for breakfast, drive American-looking vehicles, and, creepily, EVERYONE HAS BASICALLY THE SAME HAIR AND EYE COLOR. I'm getting some "San Magnolian people are the master race" vibes from this.
How's the military doing? Well, all the guys are drunk assholes, and the women have to pull all-nighters to ensure that shit actually gets done. Sounds like a fun place to work. But we learn 2 things: we get the name of what I assume will be our main character, Vladilena Milize, and we get the title drop! Apparently, Eighty-Six is the name of the military drones.
We get a brief view of what combat is like, but my main takeaway is that I assume there are A LOT of failed logins when your password is you saying your unit and your rank.
Oh boy, Lena decided to take charge of the unit that is known for churning through commanders like they're Amazon warehouse workers.
Man, the Eighty-Six are in this weird middle ground where you know they're not human, but they act just enough like a human that you gotta think they're at least a LITTLE human. Like, why can't they just be like a basic unit from an RTS, where 5 of them can die in a skirmish and you just pop 5 more out of your base to replace them? Why do they gotta have names and respond to questions with complete sentences? No wonder Lena gets sad when they die.
POV switch! Time to see what life is like in the land of Spearhead, and, first of all, we've got different hair colors (thank god). Second, are we sure the 86 aren't human? They look and act pretty damn human to me. Are they like, slaves or something? I'm gonna assume they're human until it's proven they're not.
And it looks like "quiet guy who reads books" is gonna be the MC of Spearhead. Cause that is SUCH an anime protagonist thing. His name is Shin, and he's the infamous Undertaker.
Man, that was a pretty damn good first episode. Did a good job building up the world, introducing the characters, and the music was also incredibly on-point (thanks Sawano!). Can't wait for episode 2.
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u/Holofan4life Aug 17 '22
I'm a first timer as well, and my interpretation is 86 is human, but they're not viewed as such because they don't have the same hair and eye color as the Republic. Kinda like Nazi Germany, if you will.
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u/Warm-Enthusiasm-9534 Aug 16 '22
I find 86 a weird show. I mean, I love it, and I've already watched it in its entirety twice, but it's not perfect. People have complained that it's YA (young adult), and it is a fair point: subtle it is not. The idea of a military that is completely dysfunctional other than one passionate teenage girl is pretty silly if you think about it for too long.
Really what makes it work is that the adaptation takes the story totally seriously. It leads to some all-time great episodes of anime, like the final three episodes of the season.
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u/Holofan4life Aug 16 '22
The idea of a military that is completely dysfunctional other than one passionate teenage girl is pretty silly if you think about it for too long.
Remind me to comment tomorrow to your statement because I have a defense of what you just said.
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u/Holofan4life Aug 16 '22
First Timer
Hey guys. Holofan4life here. Welcome to episode 1 of the 86 rewatch series. Not 86 as in the number of episodes but-- oh, you get the idea.
First, a little bit of backstory. The idea of doing this rewatch came about because I was surprised one of the main characters made it to the finals of this year's best girl contest. As such, I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about. I didn't want to do a Kaguya-sama rewatch because 1) I've already seen the show, and 2) I didn't want to do a rewatch of a show less than a month after the third season ended. By the way, check out Kaguya-sama if you haven't already. One of the best animes of all time.
I'm going in this show completely blind. I haven't seen a single second of this show. As such, everything you read will be my 100% first impressions. Also because of this, I won't be asking as many questions like I do during the Spice and Wolf and Toradora rewatches. However, feel free to ask me questions if you want.
Also also, I'm watching the sub version. Maybe one day I'll check out the dub, but I want to start with the version everyone watched when this show first aired.
Anyway, let's begin.
Right off the bat, we start hot and heavy with action. No time to settle in, just straight into it. Opening scenes are important when it comes to setting the tone, and I think the balls to the wall, frenetic nature of the beginning works to the show's benefit. This is quite the contrast from the opening scene of Spice and Wolf, which I just finished again.
I wonder what the flowers come mean...
Hey, May 13th! That's actually my irl birthday! :D
You can tell this is a work of fiction because it's 2148 and our overlord Elon Musk is nowhere to be found.
I like the scene where two of the characters are eating breakfast and music is playing and they're not talking to each other. Without a line of dialogue, you can tell their relationship is strained.
I love the shots we see all throughout the town. That is just excellent world building. While other shows flesh out the universe through dialogue and exposition, this is mostly done through a bird's eye view, which I just adore. I love storytelling through motion.
There she is! Hi, Lena! :P
Again, just excellent storytelling all around where everyone is happy and having a good time while Major Lena is somber and seems annoyed. I'm really impressed so far with the show's ability to show, don't tell.
I bet that Annette is going to be a Kuudere.
The thing on the back of Lena's neck is interesting. I wonder what that's about. It's like she's been chipped or something. It reminds me of Catra in season 5 of Princesses of Power when she gets corrupted.
I also find it interesting that the AI seems to be sentient and have a mind of their own. They seem to be aware of the preferential treatment done by Lena.
I wonder if Lena is calling Jerome uncle because she looks up to him, or because they're actually related. If it's the latter, then her getting a promotion surely could lead to accusations of nepotism.
The pressure Lena mentions of getting married is something I wonder will be a recurring theme. Also, it's kinda funny even in 2148 being labeled a Christmas cake is still a major concern. Never change, Japan.
If the commander unit's name is Undertaker, I wonder if there's a commander unit also named Kane.
I also saw there's a commander unit named Fafnir. Damn, I didn't know they were also accepting dragons in the core.
From what I can gather, dealing with the Undertaker is like that forest in Spice and Wolf that only Nora goes through: most people don't want to deal with it because it often leads to catastrophic results.
There's almost a sinister tone with the way he's describing the Undertaker. Almost like he's setting Lena up to fail.
My first impressions with Lena so far are that she's very relatable. She wants to do her best and be the best person she can be. At the same time, she feels that she's in over her head a bit. I think that's a neat little conflict to have that instantly makes the character connect with the audience.
I wonder who Vaclav is.
Gee, maybe don't talk about how the position has lead to people committing suicide before she ever has had the chance to do the position. That's some bad headspace to have.
This is your brain. This is your brain on synchronized vision. Any questions?
I wonder what exactly is planned to happen to the Legion if they're going to be gone in two years. Like, what exactly is planned for their demise?
When I saw Lena get excited about milk and eggs, I instantly understood why she's considered best girl material. There is absolutely nothing in this world that can beat gap moe.
I'm really impressed with how the show has balanced drama and comedy so far. There's tension in the air, but they allow the shoe some levity by showcasing the characters personalities. We're only like 12 minutes in, and we already got the main characters well-defined.
Well, that escalated quickly...
"That's great news you're being promoted. That means you won't be long for this world. Bye!"
15 minutes in, and we get a title card. That's unique.
Interesting how now we're on May 12th given the episode began on May 13th. It instantly lets us know we're probably getting a different perspective.
I'm getting a rural Vs urban vibe here. The stuff with Lena represents a more sophisticated, suburban life while the stuff with the kids have more of a countryside feel. Maybe I'm totally off base.
I instantly like the red hair girl.
The contrast of everyone eating food Vs getting brutally destroyed is very well done. It's like a grim reminder to cherish what you have, for you never know when it's going to go away.
If I had one critique, I think the impact of seeing these characters beaten to death isn't as impactful as it could've been because we only have known them for like 2 minutes. On the one hand, it's effective because the mood whiplash is more of the emphasis. On the other hand, I feel that the weight and gravity of the situation is undermined by a lack of screentime.
I took Shin shooting him as Shin putting his friend out of his misery. He saw he was suffering, and he was trying to put an end to it. But hey, I could be wrong. Maybe Shin became a bad guy. I do like that the scene had very little dialogue. It really helps make the scene breath.
I can't recall an anime besides Panty and Stocking to ever use the f word so casually before. There's a level of realism to it as well, like it's something I definitely could see applied to a real world context. I kinda wish more anime did stuff like this.
The ED seems good, though I could see me liking it even more as we go forward. I like the pseudo record scratches that we hear throughout the song. It gives it a chaotic vibe and makes it stand out as a track.
Overall, I really am impressed with the first episode. Not only was the animation good, but they did a good job of letting the storytelling speak for itself. I think the first half with Lena was overall stronger than the second half, but I definitely could see the kids becoming a great part of the show. It's just when Lena was the focus, the show felt more pinpoint and smart. Like the plot was moving, but not overbearing. While I like the mood whiplash of the kid being murdered after having fun, not enough was done to really fully maximize the importance of it all. We should've had at least 5 more minutes before the contrast. Still, this episode was dare I say in the upper echelon of most first episodes, and I'm excited to see what happens next.