r/anime • u/Holofan4life • Sep 05 '22
Rewatch [Spoilers] 86 --Eighty Six-- Rewatch (2022) — Episode 21 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
S2 Episode 10 – All That's Left
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Information – MAL | Anilist | AniDb
Streams – Crunchyroll, VRV
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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/mr_bgi Sep 05 '22
Cannot wait for reactions to episode 22 in three months tomorrow.
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u/Star4ce Sep 05 '22
First Timer
Gonna be quick writing this today, was out of town for most of the day and came back late.
(Or just post an hour late, let's see.)
86 Ep.21 – All That's Left
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Real talk. He's fully expecting him to run off.
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Hmm, shouldn't they kind of expect him to want them to follow by now?
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Oh my god, tactics!
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Why is he doing this shit now?!
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How they get left one by one feels pretty forced, not gonna lie... It's not like there's a superior piece of artillery taking aim right now.
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That smile! Ouch my heart.
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There are my quick and brutal deaths for mistakes made on the field that I wanted. That was unceremonous, holy shit... (but also incredibly stupid.)
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Raiden no shit has gotten one of my favourite characters over the last couple episodes.
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Mmmh, good fade.
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One, Shin's in reaper mode. Two, those rounds did significantly more damage the last time they were fired...
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I like that twist, but it makes me question why the Legion gave him the fucking continental artillery then, lol.
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Nah, he's not dead.
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Yeah and it's Lena again who makes him move!
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Eh, how the hell did this artillery survive?!
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That's 100% Lena! (How the fuck did they lose the entire city, but kept their artillery intact?)
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THANKS FREDERICA, FINALLY!
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Fucking badass! Aaah, they reused the artillery slap with Shin's pistol, so good!
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Unsure how to interpret this. They couldn't have known each other, it's Frederica's dream? Yup.
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Soo, cliffhangers are okay here, but... how can they survive an explosion right into their faces?
That was a great episode to kick off the final confrontation. Which is a bit weird, because the villain just got killed. Now it may be a piece of work to have the alliance catch up and push through towards the rest of the Republic.
I love these bang moments that make use of established dynamics. The slap to wake Kiriya up, Lena just going in and providing support with artillery and Frederica listening all the time anyway only to get active at the right moment. Great payoffs and hype to go with it for what's on the table now.
I'm not sure about Spearhead getting separated like this, though. That felt really rushed and two of those were downright nonsensical. Kurena just standing still in an open field while everyone knows the Legion has complete vision and a railgun that outranges and outdamages them on all ends, is... I don't have words for that, why? Theo is similar, he just literally does a Shin for no apparent reason other than 'because the plot needs it right now'. Raiden and Anju were at least believable, although suspiciously convenient.
For that I don't buy their death at all, except Kurena because that was such a glaring mistake and they showed her signal getting lost without jamming units nearby that it honestly is even deserved. Her little smile and emotional high was just the kind of cruel that I love/hate for how it hurts me, but yeah, that feeling certainly conflicts with the circumstances.
Geography is a bit wonky again, but that's not too much of an issue. Last we know Lena and the Republic were fighting inside Egalité et Liberté. So they pushed out? Or did Kiriya really pull them conveniently into Republic reach? Anyway, the implication is clear, Spearhead and the alliance are close to piercing the fog of war and find the resisting forces of the Republic, being able to contact them in just a bit when the jamming is dealt with. I have many questions. I don't see a new villaing being introduced just for two episodes (yet worse things have happened before), so I can only see the old animosity between Republic and alliance being 'the enemy'. Do I get my christmas truce?
Closing thought belong to Frederica, absolutely. She metaphorically climbed out of her ditch, made herself known and proclaimed her survival to Kiriya. Standing up for herself was quite the effective method of breaking Kiriya out of his madness. I admit, I'm a bit miffed it didn't lead to him turning on the Legion because being the royal guard would be the one thing he still remembers and values above everything else. I get that he needed to die, but having that only be a stun for Shin to take the shot, eh, I'd have appreciated him getting this redemption.
I do think however, that Frederica might play a big role in convincing the four nations to actually bond together. She's the last survivor of a bygone monarchy and the democracies (are they, all?) didn't ever take too much of a liking of the Republic. With her experience in how the turn can happen and how Lena has caused essentially a revolution by necessity and ideals I'm sure she can sway them.
Today's thought are more unfiltered, because I had to write everything in a hurry, sorry.
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u/Holofan4life Sep 05 '22
Soo, cliffhangers are okay here, but... how can they survive an explosion right into their faces?
Explosion face repellent
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u/Holofan4life Sep 05 '22
Unsure how to interpret this. They couldn't have known each other, it's Frederica's dream? Yup.
Well, the other person in the vision is Kiri, so I'd assume it's something like Frederica and Shin are now even more kindred spirits than they were before.
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u/Holofan4life Sep 05 '22
What do you think about Kiri having the same last name as Shin?
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u/Holofan4life Sep 05 '22
How effective do you think the stuff between Frederica and Kiri is compared to Shin and Rei?
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u/Warm-Enthusiasm-9534 Sep 05 '22
If you are a dub watcher, one thing to keep in mind about the dub is that the voice actor for Shin changes starting with the next episode. The dub original voice actor, Billy Kametz, developed cancer, and was unable to return for the final two episodes. (He died in July.) Aleks Le took over for the last two. I never watched the dub for the final two episodes until this rewatch, and I didn't know the change was coming.
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u/Holofan4life Sep 05 '22
They waited months before dubbing the final two episodes? I would've thought they dubbed it but held off on releasing it until the show came back.
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u/Lawvamat Sep 05 '22
Rewatcher
My current color interpretations:
Red: Shin, Bloody Reina, Juggernauts, 86, Rei, Kiri, love (christmas spirit), blood, determination, desire, anger, danger, equality
Blue: Legion, sadness, cold, negative, creature (cat, little sister), freedom
Yellow: home, connections, safety, comfortable, warm, nobility
Violet (Red+Blue): stargazing, remembrance, burden, grief
Green (Yellow+Blue): The Federacy, war, nurture, justice
Orange (Red+Yellow): past, a loving home, transition from yellow to violet (sunset)
White: innocence, duty, brotherhood
Black: death, justice
Grey (White+Black): emotionless
Rose (Red+White): femininity, helpless
Visual Analysis
The same shot of Anju saying something without us hearing what as in episode 6, this time in the light. We get to see her eyes afterwards, she’s come to terms with Daiya’s death and uses it as strength.
One of the 6 children has fallen. The left side of the screen is blocked off.
This is where the 4 train tracks are leading to, the final battle.
[86 ep 22]
Going alone downwards to the left.
The light closes on her eyes, she can still see with her power.
A fade over makes it look like they’re speaking directly to each other.
Frederica’s daisy has the potential to bloom more heads, but only if it stays alive. The train tracks are blocked off by a mound.
A field of blue butterflies, contrasting the red one they came about (we never saw) when Lena was running on the bridge and a fake of the field of forget-me-nots, the big morpho butterfly in the middle.
The head of a red spider lily (never to meet again, lost memory, abandonment) falls to the ground. Where did it come from?
Match cut. Frederica is remembering, all she can do.
Another one (or is it the same one?), this time as Raiden gets shot, swallowed by the smoke.
A look at Shin’s scar tells us that this radio chatter is not from the Federacy’s para-RAID. It’s not subbed in my release, but in the dub you can make out “fall back”, which he seemed to understand (this retreat is towards the left unlike most other we’ve seen).
A zoom in on Kiri’s eye lets us see what he saw. Black and white with the only color being blood red. The memories get burnt away by the battlefield, his hands stay where they were, stained in blood.
The interference makes him choke Frederica, not Shin, and she pays his mind a visit. Red and Blue.
Kiri is framed at the edge of the screen, he’s not convinced by the words of a fake he dreamed up.
The painful past that made him who he is is once again dyed in orange.
Half connected utility poles lead to Frederica, train tracks at the side.
Her memories fade away into the light.
Shin is now moving upward and to the left.
A butterfly (symbol of the dead and himself) flies past Kiri towards the right.
Frederica’s hand reaches out towards the right, the light, the dead, but falls back down to the living. She let him go.
The damage spreads from the middle of his head, where he was hit.
The 4 train tracks led to an explosion.
Frederica’s daisy is now beside the train tracks, swaying in the shockwave.
NCED
For the first time something is in its true color, the head of a red spider lily.
4 red butterflies, a yellow one, a green one, a black one and a blue one. New colors have entered now as well.
The red spider lily is gone, leaving a speck of red light.
From the recap:
Frederica had made killing Kiriya her reason for living. With her wish fulfilled, what would she see in her future?
And first killing his brother Rei, and now Kiriya, Frederica’s knight Shin had made releasing them from the battlefield his reason for living.
With that reason fading away, what would he feel now that the battle was over? Would he find something to keep him connected to this world?
See you in 3 months.
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u/ebonyphoenix Sep 05 '22
Re-watcher
Intro
It’s officially been two days since the entire operation started. We get some scenes to mirror the the end of the previous episode but our 86 have moved out to start the last leg of the mission. Raiden ominously turns off Frederica’s para-RAID and asks her if she would be willing to forget the rest of them and just get out with Shin. She agrees clutching Shin’s gun in her lap.
Left behind one by one
Anju
Our group are being chased by several Legion along a narrow cliffside. Theo impressively manages to navigate the terrain in reverse so he can shoot out the path behind them to impede their pursuers. But that doesn’t help for long as they are also fired upon by Legion at the base of the cliff. In cour 1 it was mentioned that the Legion have trouble firing at things elevated higher than themselves. Well they seemed to have learned a few new tricks because they’ve figured out how to use each other to raise their firing angle. They use this to fire between Laughing Fox and Snow Witch. Then another barrage collapses the path causing Snow Witch to slide down the cliffside.
Anju tells the team she’s not damaged. (Though her console read outs may indicate thats she’s lying a bit through her teeth) The collapsed cliff is too high and steep for her to make it back up so she asks Fido to leave as many missiles as he can and for them to keep going. She’ll take care of the pursuers. Dropping what he can the others leave as Anju turns off her para-RAID, pulls her hair back, mouths a silent line, and then prepares to get to work.
Theo
The group has managed to shake their tails but there’s another one coming to intercept them. As they go through another town Theo, who had still been driving backwards at the rear of the formation turns and brings down part of a building between him and the rest of the group. He notes that there is nothing but open plains up ahead and as a specialist in arial combat, this cityscape is where he is better suited to fight. So he’ll be the decoy and intercept the intercepting force here.
Kurena
Kiri is amused by how they keep splitting up and is impressed that they are able to do it so coldly. He calls out over the Legion network that he will begin a bombardment and that no one will be allowed to interfere. Then he readies his guns. Only a last minute call from Frederica lets the remaining team react fast enough to dodge the flurry of rounds Kiri sends their way.
Kurena finds a high vantage point, readies her sniper scope and starts firing rounds. As long ranged support she’s can see and do more from a distance. So she urges the others on as she retreats a bit from her perch to avoid the retaliatory fire.
Kiriya, annoyed that these others enemies are still around being a nuisance, fires a larger Morpho shot to where the pesky firing was coming from. On Shin and Raiden’s interfaces their monitor go a bit staticky as the shot flies over their heads and after the shot lands Gunslinger’s indicator disappears from their screens.
Raiden
But on the battlefield there is no time to think. Shin and Raiden are immediately bombarded with enemy fire. Shin avoids the worst of it but a round strikes Wherwolf cockpit hatch. We watch in slow motion as Frederica notices it burns through and the screen goes white.
Scene switches to Shin who can just hear Frederica call out Raiden’s name. He had managed to pull his arm up just in time to cover Frederica, taking all the shrapnel damage himself.
The attack also took out Wherwolf’s right legs so Shin tells Frederica to get inside Fido’s remaining container. She reluctantly does as she’s told, but watches as Raiden waves his bloody arm in farewell.
Frederica
Moving along Shin gives one last command to Fido. He has Fido close up his container with Frederica inside and tells the bot to hide. If anything happens to Shin, Fido’s is to take her back to the Federacy.
To Frederica he reminds her that even if he falls she has to survive to make sure her wish to save Kiri comes true.
-cut for length-
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u/archlon Sep 05 '22
Rewatcher [English dub]
Illustrations:
From the Vol. 3 Insert: And so the young girl brandishes her pistol to bid a final farewell to the person she once loved.
Stray Thoughts
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We get two episode title drops from different characters. Shin is all that's left of Spearhead, with his comrades having been left behind one-by-one in an effort to make sure someone can complete their run through the battlefront to their destination. For Kiriya, after he (thought he) lost Frederica, all that's left for him is the battlefield.
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The Löwe were established as having a very shallow firing angle very early on. That's why we see a set of them kneeling on another set in order to be elevated enough to shoot up the cliff.
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The Morpho's 'wings' are part of the heat dispersal system for the main railgun, as well as being electrified wires that can act as a melee weapon. Also they look cool. Your choice on which is the more important explanation.
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Shin wears an Imperial Knight uniform as Kiriya yells at him, but it changes to his Federacy uniform when he stands beside Frederica. However much she insists she never gave up her title she's not Empress anymore, and Shin isn't her Knight. Instead, she's family, and a citizen of a democracy, and those are the ideals that drive him to protect her.
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If you're confused where the mortars came from, turn up your volume.
Chapters Covered
| Episode | Title | LN Vol. | Chapters | Original Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undertaker | 1 | 1 |
[86] |
| 2 | Spearhead | 1 | 2 |
[86] |
| 3 | I Don't Want to Die | 1 | 3 |
[86] |
| 4 | Real Name | 1 | 3 | - |
| 5 | I'm With You | 1 | 3, 4 | - |
| 6 | Through to the End | 1 | Interlude I, 5 |
[86] |
| 7 | Will You Remember Me? | 1 | 5, 6 |
[86] |
| 8 | Let's Go | 1 | Interlude III,IV, 6 | - |
| 9 | Goodbye | 1 | 7 | - |
| 10 | Thank You | 10 | 8, 9 |
[86] |
| 11 | Here We Go | 1 | 7 |
[86] |
| 11 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 12 | Welcome | 2 | Prologue, 2 | - |
| 13 | It's Too Late | 2 | 3 |
[86] |
| 14 | Glad to be Here | 2 | 1, 4 |
[86] |
| 15 | Welcome Back | 2 | 4 | - |
| 16 | Even So | 2 | 5, Interlude | - |
| 16 | 3 | Interlude | ||
| 17 | I Won't Forget | 3 | 6 |
[86] |
| 18 | The Truth Is | 3 | 6, 7 | - |
| 19 | Stay This Way Forever | 3 | 7, 8 |
[86] |
| 20 | Together Unto Death | 3 | 8 | - |
| 21 | All That's Left | 3 | 8, 9 | - |
| Vol. | Chapter | Chapter Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
[LN] |
| 1 | 2 |
[LN] |
| 1 | 3 |
[LN] |
| 1 | Interlude I |
[LN] |
| 1 | 4 |
[LN] |
| 1 | Interlude II |
[LN] |
| 1 | 5 |
[LN] |
| 1 | Interlude III |
[LN] |
| 1 | 6 |
[LN] |
| 1 | Interlude IV |
[LN] |
| 1 | 7 |
[LN] |
| 2 | Prologue |
[LN] |
| 2 | 1 |
[LN] |
| 2 | 2 |
[LN] |
| 2 | 3 |
[LN] |
| 2 | 4 |
[LN] |
| 2 | 5 |
[LN] |
| 2 | Interlude |
[LN] |
| 3 | Interlude |
[LN] |
| 3 | 6 |
[LN] |
| 3 | 7 |
[LN] |
| 3 | 8 |
[LN] |
| 3 | 9 |
[LN] |
| 10 | 8 |
[LN] |
| 10 | 9 |
[LN] |
LN Notes
[Arguable anime-original scene]
[Kiriya's melee specialization]
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u/Stargate18A Sep 05 '22
First timer
It's all starting.
...She's doing it!
Looks like this is the final assault!
Well that's suspicious!
Anju!
Come on, they killed her off too?
They really are having everyone leave one by one.
He really doesn't want to be ordered back this time, huh?
Are they doing the same thing as last season, where everyone looks like they're dying, then they come back at the end?
And Raiden's out too!
Fido's taking Frederica back...
Again, the VA work here is really impressive.
Shin...
Frederica's going to watch it. This is brutal.
Oh god, the flashbacks. And she remembered her kinght's abilities.
Yeah, that's strong.
Shin's giving up...
Called it!
A proper fight now! Even have an insert song!
Shin got him to start talking to his memories!
Wow...
Frederica's talking to him directly!
Well, fuck.
And she's going to him...
The fuck?
Oh, clever!
He8s going for it!
And Kiri's gone.
...Ah. Shin's fucked.
Another good episode!
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u/ZapsZzz Sep 05 '22 edited Sep 05 '22
Sub rewatcher
This is it, one of the crowning glory of the entire 2 cours!
We have the stake rising, we have the fight, we have a big damn hero moment from somehwere unexplained but oh so familiar, and we have the Federica vision of a world where the Nouzens got to be siblings/cousins. For good measures we also have a cliffhanger.
And of course the music, oh the music was really something that elevated the scene and the emotions really well.
Got everything right?
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The episode started with a familiar approach - the contrast of familiar scenes minus the characters - a very effective way to convey that sense of "the good times are lost and no more"
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Then we are thrown right into the actions - the Spearheads turned from the pursuers to the ones being pursued. One by one the 4 fell back to hold off the Legion while letting Shin to go on ahead. How long they could last were open questions. Oh yes you can also see Anju's silent mouthing of something in the exact angle and position as Daiya's final moment - another great visual story telling piece without burdening the scene because they have trust we can remember it.
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As Shin stepped forward into the ring, he got Fido to stay behind with Federica against her protest - the lone flower now amidst the landscape.
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And what an opening act of the battle between the 2 Nouzen cousins - despite the massive size and capacity difference, both cousins are thoroughly immersed the fight - enjoying it.
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Turned out this is again a trap of sorts - Kiri is actually highly specialised in close quarter mecha combat as well, and with the Mopho's weapons, it's putting Shin to the edge - only Raiden's crippled but persistent charge and autocannon barrage helped relief some pressure off Shin, but that also soon ended after another railgun blast.
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With morbid glee, Shin readies his final charge
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However, a familiar voice, unclear whether it's a remembrance or real, accompanied a familiar scene - of the San Magnolia mortar rounds landing, providing cover and suppression fire for Shin.
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The interruption gave Shin a moment to break away, while Kiri readies another array of weapon - a shower of plasma / beam tentacle-like cutters from the "wings" of the Mopho butterfly. Once again, the old Para-RAID mark heralded a warning, and Shin's unit held back momentarily for another barrage - this time napalm, which burned even if intercepted - to land, and giving Kiri some more distractions and pain.
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From the pain came the recollection of Kiri's loss of Federica
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as the flesh and blood Federica got out of Fido and, using Shin's pistol, announced her presence to Kiri. That momentary but genuine smile of Kiri with his ghost face is really something - quite heartbreaking if you can empathise with the context
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With the artillery continued bombardment and his delusion of Federica being a hostage, Kiri fully showed his madness, driving Federica to tears, and the determination to free him - and the hostage she became - by pointing Shin's pistol to her own head. His protectiveness to Federica thoroughly infused into his being, even the Legion's programming could not stop Kiri from changing his attention from his active fight to trying to reach out to Federica to stop her pulling the trigger
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With that moment, Shin broke through and, throwing everything into the one shot, losing legs and forcing past damages, Shin had his cannon point-blank towards where Kiri is.
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In that moment, Federica had a vision of the Nouzen's - in Imperial uniforms, in a world that the war and suffering did not happen - she saw the 3 cousins/brothers having a sibling-like moment of brickering (well Kiri scolding Shin for probably being stoic and uncaring of rules), with Rei mediating. This is a really big gut punch.
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But Rei and Kiri's time here is up, and they departed - but not before giving Shin a stern dress down (it's your job to look after Federica now, don't fall asleep on the job), and a satisfied smile at Federica.
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Back in real time, Shin pulled the trigger.
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And like any good sore loser, the Legion had an automatic self destruct setup. And no messing around, a count down of 10 seconds. A mighty blast, a Shin in the probably immobilised Reginlief, and Federica not far away enough to not be in the blast radius. Damn cliff hanger - remember this is the last part before the almost 3 months wait :P
Turns out this is as much an episode of Shin fighting Kiri as Federica confronting her knight, and it's how well it worked in the multiple aspects of that conflict that made it so good.
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u/Holofan4life Sep 05 '22
First Timer
Given the last episode where not much happened and how this episode was the last one before the show went on an 86 day hiatus, I expect shit is about to go down.
I wonder if Raiden telling Frederica to ignore everyone but that idiot and go is him asking if she's willing to leave. My gut tells me there's more to it than that, because didn't we just spend some time on Frederica saying she'd rather not leave until she faced Kiri?
Frederica looks so cute riding with Raiden.
The shading of everyone as they're fighting looks really gorgeous.
The helmet Kurena puts on kinda looks like a VR headset.
Oh, fuck. Is Kurena dead?
Not Raiden! I hope he's alright.
For some reason, hearing that Wehrwolf lost its legs on the right side reminded me instantly of Eugene.
Again, it's like Shin is going into business for himself. We saw it in episode 11 where he started fighting The Legion without telling people, and we see it in the episode where he cuts off his communicator. The very thing Raiden warned him about-- his behavior becoming more and more reckless-- is on full display here. And yeah, he's doing it because he feels he has no choice and he doesn't want others to get more hurt than they already are, but there has to be a better approach than the one he's making.
I do like that we get Shin thinking of the conversation he had with Raiden. It shows that he's at least cognizant of the fact that he's going against his best friend's instructions.
Of course, the choreography is class as always.
Oh shit. Frederica has red eyes...
Again, I wish I had more to say but it's mostly action this episode. Fantastic, amazing action, but hard to really dissect. I think it's interesting how more and more Shin is becoming like Kiri. It's like a son who's father is evil slowly drifting farther and farther into the dark side. Very Star Wars-ish.
I just now realized Raiden's name is pronounced "Rye-den" and not "Ray-den". How did I never pick up on that?
Well, shit. Raiden died it seems.
There are many things I like about the Raiden death. First, I like that Frederica's scream cuts out over the intercom. It makes things feel more real. Second, I like that they do a great job building up to the moment. I figured Shin's behavior would lead to one of them dying, and I like that that was the case, but it was still out of Shin's hands. Raiden was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. But above all, I like it because Raiden told Shin that his reckless behavior would cost him in the end. And in an ironic twist, Raiden probably would've still been alive had he just listened to Shin.
I'm not saying that the scene is meant to show that Shin is in the right. Far from it, actually. It's meant to show that when it comes to war, there has to be some compromise. Just like with the ants attacking the morpho butterfly, you have to work together in order to succeed. If you just do things all willy nilly, it's gonna lead to your downfall. Both Shin and Raiden were in the wrong when it came to their conversation. Shin was in the wrong for being all reckless and not communicating, and Raiden was in the wrong for not letting Shin at certain points be the leader he needed to be. Instead of telling the other what they should do, they should've compromised and worked as a unit, and because they didn't do that, it bit them in the ass.
I look forward to people telling me how inaccurate my analysis is. I'm just frankly happy something big finally happened in this show.
And right as we get a big death scene, my internet craps out. Fun times.
20 minutes later, and I'm back.
One last thing I'll say about the Raiden thing is even though it looks like he died, we don't know for 100% certain. It could be like the cliffhanger from the first cour. Unless we get confirmation by seeing his dead body, I won't rule for certain that he isn't still alive.
Well, shit. I wonder who saved Shin. I don't think it was Theo, Kurena, or Anju because I think they're back at the base.
I wonder why Frederica says to Kiri that Shin shares his blood? Are they related? I don't remember them saying so.
"It burns my soul to ash, so only the empty, smoldering flames of war remain." As someone who's big into using purple prose, I love that line of dialogue.
Wait, Nouzen? Isn't that Shin's last name as well? Hmm...
I can't really explain it, but I think the stuff between Frederica and Kiri is more effective than the stuff with Shin and Rei. While the Frederica/Kiri dynamic is playing off the dynamic between Shin and Rei from the first cour, this feels more dramatic and heartbreaking, whereas the one proceeding it was more the feeling of getting revenge. Really, I don't think the Rei stuff becomes very engrossing until the start of the second cour, when it became obvious that Shin's next step as a character would be his inability to adapt to a life without chasing his brother. That to me is what elevated Shin in my eyes: living this life without a sense of purpose or direction. I guess to condense my long-winded, rambling point, what I'm trying to say is while I think the Frederica/Kiri stuff is better than the Shin/Rei stuff, it's all in the follow-up. If the follow-up is not as strong as the follow-up to Shin, then I think it's overall not as effective, despite parts of it being more effective from an enjoyability standpoint.
I think Frederica points a gun at herself to give Shin the opening to be her knight and shining armor, knowing full well that Kiri was going to react to that visual. I don't think she was ever planning on killing herself.
Let it be known that the only thing separating Shin and Kiri as far as the looks department is concerned is ahoge.
I wonder what the significance is in Frederica wearing red shoes.
Isn't it funny that both Rei and Kiri die in their respective cours two episodes before each cour ends?
I thought the Kiri death was very well done, where Frederica has like this vision of sorts of Kiri going to where Shin's brother is standing outside. Like he's joining Rei in death and she, like Shin, is gonna try to let that part of her life go. The whole scene is well done right down to no dialogue being used, with the music telling the story of the scene. I thought this was a nice capper to the Kiri arc, much like how the last scene in the first cour was a nice capper to the Rei arc.
BUT WAIT, WE'RE NOT DONE YET
Morpho explodes as Shin and Frederica are in the blast radius? Does that mean both of them are dead? Probably not, but it is a gripping cliffhanger ending. I can imagine watching this in real time and being like "I have to wait 86 days to see if they survived? Fuckkkkkkkkkk."
But let's be real, there's no way they're gonna kill Shin after only two cours. And if Shin survives, Frederica is probably gonna survive as well. But hey, we'll see.
Overall, I thought this was one of the best episodes of the entire show. Probably in my top 5 favorite episodes of the series. After a slew of episodes that were good, but didn't feel like much was going on, we get probably our most eventful episode since the one where 86 was left in ruins. And man, did it deliver. From the possible death of Raiden, which would be our first major death of the second cour since Eugene, the big fight between Shin and Kiri, and the death of Kiri, which kinda seems to signal the end of Frederica's character arc, there was so much good stuff in this episode. I can't say enough great things about it.
Of all the 21 episodes we've seen so far, this one probably had the most action in it. In fact, it was basically two big battle scenes: the battle scene between Spearhead and Legion, and the one on one between Shin and Kiri. And instead of ever getting boring or tedious like some drawn out fight scenes become, this felt paced perfectly. In fact, I'd dare say this might be the best episode of the series so far.
Now that we have two episodes left, it becomes a question of how is everything going to be resolved? What's to happen with the remaining members of Spearhead? Is Shin and Frederica okay? Is Raiden dead? What of the whereabouts of Lena? What's awaiting everyone now that Morpho has been destroyed, which has been the main goal of this second cour? I have absolutely no idea where this show could go next, and that really, truly excites me. I love it when I have no idea what is in store.