#Asato Asato

[murasaki-cha]

Something that really hurts while reading Eighty Six, like hurts in such an excruciating way is when Asato reminds us that the main cast are literally CHILD soldiers. When it shows a character doing something silly or childish and than it really hits you that these guys are just in their teens.

These are kids, literal teenagers, that have gone through unimaginable suffering to the point where they don't really know how to addapt to normal society because they are so used to the threat of war and the battlefield. They are not even adults yet they have to go through all that.

[ultra-violet-heart]

THE 2018 DENGEKI BUNKO INTERVIEW WITH 86--EIGHTY-SIX AUTHOR ASATO ASATO

Disclaimer: This translation is made by me for fandom purposes only. This interview, conducted in 2017, gives major insights on how the sci-fi mecha series 86--EIGHTY-SIX was conceived and written before it eventually won the Dengeki Novel Prize back in 2016.

Please ask my permission and credit me+this post if you will be re-translating this to other languages. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST ON YOUTUBE AND TIKTOK AND PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THE IMAGES ON THIS INTERVIEW. Please take the fan translations here with a grain of salt. 

Credits to @Yashamise from Twitter for copies of this Dengeki Bunko Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi magazine.

Erratum: This interview was conducted and printed in 2017, but this Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi magazine is dated 2018 as an advance issue of sorts. This interview has been summarized here. My apologies for the title.

I’m posting my Ko-Fi here as currently, I’ve been having financial trouble regarding my medicine, so if anyone can donate, I would be much grateful for the help, thank you very much.

AN INTERVIEW WITH 86--EIGHTY-SIX AUTHOR ASATO ASATO

“I wrote what I liked, in the way I liked them,” this author says. This tale is filled with the grief from war, the ugliness of racial discrimination, as well as the romance of mechas and of garter belts! In this interview, she reveals to us everything about its roots and its appeal! 

Text and Composition: My Street 

Illustrator: Shirabii

Translator’s Note: For purposes of this interview translation, the interviewer will be labelled as “MS” for My Street, since they layouted and probably conducted this transcribed interview. Also, for words that have brackets or parenthesis:

{} = implied by context                             

() = given emphasis/given parenthesis in the interview itself

[] = included in the footnotes/translator’s notes

A robot lover as far as she could remember

MS: Thank you very much for your time today for this interview. It was surprising to learn that the author {for 86--EIGHTY-SIX}, Ms. Asato, is a woman.

ASATO: I get that a lot (haha). My family says the contents of my work is just “the usual {for Asato}” though. I think my Afterwords have the impression they’re written by a woman, and I never hid that in particular (haha).

MS: This year {2018}, 86--EIGHTY-SIX placed first in the New Works category and second in the bunkobon {paperback} category overall. How do you feel about this now?

ASATO: I’m very happy. I knew of KonoRano’s existence [1], so I was hoping {86--EIGHTY-SIX} might be listed there somewhere, but it was a surprise that it placed higher than expected. As I said in this interview’s foreword: “I wrote what I liked, in the way I liked them.” I’m thankful that many readers found it interesting.

MS: For readers who haven’t heard of 86--EIGHTY-SIX, can you give us a summary of this work?

ASATO: It’s a lively, filled-with-clanks story of the protagonist Shin, his merry band of thieves, and their remotely-working-class-president Lena. [2] (LOL)

MS: 86--EIGHTY-SIX is your debut work. Can you tell us about the time you started writing this work?

ASATO: I’ve been writing ever since I can remember, and I started with writing manga {scripts}. I switched to writing novels around before I started junior high school and have been writing them ever since.

MS: You’ve been interested in robots and military-related things ever since elementary school, is that right?

ASATO: Yes, that’s correct. My mother liked {Space Battleship} Yamato [3] and Gundam, and as I have a younger brother, I got into watching and reading anime and manga targeted at boys. I was rarely exposed to anime and manga targeted at girls. We had the Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy [4] at home (which I’ve seen many times), and I also watched The Brave Police J-Decker [5] and The Brave Express Might Gaine [6], as well as other shows in The Brave [7] series. The only anime I had watched that is {targeted at girls} is Magic Knight Rayearth [8], which is another story with robots fighting in it (haha).

MS: I reckon such an environment led you to writing 86--EIGHTY-SIX. Can you tell us about your writing process?

ASATO: I originally submitted {works} to the Kadokawa Beans [9] Bunko Newcomer Awards. I avoided the Dengeki Novel Prize as it was rather {too hard to enter} due to the large number of entries [10] there. The novel entry I made on the 21st year of the Dengeki Novel Prize (2014), however, was totally not aimed at women at all, so I didn’t have any other choice but to submit that to said contest, as it has the closest deadline. It was a sci-fi fantasy work, with a theme of redemption, set on a time before and after {a} revolution. At that time, I thought, maybe I can go past beyond the 3rd round of screenings and unexpectedly, maybe placed on a good spot? However, the evaluation I got from the judges were “This is a 100% a work targeted at girls” and “Next time, we hope you will submit a work that should be Dengeki Bunko-like”. As Dengeki Bunko [11] is an all-kinds-of-genre publication, I didn’t know what ‘Dengeki Bunko-like’ even meant. I thought about it a lot but couldn’t figure it out, so I just kept on writing and finished my next entry, which is 86--EIGHTY-SIX.

MS: How did you come up with the idea and structure of 86, a war drama where unmanned drones and “unmanned manned drones” battle each other?

ASATO: I once read a newspaper article whose main message was “It won’t be good if a country sends its citizens to war, but it shouldn’t be a problem if they made an army of foreigners fight in their stead.” In that case, I felt very afraid that other people will be forced to fight instead of us, with the idea of “those aren’t people, but drones” justifying this and everyone just allowing it {to happen}.

MS: As written in Volume 1’s Afterword, looking back at history, it. is true that racism and racial exclusion existed to no small extent. So, why did you decide to incorporate “racism” into your work?

ASATO: Ever since I started writing novels, I have repeatedly written about boundary lines between “human beings and those who are human but not treated as human beings”, with 86--EIGHTY-SIX being in a similar vein. One of the bases for this is probably the class discrimination found in Final Fantasy Tactics [12], for example. A character there, Argath, who is an aristocrat, tells a commoner character: “But the gods have no eyes for chattel! [12]” This line has stayed with me ever since. After that, I continued to write with the motifs of “human beings and livestock in human form” and “human and those considered not humans”. I think BLACK/MATRIX+ [13] influenced me as well. This game deals with ethnic discrimination, set in a world where black-winged people are ruled over by white-winged people. In there, those who were discriminated against were treated harshly. They were treated like livestock, with the game having this line of, “Why is a mere slave like you wearing clothes?”

MS: Do you often play games?

ASATO: When my gaming consoles weren’t connected yet to the Internet, I used to play a lot of RPGs. I’m not good at action games. I did play a lot of Final Fantasy, like Final Fantasy VI, Tactics, VIII, IX, and X [14].

MS: Are there other works which influenced you? I wonder if there’s something similar like the war situation in Knights of Sidonia [15], which was mentioned in Volume 1’s afterword.

ASATO: I often watch a lot of robot shows, Knights of Sidonia included. In addition to the Gundam series mentioned earlier, I also watched Full Metal Panic [16] and Gunparade March: A New Song for the March [17]. It’s not a robot series, but I also have read Battle Faery Yukikaze [18] over and over. I like {literary} structures where the protagonist side is overwhelmingly inferior while the antagonist side is the superior one. I want to see the flow of emotions from the characters more than the fight scenes themselves. I think emotions such as fear, resignation and desperation show more in situations where {characters} are hopelessly in a big disadvantage. Winning a battle by domination can be exhilarating, yes, but those other emotions don’t show as much during that. That’s why I prefer for the protagonists to win through unrefined and tenacious means, rather than them winning by outsmarting {enemies}.

The work’s influences from horror films and in-depth military research

MS: The Legion are getting more ominous, and the deteriorating situation for Shin and his group is putting them on a very big disadvantage, if I’m not mistaken.

ASATO: 86--EIGHTY-SIX has been influenced more by horror movies than robot anime, with it being based on movies such as The Mist [19] and Screamers [20]. Mist is a horror story where the protagonists get trapped in a supermarket due to a mysterious fog and monsters, and the people gradually lose their ability to make rational judgments as they are unable to defend themselves or escape, without any rescue in sight. This horror movie has a great ending, so I’m inviting you all to watch it without further spoilers. 86--EIGHTY-SIX was initially set as a novel about a fog of nanomachines covering the walls outside of the Republic, and the “Legion” being an aggregation of said nanomachines. However, that kind of thing couldn’t exactly be defeated by conventional weapons, so it was rejected at the setting phase. These elements from this setting, however, were retained in the form of Volume 1’s final boss character and the appearance of those electromagnetic jammers clouding the sun.

MS: It’s rather surprising this came from a horror setting.

ASATO: The other {inspiration mentioned earlier}, Screamers, is a sci-fi horror film where autonomous war weapons evolved on their own and went out of control. In 86--EIGHTY-SIX, the Self-Propelled Mines, which look like wounded soldiers, are based on Screamers. The work is rather interesting as one has no ideas who their enemies are and everything else looks suspicious.

MS: So you have a situation like this, and you applied what kind of emotions you want to be shown in that situation, correct?

ASATO: Yes. Looking back, I think I was strongly influenced by the novel Chaos Legion [21] {in this regard}. Shin’s Personal Mark, which has a shovel on it, was influenced by his special ability as well as his role being the “Undertaker” responsible for collecting the fragments of his comrade-in-arms’ {Feldreẞ} units.

MS: The more I hear about it, it seems this work is really packed full of things {you} like.

ASATO: While I was writing this, I played the Black Hawk Down [22] movie repeatedly instead of just background music. It’s also a favorite {movie} of mine.

MS: I would like to ask you about military-related matters. What kind of material did you use for your research?

ASATO: I borrowed all relevant materials I use from the library, so I don’t have any specific references… About racial discrimination, I read materials about Nazi Germany [23], the internment camps in US as well as the 442nd Infantry Regiment [24] and Scroll of Agony: The Warsaw Ghetto Diary [25]. As for the weapons, the Juggernaut and the Legion are based and patterned from tanks, so I’ve read materials dating back from World War II [26] as well as the Gulf War [26], where 120mm tanks were the main weapons used. The Juggernaut’s 57mm cannon wasn’t used very often, so I had a difficult time finding research material for it. The unit itself is based on the M551 Sheridan [27]. This airborne assault tank has aluminum alloy armor, but the Juggernaut reflects the pitiful aspect of said flimsy armor which explodes upon impact by any stray attack.

MS: Why did you make the Juggernaut and the Legion multi-legged tanks?

ASATO: Because it’s romantic! I love multi-legged tanks! My first exposure with them is the X-ATM092 [28], a spider-shaped mobile unit from FFVIII. The loud, resounding footsteps it produced as it chased you away was very scary, and it left this impression of being a symbol of a very powerful weapon. I also like Ghost in the Shell’s Tachikoma [29] and the Tobigumo from the Swallowtail novel series [30]. In reality, multi-legged tank units aren’t really fast enough, and there is too much ground pressure for those to actually carry a 120mm cannon… but I make up for it with my imagination (LOL)

A character that embodies the idea of “to be human” walks alone

MS: Concerning those people called “Eighty-Six”, what do you think it means “to be human”, which you tried to depict in Volume 1?

ASATO: What I tried to depict in this work is “to respect other human beings, and to live without regrets.” However, I don’t think everything I wrote in this main part is actually correct. I think this is the answer the “Eighty-Six” came up with due to the environment they lived in. In Volume 2, the stage now shifts to the Federacy, so the theme there is now what will happen if said environment has changed.

MS: In Volume 2, I see this as a story where the “Eighty-Six”, who managed to get safety for the time being, nevertheless still returned to the battlefield. I think this sentiment was portrayed very well.

ASATO: Volume 3 will focus on what happens inside {Shin’s head} after he made that choice, so please look forward to that. After all, they don’t feel safe even after coming to the Federal Republic of Giad. And the war against the Legion isn’t over yet. Since the Eighty-Six think they will not survive if they don’t fight, I think they will continue to fight until the Legion disappeared. Then… what will they do after the Legion are eventually gone? …They will certainly have to think about that in the future as well.

MS: Do you have a favorite among all the characters?

ASATO: It’s Raiden. Of course, I love the two protagonists, Shin and Lena, but Shin isn’t really a very cooperative character with me, so I have a certain attachment to Raiden, who provides much support. Instead of simply just crafting the plot, I write in a way that captures how each character would act in line with {the type of} world I've created. That’s why I do not know what the characters think, what goals they have, or what pasts they bear unless they “talk” to me. Shin is not the type {of character} to talk about anything in particular, and he doesn’t even say anything much except for his name. It wasn’t until I finished writing that climax of a battle in Volume 1 that I realized what he was fighting for. After I wrote it, I was like, “Huh?! So, this is it?!” and was surprised as the author (LOL).

MS: So, you didn’t think about Shin’s background at first?

ASATO: Yes, that’s right. During that climax, I finally understood {everything} concerning Shin, so I went back on that part and wrote the details that I then added. 

MS: So even at the plotting stage, you haven’t put together the {setting and background} for each of the characters?

ASATO: To begin with, when I wrote Volume 1, I haven’t even made a plot. I didn’t even have a story structure in particular, and just wrote while letting the characters act. The first time I finished this volume, the last two pages were still missing, but Shin brought them to me, saying, “Sure enough, write up to this far.”

MS: What happened after Volume 2?

ASATO: I have submitted the plot… but stressed on the important scene that “I won’t know everything until I write it” then submitted it. As a result of this, only the boss character from Volume 3 remained in that plot I submitted. {I caused} my editors a lot of trouble.

MS: How did Frederica (the character) come to be?

ASATO: Frederica is a character with a part further on in the series, so I intended to debut her in Volume 2. As I was writing her, however, it seemed she and Shin have similarities on what they carry on their backs. Since then, she acts as a mirror to Shin. As Shin is a character who is not very good at grasping his own emotions, {I had Frederica} serve as the one who verbalizes those emotions. I wondered then, what does it mean to have a 10-year-old verbalize {another person’s feelings}? (LOL) I simply wanted to show a little girl. In Volume 2, the heroine, Lena, is absent, but I can’t have another girl the same age as her as this volume’s heroine… and so, under this pretext, I brought out {Frederica as} the little girl heroine.

MS: For some reason, I thought there’s other many works featuring little girls in the battlefield.

ASATO: If this were about a real battlefield, it would have been filled with old men. I like older men soldier characters, so that would have been fun to see, but I don’t think readers would find that interesting. Cute little girls adding a touch of color {to a work} is important (LOL).

MS: Did you decide on the setting from the start?

ASATO: The setting was generally decided from the beginning. The scenes were written out as needed. For example, regarding the battlefield, the Legion are ground-based weapons, and it would be troubling if they’re easily eradicated by aircraft weapons. That’s why {I had} the Eintagsfliege, a Legion unit which has jamming, and restricted the use of aircraft and communication devices. This, however, would have prevented Shin and Lena from communicating with each other, so I then devised the special communication device called the Para-RAID.

MS: How deeply did you think about this world’s setting on itself?

ASATO: The necessary scenes have been chosen in detail, otherwise, the rest of the details aren’t fixed. For example, it’s not in the main story, but the Republic’s population has already been decided upon. It’s the reverse with the countries on the edge of the continent that aren’t scheduled to appear, as they might have a Chinese-like culture… that’s all I thought of it right now. There’s also this “sensory tuning”, which hasn’t been written in the setting yet, but is scheduled to be involved in the future part of the plot. However, as I said just a short while ago, the story {as a whole} is influenced greatly by how the characters act, so it depends on them to make the best use of the setting. From this point on, who will survive and who will die… is something that I still don’t know.

MS: Is it still unknown how the war against the Legion will move forward?

ASATO: The basic points {for that} have been decided, with the foreshadowing being built onto step by step. However, it is up to those two, Shin and Lena, if they will follow suit. (LOL)

MS: What about the Legion, then?

ASATO: About the Legion, the setting about them has been solidly established, including the future boss characters. However, I can’t say anything about them yet. Details about them have been foreshadowed little by little. I write hoping the readers will be surprised by this later.

The love for garter belts explodes! A talk about eroticism

MS: Changing the subject, what it is about your particular fixation towards garter belts [31] and pilot suits [32], both of which you spoke so passionately about in your Afterwords?

ASATO: About the pilot suits, on the outline for volume 2, I wrote "I don’t want men’s pilot suits paired with ground-based armaments!!!" using half of the A4 outline paper and submitted that (LOL). I’ve wondered whether pilot suits are really necessary, apart from space or aircraft or even ground battles. I’ve my doubts about it, and with said doubts I don’t want {characters} just wearing pilot suits, even in a robot thing. I do agree with the editor-in-charge about “Female pilot suits are justice!” so Lena wearing a pilot suit is scheduled to appear in the future [32]. After all, the garter belt shows a good place between sexy and cute. I think the eroticism {from the garter belt} dwells in its self-contradictory element: it’s just one additional item {in a set of clothes}, and somehow manages to show more skin―I think that’s the charm of the garter belt. In particular, if the color {of the garter belt} contrasts strongly with the skin color {of the wearer}, the impression of bare skin is more emphasized in spite of the wearer. Because of this, I think it’s wonderful that Shirabii colored the belt part {of Lena’s garter belts} black.

MS: It’s amazing the garter belt drawn by Shirabii has the functions of both a belt and a ring, isn’t it?

ASATO: Furthermore, Lena’s military uniform, a garment that is very much seen in public, has garter belts, which are usually private items, and I think that adds further to her ambivalent charm even more. As a matter of fact, at first, I argued that it would be better if {her} thighs were not visible all the time but could be glimpsed at occasionally, but after a 2 AM discussion with the editors-in-charge while looking at the rough draft of the cover art, they convinced me that “That ‘occasionally’ should be now!”, and we settled on its current form. The ideal situation {we have} was when {Lena} lifts her legs up and a glimpse of the black lace garter can be seen through the slit of {her} dress. However, as Lena is a prim and proper lady, the only situation I can think of where she lifts her legs while wearing a dress is when she is about to wear heels… I’ll have to ask Shin to do his best on this one.

MS: Rather a difficult situation, isn’t it?

ASATO: It’s Shin, after all. Also, a military uniform with pretty boy shorts + sock garters is also cute, and as Theo hasn’t appeared with his military uniform yet, I’m thinking to add that to his outfit now… (LOL). However, middle-aged soldier uncles shouldn’t show their bare legs with shirt garters! (Editor’s note: Please Google “shirt garters” for more info)

MS: Are there any {role/inspiring} models for your characters?

ASATO: Basically, none. However, as mentioned earlier, Shin is partly inspired by Sieg Wahrheit [33] from Chaos Legion, while Lena is partly inspired by General Garrison [34] from Black Hawk Down. In the film, {Garrison} is placed on a situation where he could do nothing but only communicate with his subordinates in adverse circumstances, and this inspired Lena’s position {in the series}. In Black Hawk Down, many characters died before we even understood them, and I think that influenced 86--EIGHTY-SIX as well.

MS: That’s right. They die when the chapters change. When you are writing, you’re writing without knowing who is going to die, isn’t it?

ASATO: There are some characters whose manner of death came to mind as I was writing them. I think they’re good kids, but I have no choice but to let them face their fates (oops).

MS: If the names of the Eighty-Six characters were names of Japanese people, would they still make good names?

ASATO: Yes. All their names can be written in kanji. For example, Shin’s surname, “Nouzen” is from the kanji of the Chinese trumpet creeper (凌霄花) {pronounced as “nouzenkazura”} [35].  I actually like the arrangement of the kanji {from that plant} within the kanji for “surpassing the sky” (霄を凌ぐ) {pronounced as “sora wo shinogu”}. If you use the same kanji and put the honorific (君) {pronounced as “kun”} on it, you can form the characters for the Eurasian goshawk (凌霄君) {pronounced as “ryoshoukun”} [36]. This is also a reference to Shin’s image, as he does resemble a hawk.

What’s next for this series? There’s so much more to write about!

MS: What will happen in Volume 3 of 86--EIGHTY-SIX? [37]

ASATO: It will be properly connected to Volume 1’s Epilogues, so please don’t worry about that. The battle scenes, which were limited in Volume 2, will be much increased here. It might be even tragic.

EDITOR KIYOSE: This paperback series will, of course, continue to be serialized, and the series will also be expanded into various adaptations such as comics [38] and other various media. This work will have a lot of side stories, so we hope you will all appreciate this series as a whole.

MS: Can you please tell us about the future developments of 86--EIGHTY-SIX?

ASATO: The stage has shifted to the Federacy from Volume 2, and as the war situation gets more violent, the environment surrounding the Eighty-Six and the others is about to deteriorate further. There will be new enemies for mankind to face, and their own numerous personal conflicts standing on their way one by one. However, they have survived far difficult circumstances up until now, and since Lena will join them in earnest by Volume 4, I think they will still survive, stubbornly, shamelessly, and boisterously. However, I really wouldn’t know what would happen unless I write them. (LOL)

MS: How many volumes does this series will have?

ASATO: Currently, I'm thinking of around 13 volumes. The war against the Legion has a general flow and an ending in sight already, so I'd like to get to that point first. In addition to that, I’d like to like to write a side story about Raiden and Shin when they just first met, if I have the opportunity [39]. There’s so much more I want to write about. From Volume 4 onward, countries other than the Federacy will be related, and there’s plans to stretch out the stage even more. The Queen's Knights [40], led by Lena, will also make their appearance. I think there might be some slight surprises about Shiden, who first appeared in Volume 2.

MS: Lastly, any message for the readers who have supported you and the series?

ASATO: I was never active on the web at all, and I was totally an unknown newcomer writer. I believe the reason why I and the 86--EIGHTY-SIX series have come this far is due to the readers who picked up the books and supported us. So, everyone, I will do my best to write bringing Shin and Lena and the Eighty-Six’s battle to conclusion, so from this point on, I look forward to your continued support!

{End of Interview}

Translator’s Notes (Most of the blurbs here are taken from respective relevant Wikipedia articles, and the notes also include the Magazine Notes from the actual interview):

[1] Kono Light Novel Ga Sugoi: Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! (このライトノベルがすごい!, lit. This Light Novel is Amazing!) is an annual light novel guidebook published by Takarajimasha. The guidebook publishes a list of the top ten most popular light novels according to readers polled on the Internet and votes from critics, influencers, and other people related to the light novel industry. 86--EIGHTY-SIX ranked 2nd and 5th in the bunkobon category here in 2018 and 2019.

[2] Lena is the class president of Class 2-E in the 86--EIGHTY-SIX Operation High School spin-off side stories and the manga. This is probably among the first references to said spin-off.

[3] Space Battleship Yamato: one of Japan’s most influential sci-fi/mecha series, a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions.

[4] Mobile Suit Gundam: The first series in this very popular Japanese military science fiction media franchise, it was re-released into a film trilogy in 1981.

[5] The Brave Police J-Decker: The fifth installment in the Barve series.

[6] The Brave Express Might Gaine: The fourth installment in the Brave series.

[7] The Brave mecha and sci-fi series: a Japanese toy and anime franchise Brave series made by Takara and Sunrise, and currently owned by Bandai Namco.

[8] Magic Knight Rayearth: a mecha, fantasy and isekai shoujo manga series made by the all-female manga artist group CLAMP.

[9] Kadokawa BEANS Bunko Award: The contest launched by Kadokawa’s female-focused light novel imprint, Kadokawa Beans Bunko.

[10] Dengeki Novel Prize: a literary award handed out annually (since 1994) by the Japanese publisher ASCII Media Works for their Dengeki Bunko light novel imprint, spearheaded by parent company Kadokawa. It is among Japan’s largest light novel contests, with more than 4500 entries submitted annually. 86--EIGHTY-SIX won 1st place in the Rookie Awards category in 2016, launching it to the spotlight.

[11] Dengeki Bunko: a publishing imprint affiliated with Kadokawa’s ASCII Media Works. Many anime adaptations from light novels were published by Dengeki Bunko, including 86--EIGHTY-SIX.

[12] [Magazine Note 1] Final Fantasy Tactics: A tactical simulation RPG released in 1997. The socially conscious storyline, which tackled friction between nations and the gap between the rich and the poor, became very much a hot topic during its time.

Please take note I used the Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions translation here as contextually I believe this translation has more in line with EIGHTY-SIX than the translation of the actual game Asato played, which is the original Final Fantasy Tactics. Also, Argath vs Algus :3

[13] [Magazine Note 2] BLACK/MATRIX+: A tactical simulation RPG for Sega Saturn, with the PlayStation port released in 1998. It has a unique setting where virtue and vice are said to be reversed.

[14] Final Fantasy: a fantasy anthology media franchise, first and mainly developed as RPGs, owned, published, and distributed by Square Enix. Currently this franchise has 16 main series game releases. One of these games, Final Fantasy VIII, has its main soundtrack (“Eyes on Me” by Faye Wong) featured on the Afterword of 86--EIGHTY-SIX Volume 7: Mist.

[15] Knights of Sidonia: A sci-fi/mecha seinen manga, made by Tsutomu Nihei and ran from 2009-2015 in Kodansha’s Monthly Afternoon magazine. Its anime adaptation, which ran for two seasons, was produced by Polygon Pictures and aired from 2014 to 2015.

[16] Full Metal Panic!: a series of mecha light novels written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shiki Douji, published by Kadokawa’s Fujimi Fantasia Bunko and ran from 1998-2011. Its anime adaptations were produced by Gonzo, Kyoto Animation and Xebec respectively, from 2003 to 2018.

[17] Gunparade March: A New Song for the March: The anime adaptation for the Playstation video game Gunparade March, produced by J.C. Staff and aired in 2003.

[18] Battle Faery Yukikaze: a Japanese military science fiction novel series written by Chouhei Kambayashi. Its five-episode OVA adaptation ran from 2002-2005.

[19] [Magazine Note 3] Mist: A 2007 film based on the award-winning science fiction horror novella by Stephen King.

[20] [Magazine Note 4] Screamers: A 1995 futuristic science fiction horror film, based on Phillip K. Dick’s novelette “Second Variety”.

[21] [Magazine Note 5] Chaos Legion: A mixed-media action RPG released in 2003, getting a novelization by Tow Ubukata.

[22] [Magazine Note 6] Black Hawk Down: A 2001 war movie. Based on a non-fiction work about an actual urban war between international forces and guerillas that occurred in Somalia. The film depicts how a UH-60 Black Hawk​ gets taken down and this being dragged into a war situation.

[23] This is a very extensive subject, so please feel free to check out Nazi Germany on Wikipedia to get at least an overview.

[24] Another extensive subject, so feel free to check out 442nd Infantry Regiment on Wikipedia to get an overview.

[25] [Magazine Note 7] Scroll of Agony: The Warsaw Ghetto Diary: A diary kept by a Jewish teacher, {Chaim A. Kaplan}. It described the persecution and pillaging by the Nazis, as well as the three harsh years of {Kaplan’s} life.

Printed in Japan as (ワルシャワ・ゲットー日記―ユダヤ人教師の記録 or “Warsaw Ghetto Diary: A Jewish Teacher’s Record”), with Kaplan implied to have died in 1942 when he was sent to the Treblinka death camp along with other Warsaw Jews.

[26] Another extensive subject, so feel free to check out World War II on Wikipedia to get an overview. Feel free to also check out Gulf War on Wikipedia to get an overview on this topic.

[27] [Magazine Note 8] M551 Sheridan: an American tank developed to be amphibious, airborne tank. Its body was made of aluminum alloy to help reduce weight, but this made it vulnerable to anti-tank weapons and land mines, and it could explode when the shells it’s equipped with are triggered.

[28] X-ATM092: A spider-like robot boss enemy found in Final Fantasy VIII.

[29] Tachikoma: a blue-colored AI walker/roller tank that looks like a spider in the Ghost in the Shell cyberpunk media franchise.

[30] Swallowtail series: The sci-fi novel series written by Chitose Touma and published by Dengeki Bunko in 2008. The series is about artificial fairies, androids created in the form of humans, to be companions to still-living humans after parts of Tokyo’s population were wiped out in a pandemic, and one of these fairies, Ageha, is investigating a serial killer causing destruction. The work also has this multi-legged armored tank called “Tobigumo”. So far as I know this mecha doesn’t have official art, however, a fanart can be found in Pixiv here.

[31] [Magazine Note 9] Garter: They’re suspenders of sorts. “Garter belt” is the term for {a fabric strap which} which is clipped on over-the-knee socks or stockings. Having no shorts above garters is righteous! between the rich and the poor, became very much a hot topic during its time.

Asato’s interest in garter belts is not only shown in the novels, but also in the anime, which is noted to have a lot of thigh shots of Lena wearing said garter belts.

[32] [Magazine Note 10] Pilot suit: In this case, this is the type of suit that sticks really close to the body. As it shows the body lines quite clearly, it’s considered quite fetishistic. 

In the current time, 86--EIGHTY-SIX Volume 5: Death, Be Not Proud, has already been published, and Lena did wear the Cicada, which is Asato’s homage to pilot suits.

[33] Sieg Wahrheit: the protagonist of Chaos Legion.

[34] William F. Garrison: a retired major general of the United States Army who commanded United States forces during Operation Gothic Serpent including the Battle of Mogadishu, which served as an inspiration for the novel Black Hawk Down.

[35] The Chinese trumpet creeper, a native flowering vine species found in East Asia, usually in China, can mean “fame”, “honor”, “glory”, “abundant love” and “life filled with flowers” in the flower language.

[36] Eurasian goshawk: a medium-large bird-of-prey found in Europe and Asia and is among the species considered as “true” hawks. The kanji used in the article actually just refers to how Shinei Nouzen looks like a hawk, but upon further examination of said kanji in this reference, it pertained to that goshawk as well.

[37] Volume 3 of 86--EIGHTY-SIX was just about to be released in Japan around the moment this article was published, serving as a promotion of sorts.

[38] Several manga adaptations of 86--EIGHTY-SIX have been published as of current time. For more information, please check out this 86 Reddit Manga FAQ for further details.

[39] Besides Volume 1, Eighty-Six’s Interlude: Headless Knight II, Asato has managed to write this in the side stories Volume 10, Fragmental Neoteny Chapter 8: The Banks of Lethe and Alter.1: Claymore Squadron.

[40] The Queen’s Knights, formally known as the Brísingamen Squadron, was the squadron Lena became the Handler with after the Spearhead Squadron was sent on the Special Reconnaissance Mission. It was led by Shiden Iida and was pivotal in the Republic of San Magnolia’s defense during the 1st Legion Large Scale Offensive.

[hatsumishinogu]

86 -Eighty Six- Vol.13 (light novel)

[86-quotes]

Theo's thoughts during the mission

[marichild]

been cackling at this for five minutes straight, the eighty six are actually legends

[shazzeaslightnovels]

86: Eighty-Six

Author: Asato Asato

Illustrator: Shirabi

Mecha Designer: I-IV

Label: Dengeki Bunko

Release Date: 10 February 2017

My Score: 5/5

English Release: Yen-Press is currently publishing this series in English.

I struggled to create a summary for this premise so I'll just use Yen-Press's for volume one: "The Republic of San Magnolia has long been under attack from the neighboring Giadian Empire's army of unmanned drones known as the Legion. After years of painstaking research, the Republic finally developed autonomous drones of their own, turning the one-sided struggle into a war without casualties-or at least, that's what the government claims. In truth, there is no such thing as a bloodless war. Beyond the fortified walls protecting the eighty-five Republic territories lies the "nonexistent" Eighty-Sixth Sector. The young men and women of this forsaken land are branded the Eighty-Six and, stripped of their humanity, pilot the "unmanned" weapons into battle..."

To build up from that summary: the volume focuses on Lena, an officer in San Magnolia, as she becomes in charge of the Spearhead squadron, a squadron of the Eighty-Six. In this squadron is a soldier known as the Undertaker and it's rumored that every handler for this squadron goes insane. Lena is more emphatic to the Eighty-Six than most people of the republic and the volume focuses on her confronting her own biases against the Eighty-Six, and her blossoming relationship with the members of the Spearhead squadron, particularly the undertaker himself, Shin.

I've been wanting to read this series for a long time, but I got scared because I'm not great at reading military fantasy in Japanese, and I heard this one is very difficult to read. The volume was heavily discounted on Bookwalker recently so I decided it was finally time to read it. Thankfully, it wasn't too bad. Yeah, I had a bit of a struggle following some of the battle scenes, but there aren't that many of them and the volume tends to focus more of the human drama then on the battles.

And that human drama element is very well written. I was so invested in the story and the characters, even as I knew how the story would turn out from watching the anime. I'm obviously not an expert, but I feel like this series is one of the better portrayals of fantasy racism in fiction. It shows how racism is systemic and that it is created by people in power wanting to keep their power. The volume does a great job at exploring that.

The prose was also really good, especially during the emotional moments. Honestly, I wasn't too interested in the Shin/Lena romance in the anime, but I understood the appeal here. It is pretty cute to see two people form a connection without ever seeing one another.

I did want to rewatch the anime for this review, but it adapts the volume across 11 episodes and I didn't have time to watch more than the first two. But I do think that it is a really good adaptation that builds on the strengths of the source material. The music is amazing (The Answer has been stuck in my head for the last week), and I appreciate that they added some anime original content, like episodes 10 and 11 (unless these end up being in volume 2 which I doubt). It expanded on the source material in meaningful ways and it's definitely worth the watch.

I'm glad I finally read this volume, because I loved it more than I thought I would. I'm definitely going to be reading more when I get the chance.

[eitishikkusu]

i miss 86

[ghostiddie]

OKAY NO WONDER THIS IS SERIES IS SO WELL PACED. IT WAS A WOMAN WHO WROTE IT

[sklira]

Gekijô-ban: zero (2014) Dir. Mari Asato

[sihurts]

mentally i'm there

[kuobun]

Sanga and Touga 🎀🔔❤️

[ultra-violet-heart]

86 -Eighty Six- Magical Girl Regina ☆ Lena ~Fight! Galactic Cruise Battleship San Magnolia Ep. 1

This is the fan translation for the 86 -Eighty Six- Magical Girl Regina ☆ Lena ~Fight! Galactic Cruise Battleship San Magnolia side stories! 

(They are original bonus side stories from the 86--EIGHTY-SIX Blu-Ray DVDs, written by Asato Asato and are illustrated by Suzume Somemiya). Will be translating all of these side stories soon. If you can, please support the full manga adaptation of these side stories (published by Comic Alive and are also illustrated by Somemiya as well here!) 

Catalogue / Next Chapter (to be up soon)

Please ask my permission and credit me+this post if you will be retranslating this to other languages. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THIS TO OTHER SITES. Please take the fan translations here with a grain of salt. If anyone is feeling generous, feel free to buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi!

Episode 1:

The catapult started to light up.

“Spell activated! Magical Girl Battle Dress: Juggernaut [1], on!”

A beam of light emanated from the launcher’s magic circle, just like a trail of footprints left by lovers on the sands of a beach, or like railroad tracks from the distant past. As if pointing the way forward, Lena stepped into that path of light stretching into the starry darkness of outer space, and her Battle Dress fluttered, woven from particles of light.

The chiffon frills of the dress overlapped each other like rose petals. It has ribbons like a kaleidoscope of butterflies, and the full-on set of this Battle Dress has various trinkets imbued with magical protection: a tiara, a brooch, bracelets, a pair of earrings, and a necklace. It resembled a beautiful fairy in a fairy tale, or something akin to a luxurious bridal dress.

The dress’s hues were all sky-blue, the color of the heavens as seen from the ground on a long-distant home planet. To Lena, who was born and was raised in a Galactic Cruise Battleship, it is a color she feels distant with, having only seen it in videos.

“Setting up the Guardian Spirit Control System. All units, Wehrwolf, Gunslinger, Sirius, Kirschblüte, stand by.”

Particles of light started to gather at the four vertices of the star-shaped brooch above her chest, materializing and fitting themselves in form of four small gems with various colors: a strong iron-blue, a clear gold, a burning-flame white, a gentle cherry blossom pink.

My four precious Guardian Spirits [2].

The space traffic controller then announced: “Launch path clear! Magical Girl, Handler [3] Regina ☆ Lena, prepare for take-off!”

The light from the launcher’s magic circle brightened, changing from a warning signal of red to a go signal of clear blue.  

Taking a deep breath, she answered loudly: “Vladilena Milizé, Regina☆Lena, rolling out!”

Casting propulsion magic on her back, she soared through the vacuum of outer space. She took another deep breath after passing by the Fleet’s final defense unit. The Magical Girl Battle Dress’ barrier maintains such airtightness as a space suit, and said barrier also protects the Magical Girl from everything, including the enemies’ low-level attack magic.

Looking back, their mothership, the Galactic Cruise Battleship San Magnolia still lied in all its majesty over the sea of stars. The extremely gigantic immigrant battleship, which contained a single country inside of it, still looked large on her point of view, despite her being away from a considerable distance because of the launching and propulsion magic casted on her earlier. Even if she passed by the final defense Fleet’s barrier, she was still within range of the space traffic control communication magic from the mothership. Thus, she could directly hear the controller’s comms as well as the voices of the other Magical Girls responding to it.

“Setting up FCS [4]. Laughing Fox, Black Dog, Snow Witch, Falke, stand by.”

“Handler Owlette☆Annette [5], prepare for take-off!”

“Yeah, yeah. Henrietta von Penrose, Owlette☆Annette, rolling out!”

A figure clad in mint-green got launched from the now-pinhole-looking Magical Girl launcher catapult. Said figure stops next to Lena after the launch, shaking off dusts of light left from the propulsion magic. It is Annette, a Magical Girl around Lena’s age, and she has short silver hair and almond-shaped silver eyes.

By the way, Annette’s Battle Dress has a mint-green color, and the color of the dresses are determined by the wavelength of the Magical Girl’s innate magical power. However, for some reason, these colors are rather biased towards cutesy-looking colors like cherry pink, cream yellow, or orchid purple, so the Battle Dress colors are very, very unpopular with male Magical Girls.

Anyways.

“Owlette☆Annette, to think we share the same sortie shift!”

“For now, seems like we’ll have the same shift this whole month, Regina☆Lena!”

It is mandatory for Magical Girls to address each other by their callsigns, not their real names, when on duty. Having the ☆ on their callsigns is also mandatory. Neither Lena nor Annette knows the reason why though.

Far out of their line of sight, Annette’s eyes narrowed as she looked at a corner of their first line of defense.  

“As predicted, the first offensive barrier’s been broken through… they even got the fleet of Fidos on our second line of defense.”

Their current automatic defensive system consists of the first defense line, the offensive barrier Gran Mur, and the second defense line, the Fido Fleet of automatic fighter machines, but depending on the enemy’s strength, both lines can be broken through.

In case something like this happens, Lena and the other Magical Girls are responsible for intercepting the enemy.

Lena reacted by listening clearly to the unfolding situation on the great barrier. Fortunately, it seemed.

“Looks like there’s only a few which broke through.”

“Yes… let’s finish this quickly.”

“Right.”

As the enemy’s vanguard unit came into sight, both chanted at the same time.

“Snow Witch, Activate!”

“Wehrwolf, Activate! Enchant, Sirius!”

On the brooch on Annette’s chest, a snow-white gem flashed and vanished, but at the same time a missile pod appeared above her outraised right palm.

From Lena’s brooch, the iron-blue gem and the burning-flame white gem also sparkled and vanished, and then suddenly beside it, a Gatling gun with six barrels appeared, and blazing white flames swayed from its muzzle.

Snow Witch, Wehrwolf, Sirius: these are the Personal Names of the Eighty-Six, the Guardian Spirits who materialized as weapons to protect their Fleet.

“FIRE!!!”

The pod then aimed and fired a group of missiles at the enemy.

The Gatling gun fired a rain of bullets wrapped in flames.

Far away in outer space, all bullets and missiles pierced through the enemy vanguard.

***

In search for a habitable planet to move into, the Galactic Cruise Battleship San Magnolia continues to navigate a faraway galaxy. The battleship, sailing on a sea of stars, has been embroiled in a long war that has spanned more than 100 years.

***

After taking off the Juggernaut in the dressing room, Lena then headed back to the waiting room, where she saw Annette (who returned earlier) raising a hand.

“Good job today, Lena.”

“You too, Annette… and everyone as well.”

She smiled at them while everyone rested on the table, murmuring in response while munching on magic-replenishing cookie-like Ether Crystals like a human munching on a whole apple.

“Good work, Lena. Raiden and Kurena, too.”

“Thanks for your hard work, too, Kaie, Kujo.”

As Lena pulled a chair and sat down, the Eighty-Six resting on her shoulders or head slid down to join the others lounging at the table.

“Want some?” Annette handed out some of the Ether Crystal to Lena, but the latter raised her hand to say it wasn’t necessary. Annette tilted her head in response.

“Don’t you want these cookies as snacks, then? It’s my new recipe, made with real eggs!”

“It’s not like… those that taste like cheese when they don’t have cheese in them, or those which look like black smoke coming out of them… right?”

Before Annette could reply, however, someone from the table answered.

“Sadly, those cookies seem like the type that has black smoke coming out of them…”

The reply came from one of the Guardian Spirits on the table. With the height of less than 30 cm, they have large heads, short limbs, and bodies the size of infants or probably stuffed toys.

For some reason, they are clad in desert camouflage combat fatigues and have silver ear cuffs attached to them. They also have fluffy triangular ears and bushy tails like those of puppies, though overall they have a human-like appearance.

They are the Eighty-Six.

They are human-like magical weapons, partnered with the Magical Girls, also called as Handlers, who protect the Galactic Cruise Fleet. These Guardian Spirits have protected the battleship and its people throughout this long war spanning more than 100 years.

“By the way, Annette, why are these little ones called Eighty-Six?”

Annette nodded.

“It’s said there were 1,010,110 Guardian Spirits in total from the beginning.”

“Huh?”

She didn’t get what that meant.

“The binary number of 86 is 1,010,110.”

“I see…”

“Well, to be honest that’s rather a stretch…”

Annette’s Eighty-Six, Snow Witch, Anju, smiled wryly. She has the appearance of a young girl with silvery-blue hair, and the fur on her ears has the same color.

Returning to the topic, Theo continued to speak. He has golden-brownish hair, jade eyes, and golden-brownish ears. His Personal Name [6] is Laughing Fox, and he is one of Annette’s Eighty-Six.

“Rather than seem to be, those cookies now have black smoke coming out of them, so don’t eat them, Haruto, Daiya.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah.”

Black smoke, however, continued to puff out of the mouths of Haruto, who has copper-brown ears, and Daiya, who has golden ears.

Lena froze with a vague smile. Those two of Annette’s Guardian Spirits usually like making noise, so them being oddly silent for today… maybe that’s why.

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Lena’s Eighty-Six, Kujo, whose Personal Name is Sirius, pointed his fingers at the two and continued to laugh loudly, so Lena pinched his ebony-colored dog ears to rebuke him.

“Hey!”

“Do-wah!”

Kujo rolled his eyes, then fainted. The Eighty-Six’s ears and tails are very sensitive, and touching their tails and ears weaken them.

Lena’s Guardian Spirit, Raiden, whose Personal Name is Wehrwolf, gave Annette a side-eye and said, “Can’t you just give up on making sweets, Annette? They always end up as charcoal anyways.”

“DON’T WANT TO.”

“I mean, isn’t that your Curse in the first place?”

“Since that Curse makes things impossible, it’s kinda stupid to fight that, you know?”

As Lena’s Guardian Spirits, Kaie and Kurena, continued the current talk, Annette went fuming.

The price Handlers pay for in exchange for them to use the powers of the Eighty-Six is always having a minor inconvenience in their lives, or what’s known as a Curse.

In Annette’s case, it is “to always fail at making sweets.” For Annette, this is a very painful Curse, as making sweets is her hobby.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to pass on the cookies, Annette.”

She really didn’t want to breathe out black smoke, too…

“Ugh…” Annette looked even more angry.

She pouted at Lena sullenly and then pointed a finger at her accusingly.

“Hold on… so you dare say that after you see people now spouting black smoke. When it comes to cooking, you don’t even know how to crack an egg open!”

Lena averted her eyes away.

“Mother won’t let me do housework as she said it would roughen my hands, and the kitchen is off-limits as it’s the cook’s territory…”

As said, Lena is someone who hasn’t cracked an egg open, nor does she know how to.

“I know you’re a young lady from an aristocratic lineage, so I don’t blame you for not knowing how to. Still, you don’t have the right to talk about me like that!”

“Well, if the cookies are a little burnt, that’s fine, but I think people will complain if you make them eat something that’s completely charred…” Daiya said this while coughing black smoke, but Annette ignored him.

With a bit of surprise in his voice, Theo chimed in. “For some reason, I knew you’re a rich young lady.”

“Lena, you’re really some sort of a princess, huh.”

“Don’t say that!”

Lena swallowed her words, trying to ask if Raiden and the others can crack an egg open. She didn’t think the Eighty-Six’s tiny hands can break eggs open, and it might be wrong of her to say so. She did hear eggshells are tough and hard. However, the Eighty-Six coolly nodded at her.

“We do know how to, though.”

“We know how to crack an egg open.”

“I mean, I can still do it, maybe?”

“You can’t really crack an egg open with one hand.”

“If we have two people doing that, then maybe…”

“Wait. With just one hand…?”

Lena groaned in surprise, while the Eighty-Six just nodded at her.

Not that it mattered much, but a stuffed-toy-sized Eighty-Six cracking an egg open looked like a very fairy-tale-like image, or the stuff out of picture books, Annette thought.

***

After parting ways with Annette, who said she'll go shopping, Lena was walking alone in the defense area corridor when the enemy’s second unit launched an attack. 

She heard the space traffic controller’s comms again: “Course, clear. Handlers Drunken☆Sanders, Gluttonous☆John, Super Cool☆Tom, prepare for take-off!”

Said Mr. Sanders, Mr. John, and Mr. Tom could be heard replying. They sounded… heartbroken.

“Enough with these Magical Girl names! Can’t we change these to sound more like Magical Warriors or something?!”

“Can’t you also change the Juggernauts’ design to something more military-like?! We’re soldiers, too, after all!”

“My callsign sounds way too half-assed!”

Instead of the controller, however, girlish, high-pitched tones responded to the complaints.

Lecca, Mikuri and Myna respectively are the Guardian Spirits for Mr. Sanders and the others.

“Can’t be helped, it’s tradition!”

“The whole Dress, including the frills, the ribbons and even the gems are part of the magical defense schtick, you know.”

“Yeah, Super Cool sounds really half-assed.”

The space traffic controller replied coolly.

“It’s fine! Prepare for take-off. Forced launching activated. Bye!”

“DAMMIT ALL!!!”

The three then left a trail of different colors of flight magic as they faded from sight in the sea of stars.

Seeing this happen on and then off screen from beyond the spaceship’s window, Lena smiled strangely. By the way, as one may have guessed, Mr. Sanders, Mr. John, and Mr. Tom are all adult men, contrary to the Magical Girl moniker.

Or rather, the moniker was derived from the first Magical Girl, Handler Saint☆Magnolia, who first fought with the Eighty-Six more than 100 years ago, and there is no particular age or gender restrictions to become a Magical Girl.

It doesn’t mean that not everyone is not dissatisfied with being called a Magical Girl, having such excessively decorated Battle Dresses, or their rather-embarrassing-to-use-even-in-ordinary-times callsigns (to repeat, having the ☆ is mandatory).

The demand to revise the names continues to be rejected, the authorities being adamant about this being tradition. And “Super Cool☆Tom” truly sounds way too half-assed.

Well, that’s what Lena thought while walking.

“Ah!”

Lena felt her toe got caught in something, but she actually fell in the middle of nowhere.

In the technologically advanced Galactic Cruise Battleship, while walking in the seamlessly constructed spotless corridor of the defense area, Lena fell with a loud thud, though the ship didn’t even so much shake after.

“Ugh… it hurts…”

She did quickly get her hands and elbows together to shield her face, but then her hands, elbows and both knees hurt… it was pain she had grown accustomed to even if she’s not exactly happy about it.

That’s the nature of Lena’s Curse, “to often fall down at random.”

She never gets too injured, and it does hurt and not hurt at times, but it’s rather embarrassing when her Curse activates on public. Also, the reason why Lena has never set foot in the kitchen is partly because her mother is afraid the Curse might activate when Lena uses a knife or fire while cooking.

Lena stood up, sighing as she did so. Brushing her knees, she then saw something that certainly was not there before she fell.

From an arm’s length, there appeared to be a cardboard box.

“Farm-fresh oranges” was printed on the label of the box’s side, and it looked like someone from the public used the frayed box as some kind of container just lying around their home or something. On top of that, for some reason, rain started to fall, soaking Lena and the box in a blink of an eye.

Since this is just some kind of activating magic, please refrain from thinking how rain managed to pour inside the corridors of the Galactic Cruise Battleship, much less inside the corridors of both the defense area and near the residential area. [7]

However, in front of Lena, who was silent…

Triangular, black furry ears popped out from inside of the box as the lid opened.

A small head then followed.

Then her silver eyes met his blood-red eyes.

***

Freshly laundered bath towels and face towels are always available at all the captains’ rooms of the Galactic Cruise Fleet. This is because the manifestation of the Eighty-Six randomly happens by a cardboard box having one inside appearing in front of a randomly picked Handler while it randomly rains coldly on top of them. And since supervising Magical Girls are among the captain’s duties…

At once… the captain’s secretary placed a bath towel on Lena’s shoulders, but she didn’t bother using it to wipe her wet hair and clothes. One can see the Eighty-Six wiping his hair using the towel given to Lena while she lifted him with both hands and hugging him tightly close to her chest.

“Uncle!!! Can I take this little one with me?”

“Um…”

For the time being, Captain Jerome Karlstahl of the Galactic Cruise Battleship San Magnolia wondered if he could change this stupid manifestation ritual, which seemed to be like that common trope of a child adopting a stray dog.

His best friend’s beloved daughter, who he helped raised to be honest, is rather a little too honest… The Eighty-Six boy with black hair and crimson eyes, who was still wiping his hair, perked up as he was suddenly picked up, his pitch-black furry ears now flat and his bushy black tail wagging from side to side. Karlstahl thought it was like a dog’s tail when said dog is not growling, barking, or biting anyone, but didn’t mean the dog is on a pleasant mood, either. That Eighty-Six boy wasn’t a dog, but judging from his narrowed eyes and the crease between his eyebrows, he did resemble one…

Perhaps the boy noticed Karlstahl’s gaze, so he implored with a look that said Help me! but Karlstahl pretended he didn’t notice and nodded with a very sociable-looking smile. The crease between the boy’s eyebrows went deeper and it was a sorry sight, but Karlstahl didn’t care at all.

The girl he helped raised was just too honest. If he even tried to suddenly tear out that Eighty-Six boy out of her arms, she would probably say, “I hate you so much, Uncle!”, which made him depressed. Even thinking about it made him depressed. Compared to that, being resented by an Eighty-Six was nothing. He then put that aside and then gently pointed out an important fact.

“Lena, you already have four Eighty-Six with you. While it’s true the maximum number of Guardian Spirits a single Handler can possibly possess is up to five, it doesn’t mean there’s no consequences to reaching that maximum. You’re well aware that a shortage of magical power can end in disaster, both for the Handler and the Eighty-Six they possess.”

“I’m well aware, but… our eyes happened to meet in the rain!!!”

That was not exactly an answer to what Karlstahl pointed out.

“I’ll take good care of him! And if it’s about my magical power capacity, it’s been previously measured I’m capable to possess up to five Eighty-Six, so this is favorable chance!” Or so she said.

The Guardian Spirits, magical beings who don’t have a physical body, have enormous amounts of magical power themselves, but they also require a supply of magical power from their Handlers in order to recover said power they spent in battle or during their materialization. Insufficient magical power, especially during battle, can lead to destruction of the Eighty-Six, or worst, the death of the Handler. Therefore, the number of Eighty-Six possessed by each Handler is strictly and carefully determined based on the Handler’s magical power.

And as she claimed, Lena’s magical power has been determined to be exceptionally enormous that it was certified she could possess even up to five Eighty-Six with plenty of power to spare.

However, Karlstahl was rather eager to say what many parents would have usually said to their children who picked up stray dogs: Return it to where it came from.

The Eighty-Six can be returned to the temple in the innermost part of the Fleet’s Battleship, and afterwards there is no way to return them to the captain, not to mention the Magical Girl, but that aside…

After all…

Karlstahl couldn’t care less if the Eighty-Six was a girl, but this was a boy they’re talking about.

He was like a pest [8], and Karlstahl didn’t like that at all.

Uncle! Lena pleaded earnestly while looking at him with the eyes of a puppy about to be thrown away, and Karlstahl let out a sigh.

“Lena.”

At the firm mention of her name, Lena held her tongue.

“You really are like your father, Vaclav.”

Lena smiled at Karlstahl.

“Even if you want to sidetrack this issue at hand by suddenly mentioning Father, you can’t fool me like that, Uncle.”

Karlstahl raised his hands in defeat. I can’t fool her any longer like this, huh.

Anyways.

“To begin with, which part of this conversation brought out that part about her being like her father?” retorted the Eighty-Six boy, who had been silent until now.

Lena then answered. “Even though he is posted away due to a work transfer, Father is also a Magical Girl. Guardian Spirits tend to choose him, and since he just can’t refuse every time he gets chosen, he ended up possessing the maximum limit of five Eighty-Six.”

“Oh, so he’s still alive.”

Why did this past tense reference sound similar to earlier? [9]

In any case, Lena faced her new Eighty-Six. She placed him, standing, on a low table in the captain’s lounge suite, and then she crouched down so he could see her at his eye level. She took his little hands after, smiling, the gesture somehow resembling wedding vows.

“My name is Vladilena Milizé, and I am a Handler. Please call me Lena. From now on, I’ll be counting on you.”

“……….”

The Eighty-Six boy lowered his eyes and let out a small sigh. For now…

“Handler, can you please change your clothes?”

Underneath Lena’s now-sticky-and-wet blouse, the sight of navy-blue cloth and the white frills [from her undergarment] asserted itself so fiercely, the boy looked troubled as he averted his eyes.

***

The Eighty-Six boy called himself Shinei Nouzen.

“So, your Personal Name is Undertaker, right? Is it all right if I call you Shin?”

“If you like that, Handler.”

They left the defense area, walking onto the residential area of the battleship. An image of the sky was projected onto the high ceiling, and Lena walked along the green-looking boulevard with Shin in her arms.

Shin looked like he had given up on Lena trying to hold him like a puppy or a stuffed toy and has stopped resisting the way he was being held.

On the other hand, Lena raised her eyebrows at his curt responses. She didn’t mind if he was gruff as he might be that kind of person, but the way he called her…

“It’s Lena, Shin.”

“… Lena, then. Excuse me for saying so, but you’re rather strange.”

“Is that so?”

Shin glanced up at Lena, who tilted her head.

Such red eyes.

“The Eighty-Six serve as weapons to defend the Fleet. I thought it was common practice for Magical Girls to leave them dormant except in battle to reduce magical power consumption.”

Lena blinked.

It is true that most Magical Girls are capable of possessing only one Eighty-Six, and the Guardians who are not possessed are usually put to sleep [11] in order for them to be able to keep up in battle. However, for that matter, Lena and Annette are exceptions.

“I don’t need for my Spirits to be put to sleep. It’s more fun if they’re awake and they can materialize and do a lot of things.”

Even if the Eighty-Six are magical beings without bodies, they still have feelings and wills, just like humans. If she didn’t need to put them to sleep, she wanted them to do whatever they want, and let them do so if they’re not in battle.

“That’s why the little ones with me are usually up and about and they just play around.”

“I see… Come to think of it, I heard you already have four Spirits.”

Lena slightly smiled.

“Yes. They’re really good kids. I can introduce them to you on our way back.”

***

She didn’t even need to introduce everyone.

“Ah, Shin!”

“Thought you’re someone else, but it’s Shin. Long time no see!”

As soon as he entered the room, Kurena and Raiden’s voices greeted him. Shin’s eyes widened a little, and Lena was surprised. 

“Kurena… Raiden… Kaie, even Kujo?”

“Yeah, here I am, Shin. Long time no see.”

“I mean… you’re here…. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Why is that the headless Reaper of the Eastern Front here and brought out like a stuffed toy BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Kaie raised her hand and pointed at Shin being held by Lena, causing Kujo to burst out laughing. Shin silently twisted his body to escape Lena’s grasp, jumped on the table where the four were located, grabbed an Ether Crystal from a pot there, and then threw it. It hit Kujo’s forehead directly, causing it to split open. Kujo, who fell flat on his back, managed to catch the Ether Crystal with his mouth and then munched on it. Lena saw that he seemed to be joking around, and turned her attention to Shin, Raiden and the others.

“You all know each other?”

“Well, we do, for quite some time now.”

“We’ve worked several times under other Magical Girls.”

Now that it’s mentioned, the Eighty-Six have been fighting for more than 100 years, protecting the Galactic Cruise Fleet alongside successive generations of Magical Girls.

In those 100 years, they must have had at least stood on the same battlefield and had materialized under the same Magical Girl, even once.

Suddenly, Lena realized something, and she just had to ask. What if…?

“If that’s the case…, have you all been acquainted with the first Magical Girl, Handler Saint☆Magnolia?”

She was then greeted by a faint silence. Not an “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember”. The gesture was peculiar to those who were being asked something they didn’t want to remember. 

They all responded while averting their eyes away from her.

“No.”

“I’ve never met her.”

“I don’t know her.”

“Me neither.”

“Me neither, I guess?”

They were lying.

She wondered what happened… or rather.

Lena wondered what kind of person the first Handler was.

As a sense of dread enveloped her, she was about to speak and ask further questions—

Suddenly, the alarm for a sortie request rang from the mobile terminal comms.

***

“Geez, two sorties in one day? And this time it’s the enemy’s main force attacking, Regina☆Lena.”

“Right, Owlette☆Annette. Seems like the Legion we dealt with earlier wasn’t just the enemy’s vanguard unit and then the main force, but all of them were just the vanguard.”

This keeps being repeated a lot, but it is mandatory for Magical Girls to address each other by their callsigns, not their real names, when on duty, and the ☆ on their callsigns is also mandatory.

Anyhow, they passed through the first defense line, the offensive barrier, and then the second defense line of the automatic fighter machines.

Hordes of the enemy then rushed in.

They are hostile beings dubbed as the Legion, in testament to their vast numbers. They are the never-ending enemy forces fighting against the Galactic Cruise Fleet in this hundred-year-war.

They are the enemy of all Magical Girls and Guardian Spirits.

Looking at the enemy, Lena held the brooch above her heart, where her Eighty-Six currently were contained in. The star-shaped brooch now has five small gems on all its vertices: iron-blue, gold, burning-flame white, cherry blossom pink.

And then a deep, transparent, blood-red crimson gem.

Annette sniffled.

“It’s rather a blessing in disguise the enemy looks like… Sheep.”

The enemies’ shape, as the name suggests, do resemble sheep. Kind of like pressing twisted wire, or a collection of lines drawn by children using crayons, with different colors, thickness, and length. One could say they’re a caricature of a large flock of sheep.

The Sheep were strangely flat, visible to the eye but weren’t substantial enough, and they gathered in unison as far as the eye can see, rushing immediately like ants.

Their name is their army, of which there are many.

The countless lines that made up those countless Sheep suddenly untangled themselves.

They then gathered again in one place and swirled in a circle, and in a flash, the innumerable lines suddenly weaved themselves into a large, complex-looking shape. Each of said line is a Legion, making up the body of a large, united Legion unit.

They are said to be similar to the Eighty-Six, except these magical beings cannot communicate, though each and every one of them also possess enormous magical power.

Countless Legion then assembled, interweaving as they formed a magic circle, which shone brightly as it got activated. It was bombardment magic, aiming at everyone and everything in their line of sight.

Which included Annette.

“Laughing Fox, Activate! I’m counting on you, Theo!”

“You don’t need to tell me twice. Don’t bite your tongue, Owlette☆Annette!”

The Legion’s bombardment magic circle blasted out a large, bright star beam.

Just moments earlier, Annette barely succeeded getting out of the bombardment magic’s range using Theo’s Laughing Fox magic, a materialized virtual wire anchor that shoots a wire that gets fixed at any coordinate, and the wire hoisting the caster away to said coordinates at high speed.

At the same time, Lena completed chanting.

“Gunslinger, Activate! Enchant, Kirschblüte!”

“Copy that, Regina☆Lena!”

“Leave it to me, Regina☆Lena!”

The gold gem and the cherry-blossom pink gem flickered like bubbles of light, materializing a steel-blue sniper rifle on Lena’s hand. Kurena’s Gunslinger magic is a sniper with magic bullets that aim perfectly at its targets, and this time it has the added effect of Kaie’s Kirschblüte enchantment.

“FIRE!!!”

They shot at the Legion. The golden light beam rushed out, piercing through the center of the Legion’s bombardment magic circle, causing it to crack. As Kirschblüte’s enchantment was in effect, myriads of small blades of light resembling cherry blossom petals then appeared, slashing through the Legion which made up that magic circle.

“Switch now! Black Dog, Activate! Enchant, Falke!”

Annette’s double-hit blow struck after: Daiya’s Black Dog magic materialized as a rain of high-explosive projectiles, and in effect, Haruto’s Falke enchantment appeared after as a shower of falcon-plume-like blades attacking the enemy.

As the explosions and slashes blasted the Legion away, the bombardment magic circle shattered completely, vanishing without a trace.

“What a pain in the neck… Regina☆Lena and I have to blast those away one by one…!”

Annette possessed four Eighty-Six while Lena has five, and they have enough magical power to keep them materialized even when not in battle. If a Handler has two or more Eighty-Six, they can double their power by enchanting one with the magic of the other.

It took the doubled offensive magic of both Lena and Annette just to take down the bombardment magic circle of such a large scale. The Legion’s number is that vast. And yet… even after destroying said magic circle, the majority of the Sheep in the main Legion force were still active and moving.

“We need to reduce their numbers first, even just a little…!”

Lena took a deep breath, trying to materialize a wide-range machine gun using Raiden’s Werhwolf magic.

Out of the blue, Shin spoke.

“Handler.”

Her callsign, Regina☆Lena, seemed to be something he didn’t want to say.

“With those vast numbers, it would be better for you to use me.”

“That’s…”

Since it hadn’t been long since they met and the sortie they were in was rather abrupt, Lena wasn’t able to confirm what kind of magic Shin’s Undertaker would be, how much magical power it consumed, and how powerful it might be. It was why she hadn’t planned to use it yet.

Lena’s lips tightened. He went out of his way to tell me he thought he would be useful in this battle. How could I, a Magical Girl, not believe in that?

“All right, then. Undertaker, Activate!”

The blood-red gem on her chest glowed.

Like an ephemeral bubble of light, it diffused, with the same blood-red light placing itself on Lena’s hand, materializing…

What appeared was a long hilt, as tall as Lena, with the color of dry bone. Its curved blade was dyed red, the color of frozen flames. The weapon looked sharp and gave the impression of danger, like it was some kind of ominous threat.

It was a scythe.

A melee type of weapon, huh? In this case…

“Enchant—”

She was about to enchant the scythe with Kujo’s Sirius flames when Raiden interrupted her.

“Don’t, Regina☆Lena. Use that one alone… No matter how much magical power you have, it will run out if you use him.”

“Huh…?”

Scarlet lines then ran across her field of vision [11]. Then there it appeared: a visible trail of how to cleave through the Legion’s main unit, as if the trail is whispering: Here. Cleave.

She was still doubtful about this, but her body moved on its own, as if fascinated by the weapon. As if impelled by the scythe’s will, she swung it wide, and cleaved.

In the blink of an eye.

The Legion’s main force, comprised majority of those countless Sheep, were obliterated in an instant.

“Wha—?”

Lena, who swung the scythe, and Annette, who was beside her, just stood there, stunned into silence.

They had never seen such an enormous amount of magical power; one could describe it as a violent, overpowering destructive force. Her magical power, however, got so depleted quickly that Lena, who possessed an unparalleled amount, even felt dizzy, but this was expected with such destructive power from such a weapon.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a trump card in humanity’s fight against the Legion—a very powerful one.

The other Magical Girls deployed to other coordinates to clean up the Legion’s main force were far away from the activation of Undertaker, and so were less likely to be shaken by the event. The Legion’s numbers decreased so much one could see that these Magical Girls would be fine without Lena or Annette there helping them.

In a daze, Lena stood there, shuddering. As if she was shot by some divine force out there, she whispered. This is…

“Undertaker…”

***

The other Magical Girls took care of the Legion remnants Shin missed, and their numbers seemed to have decreased to a level even the automatic fighter machines could clean them up. A somewhat cheerful battle then ensued, the window-like monitor showing how the dog-like Fido automatic fighter machines chomped up the floating Legion debris and the remaining surviving Sheep.

Even with her vast magical power, Lena was exhausted from using such an enormous amount all at once. After going back to her room, she went straight to bed, with her five Eighty-Six resting in the adjacent lounge. Although the five can materialize and remain active outside of battle due to Lena’s magic supply, it is more efficient for them to sleep for a certain amount of time and focus on their own magical recovery.

The Eighty-Six have their own egg-shaped crystal pods where they can sleep. Shin has been allocated a pod of his own, but as he crawled into it, he opened his eyes as he heard someone. Hey.

From the pod next to Shin’s, Raiden turned his iron-colored eyes at the former.

“Now that you’ve come here, it means that is coming soon, too, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Those that are close echo each other. Because… they call out to each other.

“Brother. He’s calling out to me.”

To be continued…

Translator’s Notes:

Some of the images posted here are taken from the Regina Lena manga. This SS covers Chapter 1 of said manga as well as part of Chapter 2.

[1] Yes, the 魔法少女舞闘衣装 (literally rendered as “Magical Girl Battle Dress” in English), is read as ジャガーノート (Juggernaut) in katakana. I honestly don’t know what ran through Asato’s mind naming said mahou shoujo outfits…

[2] The 守護精霊 (Guardian Spirits), besides being written as “Eighty-Six” in katakana, are also written in an alternative kanji as 精霊, which means “spirits of the deceased”. This will be significant in the other Regina Lena SS.

[3] The 魔法少女 (Magical Girls) are called ハンドラー (“Handlers”) in katakana in this SS.

[4] FCS = flight control system

[5] Annette’s Personal Name as a Handler is アウレット☆アネット, and the katakana of アウレット can be interpreted into three: “outlet”, “aureate” (which means “golden”) or “Owlette/owlet”. I chose the third one due to the PJ Masks reference and this referencing to LN canon in Annette’s Legion-designated callsign of “Minerva”, the name being the Roman version of the Greek goddess of wisdom Athena, and Athena’s symbol being an owl. This personal translation of mine is obviously subject to change depending on if we get an official translation of Regina Lena.

[6] Personal Names in the Regina Lena SS are written as 術式発動名 in kanji, and this can be alternatively translated as “Summon Chant”.

[7] Asato said this, not me. DON’T ASK ME WHY, I FIND IT ABSURD, TOO 😞

[8] 悪い虫 literally means “bad bug” or “pest” in Japanese, but it is an idiom for “undesirable lover”. Why do all Lena’s father figures hate Shin LMAOOOOOOO

[9] This has two references, one referencing to Karlstahl’s talk of Magical Girls being in danger due to lack of magical power, the other is on… Regina Lena Side Story 4 (I will translate all Regina Lena SS if Yen Press has not, which I kind of doubt they would as of the moment.)

[10] The Eighty-Six here are usually put to sleep (like literally just SLEEP, nothing else). This is a phrase that’s a double-edged sword in future Regina Lena chapters LOL

[11] Based on how I read Regina Lena so far, this very description reminded me of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, if anyone here is familiar with Tsukihime or Kara no Kyoukai. (Another in-line reference, Lena’s Japanese VA, Ikumi Hasegawa, also voiced one of the pivotal characters/love interest, the True Ancestor, Arcueid Brunestud, in the Tsukihime remake made by Ufotable/Type-Moon. ARCUEID BEST GIRL btw)

[hatsumishinogu]

86 -Eighty Six- Alter Vol.1 (light novel)

[86-quotes]

[marichild]

now why the FUCK wasn't I informed that Yuuto Crow is that hot before,

[neyuse]

They make me sob