#giadian empire

[ashitakaxsan]

86 Eighty-Six unveiled the cover for volume 12 of the Light Novel, drawn by illustrator Shirabi. The volume is set to release on February 10,2023. Kadokawa’s Dengeki Bunko is publishing the series.

Plott

The Republic of San Magnolia has been at war with the Empire of Giad for nine years now. Though it initially suffered devastating losses to the Empire's autonomous mechanized Legions, The Republic has since developed its own autonomous units, called Juggernauts, which are directed remotely by a Handler. Hence there is no more loss of human life – at least officially, anyway. In actuality, the Juggernauts are piloted by 86s, the designation given to minorities whohave been systematically dehumanized and forced to live in internment camps in the unofficial 86thWard. Only military service gives them any hope of bettering their lot.

Lena is a purebred Alba (the dominant race of the Republic) who at the mere age of 16, has earned the rank of Major in the Republic's military. She is assigned to be the Handler of the Spearhead squadron of the eastern front, an elite unit composed entirely of 86s veteran enough to have earned names. (86s are not otherwise allowed names officially.) It's also a unit known for scaring off previous handlers and even driving some to suicide. As she interacts with the squad and its leader, nicknamed Undertaker, she starts to learn the truth about the harrowing extent of the Republic's actual predicament, the horrifying extremes to which the Republic has violated the principles on which it was founded, and the dire reasons why the Republic can't afford not to take its persecution of the 86s to the logical endpoint.

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group I Round 1: #I8 vs #I1

#I8: Magical girl club gets silly and depressing

In her everyday life, Yuuna Yuuki is a hero. As proof, she is in her middle school's Hero Club, where she does her best to help others and bring a smile to everyone's face.

But Yuuna, always up to any task, is about to become an even bigger hero. Mysterious destructive forces called Vertexes begin threatening the world she loves, and the Hero Club is called upon by a strange phone app to save it. Along with her best friend Mimori Tougou, as well as sisters Fuu and Itsuki Inubouzaki, they must transform into magical girls in order to battle the Vertexes.

#I1: The 86 are forced to fight someone else’s war.

According to the Republic of San Magnolia, their ongoing war against the Giadian Empire has no casualties—however, that is mere propaganda. While the silver-haired Alba of the Republic's eighty-five sectors live safely behind protective walls, those of different appearances are interned in a secret eighty-sixth faction. Known within the military as the Eighty-Six, they are forced to fight against the Empire's autonomous Legion under the command of the Republican "Handlers."

Vladilena Milizé is assigned to the Spearhead squadron to replace their previous Handler. Shunned by her peers for being a fellow Eighty-Six supporter, she continues to fight against their inhumane discrimination. Shinei Nouzen is the captain of the Spearhead squadron. Infamous for being the sole survivor of every squadron he's been in, he insists on shouldering the names and wishes of his fallen comrades.

Titles, propagandas, trailers, and poll under the cut!

#I8: Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero (Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru)

Propaganda:

I adored this show from the moment I watched it because throughout it all, it’s hopeful. These girls go through a lot. A LOT. A lot of horrible, horrible things, and yet they bounce back. These girls bounce back pretty much every single time and do anything to help their friends do the same. To me, that is insanely inspiring.

The cast of characters here are also insanely compelling. They feel like actual, real friends—doing things together, hanging out, comforting each other and laughing with them all the same. This point I feel helps that sense of hope this show has absolutely.

The character designs in general too are absolutely breathtaking, and are nothing like I’ve ever seen from any other magical girl anime. Also, one last thing: this show’s soundtrack is done by MONACA. MONACA is also known for doing the first two NieR games. Take that what you will :)

Trigger Warnings: Flashing Lights, Self-Harm, Suicide

#I1: 86 (Eighty-Six)

Propaganda:

The characterization and character development in this show is amazing. It also has a very good depiction of survivor’s guilt/mental health, which you don’t see a lot. The animation is great and the soundtrack is done by Hiroyuki Sawano, who’s amazing and it’s one of the best soundtracks for a show ever.

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Graphic Depictions of Cruelty/Violence/Gore, Racism, Suicide.

A main subject of the show is racism. Active war, lots of violence. Character acts without regard for their life, so suicide was included. Child abuse relates to the backstory of a character.

If you’re reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

[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.

[my-anime-list]

86 EIGHTY-SIX

The Republic of San Magnolia claims their war against the Giadian Empire has no casualties, but it's a fabrication. While the silver-haired Alba of the Republic's 85 sectors are protected behind walls, those who look different are locked up in a secret 86th faction. The Eighty-Six, as they're called by the military, are forced to fight against the Empire's autonomous Legion, led by the Republican "Handlers." Vladilena Milizé joins the Spearhead squadron, replacing their prior Handler. Outcast by her colleagues for standing with the Eighty-Six, she continues to battle their inhuman maltreatment. Shinei Nouzen is the captain of the Spearhead squadron and the only surviving member of his previous squads. He bears the names and desires of his fallen comrades. When the lives of these two youths from different worlds come together, will it light the way to liberation, or will it destroy them in despair's flames?

[anime-of-the-day]

Women's History Month Themed Anime of the Day: 86

Released: 2021

The Republic of San Magnolia has a secret: its army of autonomous drones are definitely not autonomous. But this secret is only one of many. This Republic is populated by the silver haired Alba race, and only a select few are permitted to know the Republic's secret. They are called Handlers. Handlers help lead the “autonomous” army against the Giadian Empire. However, Vladilena isn’t like the other Handlers. Her senses of justice will get her into quite a bit of trouble, especially with the notoriously determined and skilled Shinei captaining her 86 unit.

[nhkamira]

Eighty Six (86―エイティシックス―) - Review

The surprise of the season for me! I'm not quite fond of military animes, I've seen some pretty bad ones but 86 simply went beyond my expectations.

The story is so complex. This war that has been going for years seemed like something that would end soon for the Republic who lives peacefully while sending the no-white hair people to fight. But as the story moves everything just seems more fucked up than what the Republic thinks.

Lena was an amazing character the struggles and impotent she has to go through while realizing that her feelings don't mean much since she still maintains her peaceful life.

The 86 were so cool, it was so shocking to see so many different people knowing the awful faith they had ahead but still choosing to fight for their oppressors.

The animation was amazing, perfect for the story, so beautiful and detailed. The soundtrack was really good, giving the story the perfect tension. The opening was one of my favorites this season.

This is one of the few animes that left me without a single clue of what can happen from now on and what can be the faith for our main characters. I can't wait for next season.

Final score: 9.5/10

[shadowsphere]

☼Sphere's 86 -Eighty Six- Masterlist☼

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬… 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰? 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺?" -𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘪 𝘕𝘰𝘶𝘻𝘦𝘯 "𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘴." -𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦

☀︎ - 𝘚𝘮𝘶𝘵 ☁︎ - 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵 ⛅︎ - 𝘍𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧

🔮Republic of San Magnolia

☼ Vladilena Milizé (Lena) ☼ Henrietta von Penrose (Annette) ☼ Dustin Jaeger

🔮Eight-Six

☼ Shinei Nouzen (Shin) ☼ Raiden Shuga ☼ Anju Emma ☼ Kurena Kukumila ☼ Theoto Rikka (Theo) ☼ Daiya Irma ☼ Kaie Taniya ☼ Shiden Iida ☼ Shana Aya ☼ Reki Michihi ☼ Rito Oriya ☼ Yuuto Crow ☼ Isuka

🔮Giadian Empire

☼ Grethe Wenzel ☼ Erwin Marcel ☼ Brent Bernholdt ☼ Eugene Rantz ☼ Willem Ehrenfried ☼ Kiriya Nouzen

🔮Roa Gracia

☼ Viktor Idinarohk

🔮Alliance of Wald

☼ Olivia Aegis

🔮Regicide Fleet Countries

☼ Ishmael Ahab

🔮Noiryanaruse

☼ Himmeln��de Réze (Hilnå)

[asparklerwhowrites]

writing military fantasy and scifi

navigation | reposting policy

military fantasy is GODTIER. BEST GENRE. i love it with all my heart and soul and its my current obsession so. you get a post about it.

i love both military fantasy and scifi, so this post applies to both in general!

#1. Weapons.

If you’re leaning to a more fantasy-based military story, maybe with magic and all, you might want to choose more midevalish weapons, all of which is freely available to be researched! You don’t have to stick to swords and spears; there are a variety of weapons that can be used! You can make up some of your own too :))

If you’re going more towards scifi/modern warfare, you’ll want to know more about modern weaponry like tanks, guns, etc! Once again, try to make up your own, especially in scifi where it doesnt need to be “realistic.” For example, in the 86 novel series, there is a “railgun” that’s a gigantic weapon with a 400km range movable on train tracks. So really, go wild.

#2. Strategy

Strategy is complicated. Depending on whether you’re going to have a traditional military structure, you’ll have and infantry (foot soldiers who participate in close combat) and a cavalry (in the past, referring to soldiers who rode on animals like horses, and in the present those who fight in armoured vehicles)

I’d recommend checking out the wikipedia page on military strategies. It’s a bit complex if you’ve never studied it/read about it before, but try to understand it. You don’t need to be an expert on it - just make sure that whatever the situation is in your story (a siege, outnumbered by enemies, holding the battle frontiers) has a strategy that makes sense. It shouldn’t be stupid. Some great books with great strategies are the Poppy War series (ensure you check trigger warnings!) if you want an example of good, written, believable military strategy. 

The 36 stratagems is an excellent resource too! A lot of websites simplify it and its a goldmine for understanding strategy.

#3. Understand the importance of supply routes, forests and rivers

Easiest way to screw over a city? Cut off their supply routes. How long will a city survive without an income of trade and materials, bonus points if its a small city with very little farming capabilities. It’s like starving them out. Secondly, rivers. Controlling a river means that a) supply routes are controlled. b) its easy to make an offensive over water than on land, and provides a quick escape route too. Forests? They’re excellent for snipers and picking off travellers and soldiers. Also great hiding places for guerilla warfare (do understand what that is!)

#4. Use actual historical references

If you want to really understand the CRUX of military writing, then look at history. Understand the strategies and techniques of past wars that could apply to your fictional ones! It’s a smart technique - but remember that no-one wants to reread a step-by-step repeat of an actual historical event. Writing military stories means that the writing HAS to be fast-paced, and only important moments/beats of the story can be shown rather than the entire tale.

#5. Recommendations of militaristic stories!

I haven’t READ a lot of books about military fantasy/scifi, but here are some manga/anime/light novel series I really love that are related to this genre!

The Poppy War Series (book series) - The Poppy War is the story of passionate yet ruthless Fang Runin, also known as Rin, who grows up poor, orphaned by a previous war. But she studies and gets into an elite military academy, and develops a gift for shamanism that lets her call upon the fire powers of a vengeful Phoenix god.

Eighty-Six (anime, manga, and originally light novel series) - According to the Republic of San Magnolia, their ongoing war against the Giadian Empire has no casualties—however, that is mere propaganda. While the silver-haired Alba of the Republic's eighty-five sectors live safely behind protective walls, those of different appearances are interned in a secret eighty-sixth faction. Known within the military as the Eighty-Six, they are forced to fight against the Empire's autonomous Legion under the command of the Republican "Handlers."

Vladilena Milizé is assigned to the Spearhead squadron to replace their previous Handler. Shunned by her peers for being a fellow Eighty-Six supporter, she continues to fight against their inhumane discrimination. Shinei Nouzen is the captain of the Spearhead squadron. Infamous for being the sole survivor of every squadron he's been in, he insists on shouldering the names and wishes of his fallen comrades. When the fates of these young souls from two different worlds collide, will it ignite the spark that lights their path to salvation, or will they burn themselves in the flames of despair?

Yona of the Dawn (anime & manga series) - Yona's perfect world comes crashing down when a heinous act of treason threatens to erase all that she holds dear, including her birthright as the princess of Kouka. Left with no one to trust but her childhood friend and loyal bodyguard Son Hak, she is forced to flee the palace. Faced with the perils of surviving in the wild with a target on her back, Yona realizes that her kingdom is no longer the safe haven it once was. Free from the shackles of naivety, Yona vows to do everything in her power to become strong enough to crush her enemies. With Hak by her side, she must piece together the remains of an ancient legend that might be the key to reclaiming her kingdom from those who conspired to steal it from her.

[recentanimenews]

86 – 18 – A Bat Into Hell

There was no new episode of 86 last week, nor will a new episode air next week. Instead, this eighteenth episode whets our appetite for the final desperate struggle of an alliance of human nations to defeat the apocalyptic Legion the Empire of Giad created. It starts out pretty subdued, with a pair of conversations, once again underscoring the unfortunate production issues apparently plaguing the show just as it nears the home stretch.

Ernst wants the commander’s promise he’s not sending the Eighty-Six to their potential deaths simply because he said they were too dangerous to keep around to begin with. In this particular case, it’s more that they have no one better for a mission that must succeed, or everyone dies. We also learn that Wenzel, who lost someone dear in the war (a spouse, perhaps), isn’t ready to give up on the kids living normal lives after surviving this.

Part of surviving means having the best equipment available, and both Wenzel and her boss know the slow military helicopters won’t get the job done. Instead, she requests and is granted access to an old prototype ground-effect vehicle or ekranoplan, one of the strangest and most nerdy of aerospace inventions.

I believe this is the first time I’ve seen one of these contraptions depicted in anime (if anyone knows of another, shout it out in the comments), but the long, foreboding journey through darkness into its hangar feels like Wenzel and the Nordlicht are descending into a dungeon to wake a dragon that may either help or kill them. It’s also named after a Giadian legend of yore: Nachzehrer, a vampire that drags its shadow along the ground.

Ekranoplan or no ekranoplan, Frederica wants to know what the plan is for getting out of enemy territory if and when they destroy Morpho. Everyone loos around until Shin says getting home alive is secondary to destroying the target and saving human civilization as they know it.

That’s not enough for Frederica, who refuses to return to the rear lines and has a “tantrum” in her room. Shin visits her, and is not particularly sympathetic, saying he’s not her knight, and even expressing doubt she wants him to kill her old one. Frederica hits back that she simply doesn’t want Shin going down the same path as Kiri. She doesn’t want to lose another brother.

But Frederica doesn’t convince Shin not to go, and probably never would have succeeded. He and the other four Eighty-Six might only be doing this for their own pride and because they known nothing else but being bloody swords on the battlefield, but in this case there is literally no alternative; the enemy isn’t someone that can be surrendered to or asked for quarter.

Ernst, donning his army uniform and taking command of the operation, gives the Eighty-Six a pep talk, telling them no one in Giad wants them to die, and that their most important mission is to come back alive. It’s at this point I was almost ready to say “Hey, he’s not such a bad guy after all”…but then the lighting changes, his smile vanishes, and he adds that if they don’t come back alive, he’lls “destroy this world.” So yeah…still evil.

Regardless, Ernst gives a stirring speech to rally the troops as the clock counts down to zero. The always-on point Sawano Hiroyuki score swells, the diversionary forces successfully clear a path,  Wenzel hits the throttle, and the bat-shaped Nachzehrer blasts out of its hanger like, well, a bat out of hell.

Only they’re actually heading into hell. Regal Lily’s “Alchemila” hits different when the sounds of weaponry the diversionary units holding their ground and being massacred mixed in. This heartens the Eighty-Six, as the soldiers of their adopted nation aren’t turning tail and fleeing like the drunk and arrogant San Magnolians almost certainly would. They’re not giving up, so they can’t let them down.

Ernst’s under-his-breath threat aside (does the blue light hint that he’s somehow secretly controlling the Legion?) this battle really is for all the marbles. As the voices of the damned fill Shin’s head and a smirk grows on his face, will he be able to keep his and lead Raiden, Anju, Kurena, Theo, and Giad to victory?

Unfortunately we’ll have to wait at least two weeks to find out. But I’m not bitter over the lack of an episode last week or next. I’m just happy we got this one, and all things considered, it ruled pretty damn hard.

By: braverade

[empty-dream]

So I read 86 LN vol 1

S1 anime covers the entire Vol 1 except for the latter's epilogue, so full anime spoiler here.

And as of this writing, I'm still on Vol 2 so the things I mention here are solely those that happen in Vol 1. Idk if a thing happens in the latter volume, gotta dodge spoiler so I don't browse about it.

There was an interview with a person inside the anime industry that basically said "The point of an anime adaptation is not to be an exact replica of the original material, but to shine as its own medium for a story." I forgot who it was and I can't find the interview anywhere for the life of me, but that statement opened my eyes. I agree with it, that's why I can appreciate the differences between LN/manga and anime, especially if they turn out good and/or interesting.

And that's exactly what happens in 86. I'll start with this: I watched the anime first, and after I read the Vol1 novel, I actually like the anime more. Because there are a lot of meaningful original scenes in it

And because the Vol1 novel turns out exactly what I fear when I first watched the anime: that I won't care much about the squadron aside from the main 5. (Look, the anime promotional materials mostly only have Lena and those 5 only. As shocked as I was in the anime, I did have an idea where the story would go from those alone). The rest are barely mentioned. Not even the girls are named in the novel, even though they do talk and Lecca is even prominent in anime.

For example, the second half of the first episode, the one that shows Spearhead squadron's daily life right before Lena contacts them, is anime original scenes. Kujo already dies the moment the novel starts focusing on the squadron. Simply put, a lot of the squadron members that aren't the main 5 or Kaie get a *lot* more focus in the anime, like Daiya, Haruto (For characters who appear on the introduction page, their novel screen time is less than I'd expect), Kujo and Lecca. While the other members often appear in the background and actually behave like equal members instead of glue-them-on figurines.

(Idk if those other members are named and/or designed in the light novel before the anime is a thing or when the anime becomes a thing.)

The anime also adds relevant information in the Raiden's talk with Lena in EP7, like Kaie receiving racial abuse from 86 (in fact in both versions, she is the first one to get highlighted about this) and Haruto also having prominent Giadian Empire blood like Anju and Shin. These weren't in the novel.

I might be just nitpicking here because I love Kaie and Haruto, but see, this scene is amazing on its own. This is where Raiden and the squad reveal the weight of their motivation all along, that they *each* have different backgrounds and different kinds of sufferings, yet they are all sentenced to die, and they all choose to fight because they know no side is saintly but some things are still worth fighting for.

The prominent characters' deaths (besides Kaie's) are often mentioned with only one or two dry lines. I expected at least Daiya's to be detailed more, but it's just that so matter-of-fact-ly. Well I came from the anime, so I guess it's normal if I expected something as heartbreaking.

I broke down HARD at the last half of EP10 and that is nowhere in the Vol 1 novel. (Having Hands Up to the Sky playing in the background is also an advantage for being an anime. Fuck that song, I now play it 24/7 in despair)

Having a lot of original anime scenes really complement the story's nature. That there are two different sides of life here, it's not just Lena's or 86's only. And those couldn't have intertwined if not for their willingness to listen and communicate.

I know I mentioned this some days ago but really, I can't get over how many of the merch are Lena (and Annette) being cute doing cute stuff while the story itself is actually depressing. Merch staffs know the market lol.

- Novel side -

That said, the novel does have an advantage that the anime/visual media doesn't: Internal explorations and explanations.

It's obvious from the get-go, but Asato confirms that the inspiration of Republic of San Magnolia and its racial discrimination and genocide is taken from Nazi Germany in WW2. The Republic who favors the white/silver haired-eyed Alba drives Colorata out of the 85 sectors, overtakes their properties, and forcibly sends the now-called-86 to either fight their war and die, or work on the wall and die.

The life inside the Republic is also elaborated on. Class always exists, even inside one race only. The center of the republic is for the elites, Lena and Annette's families included. The farther a sector is from the center, the lower the education and economy there is. Most of the military come from these areas, which explains why Lena herself is in difficult situation. Since no one in the military is either capable or willing to bring change.

It's *insane* how easily the Republic could create such vile lies, and how easily the majority of the citizens go along with it.

Gotta admit, Asato does a good job at foreshadowing the fate of the 86, the truth that we can only see after Ep7 of anime. It is mentioned that supposedly, 86 soldiers will be welcomed back once their 5-years term is up. Lena once wonders about it, but ultimately she buys it thinking that surely they must have come back to another sector. She only realizes it's utter bullshit after Annette points out how, 9 years later, they have never seen even one Colorata inside the Republic when they should have seen at least some. This also shows that Lena has never ventured to the other sectors to find out more, probably due to work or maybe she's still a sheltered noblewoman in the end.

And the mentality of the majority of Alba is shown differently. Whereas the anime uses the academy classroom to show how deeply rooted the racism against 86 is, the novel uses Lena's mother who a) more or less does the same as the classroom, and b) presses Lena to get married and preserve their pure noble bloodline. This, when the nobility doesn't actually mean anything anymore. This version shows not only Alba's racism but also Lena's strained family life.

There is a scene of an Alba high school valedictorian who, during his graduating speech, says “My friends died fighting the Legion.” I’m not sure this will make it to the anime, and it’s just a minor scene in the novel, but the weight of that scene is heavy.

The science of Para-Raid is explained, which has something to do with tapping the collective consciousness of humanity and connecting it to one another. A bit far-etched but I guess that works, science fiction and all. But I like the part where despite (or maybe because?) of connecting via hearing only, the other senses are faintly receptive as well. For example, one can sense that the other side is biting their lips in frustration, something like that. Of course, actual real life things like sensing the hidden bitterness or elation in a talking partner's words are present, this being a story where listening matters.

The novel elaborates on Raiden's stay with the Alba old woman. He calls her Old Hag, but it's clear he greatly respects her. The part where she screams and curses in the middle of the road at the Republic soldiers who take Raiden and the other children away stays in Raiden's mind forever, and so it does to me. Ngl it is quite a chilling scene.

Same with the story of the previous Laughing Fox, Theo's Alba commander. It turns out, the entirety of Theo's first squadron didn't like him at all and bet on how fast he'd tuck tail and run back to the Republic. When he faced his death the way Theo explained, he sent a message to Theo revealing he knew about it and knew his place to not ask for acknowledgment or forgiveness. This made Theo regret why he didn't try to talk more with his commander and he keeps thinking about it forever. Now it makes even more sense why Theo, blunt as he is, is willing to listen to Lena and when he snaps, he wonders if his late commander would do the same.

What actually happens in Kurena's backstory is also touched upon. While in the anime some viewers could think "Man, I get where you're coming from but chill out." The novel graphically shows her parents being toyed on by the Alba soldiers while her sister protected her, the two could only watch, and then the same sister got sent to the battlefield to die. Now at that, anyone would think "Man, no wonder she can't chill out. Not with all that trauma."

I also like the addition that Lena can sense Kurena is the one who dislikes her the most.

The novel describes greatly that it isn't just Alba and Non-Alba. Essentially speaking, Non-Alba is called Colorata, and they consist of different race groups as well. Just as Alba is associated with the color silver/white, the other race have their associated colors as well. Asato assigns races to the named members in Vol1 and what their distinguished color features are. This also explains why Anju is exiled despite looking like an Alba.

It's a question that I pondered on when I first saw Shin's armor plates, and that I pondered harder on when Chise died: What happens if there is no armor plate to carve its processor's name's on? So it turns out Shin would substitute it with anything; piece of wood or some random piece of metal. For Chise's case, Raiden, Chise's leader, suggested using the wing of Chise's in-progress airplane model. Which did my heart so bad because I'm strangely fond of Chise and finding out that in his spare time in his limited lifespan, he was working on an airplane model made me sob.

I'm not particularly into mecha, and could care less about how it moves. But Asato did a good job describing the fight between a glorified suicide car and a line of brand-new solid A-grade tanks. Special mention to I-IV because wow the concept arts for all the mechas are so cool, even though I don't really understand. (Asato even said to I-IV "Go draw a tank so horrible it's stupid for the Juggernaut" and I-IV came up with the current Juggernaut)

You know how the Republic greeting is "Glory to San Magnolia and the five-colored flag"? I won't disclose who says this in what situation, but there is someone of Colorata saying "If you hate colors so much, you should have just colored your flag white" AND OOOH THE BURN SO HOT HOT HOT

Tl;dr: Bottom line is, I personally enjoy Vol 1 because I already watched the anime and got attached to it. If I were to read the vol 1 first, most likely I wouldn't fall this hard for the series. Hell, maybe I wouldn't even pick it up in the first place because I knew it'd be depressing. But this is not to say that the LN is bad. It’s very good, it just does not really touch the lives of other soldiers whereas that’s the very thing that I love from the anime.

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group I Round 3: #I3 vs #I1

#I3: Girls get magic from a hamster to have any career they want

#I1: The 86 are forced to fight someone else’s war

Details and poll under the cut!

#I3: Flowering Heart

Summary:

It’s the first day of the new school year. 5th grader Ari and her best friends, Suha and Min, have started an after-school activity called the Problem Solving Club. However, no one seems to have any problems that need to be solved. Disappointed, Ari ends up discovering an unconscious hamster on the road. Amazingly…the hamster begins to speak. “I must find the magic ring…”

Propaganda:

I first watched this show back when I was in middle school, so it has some nostalgic value for me. Though, looking back on it now, it was a little odd. I think the concept is pretty cool, as they are girls who can magically transform into adults and have the skill set for that particular career (like Barbie, I guess). The reason they started doing this was to help other people, so the show does have a nice message to it. Overall, it’s a pretty standard magical girl type anime, so if you just want something that’s not too overwhelming, I think this would be a good watch.

Trigger Warnings:

Animal Cruelty – one of the antagonists almost gets this girl’s dog killed. It’s nothing graphic, but the dog might’ve died.

Flashing lights – there are magical girl transformations which are very bright

Pedophilia – the 3 girls are all in 5th grade (so around 11), and there is one guy who has a crush on one of the girls (he’s 18) (idk if they end up together as I can’t find a decent translation for the 2nd season)

#I1: 86 (Eighty-Six)

Summary:

According to the Republic of San Magnolia, their ongoing war against the Giadian Empire has no casualties—however, that is mere propaganda. While the silver-haired Alba of the Republic's eighty-five sectors live safely behind protective walls, those of different appearances are interned in a secret eighty-sixth faction. Known within the military as the Eighty-Six, they are forced to fight against the Empire's autonomous Legion under the command of the Republican "Handlers."

Vladilena Milizé is assigned to the Spearhead squadron to replace their previous Handler. Shunned by her peers for being a fellow Eighty-Six supporter, she continues to fight against their inhumane discrimination. Shinei Nouzen is the captain of the Spearhead squadron. Infamous for being the sole survivor of every squadron he's been in, he insists on shouldering the names and wishes of his fallen comrades.

Propaganda:

The characterization and character development in this show is amazing. It also has a very good depiction of survivor’s guilt/mental health, which you don’t see a lot. The animation is great and the soundtrack is done by Hiroyuki Sawano, who’s amazing and it’s one of the best soundtracks for a show ever.

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Graphic Depictions of Cruelty/Violence/Gore, Racism, Suicide.

A main subject of the show is racism. Active war, lots of violence. Character acts without regard for their life, so suicide was included. Child abuse relates to the backstory of a character.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[harukafe]

An Interesting War Story - 86 Anime Review

An Interesting War Story – 86 Anime Review

“According to the Republic of San Magnolia, their ongoing war against the Giadian Empire has no casualties—however, that is mere propaganda. While the silver-haired Alba of the Republic’s eighty-five sectors live safely behind protective walls, those of different appearances are interned in a secret eighty-sixth faction. Known within the military as the Eighty-Six, they are forced to fight…

[anime-of-the-day]

Anime of the day: 86

Released: 2021

The Giadian empire is at war with the republic of San Magnolia. However, they claim it is a war with no casualties. Obviously that is a lie. Those who live in the Republic, the ones with silver hair, live a peaceful life protected by their walls. They have a select few handlers who coordinate attacks with human pilots. Vladilena has been resigned to a particularly difficult unit. I really enjoyed this anime. I’m so excited for this next season coming out.

[a-o-t-season4]

Watch 86 Eighty Six English Subbed

Watch Eighty Six Episodes with English Subtitles online. Watch Eighty Six Season episodes for free. Download the Anime Eighty Six Season episodes in high quality at NM Anime.

The Story Of 86 (Eighty Six): The Republic of San Magnolia is at war with the Empire of Giad, its neighbouring country. Unmanned drones are used by both sides to conduct a "war without casualties." The plot follows Lena as she commands the 86, a squadron of drones.

Synopsis of 86 Eighty Six English Subbed

The Republic of San Magnolia claims that their ongoing war against the Giadian Empire has resulted in no casualties, but this is merely propaganda. While the Republic's eighty-five sectors' silver-haired Alba live safely behind protective walls, those of different appearances are interned in a secret eighty-sixth faction. They are known as the Eighty-Six in the military and are forced to fight against the Empire's autonomous Legion under the command of the Republican "Handlers." Vladilena Milizé has been assigned to the Spearhead squadron as their new Handler. She continues to fight against their inhumane discrimination despite being shunned by her peers for being a fellow Eighty-Six supporter. The Spearhead squadron is led by Captain Shinei Nouzen. He is well-known for being the sole survivor of every squadron he has served in, and he insists on carrying the names and wishes of his fallen comrades. When the fates of these two young souls collide, will it ignite the spark that lights their path to salvation, or will they burn in the flames of despair?

Summary of the anime

Original Title: 86

English Title: 86 Eighty Six

Japanese title: 86―エイティシックス―

Theme: Mecha, Military

Demographic: -

Other Names: Eighty Six

[itunesbooks]

86--EIGHTY-SIX, Vol. 1 (light novel) - Asato Asato & Shirabi

86--EIGHTY-SIX, Vol. 1 (light novel) Asato Asato & Shirabi Genre: Science Fiction Price: $7.99 Expected Publish Date: March 26, 2019 Publisher: Yen Press Seller: Yen Press, LLC A War Without CasualtiesThe 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... http://dlvr.it/R1YJZQ

[recentanimenews]

86 – 15 – Tines Falling from a Comb

Shinei’s cordial, by-the-book adjutant is giving him a  report in the hallway of their base when a half-dressed Frederica half-sleepwalks right into Shin and calls him “Kiri”, short for Kiriya, her knight who she believes became a Legion because of her. Once she’s fully awake she’s mortified; a proper lady should never find herself in such a situation.

Of course, when we later learn she’s running around the barracks doing all the odd jobs the soldiers have no time to do, it tracks that she’d be exhausted. Meanwhile, the old Spearhead gang is back, but aside from some momentary cheeriness from Kurena, it’s a particularly dour affair. Frederica chalks it up to them getting worn down by their roles as lackeys of the army.

The start of the episode was the least interesting, with their unit commander Colonel Wenzel trying to make the strategic case for putting the 86 to “proper” use in her new prototype Reginsleifs. She seemingly gets her wish on the eve of a forecasted large-scale Legion attack that Shin knows is far, far larger than the conscientious federacy’s analysts predict.

After the briefing, Shin returns to his quarters to find Frederica there. He prepares coffee as she criticizes how empty his quarters are, comparing them unfavorably to those of Eugene, which she cleaned out after he died. Shin tells her she could have spared herself some pain by never getting to know Eugene, but Frederica doesn’t roll like that.

Some of Misaki Kuno’s best voice work is done as Frederica regales Shinei with the story of the siege that ended the empire, and Kiri’s fall as well. Even so, to her it’s always better to meet, know, love, and remember. If freeing Kiri of the Legion means losing Shinei or anyone else, she won’t have it.

Those connections are what make life living for most people, but Shinei has been living without a single thought about his future for so long, he’s never properly grasped that…until perhaps he met Lena and now Frederica. Just as the Shinei’s resemblance to Kiriya was a catalyst for her getting close to him, Frederica is like a subsitute Lena for Shinei right now, trying to keep him aware of the things in life other than war.

Frederica tells Shinei like Lena did to start thinking about his future; even if it’s just his next leave, that’s a start. As for Raiden, he’s a bit irked that Shinei unilaterally revealed to the military that he can hear the voices of the Legion, something they all agreed to keep secret lest it make things unpleasant for all of them.

Raiden and Shinei don’t feel like friends here, because they’re really more like brothers. Strained brothers, due to Shinei being his usual mostly opaque self and Raiden actually starting to think about a future himself. He’s worried for Shinei like a brother too, not due to the coming Legion threat, but becaue the Giadians are “no saints”.

The credits end with the first Lena sighting in what seems like forever. Whether this harkens a Lena-centric (or even half-Lena) episode next week obviously remains to be seen, but it’s clear the calm before the next coming storm is just about over.

By: braverade