86 -Eighty Six-Reviews

86 -Eighty Six- Ep. 5: I’m With You

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Summary

On April 13, 2142, the helicopter transporting Lena and her father Vaclav has crashed. The pilot calls out in fear for Vaclav as an oncoming Ameise Legion unit approaches and kills him. Seeing her father nearby, Lena shouts for him, causing the Ameise to notice and head towards her. Suddenly a Juggernaut approaches; its pilot calling out for anyone still alive to cover their ears and get down. The Juggernaut uses the trees for cover and is able to disable the Ameise. The cockpit opens, revealing its pilot, Shourei Nouzen. Lena looks nervous and he asks her if she’s okay, taking her by the hand. Later, Shourei reports that he’s heading back to base. He gives Lena some chocolate. Lena says her father told her they were doing horrible things to the Eighty Six and asks him why he’s protecting her. He says they’re all part of the Republic and it is a citizen’s duty to protect their country. He doesn’t consider himself a loser who just talks and does nothing. He will fight and protect this country to the end. His stomach growls and Lena offers him the chocolate back. Shourei tells her he has a brother around her age and that he’s probably grown up big and strong. He snaps the chocolate in half, handing half of it back to her. He says he is unable to go home and see his brother. Shourei brings Lena into the cockpit with him as he heads off in the Juggernaut, telling her to call him Rei. She says it’s a strange name. He says that while he and his brother were born in San Magnolia, their parents were from the neighboring Empire of Giad. Lena says that’s the country that made the Legion and asks why he’s not afraid to fight. Rei says he is, but if he doesn’t fight he can’t survive. He says he has to go back to his brother. Back in the present on June 16, 2148, Lena continues to wander through the cemetery, talking to Shin via her Para-RAID. She asks Shin what his brother is doing now. Shin says he died here on the Eastern Front 5 years ago. Lena says she’s sorry, but he says its fine. He reminds her of the time she brought up what he wanted to do when he left the military. He says there isn’t anything he wants to do. But there is something he has to do, and it’s been something he’s been searching for the past 5 years. Lena asks if it’s his brother’s body and he says no. A week later on June 24th, Annette greets Lena on the sidewalk. The two of them head to the research ward where Lena happily eats a piece of strawberry shortcake. Annette claims the cream is artificial, but the strawberries are real. She asks Lena if she wants to look up party dresses next week for the Revolution Festival. Lena is surprised that it’s that time of year already and asks if she really needs to go. Annette says yes; all the good dressmakers will be booked if she doesn’t act fast. Lena asks why Annette doesn’t bring a gentleman with her and brings up Annette’s latest protective fiance, Rudolph. Annette says he’s cute, but there’s no chance for the two of them. Various photos on the wall show Annette’s failed fiance prospects and reveal that Rudolph is 5 years old. Annette claims this is because his family wants her family’s money. She claims the photos have been put up by her team as a joke. Annette asks Lena if she’s sure she’s not tired as her face is a mess. She says Lena is overusing the Para-RAID and she warned her that sharing sensory data puts stress on the brain. Lena says she was up all night analyzing combat data. Annette says, as she’s said before, that there’s no point in doing favors for the Eighty Six. Another week passes, it is now June 30th. Lena communicates with Shin using the Para-RAID as she passes several other officers and recruits in the hall. Shin brings up the party but Lena doesn’t want to go in case a battle occurs during it. He says they’ll be fine and that nothing happening inside the walls affects them. He appreciates the analysis Lena has provided but it doesn’t need to take up all her private time. Lena asks if the help is unwanted. He says no; her information on the enemy force and the wider region is of particular help. It’s just that she doesn’t have to spend all her time on it. If she focuses on the battlefield too much, she’ll end up like him. Lena says understood and that she’ll enjoy herself. Shin asks if the party is the Revolution Festival and recalls fireworks and a garden in front of the palace when he was a child. Lena says sorry for bringing up the subject, but he says its fine. He can’t remember the faces or voices of his family. Lena brings up his brother saying he’d grow up big and strong. Hearing a cat in the background, Lena realizes Shin isn’t on patrol as he said he was. He admits to being in his room. Lena isn’t mad, saying she’s not that much of a stuffed shirt. Coming upon a pair of individuals on the stairway kissing, Lena gets embarrassed and runs off blushing, telling Shin it’s nothing when he asks. Shin tells her they’re beginning preparation for combat. She says no warnings have been issued, but he says nonetheless that the Legion are coming.

Later, Lena listens in on the operation as several Spearhead squadron members announce being ready. Lena asks Shin how he knew the Legion were coming as he wasn’t on patrol. Shin asks her to cut the Para-RAID synchronization. He says there are a lot of Black Sheep this time and it’s dangerous for her, and that he’ll explain later. Lena says she can’t know what is going on without the Para-RAID and refuses to cut it. He tells her he warned her. Shin’s Juggernaut approaches a large number of Legion units. Lena says he’s going too far ahead and they’ll surround him. Suddenly Lena starts hearing scratchy sounding voices, saying things such as “Mommy” and “It’s so hot.” Lena puts her hands to her head and starts screaming. Shin calls out for her and says he’s cutting the link. Lena can hear Kaie’s voice, saying she doesn’t want to die just before it cuts out. Lena returns to her room in shock. She goes to her desk and upon reaching for her Para-RAID starts hearing the voices in her head again. She falls to her knees for a moment, and then gets up. The perspective changes to Shin’s. His Juggernaut jumps out onto an area where dozens of Legion are. Numerous voices ring out as Shin uses wires to pass above them, as they fire at him. Raiden says they’re more annoying than usual today and fires upon the Legion units from a hidden spot in a building nearby. As the battle rages on, Lena starts screaming. Shin takes on several Legion units in a street while other Juggernauts fire at them from the roof above. Lena says to make it stop. Shin says he’s cutting the link. Theo expresses surprise at hearing Kaie’s voice, as her Juggernaut had been torched. Shin is disappointed that the Legion was able to take her. Shin provides location information to Kurena. She heads there and destroys the unit emitting Kaie’s voice. Later, the Spearhead squadron has returned to their base. Raiden brings Shin some coffee and says everyone was giving it their all today. He thought they’d pass out from exhaustion. He says no handler has ever called in again after hearing the voices and that this should mean no more report writing for Shin. However Lena soon reveals she has re-activated her Para-RAID device. Raiden claims to be impressed. Lena apologizes for losing control and Shin says not to worry about it. Lena asks about the voices. Shin claims he almost died once. He thinks he did die. Ever since then he can hear the voices of the ghosts who died as he did, but are still here. He calls the Legion the army of a lost country with no reason to exist now that the Empire is gone. He is able to know when the Legion are coming due to being able to hear the ghosts. Shin says he is able to hear them even when asleep. Lena asks if he’s hearing them now, and how far away they have to be. Shin says he doesn’t know the exact distance, but he’s aware of every Legion past the former borders of the Republic. He claims he’s gotten used to it and it started a long time ago. Lena asks if he heard Kaie’s voice and if it’s because she became a ghost as well. Shin brings up how the Republic government believes the war will end in two years due to the timer on the Legion. Lena says this is correct; the central processing unit of the Legion is based on the human brain and its design will cause it to stop functioning then. Shin says if the design doesn’t work, they just need to replace it before hand using material available on the battlefield, human brains and the advanced central nervous system deriving from it. The Republic has forbidden the burial of Eighty Six, leaving their brains to rot in the battlefield. Shin claims he’s heard several Legion with the same voice. It’s more than likely a copy of their brains. Kaie is probably still out there. Shin says he doesn’t believe it’s the same as what you’d call a soul as the original human mind isn’t inside and it can’t be communicated with. It is just a fading echo of who these people used to be, with their thoughts copied at the moment of death. These are what they call the Black Sheep. Shin says the Republic is going to lose this war. The Legion with the new designs won’t die off in two years. On the other hand, the Republic will eventually run out of Eighty Six and they’re already down to just children. When that happens, he brings up if the Alba will fight themselves now that they’ve learned to push the cost of war onto someone else. He says they won’t be able to. Lena says the Legion only numbers half of what it did a few years ago. Shin says this is only to the extent that they can be observed. There are more beyond the observable range and they are conserving and building up their forces. Lena doesn’t think the Legion are this smart, but Shin says that’s only what she thinks, and why they’ll lose. He says the Legion are only operating off of damaged brain and asks what happens if they got an undamaged one? He claims there are ghost commanders who lead and guide the unthinking Legion and they call them Shepherds. The Shepherd’s armies are vastly more powerful than the others. Lena asks if he can hear their voices too and he says yes. He claims there to be one at the rear of Combat District 1. Lena says that if they’re going to be wiped out in a few years, then they just have to wipe out the Legion before then. She says she’ll fight and do her best. She says she’ll analyze the enemy and come up with plans, doing anything she can. She brings up the end of Shin’s service, coming up this year and that they’ll win before then. After cutting the synchronization, Shin heads to the bathroom and takes off his jacket and the handkerchief around his neck. He looks at the scar across his neck in the mirror and flashes back to his brother strangling him, telling him it’s his fault. Shin says he’ll be going soon.

Commentary

The show throws in quite the twist this episode and brings the direction of the plot into more horror territory with the revelation that the “ghosts” of the dead soldiers who have been killed by the Legion and had their brains seized by them are among those the Spearhead squadron is facing on the battlefield. Lena got lucky that the first few weeks of her being their handler spared her of this! The scene where she starts hearing the voices of the dead, including Kaie, who just died a few episodes ago is handled quite well. I particularly liked the effect of flipping things upside down once we were in Lena’s room, helping make things more disorienting. No wonder all the previous handlers for the squadron quit or worse. All this time the Alba have been depending on the assumption that the Legion will cease to function in two years, but this revelation completely throws that out. One wonders if Shin has tried to tell anyone in the past only for them to not listen, or if he didn’t feel it was worth it given how dismissive the Alba were of him and the Eighty Six in the first place. Being so naïve about what is truly going on just adds to how incompetent the Alba are portrayed in this show and you’d think their complete destruction is a matter of not if, but when. On the other hand, Shin has had to live with the fact that he can hear these voices for years now, but not only has been able to keep from going insane about it, but uses it to his advantage. Now that Lena knows about this, will she be able to do anything about it? I was happy to see the episode provide us more flashback material for Lena from when she was saved by Shin’s brother Rei on the battlefield.

Overall Rating
4/5

86 -Eighty Six- Info

Director:
Toshimasa Ishii

Writer(s):
Toshiya Ono
Chiaki Nagai
Kurasumi Sunayama
Asato Asato (novels)

Mechanical Designer:
I-IV

Character Designer(s):
Tetsuya Kawakami
Shirabii (novels)

Musical Composer(s):
Hiroyuki Sawano
Kohta Yamamoto

Format:
23 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 04.10.2021 – 06.19.2021 (Part 1); 10.02.2021 – 03.19.2022 (Part 2)
Streaming 04.10.2021 – 06.19.2021 (Part 1); 10.02.2021 – 03.19.2022 (Part 2)

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