What they say:
A large Legion force is headed around the continent ready to invade and destroy all the surrounding nations. The Federacy, the Republic, and the other nations are left with little time to respond to the massive threat. In the Federacy, Nordlicht blasts their way through enemy territory. When it’s time to land a decisive blow, they’re sent to the heart of the battlefield. Back in the Republic, Lena fights for her dream.
The review:
Content (Please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Legion attack is here. Once more the series soars smoothly into its strong points for these episodes with big battle sequences. Episode 16 opens up with Nordlicht and the Federacy beginning to fight off the Legion. Of course with their experience, Nordlicht is unstoppable. They rampage their way through destroying many Legion units and forcing them to back down. However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows on the war front. Frederica has a vision where Shin begins going mad and taking pleasure in destroying the Legion units as Kiri did years ago.
I had mentioned before that Shin was probably headed down this path sooner or later. All the lives he’s taken both allied and enemy have to get to him at some point. He’s spacing out more, and it’s becoming more difficult to kill off his comrades. Meanwhile, He’s taking down Legion left and right by himself like it’s the easiest and most fun thing in the world. This, of course, terrifies Frederica and worries his companions.
It’s something I’ve been waiting for in this series. Spearhead has always been closely knit and they have great chemistry. But their movement as characters has been static. Their history and accomplishments are compelling but they haven’t been broken by the war quite like everyone else has been. At least not overtly. The 86 being expendable has made them sad, but accepting of each Spearhead death. But the leader going down a dark road is the right ignition needed to add some juicy drama to the series. It seems like this is going to be a slow-burn struggle for the story. Shin’s not completely gone yet but it’s going to reach a breaking point eventually, and that’s the moment I’m waiting for.
In the meantime, the Legion has unveiled a new weapon they nickname Morpho. This Morpho uses a powerful Railgun to exterminate massive amounts of life. The Federacy manages to fend it off long enough to land a critical hit and estimates indicate it will take about two weeks for it to return. The Federacy decides to send Nordlicht into enemy territory and destroy it before it can reawaken. Grethe is staunchly opposed to this, as it basically amounts to a suicide mission.
The parallel here between Grethe and Lena is striking. The members of Spearhead had experienced this exact same scenario at the end of the previous half of the series. Shin comes to realize this is essentially his and the rest of the 86’s fate. Although, there is a touching moment here where the rest of the 86 convey their feelings to Shin through his memory. No matter where they go, persecution follows.
Indeed, once the rest of the Federacy military learns Nordlicht is made up of Republic 86 defectors, they still get the glares and the liberal sympathy. It’s a rather crushing idea, that even in another nation where the rest of the population looks exactly as you do and speaks as you do, those people will still give you the evil eye. However, I do think it weakens the racism commentary to a degree by inserting sentiments about immigrants where the imagery is not quite as potent due to the similarities between all the characters. Nonetheless, Nordlicht accepts the missions and heads off into enemy territory for round 2. But this time they have some shakier character relationships to work with, particularly Shin’s deteriorating mental state. This isn’t helped by the threatening letters Shin receives from Eugene’s younger sister who is more than a little angry her brother is not coming back. This is also the first time Shin is facing a real consequence for his reaper role. He sees it as an act of mercy, and so do his comrades. But the people on the outside aren’t going to see it that way. The people Shin killed before like that were other 86, outcasts. This time he killed someone who had a family member waiting at home. I’m very intrigued by how this will play out going forward and how Shin will reconcile the difference.
Back in the Republic, Lena tries desperately to convince her cynical uncle to let the 86 fight off the Legion when they inevitably reach the capital. We know her uncle is not exactly the kindest person and will place the needs of the Republic above all else. He is smart enough, though, to recognize that the 86 have no incentive to fight on behalf of the Republic anymore and that trying to rally them is pointless. However, he reluctantly agrees to buy Lena some time and she uses a powered-up Para-RAID to link up with every 86 in the Republic to try and ignite their spirits to defend the Republic. However, the next thing we see is at the end of episode 17 where the Legion has breached the defenses of the Republic and caused devastation and destruction within the capital.
I’m quite curious to see how this turns out going forward once Shin and Spearhead process the news. I’d also like to know what Lena said to the 86 and what happened in between. I hope there isn’t a skip there. The series hasn’t led me astray so far, though, so I have high hopes there will at least be hints. One also has to wonder if the Republic is finally getting their just desserts. The series has certainly never shied away from painting them as cold genocidal maniacs at the State level, even if we love some of the characters like Lena. Their military is corrupt and the story doesn’t want us to think otherwise. However, it’ll be interesting to see how that collides with Lena’s fate and her inevitable reunion with the Spearhead crew. I’m anticipating those coming moments even if they still seem so far away.
The animation and music still remain a strong point for the series as usual. The direction is as sharp as ever and the high-stakes battle scenes are some of the most enjoyable part of the show. This is 86 at its technical and emotional high. At this point, the only real piece missing is a little thematic and narrative clarity. The series is heading toward its climax for the second half and the most I can do until then is simply wait impatiently for the next episodes.
In summary:
86 continues to impress with gripping emotional drama and stellar action set pieces with sharp direction and a strong cast of characters. If there is one thing dragging it down a bit at this point, it’s the thematic clarity. We have a clearly defined antagonistic force in the Legion, but the alliances are confusing and the themes about racism have been somewhat muddled. There were slight pacing issues previously but those are absent in these particular episodes. The story seems to be moving in a good direction. I’m just here for the ride.
Grade: A
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
