Spring 2021 First Impressions – 86

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 11 (a second cour has already been announced, however)

Source: Light Novel

Story Summary: The Republic of San Magnolia has been embroiled in war with its neighbor, the Giadian Empire. As far as the public knows, this war is being fought using unmanned drones, ensuring no loss of life. But behind the impenetrable wall of propaganda exists a dark secret; the drones are piloted by people from the unacknowledged 86th district of San Magnolia, lower-class humans whose lives are considered expendable. Lena, a young member of the San Magnolia military who’s quickly risen through the ranks to become a Major, is given command of one of the more difficult-to-handle 86 units called the Spearhead Squadron. They’re commanded remotely using a mind-link technology called Para-RAID, and this technology carries with it some risks; the Spearhead Squadron has reportedly driven several of their handlers to quit, and perhaps cause one of them to die by suicide. Lena is one of the few individuals who chooses to see the 86-ers as people, but what is it about her that causes her to feel this unusual level of kindness?

Impressions: Anime as a whole isn’t a storytelling medium necessarily known for being particularly sensitive when it comes to some of society’s bigger issues. That doesn’t mean it can’t be; it’s a way of conveying information that’s as good as any other, in my opinion. But it’s also a medium that comes with some fandom baggage, including a small but outspoken contingent of folks who seem to be bothered whenever its stories become too “political.” I find that this leaves most stories to either express complicated ideas and emotions in ways that are so subtle that they fly under the radar of people who insist on missing them, or to become so ham-fisted and simplistic with their messaging that they become uncontroversial in the process.

86 feels a lot like it might be the latter, which isn’t necessarily a mark against it. Its use of obvious character design cues to distinguish the class differences between the San Magnolians who seem to all have light skin, white hair and live in beautiful, clean cities, and the 86-ers who are more a mix of different physical traits and who live a low-tech, more rural life, cues us immediately into the ways in which the 86-ers have been excluded from society and all-but-forgotten – all seemingly for the purpose of sending them off to war to be exterminated on the battlefield. This raises a lot of questions right off the bat, including the actual basis of the prejudice (is it more than just based on physical traits?) and why Lena in particular seems less inclined to treat the 86-ers as sub-human. It may not be the most nuanced examination of racism in society, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t effective as a storytelling device.

While it’s not the only measure of success I go by, one of many things I look for when I’m watching first episodes is how much they make me want to continue watching. Seems simple, right? Going down this season’s list of new anime, though, I probably wouldn’t have picked this to watch if I wasn’t already committed to doing so. Yet, I’m finding that its dystopian setting, built on the back of a classist war, is really intriguing to me. I want to know more about what Lena’s deal is, and how her relationship to the squadron can possibly develop with such a degree of separation between them. This episode has a lot of good ideas going for it, and that’s always an exciting prospect as a viewer; I’m just hoping it can follow through on at least a few of them.

Pros: The introduction of San Magnolia is unsettling, as it’s a place where blatant war propaganda is piped onto the large video screens that in other real-world places might just be a place to run advertisements (though I suppose that in itself could be considered a different kind of propaganda). I think it’s easy to brush this sort of thing off as the logical acrobatics of an authoritarian state, but I’m reminded of the sort of grotesque political commercials I see on TV here every time there’s a big election coming around. I think that unsettling feeling comes from familiarity and the reminders that good speculative fiction gives us to be constantly vigilant and critical in the face of manipulative messaging.

The ways in which the Para-RAID system allows remote interaction with control of actual, piloted military vehicles reminds me of Ender’s Game, which, for all the issues its homophobic author brings to the table, is still kind of a stunning take on what people are willing to do and what sacrifices they’re willing to make when they’re disconnected from front line danger (especially if that disconnect comes as a result of outright deception). It’s an interesting concept to toy around with.

Cons: For all that she’s featured during this episode, I feel like I’m just not very invested in Lena as a character yet. She’s being framed as a “good person” among a population of almost cartoonishly shitty people, and yet I’ve seen no good reason yet why she should feel or act any differently than them.

Content Warnings: Military violence (land drones shooting guns, injuries and deaths as a result of violence). Propaganda. Discussion of suicide. Systemic racism/prejudice.

Would I Watch More? – This seems like it could be a fairly interesting watch and I’m looking forward to seeing more.