# 86 EIGHTY-SIX (2021)

> Shin leads Spearhead Squadron, a group of marginalized Eighty-sixers piloting unmanned combat drones in a hopeless war against the Legion.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/84464

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 23
- Episode runtime: 24 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, science fiction, war
- Network: Gunma TV, TOKYO MX, BS11, Tochigi TV
- Cast: Ikumi Hasegawa, Shoya Chiba, Natsumi Fujiwara, Seiichiro Yamashita, Saori Hayami, Sayumi Suzushiro, Ayaka Shimizu, Tomohiro Ono
- TMDB rating: 8.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13718450/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: grim, tragic, melancholic, intense, sincere

## What critics say

Viewers broadly acclaim 86 EIGHTY-SIX as a moving, politically charged military anime with strong character writing and an emotionally weighty war story.

## Synopsis

86 EIGHTY-SIX (2021-2022) is a Japanese anime mecha war series produced by A-1 Pictures and Shirogumi, with a single season of 23 episodes. Set on a battlefield between the Republic of San Magnolia and the autonomous drone army of the Empire of Giad, it follows Shin, captain of Spearhead Squadron, a unit made up entirely of Eighty-sixers, people the republic regards as less than human. Officially these are unmanned Juggernaut drones, but in reality they are piloted by the very people society discards. Shin pursues private, mysterious ends while the squad fights an endless, hopeless war in which death waits at every sortie. The voice cast includes Shoya Chiba as Shinei Nouzen and Ikumi Hasegawa as Vladilena Milizé. Each episode is built around missions, skirmishes, and the shifting bonds among the squad members, and the story gradually reveals the political machinery that keeps the system running. The tone is grim, tragic, and weighty, with moments of quiet character warmth. Its political discrimination and dehumanization themes give it a serious edge. Fans of Code Geass, Attack on Titan and Full Metal Panic! will find resonance in its mecha action, moral weight, and bleak military storytelling.

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