86 – Eighty Six | Episode 5 Review

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Episode Five Thoughts

We finally got to see a little bit of Lena and what had happened to her father. While we still do not know much about it, I think we can probably assume that it was shot down. Even though we still know very little about her, we know a lot more about Shin and his brother, who happened to save Lena on that faithful day.

What were my thoughts on episode five? To sum it up, holy shit. That’s one intense episode. I don’t know what these Legion robots do, but them mimicking the voices of those they’ve killed as a means of mental warfare on the ones they are attacking is hella crazy. I got goosebumps just watching that scene because damn, that is one way to mentally screw over those you are fighting (the 86) and the individuals commanding them (Lena). Seeing Lena break down after taking off the Para-RAID, as she continued to hear the Legion’s voices as a means of warfare, was emotional. That tenseness I felt was sensational.

There certainly was a lot of information that was given to us in this episode. Where do I begin? I think that’s part of the problem here. We were given so much information that if you do not pause and properly reflect on the information thrown at you by Shin, you’d be missing out on a lot of information. I think this has a lot to do with the anime being eleven episodes long. Do I wish for a longer anime? Yes. Would I have much preferred a longer anime to a second season? Probably. I don’t know why there are episodes where everything is thrown at you at once, and within twenty-three minutes, I’ve never liked that. Never have, never will.

Anyway, the story thickens! Who would have thought that 86 – Eighty Six would have such a complex story. I certainly did not expect this. Obviously, you can tell that there is already a connection between our two main characters, given that they talk most nights or during the day about personal stuff. Not to mention they are connected through Shin’s brother. However, what really stuck out at me was how complex these Legion robots were and how powerful they are. So powerful that even the Republic has it wrong. They think that the war will only go on for two more years because the source that drives them will run out, but Shin begs a differ.

This is where evolution takes on a whole new meaning because TLDR; Shin explains to Lena that these Legion Robots have found a way to replace their source to keep fighting. They have evolved into something beyond the republic’s comprehension. What do these Legions use to replace their source? The brains of the fallen 86. So long as the 86 continue to die against the Legion, the more resources the Legion has to replace their source and to continue fighting. Then it becomes a war of attrition. Who will be able to replenish their ranks more quickly, the republic? Or the Legion who use the dead to feed their war machine?

That alone is very interesting. We’ll either see the republic continue to dismiss this and continue to maintain that the war will be over in two years, or we’ll see the republic overrun. Or will there be some next-level superhero stuff from Lena and Shin? That’s if Shin isn’t hiding anything from the republic.

Overall, episode six was a pretty cool episode. B+.