86 Part 2 | the doomed Anime

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Before I begin, I would like to mention that I do not know why there have been so many delays with 86 Part 2. But without a doubt, 86 Part 2 is an anime that I think has doomed itself with all its production woes. Although it’s been months since the last episode aired, I now believe we’ve gotten to the point where it seems like they abandoned the Anime. I heard rumblings that they’d be returning in March, but I feel like the Anime itself has already lost its draw.

As one of many who have watched ‘Part 2’, I admit that what I’ve seen hasn’t been all that great. There just has been so much conversation that it has driven me insane. Something I enjoyed about the first season or ‘Part 1’ was that we saw a lot of action and fighting. However, 86 Part 2 has been the complete opposite, and that to me has been very frustrating. Furthermore, when there were delays, the episodes that came from those delays weren’t even that great. If anything, I think it slowed down the Anime’s pacing as a whole. During the first season, it felt as though we were flying, there was suspense, cliffhangers and nail-biting moments, but with ‘Part 2’, I feel like we’re moving at snail speed.

I’ll be honest here. If it weren’t for my ‘currently watching’ list on MAL, I probably would have forgotten all about this Anime and that several months later, it’s still technically ‘airing.’ But that’s beside the point.

A large reason I call 86 Part 2 the doomed Anime is that only two episodes remain in the series and the long hiatus that has also taken hold of the Anime. You would expect one of two things, the two best episodes of the Anime OR the two worst episodes. Considering that 86 Part 2 is as close to the original series as possible (with regards to what it has adapted), you can expect something exciting to happen. The only problem is, we don’t know how much will be adapted or if it’ll be any good. As someone who typically doesn’t read the original sources to anime adaptations, the only thing I can go off on is what’s animated.

I’ll tell you right now. If the last two episodes are just Shinn and company chatting, then I’ll be pretty upset. But I do think that Lina will finally make her re-appearance. I don’t see why they’d omit her from the series. The last time we saw her, Lina was commanding the last-ditch effort to save the San Republic of Mongolia from being destroyed by the Legion; nothing shown during that time or after the fact indicates that she had died. Which I know isn’t the case because I glanced at the Wikia. After all, the Anime is sure taking a long time.

Will this long hiatus that 86 Part 2 has gone on be justified? I don’t think it will, especially since we’re this close to the end. It’s a shame because the story and the characters are things I can get behind. The emotion and pain felt throughout Part 1, and 2 can shake you to the core. You can feel the tension in the air. You cannot help but feel anxious. You cannot help but be on edge every episode. The action scenes have been second to none, and, sadly, we didn’t get to see more of them.

86 as a series has so much potential. Enormous potential coupled with all the woes it has faced, it all has effectively cancelled itself out. I think that 86 as a whole was that one Anime that has doomed itself. A significant contributing factor, I’m sure, is the pandemic. I’m sure it had played an important part, so I cannot fault the studio. Maybe things would have turned out differently if they had waited a little longer before making a ‘part 2’. I’m sure in hindsight. The studio is thinking the same thing.

I just hope that whatever is shown in these last two episodes are ones that’ll make us go “wow.” 86 as a series cannot go out with two mediocre final episodes, and I hope that isn’t the case.