Scalpelexis

There are tons of high-quality anime set during wartime (not girls in tanks or with propellers on their feet) that also bravely take on political and social subthemes, and 86 is definitely one of them. The alternating confrontation between the progressive and San Magnolia residents and the almost Nazi-esque ones and their racist conscription of non-whites into dirty life-or-death battlefields is decently handled, and even if this makes the romance-tinged Romeo and Juliet storyline predictable, none of it bothered me. But what grates rather more than less in the first half is the story and execution. We're kept on healthy emotional alert throughout, whether through fierce spider-mech battles or heartfelt political declarations, but the series can't manage a very deft handling of the ridiculous amount of tasks it has to accomplish in the opening episodes. Every now and then it spouts exposition out of thin air like a La Palma volcano. It knows full well that it has an overwrought ensemble of characters, but its effort to get rid of them are inept. Then we spend far too long on boring Skyping, only to spend the last 2 episodes not knowing what to do with all the extra time. In terms of quality it trends in a true sawtooth pattern, up and down, thankfully coming to an end right at the beginning of the second part. As soon as the series doesn't have to explain anything anymore, it revs up to an absolute maximum in all areas. For me, both the civilized and endearing passages about the newfound life of outlaws in an advanced society and the relentless, adrenaline-pumping racket were handled so well it was unbelievable. Suddenly, the anime seemed tangible to me, and so believable; I could empathize with the feelings of the main characters as they struggled with their new sensations of regular life, followed by the strangely antithetical withdrawal from the war that had raised them. The tenderness of caregivers, the fun and comfort of a good Christmas, and yet on the other hand the anger and despair from an unexpected blow: I experienced all of this as well. The 16th episode was fantastically heartbreaking, while the last episode made me shed a tear of happiness. I'm glad that for once the content above all of the 2nd half is up to the standard of the excellent graphics and music from A-1, who to my great joy announced that they would be continuing with this project. For the 1st "bark" I would hover around a respectable 3 stars; I will unashamedly give the second half a weaker 5 for how I gulped down 86 with gusto.

Ooof, this fell apart rougher than the proverbial house of cards. Most of the time we're forced to endure the over-the-top melodrama of a bunch of teenagers arguing about whether or not we're family if we (un)adopt a random alien while competing with..mutant nuns? The plot is a mutant too, adding elements of random nonsense and constant idiocy to its unusual DNA. The creators have no idea what to do with the Kaiju, so of course we have to puff them up and let them spawn here and there out of nowhere, during which the characters actually move a half step backwards in their development. The theme of redeeming several of them is unintentionally comical because of the zero effect it ultimately achieves. The fight scenes are merely average.

A little parkour fairy. Indeed, in the anime production, this project is confusingly peppered with the biggest names: Tetsurō Araki, the lauded director of Attack on Titan. Gen Urobuchi, the man behind the excellent scripts Fate/Zero, Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Psycho-Pass. Hiroyuki Sawano, one of the most famous composers of anime music in recent years. The dubbers include such stars as Yūki Kaji or Mamoru Miyano, all under the aegis of one of my favorite studios, WIT. The opening immersion and bouncing around in a world sketched out by a giant bubble blower is an incredibly effective audiovisual spectacle; the opulent focus on the watery state is the centerpiece of this animated Tokyo, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if you assume this is another Shinkai, since it's similar in quite a few aspects to his recent Weathering with You. You can see the WIT style above all in the composition of the background against the static images of faces, with the accentuated play of lighting effects frequently found in Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song. You can't help but enjoy the camera frenzy during the competitions, its endless wrapping around all the athletes' axes. The parkour action sequences are beautifully animated, and the only thing that slightly snapped me out of my reverie was the script's confusion over whether to use the classic run or the ridiculously inappropriate "Naruto run" (Like why even? Surely you don't wear a suit to a ball so you can ultimately put boots on?). And speaking of the script, it was only a slight hint of a bigger noise. I have no idea if Urobuchi slightly flubbed it, it was heavily cut, or if there were other external interfering factors: The inspiration from Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" is beaten into our heads every few minutes, but that shouldn't be allowed to create a fantasy world that is unfinished compared to the original tale and filled with unknown rules, or to churn out a bundle of characters with no backstory and no deeper characterization, and then try to retroactively wrap it in a romantic gift package meant to tug at more sensitive heartstrings. The romance between the fairy and the prince follows the aforementioned pattern and is created with gestures rather than words, but is nothing more than a bland shortcut. The main "wingman" of the script, the visuals, tries to convince the audience of their existing proximity, diligently selling one magical scene after another, but without meaningful actions and chemistry between the lead couple together, it's just a hollow picture, literally an advertisement for silence. The implausibility of the plot seems to be sadly symbolized by the author’s reluctance to have the surrounding characters question or even ponder the supernatural elements surrounding our fairy, or the strange ignorance of her origins. The emotional impact of the last dramatic minutes was thus, for me, like the grand headline of a weak tabloid. As Jeoffrey wrote, it wouldn't have hurt at all to have less action and instead more very fragile bubbly relationships for more touching animation, to put it ironically. It's a waste, a very nice looking waste, and a burst bubble. 3 stars