(CR) 86 TV anime

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I like that the heroine (I think her name was Lena?) colored a bit of her hair as a sign of rebellion. It suits her well.

Her uniform is also darker. Like she's in mourning .

Ironically now she's sporting Shin's eye color in her hair. If nobody knew better they might assume she's referencing her skype boyfriend .

[Wandering Soul]

I'm really liking Lena's new look.

[Frontier]

We return to the Republic of San Magnolia that seems as pleasant, unassuming, and oblivious as ever as they spout their lies about the "drones" of the Eighty-Six...meanwhile we see Lena, serious and stoic, sporting a new black uniform and red streak in her hair that deliberately stands out in the crowd as the only person taking the threat of the Legion seriously and fighting against the onslaught she knows is coming, honoring the memory and words that Shin and Spearhead left behind. She even has a new moniker to denote her new person as a Handler .

I guess it makes sense that after what Lena did by appropriating military property to help take Rei down last season that she'd get demoted...even though she has such a incredible track record for helping take down the Legion and is still using said resources to gain even more wins that her superiors are benefitting off of, that frankly she's the one who deserves a promotion and to be leading this military. I guess being demoted means she has to deal with a pencil-pusher instead of her uncle, who can only watch on as she continues on her current path, but it's got to be weird that her current SO has a huge portrait of him shaking hands with Karlstahl .

Lena and Annette seem like they're all business in the morning...although it seems like things have gotten a lot better between the two when you see Lena show up at Annette's office like her old flustered self and Annete's even set up a drink for her like old times. It seems like they keep up appearances but are still friends again .

It also seems like Lena actually has people under her who are helping her manage resources and figuring out new ways to back up the Eighty-Six, so it's not just her now. I guess we don't see enough to know whether they're sympathetic to the Eighty-Six and are in Lena's camp, but it says a lot that they seem willing to associate and work with her .

Lena also has a new squad, led by one Shiden Iida, who seems more personable (and busty) compared to Shin, and who actually seems to get along well with Lena. To Spearhead she was a pig princess, but to Shiden she's a queen. Although Lena won't call Shiden by her real name despite knowing it because, despite continuing her nightly talks like she did with Spearhead, she just can't bring herself to get attached again even though she's still trying to do everything she can to help the Eighty-Six .

Although speaking of Spearhead...we see Shin's vision of Rei again, only this time with Rei imprinting on Shin his true last will, for Shin to move on and be happy, and to just occasionally remember him rather than wallow in an obsession over his brother's memory. And considering we see the remnants of Rei's Dinosauria in the Frederacy's custody, does that mean it saved Spearhead from the Legion batallion they were fighting ?

Shin finally wakes up after three days to find that Spearhead was saved and found by a new bastion of civilizationThe Federacy of Giad, ironically having overthrown the Empire of Giad that is responsible for the Legion threat in the first place. Feels a little full circle, in a way ..

I love how Anju is prepped to sock Shin because he stole her turn to go out and face the Legion and Kurena keeps crying when she finally see Shin again. Also I love how the Frederacy gave them a bunch of kid toys even though I think Kurena is probably the only one who would play with them .

Ernst seems like a pretty happy, nice, guy but he knows when to be serious and firm when he has to be, but he seems genuine in terms of running a moral and strong Frederacy and wanting to help and protect Spearhead, wanting them to find peace and a life away from the battlefield now that they finally have that chance...maybe because he lost his own family to the Legion? I mean, kind of weird for a president of a nation to keep adopting kids, let alone a bunch of teenagers .

Wait, is that Kana Ueda as that one military lady? Rin Tohsaka is in this? Also looks like they're building their own Juggernaut equivalent, and they seem really keen to know more about what the Eighty-Six have to say...

Well, one thing you can say about the Frederacy is that they definitely paint a better picture than the Republic, what with having people of all colors interacting with and enjoying each other, and even people calling for the rescue of the Eighty-Six from the Republic. I mean, it's probably not a perfect place, but it definitely seems like Spearhead have found a better home...

So it turns out Ernst has another adoptive kid, who seems like Hawk from Seven Deadly Sins if he reincarnated as a loli, becuase she's literally voiced by Hawks' VA and is as high-and-mighty and prideful despite her stature and voice. Too bad Shin doesn't take her seriously at all, although I guess in that way he is treating her like a little sister .

"Empress?" And I think she was the same exact girl that Legion unit flashed back to last season...hm .

The new Opening is pretty awesome, with a strong and pumping beat and animation showing a bunch of contrasting visuals, the Frederacy, and Spearhead back in the fight with some new units, some nice action shots, and ultimately coming down to what might be the truly pivotal point of this season...will Shin find Lena ?

[gecd]

from the OP it's look like the juggernaught can launch from aircraft (?) now
feels like a gundam show
ngl that's very cool

[sierra117]

Originally Posted by gecd

from the OP it's look like the juggernaught can launch from aircraft (?) now
feels like a gundam show
ngl that's very cool

Technically they are pretty light(canonically only weight 10 tons for Reginleif(the new unit)

[Twi]

I did an episode review as well. Nice to see they're expanding on what Lena has been doing over the course of the time skip. I love how awkward things are between the Squad and Ernst. They really don't know how to handle him because this is probably new to them considering the situation back in San Mongolia.

[ryllharu]

Was it me, or was San Magnolia Handler HQ architecture crumbling when it wasn't before? Broken fountain, cracks in the statues, etc.

[Twi]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

Was it me, or was San Magnolia Handler HQ architecture crumbling when it wasn't before? Broken fountain, cracks in the statues, etc.

I think it was symbolic more than anything else, showing how they aren't taking care of their supplies or the Republic in itself is crumbling.

[Nachtwandler]

Great start. I really hope that we'll get the whole arc this season but they need to try not to butcher the tempo.

[Wandering Soul]

Nice to have this series back. I'm glad that they didn't waste any time getting us up to speed as to what both Lena and the Spearhead squadron are doing.

[Kanon]

I'm surprised Lena and Annette are back to being friends. Lena even managed to find other like minded Albas (as in, not retarded) to work with apparently.

Shin's side was there bombs were dropped. Turns Giad wasn't wiped out and they're actively fighting against the Legion. The president seems like a nice guy at first glance, but at some point of the episode he was shown in an extremely ominous fashion. I don't think he's a bad guy, but he probably has issues.

And now we have the token loli character, voiced by that one seiyuu who does arrogant lolis really well (she was Mao in Endro). She was amusing.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Twi

I did an episode review as well. Nice to see they're expanding on what Lena has been doing over the course of the time skip. I love how awkward things are between the Squad and Ernst. They really don't know how to handle him because this is probably new to them considering the situation back in San Mongolia.

I think anyone would probably be thrown off waking up to this goofy guy who adopts them out-of-nowhere .

Originally Posted by Twi

I think it was symbolic more than anything else, showing how they aren't taking care of their supplies or the Republic in itself is crumbling.

The Republic can barely keep up the facade anymore. And they now feel a lot more artificial and fake compared to what we see from Giad.

Originally Posted by Kanon

I'm surprised Lena and Annette are back to being friends. Lena even managed to find other like minded Albas (as in, not retarded) to work with apparently.

I'm glad Lena and Annette seem to have repaired their friendship and that she has subordinates who seem to be on her side and working with her to help the Eighty-Six. So even though she lost Spearhead, she's not completely alone. Well, that and her cat .

I was wondering if maybe some of those subordinates might have been people from the class she hijacked back in the second episode. Maybe she actually inspired some of them.

Shin's side was there bombs were dropped. Turns Giad wasn't wiped out and they're actively fighting against the Legion. The president seems like a nice guy at first glance, but at some point of the episode he was shown in an extremely ominous fashion. I don't think he's a bad guy, but he probably has issues.

Really seems like he might be compensating for something with all those kids he's adopting...

And now we have the token loli character, voiced by that one seiyuu who does arrogant lolis really well (she was Mao in Endro). She was amusing.

I was thinking to myself "What if Hawk from Seven Deadly Sins reincarnated as a loli princess" .

[Xiyon]

Originally Posted by Twi

I think it was symbolic more than anything else, showing how they aren't taking care of their supplies or the Republic in itself is crumbling.

There's also the timing: they showed the fountain crumbling-- like a mini-dam-- just as the other soldiers talked about the Legion "not being around after 2 years". I chuckled mightily at that. Good to know our Queen is already making preparations and she's not alone this time.

The Gian Federacy makes me a bit uneasy. Like, it's too good to be true. That their Juggernauts / their pilots are seemingly not up to par with San Magnolia's 86 probably means Gian's defenses, alluded to by that scene with the generals(?), are on the verge of collapse, too, which means our survivors are about to reenter the battlefield soon.

[Gerard07]

Seen the chapter, I like the change in Lena, although I thought that her friendship with Annete had broken, it seems that not, meanwhile Shin and his group found a new home, although they are not used to peace now they will have a loli to keep them company, to wait for the next chapter.

[carmolita]

Interesting start but well done, I was waiting for this anime. They cut out the part of the novel that shows how shin got to that point (in the Medical ward) but loved the way they compensated for it by putting his brother in his dream to symbolize what happened, maybe they'll bring it up later. I like how they showed both sides (Lena and shin) wasting no time and getting to the point of the fallout from the aftermath and we got to see the new 86 recruits who will be pivotal going forward. From the end credits, it looks like they are going to show him finally meeting Lena. I really hope they include book 7 in this arc, if not I want a season 3 anime can't wait to see how this is all going to unfold, looking forward to the next episode.

@Gerard07 that friendship with Annette is not going to break she is kind of bound to her now because last season she was the one who helped Lena get the 86 out of a bind with those missiles iirc by using her (Annette's) guilt of what she did to shin and his family against her. After all Shin and his family was the next-door neighbor her family turned against/turned in.

[Twi]

Originally Posted by Xiyon

There's also the timing: they showed the fountain crumbling-- like a mini-dam-- just as the other soldiers talked about the Legion "not being around after 2 years". I chuckled mightily at that. Good to know our Queen is already making preparations and she's not alone this time.

The Gian Federacy makes me a bit uneasy. Like, it's too good to be true. That their Juggernauts / their pilots are seemingly not up to par with San Magnolia's 86 probably means Gian's defenses, alluded to by that scene with the generals(?), are on the verge of collapse, too, which means our survivors are about to reenter the battlefield soon.

That's probably because they had to cut a lot of the content out. Based on my memory, we're on... Chapter Two of Volume Two, which covers their arrival in the Federacy. They had to quicken things so a lot of details got cut out or melded together with some of the stuff, including what happened when they were recovered and from their perspective on the situation, so it looks shadier than it is.

Spoiler:

For example, in the anime when he asks about them being spies or bioweapons from the Legion, they pretty much state that they aren't but they did find the Para-Raid devices interesting. The Light Novel goes into details on their surveillance on how they know the kids aren't spies, why they're being compliant to the questioning, why the Legion doesn't use biological weapons, and the origins of the Para-Raid natural counterpart.

Likewise, that scene with them calling for liberating the Eighty Six doesn't happen like that in the Light Novel where they just came across it on the way to his manor (which makes it suspicious), but it is instead given in exposition to Shin when Ernst first talks to him due to his injuries leaving him in a critical condition that necessitated him needing a longer recovery period. The general public doesn't know their actual ages, so they were sending them things suited for children (the toys) and want them to live a peaceful life in the Federacy.

But, as you might expect, the Spearhead Squadron doesn't feel comfortable about all of this over the course of the month because of how they've been treated. They actually tried to enlist when asked what they wanted to do, which Ernst turned down because they don't know any better than the battlefield, hence why he brought them out after a month to his private home. He wanted them to see life outside the battlefield and they were literally in awe at the notion of seeing people in the streets of all different races getting along and living a peaceful life.

In short, **** San Mongolia.

[carmolita]

I couldn't make it out but what did Ernst show Shin at the end of the episode that made him lose his mind/ freak out, it was something in plastic that was found in his cockpit?

@Twi now that you mention it they did cut/change more than I thought, I wonder how the anime is going to handle shin's identity this is going to be interesting.

[Twi]

It was a nameplate, I believe. Remember Shin's habit of collecting them and his dream?

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by carmolita

I couldn't make it out but what did Ernst show Shin at the end of the episode that made him lose his mind/ freak out, it was something in plastic that was found in his cockpit?

@Twi now that you mention it they did cut/change more than I thought, I wonder how the anime is going to handle shin's identity this is going to be interesting.

Originally Posted by Twi

It was a nameplate, I believe. Remember Shin's habit of collecting them and his dream?

It was Rei's nameplate.

[Random14]

I've been looking forward to this season. Its not much but at least Lena might actually have some other people with her taking the war seriously, compared to how the upper brass are. Boy that office had a lot of pictures of himself (which was the point I know), but great to see Lena snap at her superior officer like that, she understands how things work now, so she has the leverage (and not like demotion or jail matter now).

Lena's situation is almost hopeless but nice to see a glimmer of the old Lena. Hard to tell how her friendship with Annette is doing, but at least they're talking. That seems to be the one scene Lena could relax a bit, but then not sure they'd have to act in public, not like anyone cares much much about Lena's efforts to prepare (probably not even her "uncle".

The old Spearhead squad's situation is even stranger. Even if things are as good as they look, not like any of them knows what to do next. Ernst probably looks more sinister than he actually is (based on that last scene with him). That and having them all in his house without what looks like much guards. After putting up with the Republic of San Magnolia all last season, its a refreshing change to see another government, and one that looks more competent. Not that they're pure good either, but Lena was pretty much the only sane one in a burning madhouse.