(CR) 86 TV anime

[Xiyon]

I don't mind all the war-drama so far.

What I wonder is the story's direction after the mysteries surrounding the 86 and their struggles have been cleared up. So far, the hook has always been Lena (and the audience) discovering something new about the Legion / how screwed the 86 are.

Like, idk. Maybe that's the point of the narrative--- that Lena is the war scribe documenting the lives of the 86. Definitely, we haven't seen hints of a revolution on the Alba's end (yet), so I don't know how Lena's story ties into the 86's beyond being the audience's stand-in.

[Random14]

Lucky for the Alba that the 86 choose not to sink to their level. They know the Alba won't outlive them that long anyway.

So that's most or all of Lena's idealism blown away. At least they finally moved pass that phase. She'll probably recover but doesn't seem like there's any point to planning for any kind of future.

[sierra117]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Given that they have two more years to go until the Legion shuts down (or so they think) and that they're already reduced to making children fight because the adults are all dead, intentionally killing veterans before the war ends is clearly idiotic. They made it clear there is nothing the 86 can do against the Albas, so why not just tell them their term has been extended two years? All they could do is nod. There are any number of ways they can get rid of them afterwards.

It's just another case of the Albas being comically evil and idiotic for the sake of the plot.

There is also the fact that they don’t know if ere there any surviving nation out there, if there are and the war ended and they managed to make contact with the republic and found out what they did to the 86s, things won’t be pretty

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Alchemist007

This snout shot was not very flattering.

Spoiler:

Haha, for better or worse, I'm so use to watch a certain long-running detective anime to the point where I see no problem with that kind "snout" shot .

Speaking of that shot, it kinda goes well with the sucky nature of the party where no-one seemed excited to attend.

[Eater of All]

The rebellion motivation is not too far-fetched to me. Even today there are countries going to almost comical lengths to quash any potential for dissidence. Using squad 1 for this purpose is pretty efficient because it's relatively hush and requires almost no effort - just some personnel arrangements.

What I'm still having to suspend my disbelief for is what gives the Republic confidence that the 86 won't do what exactly what the dude at the end says, which is letting Legion through. Not just in the squad 1 front, but any other fronts. If one of them breaks or is let through, I imagine the other ones will be routed from the side/behind, and then the Republic will have to fight with their own defenses for 1-2 years. Maybe they can hang on but obviously not optimal or they'd just let the 86 die right now. IMO a more careful and insidious Republic would at least make the appearance to the 86s to keep them happy and sheep and willing to fight, instead of relying on their internal motivations to do so.

re this ep: the fireworks motif is great. Didn't realize until the end that it's a metaphor for squad 1's ideal to go out in a blaze of glory, to shine brilliantly even knowing the end is nigh.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Random14

Lucky for the Alba that the 86 choose not to sink to their level. They know the Alba won't outlive them that long anyway.

So that's most or all of Lena's idealism blown away. At least they finally moved pass that phase. She'll probably recover but doesn't seem like there's any point to planning for any kind of future.

I think whatever small faith she still had left for the Republic has been completely shattered .

(Although she probably already had so little faith that she thought a bribe would actually work - and it did).

[gecd]

Originally Posted by Twi

Then again, they're committing genocide while using the war to mask it. I'm expecting too much from them. I hope they all die miserably.

Hey! Lena didn't do anything wrong

[Random14]

Originally Posted by Frontier

I think whatever small faith she still had left for the Republic has been completely shattered .

(Although she probably already had so little faith that she thought a bribe would actually work - and it did).

Its just been a slow process, and not like this is the first big shock for her. Pretty much the rest of the cast has been waiting for Lena to catch on to just how bad the Republic is, and even knowing what she did, she still didn't quite connect the dots. Like she still believed her "uncle" would come through, she couldn't believe the military would just waste so many skilled fighters, but of course that's because she's the only officer actually taking the war seriously.

That's the last of her illusions shattered by now though so don't have to listen to more of her obliviousness. One way or another she's got to deal with how bad things actually are (and I mean that in a good way, she'd been waiting for reinforcements for several episodes already).

[magnuskn]

So I guess all the previous Squadron 1's decided as well that they are honorable enough to not just let the Skynet mechs through and massacre the Albans? Oh, well, sure, why not.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by magnuskn

So I guess all the previous Squadron 1's decided as well that they are honorable enough to not just let the Skynet mechs through and massacre the Albans? Oh, well, sure, why not.

I mean.... spite that drags yourself down also is the worst and most pointless thing. And they aren't broken to that level of despair yet

[sierra117]

Originally Posted by magnuskn

So I guess all the previous Squadron 1's decided as well that they are honorable enough to not just let the Skynet mechs through and massacre the Albans? Oh, well, sure, why not.

The 86s known that there are still good Albas(like Lena) out there, and the mistreatment of 86s are mostly done by the military and high-ups, the rest of Republic’s population are just civilians, that brainwashed by government, if they just let the Legion match in and kill everyone out of spite, they will be no different than the white pigs they despised

[Twi]

Originally Posted by gecd

Hey! Lena didn't do anything wrong

She's the exception to the rule. She can escape the slaughter with the Spearhead Squadron and other 86ers.

[Tenzen12]

Originally Posted by magnuskn

So I guess all the previous Squadron 1's decided as well that they are honorable enough to not just let the Skynet mechs through and massacre the Albans? Oh, well, sure, why not.

I mean, Spearhead squads are 86 that keep surviving for years. If they were willing throw the towel they wouldn't get to this point in first place.

There is probably quite few processesors, who are willing let Legion through just out of spite, but those who don't fight die quickly and those who fight will keep fighting to survive as long as they can.

[Arya]

Yeah, I'm enjoying the ride so far, still the narrowed scope of the story makes it less solid that it could have been. We basically know only from Lena's POV so things that may sound dumb, far-fetched or anything else, maybe are not, but we can't know and it's more detrimental than adding up to the story.

Surely killing off your army before winning the war doesn't sound smart to say the least. No matter how you can put it. Do the "usual" way, who reached their 5y due date, discharge them with honour and the second later send them to neverland or extend their duty. The villains would still be villains and also rotten, but not so dumb.

I'm still on the fence anyways, the Albas know something, otherwise Lena's friend wouldn't have stop her so hastily and strongly. She is a researcher, she should be naturally curious about anythings So I suppose she will come into play sooner or later.

On the 86 situation, right now Lena's side is completely closed to any opens. So the only open I can see comes from Shin's brother, willingly, he still has a working brain, enough to know the(y) Legion has to go for the Alba, not the 86, sparing them in some way.
But most likely unwillingly, since apparently he holds a grudge against Shin he will not spare them, not until the moment he hears Lena's voice and their consciousnesses will mix together sharing their own most inner memories, Lena, Shin, bro and Sawano. It will change bro mind to spare 86ers (in some way).

[justavisitor]

wait, so Albas count on the nobility of 86 to help them defend the most strategic place. It only takes a moment of second thought (doesn't have to be something serious like hatred...simply flee because they don't want to die???) to let the Legion pass...

[Kakkou]

I assume that the Albas actually do have some form of defense system or personnel that doesn't rely on the 86 that they only deploy when they really have to, such as Legion getting too close to home or keeping away any dissenting 86. It would make for an extra kick in the guts for Lena to discover they do have a means of fighting back without the 86, even if it's not sufficient enough against the real force the Legion are hiding.

[Kakurin]

Originally Posted by justavisitor

doesn't have to be something serious like hatred...simply flee because they don't want to die???

Considering that it was mentioned that most don't make it past 1 year of service I'm sure that individuals have panicked and run away only to die somewhere else. But as for mass desertions, behind them is a mass of minefields, in front of them the Legion. There is not much room for them to run to. So their best bet to survive is to stick together and fight.

[sierra117]

Originally Posted by Kakkou

I assume that the Albas actually do have some form of defense system or personnel that doesn't rely on the 86 that they only deploy when they really have to, such as Legion getting too close to home or keeping away any dissenting 86. It would make for an extra kick in the guts for Lena to discover they do have a means of fighting back without the 86, even if it's not sufficient enough against the real force the Legion are hiding.

They do, a giant fortress wall dotted with large-caliber artilleries called Grand Mur/Mule and several layers of minefields standing between 85 sectors and the frontlines

[Twi]

And Shin's gift, which would allow for them to stay aware of where the Legion is, isn't something common from what we know. Even if they ran, they'd eventually come into contact with the Legion and they'd be picked off. The enemy in front doesn't accept surrender and the enemy in the back intends to use you up before killing you off.

They're going to die one way or another, but the longer they last the longer it takes for the surviving few in the camps to be called into war. Spearhead lasting this long is all that's delaying someone else from taking their spot on the chopping block. They'll survive until the very end rather than going gently into the night.

Still the fact that everyone, from her own Uncle to the Squad, was trying to spare her feelings by not telling her the truth until the very end, pretty much shows they see her as too fragile to handle knowing the truth. How are you supposed to want to defend the innocent few for the sake of the majority who'd throw you away?

[sierra117]

Originally Posted by Twi

And Shin's gift, which would allow for them to stay aware of where the Legion is, isn't something common from what we know. Even if they ran, they'd eventually come into contact with the Legion and they'd be picked off. The enemy in front doesn't accept surrender and the enemy in the back intends to use you up before killing you off.

They're going to die one way or another, but the longer they last the longer it takes for the surviving few in the camps to be called into war. Spearhead lasting this long is all that's delaying someone else from taking their spot on the chopping block. They'll survive until the very end rather than going gently into the night.

Still the fact that everyone, from her own Uncle to the Squad, was trying to spare her feelings by not telling her the truth until the very end, pretty much shows they see her as too fragile to handle knowing the truth. How are you supposed to want to defend the innocent few for the sake of the majority who'd throw you away?

I don’t think being fragile has anything to do with that, this truth is ways too heavy for any decent person first time hearing it, especially someone still in their teens