It’s not often that I watch the first entry of a show and then proceed to continue with it. There are so many shows I’ve simply started then left their sequels hanging. One reason is I don’t want to get heartbroken after finding out there isn’t any sequel after a cliffhanger. I detest it. The other is, that I’m simply not interested in continuing. Hell, I’ve got a whole list dedicated to shows like this. Then there are shows like 86. They’ve got action, they’ve got drama. There’s even a taste of tragedy. With great animation to top it all off. This is the perfect combination for a brain off show that’s extremely enjoyable. What more could I ask for? A coherent and realistic plot? Oh, be real. Brain off and coherent plots are mutually exclusive. It’s extremely rare to find titles that master both. Any show that does both has to be a literal classic. Looking at you AOT.
I don’t think I have enough fingers to count the number of things this season does better than the first. In the visual department, season 2 is literally a far cry from the first. Even though the art style of the first was pretty good its animation felt cheap. It had a lot, I mean a lot of crappy CGI shots. This season, however, not only was the art style improved, the animation was soo much better. Even though CGI shots aren’t completely absent. I think the studio understood what they can do and what they can’t do and then focused on the former.
Then there’s the cinematography or whatever equivalent of it in animation. I’ve noticed that anime as a medium doesn’t really give this side of the equation priority. Considering how hard it would be to draw in 3D this is quite understandable. 86 honestly aces this. Its camera positions and scene composition puts all others to shame. Hell, this could even hold straight in a one-on-one against Fate UBW for crying out loud. And you don’t call that Unlimited Budget Works for no reason.
Now to the meat of what I thought was unique and great about 86. It’s heavy, I mean really really heavy, use of a certain type of visual imagery. The abstract kind.
Rather than explaining a certain plot line or basically giving out exposition through conversations, the show tries to do it visually as much as possible. There are times when a scene conveys so much but not a single word is uttered. I’ve always found myself thinking about watching shows, what if they only showed rather than explicitly telling us. Let’s face it. Listening to characters talking about outright obvious things is boring. 86 nails this. The show uses the fact that it’s an anime and not bound to reality to the fullest degree. Most of the emotionally packed scenes are simply without dialogue. It’s like we’re on a journey. Rather than holding our hand at every step, we’re only pointed towards our destination while leaving the rest for us to figure out.
Okay, I’m not gonna hide the fact that this show is at times.. dumb. That’s just how it is. You’re dealing with a dystopian world, aren’t you? Plus this is sort of a shonen so you can’t really expect deep characters. Still, for what it’s worth. The show managed to do really good in so many different things than one. I’d say the main difference between Fate UBW and this is in storytelling. Fate was visually beautiful, just like 86. Fate’s characters were memorable, just like 86. However, Fate’s story was plain boring and didn’t have a good depth or hook to it. 86 on the other hand has so much more going for it. Ahhh, I can’t even wait for the next season.