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Alright, so I watched the first episode of Eighty-Six and I was quite happy with it for the most part! It's off to a good start with mostly great pacing & visual storytelling. I'll be using this thread to lay out my thoughts about things I liked & which stuck out to me.
This little scene at the beginning already tells quite a lot—the flower displayed is actually known as a "fleur-de-lys", a well-known national symbol of France. This serves to both establish the main character's nationalism with her saluting it, and the kind of setting we're in.
Another indicator is this statue, which seems to be emulating the French revolution's symbolic character of Marianne, though the hand holding the flag seems to have been swapped. She's also holding a sword here rather than a rifle.
The moment where Major Milizé is walking towards her station is used to paint a damning picture of the military—muffled sounds of laughter are heard from within the various stations, with her being seemingly the only one taking her job seriously.
We're exposed more and more to the darker side of this country, initially introduced as a pleasant, bright and bubbly place. It's fitting that the color palette is darkened in the last couple of scenes as we find out that all of this is built upon propaganda and dehumanization.
Remember that flower in the beginning, representing the Republic? We saw it wilting in a momentary frame as she exited the room. Now we know why with this added context.
Lena is depicted as apologetic and nice towards the "Processors", but she's still in the position of the oppressor. That irony isn't gone unnoticed, with how that Processor's line here is laced with irritation in the voice actor's performance.
The focus then shifts to a group of the "Processors". A clear contrast is made through the use of eggs—those in the Republic are artificial and tasteless, as if for display, reflecting their values. The Processors are the ones living naturally, enjoying themselves to the fullest.
I also like how the statue of Marianne that I mentioned earlier is depicted here, pointing her blade downward instead of upwards, a symbol of justice turned into one of oppression.
It also depicts the Eighty-Six reclaiming the term "pig", which is shown to be used against them. I already really like how they display the power dynamics here and the relationship between oppressor-oppressed.
Aaand the guy who gets tagged by the black cat ends up dying. I guess it really does bring bad luck? (This isn't anything deep, but I thought it was funny, haha)
Since there are officially "no casualties in battle, it's up to them to keep the memories of their comrades alive, like by carrying a piece of them as Shin does.
I'm pretty sure that drawing in the second image is supposed to represent Lena, or how they view her at least as their newly-assigned handler.
Anyway, this was a pretty strong start—and if the anime keeps up, it will only get better from here. If my exams don't get in the way this might just be the next series I mainly focus on!
