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「今更そんなこと」 (Imasara Sonna Koto)
“It’s Too Late”
I’m trying something fierce to stop using calm before the storm when it comes to 86 – if everything is calm nothing is calm – but goddammit I think this episode counts as that! It was all buildup for Spearhead’s inevitable return to the battlefield, and while Lena was nowhere to be seen, don’t think we were lacking for tension. Pain is very much on the horizon for these boys and girls, it’s simply a question of who gets hurt first.
Much like last season excelled with, one of things I quite like about 86 is how pragmatic it can be when it comes to the personal side of war. It’s rarely discussed openly, but Spearhead’s desire to actually fight again is actually fairly common among discharged or furloughed soldiers. When you’ve spent years fighting and dealing with the many dehumanizing aspects of war, your outlook shifts, your opinions mutate, and you irrevocably change from your past self. Many are able control or otherwise paper this over, but many cannot; mercenaries for example are primarily recruited from this latter category, and Spearhead are another addition to its ranks. The difference mind you is that it’s not fighting for the sake of fighting – it’s to finish a mission they believe is not yet over. Once it’s complete they’ll concern themselves with peace, but until then peace of mind comes first.
Of course, one cannot concern themselves solely with the here and now, and that’s where Ernst and Frederica enter the picture. Ernst betrays quite a bit of his past life for example, for while he outwardly wants Spearhead to stick to the new life they’ve been living, he’s not naïve or ignorant enough to actually try and stop them; the guy definitely has a military past and uses that experience to push them onto a path which will provide the most benefit. Likewise Frederica openly blames herself for Legion being unleashed upon the world (even though she was nothing more than a baby at the time), but doesn’t beg forgiveness – she begs assistance and backs it up through a willingness to share in the hardships required. Combined these two serve as Lena’s opposite, a connection to what Spearhead possesses in body and mind, but whereas Lena links to the past Ernst and Frederica point to the future. Both sides are necessary to keep our motley crew grounded, and both sides will certainly have more to say when the right time arises.
And rest assured such time will arise, because where Legion is concerned, victory will be no cheap matter.
Preview
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Welp. That was one of the most depressing “slice of life” episode I’ve seen recently.
I like how uncompromising this episode is in showing the difference between now and then, with only the dreaming sequence and the parade breaking the tone on a visual level. Also they did a good job in portraying the Federacy as a country more similar to our modern sensibilities and with similar problems as shown by fact that Eugene has not enough money to even go to school. However in a world like that just being a normal country can be still regarded as being a paradise.
Shin’s smile at the end is very unsettling. It’s not the madness of when he was trying to gave peace to his brother, neither the tranquil one when he was essentially waiting to die. Instead it’s the sinister smile of someone who has no purpose and has just received a task to temporary occupy his empty life.
The school part was interesting because you’d expect public education to be a thing and Eugene doesn’t look to be 18+ in age. Also I quite liked his initial reaction to Eugene’s sister when he handed the book back, that was a perfect display of wartime trauma wrapped up in one face.
> I’m trying something fierce to stop using calm before the storm when it comes to 86
> – if everything is calm nothing is calm – but goddammit I think this episode counts
> as that! It was all buildup for Spearhead’s inevitable return to the battlefield,
It is difficult to have children who were ripped from their peaceful life and forced into fighting as a slave for another country, to lose family, friends, teammates, to a dominating threat. Then suddenly getting reinstituted into normal society by another nation can be really jarring, unfulfilling, and at times can feel criminal.
> Likewise Frederica openly blames herself for Legion being unleashed upon the
> world (even though she was nothing more than a baby at the time), but doesn’t beg
> forgiveness – she begs assistance and backs it up through a willingness to share in
> the hardships required.
This is why it is SOOO critical to not allow leaders with minimal military, security, and ethical experience approve of such inventions; regardless if they were elected by the majority or born into the role. A leader’s misguided decision could very well lead to the demise of mankind or irreparable damage to the planet.
> And rest assured such time will arise, because where Legion is concerned, victory will be no cheap matter.
How does man intend to fight (Sorry wrong word…) “win” against Super AI?
No any Avengers?
Only real differences between man and machine is that man has to sleep every now and then and machines can reproduce faster. The AI of these stories is always beatable, it’s just a question of casualties.
I don’t think I can handle another member from spearhead getting killed; now that they got a second chance at life.
>Likewise Frederica openly blames herself for Legion being unleashed upon the world (even though she was nothing more than a baby at the time)
There’s something strange going on here, she’s much too knowing for her alleged age, so I’d be quite willing to believe she actually did give that order.
They messed up the dialogue in the English subs. She is taking responsibility for what her family did, but she was just a toddler at that time. She knows much thanks to her extremely powerful psychometric ability resulting in the conflicting situation because she has saw much in the life of others, but experienced very little by herself.
Psychometric? Ability?…She’s an Esper!!!
Psychometric ability vs Superbot death match.
My money on the Legion in that fight. The best she can do is mind reading that the super heavy tank is very angry before being crushed XD
Well that’s a relief, anyway.
Yeah as Lambdalith mentions the dialogue wasn’t that clear. Only Raiden mentioned how Legion was introduced a decade prior and how Frederica wouldn’t have been more than a toddler at that point, something easily missed given it was a quick blurb.
Eugene and his sister intrigue me. From their looks, I will be bet they are alba. Whether or not they’re from San Magnolia is beyond me for now, but judging from their poor state, what if the alba are discriminated against in this country? What if it’s the reverse here? I’m just spitballing, but point is I’d like them to be explored some more.
They omitted it from the adaptation for flow reason (the dialogues between him and Shin goes on for longer there) but their family is a decayed noble house that lost almost everything they had after the revolution and the establishment of the Federacy. The anime just portray his family as poor (the shoes comparison is a nice visual cue) which works quite nicely with the overall portrait of the Federacy as a very capitalistic society.
Frederica is my fave right now.
She might be acting like spoiled child because she finds that conmvenient but thanks to her psychic abilities she is wise beyond her years.
Her warning to not throw survivors into “cage of pity” was one of best lines I have heard in anime for years.