86

Alternate Title

86-エイティシックス-

Synopsis

The Republic of San Magnolia is at war with its neighbor, the Empire of Giad. Having lost considerable forces to Giad’s Legions, autonomous mechanized killing machines, the Republic has since developed a way to fight back through its own mechanized units, called Juggernauts. But while the public thinks Juggernauts are unmanned and thus the war is being fought solely with machines, the truth is that they are piloted by humans called “Processors” who come from the Republic’s unofficial 86th ward, in which the Republic’s minority race, the Colorata, are forcibly isolated from the rest of the Republic and used as fodder in the war. One such “Processor” is Shinei Nozen, the commander of the special unit Spearhead. Known for its high Handler turnover rate, Spearhead fights on the frontlines of the war, and joining the unit as its new Handler is a talented young woman named Lena. Together, Shinei and Lena fight not only to win the war but to free his oppressed people. But when they stumble upon a dark secret, they learn that the war isn’t at all what it seems...

Background

86 began as a light novel series written by Asato Asato and illustrated by Shirabi that has been published under ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki Bunko imprint since February 2017. A manga adaptation illustrated by Motoki Yoshihara began in October 2018 and is serialized in Square Enix's seinen manga magazine Young Gangan. A second manga adaptation by Suzume Somemiya titled Gakuen 86 began in June 2020 and is serialized in Media Factory's seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive. The light novel and manga are both licensed for English release in North America by Yen Press.

An anime adaptation was announced in March 2020 during a Kadokawa livestream. It is being directed by Toshimasa Ishii at A-1 Pictures and features series composition by Toshiya Ono, character designs by Tetsuya Kawakami, and music by Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto. The anime will premiere in Japan in April 2021.

Characters

Shinei Nozen (Voiced by: Shoya Chiba)
The commander of the Spearhead, the First Defense Squadron of the Eastern Front’s First District. His personal nickname is “Undertaker,” but those of the 86th Ward who fight on the frontlines call him the “Grim Reaper.” He has a special ability that surprises Lena. He is usually a man of few emotions, and he enjoys reading.

Vladilena Milizé (Voiced by: Ikumi Hasegawa)
A talented young woman from the famous Milizé family who inherited noble blood from Serena, and white Alba who lived on the land before it became the Republic. At the age of 16, she had risen to the rank of Major in the Republic Army and was assigned to serve as a Handler for the 86 in their frontline battle against the Legions of the Empire of Giad. After her talents catch the attention of her commanding officer, she is assigned to Spearhead, where she meets Shinei. Her nickname is “Lena”

World

Juggernaut
Touted as an unmanned combat machine (drone) by the Republic, due to the Republic’s failure to commercialize AI, Juggernauts are piloted by an 86 as its “Processor.” It is equipped with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun or high-frequency blades on its attacking sub-arms and a 57mm smoothbore cannon on its back gun-mounted arm. It features fragile armor, and the well-being of the Juggernaut’s Processor is rarely considered.

86
The “non-existent” 86th ward of the San Magnolia Republic where the Colorata minority are forced to live. Residents of the 86 are not treated as humans and are stripped of all their rights as citizens of the Republic. As such, they are used as fodder in the war and their deaths aren’t even counted.

San Magnolia Republic
Officially, the San Magnolia Republic consists of 85 wards. It originally was a multi-ethnic nation that accepted immigrants with open arms, but after an invasion by the neighboring Giad Empire, it adopted a strict policy of eliminating all but the Alba race, which led to the forced isolation of the Colorata race inside the 86th ward, which is considered to be outside the Republic. Although the Republic has been resisting the invasion, due to the Giad Empire’s Legion forces they have suffered great losses (mostly 86s) and have lost half of the country’s land. Currently, communication between the Republic and other countries has been cut off, and it is believed that they have been completely destroyed.

Giad Empire
A major power that succeeded in developing Legions and declared war on its surrounding countries. It has the most advanced technology and military power of any nation on the continent and has plunged the entire continent into war against its Legion forces. A short time after the Legion began their attack on the Republic, the Empire lost control of the machines, and since then they have continued to operate on their previous directive.

Legion
The world’s first fully unmanned combat machines (drones), successfully developed by the Giad Empire. They come in multiple types including scout type (Armise), close quarters type (Grauwolf), and tank type (Rave), and they attack in formation. They are each equipped with a highly capable autonomous AI that faithfully carries out its directive to “eradicate hostile forces.” Since their invasion of the continent, they have dealt major blows to all the surrounding countries.

Spearhead
An elite unit deployed to the frontlines of the Eastern Front, where the battle against the Legion is most intense. Its commander is Shinei, who is also known as the “Undertaker.” For some inexplicable reason, the unit has a history of its Handlers going insane and hearing the “voices of the dead.”

• Anime Site (Japanese)
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• Original Creator: Asato Asato
• Original Character Design: Shirabi
• Original Mechanical Design: I-IV
• Director: Toshimasa Ishii
• Series Composition: Toshiya Ono
• Character Design: Tetsuya Kawakami
• CG Production: Shirogumi
• Music: Hiroyuki Sawano, Kohta Yamamoto
• Animation Production: A-1 Pictures