Disclaimer: This is a review on the FIRST volume of 86 EightySix. I have yet to read other entries in the series nor do I have any future plans to write reviews for other installments. This is also my first review so with that in mind please read at your leisure and enjoy yourself War. War Never Changes. https://externalcontent.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https3A2F2Fotakusmafiaworld.fr2Fwpcontent2Fuploads2F20202F032F86EIGHTYSIXROMANVA01978197530312951400.jpgf=1nofb=1 Synopsis The Republic of San Magnolia. Stuck in a constant battle against unmanned war machines referred to collectively as Legion from the neighboring Giadian Empire. Countless lives lost on the battlefield. Such is the price of any war. And with time the Republic succeeded in creating autonomous weapons of their own: Juggernauts. They would finally have an advantage against the Empire. Lives would no longer be lost. From that point onwards all conflicts would become bloodless. Or so they say In reality the Republic which is split into EightyFive sectors lies a hidden EightySixth sector. Who resides in that hidden sector? All the minorities of San Magnolia. Stripped of their rights and humanity sentenced to pilot Juggernauts as nameless fighters until they hit their expiration date. They are The EightySix. No country would ever consider it an act of evil to deny a pig human rights. Vladilena Miliz https://externalcontent.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https3A2F2Fsomoskudasai.com2Fwpcontent2Fuploads2F20202F122Fportadaeightysix3.jpgf=1nofb=1 Meet Major Vladilena Lena Miliz. The character you are first introduced to. She belongs to the Alba community the dominant racial group within San Magnolia. As her title may suggest she is enlisted in the Republics military. She is assigned the role of Handler to the Spearhead Squadron a unit infamous for driving all Handlers prior to Lena to madness and insanity. It is from her post that she meets another character who is integral to the plot of 86 https://externalcontent.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https3A2F2F1.ak.crunchyroll.com2Fi2Fspire32F1438bac4c7b0f29d211db59b2d98ee511608645729main.jpgf=1nofb=1 This fellow is known simply as Shin commonly referred to by his codename: Undertaker. He is your second protagonist in the series and arguably the more important one. It is through interactions with Shin and the rest of his squadron members that Lena learns more about the Republics treatment of the 86. And thus begins our story A tale about the socalled bloodless wars and the group who was crazy enough to push through it all. Pacing Personally I felt like the novel was off to a slow start in the beginning. It was a sluggish process to go from pagetopage but that might just be me. However by the time you get to the third chapter things start to pick up and become more interesting. Is the slow buildup worth it? In my opinion definitely. When you have a storyline that revolves around your characters as much as 86 does it is a necessary step to establish the mindsets and motives for them. What can a reader gather about a character solely from how they act/speak. 86 is a strong example that conveys how to do just that if you ask me. In between chapters you might get occasional interlude chapters which act as flashbacks to add more exposition. It felt as if all the questions I had were being answered the more I read. Characters Of course as much as I enjoyed the pacing I felt like the direction some of the characters were taken into was quite unfortunate. Granted the first volume has nine characters not counting the faceless side characters who only have names to deal with. Fleshing out that many characters is not only a lot of work but also difficult to execute well. So in the context of 86 the choices made in regards to the handling of certain characters makes sense. Some of the decisions are actually necessary to move the plot forward and I can appreciate those. However there were some moments that had me questioning what was going through the writers head. Otherwise I enjoyed the interactions these characters had with each other. Even with just words I found myself pulled into their conversations. I give props to the writer for making me hate the Alba as much as the 86 themselves do. The way characters bounced off each others dialogue left and right made the chatter feel real. Also it feels refreshing to read swear words in a fiction story. Adds to the immersion I guess. Plot The plot is an interesting concept. In the afterward by the author they mention how the plot has a lot of themes/elements from World War II. 86 doesnt try to hide its themes of racial discrimination. From the 86 being placed in internment camps to the exploitation and usage of force against those who resisted. You can feel this tension in exchanges between Lena and members of her squadron. The characters are used as narrative devices to elaborate on the world they live in and the experiences that have shaped them today. Tragic as it is the cast would not have found the resolve within themselves if it werent for these conflicts. There is a scene where one of the characters blows a fuse and snaps on Lena. The whole exchange is not only filled with emotion and weight but it shows their determination. Its a powerful scene that illustrates how they feel in regards to the Alba and Lena. Probably my favorite scene in the whole story. And without going into spoilers I enjoyed the ending. In fact I consider it a conclusive enough ending that I feel fine reading just one volume. If the series were to stop at just the first installment I would be fine with that. Thats how much I enjoyed the ending. Final Thoughts Overall 86 is an interesting take on the dystopian genre. Its tragic and loaded with both heavy and aggressive emotions. The switch between perspectives can be a bit confusing at times especially with all the different fonts used to indicate if someone is speaking remotely directly or thinking. Not gonna lie my brain hurt a bunch of times while reading because of the constant switches. Nothing against the idea though I get what they were trying to go for. I think a big factor I was able to get into the story as much as I did is because like the 86 I am also considered a minority. Although I am fortunate to not have faced any discrimination towards me or my close ones yet I still have to be weary of the idea that it could happen at any time. Its unfortunate but its the reality we live in. 86 could be interpreted as an allegory for racism and while those themes are indeed present Im not sure how much you could get out of it. If someone wants to try be my guest. Needless to say 86 is a story with good pacing a diverse cast of characters and a refreshing take on a saturated genre that incorporates many themes. Definitely worth considering if you are into military fiction or dystopian fiction.