86, LN Recommendation of the Week!
Article at a glance:
- The 86 light novel offers a gripping narrative with tight pacing, intricate world-building, and unexpected twists, making it a must-read.
- The evolving relationships, especially between Lena and the Spearhead squadron, showcase deep character development and emotional depth.
- With a mix of intense action sequences and thought-provoking themes, 86 delivers a compelling read that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.
Well since the anime shows no sign of returning so far, let’s just talk about the LN, shall we? If you have been around the website for a while, you’d know that there aren’t that many LNs I keep track of. Simply because I lack the time to do so. LNs take quite a bit more time than manga chapters to catch up with after all. But the 86 LN is something that I do read regularly and that is for a good reason. The plot has just been going crazy lately and it keeps getting better and better.
So welcome back to another edition of our LN recommendation series and today we are talking about 86. As I said, the anime hasn’t announced a sequel yet so let’s just talk about the LN for now. And yeah, let’s get started.
Introduction
The 86 LN is written by Asato Asato and illustrated by Shirabi. The LN has been serialized since February 2017 and is still ongoing. It is published by ASCII Media Works and currently has 13 volumes. The anime adaptation is awesome as well. It has 1 season of 23 episodes which aired in split cours. It is made by A1 Pictures and it is an amazing adaptation featuring music from the legendary Hiroyuki Sawano so you can watch that too. But we’re talking about the LN today because it is much further ahead of the anime in terms of the story.
Plot
The base plot is pretty simple. Unmanned machines from the Giad Empire have wreaked havoc all over the world. But the republic of San Magnolia lives peacefully in bliss inside their city protected by walls and their own “unmanned” machines. What the public doesn’t know is that the machines are piloted by people. The people of the 86th block are essentially seen as inferior by the native, Alba people of San Magnolia and they’re the ones who are forced to fight against the machine legion of the Giad Empire.
Our story follows Vladilena Milize a military officer who is put in charge of the most “problematic” 86 squad, the Spearhead. But you know, this is just the basics. The LN is so far beyond this point now. The world-building and large-scale operations the LN has been doing recently are pretty crazy. The plot is tightly paced as it always has been and it still has those crazy twists 86 is famous for.
Characters
The ever-evolving dynamic between Lena and the Spearhaead squadron is such a core point of this series. Even after everything transpires, they still end up together and their combined growth is truly something to behold. Lena genuinely does care about the people of the 86th district. And the Spearhead squadron had never been handled by someone who treated them like fellow humans so even though they have their differences at times, the way they work things out is so well done. And to go a step further, Shin and Lena’s relationship is also so good. The Spearhead squad is filled with memorable characters, you will come to love them all dearly.
Every main character gets a good amount of character development. Lena’s character development throughout the series is pretty crazy, she grows a lot. Shin is also an interesting character, he doesn’t get the most character development but his story makes him inherently interesting. This strong main cast is supported by an awesome support cast with characters like Shourei, Henrietta, Ernst, Frederica, Fido, I could go on. The cast of characters in this LN is just downright amazing.
Summing up
Here’s why you should read the 86 LN:
- Amazing plot
- Tightly paced
- Great world-building
- Amazing characters
- Loads of action
So yeah, that is all for now. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. I will take my leave here. I am sleepy, I will go get a good night’s sleep. See ya!
Check out this week’s anime recommendation here!
