86 EIGHTY-SIX (Season 1)

86 EIGHTY-SIX (2021) is a Japanese animated military sci-fi series you can watch online on iFILM. Produced by A-1 Pictures and based on Asato Asato's light novel series, it is built around a war the Republic of San Magnolia claims to fight without a single casualty — a lie that holds only because the dead don't count.

The Republic has been locked in conflict with the Empire of Giad for years. Citizens in the capital believe their autonomous drones handle all the fighting. In reality, the "unmanned" Juggernauts are piloted by teenagers from the 86th Sector — a people stripped of civil rights and legally classified as sub-human. Squadron leader Shin pushes his unit forward on a front where no one expects them to come back. Handler Lena communicates with them from a safe command post, and she is the first officer in a long time who actually listens.

Director Tomohiko Ito, known for Silver Spoon, brings an unusual stillness to the battle sequences — the horror is often in what goes unsaid rather than what explodes on screen. The series asks who gets to be mourned, and refuses to answer neatly. Stream 86 EIGHTY-SIX online on iFILM.