I’m so glad you liked this episode! This was the original ending of Asato’s first iteration of the Light Novel. She wrote 86 as a short-story for a publisher’s contest, and this is would be an open-ending. However it was very popular among readers and she won 1st place, giving her the greenlight for a full series.
And yes seeing Lena step out of her comfort zone a little in order to save Spearhead (for now) is such a great character moment. Her drive to help and make a difference was always there, she just didn’t know how to go about it. It isn’t out of left field that she would be capable of this, it feels earned for her character.
As we see a different side to Lena, we also see a different side of Shin. The whole show he’s been the cool, stoic, expressionless leader. Yet whenever his brother would come up, he would always crack a smile, every time it’d get a bit more sinister. Here we see it on full display… how much his headspace can change for the course of 1 battle. And just like Lena, this other side of him was subtly built up to where we fully believe we are seeing Shin and not some crazy person that’s taken over. And of course his tears at the end of it all show how much he was really holding back behind his stoic demeanor. A character of many layers Shin is, can’t wait for you to peel back the rest.
Shin’s brother is named Shourei Nouzen or “Rei” for short. Try to remember the shorthand as it’s a somewhat important detail.
And FIDO is the name of their robot “dog” .. the big orange one that went with them and restocks their ammo.
This episode was incredible! If this was the ending to her short story I can definitely see how it left audiences wanting more, but as the same time wrapping up the story so far in a way that was really poignant!
Also I think the worst thing for Lena at then is… is facing the fact of not knowing. Unless she can do something about like you suggest in your discussion, she’s going to have to wonder every day whether they are alive or dead. If they made it past the legion territory or if they died right after they disconnected. There is nothing worse than not knowing. If she knew they were alive, great! If she knew they died, she can at least mourn for them and move forward with their memory. But living with uncertainty for who knows how long… that’s an agonizing thought.
True! Waiting and not knowing has to be one of the hardest things. I don’t think I really considered that cause in my mind I was like, “okay, now go after them!” Haha. I couldn’t imagine her staying behind at all. It truly is horrifying to be left untethered like that…
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I’m so glad you liked this episode! This was the original ending of Asato’s first iteration of the Light Novel. She wrote 86 as a short-story for a publisher’s contest, and this is would be an open-ending. However it was very popular among readers and she won 1st place, giving her the greenlight for a full series.
And yes seeing Lena step out of her comfort zone a little in order to save Spearhead (for now) is such a great character moment. Her drive to help and make a difference was always there, she just didn’t know how to go about it. It isn’t out of left field that she would be capable of this, it feels earned for her character.
As we see a different side to Lena, we also see a different side of Shin. The whole show he’s been the cool, stoic, expressionless leader. Yet whenever his brother would come up, he would always crack a smile, every time it’d get a bit more sinister. Here we see it on full display… how much his headspace can change for the course of 1 battle. And just like Lena, this other side of him was subtly built up to where we fully believe we are seeing Shin and not some crazy person that’s taken over. And of course his tears at the end of it all show how much he was really holding back behind his stoic demeanor. A character of many layers Shin is, can’t wait for you to peel back the rest.
Shin’s brother is named Shourei Nouzen or “Rei” for short. Try to remember the shorthand as it’s a somewhat important detail.
And FIDO is the name of their robot “dog” .. the big orange one that went with them and restocks their ammo.
This episode was incredible! If this was the ending to her short story I can definitely see how it left audiences wanting more, but as the same time wrapping up the story so far in a way that was really poignant!
Also I think the worst thing for Lena at then is… is facing the fact of not knowing. Unless she can do something about like you suggest in your discussion, she’s going to have to wonder every day whether they are alive or dead. If they made it past the legion territory or if they died right after they disconnected. There is nothing worse than not knowing. If she knew they were alive, great! If she knew they died, she can at least mourn for them and move forward with their memory. But living with uncertainty for who knows how long… that’s an agonizing thought.
True! Waiting and not knowing has to be one of the hardest things. I don’t think I really considered that cause in my mind I was like, “okay, now go after them!” Haha. I couldn’t imagine her staying behind at all. It truly is horrifying to be left untethered like that…