SOS Bros React - 86 Episode 16 - "Even So" 

This episode was a terrifying and beautiful action set-piece! I was in the thrills and chills the whole way through! If you want to see the next episode's reaction right now, check out our Patreon: www.patreon.com/semblanceofsanity

After re-watching the show something I took more notice of is a scene back in Episode 12 when we first see the "new" Lena. Her superior says "How many times do I have to tell you, Captain Milize? Unauthorized use of the howitzers. Unscheduled supply drops." (And most importantly) "Taking direct command of units not below you." Lena has essentially been running the whole war effort by herself, and she's been in contact with multiple squads that she was never told to take command of. This means that it's likely a decent amount of the 86 know of her and likely respect her as a commander.

“That’s a Cliffhanger!!!” Me: (Was part of the Fanbase during Episode 21) “You have no Idea”.

Love Jerome's character. If Anette is a Lena that pretends she doesnt care cause past mistakes make her feel she cant change anything, Jerome is a Lena whose ideals were betrayed by the very country that was supposed to uphold those ideals. His speech isnt hatred aimed against the 86, it is hatred aimed towards his "fellow" Alba. From his pov, there is no way the 86 will listen to Lena, they will either outright refuse or cooperate only to turn the tables on the Alba later. And he doesnt care what the 86 will do to the Alba, from the start he wants to protect Lena who he rightfully assumes is following her father's footsteps.

I love the line" follow me if you want to live" from the reaper

"Get down!" This show knows how to do a Cliffhanger!

What you saw was not Shin enjoying the battle, it was Shin going through a mental breakdown while thinking "I might finally get to die."

17:29 This cliffhanger is actually when I decided to buy all the light novels because I couldn't wait until the next episode release to find out what happens next 😂 20:52 Nordlicht squadron was comprised of more than just the 5 of them by the way. The vargus mercenaries also piloted reginleifs. 25:00 Yes Shin was getting too into the battle, but it was more the fact that he was losing himself. He didn't care if he got hurt that's why he wasn't startled when the shrapnel blew through the side of his reginleif. Frederica wasn't calling him an idiot because he was enjoying the battle, but because she was seeing Kiriya in him. She was seeing how he was fighting without a care for himself, and being reckless. That's exactly what happened to Kiriya which eventually led to his death because he didn't care to fight back against the legion when they surrounded him. She doesn't want to lose him, or see him go down the same path that Kiriya did.

Bloody Regina is Lena's call sign. Not every soldier in the Republic has one, only veterans with a track record gets one. Most soldiers are only assigned numbers, getting a call sign means you've done something exceptional on the battlefield. Having one means acceptance of a soldier's achievements from Alba and 86 alike. The only time this was shown was way back in EP 1. In Lena's previous unit, only two soldiers have call signs, Pleades and his vice captain. The rest only have code numbers.

Uncle does nothing but spit facts. He knows the Alba are despicable, that the 86 are marginalized and essentially being genocided. If the 86 did just bail and let the Alba get wiped out, he'd have no problem with it, in fact he thinks it's what SHOULD happen. When he says "if we're lucky, it'll just be a massacre", he's leaving the rape and pillage part out, which is unfortunately way too common in these types of situations. Despite all that, he still walks his ass to the front lines with a rifle to buy Lena time so that her idealist dream gets one last chance of becoming the new reality instead of the corrupt system he's been stuck in for a decade.

About Lena being known among the 86, at the beginning of the season when she's getting scolded for being "undisciplined" one of the reasons was that she was talking to other squadrons that weren't under her command so they already knew about her and probably trusted her a bit

The scene between Karlstahl and Lena is such a good adaptation, it’s literally what I read from page perfectly realised.

One of my favourite episodes ❤ Shin and the squad absolutely destroying the legion and being badass Shin and Kiri similarities and Shin losing himself not caring about his own safety 💔

I've always assumed that the reason why the Republic didn't respond is because they've phased out all electronic communication in favor of that telepathic communication, since they don't want the enemy army to hack into their electronics

This episode perfectly showcases the versatility and distinctive independent fighting style of each of our main 86: Shin is an expert at melee combat with his blades Raiden is the man for heavy artillery Kurena‘s role is to snipe the enemies from a hidden spot above Anju specializes in suppressive missile fire And Theo shines in urban areas due to his use of the wire anchors This episode is one where you can actually PinPoint each of their strengths and what they’re used to in their long fight against these metal monsters

On the specialized equipment they use, Shin and Theo are the vanguards with Shin focused on CQB and Theo on combat in an urban 3D environment. Raiden has a 40mm auto cannon replacing the main gun since he provides direct support to Shin & Theo. Kurena is setup with a longer barrel cannon and specialized targeting computers to work as a sniper picking off command units. Anju is good at predicting enemy movements so she has the rocket pods to allow her to provide artillery support.

In almost any other series Shin's rampage would be super exciting and hype. Here it just hurts to see him lose himself. Edit: Side note, the mental strain that Lena is being put under by connecting to every single living Processor is frankly insane.

This is when the sociopathic savant of the Skorpion tank shows a full on death wish. Or at least loses self preservation.

Getting a movie quality battle in the middle of the second season was such an awesomely shocking turn of events. Also the same music from when Lena had to stay behind as Spearhead went on ahead now playing as she takes command of the entire Republic battlefront is just so damn fitting.

Cynical Uncle Jerome taking up his firearm (with a phenomenal shot focused on his scuffed, well-worn boots) to probably pretty much go do a coup for Lena's sake is such a great moment. Suddenly put so much more of his character into a new light, for me - especially his earlier line about hope and despair being the two sides of the same coin. He was always looking after Lena, in his own bitter, broken way.

A couple of things to mention, the team didn't beat back the whole army, they targeted the command units or "black sheep", allowing the federation to reestablish and reinforce their lines. About Lena's change of outfit, she is wearing all of the colours of the republic flag.

The unsung heroes of war are always the logistical personnel.

i forgot the cliff hanger for this episode. the battle portions of this episode are beyond awesome. i totally missed her nickname "bloody Regina" since the last time we saw her the first time i watched this series.

IIRC they dropped that cliffhangar right before taking an additional week's break to help with production. You can imagine how those of us who followed it while it was airing felt 🤣😭

now I just came to realize after Lena take all processor that she has an exceptional compatibility with paraRAID, knowing that the device can easily overwhelm a handler.

They Shelob'd a Legion bot, lol. Also very cool that the officers shown being connected when Lena did the "Mass Para-Raid Group Chat" were the same officers Lena was doing that walk-and-talk consult with about the actual state of the artillery and the Republic defence and offence capacities, etc in an earlier episode, and are likely dialed in on the plan and in positions to assist. Love that continuity!

It's begun! The Invasion of the Legion has commenced!

In the book it was days or many hours (I would have to reread it) of constant fighting where ammo ran out and they had to scavenge ammo and parts from the battlefield

Nordlict squadron the 86's force are composed of all regenfelt machines the pilots are assembled from Giad Federacy's military. Its not just the 5 of them. In a meeting of Federacy, the top brass was trying to stop deployment of Nordlict squad because in their view the Regenfelt has armor too thin to protect the pilot The core 86 are actually doing well because of experience

The war has begun! Can't wait for this amazing rollercoster of emotions to unfold

It. Is. Go. Time!

Hello and Moin Moin ;) What an episode, even after seeing it 8 or 9 times in different Subs and Dubs. :) And your reactions: GREAT special in the big combat sequence. Your idea about Frederica's purpose in the pre-discussion was very great, but I do not think Ernst saved her to use her as a 'switch' to turn the legion off. I think he saved her because she was very young in that moment. He just didn't want her to get killed, so he faked her death and hides her now. Bloody Regina, well Lena chose that call sign because its a translation of her forename 'Vladilena'. Think of VLAD the impaler who was turned into Dracula by some authors. Vlad means Blood and Lena is a short form of Regina. I think Cyclops calling her 'My Queen' is based on this translation also.. Some off-topic: I told you already I am german and I found a funny thing in the german dub. In the scene when that female sergant chases her people around to get the supplies to the front, to Fido and not make him come to the base to get them. The german voice actor says 'Pizza ausliefern ist unser Job' ( Delivering pizza is our job ). Since I heared this in the german dub I am hunting sentences like this one and I found one from Anju some episodes later. CYA

Not gonna lie, it was kinda wholesome watching them react to this episoode

Best episode!!

It's all fun and games until the Legion learn how to properly melee.

Get ready for a rollercoaster ride of the rest of the season

The Soundtrack is done by Hiroyuki Sawano so thats why you guys were getting Aot Vibes

I really like your reactions about this anime and I hope you guys can upload the next reactions sooner if you can

Say hello to No Face