86 - Episode 12 Review - Lena is Nicknamed Bloody Regina

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

The series continues after 86 Episode 11. After a one season break, we get the second cour of the anime!

A time skip has occurred since the end of the last episode, but maybe only several weeks. A lot has happened. Lena has been demoted and is no longer the Handler of Spearhead. But she’s still a Handler, for a different 86 group. She’s gotten a nickname by the military staff - Bloody Regina, the bloody queen. And she has a big red streak in her hair and wears a black uniform.

Lena seems more confident now. She’s still insubordinate if it helps the 86 fight and survive. She has a new douchebag supervising officer who hates the 86. But Lena points out he has no choice but to let her do as she wants. Because if her Legion-killing numbers go down, it makes him look bad.

Annette and Lena still talk and meet. But Annette seems colder now. Not quite sure what their relationship is like, yet.

The new 86 unit Lena handles is led by a confident girl codenamed Cyclops, real name Lida Shinden. She calls Lena “Queen.” The two seem to get along.

Lena has adopted Spearhead’s black cat, which she calls Teppy. 

Now we catch up with the survivors of Spearhead. Last time we saw them, Shin was fighting a losing battle against a Shepherd and many Legion. He was the only one piloting a Juggernaut. He tried to sacrifice himself to save his friends, but Raiden, Anju, Kurena, and Theo all came to his side to fight to the very end. They were overwhelmed by the enemy and looked liked they might have all died. But as you probably expected, that was not the case.

Shin has a dream of his brother Shourei dressed as a knight, carrying him. He wakes up to find himself lying in a high-tech room being observed by mysterious people in biohazard suits. One of the mysterious people reveals himself as Ernst Zimerman, president of Giad.

Ernst explains that Shin is now in the Federacy of Giad. Run by the people who defeated the Giad Empire. These people are fighting against Legion. They saved the lives of Shin and his friends from the battlefield. At first, Shin is worried about whether his friends survived or not, but Ernst reveals they’re safe and sound, confined in rooms just like his, right next to him.

Raiden, Anju, Theo, and Kurena are angry at Shin for going off to fight alone and probably die. To them, that’s cheating. Shin apologizes.

A month passes, and finally Ernst returns to them and says they’re citizens of the Giad Federacy! They’re free to live as they please. And they’re finally treated with respect and kindness.

Ernst adopts them as his children. On paper. He already has one adopted daughter - a little girl named Frederica Rosenfort. Who is the former Empress of Giad! She’s cute and funny.

Image source: Amazon