The following contains spoilers for 86-Eighty-Six now streaming on Crunchyroll.
86-Eighty-Six is a highly received sci-fi war drama produced by A1 Pictures that aired from April 2021 through March 2022. The series was directed by Toshimasa Ishii and is an anime adaptation of the light novel series 86 -Eighty Six-, written by Toshiya Ōno. The light novel series currently has eleven volumes released and is currently ongoing.
86-Eighty-Six's soundtrack released on July 7, 2021. The soundtrack features Sawano Hiroyuki, who produced Disc 1, and Kohta Yamamoto, who produced Disc 2 of the soundtrack. Sawano Hiroyuki often uses cryptic song track titles in his work. Examples of this are "凸】♀】♂】←Titan" and "You See Big Girl / T:T" featured in the Attack on Titan soundtracks. Here are 86-Eighty-Six's song track titles, explained.
THE ANSWER
Track 1, Disc 1, of 86-Eighty-Six's soundtrack features a collaboration between SawanoHiroyuki[nZk] and Laco. SawanoHiroyuki[nZk] is Sawano's alias for when he produces music that includes vocalists, and Laco is the vocalist for the band EOW. "THE ANSWER" is the insert song that plays when Shin hears the voice of his allies and reignites the will to live in order to defeat his legionized brother.
The song is sung completely in English. The lyrics discuss how the Alba lied about the Eighty-Six being able to receive their freedom once the five-year period is over. However, this is a lie, as most of the Eighty-Six know.
8SIX
Track 2, Disc 1, titled 8SIX, can be interpreted as "86" or "Eighty-Six". Eighty-Six represents the colored people in the Republic of San Magnolia, all pushed out into the 86th district to die. The brave protagonists of the series. The origin of the term is actually unknown, however, eighty-six was used as American slang in the 1920 and 1930s. Eighty-six has had many meanings over the course of time such as to be thrown at, to be disposed of, someone that was murdered, or people who are not welcomed.
For instance, if a drink or meal was to be thrown out, that would mean it would be "eighty-six'd". This track was used when Shin was feeling an overwhelming amount of guilt and suicidal ideation, throwing himself and all his immense amount of trauma at the Legion, and almost getting himself killed, in defending the Federal Republic of Giad from the Legion.
RE:g1-ON
Track 3, Disc 1, "RE:g1-ON", translates to "Legion". The English "R" sound in Japanese is similar vocally to the "L" sound in English. However, there are several ways to interpret this song title. "RE:" is often used in business emails meaning "regarding" or "in reference to". G1 often refers to "Generation 1" or the first generation of a product, such as the first generation of a military tank or weapon. "On" in Japanese refers to the syllables made in Japanese poetry, the word means "sound" in Japanese.
Altogether, "RE:G1-ON" directly translated can mean "regarding the sounds of the legion" as Shin can hear the voices of the Legion very loudly when they are nearby. Another interpretation of the "RE" in "RE:G1-ON" can be that the Legion gathers the brains of the dead to incorporate into their army, and as a result, the dead are revived to fight for the Legion.
JaguarN0-10
Track 4, Disc 1, "JaguarN0-10" is interpreted as "Juggernaut." This is explained in the way that juggernaut in Japanese romaji is "jagānōto", evidently being JaguarN0-10 in Sawano's artistic title.
The Juggernauts are the aluminum coffin spider-tanks that were developed for the Eighty-Six to die in, rather than built to be effective against the Legion. This track is played at the beginning of Episode 8, "Let's Go", as Shin tells Raiden that he's found his brother and is then filled with excitement.
Voices of the Chord
Track 5, Disc 1, "Voices of the Chord", is a collaboration track produced by Sawano Hiroyuki as SawanoHiroyuki[nZk] and Gemie, who was also the vocalist for Sawano's XU, the opening for the anime Seraph of the End. Voices of the Chord can be interpreted as the feelings shared between each other.
A chord is a group of musical notes struck simultaneously, however, the word chord is often used to describe a shared mutual feeling, "that struck a chord with everyone". Voices of the Chord plays during the emotional scene when Shin finally sees Lena for the first time in-person, although she doesn't realize she's talking to Shin.
sp∃ar
Track 6, Disc, 1, "sp∃ar" has a rather straightforward meaning as it pertains to members of the Spearhead Squadron. The ∃ symbol is both the katakana of "yo" and the logic symbol for "there exists".
This track is played when Lena is confronted by her Uncle when she attempts to commence the plan she made with the Eighty-Six. The ∃ symbol is also shaped like a wedge formation used in military tactics to spearhead through the enemy's forces and break their formation apart.
4N
Track 7, Disc 1, "4N" can be interpreted as "Shin," referring to our protagonist Shinei Nouzen. 4 in Japanese can be pronounced, "shi", while the English letter "N" is pronounced, "en".
"4N" can also be interpreted as "For Nouzen", as the music is played when Frederica tries to distract her former knight Kiriya Nouzen in order for Shin to finally put him to rest.
6eighty
Track 8, Disc 1, "6eighty" means 68. Six-eighty being the opposite of eighty-six means to put something back or return it. This American slang was previously used in the restaurant industry. This piece is used in 86-Eighty-Six during leisure and relaxation times such as when Anju, Lecca, and Kirena ganged up to tease Theo.
2side
Track 9, Disc 1, "2side" is played when the President of the Federation of Giad, Ernst Zimmerman, challenges the Western Theater Commander when he decides to use the Eighty-Six for a suicide mission in order to destroy the Morpho.
The track represents the two-sided, or two-faced, military officers of the Federation who take in our five veterans Eighty-Six with means of treating them equally rather than discriminatory like the Republic of San Magnolia. However, they end up treating the Eighty-Six like cannon fodder battlefield monsters rather than teenagers forced to fight in war due to racial discrimination.
9re7
Track 10, Disc 1, "9re7" can be translated as "Ku-re-na." "9" in Japanese can be pronounced as "ku", and 7 in Japanese can be pronounced as "nana". However, the track itself is not as cheerful as Kurena Kukumila makes herself out to be.
Kurena means "crimson" or "deep red" in Japanese, and this can be interpreted as the bloodshed on the battlefield. The second part of this track is played when Theoto Rikka ruthlessly lashes out at Vladilena Milizé after the tragic death of Kaie Taniya.
ZERO×5
Track 11, Disc 1, ZEROx5. "ZERO" in this title represents Shourei Nouzen, referred to as Rei for short. The "x" symbolizes danger, death, or elimination, and the "5" stands for Spearhead Squadron's Shin, Raiden, Kurena, Anju, and Theo.
Therefore, ZEROx5 could be interpreted as "Rei eliminates the five". Part of this track is used when the legionized Shourei Nouzen is about to kill Shin and bring him into the Legion and the group tries to stall him until Lena lands her dud rounds on him.
!”#$%＆’()0
Track 12, Disc 1, "!”#$%＆’()0" can be read as "Shift One to Zero", as the characters of this title track are the symbols that are inputted when you hold shift and go through the numbers. This track can be interpreted as the many ways that the legionized Kiriya Nouzen is able to utilize many arsenals of equipment and even shift his digital consciousness to other machinery.
The track is used when Shinei Nouzen finally faces off against the legionized Kiriya Nouzen and engages in a fated battle between Nouzens.
86-Eighty-Six is twenty-three episodes in length and is available for streaming on Crunchyroll.