There is a lot of anime out there about some kind of discrimination, but there are only a few of them that make it interesting. Most of them are pretty much just go 'Discrimination bad, M'kay?' and nothing else, it just doesn't make for a very interesting theme at this point. 86 manages to make it a bit more interesting by adding in other elements to that idea, one that I'll get to in a minute.
The show itself is about the eighty-sixth district. This district fights against the Legion, a fully automated army of machines. People of this district are chosen to fight because they are not viewed as people by the rest of the country, so much so that one dies fighting Legion it isn't listed as a casualty. Each unit is led remotely by a handler, who never sees or goes to the battlefield directly as they are not one of the eighty-six.
Of course, the show has one big problem you are going to have to get over to be able to enjoy it. The distinguishing feature of the rest of society and the eighty-six..... is that their hair isn't white. For some reason, a bunch of people evolved to have white hair at some point, and these are the people that didn't. They are even referred to as 'colored'. It is exceptionally painful to see, and it is a pretty big hurdle to get over to enjoy this show. If this is stupid enough to turn you off the show, I don't blame you.
As for the actual story, Spearhead is the name given to this group of eighty-six, and it is their job to defend one of the most important lines. The difference between them and the other squads is that for reasons no one can figure out, every handler put in charge of this group eventually commits suicide. This will include very minor spoilers to discuss, but it's not something I can avoid talking about entirely. I'll keep most of it unspoiled though, so I won't ruin it for anyone else.
Undertaker, the code-name given to the leader of Spearhead, can hear the voices of the Shepard's, something the heads of the army are unfamiliar with. This is where the form of communication being used comes into play, the Para-Raid. Rather than a typical radio signal, it can link sensory information, such as sight and thoughts. When the voices go out of control when a Sheperd is near, these voices come over the Para-Raid. Without spoiling as to why, the voices are screaming in anguish, fear, terror, depression, and all of these voices overwhelm the handler. Lena manages to be the first handler to come back after experiencing the voices herself. For Undertaker, while the intensity varies, always hears the voices to some degree.
The show focuses on the histories of all these characters, and the fate that ultimately awaits the 86 as well as the secrets the government is hiding. While none of this is exceptional, though the characters are all fantastic, it's what the show does with it all. I said at the beginning it's about what else you do with themes of discrimination, and that is where 86 comes through. It's pointed out at one point the only thing the 86 need to do to get revenge is let the legion through. But in the end, especially concerning Spearhead, they made a choice. Not all the Alba are bad, and certainly, not all the 86 are good, no matter what your circumstances it's up to you to decide what kind of person you want to be in the world. I won't go into more detail, because of spoilers and all that, but this kind of choice is present with pretty much every important character in the show. Despite your circumstances, in the end, you have control over what kind of person you are.
There are a lot of really interesting twists to the plot that do come up, and it does leave a lot to be explored in future seasons if we do indeed get them. At the same time, we get what feels like the full story of Spearhead here. Think of it as something like Psycho-Pass, where each season builds on the world and lore, but works as a sort of self-contained story. Issues with how lame the reasons for segregating the Eighty-Six aside, this is a pretty great show that I'm surprised I've not seen more talk of, definitely worth a watch.