Darling in the FranXX

Feb 17, 2018

6 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 1

-chronos (All reviews)

995 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

Inspired by old familiar mecha, Darling in the FranXX tries to incorporate over-the-top elements of Gurren Laggan and symbolic yet dramatic elements of Evangelion.

Where it doesn't fail to deliver in generic combat, it not only fails to deliver in consistent plot, which it tries to build upon, but adds unnecessary elements of melodrama from characters, which just makes them look unrealistic and unlikable, it adds on extra awkward elements that makes sympathizing with the cast a pain and following the plot a chore.

Perhaps the cartoony mecha style emphasizes on that, but in the end it's a shallow show that foreshadows heavily on plot twists, read more

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Jul 7, 2018

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 3

Yasaal (All reviews)

753 people found this review helpful

***Caution:*** This review contains spoilers for this predictable show. I have specifically and very clearly marked the spoiler sections (there aren't as many as you think, only 3 paragraphs’ worth) so you can still easily read my review and do not need to worry. As for the fans of the show, enter at your own volition since you will not find this review to exalt it in any manner, so to those who consider FranXX a 10/10, keep your temper in and let's begin. If you're a regular reader, please carry on :)

FranXX was hyped a lot. And that's just the short of it, it read more

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Jul 7, 2018

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 1

RebelPanda (All reviews)

520 people found this review helpful

For decades, glorious Nippon has been growing closer to extinction. To cure Nippon through the limitless power of anime, our lord and savior Trigger has blessed us with Darling in the FranXX! But to our surprise, this anime was touched by Satan himself, A-1 Pictures, and its true purpose was to accelerate the extinction!!

(Long spoiler filled review ahead. Spoiler-free TL;DR at the end.)

With the declining birthrate in Japan, people are living longer, but fewer babies are being born; there aren’t enough young people to take care of the elderly. The Japanese government is spending more money on health care, the workforce is shrinking with less read more

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Feb 22, 2018

6 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 2

ascendedkaito (All reviews)

534 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

Seeing this number of positive reviews on this show made me decide to write an honest review on it. This review is written by a person who was on the Darling in The FranXX hype train before it arrived at the r/anime station, and also by a person who absolutely loves Trigger and their work, from the Gainax beginnings to their "independency".

Darling in the FranXX started out pretty solid, if you ask me. It already introduced a very interesting metaphor in the first 2 minutes, and I was very excited at that point. Then came the naked girl cliche. Ignoring it as an "A1 shenanigan", read more

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Jul 7, 2018

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 1

Krunchyman (All reviews)

443 people found this review helpful

4 Cups of Evangelion
2 tablespoons of granulated Gurren Lagann
1/4 teaspoon of Star Driver
1 dash of Beauty and the Beast

And last, but not least.

69 metric tons of CRAP! (freshly steamed)

In case it wasn’t obvious, these are the instructions for one serving of Darling in the FranXX.

There is a tacit understanding in the anime industry, as well as the filming industry, that you are allowed to draw inspiration from other works, but not plagiarize said works. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule — particularly, in regards to satirical natured shows (Gintama and Inferno Cop, being the perfect examples) — however, solemn show’s dance on read more

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Jul 7, 2018

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 1

VileKurata (All reviews)

426 people found this review helpful

“What kind of fuckery is this?” Amy Winehouse.

Well, folks, it’s finally time to talk about the most notorious anime of 2018. Darling in the Franxx.
After the success of Little Witch Academia and Kill la Kill, as well as the unfortunate failure of Kiznaver Studio Trigger, decided to make Darling In The Franxx but with the help of A1 Pictures/Cloverworks. Like many others on the internet, I was really excited for Darling in the Franxx. Maybe that was my biggest mistake and like with Beatless, Black Clover and Re:Zero I was expecting too much. However, even if the anime had failed to live up to read more

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Apr 4, 2018

12 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

heychrisfox (All reviews)

244 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

It's easy to not like Darling in the FranXX. It has a lot of things acting against. Yeah, butt-piloted mechs are silly. Yeah, the mech designs themselves are like Voltron had a bad hair day. Yes, much of the plot is composed of teen melodrama. And yes, the show clearly wears its heart on its sleeves, drawing inspiration from the last two decades of mecha anime.

It's easy to not like Darling in the FranXX. Why do I think it's worth the time?

Where Darling shines is in how all of the best parts of its disparate inspirations and intrigues blend together. Clearly drawing from the names most anime fans are familiar with - Eureka Seven, Gurren Lagan, Evangelion, and the like - Darling draws on a dramatic flair while slowly drip-feeding the viewer with a slow-burn bit of world-building. What are Klaxosaurs exactly? Why do they want Plantation? Why are there rarely adults around? Why does the youth have to fight for the Plantation, and why do they have to be in pairs? Each episode explores each of these topics, little by little, further paving the world with information, both for the characters and the viewers themselves. What will this result in? That depends on the direction of the series. But very similar to Evangelion itself - with it's seemingly random, monster-of-the-week styled Angel battles - less is more, and the intrigue behind why things are happening leaves the viewer eager to learn more about the odd, dystopic world around the characters, so that the dots can slowly be connected over the larger arc of the series.

By deliberately obfuscating the reasons behind the larger plot at play, this allows the show to play out as a character drama. It is explained quite explicitly that the main cast is "different" from other mech pilots in this world. Thus, in a Breakfast Club mishmash of characters concepts thrown together, the show gleefully begins to layer out each individual's backstory.

Main characters like Hiro are probably the least interesting, acting as a surrogate for the viewer to this world. But even then, his leadership and charisma to the rest of the crew bonds them all together. He's not just some faceless Kirito, and also certainly doesn't have the depth of someone like Shinji; but he proves that he is a unique soul of his own, with goals and ambitions (even if they mostly are obsessively regarding one character). 02 is clearly an anti-hero, someone the viewer is meant to hate, and the caring attitude of Hiro is the only thing that binds her abrasive personality down. While I don't particularly like their relationship - 02 is quite toxic/abusive and definitely ain't best girl - having Hiro act as a foil to her combat abilities and personality which lacks control allows the two to operate in junction with each other.

The rest of the characters come into play with their own interrelationships. If you haven't seen the octahedron memes, those constant inter-dependencies between characters come into play in various ways to further develop both the characters themselves as well as for climactic moments of trial during the plot. Two people aren't getting along because of teen melodrama? Mech stops working, everyone might die. Two characters get into a petty argument? They can't pilot anymore, and it ripples through the morale of the rest of the group. Certain characters are infatuated with others rather than their own partner? The team dynamics suddenly switch, both affecting the combat portions, the relationships between characters, and heightening the drama itself. Darling is very good at showing how seemingly petty melodrama can resonate through a large cast of varied characters, who have shared goals, but different investments.

The art, animation, and sound barely need to be discussed. All are stellar, and nothing less than should be expected from a TRIGGER production. Having the talents of A-1 pictures to help boost the fluid action while also enhancing the quieter and more emotional scenes, which ring ever more gorgeous as time goes on. An epic fight with a giant monster has all the bombast you expect from a high-octane mecha anime, while a character trailing their crush's footsteps in the sand is able to draw out both happiness as well as a painful twang of melancholy. The music has a particular orchestral style that, although similar to many other series, has a certain pomp reminiscent of Kill La Kill, giving each scene their appropriate emotional flair. The first ED, "Torikago," is especially good, ending the early episodes with a strong refrain to deep you intrigued in the next episode.

The slowest episodes in the first half of the series begin to drag down the show, as it slogs through run-of-the-mill beach and bathhouse episodes. And although there are no compliments that can be given to these inductions into the series, it is nice that the show at least stays true to the characters still being developed over time. Even in these slight moments that can seem irrelevant and purposeless in the larger scheme, the deeper commitment to drip-feeding the audience with ever-expanding social connections and worldbuilding pay off as the series begins to shift gears into the end of the first cour.

It's easy to not like Darling in the FranXX. But pushing beyond some of the trappings of its genre, and letting the world and character development continue to expand, it is quick to see why this show is so rewarding not for its EPIC HYPE, but for its dense character evolution over time. This is a show mired in feelings and emotion, and the scenes within it are best appreciated through the lens of an emotional viewer: someone who tries to feel out a scene rather than logically analyzing it, and understanding that you aren't meant to know the details, but are instead asked to let the world around you shift your feelings, just like the shifting loyalties and persuasions of the characters within.

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Jul 7, 2018

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

Karhu (All reviews)

219 people found this review helpful

For the better half of my life, I have been looking for an anime series where bunch of kids --who don't know what sexual intercourse is-- fight against tensai super robot power rangers inside settings which has plot for 6 episodes, but still lasts for 24: Filling the remaining air time with b-grade melodramatic past stories, and current time with slice of life soap opera which looks like the anime version of Jersey Shore. For such a specific request to be filled, I had almost lost all hope. Then my boy Trigger arrived to town and not only did this exact thing, but filled the series with epic symbolism. Basically, whenever anything happens, it is a sexual innuendo about relationships, hugging, kissing and dicks. Really, thanks.

The actual story centers around our ten kids who are trying to find their soulmate/significant other/person with whom they share the best body compatibility with. They do this by piloting mecha in the pairs of two and fighting against these things called Klaxowhatever. Klaxosaur, just like everything and anything else, is a reference. If you remove xo from the name, you get the combination of klasa and ur, klasa standing for "class" in polish - and xo obviously meaning hugs and kisses - giving us klaxosaur as: "U R hugs and kisses class." Same thing can be said about the actual title of this series. Darling in the FranXX basically standing for Darling in the Fran hugs hugs. The whole "two parties fight against each others until one collapses" is initially just a debate over should you remain loyal to your significant other and are hugs truly enough. The robots think it is not enough, and the whole series is basically our characters realizing the same little by little. This is, indeed, the plot of this series. Pretty cool, huh.

There are in total of ten main characters here (in case you forgot what you read 17 seconds ago). By 10 main characters, I mean we have 3 actual characters and the remaining 7 are filler people. The characters are just great. Oni girl is basically a whore who is looking for her prince charming. I musn't runway guy does the opposite his name suggests. And the third wheel dude and the most potential prince charming... exists. I call this trio The Cuck Squad, by the way. Rest of the "characters" are so much filler I believe the thought process behind creating them was something like: "Hmmm. we need more people here. Let's see........ One fat guy? Yes, one fat guy coming in.......... girl who wears glasses? ...... Oh yes, f**k yes."

The production is based Trigger. Not exactly as ADHD as Kill la Kill nor a masterpiece from every aspect like Inferno Cop, but at least doesn't ruin the series like they did with Uchuu Patrol Luluko and Ninja Slayer. The OST could use some Tomatodermewhatever they called the band in KlK, and some tedious German language vocals would be great addition to put in the mix, but otherwise I was pleased to get a confirmation that every Trigger anime from now on will be the exact same thing production wise as all the rest have been.

When it comes to enjoyment, my expectations were very mixed. I heard so much praise and flaming, and after watching it, I have to conclude that this series can be liked and disliked for infinite different reasons. In one way, the series is a clusterfuck, the seasonal shitstorm, the trainwreck and sum of all wagons. This obviously makes it an obligatory watch for every critic so they can hit it with 1/10 and call the worst thing ever because once again you can criticize FranXX for thousand and one things. On the other hand, Darling is often so ridiculous that it can offer enormous entertainment value with ironic viewing. All you need is a sense of humor and some chill. The drama, the cute and comfy stuff and the happy moments will serve those are ready to take them for what they are.

As a final verdict: Critics and the likes can write thousand pages long analysis of all the things that are wrong in this one, people with sense of humor laugh their asses off, and people who approach it with more "casual" and open mindset will enjoy this show for what it is. This series has something for each and everyone. If a series like that is not a masterpiece, then I do not know what is. 10/10.

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Feb 19, 2018

6 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

Exill (All reviews)

146 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

I decided to write a review after episode 6 as this series keep getting better and better after each episode for me. If they keep this up until the very last episode I will definitely make this anime as one of my recommendation to people who want to watch some quality mechs anime.

Story (9):
The story itself about the pilots of the mech, their relationship with other pilot and I think about finding their purpose in life other than fighting with their mechs. The beginning of the story itself is quite typical. The usual boy meet mysterious girl (Eureka 7 did this, Evangelion did this, Comet read more

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Feb 25, 2018

7 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

ZakkuRa (All reviews)

126 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

I've never watch an anime with mechs on them though I heard them and see some but never actually watch it. This will be the first one, and as I can say, its the best one. Though it might change as episodes progress but I hope not.

So for the story, well, its great though the way they control the mechs will be much better if they just rely on batteries xD. The story focus on their so called Parasites which are pilots of the mechs. They think that their whole life was depend on piloting a mech even though theres alot of things worth your read more

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Feb 24, 2018

6 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 1

Snundae (All reviews)

87 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

I'll be as fair and objective as possible here, additionally, this review will be practically completely spoiler-free!

Story: 3 (Poor)
Art: 8 (Very Good)
Sound: 6 (Fair)
Character: 1 (Pathetic)
Enjoyment: 1 (Pathetic)
Overall: 1 (Pathetic)

Some can be accredited to its massive hype up until its release, but also to the objective analysis of the different parts that make up this anime. I will be delving into the different parts that I rated it on, and explaining why I chose that number. Hopefully you can come to your own conclusion about whether you'd want to watch this or not, or whether you agree with me or not, but regardless;

Let's get read more

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Feb 17, 2018

6 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

attacuu (All reviews)

83 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

!! POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING !!

NOTICE: These reviews will each be episode by episode (updated on Mondays), but at the end of this shows airing, I will finally type up a full cumulative review on the show.

Now let's get into Episode 18's review.

Story: 7 (last week: 7)
Thus far we have had many ups and downs in the lives of these Parasite pilots. This past week we had what seemed to be an up but it came with the inevitable down we all knew would have to happen. We are slowly learning that everyone is just the APE's pets besides Squad 13 who start to have their own ideas. These ideas are quickly shut down. We also know they can somehow destroy a large quantity of life from space and to be honest, it's probably some sort of laser (just because that is what it always is). We also learn of a goal of the APE's and higher up humans, to rid themselves of their bodies like some sort of god. This will be interesting from here on out and the squad probably won't be allowed to tell Kokoro or Mitsuru about each other and what really happened. I wonder if Hachi will ever get his emotions back. We see the struggle of him wanting to help the kids but he can't and the same with Nana. I don't see Ikuno's lesbianism affecting the story much if we are being honest.

ART: 9 (last week: 9)
I love the art in this show. This is done by A-1 and Trigger. What more could you ask for art wise? I love this style although they do nothing special. If you look at the FranXX, they each are done very well and with a solid color palettes that show their personalities. But also, if you look at this environments and background arts, no space is wasted. The fact that the FranXX's resemble the female pilots is also a pretty cool concept, while it may just be so the audience knows which is which without needing to memorize each pair and their FranXX. The OP's and ED's are very well done and I actually really like both.

SOUND: 9 (last week: 9)
The sound in this show is nothing special by any means but it isn't bad. They are careful to not use the same sound twice for different types of characters, which is often done in A-1 productions. The sounds of ambience and chaos are balanced fairly well but can be a bit abrupt at times. I think the sound is the same but the sounds of fighting and dialogue are balanced well. The fighting noises aren't way down, and the dialogue isn't extremely loud during fight scenes and the same goes for it vice versa. Plus, the voice actors are paired with characters very skillfully. I prefer the sub VA’s and just based on how well they fit each role. I raised my score in this category by one because I really do love each VA and their roles. They each are paired incredibly well. The new OP and ED are freaking amazing and I love them both so much more then the first, hence the bumping up by 1 point.

Characters: 7 (last week: 7)
We see our Parasite's relationships go further than desired by the APE's and thus they had to be reindoctrinated (Kokoro and Mitsuru). They don't remember each other so I wonder what will happen between them from here on out. Also, how will the rest of the squad go on? Every one of them, knows what happened but most likely won't tell Kokoro or Mitsuru what happened for one reason or another. These characters struggle with individual thought because the consequences for independence are so great. I wonder if this will have an effect on partner pairings and if they will just go back to their original ones since they have no recollection of each other. Also, Ikuno is a lesbian so that'll be interesting although I just think that it got thrown into there (although who didn't see it coming) because each episode focuses on two or three characters and their problems.

Enjoyment: 10 (last week: 10)
I really freaking enjoy this show. I love everything about it. Over the course of these 7 weeks, the show has just gotten better and better. I just love watching it every single week which can be hard to do for me.

Overall: 8 (last week: 8)
I recommend this show because of the fun characters, interesting story, and especially Zero Two. You won't regret your decision unless you have a very specific taste and hate these types of shows in general.

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Apr 21, 2018

15 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

fisixisfun (All reviews)

76 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

First of all, all the negative reviews here have been done when only the 6th episode has released, so they are suffering from a SEVERE lack of information to even properly judge this anime.

If you consider up to the current episode, ep 15 right now, this anime is a MASTERPIECE. There simply is no other way to put it. It mixes elements of romance, action, suspense, and mystery perfectly to create the ultimate plot. The character development is INSANELY strong, and we get to know the preferences and backgrounds of almost all the main characters. This leads to a plot that makes sense and read more

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Feb 22, 2018

6 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

Starkan (All reviews)

78 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

First off, i have no clue how to write review, but here's what i think about this anime. I don't usually share my thoughts like this, but i've changed lately

In my opinion the anime definitelly deserves more than #500 ranking. To be honest, i'm giving it 10/10 overall just so it gets more ranking.

I love anime like this, when i started watching anime for first time, i wanted to see a anime like this, where couples fight. A true anime couple. When i first started watching anime, i watched the boo hoo bad anime SAO and in fact, i liked SAO's first few episodes, Just read more

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Jul 7, 2018

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 2

CodeBlazeFate (All reviews)

63 people found this review helpful

“How can I become popular?”

Darling in the FranXX is a sad attempt at creating or rather, replicating a legacy act. It took inspiration from what popular shows like Evangelion and Gurren Lagann did, without understanding a thing about what made them work. It tries to expand on ideas without understanding how to sell them, let alone incorporate them meaningfully. It wants to craft a setting to draw us in and make us remember it but instead, FranXX falls flat on its hormone-driven face. It’s a brilliant showcase on why the insular nature of anime writers & directors is detrimental. It is the definition of an anime that tries to pander to the entire anime community, and as a result, FranXX lost the chance to craft a work of art worthy of being remembered. What we have now is a vulgar yet ambitious mess whose only remarkable features are its volume of ineptitude and its interesting but horrendously executed aesthetic.

Speaking of which, what does FranXX’s sex aesthetic contribute to the narrative? Nothing good. Sure, every conflict deals with the idea of sex, gender, and couples in some way, but the visuals don't remotely contribute to this. Additionally, the world-building that stemmed from this is as questionably handled as it is derivative. Yes, Neon Genesis Evangelion did similar things, from the concept and world to having its mechs be drenched in symbolism. However, we get to what separates the two: humanity and focus.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most human anime ever made. It constantly delves into the psyches of each character in a way that feels both relatable and real, while exploring their hobbies and how these people bounce off each other and affect each other personally. They were in the face of a war against deadly creatures, and the focus was placed on how this, their upbringing, and their conflicts stemming from this affect each other. This happened because Eva was written and directed by a legendary man and nerd who went outside, talked with people a lot and had a social life with them, and suffered through personal, relatable problems. The director and writer also had a sense of focus, making sure each world-building element made sense and retained consistency in the logic of the show, and that each character was consistent, with gradual mental declines that felt natural.

Now, look at this show, made by someone who no doubt worked to get here but is as much an unknown figure as most other directors in this insular, borderline unsustainable industry. While he's capable of delving into his characters' upbringings, no one is written well enough for us to care. Part of why is because instead of relying on substantial interactions and meaningful introspections, FranXX takes the Re:Zero route of letting these autists shout their pathetically written and constructed feelings to each other Light Novel monologue style while letting flashy directing choices do the rest, often during contrived scenarios meant to incite drama with the most hideous of dialogue. To put this into perspective, episode 1 does this 5 or 6 times with its main character. Unlike say: Fate/Extra: Last Encore, this show isn't oozing with the kind of style to make it feel natural, instead only busting out the interesting presentation as a borderline disingenuous attempt at enhancing or explaining emotions. LE also delves into the introspection aspect far better and shows a superior portrayal of broken people raised by a horrible, controlling system that sends its inhabitants to fight for their lives. Additionally, it better demonstrates how that affects several of them once they’re out fighting and when they’re part of the system. FranXX can't even make a compelling character to save its life, let alone a character that truly feels real.

If you're familiar with awful post-Eva works such as Brain Powerd or De;Vadasy, you may have found these problems all too familiar. Another common post-Eva trait is the ability to have a general idea of what to explore without any idea on how to make it work. Brain Powerd focused on trying to do the concepts and relationships of Eva backward and did so incoherently with a script to reflect that as they had to make up new terms and ideas out of nowhere that don't fit or make any sense. It decides to copy the actions of Evangelion and the narrative structure of Gurren Lagann while failing to create a coherent world with believable characters to care about. The disastrous second half more than cements this fact in several ways.

I won't cover everything, but let's start at the top. The world-building in FranXX is among the worst I have ever seen, delving into its symbolism with little regard as to how it can make sense beyond vague setup, much like with the direction of the narrative as a whole. So much about the setting and lore counters itself, even outside of the parts that already make no sense. This anime’s inability to show us the necessary information for certain events to have possibly taken place have resulted in monumental plot holes to make matters even worse. The FranXX mechs make no sense in literally any aspect, and the implications in them manage to assassinate the already badly executed relationship between Hiro and Zero Two. Let’s not even mention how hideous the final 11 episodes were, especially in regards to FranXX's lore. Even then, the beginning was atrocious too, what with the awful love triangle, episodes 6 and 8, the aforementioned world-building, and the fact that most of the characters are obnoxious, worthless, needlessly hateful, and surprisingly inconsistent caricatures at best. The show has such little respect for them that its primary mascot character Zero Two, constantly switches on a dime simply for the sake of creating drama and steering the show in a planned direction.

Before we wrap up, we best look at the audiovisual side of things, as this show still manages to trip over itself in this regard, though it doesn’t do so as hard as it does with the writing. The fembot designs are all around the passable range with nothing being truly awesome or toy-worthy. The creatures and settings have nice colors but nothing is particularly well designed, from creature to character -with the possible exception of Zero Two-. Hiro’s design is especially awful for obvious reasons, and several of the supporting cast designs are eerily similar to certain Eva characters. The outfits are also mediocre to bad, often with awkward “X” and “Y” logos for no good reason, and whenever the show tries to do something with dynamic cameras -sometimes even when they don’t- the frames get cut in half, from a normal amount to what feels like half, if not less. The premiere episode alone is the perfect indicator. It thankfully doesn’t happen too often when it does, the viewing experience becomes a rough one. As mentioned, the directorial idea of messing with the aspect ratios haphazardly or for the sake of emotion and whatnot is borderline laughable as well. Additionally, there are several scenes where no one has any facial features, and the luckily infrequent CGI here is subpar at best. This collaboration between A-1 Pictures, Studio “saving anime” Trigger, and eventually, A-1’s new subsidiary, Cloverworks, was definitely shaky, even from a visual standpoint. It’s not like the show was badly animated or anything, and the environments were done rather nicely. There were just several variables that kept this work from functioning greatly on a visual level. One last one to mention is how the fight scenes manage to be completely unexciting, with little real flow or impact to anything, or many truly good bits of animation or spectacle.

In regards to the music, none of the background tracks stick out, even if none are necessarily bad or ill-fitting -outside of one rap song at the start of episode 8-. There are some triumphant tracks in the first quarter that are good, but that’s as far as that goes. The opening theme "KISS OF DEATH" by Mika Nakashima x Hyde, is certainly unique, even if not to my taste. The ending themes are all numerous, and none of them are particularly good or memorable. Sure, some are better songs than others, but none of them are really going to stick with you in the same vein that Gurren Lagann ED 2 or Neon Genesis Evangelion’s ending themes did. Somehow, all of this makes the music the most competent part of the entire show, which is mortifying.

The most embarrassing thing is that the show not only tried its best to become popular, but it did so whilst having its staff being treated like shit by its “loyal fans” like it was the second coming of Re:Zero. There was ambition here but little thought beyond popularity and mimicry with a spin. One could argue this is propaganda for the Japanese to have kids and fix their under-population problem, but that doesn’t exactly fix anything, or even help give the show any real identity. Such a shame since, again, the ideas present here, if given more thought, could have turned into a fun dystopian action show that explored its characters in interesting ways while being a meaningful allegory for sex and puberty. It isn’t like the show doesn’t have its moments of sincerity or even a visible narrative through-line either, so the potential was obviously there. It's just that so much of what it did would require a complete and utter reworking in order to even become salvageable. Alas, we get this broken, tiresome replica to forget about once the memes are over.

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Apr 18, 2018

14 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 4

Mr_Butterscotch (All reviews)

61 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

It was the 14th episode. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what exactly was causing the fans to go livid. Given what happened in the last few episodes the actions of a certain character who is taking all the hate seem justified to me, albeit selfish. I tried reading the rants people wrote online and ended up not connecting with them, to the point where I decided to re-watch all 14 episodes fearing I’ve lost my sensibilities. Then it hit me - I was looking at this series all wrong. It was never about mecha, or relationship drama, nor was it about children vs adults. No, the actual theme is more sophisticated, and way more profound, and that is Darling in the FranXX is first and foremost about waifuwars. Only when you make this realization will you be able to put things into perspective, and understand why the fan base react the way they do towards any episode.

Let’s get down to brass tacks. If you’re watching this for the mecha, you’ll be disappointed. While the struggle between human and Klaxosaur is the pivotal aspect of the setting, it falls apart too easily on scrutiny. The show is unbearably stingy on details to the point that it’s fair to doubt if the Klaxosaurs are even a threat to humanity, in contrast to Eva or TTGL, shows that DitF clearly take inspirations from. Everything about the fights is underwhelming. The effort put in mecha designs alone makes it clear who they have their spotlights on. The choreography is terrible and fights are agonizingly bland. Rather than a highlight, they feel like a chore to watch, it feels like I’m being forced to read a light novel because it contains a vital piece of information to understand something else I’m actually intrigued about. The music that accompanies them lacks punch, feels awkward and is sometimes mistimed. The monster designs on the whole are uninspired garbage; quite a few of them are honestly copypasted from Gunbuster. I want to be more verbose here but really, it’s not worth the effort.

The character drama aspect is the main draw from the creator standpoint. It’s also bad, but this deserves more explanation because unlike the mecha aspect, the issue is not low effort. In its attempt to copy Eva it they’ve misjudged what they needed to do. Despite having a way larger cast, they saw it fit to waste so much time in the second half of the first cour on episodes that can be arguable described as filler. Ep 7-8 are damn near needless and can be condensed into 5 minutes with the remaining time put to better use in fleshing out the world or characters more satisfyingly. The character-focused episodes were piled continuously one after another without proper, chronological justification, before jumping back into the main story, which makes it hard to appreciate the character development following these episodes. Because these lasted a total of 5 episodes, it’s impossible to ignore how badly they screw up the pacing. It feels like an afterthought, which is a shame because I really liked one of the episodes. What’s odder is perhaps the character they’ve decided not to focus on; 14 episodes in and Ichigo, the team leader and main rival for the glorious Nippon dangler have yet to receive any proper characterization from her POV beyond some snippets here and there, which is odd given her background as the childhood friend love interest (something that usually makes fans instantly hard). There’s this vagueness as to why she is attached to Hiro, and throughout the series so far (especially in context with episode 9) the creators are thoroughly unsympathetic, providing minimal reason to persuade us that she has a fighting chance. She’s created solely to lose and make 02 look good in the process (they might pull a Nia here, but that’s still a win by definition). It’s a crying shame because Ichigo’s the closest thing to a rational but still human character the show has. In the notorious episode 14, she attempted a Hail Mary pass to win her lover (reminds me somewhat of Setsuna from White Album 2); her action was selfish, bold and completely unexpected, yet it feels like a proper progression of her character. I applauded it, even if it wasn’t reciprocated, but apparently to most viewers she became “The Worst Anime Character Ever Created”, a rapist, and a manipulative bitch all at the same time while 02 gets all the sobby eyes despite her comparatively similar actions, thanks to her tragic past.

The third major offender is how the show treats plot points. Foreshadowing is particularly weak aspect to the point of disbelief. The one which I take the greatest issue with, the one that jumped the shark is how for almost the entire first cour we were framed with the understanding that Hiro’s compatibility with 02 is almost completely unanticipated, only for a whole new story to emerge later. Vignette of 02’s backstory were given way early in episode 1 but there was no adequate indication that Hiro was ever a part of it. This is made harder to swallow given how the first arc concluded in episode 6, and the crutch they’ve chosen to rationalize this is memory loss; the oldest excuse in the book. The remaining 12 episode could be treated almost as a different story. There are other legitimate complaints I could leverage against this series with regards to its treatment of plot points, such as how important details are inserted only to be left unexplored until it was necessary to do so, sometimes for multiple episodes on end. In episode 1 Dr. Franxx, the creator of the robots and by definition the best person that can take us on tour of the world appears, but was never seen again until episode 7. He’s doesn’t do anything worthy of screen time for 12 episodes, and that’s something I take issue with. Multiple other examples of this kind of writing can be given, but most of them boil down to 2 things; the characters simply do not ask enough questions, and they do not communicate, and so the plot stagnates. Someone made a clearly ominous remark on our future? Let’s not ask him to clarify! Found a room used by your predecessors with a diary that you could open which may or may not provide you with a deeper understanding of your situation? Let’s just leave it be! I can go on and on.

Lastly, I’d like to talk about the actual reason you’d be compelled to watch this show, and that is 02. 02 is absolutely waifu. She essentially a monster girl, she has long pink hair, distinct eye cosmetic, horns with a cute connecting hairband, and fangs. Her breast and butt is shapely and supple, her mannerism is enticingly sensual. She dotes only on Hiro and calls him “Daaling” all the time. She gorges on honey almost fetishizingly but never gains weight. Unlike the rest of the team she is knowledgeable about sexuality, handing out a kiss lips to lips with Hiro by the first episode no less and licking various people onwards while still undoubtedly pure in both her body, heart and mind. Any criticism you could possibly subject her to are moot because she’s had a harsh life. Sure she might be uncooperative in team fights which diminish Ichigo’s leadership value, sure she has caused actual bodily harm to her teammates including her own pair, sure she has acted irrationally, sure she’s admitted herself that she too is selfish, sure her initial affection is fake and done just to manipulate the MC, but all of this is quickly forgiven once she says the word “Daaling”. If Sauron had called everyone “Daaling” the inhabitants of Middle-Earth would gladly hold out their neck for slaughter. I mean come on, compare her design to Ichigo’s, there’s just no competition. Even the title clearly establishes how flawless she is, 02 simply can do no wrong and by extension Hiro too since he’s her object of affection. Anyone who dares argue otherwise should be spammed with hate messages.

The bottom-line is this; DitF is an ambitious attempt even if derivative, but the writing as well as choreography leave a lot to be desired. The key to enjoyment is approaching it with the right mindset, and that is watching it for the sole purpose to ship characters. If this is sounding too much like tumblr don’t worry, we are above that, we are in fact, inexplicably the exception to it, I swear. More importantly, no matter how bad the rest of the show may be, no matter how much you take issue with it, the moment 02 comes on screen you will forgive everything, she is simply perfect. Thank you A-1 and Trigger for saving anime.

Please don’t mind my score; a bug is preventing me from rating any higher, the fact is this deserves a 10. For some reason this does not happen with other series, must be Ichigo hacking the code, that bitch.

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Mar 11, 2018

9 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

Jon_C (All reviews)

60 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

So what if Evangelion had more robots, more characters, more ecchi, more romance, a little less overwhelming dread and christian imagery, and a whole lot more colour?

You'd get Darling in the Franxx. Is it a romance anime with a mecha aesthetic? Is is a mystery anime with mecha and romance mixed in? Or is it proper mecha, with some mystery and romance thrown in to build character? Or is it all three. Time will tell. And that's what makes Darling in the Franxx unique and extremely interesting, as far a I'm concerned.

Currently Darling is a joyous, fun, wacky ride with great potential for story, read more

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Feb 24, 2018

7 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

Malik_Curriah (All reviews)

53 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

Im terrible at writing reviews.

So far:
This is Fantastic. It feels like a combination or Neon Genesis, Guren Lagann and Kill la Kill. That is, beautifully playful and colorful animation and characters, mixed in with dark undertone and a slightly eerie post apocalyptic setting.

Story:9
The story presents itself as a story of Giant robots fighting powerful monsters but it's really a story about a bunch of orphaned and disturbingly manipulated yet innocent and animated children discovering what love is (with a crazy and sporadic zero two teasing the MC), while at the same time discovering the world. It's also rather intelligently told, as there are quite read more

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Jul 7, 2018

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 5

Stark700 (All reviews)

45 people found this review helpful

Before Darling in the Frankxx actually aired, I asked myself if Trigger could ever replicate the success of Kill la Kill. Remember that series back in 2013? Their debut show made a significant impact for anime fans all over the world. From then on, Trigger produced some questionable series like Kiznaiver but also reminded us that there are still golden eggs such as Little Witch Academia. Sometimes I still have to ask myself, what the hell is Darling in the Frankxx?

To be fair, Darling in the Frankxx is actually a co-production between Trigger and A-1 Pictures. It’s an original TV anime that adheres to more of a humongous mecha show while mixing elements of drama, comedy, sci-fi, and absurdity. Oh wait, that’s not a genre, isn’t it? Well, you will probably understand the meaning of that later on. But first things to remember is that Darling in the Frankxx takes place in a distant future. There are imminent sci-fi themes that deals with pilots and Frankxx, giant robots that are capable of fighting the mysterious klaxosaur. Here, we meet the children that lives in mobile fort cities known as the Plantations. Out of these children, a young boy named Hiro (Code 016) meets a strange girl with horns on her head. So begins this journey….

On my first viewing, it felt like Trigger really wanted to play a bit with the viewers’ emotions while attempting the tricky feat of combining many different genres. I’m not going to lie, the first few episodes made me feel like the anime wanted to experiment with sex. Even the first moment when Hiro encounters Zero Two showed implies there may be an immense amount of fan service in the show. However, I wouldn’t say this anime thrives on sex as it’s mostly played out like a metaphor. In other words, this anime isn’t a trick pony but does rely on the emphasis of fan service to some extent. The gimmicks of the anime relies more on the characters’ actions to do the talking. Remember, the main cast is composed of young characters who hasn’t fully grown up yet. In fact, they rely on the Frankxx in order to exist in their world and doesn’t really know their true purpose. A driving factor of the show chronicles the lives of these children. They begin to learn more about their world, themselves, and what their true purpose really is. That is to say, the plot is suspenseful from the start as more and more storytelling is unraveled.

Because the series is mixes in a variety of themes, exposition is necessary and we get a lot of info dumping. It shouldn’t take long to learn the show’s terms as every episode made is easily understandable. However, it’s the characters that are deceptively complex as we learn more about them. At the heart of the show is the horned girl named Zero Two. There’s not much we know about her in the beginning but it’s discreetly shown that she has a connection with the klaxosaurs. From a viewer’s perspective, Zero Two draws the line between human and inhuman. A good portion of the characterization focuses on whether Zero Two accepts on being who she is. She seeks her own identity and place in the world. Thanks to Hiro and his friends, Zero Two does manage to realize who she is and makes her own choices like seeking freedom. And to be quite honest, freedom is a pretty important word considering that these children are trapped like birds in a cage. The animal motif is evident as the children from Squad 13 are called “parasites” by the adults. The mysterious Papa gives out orders to them and they obey them without question. Later on, Squad 13 begins to wonder their real purpose and seek to create freedom themselves.

Zero Two is a controversial character who seemingly caused the deaths of pilots who formerly were partnered with her. In a sense, she can be labeled as “black widow”. It is only when she took Hiro as her “darling” that reveals a more sensible side of her. Usually, Zero Two is playful despite being serious about her duties. It’s easy to see how childish she can be even on the battlefield like a cat playing with her food. (she actually does this in early episodes) The show also takes a deep dive into her past as we learn how the adults experimented on her and connection with Hiro. Speaking of which, Hiro is like a light in a dark tunnel for not just Zero Two but all his teammates. He is hopeful and is often a voice of reason. As a pilot, he isn’t afraid to take risks despite knowing potential consequences. This inevitably leads him to fall in love with Zero Two. At the apex of the story, he is able to express his feelings in honesty to her. From that point on, they are pretty much inseparable. However, this show’s relationship dynamics isn’t exactly well written if you read between the lines. From the two main leads, it’s very obvious that the anime wants to keep them as true loves. It’s a pretty generic way of storytelling that sends the message of “love will conquer all”. It's something you can find in almost any sci-fi flicks these days. From puppy love to an actual romantic relationship, it’s something any show could have done easily. It’s a shame since I wanted to see this anime think a bit outside of the box.

BUT, that’s not all. The biggest turn off of the relationship dynamics involves the other characters of Squad 13. Let’s face some facts here, the children in the show are very clueless about the concepts of love. Yes, love itself is a very complicated subject for discussion but the anime makes it clear that they have zero knowledge about it. There are multiple character love angles going on by the time you reach 1/3 of the show. For a short list, it involves the love triangle between Goro, Ikuno, and Ichigo. Then, there’s Ichigo, Zero Two, and Hiro. Outside of this circle, there’s also a love triangle between Mitsuru, Kokoro, and Futoshi. Zorome and Miku also seems to have some special feelings towards each other. At one point in the series, Ichigo became an Internet meme for the drama she bought in between herself, Hiro, and Zero Two. I also felt bad for Futoshi as well since the show made it clear that he didn’t stand a chance. Kokoro and Mitsuru’s relationship is perhaps one of the more tragic ones in the series. And Ikuno…, it almost feels like the show put the character in a love triangle with Goro and Ichigo to make her more relevant. That being said, you may get a headache or two after realizing how clueless these kids are about love. The show even has multiple episodes where they question the meaningful of a “kiss”.

To be honest, Darling in the Frankxx actually started off pretty strong with a lot of potential for developing some of the main characters. Indeed, there are definitely moments that are worth talking about considering how far the series takes care of them. Outside of Squad 13, we also take a deep dive into Dr. Franxx (the creator of the Frankx) and his past. There’s even exclusive storytelling on what motivated him to create these giant mechs in the first place. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much how far the characterization ends up for individuals who are not part of the main cast. An example is Nines, a special defense force who were once part of Zero Two’s former unit. The number 1 of the Nines is an antithesis of Hiro as he is intensely loyal to Papa while mocking Zero Two of becoming “human”. The series hardly explores him beyond his personality and even though he changes, it felt like a script of a play that anyone can predict would happen. I was more interested in seeing how the show would handle the roles of the adults. There’s no doubt that Papa plays the role of a distant surrogate figure to Squad 13. In early episodes, they all try to impress him that characters such as Zorome goes to absurd lengths to prove himself. Later on in the show, we find out their real motivations and almost feels like a slap to the face when you realize reality.

Actually, now that I think about it, this series can actually be a bit dark. Trigger’s anime projects consists of a diverse variety but Darling in the Frankxx took a lot of risks. I do commend them a bit for doing that. It’s what makes Trigger the studio they are known for nowadays. Did the risks pay off in the end? I’d say hardly because the final few episodes in the show really made me scratch my head wondering if the creators planned this out in the beginning. The incredibly rushed plot is stuffed with cheesy dialogues and subplots that felt irrelevant. The power of love trope is so overused in this show that the final arc felt mindless and it took me awhile to get it over with. There’s a feeling of the anime of cooking up drama for the sake of drama. The worst part ends up being whether we should care about all this or not. Because honestly, I think this show went way over itself in trying to be something special. Instead, it became a hollow shell of itself and degenerated its own legacy.

By animation quality standards, Darling in the Frankxx maintains a consistent flow throughout the show. The first few episodes made it clear that there would be over the top action and it didn’t betray expectations. The producers were able to capture the highlights of battle scenes, emotional segments, and comedic moments flawlessly. Actual fighting scenes in the show is fast paced that makes an emotional impact. This is accomplished through the character expressions as it made many scenes feel larger than life. The mecha designed by Shigeto Koyama (Captain Earth, Eureka Seven) looks well-polished with the biotech features. Character designs shows the children well-dressed despite being isolated from society. On the other hand, the adults in the series looks ambiguously alien-alike. In addition, the klaxosaurs looks like they were inspired by kaiju movies. And of course, there’s fan service. It’s one of the main selling factors of the show to attract an audience. The metaphoric suggestive positions of the pilots are like a visual innuendo. Zero Two also spends some episodes in full nude while being shameless of her appearance. You want fan service? You got it, you horny viewers.

Known for taking a lot of risks, the show does also jump into the music department with a mission. That mission is to bring out a sci-fi show to its most iconic form. Admitingly, the theme songs are moderate at best in terms of appeal but contains a lot of creativity. The amount of foreshadowing and references are evident in many scenes. However, the theme songs adheres to a more emotional side of the show once you get into it. Battle OST also works its magic during many important scenes. The character voice mannerism of the show also makes an interesting impression in the case of Zero Two. She does indeed draw a line between a human and inhuman by the tone of her voice. In some episodes, she behaves like a playful child while other times, she acts like an emotional doll. Unfortunately, the other main cast falls short. I mean, who wants to listen to Hiro talking all day or Ichigo complaining like a brat?

With a total of 24 episodes, Darling in the Franxx ended up being a show that made a big impact but couldn’t fully capitalize on its ideas. It has a creative world and an intriguing group of characters. But when it comes to the actual storytelling, that turned into a chunk of mess. In fact, it made me wonder if the creators had a clear plan in the first place or if they procrastinated it like a final school project. To me, it’s a show that hit the right spots in the beginning but doesn’t live up to the hype. It sure got people talking about it if that was one of its missions. However, it’s ultimately a series that talk the talk, but couldn’t walk the walk.

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Mar 3, 2018

8 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 3

PuruRuru (All reviews)

48 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

Inconsistencies: writers can't decide whether Hiro is new in the team or not. The children pilots are supposed to have no idea about what romance, sex and everything affiliated are, but they are quite self conscious about their bodies and sex.

Low value script. Quite a lot of pointing out the obvious, e.g. in a deserted village "it's like a small city or something" followed by more 0 value assertions of a similar fashion that take too long. Too much talk about kissing to prove that they don't get what that is and what romantic relationships are. Of course, actions prove the opposite. A lot of repeated discussions, "I'm gonna do my best" blah blah kind of stuff, many of which could have been avoided because it is apparent based on the their characters, expressions, actions, simple logic etc.

Cringe fest. Male mecha pilots drive female mecha pilots using handles sticking out of the side of their asses. Being "piloted" gives the girls reactions as if they were having sex. Pointless sexualization and distasteful fanservice. If there is a point to it, it's still too blatant, in your face, unsubtle and overly repeated for me to appreciate it. Pointless beach episode. It's also filled with clichees whenever it comes to relationships and human interaction. It wouldn't be a problem if these clichees would add something to the story, but they don't. The gist of the over-sexualization is that the girls are put in a weak position, and boys need to start caring about them as people. The extra sexual tension is also meant to be a catalyst for the intrigue. This "metaphor" that forcefully facilitates something which would have otherwise come naturally is not a quality, despite the fact that many people get giddy about noticing said "metaphor".

Mech fights are not visually spectacular, most of the focus is on showing the method in which monsters are being defeated. You get to see how the mechs get in the correct position to fight the enemy after dodging a bit in some low value mech vs projectile scenes and then the main mech pummels through the monster. An actual fight of reaction time, beauty, skill, teamwork with proper choreography would be much more fun but is something we don't get.

Mech(Franxx) designs are meant to emulate the personalities/looks of the female characters they represent but are too overly detailed and similar in style with each other. You end up recognizing them based off of color scheme, take that away and it's hard to distinguish them. Of course this is aside from the one that is fat and has a gun, an almost moe-blob mech. Monster designs however are fairly interesting.

What does it do good after all? The main female character is a complete troll, tease and has no restraints whatsoever, so that's fun. She's also a half-monster with superhuman agility and power and she gets in a lot of really well animated, highly dynamic scenes. Character animations and expressions overall are really good and so are the backgrounds.

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