Darling in the FranXX Episode 12 Discussion

YoungboyNFA said:


I saw that but that was some trippy shit, and she was acting all crazy these last 2-3 episodes. I hope you are right though.

GosuGian said:

Now onto the the star of the episode, Zero Two. I had made a theory about how Zero Two suffers from an attachment disorder and this causes her to be uxoricidal in a comment before, but now I don't know. She could have an anxiety disorder from her excessive nail biting, irritability, and being always on edge but her actions counteract this. Zero Two is a really difficult to deconstruct unlike the other pilots, but I've come to the conclusion that she definitely has a body dysmorphic disorder. She perceives her own body as flawed and thinks about it almost constantly. This has caused her to perceive herself as a monster, which in turn has caused her to have constant emotional distress. This explains why she can't confront herself in a mirror, and why she can't confront Hiro about it. This is just a theory though. Something I found to be a key moment in Zero Two's mental deterioration is when she asks Hiro to kiss her. During the scene we can see that Hiro shows a moment of fear, one that Zero Two picks up on and this causes her to retreat. I believe that it is this fear that is causing all the issues we see by the end of the episode. This hesitation deeply hurts Zero Two. It makes her think that the Hiro she knows now is not the one she knew as a kid. She retaliates later in the episode by calling Hiro fodder. We've seen this type of "tough love" when Ichigo and Zero Two were in the garden. Ichigo doesn't want Hiro to be hurt, but Zero Two disregards his safety altogether. Saying that if he didn't survive, he just didn't amount to much. I feel like Zero Two almost idolizes Hiro in a way. Just like how the other parasites used to idolize him as kids, she kind of sees him as an almost invincible hero. Someone to save her from herself. Makes sense in terms of Zero Two's twisted way of thinking. Something I found interesting was when Zero Two asked Hiro why was he holding her back too. It seems like Zero Two thinks that Ape and Hiro are holding her back from becoming human, but its pretty clear that no matter how many klaxosaurs she kills it'll never make her human. I wonder if that's something that Ape told her would happen if she killed more klaxosaurs. It would definitely make sense since she is possibly the strongest Franxx pilot we've seen. Not much else to mention honestly. One last thing, I found interesting was the fact that Zero Two and Hiro met under a mistletoe. A mistletoe is actually a hemiparasitic plant that takes the nutrients from the host plant. Zero Two sucks the "life" from the partners she meets. Good symbolism for Zero Two.

Some final thoughts as always. Ichigo seems to always want to keep up her brave and bold facade. Hopefully if shit hits the fan she can actually walk the walk. Futoshi is taking his heartbreak with strides, it's admirable. They use the term "saurification" which is really silly, because it's just taking the "saur' part of klaxosaur and adding "ification". I hope this show keeps up its momentum, definitely anime of the year material.

Ryuuryota said:
That may be your opinion on the matter but could it kill you to explain yourself a little more so people don't take it as you're just shitposting lol, why do you think the episode was boring until the end, what was lacking, why don't you like hiro and zero 2 if you're gonna put the time into expressing your opinion you should atleast gives reasons to each negative opinion you had

kammie7 said:


I didn't give specific reasons because I've already stated them in other threads and don't feel like I need to restate them. But since you actually had the decency to ask why I feel this way I'll answer.

Hiro has very little defining traits that aren't archetypal, this is problem with alot of the characters. 002 is just annoying and a horrible person yet the story expects you to like her. So when she acting out and does something wrong, o don't care because she's always been a jerk. Even if she turns on Hiro which was the most interesting thing I still wouldn't care because he's not an interesting person or one I sympathize with.

Makaze_no_Moujuu said:


Lol, yes you do. You don't have to be similar people, but you need to have things that bind you together, otherwise the relationship is empty. It's one thing to fall in love, and another to stay in love.

poortier_boy said:
I won't say much. I think it's better if I still lurking. But, also, I'm really annoyed with the "wow, sex, that's what makes her a bad character" thing. I come here to see the hits and mistakes that I couldn't see and what I find is prejudice as if it was a damn fucking criticism.

The same happened with poor girl Kokoro last week. She is supposed to be with the cool guy. OH THESE PRETTY GIRLS THEY JUST DATE THE IDIOTS WHY SHE NEVER GIVE A CHANCE FOR A COOL GUY LIKE ME FUCKING SLUT??????

Tennouji said:


Totally agree with you on Hiro "falling in love with" Zero Two. Like, this is the reason why I'm suffocating when this show focuses on Hiro. It'll be always like "Zero Two Zero Two Zero Two Zero Two Zero Two" like what the fuck what does he see on that woman? I may understand if that's because he might be just a kid but holy shit. To be honest, all I see is Hiro is also even using Zero Two because Zero Two is his only partner that he can able to pilot a Franxx so that's why he's so obsessed with her and now he's mistaken to thought that what he's feeling is love, in which that's also frustrating to see. He's just another Mitsuru but at least Mitsuru has his own reasons and his reasons make sense on why he's like that but Hiro? He's just poorly written character. I prefer seeing Shinji whining over and over that he doesn't want to pilot an Evangelion instead of this shitty character named Hiro.

GosuGian said:

This hesitation deeply hurts Zero Two. It makes her think that the Hiro she knows now is not the one she knew as a kid. She retaliates later in the episode by calling Hiro fodder. We've seen this type of "tough love" when Ichigo and Zero Two were in the garden. Ichigo doesn't want Hiro to be hurt, but Zero Two disregards his safety altogether. Saying that if he didn't survive, he just didn't amount to much. I feel like Zero Two almost idolizes Hiro in a way. Just like how the other parasites used to idolize him as kids, she kind of sees him as an almost invincible hero. Someone to save her from herself. Makes sense in terms of Zero Two's twisted way of thinking. Something I found interesting was when Zero Two asked Hiro why was he holding her back too. It seems like Zero Two thinks that Ape and Hiro are holding her back from becoming human, but its pretty clear that no matter how many klaxosaurs she kills it'll never make her human. I wonder if that's something that Ape told her would happen if she killed more klaxosaurs. It would definitely make sense since she is possibly the strongest Franxx pilot we've seen. Not much else to mention honestly. One last thing, I found interesting was the fact that Zero Two and Hiro met under a mistletoe. A mistletoe is actually a hemiparasitic plant that takes the nutrients from the host plant. Zero Two sucks the "life" from the partners she meets. Good symbolism for Zero Two.

Tomlora said:

- She recognizes him since the beginning, physically or by licking it. (episode 1). That's why she calls him "darling" very suddenly. He's the only one she calls this way .. It's not a coincidence.
> She said "I found you, my darling" (ep1) but also "my darling is unique" (ep 3)
> If Hiro was really a fodder (ep 12), she would not have insisted on flying with him in episode 3 anyway.
> Her actions in episode 4 would make no sense.
- We know Hiro has a memory loss... but I think Zero Two wants him to remember his past... and she tries many times :
> She's looking for a book (ep 12)... It's probably the book we can see at the end (flashback) -> "It's a story about a tribe, here they're being referred to as demons/monsters. They lived peacefully in a forest and have big wings on their back. In that forest there is a girl, she has long grey wings on her back. When they turn 16 years old, they are then allowed to leave this forest by flying away with the help of their wings."
> She "teaches" him the meaning of kiss, love, hand in hand (ep1; ep 3; ep 7)
> Her idea about "running away" several times... (ep 3; ep 7...) Etc..

- We know the result : It didn't work. I think she started to think Hiro isn't her real darling... He looks like him physically, has the same taste... But he's not like him for her.

> Why could she think that ?

It's really simple :

> The answer is here : https://i.gyazo.com/6fe8e08097108582ed87d153f7b33f87.png ....
Zero Two doesn't recognize his behaviour, and on the other hand, Hiro can't prove he's her "real darling" because he hasn't currently memories about her in the past.
>She's really sad because her timing is close to be out. Hiro was her hope, but not anymore. He is now a stamen like the others.

Now, we have this situation : https://i.gyazo.com/e35578040f08c8ce9068aa46d9e6f21d.png
Mitsuru's sentence makes perfect sense here -> https://i.gyazo.com/54e7b3e274b8cec95af0c4e9a3054896.png
She sees Hiro like a normal stamen, and she wants him to undergo the same treatment to achieve her dream. And maybe worse as he has survived more than three times.

Now, we come to the famous flashback at the end, which refers also to this part : https://i.gyazo.com/648d56b49463c44b674cd137263edbd5.png . Hiro will remember everything, and then, he will prove he's her "real" darling. "Hope will be reborn" It is possible that he also changes his behavior ... whether he becomes a greater leader, or that his "prodigy" status makes him stronger. We must not forget that he was originally chosen to be a leader.

What happens next?
I think she will understand this time that she can not become human ... It will be sad because it's her darling who will... break her dream.

What is the remaining solution? That Hiro is no longer entirely human.

GosuGian said:
That was a fun episode. We got some theory confirmation, some world building, some Zero Two backstory, some fighting, and a love confession by Hiro. Still haven't gotten to the Grand Crevasse but we'll get there eventually. Lets start by talking about the Garden. It seems like potential Franxx pilots come to the Garden and are injected with dosages of yellow blood cells. We don't know if all children in the Darling in the Franxx universe are sent there, but it seems like a large portion of them probably are. The "Nursery Lab 3" that we see on Zorome's and Mitsuru's profiles is actually a research facility within the Garden itself and it seems that certain parasites are brought there for special experimentation. Only members of the group that have been there are Mitsuru, Hiro, and Zero Two. We know that Mitsuru was there for his Elixer Injection, but as for Hiro, we still don't know what makes him special. We can assume that Zero Two may have spent most of her time there as a child because of her klaxosaur blood. It has been confirmed in this episode that the red-skinned child from the intro is Zero Two, in what we can assume to be her "klaxosaur form". I'll talk more about her later. We can see that the kids at the Garden are being given yellow blood cell injections way earlier than what Kokoro seems to think is normal. The worker at the Garden explains that it is because of increased klaxosaur activity, and a need for capable and obedient pilots. This is worrying, because this implies that those young kids are possibly being partnered up, put into Franxx's, and being sent off to die fighting klaxosaurs. Talk about living fast and dying young. Not much else to gather from the Garden itself. Like the name entails, it's a parasite development facility. Some small things to note are that all the plantations seem to be convening at the Grand Crevasse which means we can probably expect a large battle pretty soon. This would explain why they need to churn out more Franxx pilots as well. It's clear at this point that none of the kids become adults, and that many of them may actually turn into klaxosaurs. (More on this later.) The group is still unaware of their mission to the Grand Crevasse. Ape probably isn't telling them, because of the likeliness of many of them dying. It would definitely be sad to see any of them die.

Now we come to one of the biggest questions in the series, what are yellow blood cells? These made up cells have been a question for debate since the beginning of the series and even at episode 12 we still don't know much of anything. This episode gives us a few more clues. At 9:27 we can see the injections that the kids are given are labeled AG-YBC. A possible meaning for this could be antigen-yellow blood cell. I think it's becoming more and more clear that these yellow blood cells are not naturally occurring.They are introduced to the kids at a young age to make them suitable for piloting the Franxx and it's probably because their young bodies are more open to biological change. There are a lot of theories as for what the yellow blood cells could be, but I hypothesize that they are antigens synthesized from klaxosaur blood. An antigen is basically just a foreign substance that causes an immune response inside the body. We can see that when Hiro had the blue growth on his chest he had an increased yellow blood cell count, but a normal amount of white blood cells. (No sign of an antigen or infection) This made me think that when the children are given the yellow blood cell injections they are in a way building up an immunity to the YBC's. Think of it like building an immunity to a venom. It's possible that if the kids don't have a strong enough immunity to YBC's, they are given the Elixer Injection like Mitsuru. If they die during the elixer injection it's ok for the society because that means they wont turn into a klaxosaur or "monster" like Zero Two. I think this what all the adults mean when the refer to the children being infected. They are infected with the yellow blood cell antigen making it possible for them to turn into klaxosaurs. A possible side effect of having the yellow blood cells would be an inability to reach adulthood. It's not out of the question. I also theorize that Ape came to Dr Franxx for help in an attempt to fight against the klaxosaurs. Through some unknown means, Dr Franxx took the blood of the klaxosaurs and synthesized the yellow blood cells from it. These injections were then given to kids so that they could pilot the Franxx. Now this is a stretch, but it seems like the Franxx's are actually former klaxosaurs that were turned into pilotable mechs by Dr. Franxx and others. It's the only reason I could think of as to why the kids need to go through such intensive preparation before piloting the Franxx's. If they didn't they wouldn't be able to connect to the Franxx's in the first place. This show draws many parallels to Evangelion, (especially with their art direction and symbols). In Evangelion the Eva's are former angels with the souls of each pilots mothers within them ( that is why Shinji and Asuka are able to pilot their Eva's). In Darling in the Franxx, the Franxx are former klaxosaurs that are only able to be piloted by people that have a high YBC. This would also explain why Zero Two can pilot the Franxx so well, she has the highest YBC out of any of the pilots. This also explains why when the Franxx's enter their "stampede mode" they look so similar to klaxosaurs. Especially with the X-shaped eyes and toothed mouth. Once we find more out about the YBC's I think it'll unravel most of the mysteries within the story.

I made a theory last episode about how Hiro had his memory wiped as a child. This theory still holds, but it also seems possible that Hiro might not have been the only one. All the kids at the Garden seemed to share the same blank expression as he did after his possible memory wipe. Maybe they perform some type of psychological conditioning to keep them from being rebellious, but it wouldn't explain the loss of memory. Not enough evidence to add to this theory, unlike the YBC theory. We now see the entirety if the Nine, and the group itself is strange. There are three grey-haired girls that look like triplets. I wonder if they could be clones. We still don't know how the children are actually created. The clone theory that has been lingering around in the community still could happen. We know for sure that wherever Naomi was being sent, she would have probably of been killed anyway. I still believe that she's dead, but I'm sure other people still have hope.

Now onto the the star of the episode, Zero Two. I had made a theory about how Zero Two suffers from an attachment disorder and this causes her to be uxoricidal in a comment before, but now I don't know. She could have an anxiety disorder from her excessive nail biting, irritability, and being always on edge but her actions counteract this. Zero Two is a really difficult to deconstruct unlike the other pilots, but I've come to the conclusion that she definitely has a body dysmorphic disorder. She perceives her own body as flawed and thinks about it almost constantly. This has caused her to perceive herself as a monster, which in turn has caused her to have constant emotional distress. This explains why she can't confront herself in a mirror, and why she can't confront Hiro about it. This is just a theory though. Something I found to be a key moment in Zero Two's mental deterioration is when she asks Hiro to kiss her. During the scene we can see that Hiro shows a moment of fear, one that Zero Two picks up on and this causes her to retreat. I believe that it is this fear that is causing all the issues we see by the end of the episode. This hesitation deeply hurts Zero Two. It makes her think that the Hiro she knows now is not the one she knew as a kid. She retaliates later in the episode by calling Hiro fodder. We've seen this type of "tough love" when Ichigo and Zero Two were in the garden. Ichigo doesn't want Hiro to be hurt, but Zero Two disregards his safety altogether. Saying that if he didn't survive, he just didn't amount to much. I feel like Zero Two almost idolizes Hiro in a way. Just like how the other parasites used to idolize him as kids, she kind of sees him as an almost invincible hero. Someone to save her from herself. Makes sense in terms of Zero Two's twisted way of thinking. Something I found interesting was when Zero Two asked Hiro why was he holding her back too. It seems like Zero Two thinks that Ape and Hiro are holding her back from becoming human, but its pretty clear that no matter how many klaxosaurs she kills it'll never make her human. I wonder if that's something that Ape told her would happen if she killed more klaxosaurs. It would definitely make sense since she is possibly the strongest Franxx pilot we've seen. Not much else to mention honestly. One last thing, I found interesting was the fact that Zero Two and Hiro met under a mistletoe. A mistletoe is actually a hemiparasitic plant that takes the nutrients from the host plant. Zero Two sucks the "life" from the partners she meets. Good symbolism for Zero Two.

Some final thoughts as always. Ichigo seems to always want to keep up her brave and bold facade. Hopefully if shit hits the fan she can actually walk the walk. Futoshi is taking his heartbreak with strides, it's admirable. They use the term "saurification" which is really silly, because it's just taking the "saur' part of klaxosaur and adding "ification". I hope this show keeps up its momentum, definitely anime of the year material.

FireandIce said:
Finally...I have been waiting for this. This show has had a ton of potential from the start, but only within the past 2-3 episodes did we finally trade in the awkward innuendos for genuine rich plot development. I'm super excited to see where this continues to go, and I'm even more excited that MC finally grew a pair and is taking charge now; I was afraid he was going to be oblivious and winy while his pink haired girlfriend pushed him around the whole series...*cough* I'm looking at you Future Diary.

Ryuseishun said:


I personally think Kokoro and Mitsuru click well together, tbh....and for now, it seems like a necessity considering the lack of connection between mitsuru and his previous partner

YukiJudai_100 said:
hey everyone from neon genesis evangelion to darling in the franxx ... it has come full circle

hardrock13 said:




I believe you're the one nearest to the truth.

Tomlora said:



Thanks for reading :)

Futoshi told her love while they were guarding a construction against anytime appear-able enemies, while sitting in a robot. Kokoro's persona is to have good terms with everyone, not want to heart-break, so she gave a promise, because there is a vague coercion there, so the promise is not certain and genuine. Could Futoshi talk like that if his partner was Ikuno, Ichigo or Miku? I think Mitsuru deserved that fist indirectly.

Comander-07 said:

if they play it right (and trigger and a1 totally have the skills to imo, atleast thats what I want to think) this could still end up as an amazing anime

blazehero said:
Not the time to confess Hiro...

Goro and Zorome jealous of blonde Nines, he is going to NTR the entire cast and I'll love it.

GosuGian said:

Now onto the the star of the episode, Zero Two. I had made a theory about how Zero Two suffers from an attachment disorder and this causes her to be uxoricidal in a comment before, but now I don't know. She could have an anxiety disorder from her excessive nail biting, irritability, and being always on edge but her actions counteract this. Zero Two is a really difficult to deconstruct unlike the other pilots, but I've come to the conclusion that she definitely has a body dysmorphic disorder. She perceives her own body as flawed and thinks about it almost constantly. This has caused her to perceive herself as a monster, which in turn has caused her to have constant emotional distress. This explains why she can't confront herself in a mirror, and why she can't confront Hiro about it. This is just a theory though. Something I found to be a key moment in Zero Two's mental deterioration is when she asks Hiro to kiss her. During the scene we can see that Hiro shows a moment of fear, one that Zero Two picks up on and this causes her to retreat. I believe that it is this fear that is causing all the issues we see by the end of the episode. This hesitation deeply hurts Zero Two. It makes her think that the Hiro she knows now is not the one she knew as a kid. She retaliates later in the episode by calling Hiro fodder. We've seen this type of "tough love" when Ichigo and Zero Two were in the garden. Ichigo doesn't want Hiro to be hurt, but Zero Two disregards his safety altogether. Saying that if he didn't survive, he just didn't amount to much. I feel like Zero Two almost idolizes Hiro in a way. Just like how the other parasites used to idolize him as kids, she kind of sees him as an almost invincible hero. Someone to save her from herself. Makes sense in terms of Zero Two's twisted way of thinking. Something I found interesting was when Zero Two asked Hiro why was he holding her back too. It seems like Zero Two thinks that Ape and Hiro are holding her back from becoming human, but its pretty clear that no matter how many klaxosaurs she kills it'll never make her human. I wonder if that's something that Ape told her would happen if she killed more klaxosaurs. It would definitely make sense since she is possibly the strongest Franxx pilot we've seen. Not much else to mention honestly. One last thing, I found interesting was the fact that Zero Two and Hiro met under a mistletoe. A mistletoe is actually a hemiparasitic plant that takes the nutrients from the host plant. Zero Two sucks the "life" from the partners she meets. Good symbolism for Zero Two.

GosuGian said:
That was a fun episode. We got some theory confirmation, some world building, some Zero Two backstory, some fighting, and a love confession by Hiro. Still haven't gotten to the Grand Crevasse but we'll get there eventually. Lets start by talking about the Garden. It seems like potential Franxx pilots come to the Garden and are injected with dosages of yellow blood cells. We don't know if all children in the Darling in the Franxx universe are sent there, but it seems like a large portion of them probably are. The "Nursery Lab 3" that we see on Zorome's and Mitsuru's profiles is actually a research facility within the Garden itself and it seems that certain parasites are brought there for special experimentation. Only members of the group that have been there are Mitsuru, Hiro, and Zero Two. We know that Mitsuru was there for his Elixer Injection, but as for Hiro, we still don't know what makes him special. We can assume that Zero Two may have spent most of her time there as a child because of her klaxosaur blood. It has been confirmed in this episode that the red-skinned child from the intro is Zero Two, in what we can assume to be her "klaxosaur form". I'll talk more about her later. We can see that the kids at the Garden are being given yellow blood cell injections way earlier than what Kokoro seems to think is normal. The worker at the Garden explains that it is because of increased klaxosaur activity, and a need for capable and obedient pilots. This is worrying, because this implies that those young kids are possibly being partnered up, put into Franxx's, and being sent off to die fighting klaxosaurs. Talk about living fast and dying young. Not much else to gather from the Garden itself. Like the name entails, it's a parasite development facility. Some small things to note are that all the plantations seem to be convening at the Grand Crevasse which means we can probably expect a large battle pretty soon. This would explain why they need to churn out more Franxx pilots as well. It's clear at this point that none of the kids become adults, and that many of them may actually turn into klaxosaurs. (More on this later.) The group is still unaware of their mission to the Grand Crevasse. Ape probably isn't telling them, because of the likeliness of many of them dying. It would definitely be sad to see any of them die.

Now we come to one of the biggest questions in the series, what are yellow blood cells? These made up cells have been a question for debate since the beginning of the series and even at episode 12 we still don't know much of anything. This episode gives us a few more clues. At 9:27 we can see the injections that the kids are given are labeled AG-YBC. A possible meaning for this could be antigen-yellow blood cell. I think it's becoming more and more clear that these yellow blood cells are not naturally occurring.They are introduced to the kids at a young age to make them suitable for piloting the Franxx and it's probably because their young bodies are more open to biological change. There are a lot of theories as for what the yellow blood cells could be, but I hypothesize that they are antigens synthesized from klaxosaur blood. An antigen is basically just a foreign substance that causes an immune response inside the body. We can see that when Hiro had the blue growth on his chest he had an increased yellow blood cell count, but a normal amount of white blood cells. (No sign of an antigen or infection) This made me think that when the children are given the yellow blood cell injections they are in a way building up an immunity to the YBC's. Think of it like building an immunity to a venom. It's possible that if the kids don't have a strong enough immunity to YBC's, they are given the Elixer Injection like Mitsuru. If they die during the elixer injection it's ok for the society because that means they wont turn into a klaxosaur or "monster" like Zero Two. I think this what all the adults mean when the refer to the children being infected. They are infected with the yellow blood cell antigen making it possible for them to turn into klaxosaurs. A possible side effect of having the yellow blood cells would be an inability to reach adulthood. It's not out of the question. I also theorize that Ape came to Dr Franxx for help in an attempt to fight against the klaxosaurs. Through some unknown means, Dr Franxx took the blood of the klaxosaurs and synthesized the yellow blood cells from it. These injections were then given to kids so that they could pilot the Franxx. Now this is a stretch, but it seems like the Franxx's are actually former klaxosaurs that were turned into pilotable mechs by Dr. Franxx and others. It's the only reason I could think of as to why the kids need to go through such intensive preparation before piloting the Franxx's. If they didn't they wouldn't be able to connect to the Franxx's in the first place. This show draws many parallels to Evangelion, (especially with their art direction and symbols). In Evangelion the Eva's are former angels with the souls of each pilots mothers within them ( that is why Shinji and Asuka are able to pilot their Eva's). In Darling in the Franxx, the Franxx are former klaxosaurs that are only able to be piloted by people that have a high YBC. This would also explain why Zero Two can pilot the Franxx so well, she has the highest YBC out of any of the pilots. This also explains why when the Franxx's enter their "stampede mode" they look so similar to klaxosaurs. Especially with the X-shaped eyes and toothed mouth. Once we find more out about the YBC's I think it'll unravel most of the mysteries within the story.

I made a theory last episode about how Hiro had his memory wiped as a child. This theory still holds, but it also seems possible that Hiro might not have been the only one. All the kids at the Garden seemed to share the same blank expression as he did after his possible memory wipe. Maybe they perform some type of psychological conditioning to keep them from being rebellious, but it wouldn't explain the loss of memory. Not enough evidence to add to this theory, unlike the YBC theory. We now see the entirety if the Nine, and the group itself is strange. There are three grey-haired girls that look like triplets. I wonder if they could be clones. We still don't know how the children are actually created. The clone theory that has been lingering around in the community still could happen. We know for sure that wherever Naomi was being sent, she would have probably of been killed anyway. I still believe that she's dead, but I'm sure other people still have hope.

Now onto the the star of the episode, Zero Two. I had made a theory about how Zero Two suffers from an attachment disorder and this causes her to be uxoricidal in a comment before, but now I don't know. She could have an anxiety disorder from her excessive nail biting, irritability, and being always on edge but her actions counteract this. Zero Two is a really difficult to deconstruct unlike the other pilots, but I've come to the conclusion that she definitely has a body dysmorphic disorder. She perceives her own body as flawed and thinks about it almost constantly. This has caused her to perceive herself as a monster, which in turn has caused her to have constant emotional distress. This explains why she can't confront herself in a mirror, and why she can't confront Hiro about it. This is just a theory though. Something I found to be a key moment in Zero Two's mental deterioration is when she asks Hiro to kiss her. During the scene we can see that Hiro shows a moment of fear, one that Zero Two picks up on and this causes her to retreat. I believe that it is this fear that is causing all the issues we see by the end of the episode. This hesitation deeply hurts Zero Two. It makes her think that the Hiro she knows now is not the one she knew as a kid. She retaliates later in the episode by calling Hiro fodder. We've seen this type of "tough love" when Ichigo and Zero Two were in the garden. Ichigo doesn't want Hiro to be hurt, but Zero Two disregards his safety altogether. Saying that if he didn't survive, he just didn't amount to much. I feel like Zero Two almost idolizes Hiro in a way. Just like how the other parasites used to idolize him as kids, she kind of sees him as an almost invincible hero. Someone to save her from herself. Makes sense in terms of Zero Two's twisted way of thinking. Something I found interesting was when Zero Two asked Hiro why was he holding her back too. It seems like Zero Two thinks that Ape and Hiro are holding her back from becoming human, but its pretty clear that no matter how many klaxosaurs she kills it'll never make her human. I wonder if that's something that Ape told her would happen if she killed more klaxosaurs. It would definitely make sense since she is possibly the strongest Franxx pilot we've seen. Not much else to mention honestly. One last thing, I found interesting was the fact that Zero Two and Hiro met under a mistletoe. A mistletoe is actually a hemiparasitic plant that takes the nutrients from the host plant. Zero Two sucks the "life" from the partners she meets. Good symbolism for Zero Two.

Some final thoughts as always. Ichigo seems to always want to keep up her brave and bold facade. Hopefully if shit hits the fan she can actually walk the walk. Futoshi is taking his heartbreak with strides, it's admirable. They use the term "saurification" which is really silly, because it's just taking the "saur' part of klaxosaur and adding "ification". I hope this show keeps up its momentum, definitely anime of the year material.

FireandIce said:
Finally...I have been waiting for this. This show has had a ton of potential from the start, but only within the past 2-3 episodes did we finally trade in the awkward innuendos for genuine rich plot development. I'm super excited to see where this continues to go, and I'm even more excited that MC finally grew a pair and is taking charge now; I was afraid he was going to be oblivious and winy while his pink haired girlfriend pushed him around the whole series...*cough* I'm looking at you Future Diary.

firemagnet said:
The manga differs quite a bit. It's Hiro who pilots in episode 3-4 when they're on their first mission, and he's much more confident. The manga essentially blends much of the character development that takes place between episodes 3-6 into three chapters while skipping over most of the fights, ending where Zero-Two formally moves in with the rest of the squad and Hiro's infection. Also, much like a certain other pink-haired girl from Yabuki Kentaro's works, 002 quickly develops a bad habit of sneaking into her darling's bed unannounced.

ex_necross said:
I know it's not gonna happen, but I wanna see an ending where they both turn into demons and rule together. Those types of endings are rare, I've only seen it in

Sasora said:

Yes, of course you're the nearest to the truth. And I also believe you're correct. I believe he's going to become insanely overpowered next episode and beyond. The children from this group are going to rebel against "papa" and that's fairly obvious if you can tell from the mental state of the kids compared to the other groups. And they call Hiro the "special specimen" I'd actually bet money that him losing memories is what made him unable to pilot with anyone else.

Feels like this episode is long overdue and kind of late. So we basically have 11-12 episodes for them to literally rebel and everything............ Not enough time. So I'm pretty sure there's going to be a second season. This Anime isn't long enough to fill in all of the questions.. It's been WAY too slow. So many people are theorycrafting but what I said is pretty much going to happen.. There's a lot of Eureka Seven references that leads to rebellion in this Anime actually.

hardrock13 said:




Really glad manga is different. Haven't checked it out yet.
If Hiro is more confident - that's only better.
Wow! So awesome that Kentaro did that! I really wanted to see her sneaking in his bed in the anime and actually expected that to happen. Does Hiro at least behave different that the wussy Rito?

Captiaanuniverse said:
I've asked this before, but is it wrong that I find zerotwo sexier now?

GosuGian said:
I hope this show keeps up its momentum, definitely anime of the year material.

Tomlora said:
Hello' guys,

I 'm not english, so I hope I will not hurt your eyes.
I hope you like reading

I have an idea about her recent behaviour.

Currently, we don't know if she recognizes or not Hiro as her "real" darling. But, she's seeing him as an entirely different person.

So, I think :

- She recognizes him since the beginning, physically or by licking it. (episode 1). That's why she calls him "darling" very suddenly. He's the only one she calls this way .. It's not a coincidence.
> She said "I found you, my darling" (ep1) but also "my darling is unique" (ep 3)
> If Hiro was really a fodder (ep 12), she would not have insisted on flying with him in episode 3 anyway.
> Her actions in episode 4 would make no sense.
- We know Hiro has a memory loss... but I think Zero Two wants him to remember his past... and she tries many times :
> She's looking for a book (ep 12)... It's probably the book we can see at the end (flashback) -> "It's a story about a tribe, here they're being referred to as demons/monsters. They lived peacefully in a forest and have big wings on their back. In that forest there is a girl, she has long grey wings on her back. When they turn 16 years old, they are then allowed to leave this forest by flying away with the help of their wings."
> She "teaches" him the meaning of kiss, love, hand in hand (ep1; ep 3; ep 7)
> Her idea about "running away" several times... (ep 3; ep 7...) Etc..

- We know the result : It didn't work. I think she started to think Hiro isn't her real darling... He looks like him physically, has the same taste... But he's not like him for her.

> Why could she think that ?

It's really simple :

> The answer is here : https://i.gyazo.com/6fe8e08097108582ed87d153f7b33f87.png ....
Zero Two doesn't recognize his behaviour, and on the other hand, Hiro can't prove he's her "real darling" because he hasn't currently memories about her in the past.
>She's really sad because her timing is close to be out. Hiro was her hope, but not anymore. He is now a stamen like the others.

Now, we have this situation : https://i.gyazo.com/e35578040f08c8ce9068aa46d9e6f21d.png
Mitsuru's sentence makes perfect sense here -> https://i.gyazo.com/54e7b3e274b8cec95af0c4e9a3054896.png
She sees Hiro like a normal stamen, and she wants him to undergo the same treatment to achieve her dream. And maybe worse as he has survived more than three times.

Now, we come to the famous flashback at the end, which refers also to this part : https://i.gyazo.com/648d56b49463c44b674cd137263edbd5.png . Hiro will remember everything, and then, he will prove he's her "real" darling. "Hope will be reborn" It is possible that he also changes his behavior ... whether he becomes a greater leader, or that his "prodigy" status makes him stronger. We must not forget that he was originally chosen to be a leader.

What happens next?
I think she will understand this time that she can not become human ... It will be sad because it's her darling who will... break her dream.

What is the remaining solution? That Hiro is no longer entirely human.

opiktea said:
Dam son,
That particular commanding officer(CO)....
First one... So they arrived at garden... Pronged to confront the nine... They walk side by side with their CO... Continues to show mild hostility to each team and what the CO do? Well it seems that it's not my job she thought.... The fuck bitch?

Second one... The papa wants to examine 002 for recaliberation? I don't know... She deny this order, so the upper echeleon proceed to subjugate her forcing her undergoes this exam... And what she do? She said "don't give me any more trouble" standing doing nothing, while those faceless guy getting beaten by some demi-human... I was like: bitch? How did you get this job?

Third one... So the children broke the curfew and goes to the garden, well of course, cause nobody supervised them... What the fuck are that CO bitch doing? The one job she got....

The forth one.... I don't know about their procedure, but how the hell they keep leaking a classified information just because they forgot to lock the door... I mean, how the hell ichigo was cassually passing by that control room like are there any restriction at all? What the fuck?

The episode is terrific. But honestly how those unprofessional CO get pot rayed trully enrages me....

dbaranyi said:

According to the official website, Hachi is the combat/tactical commander. Nana is the administrative officer. Split commands often end up with no one really in charge...

I feel that it is significant that they have numbers for names ( hatchi = eight and nana = seven ). I wonder if they were a very early parasite team that was allowed to grow up...

Lucident said:

I'm quite surprised reading this, since I didn't expect the show to actually do smart things like this, thanks for the efforts and evidence ^^