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.
