the short version of this review is: watch eureka seven
the long version of this review (feat. some spoilers) is:
i'll start off with the good things about the series because there's a lot less to talk about there. the art, animation, overall production quality is very good. this makes sense because of the studios behind the project so as far as the visuals go franxx more than makes the cut.
unfortunately, however, good art =/= good story (but i'm getting ahead of myself). i do think that characterization is done fairly well: i'd say there's not a single (major) character in the cast that doesn't have some type development and i do like some of the writing choices they made (specifically the way they handled futoshi -- who pushed aside his own feelings because he wanted kokoro and mitsuru to be happy as well as ichigo wrt ikuno's feelings).
the show's overall writing, while a mess, also had some good plot points (zero two and hiro's scenes were especially moving near the middle of the season but that may be my bias towards those tropes talking).
but that's about all i have to say about the show that's positive. the rest is... not so good. for one thing the way the major plot regarding the "true adversary" of the show is silly. it's entirely left field and while i'm willing to give the writers some credit if a season two is planned (which would make the twist less Out There if still not introduced poorly) it was ultimately clumsy and far too abrupt with absolutely no build-up. i sat there in awe when the twist was revealed and not in a good way. they pretty much damn the pacing for the remaining episodes to be awkward.
additionally the world building itself is rather weak.
while franxx introduced an interesting take on the concept of immortality, the timeline and actual lore behind the technological advancements nullify any sort of philosophical impact the topic could've had. it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense and is, again, handled clumsily like pretty much every other plot element of this show.
really, it just seems to lack direction.
nothing is explained in a satisfactory way and at times one may even question if the writers even know what they're doing.
it's just. sloppy.
the high notes are high, of course, but not nearly enough to salvage this mess of a show. if the writing was a little more focused, definitely, this show would be much, much stronger but as it stands, even as beautifully as it portrays certain tropes, you're much better off watching something else that does an entirely better job of handling the topics that franxx wishes to portray.
this show went from mediocre to somewhat tolerable to absolutely insufferable because of the pacing and overall world building. if i had to recommend someone a 'mainstream mecha' i'd definitely choose something else.
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ep24 edit:
the show still does a terrible job of exposition.
while i'm normally a fan of endings like franxx's the lack of buildup leaves the ending feeling hollow and a lot of the other plot details that hadn't been addressed previously (see: nana and hachi, ikuno's hair turning white, etc) are clumsily shoved in at the end leaving viewers with dissatisfactory answers.
