Continuing my little trend of checking out anime with "divisive" reputations, I decided to check out Darling In The Franxx to see if it too was worthy of praise or scorn. This was my first mecha anime, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect but I went in with an open mind and willing to let Darling In The Franxx take me on the ride it was promising. So how was it? For the most part, I enjoyed it! It was certainly a "horny" anime but the story was very well crafted. The execution at the end did falter a little bit but I thought that it ultimately concluded everything nicely.
Darling In The Franxx was an interesting anime that blended action, drama, romcom and sci-fi all together into one. It was an anime that had what I thought was a really good "coming of age story". It honed in on exploring human relationships and this whole concept of "soulmates” within a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world overrun by massive robotic aliens known as "Klaxosaurs". I would actually argue that the anime was at its best when it was focusing on these elements. While I thought the animation was good (if not pretty standard for what I've seen thus far), I felt that a lot of action sequences were a little too fast paced for me (and I say this as an action lover). I had to re-watch certain bits here and there just so I could properly process what had happened. It has also that one sort of typical action trope where there's a character that does one move and takes out two dozen enemies in one hit. While it was certainly a beautiful spectacle to see, this felt overused at times and there wasn't a whole lot of 1 on 1 "Franxx Vs Klaxosaur" action unless it was one of the characters trying to take on a massive Klaxosaur. The final fight in the anime also did this "one hit" thing a lot in which they would just take out dozens of VIRM's spaceships out with one hit, but I digress. There were plenty of good action scenes throughout the show that were certainly enjoyable but they did this "one hit" routine a lot throughout the first 6 episodes and the show was kind of dragging for me until they started focusing on the more "slice of life" elements.
The character designs were cool. I liked the designs of the characters and their Franxxs which really did serve to be a visual symbol of the two pilots together as one, which I liked. The only design that is worth criticizing was "Strelizia's final form" which was essentially a giant version of Zero Two as her own Franxx Suit (I'll go more into the plot elements of this later in the review.) While I don't think the design was necessarily bad it was a little goofy. Just seeing a giant metal Zero Two flying through space was weird but I came to just accept it and moved on. I wish they could've done something more with it and considering how the Franxxs are supposed to symbolize the two pilots together as one, the "final form" should've been something profound and something that incorporated both Hiro and Zero Two together in someway rather than it just entirely being Zero Two. I was a little disappointed when I saw it honestly but it didn't kill the show for me like how it did for some people.
The music in Darling In The Franxx is nothing short of exceptional. It has a phenomenal intro: "Kiss of Death". It's a great somber and melodic song and it does a great job of setting the tone for the show. It has a great beat which is carried by the electronic music that breaks out towards the middle and it's just a great banger of a song after that. The visuals also do a very good job of complimenting the intro and conveying what the show is going to be about, though I did pick up on their not so subtle clues regarding Hiro's and Zero Two's fates (While I expected Zero Two to die, I was 50-50 on Hiro until they changed the visuals halfway through the show). The song is also a great metaphor for the story of the anime ironically enough if you decide to look up the lyrics and understand their meaning. AmaLee and Studio Yuraki did their own covers on Kiss of Death and I encourage you to give it a listen. You won't be disappointed. Darling In The Franxx has 4 outros: Torikago, Manatsu no Setsuna, Hitori and Escape. I personally liked Torikago the most, it has a catchy and emotional beat and I loved the guitar and drums in it. It also does a good job of hinting at the rivalry between Ichigo and Zero Two. What I found interesting was that other than Hitori, the other 3 outros exclusively focused on the girls of squad 13, with them in school girl outfits doing various things. In the second outro they're all kids just goofing around which was wholesome. Hitori, on the other hand, finally shows us the full story of The Beast and the Prince, a picture book that plays a major role in the story of Darling In The Franxx (it basically is the story of the anime!). Overall the visuals for the intro and outros were good and enjoyable.
Now going into the story of Darling In The Franxx...and given that it's 24 episode, there's quite a bit of ground to cover so if you don't want to read the plot summarization and commentary, just scroll down a bit.
The opening scene itself is very important for the context of the whole story. It opens with Hiro and Zero Two narrating to us about the jian bird, a one-winged bird that must find a partner in order to be complete so that it can fly. We're then shown a cloaked figure standing in front of a large tree in the middle of winter before we're taken to the story's present day.
Now an overview on the world of Darling In The Franxx: in the distant future, humanity has been forced to the brink of extinction by an invasion of these titanic-sized robotic aliens known as "Klaxosaurs". They are forced to hide in these domed cities called "plantations" and the only means of fighting them is by sending out these units known as "parasites" who operate these mecha suits called "Franxxs". The parasites themselves are...you guessed it: teenagers! (Now the set up sounds a little familiar, doesn't it? I didn't drop the word "titanic" on accident). What's an interesting twist to the set up and where the horny elements start coming in is that these Franxxs can only be piloted in a boy-girl pair working in unison. Okay fair enough. However the actual cockpit set up is uh...interesting. Basically, it looks like its doggy style sex. I'm not making this up. The show actually addresses why the Franxxs need a boy-girl pair to operate but the specifics of the positioning is essentially left to be implied and we'll get into that later.
We're first introduced to Zero Two, who is being escorted to Plantation 13 along with Dr. Franxx, the inventor of the mecha suites of the same name. We're quickly shown that Zero Two is a bit on the snarky and rebellious side as she quickly runs off on her own, much to the chagrin of her handler, "Nana '', and Zero Two's heavily wounded partner. We're then introduced to Hiro, who is coping with his failure of an aptitude test to determine his ability to become a Franxx pilot. He had failed to "connect" with his partner, Naomi. Hiro had run off on his own, skipping out on his fellow classmates' graduation ceremony. He goes to a lake where he crosses paths with Zero Two, who is swimming nude in the water. After a bit of an awkward first encounter (largely on Hiro's part, Zero Two does not seem to be embarrassed in the slightest), we're also shown that Zero Two does not appear to be exactly human. She looks like an ordinary girl for the most part...except that she has horns (so she's literally horny! *Ba dum tss*). Hiro doesn't seem to mind her horns and Zero Two tries to rizz him up before her escort catches up to them. Zero Two's partner tells Hiro to stay away from her as she's literally dangerous.
Hiro reflects on the encounter and goes to leave the plantation. He runs into Naomi who is also leaving for parts unknown. She kind of goes off on Hiro for being down the dumps and throws her stuff at him, saying she won't need it. She wishes him the best and boards the transport out of the plantation. As Hiro debates about whether to get on the next transport out, a giant Klaxosaur attacks and seemingly kills Naomi (though in the next episode we are told that she supposedly survived). The graduation ceremony gets disrupted and Zero Two and her partner in Strelizia get dispatched to face the Klaxosaur as Hiro tries to outrun the battle. He runs into the downed Strelizia and sees Zero Two's partner dead. Zero Two is wounded as well and though she seems unconcerned about the loss of her partner, she vows to kill the Klaxosaur. Hiro volunteers himself as Zero Two's newest partner. She declares Hiro to be her new "darling" and kisses him, activating Strelizia as it easily defeats the Klaxosaur as everyone watches on in amazement. Meanwhile, Dr. Franxx reveals that Zero Two is unique and has gained a reputation as a "partner killer" as no partner that she's ever been with has ridden with her more than 3 times before their death.
Even though Hiro piloted with Zero Two in Strelizia, the first time he had been able to pilot ever, he has no memory of actually piloting it. Many of Hiro's squamates (mostly Zorome, who seems to be billed as the "rival" character early on") are skeptical that Hiro also piloted since they know he hasn't been able to pair up with anyone before and that Zero Two is apparently strong enough to pilot a Franxx on her own. Zero Two gets assigned to stay with squad 13 in their dorm for the time being, and mostly everyone except Hiro are wary of her. Ichigo, the squad leader, also seems to particularly dislike her because of her not-so-subtle crush on Hiro and the fact that Zero Two blatantly rizzes him up in front of everyone (which is entertaining to see, don't get me wrong!). Though given Zero Two's horned appearance and colorful personality, along with her reputation as a "partner killer", everyone has their own reasons to be rightfully suspicious of her. Nana and Hachi, the caretakers and supervisors for squad 13, decide to give Hiro another chance to prove himself as a Franxx pilot, but turn down his request to ride again with Zero Two. Ichigo promptly volunteers to pair up with Hiro, and Zorome volunteers himself and his partner, Miku, for a mock battle. Though Hiro and Ichigo are able to connect at first, the connection falters and they force a timeout. Hiro tells Ichigo what he last remembers before he got into Strelizia , he tells Ichigo that he kissed Zero Two and that it seemed to have worked afterwards. Somewhat embarrassingly, Ichigo decides to kiss Hiro herself, but nothing happens. Zorome and Miku start bickering while Hiro loses his confidence altogether and Ichigo briefly takes control of the Franxx to end the mock battle in a draw. Though Hiro tearfully apologizes to Ichigo for failing her, she roasts him saying that his performance was "awful" (damn...).
Following the mock battle, Hiro's fate is still left up in the air as his squad mates are assigned their first mission: clear out a group of Klaxosaurs that have infested a magma energy mine. Prior to embarking on the mission, Mitsuru and Ikuno's connection falters and they're unable to start up their Franxx (mostly caused by Ikuno apparently not "feeling well"). It seems that the two don't quite have the best relationship as Mitsuru muses that they're not "compatible" (though they would've gone through the same tests that Hiro went through so if they were paired with each other they're clearly compatible to some degree. It just seems that Mitsuru is being a dick, which he kind of is). The rest of the squad descends down into the mine and things go well at first until they are eventually surrounded and pinned down. Zero Two asks to assist Hiro as her pilot, but Nana and Hachi refuse to pair her with Hiro. Mitsuru, who has his own ax to grind with Hiro for some reason, offers to pilot with Zero Two. Though Zero Two ominously warns Mitsuru that only her darling Hiro is the one who can properly ride with her, Mitsuru nevertheless presses forward. Mitsuru and Zero Two easily sweep aside the Klaxosaurs and saves their squad, but when Mitsuru experiences an apparent adrenaline rush and wants Zero Two to kick it up a notch...she obliges and delivers on that request...with the result nearly killing Mutsuru which puts forth the idea that Hiro may be the only one to ride with Zero Two and emerged unscathed (though he has two more rides to go in this three ride curse).
As a result of Zero Two's actions with Mitsuru who slowly recovers, Nana and Hachi order Zero Two to go back to the front lines. Zero Two prepares to leave, seemingly shelving Hiro's dream of being a Franxx pilot for good. Another Klaxosaur attacks plantation 13 and the remaining squad members are dispatched to face it, but they're left no match for it. Hiro decides to risk it all and decides to commit to being Zero Two's partners despite everyone's warnings. He catches up to Zero Two and pledges to be her co-pilot. The two evade the guards and pilot Strelizia and kill the Klaxosaur, saving the day and affirming to everyone that Hiro can indeed pilot with Zero Two. Hiro then affirms that he'll continue to pilot with Zero Two until he dies, much to the disapproval of his squadmates.
Plantation 13 is then set to rendezvous with Plantation 26 for a "kiss" which is just a transfer of magma energy. However, as Klaxosaurs are attracted to this energy, this will make the plantations a beacon for them. Hiro is finally accepted as a member of squad 13 and begins to fit in, but his friend and bunkmate, Goro, has begun to notice Hiro's deteriorating health and a mysterious blue tumor that has been growing on his chest since he began riding with Zero Two. Hiro begs Goro to keep quiet about this condition and reluctantly agrees. Plantation 13 "kisses" with Plantation 26 and the two squads team up to form a defense, though squad 26 has misgivings due to prior mission experiences with Zero Two going off the rails and incurring unnecessary casualties. The night before the mission, Ichigo confronts Zero Two and asks her to take it easy with Hiro, though she nonchalantly shrugs her off which earns her a slap from Ichigo, who accuses her of not being human. Zero Two's eyes then flash red as her horns and asks Ichigo what being human means to her. Ichigo defeatedly walks off where she runs into Goro where she vents her frustration to him and continues to fear for Hiro's safety. As Ichigo breaks down crying, Goro seems at a loss at what to do, as it's been subtly shown that he may be interested in Ichigo himself. Despite all the warnings and the fact that Zero Two is essentially a walking red flag and this would be the deathly magical "third ride", Hiro affirms his desire to ride with Zero Two.
The Klaxosaurs attack during the energy transfer and do battle with Squads 13 and 26. Though the minor Klaxosaurs are dispatched easily enough, a giant Klaxosaur is formed that overpowers Squad 26. Squad 13 rescues Squad 26 and sets up Strelizia for the final blow, but they fail and Hiro collapses from exhaustion. Just as the curse of the third ride seems to claim Hiro, he sees how Zero Two desperately continues on fighting. This stirs Hiro and motivates to come back from the brink of death, purging his tumor and helping defeat the giant Klaxosaur, saving the day once again. Dr. Franxx, who was observing everything, muses that Hiro may finally be able to give Zero Two what she has always wanted, though Zero Two bitterly replies that she has to kill more Klaxosaurs in order to obtain it.
With the first six episodes out of the way, we tend to get out of the "squad 13 fights together against giant Klaxosaurs to save the day" formula and more into the "slice of life" stuff where I believed this anime was at its strength.
We get our token "beach episode" as Squad 13 is rewarded with some time off for their heroics. Zero Two also officially joins Squad 13. They have their outing at the beach and everyone observes how physically intimate Zero Two is with Hiro. The guys pull Hiro aside and ask him what the deal is about "love" and "kissing" as Zero Two always talks about it, especially around Hiro. The squad then stumbles upon the ruins of an old town from around the time modern civilization collapsed. This confused the squad (except for Zero Two) as they had always thought civilization had existed in the plantations. Zero Two then explains that humanity lived on the surface of the Earth prior to the Klaxosaurs. Overall it seems that Zero Two shockingly knows a lot about the world while the rest of the squad knows very little, but then again they were bred to be just Franxx pilots and nothing more. Literally. During the exploration, Kokoro finds a book about babies (something that will become relevant later on). Ichigo and Hiro then go for a semi-romantic walk on the beach at night as Ichigo almost confesses her love to Hiro, but the shooting stars cut her confession short.
We then get into some shenanigans between the boy and girl members of the squad as they have a falling out after the girl's get their uniforms destroyed by Klaxosaur acid during a battle. Miku puts forth the idea that the boys and girls should live separately and eventually the girls run with the idea, splitting their dorm in half with there being a boy's and girl's side. During the feud, Kokoro bumps into Mitsuru and tries to connect with him, but he generally brushes her off. After some juvenile back and forth trolling, Zero Two steps in and epically pranks both sides which leads to the situation getting a little out of control and the adults needing to step in. Miku runs off to a sealed part of the dorm and comes across the old bunkbeds of the last squad 13 who were presumably killed in battle a long time ago. The gravity of the situation hits them and the boys and girls make up, ending the great gender feud.
Squad 13 is then tasked yet again with taking on a giant Klaxosaur that threatens the plantation. They take on the Klaxosaur, but Ichigo and Goro are caught by it. Goro ejects Ichigo to safety and becomes trapped within the Klaxosaur as he weighs his options. We also get into Goro's backstory, in which he had been friends with Hiro and Ichigo since they were kids. Goro wished to be alone and often fought with the other kids (and by the looks of things, routinely got his ass kicked). That was when he met Ichigo who offered to team up and stand by his side. Since then Goro had indeed developed feelings for Ichigo and has watched from the sidelines as she hopelessly pursued Hiro. Goro then resolves that in order to destroy the Klaxosaur, he needs to self-destruct his Franxx. He implies his plan to the rest of squad 13, who rush in to try to save him. Ichigo convinces her squad to bring her along and is able to get into the Klaxosaur, swimming through its blood to reach Goro and get into the Franxx, forcing Goro to turn off the self-destruct sequence. Goro and Ichigo are able to pilot their Franxx out of the Klaxosaur and jettison the spare energy tanks, exploding the Klaxosaur. In the aftermath, Goro confesses to Ichigo, who doesn't know how to take his confession. Goro plays it cool and says he doesn't expect an answer right away.
Following Squad 13's repeated victories, The Seven Sages (the people who run human society from their space station in Earth's upper atmosphere who we've seen occasionally throughout the anime scheming and plotting, led by a figure called "Papa"), decide to award them again by allowing them into the city to be given medals. This is a huge honor for them as the city is off limits to them. The squad takes their trip into the city, get their medals from one of the adults representing the sages. After the ceremony, the girls convince Nana to let them walk around for a bit, and the city is largely a ghost town. Zorome wanders off on his own and runs into an adult who recovers him after he falls off a building. Zorome seems to recognize the old woman in some way and she gets a glimpse into the life that he and his other squadmates have always fantasized about, and it's not quite what he was expecting. For a character that you're not supposed to like at first, this episode did a good job in giving him some character development as he reflects on his life and his partnership with Miku. The woman also implies that Zorome and the others won't ever grow to be adults. One of the creepiest things about the episode was that the woman's partner and her never interact "because their no need to", and that to experience emotions like happiness, they put themselves in this tanning bed like device. That weirded me out for whatever reason (though it is a shockingly accurate portrayal of adulthood. I kid, I kid). The authorities arrive to pick up Zorome and they suspiciously treat him like he has the black death and the experience fades from Zorome's mind over time.
In Squad 13's next mission, Mitsuru gets his turn in the spotlight as the anime begins to shine light on his character and why he's so moody and seems to have it out for Hiro. During their mission to safeguard a base, Mitsuru passes out, which breaks his connection with Ikuno and requiring the rest of the squad to save them. His condition is partly attributed to his past traumatic ride with Zero Two and the side effects of a surgery he had underwent when he was a child to boost his prospects of being a more capable parasite. We get Mitsuru's backstory in which he was the total opposite of the brooding and anti-social character we've come to know, but he was actually quite social and even nice. He idolized Hiro (like fanboyed over him, hard) and he made a promise with Hiro that they would ride together when they were older and Mitsuru did the surgery in hopes of being better compatible despite its low survival rate. After Mitsuru came out of the surgery, Hiro had apparently forgotten their promise which shattered Mitsuru's worldview on him and slowly turned him bitter and anti-social. In keeping with the theme of broken promises in this particular episode, due to Mitsuru's increasing issues with Ikuno, Nana proposes a partner switch. Kokoro, the sweet bubbly pretty girl who is paired with Futoshi, also a sweet bubbly, but a chubby guy, decides to go back on her promise to always be with Futoshi and go with bad boy Mitsuru, which breaks poor Futoshi's heart (it's an evil world we live in man!). This was a bit surprising as I always considered Futoshi and Kokoro to be a good pair together (and even seemed to like his attempts at flirting). Also an important plot point that I didn't pay much mind to at the time that ends up becoming relevant later is that Ikuno asks to pair up with Ichigo for a simulated ride, but it is ultimately unsuccessful. Squad 13 does battle with another big Klaxosaur with Futoshi being paired with Ikuno and Kokoro with Mitsuru. While Ikuno and Futoshi seem to get along well enough, Mitsuru has hard time maintaining his connection with Kokoro, so much so that when the pair fail to reach the core of the Klaxosaur, Mitsuru gives up, partly because he's still reeling from his shattered promise with Hiro which is why he has a problem with connecting with his partners. Kokoro gives him a good motivational "get your shit together" speech and tries to pilot their Franxx solo until Mitsuru reconnects, providing the opening to the Klaxosaur core for Strelizia to destroy. Afterwards, Futoshi throws hands with Mitsuru for putting her in danger, but Mitsuru pledges to protect Kokoro, mostly assuaging his feelings. What's a nice touch in the episodes afterwards until they change the intro up, when they show you the partner pairs for each of the Franxx, they update it to show Kokoro with Mitsuru and Ikuno with Futoshi which I thought was a nice touch.
Squad 13 is then sent back to their old home: The Garden, to run some "tests", though it quickly becomes apparent that it's to test Zero Two, who has been noticeably become increasingly moody over the lasts few episodes: going from borderline ignoring Hiro to being all lovey dovey (essentially giving him the toxic girlfriend treatment). While at The Garden, they run into a squad known as "The Nines" who bare a striking similarity to Zero Two. Ironic enough, Zero Two used to be a member of their squad. As it also turns out, their squad leader "Nine Alpha" taunts Squad 13 and talks smack about Zero Two to them. He dangles some juicy information in front of Ichigo about Zero Two, which is shown to later take him up on his offer to hear him out in which he again warns that Zero Two is not to be trusted and is dangerous. Hiro and the others wander the facility in an attempt to locate Naomi, who supposedly survived the Klaxosaur attack in Episode 1 but suspiciously hasn't been heard from since. We then get flashbacks throughout the episode about how Hiro was more of a "free-thinker" and asked questions about the world and why other children would often disappear and never be heard from again as he was growing up, only be shut down and ignored and receiving candies for participating in the adults' various tests that they would preform on him, which only serves to further question the adults' motives and continues to reinforce that we're not seeing the full truth here (which we aren't). A group of Klaxosaurs attack and Squad 13 is sent out to face them. This is when Zero Two, who again has been increasingly unstable over the last few episodes, completely goes off the rails and begins going berzerk attacking the Klaxosaurs as she goes on about the need to kill more of them in order to somehow become human. They defeat the Klaxosaurs and Hiro attempts to ask Zero Two what she was talking about, but she goes back to giving him the cold shoulder. Ichigo learns by eavesdropping on Nana and Hachi that something called the "Saurification" process between Zero Two and Hiro has intensified, meaning Hiro's "yellow blood cell" count which helps determine one's ability to pilot a Franxx (think Midichlorians from Star Wars) has increased to dangerous levels. Another wave of Kalxosaurs attack and Squad 13 is sent out to head them off once more. A rabid Zero Two begins to push further and exert more control on the Franxx, and attacks Hiro when he tries to calm her down as she proclaims that she was using Hiro as a tool to achieve her dream of truly becoming human (ouch! Though in fairness she has also basically said this to Ichigo a few episodes before, by saying whether Hiro ultimately lives up to being her partner is really up to him and she generally seems indifferent towards his fate). However as she tries to devour Hiro (presumably how she has devoured her other partners in the past), some of Hiro's old memories are unlocked and this finally begins to answer some burning questions you may have had up to this point in the show.
As it turns out, Hiro and Zero Two met a long time ago when they were little kids. Both were raised in The Garden. Hiro was a successful test subject of the Parasite program and had become friends with most of his peers, Ichigo and Goro among them. It's revealed that the children were only referred to their code names and Hiro had given everyone's names. We're also shown Hiro's side of his falling out with Mitsuru, in which Hiro did indeed make a promise to pilot a Franxx with him one day. However, Hiro's questions about what happened to certain kids disappearing, certain concepts and questions about the outside world were often shutdown or ignored. One day, Hiro witnesses a red-skinned, horned-headed girl undergoing painful surgeries in a laboratory next to him as he undergoes his tests. This turns out to be Zero Two, and unfortunately these painful and abusive tests administered by Dr. Franxx himself are used to study here astonishing regenerative abilities and are a constant routine for her. Her only source of comfort is a picture book called "The Beast and The Prince", which tells the story of a beast princess desiring to become human to be with her "darling" and one true love, the human prince. A witch grants this request, but with the prophecy that one day the princess's beast tendencies will take over and she will devour her lover. The prophecy mostly comes to pass, but just as the princess goes to devour the prince, she has an epiphany and decides to disappear, never to be found again. We get to see the full story in its picture book form play out in the Hitori outro in Episode 13. Hiro decides to break Zero Two out and they manage to break out of The Garden into the frozen wilderness, taking shelter in a forest. Hiro reads The Beast and The Prince as Zero Two had brought the book along with them, and Zero Two sees a parallel between their situation and the couple in the book and the two of them. Though she doesn't seem to understand English (yes I watched it dubbed), let alone really speak it, but Hiro calls Zero Two his "darling" like the couple does in the book, which makes Zero Two emotional and that is her first spoken word (that we know of). Additionally, Zero Two is wounded during their escape and in an effort to help tend to her wounds, Hiro...licks Zero Two's cut (again they were like like ten if not younger so you can't really fault them for this). Their time together is short-lived as they are later found and captured, with Hiro and Zero Two having their memories wiped, including his promise to Mitsuru about one day riding a Franxx with him. It was nice to get both character's perspectives on this particular matter and the heartbreaking circumstances meaning that neither one of them is at particular fault. This episode was probably one of the best in the whole series: it explains a lot about Zero Two's character, the fact that Hiro ingested Zero Two's blood when he licked her cut means he is now only compatible to ride with her as his compatibility to ride, while initially very good, declined over the years leading to the events of the present time. It was a very nice way to tie everything together and it was certainly an emotional episode.
After seeing Zero Two's side of those memories and coming to realize that Hiro was her "darling" from the time they were kids, she stops trying to kill him but the damage to him as done as the rest of squad 13 separates them. Hiro is hospitalized and Ichigo forbids the two from seeing each other. Pretty much the rest of Squad 13 also turns against Zero Two as they block the two from seeing each other, despite their insistent requests to see each other, and Ichigo tries to get Zero Two off the squad entirely. Eventually the adults decide to transfer Zero Two back to her old squad to the nines. It's also revealed that there's going to be a massive operation taking place that Squad 13 will be involved in, so time is also a factor for Zero Two in her now flailing quest to see Hiro. Eventually, the rest of the squad comes to feel guilty about preventing Hiro and Zero Two from seeing each other, and Ichigo eventually relents and allows the two to talk (provided that they are there as well) to which Zero Two finds amicable. One problem for them though: Hiro decided to break out of his hospital room to try to go see her on his own, so when they bring Zero Two to Hiro's hospital room...well...she doesn't take it too well. When Hiro races back once he realizes Zero Two probably went looking for him, he finds Zero Two choking out Ichigo with the rest of the squad beat up. Hiro calls Zero Two a monster which seems to end their relationship as she goes back to ignoring him and leaves the squad. Hiro, visibly heartbroken, goes to talk to her one more time but is held back by Ichigo, who kisses him and confesses her own feelings for him finally, though Hiro doesn't seem to feel the same way (ouch...).
Without a partner to ride with, Hiro stays behind as Squad 13 partakes in an operation to assault a place called "The Grand Crevasse" where a large number of Klaxosaurs are living. Zero Two operates Strelizia alone and operates as something as a berserker. Thanks to Squad 13's efforts as well as The Nines pulling off some MVP-level stuff, they're able to make headway against the seemingly endless horde of Klaxosaurs until a giant Klaxosaur arrives and annihilates planation 26. Squad 26 somewhat reluctantly make a suicide charge against the monster on Papa's orders, but fail to stop the Klaxosaur. The Klaxosaur makes it ways to Planation 13 and floods the interior with smaller Klaxosaurs that Squad 13 and Strelizia goes in to fight against. Things seem pretty bleak until Hiro arrives in a training Franxx. Ichigo, forcing her feelings aside, helps Hiro reach Zero Two to save her when she gets swamped by Klaxosaurs. Hiro makes his way to Zero Two and climbs into the cockpit and fits a feral Zero on the brink of full on insanity due to the stress of piloting a Franxx alone. Hiro and Zero Two have their heart to heart and confess their feelings for each other in a powerful and emotional scene, allowing them to power up their Franxx and defeat the Klaxosaur. They also break the door way into the Grand Crevasse with an assist from The Nines. However, the cores from the giant Klaxosaur are still active and explode, effectively destroying planation 13. A giant hand then emerges from the Grand Crevasse and collects the cores, saving squad 13.
From this point onward, things continue to get increasingly interesting as the backstory for several characters and lore for the world are revealed to us.
Following the battle of the Grand Crevease, squad 13 is mysteriously left to fend for themselves in the ruins of planation 13 as their adult handlers cease contact with them aside from the weekly supply drop. Unknown to them, this is essentially a social experiment being conducted by Dr. Franxx to see how the parasites would handle themselves. As squad 13 begins to adapt to their new circumstances, despite some hardships and emotional moments (such as Futoshi forcing himself not eat, among other times the characters butt heads with each other), squad 13 is able to do pretty well for themselves and thrive together. Zero Two, now more calm and bubbly, reveals to Hiro that she's re-creating the picture book that they read together when they were kids with the intent of making her own ending. Astonishingly, Zero Two is able to perfectly re-create the pictures. However all the happiness does seem to be endanger as sinister forces continue to lurk beyond the ruins of the plantation.
It's revealed that much like Zero Two, Hiro has slowly begun growing horns of his own (though they are blue). Only Goro seems to know about this and Hiro convinces him to keep quiet. Meanwhile, Kokoro decides to rizz up Mitsuru as the two spend more time together, such as Kokoro giving him haircuts and other things. After reading that baby book that she had gotten from the ruins of the old city during the beach episode, she tries to literally have sex with Mitsuru after one of their haircut sessions (it's always the quiet and nice girls that are the biggest freaks, ain't it?), but they are stopped by Zorome, who asks them if they're "going to put their bodies together". Kokoro eventually realizes that she's in love with Mitsuru. The Nines then pay squad 13 a visit to check up on them, and they discover Kokoro's book, which is considered to be "forbidden knowledge" (no sex in this christian minecraft server!). Kokoro then puts forth the idea that maybe they're not actually creations of Papa and were created naturally (and whether or not they're lab-grown or were born naturally is never clearly answered from what I can remember through my watch and further research). Kokoro suggests that there's more to life than fighting the Klaxosaurs and it's up to them to continue on their species by bearing the next generation. Kokoro is disciplined by Hachi and Nana for having illegal material, but Nana collapses which Nine Alpha believes is caused by her "regressing into puberty" (apparently that's a thing in this universe and it's bad for the characters in this instance). The social experiment ends and contact resumes as normal between squad 13 and the adults. Meanwhile, two of the seven sages goes to meet with the Klaxosaur princess to demand her surrender, but she kills them and suspiciously calls them "human wannabees". The Sages also reveal in their usual scheming sessions that their mysterious new super weapon is near completion. Nina Alpha goes to report on what happened with Squad 13 as Kokoro and Mitsuru hook up (yep, they did it.)
Squad 13 then learns that they're going to be moved to a new facility with the remaining parasites. Kokoro and Mitsuru decide that they want to get married and everyone decides to hold a little ceremony before they go. I have to hand it to Futoshi, though he's clearly hurt by seeing his old crush getting married with another guy (been there, done that), he's able to put his emotions aside and even officiates it. A big reveal in this episode is that Ikuno is actually a lesbian and tries to put a move on Ichigo (won't lie, that scene was kind of hot). Though Ichigo doesn't swing that way, she nevertheless comforts Ikuno who was clearly conflicted about coming out to her and makes her feel accepted. Mitsuru and Kokoro have their ceremony, and right before the big kiss The Nines crash the wedding and take them into custody, whisking them away. Squad 13 gets transferred to their new facility and are assigned to a new nana. Mitsuru and Kokoro reunite with them, but have no recollection of what had happened, leading Hiro and Zero Two along with everyone else to conclude that they got their memories wiped. Meanwhile, Hachi visits Nana who is in some kind of rehab, and its revealed that they were both former Franxx pilots.
Squad 13 goes to complain to Papa and the other sages about their wiping of Mitsuru and Kokoro's memories, but Papa justifies it saying it was necessary to defeat the Klaxosaurs as they can't afford to be distracted. Once they realize that they'll never get to be adults, squad 13 impressively puts their foot down and say they're only doing this one last mission (which is supposedly to defeat the Klaxosaurs once and for all) and that afterwards they will no longer serve them. Surprisingly, Papa seems to allow this (though in all actuality, I would've expected him to try to kill them off as they had outlived their usefulness by that point). We then get Dr. Franxx's backstory in which he was hired by APE (the organization that governs humanity and is run by the Seven Sages) to research immortality back when he was Werner Frank, a scientist with a...questionable track record to say the least. He was able to successfully discover the secret to immortality through the use of magma energy found underneath the surface of the Earth. However there were two big costs: becoming immortal made humanity lose their reproductive functions and the mining of magma energy caused the appearance of the Klaxosaurs who laid waste to humanity and caused humanity to hide in these mobile domes called plantations. To combat them, Dr. Franxx developed the mech walkers that we know as Franxxs, but the early trials were not too kind to him, as his fiancé was killed during one of the tests. Eventually, they figured out that since the walkers ran on magma energy, they needed two people to pilot and they figured out they best operated with male-female pairs. As it turns out, this has to do with the origins of the Klaxosaurs which we'll cover in a little bit. Dr. Franxx was later sent on an expedition to meet the Klaxosaur princess, and lost his arm as punishment for killing her Klaxosaurs. However, she managed to collect a stand of her hair which he was able to extract her DNA to create Zero Two and the nines, who're essentially clones of Zero Two, who is a clone of the Klaxosaur Princess (still following me?).
The stage for the final battle between humanity and the Klaxosaurs is set, with Hiro and Zero Two being tasked with gaining control of a special weapon known as the "Star Entity" which is stored inside the Grand Crevasse. Kokoro tries to partner with Futoshi again, but he refuses and forces her to partner with Mitsuru in hopes that they perhaps regain their lost memories. Interestingly, for a while they didn't take off the crude rings they had made for each other so the story certainly suggests that there's still potential for this ship to get back on course. During the battle, they're both stricken with pain when they say each other's names. Dr. Franxx and Hachi accompany Hiro and Zero Two to Star Entity. The Klaxosaur Princess makes a grand appearance during the battle and hijacks Strelizia by throwing out Zero Two and syncing up with Hiro, who takes him to Star Entity where the Klaxosaur Princess takes control of it. It's here we learn about the origins of the Klaxosaurs: millions of years ago, they were the dominant species of Earth and had more human like appearances. They were approached by Virm to join their collective hive mind but refused, and thus started the great Virm-Klaxosaur war. Klaxosaurs who were strong transformed themselves into the fighting beasts that we have seen throughout the show, while those who were not as strong converted themselves into magma energy through a bond with a partner which fueled these war machines. If you remember earlier in the anime after one of the battles, you might've noticed that there was an odd human like figure left in the remains of one of the klaxosaurs. This is exactly why, because the magma energy is quite literally the klaxosaurs. Because the bond is intimate and involves a deep connection, it's sort of similar to actual sex, so hence the reason for the...cockpit layout...and why they're operated in boy-girl duos (this isn't exactly outright said but you can put two and two together and draw that conclusion).
For a lot of critics of the anime, this is the moment when things went off the rails as the anime begins to drastically shift gears...
Upon syncing up with Star Entity, a massive armada of alien ships emerges, and the Klaxosaurs stop fighting the humans and begin battling the aliens. Papa and a couple of the other sages reveal that they're actually an alien species called "Virm" that had attacked Earth during the time the Klaxosaurs were the dominant species on Earth for their refusal to join their collective hive mind, and had wanted to use humanity to destroy the Klaxosaurs for them. Papa and the alien sages kill the two human sages. Fearing that the princess would gain control of Star Entity, Papa activates a self-destruct mechanism that would destroy all life on Earth. A lot of parasites, such as Zorome, that had remained relatively loyal to Papa and the Nines who were by far the most obedient to him, are left conflicted by these turn of events. However, Nine Alpha chooses his side once he sees two of his comrades slain by Virm as they deploy their own beasts to join the battle. Hiro and the Klaxosaur Princess use their connection to stall the self-destruct, but Hiro is slowly being consumed by the Klaxosaur Princess. Dr. Franxx rescues a wounded Zero Two and tells her that she and the nines were cloned from the Klaxosaur Princess. With the help of Dr. Franxx, Hachi and the rest of squad 13 (with Ikuno briefly having to take full control of her Klaxosaur to blast through debris, turning her black hair to white), Zero Two reaches Strelizia and then reunites with Hiro, freeing him from the Klaxosaur Princess and stopping the self-destruct countdown. Trusting Earth's fate to them, The Klaxosaur Princess gives Zero Two and Hiro her powers, and Strelizia merges with Star Entity, transforming Strelizia into Strelizia Apus and drives Virm's forces of the planet. Dr. Franxx marvels at his creation just before he is crushed to death by the rubble caused by the transformation. Virm retreats into space and the Klaxosaurs launch their own ships to go after them. Hiro then finds Zero Two to be physically unresponsive.
As the Klaxosaurs go into space, they take Strelizia Apus with them. All that remains of humanity are the surviving parasites from various plantations. Zero Two is left in a catatonic state and receives various mysterious wounds throughout her body. Squad 13 leads the effort for humanity's survivor as they try to cultivate the soil which had been barren for over a century. Hachi brings the original Nana back and they locate a facility where the discarded parasites, including Naomi (which I was surprised, I thought they were lying about her being alive), who are being contained in cryostasis. They come across a message left by the now late Dr. Franxx asking them to take care of the former parasites, and the two commit themselves to looking after them. Meanwhile, Kokoro is revealed to be pregnant with Mitsuru's child (first indication of this was when she came back and would have meals with the squad, she would be nauseous and vomit and this has happened several times before this reveal. Mitsuru really didn't pull out here). Upon this revelation, despite having forgotten their past memories, Mitsuru begins to develop feelings for Kokoro again.
As Squad 13 busts their ass working in the fields (with Ichigo literally fainting from overexertion at one point) and trying to help humanity survive, Hiro constantly tends to Zero Two, which causes friction between Hiro and Goro. Hiro then realizes that Zero Two's mind is up in space and fighting Virm with the Klaxosaurs. Hiro tells his squad he wants to leave for space, but Goro punches him and causes him out for being selfish while Ichigo looks heartbroken all over again. Eventually they come together and the squad agrees to help Hiro get back to Zero Two one last time. The surviving Nines agree to help as well, but Mitsuru and Kokoro decide to stay behind for the sake of their unborn child and to have someone watch over Zero Two's body.
As their friends venture off into space, Mitsuru tries to get back with Kokoro, and though initially unsuccessful he is able to convince her that they share a bond through their unborn child despite having lost their memories. They get back together and Kokoro eventually has the child.
Squad 13, The Nines, Hachi and Nana then go to space to join the epic battle raging between the Virm and Klaxosaur armadas over Mars (for some reason, guess it had to be somewhere in fairness). Hiro partners up with Nine Alpha to reach Strelizia Apus in their Franxx while Squad 13 covers for them (Given all the sex imagery in this show, I found it personally funny that Nine Alpha admits that he can be a pistil or stamen, so he literally is a switch But wait, since piloting is also akin to sex, does this mean Hiro is also bi?). Nine Alpha successfully gets Hiro to Zero Two by sacrificing himself. Papa tries to get humanity to surrender by offering "peace and tranquility" but Hachi and Nana refuse. The vessel that they are on is then attacked, with Hachi losing one of his eyes shielding Nana to protect her. Despite Hachi insisting Nana to leave him, they're able to board another ship to safety.
Hiro reunites with Zero Two's consciousness and they agree to fight together one last time. This unlocks the final form of Strelizia: Strelizia True Apus (great name!) which is really just Zero Two's face on Strelizia (it does look goofy). Together they wipe out the Virm fleet and summon a warp gate that will take them to the Virm homeworld. Hiro and Zero Two carry a massive planet-destroying bomb with them made by the Klaxosaurs. Despite the emotional pleas from squad 13, Hiro and Zero Two vow to return to Earth someday as they bid their friends farewell and pass through the warp gate. Back on Earth, Zero Two's body becomes a stone statue.
In the final episode, there's a few time skips that happen. As Hiro and Zero Two drift through space towards the Virm homeworld, squad 13 returns to Earth to rebuild humanity. Kokoro has her baby which she and Mitsuru name Ai. The missing parasites return, and Goro sets out on an adventure to explore the Earth and locate any other missing parasites. Before he leaves he pulls an epic chad move and kisses Ichigo.
The first time skip, which is flash forward 2 years, Hiro and Zero Two have been drifting through space alone together which is what they always wanted. During this time, Hiro has taken on the appearance similar to that of Zero Two, with horns and blue sclera. They finally reach the Virm homeworld where their connection is interrupted by Virm, who launch a swarm of enemies in a last ditch attempt to stop Hiro and Zero Two. Back on Earth, Ai is hanging around Zero Two's statue where she mutters her first word "Darling". Kokoro and Mitsuru realize that there's no way she should know that word and the rest of humanity gathers around the statue to pray for their success. Their prayers reach Hiro which allows him to reconnect with Zero Two, and they're able to fight through the Virm swarm and destroy the Virm planet, though at the cost of their own lives as well. So quite literally, through the power of friendship, allows two horny teens to commit mass genocide. I honestly kinda found that funny, but regardless...despite the Virm planet being destroyed, Papa, who has no physical form, survives and vows to one day return for vengeance as Hiro and Zero Two's souls wander through space back towards Earth, vowing to always be together. Back on Earth, Zero Two's statue crumbles to ash and a cherry blossom tree begins to grow where she stood.
Back on Earth, the Klaxosaurs return to Earth's underground which restores the planet's nature and energy, allowing humanity to properly thrive. 8 years later, humanity has made significant progress and squad 13 is in their mid/late 20's and doing very well for themselves: Ichigo and Goro get together, which Ichigo pregnant with their child. Zorome and Miku presumably got married and became teachers. Mitsuru and Kokoro on their fourth child. Futoshi ended up marrying an unnamed girl and has a family of his own. Ikuno ends up with Naomi. It's also revealed that Ikuno undid the accelerated aging process on the parasites, allowing them age naturally. However, Ikuno did not do this on herself and is shown to be rather old and frail as she's confined to a hospital bed. The former squad 13 members reunite by a cherry blossom tree, remembering Hiro and Zero Two and the sacrifice they made so that they can live a normal, happy life. We then see Hiro's and Zero Two's souls drifting towards Earth together, fulfilling their promise to return one day.
In the final scene, a considerable amount of time later (according to the lore, a thousand years pass), we're shown that society has advanced quite a lot and the cherry blossom tree where Zero Two once stood has grown to be quite large. A reincarnation of Zero Two stumbles over one of the roots and meets a reincarnation of Hiro, with the final shot of them introducing themselves to each other.
*Whew*, that was a lot. Kudos if you read all that. It took me a while to write all that.
Alright...time to talk about the characters! Given that it's a sizeable cast, I'm just going to stick to talking about the main cast, which is Squad 13.
Hiro: I thought he was a decent MC and he got a lot of good character development. We first met him when he was a depressed and hopeless hot mess but he later grew into someone that had self-confidence and a skilled pilot thanks to Zero Two. Though he always meant well, his actions often came across as exclusively prioritizing Zero Two. I'm not saying he never cared about his squad mates, he definitely cared about them, but there was a point that it definitely felt like he was always putting Zero Two first, sometimes at the expense of others like Ichigo and Goro. He's not a perfect person, and he did sacrifice himself with the goal in mind of also ensuring his friends' survival, but he also did it to be with Zero Two. Overall, I thought they handled his character arc well. He had good chemistry with Zero Two and they had a lot of sweet and heart-felt moments together.
Zero Two: She was a very fun character to watch on-screen! Initially she was a wild and volatile character and has a lot of hilarious moments like licking Ichigo, being openly flirtatious with Hiro in front of everyone, and just having a larger-than-life personality, it made for a lot of great moments in the show. However, she's also a character I'd personally never want to piss off, when she gets angry she gets crazy. Early on, I did question her motives and I was wondering what her interest was in Hiro. While she seemed attracted to him to some degree early in the anime, it pretty much gets confirmed when Ichigo confronts Zero Two that she didn't really seem to care whether he died or not. While she seemed to have been hoping that Hiro would live and enjoyed riding with him, she wasn't exactly holding her breathe for it either. Towards the middle of the show leading up to Episode 13, she slowly becomes more violent and would go back and forth with showering Hiro with affection to just blatantly ignoring him. She was really pulling the toxic gf routine on him and didn't really snap out of it until she realized that Hiro was the boy who rescued her when they were little. After she lost her mind again when she thought Ichigo and the others were deceiving her, when she was confronted by Hiro who called her a monster, it was obvious that she was hurt by it. While she was certainly remorseful, she did seem like she was willing to swallow the bitter pill and move on with her quest to become "human". Once she reconciled with Hiro, she adopted a more wholesome and calm personality. So emotionally, she was definitely all over the place. By the end of the show, kind of like how Hiro did for her, she only really seemed to care for Hiro, but she had come to accept and befriend the rest of squad 13. Zero Two's character arc was handled well for the most part but I'll admit I enjoyed her wild side in the beginning than her docile side at the end. After the two reconciled, she didn't feel as interesting as a character anymore. However, she's definitely a character I'll remember for a while.
Ichigo: If there's one hot take I have about this anime is that Ichigo is best girl. It may be because I'm a sucker for the "childhood friend" trope, but honestly, she got did dirty a lot in this anime. Though in the end, things did work out for her. She always there for Hiro and always believed in him. Even if her actions were questionable and morally wrong at times: such as preventing Zero Two and Hiro from seeing each other, as well as her general dislike towards Zero Two, and times where she put her feelings for Hiro first rather than the greater good, her actions are certainly understandable. Objectively she may have not been the best fit for a squad leader given her emotional instability, but she did her best in holding the group together and came in clutch with getting Hiro and Zero Two back together which saved everyone's collective necks on several occasions. She may be guided by her own feelings too much for her own good but she is someone who'll always try to do the right thing at the end of the day, and she did sacrifice her feelings to allow Hiro and Zero Two to be together because she also knew they were happy together. It's tough for someone to do that, and I can certainly relate to that all too well. I am happy she got with Goro though, those two were a good match for each other too.
Goro: I liked him! He was certainly a nice guy, and for once, a nice guy didn't finish last! I'd also have to say if I had to personally pick who squad 13's leader should be, it'd probably be him. He was always grounded and reasonable, and was able to keep his emotions in check (mostly) as he had to watch Ichigo try to go for Hiro. That's a hard thing to do. I was surprised that they didn't kill him off when he was trapped alone inside the Klaxosaur, there were a million death flags for him in that episode. Granted the anime did not kill off too many characters, and if they did kill off Goro, it certainly would've made for an emotional scene. But I'm also glad they didn't kill him off as then Ichigo would either have to marry a random, unnamed npc or stay single.
Zorome: Initially I thought he was a bit of a punk, but overtime I came to respect him. He was billed as Hiro's rival as he always clashed with him, but once Hiro fully realized his piloting abilities, the two put aside their differences and started getting along. He also did get an episode to himself and he got some decent character development out of it. While he generally plays the role of a side character for the rest of the show onward, he did have plenty of good and funny moments. He's definitely a perfect match for Miku and I wasn't surprised that they got together considering they often argued like an old married couple.
Mitsuru: Initially I didn't have a strong opinion on him one way or the other since he usually just kept to himself and brooded in a dark corner, but they gave him a lot of character development through Hiro and Kokoro and I came to like him. He had an understandable backstory and his dislike of Hiro was understandable. It is a slight shame that we didn't get to see him pilot a Franxx with Hiro, it would've been nice to see that promise cashed in, but if he had taken the role of Nine Alpha and died, well, Ai would have to grow up without a father which would've been sad. He did make the right choice staying behind for Kokoro. Early on I never would've expected him to end up with Kokoro, he honestly did seem like a fine match for the equally brooding character, Ikuno, but this was a pleasant surprise.
Kokoro: Though she didn't really get an episode to herself per se, she did get a lot of screentime towards the end. I was surprised that she ditched Futoshi and I never understood why she wanted to go for Mitsuru, but she's sweet, bubbly and kind, so opposites really do attract here. Overall I liked her character and she was able to get Mitsuru out of his shell and to become a better person as a result. I also wouldn't have been expecting her to be the one to have pushed the idea of marriage and having kids (would've expected that to be Ichigo or Zero Two given their attraction to Hiro, but I digress), but she played an important role in the anime and I think they handled her well.
Ikuno: Overall I felt like she didn't get a whole lot of screentime, and when it seemed like each of the side characters were getting an episode mostly to themselves (Zorome and Goro had each gotten one), she didn't get that kind of development. Her big scene was when she came out to Ichigo and tried to put the moves on her, which explains why she couldn't connect with Mitsuru and they did foreshadow this when she wanted to try to connect with Ichigo. That was a certainly a powerful and emotionally charged moment in the show and it was pretty sudden too, which made it memorable. I wished they explored her character some more but they did well with her in the times she was involved.
Miku: Kid of like Ikuno here: she didn't get any real kind of development, but she definitely had more of a presence due to her blunt and outspoken nature. She's definitely a perfect fit for Zorome and she had a lot of good and funny moments in the show in her own right. When Zero Two wasn't starting drama, it was usually her. In fact she was the driving force behind the whole "Boys Vs Girls" war early on in the anime. I wish she got an episode focused on her but she was involved enough in the show as a side character.
Futoshi: I liked him. He was the sweet, funny fat guy. It sucks that Kokoro ditched him though, I felt for him in that moment. Much like Miku and Ikuno, he didn't get a whole lot of character development and was pretty much their for comic relief. He did have an emotional moment with Zorome when he got called out by him for not eating, but otherwise his character kind of felt left out too.
Honorable mentions: I generally liked Nana and Hachi, I think they played their roles well as supporting characters. Dr. Franxx was certainly a sympathetic character but he definitely did a lot of horrible things as well through his experiments, so I personally have mixed feelings on him as a person but his role in the story was fine. Nine Alpha was a douche but he at least died with some dignity. I figured that Papa was going to be the final villain and I was somewhat thinking he was going to be an alien but they never really dived into his motivations or backstory beyond the surface level. Klaxosaur Princess was cool but she wasn't on screen for too long and I wish she did more.
When I was going into Darling In The Franxx, I wasn't sure what to expect and I understood that the anime had a divisive reputation. I went in with an open mind, and I honestly enjoyed my time watching it. It's understandable why people didn't like it and I can see that this isn't an anime just anyone would enjoy, especially with its horniness. There are parts that are goofy and towards the end they certainly make some leaps in the story that you have to try to go with. That being said, while there were some goofy moments like with the whole "strelizia true apus" and "the power of friendship conquerors all" moment at the end. There were also times that I thought the Hiro-Zero Two relationship was getting a bit ridiculous and wondered why they'd still want to be together early on and in the middle of the anime, but I thought it was a fine and enjoyable story. I also really liked how they weaved plot points from early on in the show and how they become relevant at the end, it's a show you really have to pay attention to and I've watched anime long enough to where I can pick up on most of these kinds of subtleties.
I personally did not mind the story shifting from fighting these alien robots to actual aliens in space, though there were aspects that were ridiculous or didn't make sense (like why would Virm have a warpgate above Mars which takes them to a place that's 2 years away from their planet?). I know it was a turn-off for a lot of the show's critics, but I felt that it progressed at a relatively natural pace to get there. For starters, Papa and the other sages always seemed distant from the rest of humanity. They wore these mysterious masks, always schemed and plotted, and with how they viewed the parasites as tools for the Klaxosaurs's destruction, I figured that Papa would've been the final boss of the show and that squad 13 would have to defeat them. I didn't trust those guys for a second. There was also the comment that the Klaxosaur Princess made when she killed two of the Sages and literally called them "human wannabees". That's a pretty big indicator that there's something more going on here. I did not find it all that surprising that they were aliens. I also suspected that the Klaxosaurs and Franxx had some human connection, though early on I was thinking that humanity had created the Klaxosaurs and this was a Terminator-style situation (which I guess to a point I was right about).
In terms of the ending, I think the ending and its final moments itself was handled fine. I expected Zero Two to die but I was 50-50 on Hiro until the second version of the intro soft spoiled it for me. I think them always being together in life, death and reincarnation was fitting for their characters and very sweet, the other squad 13 members getting together or with others was a nice touch and how they helped humanity recover after being brought to the brink of extinction was fine. Though it did make Virm's threat seem empty as its really never addressed what happens to them after their planet gets destroyed.
My personal takeaway on Darling In The Franxx is that it's an enjoyable and fun anime to watch. It has a deep and interesting plot, and though it gets a little weird at times, it's still a fun show that you can get invested in. I think that's also a commentary on human relationships itself, which is what I think the anime itself is all about in examining the complexities of romance and friendships.
I'm glad I gave this anime a chance and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would've! I'd personally rank this just outside my top 10. Initially I gave this a 9, but after reviewing some stuff, I think an 8 is a more appropriate rating for the show. I truly enjoyed it but there are some goofy aspects that can take you out of it and some stuff that really doesn't make sense. But it is what it is.
