Category: Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction

Today on Darling in the Franxx, Hiro gets laid. Truth be told I have been trying to get my thoughts together on just what I think about this show. As far as general consensus goes it’s been rather passable. Decent entertainment with some impressive animation and a plot which is predictable but nonetheless satisfactory. These past two episodes really have dialed back on the fanservice as well as the sex jokes and general nudity are less prominent. They are still there of course what with Zero Two’s suggestive “You wanna ride me, Huh?” to Hiro’s “I feel myself going deeper inside you” but it’s on a level with can at least allow you to take the plot seriously. Though as I previously state, I am not all that interested in the plot of Franxx. For one the organisation seem both stereotypical and stupid as they refuse to test out Hiro and Zero Two’s compatibility again and instead dismiss it as a fluke based on two tests where they made them ride with different pilots. Content just to throw Zero Two on to the front lines with her going through pilots like lunchtime meals. It is a question just why they brought Zero Two to the plantation in the first place and i can’t help but feel some plot contrivance in this situation with how dramatic they made these twos first real fight together. I even much question just why it was that Hiro lost his memory of the first time piloting with her when here he had no trouble at all remembering. Could be a future twist as they are already hinting that Hiro also can only ride with Zero Two a certain amount of times before he’s killed as well.

This episode was mainly animated by trigger which does explain some choppy moments during the fight scene and also why the fight scene had a lot more impact. Not to say the A-1 animation team where doing a bad job, if anything this are on par but Trigger just seems to have mastered the art of dailing things up to eleven and getting the viewer pumped. So plot wise this was essentially a confession episode as Hiro admitted that he wants to ride Zero Two not for the sake of humanity or anything grand but rather because he enjoys piloting with her and only her. There may have been some manipulation on Zero Two’s part to get to this but it does seem that she was feeling uncertain because she thought that Hiro was getting scared by the rumors and the fact that she has klaxosaur blood. Again it’s decent writing but it just feels oh so very predictable. Trigger works aren’t exactly known for their writing as the stories are generally simple and follow formula but generally the impact of the show is enough to brush aside it’s predictability and there are often elements of intrigue thrown in or at least things to speculate on.

But like i said, the organization is boring, I don’t care what they are planning because they are a faceless personality lacking entity which is clearly up to no good. It’s pretty clear that Hiro and the others were genetically engineered to fight and there is a distinct lack of actual people in this world with the only evidence of their existence an empty yellow city in the plantations depths. klaxosaur we know next to nothing about other than them being the main threat in this world.Other than that there isn’t much to speculate on here and we are basically dragged along in a fight where we do not know the stakes nor the goal. The only thing that keeps these fights from being flashy fodder is the character dynamics. The characters do show potential for grown, for one Mitsuru’s partner not only didn’t break down but actually stepped up to support him after his embarrassing ride with Zero Two. Ichigo is playing the role of the responsible leader but it’s clear there is tension between her and Zero Two over Hiro. The smug mech smile of Zero Two’s as she passed Ichigo was quite telling. The development of the team is going to have to be a big thing as at this rate they will be playing second fiddle to Strelizia so it could be quite entertaining to see they each step up to the challenge.

Today on relationship symbolism with Darling in the Franxx, NTR. Well jokes aside this episode was easier to take seriously as there were less sex jokes and more drama. Not quite certain what to make of it as I still find the robots a bit too silly to take seriously and overall the plot is just fine if a bit predictable. For example, we knew exactly what was going to happen when Mitsuru decided to control the Franxx with Zero Two. It was obvious from the word go that this was to prove that Hiro was the only one who can handle her in a cockpit. Same with the newbie robot pilots going out on their first missions, obviously something was going to go wrong which would push for Hiro and Zero Two to be sent out. It’s understandable why they are taking the story this way but rather annoying when the reasons for doing so seem rather forced. For example, there is no reason whatsoever for command to be reluctant to send out Hiro wit Zero Two. Not even to fight but just for a test run would be good enough as he’s already proven that he can handle her and the only reason he’s getting shafted is due to him not being an official pilot. But it just seems so arbitrary when they are willing to send out a rookie with her despite Hiro having proven combat experience with her.

Point is that we all know that Hiro’s going to end out piloting with Zero Two and these events are just delaying the inevitable fact. Though this delay does give us some perspective from the other pilots in which it seems that Hiro was originally the golden boy who happened to give them all their names. But after Hiro ended up not being able to handle a robot he was tossed aside but still given special treatment despite his failures. So the other pilots, at least Zorome and Mitsuru appear to resent him for that. They place their hopes on him and he ended up disappointing. Though in Mitsuru’s case it appears he has a bit of an complex due to being stuck with Ikuno and his performance being shaky. The obvious factor is likely due to Ikuno feeling like the a weak link and the two not really having much of a connection. Very much like a couple that were pushed into an awkward relationship. It seems obvious that performance is based on how well the two pilots get along with each other and can be shaken when one loses trust in the other.

So Mitsuru’s performance is going to take a nosedive because of him openly revealing that he does believe that Ikuno is the reason behind their lacking performance and confirming her insecurities. If that’s the case there relationship could take a rather sour turn. On the upside Zorome seems to be growing more attached to Miku and easing up on the cocky little shit act which is promising. Though Ichigo looked to be having some backlash due to her failure with Hiro. I feel sorry for Goro in this situation as it looks like he’s the third wheel and is fully aware of it. I also wonder what is going on with this strange letterboxing in certain scenes. Is it to make it seem more cinematic or place extra emphasis on what is being said in this scene?

As it stands now, this is essentially an animated version of a double entendre. Each line is laced with a double meaning so heavy that you can postface lines with the words “That’s what she said.” and it would fit perfectly. I find my stance on this to be rather mixed as while the fanservice is ridiculously blatant what with it’s robots piloted by ass controls and changing room boob groping, it feels like the show itself recognises just how silly it all is. Let me put it this way, shows like Cross Ange present their fanservice with a straight face as it has the age old cliches we all know and hate while Franxx seems to be having fun in acknowledging its own absurdity. I honestly chuckled when one of the pilot said upon starting his machine “Did I do it right? I didn’t suck?” and having his partner reassure him that he did fine. Still while this playfulness is rather comical, it does conflict with the serious plot the story appears to be trying to present. For you see, when you are trying to make a point, it can be difficult to be taken seriously when your statements sound like a sex joke. I mean Franxx doesn’t suck hard but it does suck a little, and while sucking a little can be enough to satisfy some people, I know there are those of us who would prefer it to perform better so that we aren’t left limp when the time comes for it to go fast and heavy. You may be beginning to see my point.

It is pretty apparent that this series is paying homage to mecha series like Evangelion and its contemporaries and as odd as it may be to say, I think that it would be a mistake for this series to attempt to take a darker turn in it’s later episodes and attempt an Evangelion. For you see, nothing will top Evangelion, it is on a pedestal so high and fortified by age, legacy and nostalgia that even if you made a series that was objectively a better version of it in every way, it still wouldn’t top Evangelion. Even Evangelion couldn’t top Evangelion, that’s the point we are at. Attempting to do so would just make this another one of those shows that followed it can came up short and i feel that the idea’s have really all been done. So while this may sound ludicrous to you readers, I believe Franxx should put it’s focus on it’s other aspect which happens to be using mecha as allegory for relationships. I know it sound odd for me to suggest this considering my rant above about this series approach to sex but I feel this is the only real path for Franxx to be its own entity. Mecha and sex have been previously compared before and even the idea of using them as pseudo relationships, off the top of my head I can name Aquarion Evol which dabbled in this. But if there is one aspect that anime has hardly explored, it’s the nature of relationships. In anime, a relationship has a beginning and an end but never a middle. Romance anime either end at the confession or time skip to the marriage and very little of the rather tremulous ground that is the relationship itself is covered. So if this anime can somehow use the ground of mecha to explore sexual relations then this could turn out rather interesting.

Already we have some ammo for this kind of story as this episode can essentially be taken as a tale of erectile dysfunction. The main has to prove his worth by trying to pilot a franxx again but this time he is paired up with another girl called Ichigo who seems to be romantically interested in him. Despite a promising start the robot ends up rejecting the connection leading to the girl trying to get the main “in the mood” so to speak. I am not really pushing to make this symbolic connection either, in fact it’s rather obvious this is what it’s alluding to. Being “in the mood” is looking to be a big factor when piloting these robots as his opponent, cocky little upstart he is, effectively kills the mode in his robot when he openly admits that he would take the Ichigo as his partner, essentially the equivalent of calling out another woman’s name during intercourse. This pisses off his partner, shuts down the robot and we have an ending with Ichigo making the rather suggestive comment that the main was “awful”.

So we have a love triangle here, Zero two is the dangerous girl whose been with a number of guys and is experienced, exciting and spontaneous. Not to mention she’s a dominant bold partner in piloting which may be a factor in getting the main ”in the mood”. Ichigo on the other hand is a submissive partner whose boring, predictable and ordinary, essentially the safe relationship option. But we also have the issue of cheating as Ichigo already has a partner whom she is highly compatible with and well he seems to be aware of her feelings. I admit this may be me simply trying to justify the high amount of suggestive fanservice into something more acceptable as people did with Kill La Kill and I fully admit that this might not be the intended focus of the series. But it certainly would give me something more interesting to talk about.