Darling in the FranXX

In the distant future, humanity has been driven to near-extinction by giant beasts known as Klaxosaurs, forcing the surviving humans to take refuge in massive fortress cities called Plantations. Children raised here are trained to pilot giant mechas known as FranXX—the only weapons known to be effective against the Klaxosaurs—in boy-girl pairs. Bred for the sole purpose of piloting these machines, these children know nothing of the outside world and are only able to prove their existence by defending their race.

Hiro, an aspiring FranXX pilot, has lost his motivation and self-confidence after failing an aptitude test. Skipping out on his class' graduation ceremony, Hiro retreats to a forest lake, where he encounters a mysterious girl with two horns growing out of her head. She introduces herself by her codename Zero Two, which is known to belong to an infamous FranXX pilot known as the "Partner Killer." Before Hiro can digest the encounter, the Plantation is rocked by a sudden Klaxosaur attack. Zero Two engages the creature in her FranXX, but it is heavily damaged in the skirmish and crashes near Hiro. Finding her partner dead, Zero Two invites Hiro to pilot the mecha with her, and the duo easily defeats the Klaxosaur in the ensuing fight. With a new partner by his side, Hiro has been given a chance at redemption for his past failures, but at what cost?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Zero Two Main

Tomatsu, Haruka Japanese

Ichigo Main

Ichinose, Kana Japanese

Hiro Main

Uemura, Yuuto Japanese

Kokoro Main

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Gorou Main

Umehara, Yuuichirou Japanese

Miku Main

Yamashita, Nanami Japanese

Mitsuru Main

Ichikawa, Aoi Japanese

Zorome Main

Tamura, Mutsumi Japanese

Ikuno Main

Ishigami, Shizuka Japanese

Futoshi Main

Gotou, Hiroki Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Wakabayashi, Hiromi Producer

Kamagata, Eiichi Producer

Toba, Yousuke Producer

Reviews

Dec 21, 2024

Eric3131

Recommended

"A flightless bird dreamed of a sky whose colors blend into the wrong shade of red"
Damn, this show really touched me, huh?
(this review will often be a little biased off of how this show made me feel, so don't expect a perfectly structurated essay, but rather a more personal view of what this story is)

-----------------------------SPOILER FREE REVIEW-----------------------------

After watching Darling in the Franxx and seeing people's opinions on it, I've come to realize that most of the watchers, in the hunt of finding the perfect story, most jaw-dropping and extraordinary plot mixed with the most well-written characters, forget how to enjoy the damn show. I'm not ... saying that Darling in the Franxx is perfect and neither that it lacks in each one of these categories, I just wanted to get this aspect out of the way and remind you to enjoy the shows you are watching again. As a great quote says: "We Can Complain Because Rose Bushes Have Thorns, or Rejoice Because Thorn Bushes Have Roses", and from now on I've made a promise to myself to always try to choose the latter, and hope you will too.

The story of Darling in the Franxx takes place in the distant future, in which the planet is constantly attacked by Klaxosaurs (giant robotic-like beasts), to the point that humanity is driven to near extinction. Humanity has developed a way to fight off these Klaxosaurs, by using giant mechs know as Franxx. Children are bred for the sole purpose of piloting these machines and living their early years in a specially arranged closed space named The Garden, taught to fear asking questions about the world outside, and being shown no emotion from the people that take care of them. Even though the caretakers try to suppress any emotion or feelings in the kids, they aren't able to do this perfectly, and that's what the plot will evolve from.
With this synopsis I managed to tell you everything you need to know before embarking on this journey, as any other pieces of information would be unnecessary or spoil your experience and I'm not looking forward to that.

This show will take you on an emotional rollercoaster, so in the spare time you manage to get yourself in order to watch an episode or two of this show, don't be afraid to live what's happening, to cry or to laugh and to get attached to the characters, at least that's what 15 year old me did when watching this and I don't care if it sounds corny or whatever, but whenever I'll rewatch this show, I won't hesitate to cry to the scenes that touched me and to not take things so damn seriously.

I really loved how they introduced "adults" in this series, it reminded me of a story that will forever sit in some corner of my soul, "The Little Prince", in which the adults are presented as beings that forgot about what makes them happy and that try so deperately to fit in a corrupt world in which people only care about money, the exact opposite of the protagonist, which tries to stick to his childhood forever. A great story that tells you to enjoy everything there is to this life, definetely a must read. Okay, I kind of went off rails with this, but I wanted to point out that I really liked the idea of portraying adults as beings that forgot what makes them human, because that's the direction a lot of people are approaching, without even realising it and this show does a great job in reminding you that.

In essence, Darling in the Franxx is about emotions, about sentiments and feelings-about how important feelings are for us humans and how they shape our life, which would be so worthless without them. This show will remind you to enjoy the small deeds and to never forget what is really important to you, to fight for what's important to you, and to follow what your heart says, whatever that might be. A beautiful story that turns from "live to fight" to "fight to live", as the characters are realizing what it really is to be human. And to be honest, isn't that what life is all about?

In the end, I'll always hold a special place for this show in my heart, not because of all the things it does perfectly, but because of all the things that the imperfect characters of this show have made me remember or realize. And here I go crying while making a damn review once again. 10/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Aug 19, 2024

Weeb_Holocaust

Mixed Feelings

A thirstier and more ecchi version of Evangelion with incomprehensible ending. Might as well slap on a beauty and the beast reference here and there to make it appear less shit. Great if you're a horny teen who wants to spend your next 10 hours to mindlessly watch giant robots fighting and buttsex. Bad if you actually think about the story.

Zero Two is a good waifu candidate but that's all good there is to this series. Everyone else lacks personality and general character build-up is weak. Only watched this to find out why people were simping for Zero Two only to be disapointed.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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May 28, 2024

0004_1

Not Recommended

Funny

No Short Recap, i dont really feel like doing one for this show

Art - 8/10 Animation is good, character models are good, CG if used is alright, Very trigger esk easily the high point of this show.

Characters 2/10 i hate 90% of characters, there is probably 3 characters that are likeable and don't act childish, I can understand characters acting childish if they are done in a true way how children act but how they are portrayed in Darling In The Franxx is just annoying.

Story 2/10 Story is boring, Basic and not unique, the most unique part of the story is when zero ... two turns into a spaceship.

OSt/Sound Design - 5/10 Nothing special here, alot of shouting from the kids in the show that gets annoying, but ost is fine and the opening is a banger.

Enjoyment - 5/10 I enjoyed the first half of the show and episode 15 decently, but the rest was all just shit story being dragged to fill out 24 episodes.

Overall 4/10 Do not watch this unless you want to be disappointed and lead on by a good opening and a cast of formidable characters. Not Worth.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Darling in the FranXX Episode 14 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Apr 14, 2018	1,503 replies	by soupyhya »» Dec 16, 6:12 AM
	Poll: Darling in the FranXX Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jan 20, 2018	601 replies	by Stopkontak »» Dec 15, 1:33 AM
	Poll: Darling in the FranXX Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Apr 7, 2018	649 replies	by M8Mungo »» Dec 15, 12:00 AM
	Poll: Darling in the FranXX Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Mar 3, 2018	278 replies	by M8Mungo »» Dec 14, 8:50 AM
	Poll: Darling in the FranXX Episode 7 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Feb 24, 2018	361 replies	by M8Mungo »» Dec 14, 8:49 AM

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