Darling in the FranXX Episode 4 Discussion

TurboAutist said:

No, I'm just saying they could have just stormed out of the room and get in the robot against the higher-ups' wishes in episode 3 and nothing would really happen to them.

HereticHunter said:


That's why I said "Teenage drama" in Quotes, I completely understand that and I'm okay with it, I were also pointing that out since most of people disliked that while referring it as "Edgy teenage drama" or something like that

uninstallthegame said:


ahh, yes, i see. i totally agree with you, sorry for the misunderstanding!

Lelouch0202 said:
Good episode with quite the classic turn of events but really enjoyable to watch.

I gotta admit, Hiro's speech felt like something straight out of a romance anime. XD
Well at least he recognized what he truly wanted to do and now he's finally piloting the Franxx.

I'm still wondering why Hiro was only capable of piloting with Zero Two and no one else, and also why only he doesn't seem to be as adversely affected as the other pilots before him while piloting with Zero Two. I hope there's some kind of explanation as to why.

Action scenes were great and I loved how Zero Two just walked in while Hiro was taking a bath to give him a talking too. XD

Farabeuf said:


I'm surprised that Strelizia works the same way as the others. I kinda assumed that 02 rides her guy, and not the other way around. She's the one in charge always.

uninstallthegame said:

i know, right? the first ride she kissed him and he was unconscious, how the heck was it in full maiden form..

Fappa said:


Well adrenalin could certainly be a thing and after they had their final attack he passed out from overexerting himself coupled with 02's strain on him.

I mean we haven't seen the aftermath yet on how they leave the FranXX this time, he could still pass out.

_juno said:

I saw this in other fórum. I laughed so hard.

uninstallthegame said:


i know, right? the first ride she kissed him and he was unconscious, how the heck was it in full maiden form..

SilentNox said:
Their base access system is just useless as allways, why they not cleared 002 access levels before convoy her to the exit? Why mech is transported in a completely active mode? Even if 002 has superhuman capabilities, Hiro does not, yet they managed to sneak past all guards and hjack Sterlizia. This is what bother me the most in all episode, everything else is fine.

BlueBalls said:
Why is 02 so ridiculously hot?

BlackFIFA19 said:


Yes, after 2 times he didnt have a scratch but thats not what im talking about, im talking about this

if what Hiro himself said is true then it still takes a toll on him just slower then others

Fappa said:


Really? I got a lot out of these past 4 episodes, enough for me to rake my own brain instead of the show itself throwing tons of exposition this early on into my face.

Side-characters are a given as the main pair has to be established first in a way that they can perfectly co-exist next to each other without officials trying to separate them. We already know from the staff that side-character specific episodes are coming so there's that. Just gotta give it time.

About the story direction, don't know what to tell you. They pretty much told you twice "Will you run away with me?". What could that mean in a seemingly hierarchical society in which young people seem to have been reaped of any sense of personal intimacy and are deemed a failure if they can't live up to numbers which basically means for them to be "as good as dead"?

It's clear as day that shady stuff is going on in these places called "plantations" where apparently the general population if it even exists lives without any tracel of sunlight but these pilots do. This society is rotten to the core and 02 is aware of it resulting in her fleeing with Hiro and possibly the others ( maybe with Franxx's help? ). And this is only scratching the surface of what you could read from it so far.

I don't know where you were but all of its world building and background so far is very much built upon hints that evoke intrigue, if you notice them and connect the dots that is. Heck, the very first episode drives in the point that this won't hold up this facade of "teenagers fighting in robots against monsters" for too long.

About the narrative, seems quite clear to me. So far the narrative focuses on establishing the bond and officially acknowledged bond between Hiro & 02 which we know will succeed ( You see them in graduation outfits at the start of episode 1 under the cherry blossom trees ). Now that the main duo has overcome its doubts about each other and proven its worth which will lead to official acknowledgement the show has an in-worldly reason to let the characters all bounce off each other and move on to the actual plot.

Fappa said:


I mean from what he said his problem was with the writing and the direction that show decided to take, the production being at Trigger now does not change that, merely visually so that won't work as an explanation I guess.



There is this very easy to find Sakugabooru blog post that clearly states how this is a A-1 production featuring Trigger. So far Trigger's involvement has been storyboards by Imaishi + some guest appearances for the first 3 episodes. This episode for the first time they took the most weight of the production, that does not mean leading positions are different though. Not to undermine their role at all it's still a collaboration after all. But in the end it's still Nishigori's baby.

But a far more healthy look at this is not one of "Is it A-1 or is it Trigger?" but to simply see it as a reunion of Ex-Gainax staff to once again work together on something.

ItzToxic said:
Perfect ep. I guess you can say he went from....Zero Two Hiro

Ba dum tsssss.

Yes I know where the door is.

Hibikase said:
Alright. So firstly, hats off to you for catching and picking apart of these nuances and details within the four episodes that were provided thus far. I guess some of the scenes that you pointed out passed too quickly or were too subtle for me to draw out any meaning or significance, and I suppose that is just my fault for not paying enough attention. To preface, I feel like each person is looking for different things in the anime they consume. which will impact their overall enjoyment of a show. No one can look at a show from a pure objective point of view, and that is perfectly okay. So everything I say here on out is just my personal observations.

To begin with, I don't deny that the side-characters have potential of developing in future episodes, but what is presented so far isn't giving me much of a feel for how they can develop other than in a very predictable manner. For example, it's gonna be pretty obvious the Hiro is going to get past his confidence issues, Zero Two is gonna become less selfish, Zorome is gonna stop being a twat and actually respect Hiro and others, and Ichigo is going to get past her feelings for Hiro to focus on the the greater good of the group and become a better leader. However, predictability is not really the main issue here. The main issue is that from the few episodes that we have seen, we have little reason to empathize or care about these characters in any way. We know little about their backstory, and how they came to be the way they are now, and we may never be able to other than maybe Hiro and Mitsuru. This could also be pardoned if the characters were inherently charming or quirky in a subtle way, but to me at least, these character just feel like pretty generic cardboard cutouts and are even sometimes annoying in how faithfully they abide to their assigned tropes (this doesn't even explicitly serve as a plot device either, like in Kiznaiver). It also doesn't help that the most of the character designs (something that I look for most in anime) are disappointingly generic, the biggest offense being Hiro's design. The only exception from all of this would probably be Zero Two, but her character is a wild card at the moment.

What I meant by when said I didn't see what this anime is about does not stem from the fact that I don't see where the plot is going exactly, or what themes are going to be explored. My main issue with this show is that I don't see how all the elements that the show presents to us fits with its overall narrative (or the little that we see so far), and what direction the show could take in the future to compensate for this lack of cohesiveness. The tone and general mood of any show is one of the main baseline things that I expect to get right or establish early on. However, FranXX's tone is often incomprehensible. The show seems to take itself quite seriously from the first episode by opening up with some pretty 2deep4u monologues about the birds, but then shifts back and forth between high-stakes character drama moments (like with Hiro and Naomi), and pointless fan-service and awkward attempts at humor. The overall aesthetic of the show doesn't really convey much to me either. I'll admit that the visuals and fight animation are very nice to look at, but a lot of things seem to clash. For example, the post-apocalyptic, desert-like design of the world void of a larger scale society inhabiting it (other than the "plantations") does not pair well thematically with the show's commentary on the child parasites and their repression of sexuality. It also confused me on why the way the parasite pilot the FranXX is so overtly sexual, if the purpose of the society obviously opposes physical intimacy. The visuals often contradict each other as well, as seen in the whacky, colorful designs of the mechs that clash heavily with the vanilla setting/backdrop. Certain design choices in the show make me question whether this show is trying to go for a more mature tone in its story with lots of deep, thematic meaning, or just want to go all-out and be fun/zany (like many of Trigger's other productions). This conflict is proving to be difficult for me to accept, and that also influences my perception of where this show is going to go with this blender of random ideas and themes. There are a lot of things that could be still explored, but right now, the show hasn't done (imo) a good job of relaying these things to us, or making us care much for the characters. You can justify everything I just said by saying that the show still has a lot to go (as it is a 2-cour series), but I believe a great anime should get its watchers on board from the very beginning.

Kaiser_Senpai said:
So is Hiro still a pussy? I mean he went against "papa" who is the ruler of that shit I guess.. He still has some problems but u can´t call him things like that after this one.
Best episode so far IMO and that Zero Two face in the end was priceless.