If I were to compare Darling in the Franxx, I would actually compare it to the book Ender's Game, not just because of the theme, but because the scope of the story slowly grows until we realize the main characters are but a cog in the war machine and then grows even further by putting something more than the entire human race on the line. It does also remind me of Gurren Lagan (humanity hides away from the bad guys, only mecha pilots stand a chance) and Kill la Kill (the true nature of their armor and weapons is interesting). But there is much more
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to it, as it poses some deep philosophical questions.
Spoilers ahead, mostly background related.
Analysis:
Civilizations rise and fall, over and over. First were the so-called "klaxo sapiens". Then the humans, who managed to destroy their own race by giving up their reproductive system. The humans, who unlike other races believed bonds to be important to survive. The humans, so frail and so self-centered they could not conceive the idea that the whole rise and fall of their civilization was but a blink in the middle of a break in a war between two technologically vastly superior races. Two opposed radical ideologies, embodying the impossible ideal of a bodyless existence to be imposed on all races, and the raw physicality of the klaxons. I do however disagree with the klaxon princess' idea that their race rejected their bonds; if that were so, would they males and females have really fused to the point of losing their own minds, and the weak sacrificed their lives to be their fuel? War changes who we are, and sadly for them war is all they know, so what is left if the war ends?
If you think the show lacks a rich backstory, you haven't been paying attention. Providing all the background information and the whole interpersonal drama -thank you for reminding me how incredibly annoying and dumb teenagers can be- is the reason the whole is so slow, but without it, the story wouldn't reach the viewer. The characters have A LOT to learn; they are just kids trying to be adults. Unlike other classic "useless MC", Hiro does not lack conviction or resolution, he was naturally born with it and crippled by the people who tried to remove a piece of him. The action in the first episodes is the hook and most of the backstory is actually given afterward, which is why people who like simple straightforward stories (definitely not Baccano!) would probably not enjoy this fairly common narrative device. I consider the sudden introduction of the "third party" the greatest narrative mistake. It's such an unexpected plot twist -never foreshadowed save for a few very very subtle hints- the viewer is completely lost in the woods for a while.
Sex plays a really important role in the story. From a functionalist point of view, humans cease being human if they stop being able to reproduce; even if they don't stop loving, humanity can not survive without it. (That is not my opinion, just a point of view.) Each separate sex is regarded as incomplete and their union as a force of nature, idealized since the beginning of the first episode. Sex is the origin of our race, the origin of love, something necessary. Which brings me to the way the Franxx robots are piloted. There is a good reason why there needs to be a female (fo temporarily fuse with the creature) and preferably a male too (to take half of the burden of managing the franxx) -the only exception to this being the unnatural clones created to play either the male or female part and as such doomed from the start according to the "Hollywood standard" of who must die and who must live. The poses though... fine, I cringed too. But once I turned a blind eye to the "doggy style riding", combat actually became quite enjoyable. Leaving aside some of the most frustrating and overblown teen drama, that is.
Typically, when we end a story with a "happily ever after", that's where the story ends. Not in this case; Darling reminds us that even after the story ends, the characters live their life, grow and die, and then the next generation takes over, and so on, over and over. Overall, the show felt like a reminder of what life really means. Even as characters mature, we see them as children because of their accelerated growth. Still, they become what they were meant to be according to nature before they brought their own downfall by trying to become gods. People die. Civilizations fall. A new one is born from the ashes, and the world keeps turning. (And my tears keep flowing.)
All in all, I consider Darling in the Franxx a love story more than a mecha, combat or drama story. Love is regarded as a selfless act. In that way, Zero Two and Hiro are the most human and humane characters of all. It is the expression of that love that allows others to live on in the end.
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May 19, 2019
Darling in the FranXX
(Anime)
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If I were to compare Darling in the Franxx, I would actually compare it to the book Ender's Game, not just because of the theme, but because the scope of the story slowly grows until we realize the main characters are but a cog in the war machine and then grows even further by putting something more than the entire human race on the line. It does also remind me of Gurren Lagan (humanity hides away from the bad guys, only mecha pilots stand a chance) and Kill la Kill (the true nature of their armor and weapons is interesting). But there is much more
...
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