DARLING in the FRANXX - Reviews

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Toy's avatar
Mar 16, 2018

This review is based on the first 9 episodes. Slight spoilers ahead.

Darling in the Franxx is a mecha series brought to you by A-1 Pictures and Studio Trigger. I honestly could write an entire review's worth of commentary and jokes just from this, so I'll leave it at me telling you I could, so you know. Anyway, Darling in the Franxx is more accurately described as a post-apocalyptic, ecchi, slice of life, romance anime with mechs. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, rather it's important that expectations are set. If you're going to get Studio Triggered over some ecchi or fan service, this isn't the anime for you. If you came looking for mechs all day every day, you might be in for disappointment. For me, I came in with no expectations, only a desire to enjoy the ride, and with that I give Darling in the Franxx an Overall 8/10.

Okay, so the story, this is actually going to be the most difficult part for me to convey. Darling in the Franxx is about children who pilot mechs in male & female pairs to fight these things called Klaxosaurs. Beyond that, it's difficult to really say what exactly the story is about, it has left things a mystery to the viewers. Furthermore, anything that I do reveal would be both a spoiler, and something that could deteriorate your enjoyment of the series. This is because part of the enjoyment of the series is trying to piece together what you think is going on. It's like the Dark Souls of anime, a little more straightforward but the same enjoyment of figuring out the story bit by bit is there. This also means the show needs really good world building, which it has. I won't go into detail about, see Mother's Basement's video on world building in anime if you wish.

So on a less tangible note than even that, let's address this alongside the story; the symbolism within the show and it's sexual themes. At a surface level most people can look at Darling in the Franxx and pick out the sexual metaphors and innuendos. Which can mean one of a few things, first potentially being that it's all for the ecchi and comedy of it, which is enjoyable in itself. The show doesn't need to be incredibly serious with some deep message, I personally truly believe in enjoying things for what they are, not chastising them for what they are not. On the other hand the show might actually have something to say, likely something about the nature of relationships or possibly something about the way we see sex. Still today a show like this will receive criticism for it's use of sexual themes, an attempt to suppress it and anything like it. Just the same that the adults of this world suppress the sexual growth of the children in this show by hiding away even the idea of love. I will address this at the end of this review a bit more.

I'm going to give the story 8/10 and I'm basing this on enjoyment more than any kind of intellectual writing. The story doesn't seem particularly complicated, but the delivery of it is well executed. 

As for the tags I'm going to be adding what I think fits, instead of just using Anime Planet's tags. First, mecha gets 7/10, I'm not going to pretend to know what I'm looking for in a mecha anime, in fact, it's not something I particularly enjoy, so take this rating with a grain of salt. Sci Fi isn't some core theme to the show, but rather it simply is a sci fi so it gets a neutral 5/10. The show's characters all display some type of romance and the relationships of these characters are cute, I think it's worth 7/10 as they are compelling enough, yet not being the focus. Darling has gone down an obvious but still subtle route of ecchi all things considered, the show does it very well bolstered by it's great characters, and I think 9/10 is fair, as it accomplishes what it wants. Finally this anime is very much a slice of life between all the battles, and while it's enjoyable it actually falls on the weaker end of what it seems to be doing here, 6/10.

The animation of the series leaves me wanting more in all the best and worst ways. The art style is actually rather bleak in it's use of colors, even the ones that are typically more vibrant such as the pinks and reds 002 sports are more dull than you'd expect. The mechs and the fights on the other hand are incredibly colorful in contrast, making them even more visually appealing. The animation itself is also quite very good, with plenty of motion and life. Even more than that the fights features fun spectacles to watch. My only issue is that these fights are somewhat one dimensional and incredibly short lived. That said, many scenes outside of these fights are given a lot of care in their animation and is clearly where much work has gone. So having said that I give the animation an 8/10, it's really good but I feel like it's off balance as to where the animation effort goes.

Sound is a 7/10, the voice acting fits each character really well, the sound design is good but nothing too spectacular, and the OP/ED are some of my favorite in a while. Particularly the first ED "Torikago", a character song, I really enjoyed. Music overall is quite good in the series, again nothing too spectacular though.

So by now you've probably noticed my repeated mention of the characters in this show. Well this is for good reason, as the characters in this show are by far the strongest part of it. Starting with our protagonist and hero of the story, Hiro. He's fairly unique when it comes to protagonist, he's almost stereotypical, but at the same time he comes off incredibly realistic. To the viewer he might come off unremarkable, but seemingly to the other characters he's displayed a sort of charisma and creativity that has at least once earned their respect and friendship, even if now that is somewhat lost. This guy is likable, he's like a well executed version of what your average anime protagonist is attempting to be. Appearance wise he's rather plain, but his eyes have deep color that contrast against the bleak colors used by the show.

Then we have the female protagonist of the show, 002 a half human-Klaxosaur that is known as the partner killer. Those who pilot alongside her will die, after a small number of sorties at that. She's a very eccentric and lovable character with a distinct appearance given her hair-inspo giving pink hair, adorable little red horns, and emerald eyes. Describing her personality is difficult, she seems detached but playful, and the other children find her strange. Aside from this the adults especially seem to regard her with something between wariness and preferential treatment. She's distinct and a character that will probably find her way into many people's hearts, and hentai. 

The rest of the children aren't slouches either though, they all have their unique personalities and quirks that will make you adore them or wanna punch them. Going through them all would take all day, but what I'll say is that while some are less fleshed out than the others, all these characters are well realized, and are stronger than many other anime's protagonist, let alone secondary characters. The other characters worth noting so far are the adults, who seem distant and are hard to get a real grasp on, by design I think. On the other hand, a character like Dr. Franxx seems to give a lot of promise to where the series may head in that aspect.

So yes, characters are incredibly strong, and right now, I feel like giving them a 9/10. I'd almost give them a 10/10 but I don't think that it isn't quite to that level. Truly Darling in the Franxx's selling point if you ask me. 

Overall I've enjoyed Darling in the Franxx so far, it's a lot of fun, and it's not getting caught up in taking itself seriously. I think that the average viewer will get a fair bit of enjoyment out of this series. That said I can see other's being turned off from it for various reasons.

So as for going into more detail, I've decided this isn't the place for it. I'll edit this later with a link or something once I figure out how I should go about this.

8/10 story
8/10 animation
7/10 sound
9/10 characters
8/10 overall
Kinesis9's avatar
Jul 7, 2018

An absolutely beautiful story if you can tolerate the deceiving "fan service" start. At first it seems a bit perverted and tasteless (IE butt controls) but it will quickly get past that and start getting to its real message. Darling in the FRANXX uses a lot of symbols, most of which are about sex, romance, love, and procreation. These themes pretty much permiate the whole show as it tells a simply wonderful story of how strong the bonds of love can be.

The show is simply wonderful and I would encourage anyone to look past its misleading start to get to the real content of the show.

?/10 story
?/10 animation
?/10 sound
?/10 characters
10/10 overall
cragypaste's avatar
Jul 16, 2018

A decent anime with lovely animation and a sub-par story.

DARLING in the FRANXX has creative ideas and concepts, though sometimes it can be fanservice-y (is that a word?) the themes of the human body and mind are; though a little easy to figure out, interesting. Some more obvious like the societys veiws on the Parasites and how they are treated less like people and more like disposable weapons. Though the sexualisation of the females in particular is a bit overdone. I understand what they are trying to do, puberty is a thing and will happen. Its just the litteral boy and girl pairing and the handles comming out the back (the butt) is kinda weird at first, but you get used to it. At least I did. Some of the mechanics of the world don't make much sense like the whole mind bonding FRANXX thing, and the fact that is has to be a male and female rider. Like I get the metaphor but it happend by accident because they based the robots off something else, isn't that a little convenient?

The best part of DARLING in the FRANXX in my opinion is Zero Two, the half breed, half of the time naked beauty herself. Her personality is fun and carefree on the outside, but you can't help but feel there is something lying under the surface. The main character Hiro isn't as interesting though, he feels bland and uninspired. I feel like the female characters outshine the male, mostly at least. As for the rest of the characters, there are only a few characters that i'd say I was invested in, some of the better ones are Kokoro, Ikuno and Zorome, not because they are the best written but because they have interesting concepts surrounding them. Other than that the characters are kind of bland and cliché. 

Like the characters the story is kind of bland, though some nice metaphors like the birds and the picture book. Either things are predictable or completly come out of nowhere. I don't want to get into it since spoilers or whatever. It reminds me alot of Gurren Lagann in a bad way though. I liked Gurren Lagann alot, just some of the twists are a bit similar.

The animation is a collaboration between A1 Pictures and Studio Trigger. It's not the prettyest thing I've seen but thats not saying much. For regular broadcasted TV anime animation its spectacular, with Trigger's most obvious contribution, the mechs. The mechs/FRANXX's are beuatifly animated and consisted throughout. The design of each main FRANXX is unique and actualy has similarities to each main female. Speaking of witch the character design is memerable and well exicuted into each characters personality, (do I realy count Hiro, his design is as bland as he is.)

In conclution I enjoyed the show, I wouldn't put it on my top ten let alone top 50. But it had nice animation, some interesting characters, a interesting enough story and consistent themes.

(if you are wondering about sound, Goro's VA got sick so they had to replace him and his new VA didn't realy sound like him that much so yeah...)

4/10 story
8/10 animation
7/10 sound
4/10 characters
5/10 overall
Acquila123's avatar
Apr 8, 2018

watching the 1st episode made me more hyped to watch this whole series.... This has been the best... yep the BEST anime series I hae ever watched.. keep up the good work please continue it until the end.. I wish this anime lasts forever and i wish it would like have 10 seasons.. Because i like it very much.. may this anime be continued until year 3000... please continue it im hyped for episode 13

10/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
7heFl4m3InAllOfUs's avatar
May 7, 2020

The first half of the series was a struggle to keep watching. I absolutely HATE it when an anime is all about the sexualization and objectification of women, which is exactly what consumed the beginning plot (the reverse, objectification of men, is also NOT okay). Sure, you could chalk it off as just a bit of humor. Sorry, but ecchi humor is absolute garbage. 

That being said, I still stayed and finished the series becuase the story and mystery pulled me in. As I continued watching, I found myself greatly intrigued by Hiro and 002's relationship. The side characters are also pretty interesting. Once the ecchi parts are kinda toned down, we finally get to see more depth. We also slowly get the sense that the children's situation feels a little shady. The buildup of the plot is very nice. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the anime. There is a lot of complexity and symbolism to contemplete when you really reflect. However, I would unfortunatly not recommend this anime due to how incredibly obnoxious I found the first half and occasional ecchi throughout, as that kinda ruined the plot and moral reflections for me. Don't talk about human ethics while adding this crap. Seriously. 

Well, the story was fantasticly entertaining, the animation was pretty cool (especially that ending journey), and the sound was okay. Nothing to write home about, I think. The characters are pretty good but I feel like they had a little bit more potential. Of course, the objectification kinda drew a line with me. Keeping these things in mind, the choice to watch is yours. 

10/10 story
9/10 animation
6/10 sound
8/10 characters
5/10 overall