Darling in the Franxx Part 1 Episodes 1-4

In the distant future, the Earth has been ravaged by titanic monsters known as Klaxosaurs.  Humanity’s remnants have retreated into mobile fortresses called Plantations, in order to survive.  Within these cities, the next generation of defenders is bred and trained to face the Klaxosaurs in mecha known as Franxx.  The latest class of recruits is ready to graduate to pilot status.  All except for Hiro, who feels he’s lost his way following a disastrous accident.  But when a beautiful girl with horns falls into his life, Hiro finds his second chance at meaning.  Now he’ll get the chance to pilot a Franxx and prove his existence…if the wild child named Zero Two doesn’t get him killed first.

The Anime Genre has been home to some of the greatest Giant Robot sagas of all time: Mobile Suit Gundam, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, just to name some of the big ones from each decade between the 1970’s and 2000’s.  The 2010’s kind of lacked a game changing title such as these.  But in 2018 we got what has got to be one of the most bizarre Giant Robot tales of all time…and that’s both in a good but mostly jaw droppingly “HUH?” kind of way.  The time has come to take a look at this polarizing hit from that year.  From the studio whose forerunners brought us Gurren Lagaan comes Studio Tigger’s Darling in the Franxx.

Oh man, where the hell do I even begin with this one?  Is Darling in the Franxx supposed to be a serious tale of post apocalyptic survival?  Is it supposed to be a parody of some of mechas greatest legends like Evangelion or Rahxephon, complete with one of the whiniest casts in all of Anime?  Studio Trigger might’ve struck instant gold with their nods to sexy action Anime with Kill La Kill and their loveable magical adventure Little Witch Academia.  Darling in the Franxx though might be struggling out the gate with an instant case of identity crisis.  It’s too funny to be taken seriously and taken so seriously you just have to laugh.  And honestly, it no aspect of Franxx in the beginning sums up that notion better than that damn Franxx Cockpit System.

Ok let’s start there.  So we’ve seen all manner of Giant Robot Cockpit designs from one that look the inside of a jet fighter (and in the case of Macross an actual jet fighter cockpit) to ones that utilize a duel piloting system (Evangelion 3.33).  Darling in the Franxx goes for the latter approach but…ok, let me try to describe it and just know that I’m not making this up.  So there are two pilots: a boy and a girl.  Both wear skintight pilot suits (Plug Suits?) with neural connections.  The boy sits in the back of the Franxx in a standard chair.  The girl takes a straddle position in front of the boy and had special handles that pop out of the rear of her suit that the boy can use to pilot the Franxx.  And when they establish a shared neural connection, the girl winces or even moans when the connection is completed and the mecha is ready to ride out…um…did I mention that there’s a collection of various cyberbodied old men, including one known as Papa, running this sick and twisted version of Humanity’s last military?  WHAT KIND OF SICK F*** WOULD DESIGN THIS AND EXPECT IT TO BE TAKEN THE LEAST BIT SERIOUSLY????!!!!

It's not exactly helped by the fact that Humanity’s last hopes are a bunch of kids who have no idea what the hell “feelings” are, nor do they have any inkling about physical contact or falling in love.  The simple act of kissing is a complete mystery to Hiro and his compatriots and yet theyre all incredibly horned up teenagers without a sex ed course to guide them.  That pilot system is a natural thing that doesn’t look the least bit embarrassing or suspicious to them.  It’s not that the cast isn’t without emotion.  Everyone sure as hell feels a ginormous sense of pride, especially loud mouth show off Zorome (who’s just begging to be punched) or team leader Ichigo (who is so deep in love with Hiro she should’ve been the first one in the group to figure out what that feeling feels like).  Even with those undefined emotions coursing through their veins, Darling in the Franxx’s main cast feel like next generation Shinji Ikaris, all with the same notion that if they cant pilot their mecha, they feel inadequate and don’t deserve to exist.  Just take Shinji and multiply him x9 and you get the incredibly irritating idea.

The one character who isn’t a total pain in the beginning is the one person everyone considers to be the reason to watch this show in the first place.  Zero Two is widely considered the poster child of Darling in the Franxx and it’s easy to see why.  Not only is she gorgeously designed but she’s the exact opposite of any character in this show.  She isn’t uptight, she’s free spirited and downright devious at times…the kind of girl you definitely don’t take home to momma.  There’s plenty of mystery around Zero Two from her rebellious attitude to her signature horns to the rumors about her true capabilities.  The three mission jinx around Zero Two isn’t anything new (08^th MS Team anyone?).  And there are times where she seems desperate to get Hiro to pilot her Franxx alongside her that it can be a little more than creepy.  And yet, when she says she feels a connection with Shinji/Kamina 2.0, oddly enough I believe her.  Zero Two may be mischievous but at least she’s honest.  They say Zero Two isn’t human and yet she acts more human than any of the other Franxx pilots.

Should touch on the Franxx a little…I don’t like them.  They’re just really ugly looking to me and the fact that they can transmit the faces of their female pilots onto their faceplates doesn’t make them any cooler…it makes them terrifying.  The Klaxosaurs aren’t much better designs in my honest opinion.  It’s like the artists were told, design whatever the hell you want, it doesn’t have to make sense: it just has to be big enough for a Franxx to fight and has to be some kind of crawler.  Worm like creatures, mountain like colossai, complete with cores that need to be destroyed in order to properly kill them…you can dress this up like Evangelion as much as you want but even they had beautiful designs behind them.  Also “Klaxosaurs”…I’m getting Avatar Unobtanium vibes big time from that name.  The only mecha of note in Franxx so far is Strelizia, Zero Two’s Franxx.  It has a Beast Mode that makes me think of Beast Wars: Transformers, particularly the Transmetals era, and its humanoid mode does look equally cool…no wonder everyones growing continuously jealous of her: better mech, better character, better looks, Zero Two really does outclass every aspect of this show so far…and it’s just the first few episodes.

I don’t want to call it so soon but Darling in the Franxx might be in trouble.  From an undefined world to terrible looking mecha to a cast that is as dull as their inability to understand love, this show has no idea if it’s trying to be the next big Evangelion clone a la Rahxephon or a parody of those two classics.  The one shining stand out is Zero Two but can even her colorful personality (and wardrobe) carry a show that is taking itself way too seriously to be taken seriously?  Well…I started this, might as well commit.  Darling in the Franxx has begun.  See ya Friday for more of…whatever the hell lies in wait.