(Nitsuj): Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Today we’re wrapping Darling in the FRANXX and joining me is Shizuku and Mira, who has something she would like to say.
(Mira): I apologize for my behavior last week. It was unprofessional, embarrassing, and unnecessary.
(Shizuku): And yet it was hilarious.
(Nitsuj): Shizuku, don’t start a fire.
(Shizuku): What, she’s a crazy drunk. I think she fights better drunk than she does when she’s sober.
*A cut appears on Shizuku’s face out of nowhere. Upon further inspection, Shizuku focuses her eyes and sees AI threads surrounding her*
(Mira): You keep talking and the next one will cut your head right off.
(Shizuku): Sore sport.
(Nitsuj): She may fight better when she’s drunk, but she fights smarter when she’s sober. Let’s continue our look at Darling in the FRANXX.
Episodes 13-16
(Shizuku): In episode 13 we see the tragic childhood of Hiro and 02 (Mira: Told from each of their perspectives). On Hiro’s side of the story we see how he and the other children grew up in the Garden. We saw how he gave names to others and was recognized by the adults for having exceptional talents, but he was also a questioner (Nitsuj: Good, kids need to ask questions). He would often ask why they were in the Garden, what happened to the children that disappeared randomly, and why they weren’t allowed to have different names (https://youtu.be/lmuKsI5kcKw). On 02’s side of the story we see how she was confined to a room her whole life. Her only interaction with the outside world was a woman who would bring her food and pet her. (What is she an animal? Hug her.) She also had red skin and longer horns. One day the woman bought her a story book called The Beast and the Prince (Mira: An obvious shout out to Beauty and the Beast) where a beast fell in love with a prince at first sight. However, she knew that because of her appearance the world would never accept their romance (Nitsuj: We barely accept the romance of our own species). So, she went to a witch and in exchange for her wings, the beast would be turned into a human but the witch warns her that even though her outward appearance may change she’s still a beast and she will one day consume her prince (geez, good pep talk). The beast was turned into a human and soon married the prince where she was truly happy. However, her happiness was short-lived. One night, she began to change into something horrible and the witch told her that if she wanted to avoid this terrible fate she would have to kill the prince but she couldn’t do it and flew off into the night sky never to be seen again. The prince searched high and low for her but couldn’t find her (*Shizuku begins to tear up a little* (Mira): Are you crying? (Shizuku): No, I just got a speck of dust in my eyes. Damn it boss, dust the place). After getting the book, 02 never saw her caretaker again but she treated the book like her own personal treasure that nobody could take away from her (Nitsuj: Even though she couldn’t understand a single word). She started to become interested in the outside world believing there were more wonderful things to see and when she finally got the chance to step outside her room, what she discovered was a world of pain. She was subjected to tests where she was physically hurt to test her body and treated like a test subject instead of a human-being. One day, Hiro came across her and became interested in who she was. Since the adults wouldn’t answer his questions, he decided to get the answers himself (Nitsuj: Yes, break the mental prison set up by the adults. Become an independent thinker). He breaks 02 out of her room (scene here: https://youtu.be/Rb9HMPdntlE. (Mira): Too independent! Too independent) and they explore the outskirts of the Garden together. I have to admit it is cute to see a child Hiro and 02 interacting with each other. Because she doesn’t understand speech she doesn’t talk so Hiro has to explain things by showing them to her and reading her expressions to see if she gets it or not (scenes here: https://youtu.be/Brxo1ftf_Ww and https://youtu.be/e24lVW8MW8M) . After Hiro promises to be with her forever she cries out of pure happiness (Mira: That is so beautiful), the adults come in and knock him out. It was here that 02 for the first time realized that she was different from Hiro (Nitsuj: His blood is red, yours is a pretty shade of blue) and came to the conclusion that if she ever wanted to be with Hiro she had to become human. After getting captured, Hiro’s memories were erased which resulted in him forgetting a lot of stuff including his promise with Mitsuru (Mira: Who took that pretty hard if I recall). We return back to the present where Hiro remembers everything about his past and once he mentions the book 02 finally calms down and realizes that the person she’s been piloting with this whole time is the same boy she fell in love with when she was little (scene here: https://youtu.be/gqvZJMcIxHA).
Things take a bad turn in episode 14. Hiro collapses and gets taken to the doctors (scene here: https://youtu.be/h1m8_iZtkXI) while the rest of the team keep 02 away from Hiro because Ichigo now knows the truth, and that truth is 02 has been trying to make Hiro the same as her (if she can’t be human, make the one she loves the same as her). We then find out there’s going to be a big operation where multiple plantations will be teaming up to capture this area and Ichigo says they won’t participate in the operation unless 02 is removed from their team as she’s proven she cannot be trusted nor does see them as teammates (Nitsuj: Man this episode really wants us to hate Ichigo. I mean seriously, she keeps 02 away from Hiro and forces everyone to help her out. (Mira): And it’s actually working). Ichigo’s request (Nitsuj: More like threat) gets heard as its already been decided that she’s being moved back to the 9s tomorrow (scene here: https://youtu.be/jfrivuVRp0I). Hiro manages to sneak out of his room and goes back to the dorm to talk with 02 but he chose a bad time to leave because the others finally cave in and decided to let 02 see Hiro so they take her to his medical room only to find out that he’s gone (Mira: This will not end well). 02 snaps, believing everyone set her up and actually attacks the group where Hiro makes it back to his medical room to see what she’s done and calls her a monster (scene here: https://youtu.be/BEl-7O15ZXQ, the bond has been broken). The next day comes and 02 leaves the dorm not saying a word to anyone. Even when she passes by Hiro she doesn’t say a word (I don’t even think they made eye contact). Hiro tries to go after her but gets stopped by Ichigo (woman, I will end you where you stand) who confesses her love to Hiro and kisses him (Nitsuj: I feel so bad for Goro). 02 returns to the 9s where she’s given a number of pilots to use in the coming operation (scene here: https://youtu.be/8O_3MDqoCBU, you guys all know you signed up to die right? (Nitsuj): And as long as we’re here we might as well address the elephant in the room. This was the episode that pissed off a lot of people because of the way Ichigo acted throughout the episode. It was bad, like seriously bad. It got to the point where people were actually sending death threats to the directors and the VA of Ichigo. Now, there are two ways to see this. The first one is good, as it shows just how much everyone was invested into the story and anime as well as shows off just how good the writing and story of this series is. Seriously, I haven’t seen the director of an anime get this many death threats since Evangelion. The second one is bad. While I understand everyone’s anger and yeah I admit I was pissed off as well at this scene of Ichigo forcing her way onto Hiro and not considering his feelings and just hers, we took it way too far with the death threats. We have to remember that these guys are just telling a story. It’s their story, we’re just listening and watching it. I may not agree with everything that they do but I respect their decision and choices. Personally, I think the way Ichigo is acting is very human. She’s in love with a boy who loves someone else and can’t admit defeat because it’s too painful. She knows that she’s going to lose Hiro but the pain is just too much to take and thus she tries to get him to be with her. Even if it means forcing herself on him and ignoring his own feelings).
(Mira): If episode 14 made you mad then episode 15 makes you happy. The big operation begins where we see they’re all attacking this huge dome with klaxosaurs coming out of it and everything (it’s a nest. (Nitsuj): A big one apparently). We see 02 is out on the battlefield where her mech has taken on the form of a beast as opposed to a human symbolizing her ceasing to be human and instead embracing her monster side (well that’s some clever symbolism). Squad 13 finally joins the fight along with the 9s where they manage to beat a number of klaxosaurs but they’re not progressing any further to the dome (Shizuku: Can’t one of you plantations launch a bunch of bombs or fire off a super laser or something? I mean we got all these mechs, building this stuff shouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility). Suddenly, a huge ship-like klaxosaur emerges and destroys a plantation in one strike and is making a beeline for squad 13’s plantation but another squad is told to execute protocol 32 (Nitsuj: Which is kamikaze) on the klaxosaur which manages to stop it in its tracks, but it breaks the outer rim of the plantation and begins unleashing klaxosaurs into the city. Squad 13 goes in to protect their home with even 02 fighting them but it’s just not enough. Hiro, tired of standing on the sidelines and hesitating, finally says enough is enough and tries to reach 02 himself but his small mech gets destroyed along the way and Ichigo tries to stop him until Goro steps in and tells Ichigo to let Hiro go be with 02 (Nitsuj: Seriously, Goro is a true bro). Hiro and Ichigo link up for one last time where Ichigo sees Hiro’s thoughts and it’s nothing but 02 (scene here: https://youtu.be/WYrvDDyYCqg, that’s a little disturbing. (Shizuku): Say, what’s this thought labeled tentacle fantasy with 02?). Ichigo finally accepts that Hiro won’t feel the same way she feels about him and takes him to 02 where she hands Hiro to her but not before trying to knock some sense back into her herself (Nitsuj: Those two girls have a very interesting relationship). Hiro enters the mech and tries to connect with 02 (Shizuku: Uh, where’s the male pilot?) but has no luck (Shizuku: Um hello? Male pilot?). So, he grabs her horns and dives into her mind (Shizuku: Oh, ignoring my question, huh? Okay) where we get a glimpse into her past and find out that not all of 02’s memories were erased and see the first words she learned to speak. Hiro finally manages to bring 02 back to her senses where the two embrace and apologize for what they’ve done to each other. Hiro kisses her, they confess their love for each other, which allows the mech to return to its true form, and they take out the klaxosaur and the dome all by themselves (scene here: https://youtu.be/Ka17GjnhL7g. (Klaxosaurs): Drats! Foiled by the power of love). So the operation is a success and as everyone takes a sigh of relief a huge hand comes from out of the ground and leaves a massive hand print.
Episode 16 gives us a chance to catch our breath from the excitement of episode 15. We see that a month has passed and the squad has been put on standby with no word from the adults at all (Nitsuj: Talk about terrible parenting). Thanks to the plantation taking considerable damage in the fight, the squad now has to do things themselves such as laundry, cleaning, and preparing their meals (it’s just like camping). We get some cheerful moments such as 02 being accepted back into the squad and on good terms with everyone (Shizuku: She actually seems like a real girl. (Mira): Well if you hooked the guy you liked, I’m sure you’d be happy too). Mitsuru asks Kokoro to cut his hair where he finally realizes that Hiro did nothing wrong to him in the past and it wasn’t his fault that he forgot their promise they made when they were in the Garden however Mitsuru doesn’t know how to approach Hiro now (he kept him at such a distance and treated him horribly for such a long time. How does he ask Hiro to forgive him and how does he forgive himself for hurting someone he looked up to so much). Kokoro gives him the courage to start over and in the heat of the moment she kisses him (scene here: https://youtu.be/U5oxvOk5cVA. (Shizuku): She continues to hurt Futoshi). As time goes on the squad tries to cook their own meal and succeed but at dinnertime we see their worries and anxiety begin to surface such as Futoshi not eating and Zorome wondering if they’ve been abandoned by Papa and the adults since they haven’t contacted them in so long. After dinner they all talk about their worries and fears, but Hiro remains positive saying that he’s fine if the adults abandoned them since he has the squad by his side, and they can take care of themselves as today showed (scene here: https://youtu.be/Ocfu2GxoCIM. (Nitsuj): Yes. Now let’s get rid of the house and warm beds and see how you fare in the wasteland with the klaxosaurs).
Episodes 17-20
Well episode 17 is educational. It starts off with Kokoro who tries to have sex with Mitsuru in the greenhouse (Nitsuj: I knew she was dirty! It’s always the innocent ones). Mitsuru manages to stop her (Shizuku: And it doesn’t help that Zorome is there) and relaxes in the water with Hiro where he talks about what happened and Hiro helps him realize that he’s possibly in love with Kokoro which does seem to clear up his mind a little. The 9s arrive at the dorm to let them know they haven’t been abandoned by Papa and will be staying for a bit. One of them finds Kokoro’s book (don’t go getting any funny ideas) and brings it to everyone’s attention where Kokoro admits she wants to have a baby (you say that but wait until you give birth then we’ll see how you feel about babies) believing that there’s more to life than just piloting a FRANXX. The 9s call her disgusting and say that stuff like that is pointless seeing as how humans have evolved beyond sex (Nitsuj: *Busts out laughing* Impossible) and that stuff just leads to pain. Ikuno takes exception to their way of thinking believing that there’s nothing wrong with Kokoro’s belief and she smacks one of the 9s (scene here: https://youtu.be/zlUdkiiOs1s). Just when it seems like a fight is about to break the caretakers show up and take Kokoro away for a talk where even they say she shouldn’t concern herself with that stuff. The rest of the squad soon starts to become interested in the idea of baby-making as all this time they’ve never had a proper sex education and start to wonder where they really came from. 02 gives her 2 cents (*chuckles* 2 cents) and thinks it’s a wonderful feeling to want to have a child as she herself won’t be able to have a child to call her own (Nitsuj: Well on the bright side Hiro doesn’t have to pull out each time and trust me they will do it). Mitsuru goes to check up on Kokoro where he comforts her, they kiss, and they have sex (scene here: https://youtu.be/0OJYqCC7D7k. (Shizuku): Alright Mitsuru became a man first). In other parts of the episode we find out that Hiro is beginning to grow horns just like 02 (scene here: https://youtu.be/Mj5WPU9y9fc) and we get to see the adults confront the klaxosaur queen where they ask her to surrender and she responds by killing all of them (scene here: https://youtu.be/7vkvWEwOjHw, a simple no would have sufficed).
Talk about a powerful episode. In episode 18 the group is told they’ll be leaving their home soon as it’s becoming too unstable to maintain life (Shizuku: It’s not that bad. (Nitsuj): Their water source has dried up. That’s usually the sign for it’s time to leave). But before leaving Kokoro and Mitsuru announce their feelings for each other and Hiro says they should hold a wedding for them (Nitsuj: Too soon boy). They all agree to hold a wedding for the two lovebirds with Futoshi acting as the priest, making their own rings, and making a wedding dress out of shower curtains (Shizuku: Cheapest wedding ever) it’s sure to be a wonderous event (so many death flags being raised). In the events leading up to the wedding we find out that Ikuno likes Ichigo (Shizuku: Ha! I knew she was a lesbian. Scene here: https://youtu.be/WigI-8k_on0) and 02 has a nightmare where she gets dragged to Hell by her former partners). At the wedding it seems like everything is going well until the 9s come in with an army and crash the event (scenes here: https://youtu.be/1Dz2dS_-nZA and https://youtu.be/JblSrOlYbpM. (Nitsuj): Geez, if you wanted to object there was a better way to do it). Mitsuru and Kokoro get taken away where they’re to be re-indoctrinated because of their feelings for each other (oh come on! They’re not allowed to fall in love?). The group gets sent to what’s known as the bird nest where other parasites stay at and are put on standby with no idea what happened to Mitsuro or Kokoro. Mitsuru and Kokoro finally come back but their memories have been altered and their feelings for each other gone (scene here: https://youtu.be/_B-EtsbjgeA).
Episode 19 starts with a flashback in the year 2025. We focus on Werner Franx a scientist who was studying cloning and making good progress in the field. However, the scientific community frowned on his research and pretty much blacklisted him (Nitsuj: Really, I thought you scientists loved this kind of stuff?). His worked gained the attention of APE a group of scientists of unknown origins or nationalities who made scientific discoveries that revolutionized the world (particularly the mining field). They dug up magma energy from underground reserves which no man could ever reach, creating a whole new energy source that was eco-friendly, all-encompassing, and low cost (Nitsuj: That last one is the seller). Because of this new power source, APE gained power throughout the world and now they want to bring Werner into their inner circle to help with their research on using magma energy to make people immortal. 5 years passed, and the project is a success, but Werner is worried that this new discovery will cause humans to lose their reproductive functions (Shizuku: Along with their ability to think straight I say yes) and sure enough he was right. People opted to become immortal, but it created a rift between the poor and the rich who could afford the procedure to be immortal. A law was soon passed in East Asia that heavily taxed childbirth (Shizuku: Well on the plus side, condom sales went through the roof). There was also the desertification of North and South America due to the mining of magma, but everyone pretty much ignored it (Nitsuj: The United States of America became the United States of Arizona). A year later and over 70% of humanity was immortal with 100% 2 years away. However, Werner wasn’t too keen on the operation and neither was another female scientist named Karina who had a crush on him and wants to have a child (and like a typical anime male he’s too dense to notice it. (Shizuku): Even when she invites him to wine and dine in a fancy restaurant. (Nitsuj): I just assumed she was being a cool co-worker. Scene here: https://youtu.be/rztd3wkjCrc). Desertification soon began happening throughout the world and APE presented their countermeasures, the plantations. With the plantations, APE soon became the leaders of the world with nobody to oppose them (Shizuku: Or was there?). Enter the klaxosaurs a year later who began attacking the magma mines (there was also something in there about Werner getting married to Karina which has just raised a death flag for her). The plantations were turned into mobile fortresses and after capturing and studying the dead carcass of one klaxosaur, Werner was put in charge of the anti-klaxosaur weaponry which would come to be known as the FRANXX. As the FRANXX entered the prototype stage they hit a roadblock. It turns out the FRANXX needs a pilot who still possesses reproductive functions (Nitsuj: *busts out laughing* I told you) and since everyone is immortal and have forgotten how and what to use a penis for, humanity is pretty much screwed (https://youtu.be/Vau2hG22DoQ). Luckily, Karina volunteers to pilot the FRANXX where she couldn’t control it and she died (Shizuku: Well that was a quick death flag). The problem was piloting the FRANXX caused a huge level of stress on the pilot that they became unable to control it, so the pilots were injected with yellow blood cells which acted as a conduit to the FRANXX and instead of one pilot it would be one male and one female piloting together which alleviated the stress. This in turn led to the cloning of children where they were born in Gardens and placed into secluded habitats under heavy supervision to grow and develop emotions as those were required to pilot the FRANXX. Sometime later they found the queen of the klaxosaurs and Werner was given permission to go down into her lair (why, I have no idea. Sending a scientist into a gunfight never turns out well). The queen kills the vanguard except for Werner where he gets bought before her and he instantly falls for her. To him, this was the pinnacle of evolution. Even when she rips his arm off he can’t help but still be entranced by her beauty (scene here: https://youtu.be/Mmlwu_t-cmk. (Nitsuj): I guess he has a thing for blue lolis. (Mira): We should probably inform Chibi about this. (Shizuku): I bet his favorite band is the Blue Men). Despite getting his arm ripped off he managed to get a strand of her hair which he used to create 02 (he tried to create a harem of the klaxosaur queen? (Nitsuj): Not a bad idea). Back in the present we see the group confront Papa and the other adults about what they did to Mitsuru and Kokoro where Papa isn’t the least bit sorry (Papa: I do not approve of this shipping). Hiro speaks up and says they’ve had enough and want to be set free where his request gets heard and will be granted on the condition that they succeed in the next operation (scene here: https://youtu.be/RojZRnIA_CM).
(Nitsuj): At the start of episode 20, we find out that the squad’s mission is to protect a weapon called Star Entity that they retrieved from the last battle. As the weapon is booting up, the klaxosaurs will most likely attack and the adults want them to protect the weapon until it’s ready. The battle begins with everyone fighting except for Hiro and 02 who are given a special mission and are heading towards the core of Star Entity. As Hiro and 02 make their way to the core of Star Entity the klaxosaur queen shows up (Shizuku: And no doubt Werner is popping a boner) and manages to catch up to Hiro and 02 where she infiltrates the FRANXX, throws out 02, kisses Hiro right in front of her (bitch, you better step off that girl’s man), and takes control of the FRANXX with Hiro inside (scene here: https://youtu.be/rG99nPRYjMU). They make their way to Star Entity’s core and take control of it where we see Star Entity is just one giant FRANXX (Mira: It’s a super Gundam). If you think that’s shocking, this is just the beginning as we find out that FRANXXs this whole time are basically klaxosaurs machines. It turns out that klaxosaurs have two forms. One is them returning to the earth as magma and the other is sapien blue lifeforms. The other huge shocker is that we’re on a different planet and Hiro and others are the invaders (you mean to tell me this whole time we’re the bad guys!? (Mira): Well duh). The invaders are really VIRM who originally came to the planet to harvest its magma resources but the klaxosaurs fought back and lost, being driven underground and forced to regroup. Now that Star Entity has fallen into the hands of the klaxosaurs, the queen intends to use it to protect her home and VIRM has decided to destroy the planet and use everyone on it as energy (scene here: https://youtu.be/0cnmicg-m0w. (Nitsuj, Shizuku, and Mira): What?).
Episodes 21-24
So in episode 21 Star Entity is set to explode and take the whole planet down with it now that the klaxousars have taken over Star Entity. Hiro manages to connect with the queen and manages to stall the detonation for some time. Meanwhile, the others decide to do what only they can do and make their way over to Star Entity as 02 learns that she’s a clone of the klaxousaur queen (Shizuku: No shit). Thanks to Hiro converging his mind with the klaxosaur queen, he learns that’s she lived for centuries, longer then any human could imagine. She explains that in the past the klaxousaurs were sapien life forms who lived on the planet and had technology far greater then ours. One day VIRM an entity that was a combination of minds from different races across the galaxy with no physical form showed up wanting them to join their collective consciousness by discarding their bodies (Nitsuj, Shizuku, and Mira: What?). They refused of course and war broke out turning their planet into a wasteland and losing the ability to procreate (well that sucks). They managed to drive VIRM off, but it would return stronger then ever. In order to prepare for VIRMs return, the klaxousaurs moved underground with some turning themselves into energy in order to create stronger klaxousaurs which eventually led to the creation of Star Entity (Mira: Built off the backbones of others) a device that could only be worked by klaxosaur sapiens. This is why the humans created 02 (aside from Werner wanting a living sex doll), they wanted to use her to control Star Entity. Out of all the test subjects she was the only one to survive and they decided to make clones of her should something happen to her, the 9s (Shizuku: Oh hell). Yep, the 9s are actually clones of 02 but they didn’t inherit her klaxosaur blood meaning they’re just enhanced humans who blindly follow the adults and do what they’re told (scene here: https://youtu.be/Lgtpr7dZ9-U, like a kid wanting a cookie). The others manage to make it to the Star Entity where they help 02 and Werner reach Hiro and stay behind to defend them from VIRM. Werner unlocks the door and 02 goes inside where she finds Hiro slowly fading away. She links herself to Star Entity in order to save him where the klaxosaur queen uses up all of her power to help her out (momma approves of Hiro). 02 finds Hiro and brings him back (scene here: https://youtu.be/sp11Ga-yXvA) where they take over Star Entity and fight against VIRM forcing them to retreat for the time being but they vow to return with their full army (scene here: https://youtu.be/gEmMsaG6YDM). The episode ends on a scary image of 02 being unresponsive and not moving.
Things are looking bad for Hiro, the others, and the remaining children who were left behind in episode 22. Food is scarce, some people are getting sick from overworking, they can’t grow crops because the soil has been ruined from the extraction of magma, the 9s are sick, and 02 has gone into a catatonic state where she remains unresponsive to everyone but for some reason cuts keep appearing on her out of nowhere (Mira: Can things get any worse?). Oh, and Kokoro is pregnant with Mitsuru’s child (Shizuku: Holy shit). Goro manages to find one of the old plantations and thinks they can use the soil from there to grow crops and Hiro figures out what’s going on with 02, she’s in space (scene here: https://youtu.be/jRF-hk52NI0, well, her mind at least). For some reason 02’s mind combined with her FRANXX and now she’s in space fighting VIRM along with the klaxosaurs around Mars (Nitsuj, Shizuku, and Mira: What?) and Hiro has decided to go there using one of the klaxosaurs ships that crashed on the planet. Goro is rightfully upset that Hiro is leaving them to go off and die and asks them to just accept it and even punches Hiro in the face (scene here: https://youtu.be/-IyVsGrU9Zw). But the next morning when Hiro is about to leave, the others and the 9s are there waiting as they plan to help him fight and come back alive (scene here: https://youtu.be/gAp2XLpPIrs).
So not much to say about episode 23. They all go into space, their mechs gets fitted with space equipment and Hiro makes it to 02 with the 9s sacrificing themselves in the fight (scene here: https://youtu.be/qAuU3b2mKN8). Once Hiro is connected to 02 he enters her mind where it’s in the form of her favorite story where she says she left because she didn’t want Hiro to turn into her but he says he doesn’t care about that and wants to be with her always. With that things start to get strange as the 02 back on Earth turns into stone and 02 becomes the mech with Hiro inside of her (scene here: https://youtu.be/VlzeRCYws10. *Everyone starts busting out laughing* (Mira): Okay, what are they smoking because I want some. (Shizuku): Now I know why it’s called Darling in the FRANXX). The klaxosaurs than open up a portal which will take Hiro and 02 to VIRM where they’ll use a bomb to destroy VIRM once and for all. Since 02 is the only one strong enough to survive the portal only she and Hiro can enter meaning they have to face VIRM alone (scene here: https://youtu.be/CEHTlbRnqOo).
In the final episode we get an ending that leaves us in tears but doesn’t satisfy you. It starts with Hiro and 02 traveling across the galaxy to reach the home planet of VIRM. The journey is long as approximately two years go by before they reach the home planet (Shizuku: Why didn’t they just warp there? (Nitsuj): You wanna tell her, or should I? (Mira): I think we should both tell her. (Shizuku): Tell me what? (Nitsuj & Mira): There’s no such thing as warping). During that time, we see that things on Earth has greatly improved. They were able to grow plants, Kokoro gave birth to a healthy baby girl they named Ai, and Goro heads out on a journey to discover the world. Back in space, Hiro and 02 reach VIRM’s home planet where they manage to slip Hiro into a state of unconsciousness where he can’t hear 02 but the prayers and feelings of everyone on Earth reaches him and he returns where he and 02 give their lives to defeat VIRM and souls begin drifting back to Earth (scene here: https://youtu.be/_b8zqnzXEB8. (Mira): I am so confused why you choose that clip. (Shizuku): Why not? It’s awesome. (Nitsuj): Captain Falcon!). 8 years soon passed and the world is doing great as we see everyone has started to age, some of them have kids, Goro and Ichigo wound up together and are going to have a kid soon (way to go Goro. He deserved a happy ending), Ikuno unfortunately is ill but it’s thanks to her that everyone was able to age properly, Zorome and Miku are teachers (Mira: Not sure whether to be impressed or scared), Futoshi becomes a farmer where his food is loved by all, and society continues to grow with new energy sources being used and life returning to Earth. As the episode draws to a close we see the souls of Hiro and 02 return to Earth where they’re reincarnated as children (Shizuku: Human children) and meet each other once again (scene here: https://youtu.be/r5eHr4-YaWo).
Final Thoughts
(Nitsuj): So that was Darling in the FRANXX. It starts off on a great note with the characters, story, and setting but around episode 15 or 17 is when the series starts to go downhill with the introduction of VIRM out of nowhere and this incredibly confusing ending that feels rushed and makes little to no sense. What happened? How did we get here? When I first saw this I wasn’t really sure who to point the blame at. Knowing Trigger, I’m sure the endgame was to have a space battle which bought everything to a close, but I doubt this is what they had in mind and this rushed ending sounds like something CloverWorks would come up with.
(Mira): To better understand this I did some research on the anime and here’s what I found. This anime was written by two people, Atsushi Nishigori who was also the co-director and Naotaka Hayashi. Looking up their previous work I discovered that Atsushi worked on animes like Gurren Lagann and Panty and Stocking so it’s clear to say that he was representing Trigger. Naotaka worked on Plastic Memories, Steins;Gate, and Chaos;Head. I think it’s fair to say that he was hired by CloverWorks to help out with the story and it is said he wrote a majority of the anime. Finally, there was the second director, Toshifumi Akai who worked a lot of CloverWorks animes such as Idolm@ster, SAO, and Magi. So after analyzing their writing styles and based off their previous work I hypothesize that Atsushi mostly wrote the action scenes and earlier episodes while Naotaka wrote the more dramatic and serious moments with Toshifumi serving as the middle man who would break up any disagreements the two writers had and often favored Naotaka’s writing over Atsushi’s writing.
(Shizuku): So the fault lies with CloverWorks?
(Mira): Personally, I think both sides are at fault here but a majority of the fault lies with CloverWorks.
(Nitsuj): So yeah, the last part of the anime wasn’t really all that good, but you have to ask yourself this question, does this ruin the whole anime for you?
(Shizuku): No. Not really. While I admit I’m disappointed that the ending started making little to no sense and focused on the characters that we weren’t all that interested in I did enjoy the story they were telling in the earlier episodes. The stuff with Hiro and 02 fighting to be together in a world that seemed like it was trying to keep them apart, the other kids slowly maturing and discovering their feelings for each other, and the action scenes were all good stuff. I also like how they were upfront with the message and sexual innuendos about growing up and becoming aware of one’s sexuality and the sexuality of others. It’s called growing up and there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
(Mira): I’m afraid the ending ruined the whole anime for me sadly. While I admit the earlier stuff that Shizuku talked about was good and I liked how they explained how they got to where they are in a good backstory episode, that ending just brings everything down for me and brings me to tears not because I was happy with the ending, but because I knew it could have been better and now it never would be.
(Shizuku): How about you, boss?
(Nitsuj): I would have to side with Shizuku on this. Could the ending have been better, no doubt. However, I still did enjoy the anime from beginning to end. It may not be the masterpiece that we were all hoping for, but it was a good anime that had a good set of characters, cool mechs, and great music to go along with it. It knew how to make us cry, smile, get angry, and most importantly keep us entertained.
Final Score
(Nitsuj): I’m giving this anime a 5.5/10
(Mira): I’m giving it a 4.5/10.
(Shizuku): I give it a 7/10.
(Mira): So combing those scores together we get a 17/30 and averaging out that score the final score for Darling in the FRANXX is a 5.7 which roughly translates to a 6/10 on our scale.
(Nitsuj): If you exclude the final part of the anime, Darling in the FRANXX is a unique and interesting anime that doesn’t shy away from its message about adolescence to adulthood. Is this anime a masterpiece? I don’t think so. Did I like it? Yes, and I would recommend this anime to anyone out there who’s a fan of Trigger’s work and wants to see mech battles mixed with adolescent drama.
(Mira): Well that wraps up Trigger month. I guess it’s time to say goodbye to their madness.
(???): That’s exactly what you could call this whole month, madness.
(Shizuku): Who the hell are you?
(Chase): Chase Biller. Representative of Aniplex. On behalf of Aniplex I’m here to shut down this whole show.
(Nitsuj): Is this about the SAO and Magi reviews?
(Chase): No, but we’ll be looking into those. This is about shining a negative light on the studio because of our hand in Darling in the FRANXX.
(Mira): Hey we’re sorry but it’s the truth. Since you guys wrote a majority of the episodes the fault lies more with you than it does Trigger.
(Chase): Unimportant. You guys will redo the review and give this anime your highest score or-
*A bunch of men in armored suits come in holding guns*
(Chase): This show will have an unfortunate accident.
(Nitsuj): Alright. Looks like we’re doing this. Let’s take it from the top ladies.
(Shizuku): Ready when you are boss.
(Mira): Would you mind if I grab a drink first, I’m a little thirsty?
*Mira grabs a bottle of her apple cider and takes a shot. She soon takes her whip and whips one of the armored soldiers in the face which sends him flying. As the remaining soldiers point their guns at Mira she twists her wrist and all of a sudden wires flash through the air around the soldiers and their guns and helmets are torn to shreds*
(Mira): To quote what my friend Yume once said. You don’t send a rabbit, to kill a fox.
*Shizuku does a superwoman punch on one of the soldiers and proceeds to pummel the rest surrounding her as Nitsuj backs her up with his swords using the backside so he doesn’t hurt them seriously. Chase tries to run for cover but gets caught by Mira who proceeds to whip him. One of the soldiers goes flying out the window followed shortly by the others who run away screaming and Chase who has a torn-up shirt, no pants, and his butt is hanging out of his boxers*
(Chase): Retreat! Retreat!
*Chase and the soldiers hop into their vans with Chase jumping in through the passenger’s window. With his butt still hanging out, Mira gets one last shot in before they drive off scared for their lives*
(Nitsuj): Yeah, don’t think you can come around here and threaten us.
(Shizuku): Come back again if you want another beating.
(Nitsuj): By the way Mira, that Yume quote, came from Ghost in the Shell movie.
(Mira): It did? That sneaky fox has been saying she created it.
(Nitsuj): Yep. Come on I’ll show you.
*Nitsuj leads Mira back into the house to show her Ghost in the Shell*
(Shizuku): Thanks for reading guys. Hope you enjoyed Trigger month and we’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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