Darling In The Franxx is different from other mecha anime because it features a unique but unconventional robot. The giant robot shown resembles a cute girl with high heels. However, it is not the robot that is the hallmark of the anime, but the personal story of each character who has just entered puberty and is filled with great curiosity. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic era where humans must survive under the shadow of an attack by giant monsters called Klaxosaurs. To fight the monsters, humans created the FranXX, a female robot driven by a pair of children who are about to enter their teens. These children, called parasites, are the hope for the survival of the human race; at least, that is what the rulers of the earth say.

Hiro (the protagonist) accidentally becomes a pilot partner of FranXX with a mysterious girl named Zero Two. Even though Zero Two is famous for always killing her partner, Hiro still wants to partner with the girl as long as he can become a FranXX pilot because this is the only way he can be useful to humanity. Over 24 episodes, the series doesn't just feature robot battles against giant monsters. However, it is also a story of romance and friendship among parasites with a spice of conspiracies that cover the world. Although very lucky because it was made with very good animation, drawn by the cold hands of the animators of A-1 Pictures, Trigger, and CloverWorks, the attractive character designs were realized with fluid animation, aka agile. Various battle scenes of robots and monsters are very pleasing to the eye; even the scenes throughout the series are made so that they look like movie scenes. It is also one of the uniqueness of anime.

Not only does its animation make the audience smitten, but the opening song sung by Mika Nakashima is also very pleasing to the ear. With the title KISS OF DEATH, the song perfectly describes Hiro and Zero Two's relationship. Darling In The Franxx is not always about robot and monster battles in terms of story. One of the most interesting sides is the romantic drama, especially the triangular love story between parasites. The romantic drama feels quite realistic for pubescent teenagers in the stage of egoism and resistance. The plot still has similarities with similar anime plots. When the relationship between the protagonists is good, a third party will always come with a new conflict. At first glance, it reminds many people of the mysterious character Kaworu from the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series. It's just that, in the anime, the new characters don't seem that important.

There are reasons why only children on the verge of puberty can become FranXX pilots. One of them is to control the giant robots; they must be paired with suitable partners. It would be great if they were attracted to each other, which often leads to a more intimate direction. The giant robot cockpit in the shape of a cute girl also requires the pilots to sit in a quite challenging position. Of course, FranXX's fighting abilities will be optimal if ridden by a pair of teenagers whose curiosity about the opposite sex is passionate. Besides being shown from the use of FranXX, the story of pubescent youth is also very visible from the development of the series characters. Each character has problems going through puberty. Some are involved in a love triangle; some are unrequited love; some are curious about the human reproductive system.

The rebellious side of puberty is clearly illustrated in the characters of Hiro and Zero Two. His erotic encounter with Zero Two brings Hiro to the world he wants to be, namely to become a FranXX pilot, plus the deadly kiss they had when they first became partners. Hiro seems to be getting "addicted" to being Zero Two's partner even though he knows his relationship with the monster girl can bring destruction to his humanity. Zero Two's rebellious side also triggers changes in the attitudes of other parasites, like environmental influences that often change the behavior of teenagers. Those who are usually very obedient to the rules made by the ruler slowly start to rebel against various rules after seeing Zero Two's rebellious attitude.

There are episodes where all the parasites are left unsupervised by adults, an experiment "for science." The experiments further fueled the pubescent and curious teenagers to fulfill their primitive instincts as humans in various ways. The experiment then made the parasites break various rules and become more rebellious. Maybe for some audiences, the intimate depiction of puberty will feel disturbing because the character designs, especially the daily uniform designs, make the parasites look like children. Fortunately, thanks to the context that they are teenagers who have just entered puberty and the design of several characters that look "mature," the discomfort of watching Darling In The Franxx anime slowly decreases with each episode. An interesting story, animation, and impressive score do not make the anime free from shortcomings. On the other hand, specific episodes have a slow pace and boring feel like a filler. In addition, the ending also feels made in a hurry.