This review contains spoilers.
This review was originally written on Jul 7, 2018; rewritten on Nov 18, 2022.
〈 A corporate product that plays it so safe... 〉
Nothing irritates me as severely as deceitfulness. It wrenches my guts when someone or something expects you to deem them exceptional and above the norm while they are lazy, uninspired and deceptive beneath that facade. Trying to sell yourself as something you are not is a surefire way of losing respect from the get-go, and this anime employs this tactic at every corner. Darling in the Franxx is a crystal clear example of a show that portrays itself as much more splendid than it is, even though, in reality, it is as shallow as a puddle, and it tries to hide this fact by camouflaging it with the premise of a touching, epic tale. A journey that never comes to fruition, as the series only concerns itself with pandering to the viewer, making them fall in love with its female lead and blindly following it to the end.
While DITF (Darling in the Franxx)'s mask wholly comes off near the end of its run, many signs alerted me to its true intentions and what lies beyond the surface. From the first minute, countless red flags started popping up that, with time, evolved into inexcusable flaws.
One of the things that initially took me aback was the abundance of symbolism. The second I dipped my toes into the world of Franxx, I was instantly bombarded with a load of cryptic imagery and suggestive, sexual innuendos, which were bedaubed with a ton of awkward fan service shots. Some of these include: comparing a bird's wings to a relationship between two people, having mechas that demand the pilots to be in the doggy-style position to activate, having the robots be called after various flowers, calling the kids parasites, and constantly referencing sexual phrases. It goes without saying that the show put these together to wow you, evoke a sense of substantiality and appear thought-out and chock-full of meaning. However, as much as I treasure fascinating symbolism, the one on display here does not make me want to chew on it. Quite the opposite. It feels superficial beyond comprehension, shoehorned in for the sake of making an appearance rather than prompting genuine pondering. Not every bit of imagery has to have innate meaning and correspond to the themes of the series. You can put as much symbolism into your work as you want, even if it is only meant to appear charming. As long as you demonstrate inventiveness and wit to make it compelling enough, it is not a problem. It begins being one when you make it seem forced and inconsequential; when the metaphors and ideas are all bark and no bite. Disappointingly enough, the anime exhibits no willingness to flesh them out, forever dooming them to be merely a gimmick that does not leave any tangible impact.
The symbolism is at its most prevalent in the first few episodes, which make up one of the three unofficial sections in DITF's progression. All the sexual insinuations and connotations are dilled up to eleven and are the cornerstone of this section. Though it may not appear as such, I believe this part of the story functions as nothing more than a magnet for new, potential viewers. Every single concept, image and dialogue seems manufactured in such a way as to attract as many people as it is possible. It would be perfectly normal and acceptable if it felt sincere and honest. Yet, it is not. In a way, it lures them in with the premise of a bog-standard, balls-to-the-walls mecha anime that follows the monster-of-the-week formula and is coated in suggestive imagery and undertones. The watchers do receive that, but only at the start. The premise hastily fades out as the show has something other in mind.
At some point, DITF decided that sex and robots were not going to cut it. It came to the conclusion that it needed to become substantial, relatable and poignant. It thought goofing around was not enough to become a staple of the medium. As a result, it needed to evolve, so it became a teen drama. It wholeheartedly desired and attempted to become a hearty, moving story with characters we would empathise with, cheer on and be fond of. Such a drastic shift in priority would be effective if performed adequately. Many stories successfully pull such feats off, but it necessitates a passionate amount of labour and cleverness. However, DIFT was never eager or willing to put in the necessary effort that could bring forth its tremendous ambitions. As such, it took the line of least resistance and proceeded to fabricate half-assed, empty caricatures that masquerade as people.
Every single character that resides within Squad 13 embodies a specific archetype to the t, and they never morph into people much grander than a glorified collection of cliches. Ichigo is the childhood female friend of the protagonist who exists solely to create a love triangle. Nothing sells as well as love-induced conflicts, and Zero Two desperately needed an adversary. Goro is the "nice guy" who gets intertwined in the love triangle. Miku and Zorome are the obnoxious, hyperactive, oddly assertive types. Kokoro seems reserved at first, but that is just a facade. Futoshi is the stereotypical obese guy who is on the kinder side. Ikuno is an example of a silent, timid character. And Mitsuru is the arrogant one. These short descriptions of each of the pilots, besides the main duo, may seem extreme at first, but that is what they are in actuality. I sincerely wish I could say more about their personalities or goals, but there is nothing of which I can speak. They are merely a bunch of caricatures thrown together to create a seemingly impressive cast. What is even more awful is that whenever the series demands to stir up the drama for an unearned emotional reaction, the characters instantly change themselves to fit the criteria.
The situations where these individuals are given some kind of issue that requires resolving are so frequent that it becomes extremely nauseating. One could chalk it up to be the crucial development they need to grow, yet it could not be further from the truth. It is pure character assassination; already shallow personages become even less believable and authentic. What these plot points evoke is an unadulterated annoyance as they are quickly slapped onto the screen, resolved within a span of an episode or two, and then forgotten and thrown aside. Their influence on the show and the people they are centred around is wholly absent. It is almost as if they appear merely to remind us of these characters' presence within the narrative. In one instance, DITF decided that Futoshi needed to become a more intriguing guy. To do that, it came to the conclusion that having him develop unforeshadowed bulimia is the perfect solution. Truth be told, it could lead to some great messages and raise awareness about eating disorders, but that would require empathy. Others remind him that he needs to eat to survive, and the problem solves itself. It is never brought up again. It is not compelling; it is revolting. On another occasion, the anime became determined to flesh out Ikuno as she was undeniably one of the least intriguing members of the cast. On account of that, she starts exploring her sexuality and tries to hook up with Ichigo. Though it is foreshadowed in some capacity, the reveal leaves much to be desired, could have been handled way better, and the entire thing could have been explored more thoroughly. There was potential, but it did not equate to a whole lot and got brushed aside. Mitsuru undergoes a similar situation, though he later joins Kokoro's quest for a child, which might be one of the goofiest attempts at humanising the characters out of them all. Of course, as it is in DITF's nature, her impregnation and the inevitable coming of her offspring become a matter of immense importance only at the beginning. It is then swept under the rug and brought back up at the end when the show flings everything it has at you to see what sticks.
It goes without saying that these individuals exhibited little to no promise as their shallowness slipped through every nook and cranny. One could detect the vile odour of cliches and lazy writing from a mile away. In spite of everything, the approach the show took when it comes to their development is nothing short of dishonest and manipulative. It hoped we would flock to them like moths to a flame, yet it is impossible to root for characters who are more akin to cardboard cutouts than well-written, well-thought-out, likeable and relatable people.
And the anime's favourites, Hiro and Zero Two, are not different. I would go as far as to say that they are even worse since they are given way more screen time than their peers.
If I had to describe Hiro in a single word, it would be personality-less. The anime medium has a severe issue concerning the male leads. More often than not, they are nothing more than a blank slate that is completely reliant upon a mind-numbing goal; being a self-insert. His non-existent personality and goals are explained to you rather than shown through actions. He is a character who is not defined by himself but by the words of others. It is more than apparent that he is nothing more than a vessel for the viewers. A person whose shoes they can be in and imagine themselves in a situation where they are sought after by beautiful women. He does not feel like a human being. He is more akin to a toy DITF is too afraid to twist, mend and play around with. Even his name embodies that. He is the hero of the story and cannot be touched. He possesses no mind and dreams of his own, so it is only natural that following and rooting for him all the way is not an option. I cannot cheer on a cardboard cutout.
The splinter that got stuck underneath my skin, Zero Two, is the embodiment of the show's dishonesty, fakeness and broken approach. To say I dislike her would be an understatement. I despise her guts. In the same fashion as everyone else, she may seem like a character at first, but behind that exterior lies a disgusting interior. She is merely a tool used to sell, popularise and merchandise the product. She was conceived purely to play the role of the "best" character in the entire anime and to exclude others from bearing any significance, being worth remembering or even existing in the eyes of the viewers. Unmistakably, this anime's appalling writing played a critical role in disallowing the characters from ever being decent, yet Zero Two was a different case. She was supposed to be the eye candy and the apple of the anime's eye. Everyone else is unimportant, and you can spot this mindset at work in the most bizarre of places. The entirety of Squad 13 owns and dons a bleak, bland grey uniform that blends in with the crowd. In comparison, our "beloved" femme fatale wears a distinctive and eye-catching red coat, and her mecha suit boasts the same radiant hue. What is even more ridiculous is the fact that even her face and hair appear more defined and detailed, which distances her from others even further. Pretty much the same thing applies to her personality. Even though she has none, it is still the only recognisable one. She is tremendously annoying, hyperactive and hyper-focused on seductive, sensual mannerisms. It is a deadly mix I cannot stomach. However, even she is not free from the show's manipulative, drastic personality shifts. In the beginning, she is a horny succubus whose goal is to wrap the viewers around her little finger. Then, she begins having an existential crisis and views herself as a monster because of her background. A second later, she is back to her usual self as if nothing had happened. Some time passes, and she reverts to the "I am a monster" mindset. Rinse and repeat. As I have already stated countless times, I cannot and will not admire and follow a character who offers nothing of value. No personality to relate to, no goals to respect and no likability in sight.
Even though the show, in essence, is a love story centred around Hiro and Zero Two, and their relationship is one of the most significant aspects of the narrative, it comes off as lazy, shady and unstable. The feelings they have for each other may be presented as empowering and genuine, but in actuality, they are nothing more than a deceptive scheme pitched to market the anime as love stories sell like hotcakes. The feelings they have for each other and the affection are not natural, lively or honest-to-goodness. They meet, barely interact and instantly fall head over heels in love with each other for seemingly no reason. Sure, one could label it as the outcome of destiny doing its thing and point out that they met when they were very young, but that does not change the fact that it feels fabricated. Their love did not begin and flourish organically. It blossomed in an instant, and then the show attempted to infuse it with more substance with no effect. Even the way they were introduced in the first episode further exemplifies this notion. She basically jumps out of a pool of water completely naked, Hiro is there to witness it, and so their relationship begins. Is that how it should be done? Not really. Does it make for a great magnet for the hornier of viewers? Absolutely.
Given how the show treats its characters and their development, it is to be expected that even its focal point falls victim to negligence. Surely, combining a generic, shallow self-insert protagonist with a walking-talking advertisement was an awful idea. Nevertheless, if the characters were given more time, their relationship was more organic and their development was more organised, it could have worked or, at the very least, it could have been more digestible. As it stands, merely thinking about these characters makes me roll my eyes, and that is not what your protagonists should evoke in the viewers.
After DITF realised that its popularity dwindled with each and every episode of its horrific teen drama, it ceased to dream of poignancy or relatability. It decided to return to its lowly roots and focus once more on fighting faceless enemies for the rest of its runtime. However, now with an added twist: it takes place in space. The alien invasion represents the transition into the third and last section of the show's plot. Many viewers believe these last few episodes mark the project's definite and inevitable downfall, and they are wholly correct. Though I, for one, viewed the show as an incompetent, vapid mess as soon as it started airing, these hilarious space battles and everything surrounding them took an already horrible experience and made it into a tragic joke. A gag that was never foreshadowed or built up in a meaningful, honest way. We are thrown into the middle of this space mess out of the blue, yet we are expected to jump in glee and excitement. It simply does not make sense when you compare it to the content that leads up to it. The only reason the show implemented such a drastic change is the fact that space conflicts worked in other, better anime.
I did not mention it before, but Darling in the Franxx has a severe issue with being heavily inspired by its peers. One could go as far as to claim that most of the compelling elements are straight-up taken from other IPs, most notably Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gurren Lagann. Listing at least some of them is no big task, as the series is plagued by concepts and motifs it cannot execute properly, yet they worked perfectly in the more respected titles. For instance, DITF features: a theme of youngsters standing up to the establishment run by grown-ups, an evolution from a monster-of-the-week narrative into a character-driven journey, basically SEELE from NGE, Tokyo-3/Geofront-inspired underground cities, and Klaxosaurs are, essentially, a hybrid of the beast men's gunmen and the angels.
And many, many, many, many more; these are the ones that I remembered. It does make them their own, but you can still see the glaring similarities between the original and DITF's rendition of certain concepts. Being inspired by something is not bad in itself. It is vital to seek inspiration and use it to better yourself and your content. To create something that feels wholly unique and one-of-a-kind. It all comes down to execution, and, in my eyes, it seemed like the show was shooting for the stars yet missed; it attempted to replicate ideas that worked wonders elsewhere, yet the replicas have no meat on the bones and are not intriguing in the slightest, despite following in the footsteps of some of the most impressive anime. The show's original ideas pack no punch, and the ones that could be attributed to NGE or TTGL seem too bland and uncompelling to stand on their feet with certainty. It genuinely feels like it wants to be just like them, even though it does not have its priorities straight and its approach is crooked. It will never leave a positive mark on the medium like its colleagues, so it is left hanging like a rotten apple from an immensely bountiful tree.
I briefly want to mention another fierce issue, as it is fully put on display here, and it is shocking how horrible it is at the core: the worldbuilding of the world of Franxx. All the little details, facts and nuances of the environment the characters populate are either kept away in secret or chucked at the viewer with little cohesion intact. The show exhibits zero keenness to introduce us to the setting it erected and the events that took place beforehand until the very end, where everything is dropped on our heads like a pallet of bricks in a span of a few episodes. Worldbuilding should either be constant or explored thoroughly and steadily when the opportunity to delve into it arises, yet the show decided to squeeze as much stuff into as little time frame, resulting in certain episodes feeling like a reading session of fan wiki articles that are a dozen pages long, rather than actual TV episodes.
Despite the fact that I deem the staggering majority of the series' elements to be pitiful, I cannot label the production values as yet another failure. To the surprise of nobody, the sole highlight of the show is the visuals. They may not be majestically impressive and have their weaker elements like the goofy mecha designs, awful outfits, ridiculous space fights and bizarre camera angles. However, they somewhat make up for these with their flashy colours, simple yet effective art style, decent backgrounds and sufficient animation. Whether it be a more tender, everyday-like scene or a moment that demands attention and energy, they remain somewhat solid, though they fumble in the last few episodes. As expected, they shine the brightest during the countless fighting scenes. These scenes may be wholly devoid of any weight and emotions, which nullifies their entire impact. Regardless, the visuals carry them all the way, creating a spectacle that you can feast your eyes on, though it has no taste whatsoever. The only exception is the space fights that take place later on. They are awful on all fronts (visually, writing-wise, and emotionally), and as such, there is no chance of saving them. When it comes to the soundtrack, it is inoffensive yet not memorable in the slightest. None of the tracks is catchy enough to mention, which is a shame since excellent music can improve an otherwise unimpressive moment.
Putting all of that aside, once you stop for a moment and take a look around, you will swiftly notice the deceitfulness I brought up at the start of the write-up. It resides in every component of the show. From the story and the characters to the symbolism, not a single piece of content feels authentic and passionate.
At this point, it should be more than clear what I think about the series. It is an absolute travesty of gigantic proportions, and I loathe it with every fibre of my being. I found the whole project devoid of soul, heart, personality and emotions; this fact makes the already insufferable product seem even more headache-inducing. In a way, there are no reasons to watch Darling in the Franxx over its countless peers. If you want to gawk at a visually appealing female lead that exists solely to be the viewer's slangy "waifu", you have an extensive catalogue of shows just like that at your disposal. If you want to see an anime where giant robots clash with other humongous entities, stick to anime that offer a compelling narrative and entertaining fights with sincere weight behind them. Zero Two and Darling in the Franxx are not worth your time, so do not let them devour it. They will spit it out.