DARLING in the FRANXX

Looking back I am really glad to not have watched this show while it was airing and instead experienced it with a considerable delay that now helps me disengage from the whole drama and disappointment surrounding this show online. Just to warn you in today's review I'm going to star in the role of a moderate contrarian. Not because being one would be cool but because I want to accurately reflect my own experience. So without further ado strap in and let's fly.

Animation and Art

Let me begin by saying that the show looks really great. Both art and animation are of a high quality and that's definitely a big selling point for the show. The mecha-designs are very unique and expressive. The klaxosaurs feature a palette of different designs as well which really adds to the overall watching experience. Couple this with great and fluid animation and you got yourself a visual treat. Well for the most part. Character design on the other hand was admittedly rather bland especially among our main characters in Squad 13. The gimmick of separating male and female uniforms by chromosom design while ultimately fitting for the themes of the show seemed rather lazy to me (Plus the mostly extremly lanky build of most male characters often felt out of place in a show featuring teen soldiers). Maybe said blandness is simply further emphasized through the usage of uniforms creating a visual baseline which is definitely used to alleviate one of our main characters (Zero-Two) from a design standpoint. Overall an expressive and visually impressive performance.

Sound

This is the category I always have the most difficulty with. Not so much this time however. The music is dramatic when it needs to be, solemn when it doesn't, never breaks you out of your state of immersion and bolsts awesome and fitting synthesised soundtracks as well. I don't need more from a soundtrack and the show was amazing in this regard.

OP and ED

If you are wondering why I didn't mention the honestly amazing opening song in the previous section (and therefore significantly reducing its length) don't worry I have not forgotten to mention it. What can I say. It fits the show perfectly. Several interludes interrupt the more enegized parts just like the show switches between mostly these two modes of operandi. The opening itself is (aside from the generic character introduction sequence that additionally uses shots from the show) quite nice. The blurred imagery has its story-relevancy and adds quite a bit of character. The second OP however needed some time to grow on me. I personally still judge it to be worse as its predecessor. The structure is extremely similar and the same song is being used. It does forshadow more plotpoint though (and because I like that in OPs it's definitely not a completely lost cause).
The EDs area also quite the gem. The music is great throughout all of them, the visuals are great (e.g. the lighting in number two) and most importantly: They add character to the characters (something the show unfortunately neglects quite a bit).

Speaking of neglected character development. Let's get into the meat of this review (and it won't be entirely laced with sweet honey). The show is less a sci-fi show and more akin to a teenage romantic drama/comedy (pick whatever you want the community certainly both laughed and cried). Knowing that it's somewhat unreasonable to expect extremely profound thematic depth. And if you are searching for that you will be quite disappointed probably. Same goes for the characters. A lot of them are as dull as you'd expect from side characters in romantic comedies. And just like in that genre it's painfully apparent how much of the focus lies on the main couple (basically all of it).
Aside from their sappy and downright cringeworthy dialogue (they are not the only ones guilty of that but by far the main perpetrators) I really didn't have that much of a problem with them . Sure Hiro might resemble a club figuratively bashing you over the head with the theme of "Question authority dumbass!" more than anything else butI'll have to admit to the guilty pleasure of having enjoyed his interactions with the female lead (as long as they didn't stretch to much into cringe). Zero-Two however was a bit more interesting. Aside from an incredibly sudden switch in overall personality (which was still a far more reasonable and understandable switch as the OTHER ONE following that example) I really have nothing to complain about. I won't get into the rest of the cast (save for one "Fuck you KOKORO" and who the hell thought it was a good idea to make such a sudden jump in personality...) but there isn't that much to go into anyways (Aside from Miku and Zorome most at least got some development though).
Contrary to popular opinion I was not bothered by the last part and arc of the story at all. Quite the contrary it's the ultimate way to find an end to the whole theme of the individual in society. You can sum it up as a battle of (forced) isolation and (forced) assimilation. And there was no way to end that in a more grand fashion than this. The twist was subtly hinted at (at least once) and to be honest the sudden revelation is more realistic in its execution than a slower build up due to the nature of said turn. I won't spoil anything but chances are you know exactly what I am talking about anyways.

To end this review I have to simply say that I indeed had a lot of fun watching the show. And ultimately that counts the most. I have never seen a show that takes its own sex metaphors so seriously that it would build up its entire pacing around that (excited but a bit hesitant start -> slow build up -> fast and sudden explosive finish -> (Re)birth). And in my opinion that's amazing. So if you are able to handle some amount of corny and idealistic sappiness I'd say go for it and give it a try.

I for one consider the Jian profoundly beautiful.

PS: If you don't want to develop PTSD in response to the word "darling" consider not watching this show.