Darling In The Franxx...

[Chapinator_X]

I absolutely loved the last episode’s flashback with 02 and Hiro’s relationship when it first started. It was cute, adorable, and meaningful. It gave us potential for something more than just teen drama bullshit and gave Hiro & 02 more to work with. 

And then this episode happened. Ichigo truly is the antagonist of this show, trying to force herself on Hiro after the fucktons of times he didn’t return her feelings. And yet, she never got the hint and used the sentiment against 02 to force her out and wedge herself into Hiro’s life against his will yet again, as if that worked the first time. Fuck off Ichigo. No one likes you, and you’ve done so much to make this show actively worse whenever you show up. Well, Goro does, but he deserves better than your thottery after she up and did all of this in front of him. 

Edited August 26, 2018 by imchapp.in

[MegaNaraku]

15 minutes ago, imchapp.in said:

I absolutely loved the last episode’s flashback with 02 and Hiro’s relationship when it first started. It was cute, adorable, and meaningful. It gave us potential for something more than just teen drama bullshit and gave Hiro & 02 more to work with. 

And then this episode happened. Ichigo truly is the antagonist of this show, trying to force herself on Hiro after the fucktons of times he didn’t return her feelings. And yet, she never got the hint and used the sentiment against 02 to force her out and wedge herself into Hiro’s life against his will yet again, as if that worked the first time. Fuck off Ichigo. No one likes you, and you’ve done so much to make this show actively worse whenever you show up. Well, Goro does, but he deserves better than your thottery after she up and did all of this in front of him. Hope you’re the first to go. 

All. Of. This! ^^^^^^^

[The1gairon]

7 hours ago, Daos said:

Ok after seeing the episode I'm team Ichigo now.

 

"The year is 4477 in 2018 an anime episode was released that started a war on the left ichigo on the right 02 both sides were dedicated so dedicated they took up arms and many countries fell under one of the two banners blood was spilled nukes were fired and not even the legendary wise old man could stop the bloodshed now in this dystopian future people worship these two characters as gods"

Japan is up in arms right now online about this ep. Things are SO heated, the DIRECTOR had to go online to tell them all to wait for the next episode!

[mochi]

18 minutes ago, elfie said:

Japan is up in arms right now online about this ep. Things are SO heated, the DIRECTOR had to go online to tell them all to wait for the next episode!

shame they didn't get that up in arms over the two seemingly gay characters getting over their homosexuality just by being re-assigned new co-pilots

[Daos]

I think all the drama made us gloss over an important point. Apparently "saurification" is normal and expected. Saurification = Klaxosaurs.

Pretty sure now they all turn into Klaxxsaurs when they become adults. I doubt that last squad died in combat. It's possible they've been killing turned humans this entire time.

We were told humanity was near extinction but... is that even true? It seems like they're being bred so they can turn into powerful Klaxosaurs. Otherwise, wouldn't they be killed before they could turn? 

Lotta plot twists are going to be incoming. Are Papa and the rest of the leaders even human? Klaxosaur hybrids? AI's?

I feel like this series is finally getting to the point where it's dishing out some substance and actually getting good.

[The1gairon]

Why would they allow children as test subjects and then soldiers just so they could turn into destructive monsters?

[MegaNaraku]

Well, there was a lot of drama in it. I didn't realize the Klaxosaur stuff much. I'm going to re-watch the episode and see if I can't find more details on it. I'm unsure of what's going on with the kids, klaxosaurs, or hybrid stuff. It might be a little too early to draw any conclusions right now, but everyone can have theories of course. But doing something like that to children would be pretty messed up. Hmmm. Time to re watch it now.

[PokeNirvash]

2 hours ago, elfie said:

Why would they allow children as test subjects and then soldiers just so they could turn into destructive monsters?

You do realize you're watching an anime, right?

[Blatch]

11 hours ago, mochi said:

shame they didn't get that up in arms over the two seemingly gay characters getting over their homosexuality just by being re-assigned new co-pilots

Can you please stop?

[CAC]

15 hours ago, MegaNaraku said:

I like Ichgio as well as 002, but I still want Hiro to be with 002.

 

[MegaNaraku]

6 minutes ago, CAC said:

 

[Daos]

6 hours ago, elfie said:

Why would they allow children as test subjects and then soldiers just so they could turn into destructive monsters?

Could be a lot of reasons. If they were just killing the kids when they reach adulthood, they'd eventually find some evidence. A mass grave somewhere. Something.

The big plot twist coming is going to center on the leaders, if they're human or not, and the origin of the Klaxosaurs... which are either all the kids that got too old.... or just what the rest of humanity turned into.

[Gina Szanboti]

Is Zero Two becoming more human?  Because the cuts on her fingers from biting at her claws were red, not blue, at least on my monitor...  And they kept showing us her hands, like we should notice.

[Daos]

Yeah but her horns are getting bigger.

[3ngag3]

[The1gairon]

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2018-04-17/anime-producer-yuichi-fukushima-endures-harassment-over-darling-in-the-frankxx-episode/.130524

Holy shit.

[Daos]

That's a reasonable response.

[Chapinator_X]

I thought the last episode made this already abysmal show even worse and set back any world building that could’ve been done by foregoing the teen drama and Ichigo taking advantage of an opportunity that would never work out, but it’s going overboard to threaten most of the staff involved.

Despite hating the episode, it was still very effective and made me curious about what will happen as the end result of Ichigo fracturing most of the competent pilots. It didn’t make me think I should send angry letters to the people who make this show happen or send death threats. If everyone survived the show’s first few episodes of cuckholding, Ichigo taking advantage of Hiro and Zero Two at their most vulnerable state should gel just fine with time. 

Otaku are crazy so they would go out of their way to do shit like this because a show has drama or cliffhangers or twists this ballsy. It is a testament though to how popular this show will be in retrospect when fans will talk about “Episode 13” and “Episode 14” the same way they discuss moments in other spectacle anime like Gurren Lagann or Code Geass. Still shit, but damn did it make people freak out. 

[PokeNirvash]

The biggest shitstorm of our time, indeed.

[The1gairon]

And here I thought the biggest shitstorm from the show would be a DEATH!

No one has yet died!

[mochi]

13 hours ago, elfie said:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2018-04-17/anime-producer-yuichi-fukushima-endures-harassment-over-darling-in-the-frankxx-episode/.130524

Holy shit.

[The1gairon]

9 minutes ago, mochi said:

[Chapinator_X]

[The1gairon]

 

[Daos]

17 hours ago, imchapp.in said:

I thought the last episode made this already abysmal show even worse and set back any world building that could’ve been done by foregoing the teen drama and Ichigo taking advantage of an opportunity that would never work out, but it’s going overboard to threaten most of the staff involved.

Despite hating the episode, it was still very effective and made me curious about what will happen as the end result of Ichigo fracturing most of the competent pilots. It didn’t make me think I should send angry letters to the people who make this show happen or send death threats. If everyone survived the show’s first few episodes of cuckholding, Ichigo taking advantage of Hiro and Zero Two at their most vulnerable state should gel just fine with time. 

Otaku are crazy so they would go out of their way to do shit like this because a show has drama or cliffhangers or twists this ballsy. It is a testament though to how popular this show will be in retrospect when fans will talk about “Episode 13” and “Episode 14” the same way they discuss moments in other spectacle anime like Gurren Lagann or Code Geass. Still shit, but damn did it make people freak out. 

It was good drama but they're dropping the ball on the whole... ya know.. plot?

[Daos]

Lol review on Mal. It's only slightly better critically received than Tokyo Ghoul.

"Inspired by old familiar mecha, Darling in the FranXX tries to incorporate over-the-top elements of Gurren Laggan and symbolic yet dramatic elements of Evangelion. 

Where it doesn't fail to deliver in generic combat, it not only fails to deliver in consistent plot, which it tries to build upon, but adds unnecessary elements of melodrama from characters, which just makes them look unrealistic and unlikable, it adds on extra awkward elements that makes sympathizing with the cast a pain and following the plot a chore.

Perhaps the cartoony mecha style emphasizes on that, but in the end it's a shallow show that foreshadows heavily on plot twists, but doesn't follow through to them in the end.

If you enjoy "nu"-mecha anime with unnecessary fanservice, no respect to its own world building and plot, and no respect to the viewer - go ahead and give this a go. What might seem to be a popcorn flick at first, simply something fun to watch, ends up being something that simply spits on the viewer in multiple ways and calls it a day."

Edited April 19, 2018 by Daos

[The1gairon]

 

[Chapinator_X]

9 hours ago, Daos said:

It was good drama but they're dropping the ball on the whole... ya know.. plot?

I think that's why I'm pissed about the show. I had the foolish assumption that Episode 13 would set the tone for the show to get deeper into its lore and start clearly defining what's happening within the world and why the kids are in this situation. If they could outline Zero Two's past that well, imagine if the remaining episodes were more brisk about peeling the layers behind the Elementary, klaxosaurs, and the pilots' fates.

Instead, Episode 14 set things back to how they were around Episode 5 when the show was sitting on its thumbs about whether they wanted to advance the plot in favor of showing Ichigo grapple with her unrequited love. It puts a pause on everything and only sets the story up to be explained in a clumsy rushed info dump because they spent too much time on teen drama to set the world up properly. 

The threats on the screenwriters/producers are insane, but they shit the bed by pressing the reset button. They needed to learn from Little Witch Academia that you can still have events happen outside of the main plot in the first half for character development/familiarity as long as you dedictate the second half to answering the questions you propose and tying up the loose ends. This Ichigo development is a detrimental setback to pad out the second half and waste valuable time that could've been spent on explaining shit by adding dramatic flair to the seperation arc.

Edited April 19, 2018 by imchapp.in

[mochi]

9 hours ago, Daos said:

Lol review on Mal. It's only slightly better critically received than Tokyo Ghoul.

"Inspired by old familiar mecha, Darling in the FranXX tries to incorporate over-the-top elements of Gurren Laggan and symbolic yet dramatic elements of Evangelion. 

Where it doesn't fail to deliver in generic combat, it not only fails to deliver in consistent plot, which it tries to build upon, but adds unnecessary elements of melodrama from characters, which just makes them look unrealistic and unlikable, it adds on extra awkward elements that makes sympathizing with the cast a pain and following the plot a chore.

Perhaps the cartoony mecha style emphasizes on that, but in the end it's a shallow show that foreshadows heavily on plot twists, but doesn't follow through to them in the end.

If you enjoy "nu"-mecha anime with unnecessary fanservice, no respect to its own world building and plot, and no respect to the viewer - go ahead and give this a go. What might seem to be a popcorn flick at first, simply something fun to watch, ends up being something that simply spits on the viewer in multiple ways and calls it a day."

I fully agree with that review

 

especially after the plotline where they revealed that one of the boys was in love with Hiro (and that that was why he couldn't co-pilot with girls), then in the same episode, threw his inability properly to co-pilot with pistils (girls) out in favor of him for some reason being able to successfully co-pilot with his new " cuter" loli-esque Pistil, same with his ex co-pilot who was in love with Ichigo, and couldn't properly co-pilot with Stamems (boys), then, again, just magically gets over it after being re-assigned to a new boy

they even went so far as to make mitsuru say he wanted to pilot in a Stamen/stamen pair

 

before the show later confirms that's impossible

Edited April 19, 2018 by mochi

[Daos]

I'm still team Ichigo though. Zero Two may be the best character in the anime by far,  but she's a piece of shit.

She doesn't care about anyone else. She's killed numerous partners and got her old squad mates killed by not following orders. She hasn't shown any concern for the life of the guy she supposedly cares about. She doesn't care about protecting people from Klaxosaurs. She's a 100 percent selfish sociopath. Makes for a great character but... she's a terrible person.

Ichigo actually tries to do what's best for her team and the guy she loves. She actually cares about people and tries to protect Hiro from eventually being destroyed by Zero Two. She doesn't have a chance of getting with Hiro of course because it's obvious this is the Zero Two show, but still.

So at the current pacing... is this anime 50 episodes? Because they're not getting a lot done.

[Chapinator_X]

50 episode pacing for a 24 episode series. It's not a good look, but it's the one they chose to wear.

[The1gairon]

Finally watch Ep 15

 

Welp this may not be my most favorite episode yet, but it is definitely the best.

[Daos]

This show is pretty good when it actually remembers it has plot.

[Chapinator_X]

The story elements of the episode were far more fascinating and rewarding in Episode 15 with new details on the klaxosaurs, papa, and the expendable nature of the pilots and plantations. However, it also made the separation arc feel unneeded. Where it felt like they didn't know how to have Hiro and Zero Two talk with each other about their past or confess, so they had to create a scenario where Hiro had to apologize to Zero Two and promise to talk at some point instead of having Hiro hash out his feelings about Zero Two's "fodder" statement or Zero Two's regret for seeing him as fodder before realizing he's her original darling.

It's very impactful and touching for the two to be able to confess, but it also feels unearned after the last episode's conclusion made it seem like it'd take more effort for the two to reconcile. Where the two really needed to face their own issues like the mixed signals Hiro gives off or Zero Two confronting the selfish side of her that was willing to throw away Hiro before finding out he was her darling. There was a little bit of that in their reconciliation, but only from the face value of how they called each other names. Not only did that feel rushed, but it also made the separation arc all the more of an insufferable decision with how poorly handled it was as a way of reframing their reconciliation as to place both of them at fault for things they should've realized and hashed out without Ichigo's interference.

As for Ichigo, the decision to have her continue pursuing Hiro only to realize upon linking thoughts together that he only has eyes for Zero Two also felt like they wanted to rush a conclusion for the character arc she should've already had episodes back. Looking back on her actions in past episodes, it is sadly within her character to make rash decisions like force Zero Two out so that she can force Hiro to depend on her and subsequently confess out in the open while Goro watches. But it feels like they just wanted this crap to end when Goro forces Ichigo's hand in getting Hiro to see Zero Two and have an opportunity to look into Hiro's mind to see his lack of interest in anyone but Zero Two (how she was unable to see any of those thoughts during his erectile dysfunction in Episode 2 is a mystery). They doubled down too much on the teen drama, and now that they want to get serious about the plot, they have to backpedal on everything they kept feeding into as recently as last episode. 

[MegaNaraku]

I thought ep 15 wasn’t half bad tbh. I don’t have complaints really. I’m still enjoying the series a lot. 

[Daos]

So it seems like this is setting up the final arc of the show where the actual plot takes place. 

It still has the potential to be good, and it looks like the plot twist is going to revolve around whatever the plantation masters are after.

[MegaNaraku]

2 hours ago, Daos said:

So it seems like this is setting up the final arc of the show where the actual plot takes place. 

It still has the potential to be good, and it looks like the plot twist is going to revolve around whatever the plantation masters are after.

Yup. It's about time to. I was becoming a very curious individual 

[CaptainStarwind]

So last week, I decided to start watching Darling in the FranXX, and I marathoned the episodes in between what else I was watching.  Being that I live under a rock, I heard nothing at all about the, uh, "controversies" about the show until I read this thread less than 5 minutes ago.  I am caught up with the show, though, so I can give my opinions on it so far. 

The first couple of episodes bored the hell out of me.  I can see how people compared the beginning of it to a poor man's Evangelion.  The tone was too melancholy for my taste, and the blatant innuendo didn't really help at all, either.  The show got better for me after about Episode 3.  I enjoyed the buildup to Hiro and Zero Two's third ride, even though it was fairly obvious that he would survive it.  The beach episode was unnecessary in my opinion, but I was glad that it attempted a bit of world building.  I really liked the episodes that focused on fleshing out the characters other than Hiro and Zero Two.  The Goro episode was nice, and the Mitsuru episode made me hate him a bit less, so that's good.  The Zorome episode was good for a bit of world building, as well as the hint that pilots aren't really human.

I really enjoyed the flashback episode.  It was really nice to finally see the past that was hinted at, and it helped me to fell a lot more sympathy for Zero Two.  Much of that sympathy dissolved in the next episode, after she beats the entire crew of Parasytes sans Hiro, though I did enjoy the episode after that for getting back to advancing the story.  Episode 15 reminded me a lot of the Eureka Seven episode "Morning Glory", which is my favorite episode of the series, so it gets a lot of points for that, at the very least.

I'm a bit conflicted on my feelings about Ichigo and Zero Two.  The show is obviously making Zero Two out to be the romantic heroine, with the tragic backstory and shared history with hero, but that doesn't change the fact that she's pretty much knowingly murdered numerous pilots (and would have murdered Hiro too if he didn't turn out to be her "Darling" from the past).  I think the show does try to get around that by making it that it was (at least somewhat) the choice of the other pilots to ride with her, but that really doesn't change the fact that she feels no real remorse over it, or at least doesn't do so yet.  She was also clearly only in it for herself, and later Hiro, in the beginning of the series, though I can reasonably accept that as stemming from her tragic childhood.  Long story short: she's definitely meant to be the romantic interest of the story, and I'd definitely prefer her over Ichigo, but there really isn't getting around the fact that she did a lot of terrible things, and the show is going to really have to work in the second half to make her truly a sympathetic character.

Now for Ichigo.  It's clear that the show is making her out to be the third wheel in the love triangle (I think that makes sense).  Between her early distrust of Zero Two, her treatment towards her in Episode 14, and having to be told off by her copilot (twice) to bring Hiro and Zero Two together, the audience is meant to vilify her and want to see her put down.  And admittedly, it was satisfying to see her not get what she wants.  But the problem with that (which even I understood as I was cheering against her) is that what she's doing really isn't anything that any reasonable person wouldn't also do.  Daos put it best: she's the team leader, and she's making the decisions that she thinks are the best for her teammates and friends.  And those decisions aren't that unreasonable.  Her early mistrust of Zero Two is founded in the knowledge that Zero Two is not only not a team player, but also that her copilot dies after the third time they ride together.  I think she probably would have reacted in the same manner even if it wasn't Hiro who was involved.  Her treatment towards Zero Two in Episode 14 follows after she's been given troubling information about Zero Two, information that seems to be proven correct after Hiro is nearly killed by her.  I don't think she was really in the wrong acting the way that she did.  Really, the only thing that I can fault her for is being completely and utterly oblivious to the fact that Hiro doesn't love her (despite it being blatantly obvious), and even then, the way it plays out makes me think that she knows that anyway and just hopes Hiro will eventually fall in love with her.  Long story short: in any other anime, Ichigo would be a really good character, but the show makes her out to be the villain, and I'm inclined to hate her, despite my better judgement.

Overall, I don't find Darling in the FranXX to be an amazing show, but it's definitely not terrible, and I'm at least interested in watching it, which is more than I can say for Black Clover.  I'm definitely gonna keep watching the show weekly.

 

[Daos]

No Darling and no SDS today? WTFUX. Oh well time to watch SAO =(

The entire show is carried by 02 so if any character opposes her fans are gonna go apeshit. She's the fan favorite and that's how it goes with fan favorites.

People get mad when Vegeta gets dicked over by anyone but always seem to forget he killed more people than Hitler.

You can excuse Hiro for liking 02 though, she's hot and mysterious. At that age you're not really going to care whether or not someone is a horrible person or not.

 

 

[The1gairon]

I made up for the lack of darlings this week by catching up on some reruns of KLK and SAO now on Crunchyroll.

[Chapinator_X]

For some reason, I think the hiatus made the show grow on me more. The storytelling has been really wonky with how reluctant they are to give us plot-relevant information up until just recently. Constantly seeing Ichigo pining for Hiro has negatively impacted the growth between Hiro and Zero Two, and the hopeless love triangle took attention away from the other pilots. I did overreact majorly after Episode 14, but I would have had an easier time understanding Ichigo’s side if she didn’t use separating the pair as a way to make moves on Hiro (the apple peeling and the infamous kiss in front of Goro). 

But with all the things that make me tear out my hair over their misdirection, I still see a lot of potential on the horizon with how we’re learning more about the plantations, the Klaxosaur, and the other pilots. There’s promise in the world they made based on how genuinely interesting the non-love triangle material has been. And then there’s how cute the Hiro and Zero Two stuff has come out with Episode 13 and 15 despite how much the two desperately need to work things out. Honestly, the 4koma spinoff is helping me not want to rage too hard on the series because of how cute the art is, and how the character relationships are portrayed (like the rap battle chapter). 

Again, I’m not in the position to say this is above Kill la Kill or LWA, but it’s been quite the ride and think the short break at this point in the series post-reunion helped me reflect on the show better. I can’t imagine how scorched earth it would’ve been if they did the hiatus an episode earlier .

Edited April 29, 2018 by imchapp.in

[mochi]

3 hours ago, Daos said:

No Darling and no SDS today? WTFUX. Oh well time to watch SAO =(

The entire show is carried by 02 so if any character opposes her fans are gonna go apeshit. She's the fan favorite and that's how it goes with fan favorites.

People get mad when Vegeta gets dicked over by anyone but always seem to forget he killed more people than Hitler.

You can excuse Hiro for liking 02 though, she's hot and mysterious. At that age you're not really going to care whether or not someone is a horrible person or not.

 

 

considering death is cheap and easily reversed in Dragonball killing people isn't as heinous a crime as it should be

even the characters in series are aware of that fact by the Buu Saga

(it's why Super had to introduce complete erasure of a person's existence to make the stakes seem high again)

 

also vegeta reformed and is now more Heroic than Goku is in Super

[Daos]

Erasure can be reversed as easily as death apparently. It remains to be seen if Super Dragonballs can reverse dying while dead. If they can, then there's truly no death in DB.

[mochi]

10 hours ago, Daos said:

Erasure can be reversed as easily as death apparently. It remains to be seen if Super Dragonballs can reverse dying while dead. If they can, then there's truly no death in DB.

even if they can't implicitly Zeno could if you asked him

 

and they can reverse erasure so I'd imagine they can reverse dieing after death as well

[Daos]

Ok so after 2 weeks a new episode!

02 got domesticated.

Another talk heavy/emotional episode that totally killed all the momentum from the last ep.

Couple of interesting plot developments regarding the health of the parasites.

New hybrid character introduced? 

My new ending for this show.... I'm gonna say Hiro and 02 die... everyone else lives. Instead of everyone dies like I thought before.

[The1gairon]

These writers need to have a word about pacing.

Also, same-sex couple confirmed.

[mochi]

1 hour ago, elfie said:

These writers need to have a word about pacing.

Also, same-sex couple confirmed.

wait really?

 

then what was that BS with them saying Same sex pilot pairings were impossible?

Edited May 6, 2018 by mochi

[3ngag3]

Who said anything about piloting being the only reason a same sex couple had to exist?

Looking at the 9s here.

 

Also, fatty is gonna get cucked again.

[The1gairon]

2 hours ago, mochi said:

wait really?

 

then what was that BS with them saying Same sex pilot pairings were impossible?

I was talking about REGULAR pairings, like, NOT piloting a Franxx.  Kissing n such.

[mochi]

17 hours ago, 3ngag3 said:

Who said anything about piloting being the only reason a same sex couple had to exist?

Looking at the 9s here.

 

Also, fatty is gonna get cucked again.

because nobody in their world has sex anymore so the piloting set up is the closest thing to it