First impression: Pacific Rim in dystopia with Star Driver robots and Kill la Kill aesthetics and questionable poses.
Darling in the FranXX has an interesting setting. Children are trained to pilot fighting mechas called ‘FranXX’ with a partner of the opposite sex, and if they failed to become pilots, they get shipped off, possibly to their deaths. This setup is what drives the protagonist, Hiro, to accept whatever horrible fate will come with choosing to be Zero Two’s partner.
There is so much to be explored with FranXX’s world. Why do they live in these plantations? Why aren’t the children named properly? Who are the ‘Papa’? Why is Hiro’s group the only one with differently colored robots? What exactly are those blue things that attacked them? Could everything possibly be just a setup? FranXX should live up to the potential its setting has (but I got spoiled that it didn’t, shame.)
What I seriously don’t get is the piloting system. Why do they need two people, and why do the girls have to kneel down? I mean, if you stay like that for fifteen minutes your arms and neck will be aching so bad I don’t think they can concentrate on the fight. And the guys get to stare at their butts lol…
The characters, despite most looking like standard shounen team straight from Naruto or something, actually seems pretty promising. What I like is that clash between Ichigo and Zero Two about Hiro, and Goro just looking by at his partner liking another guy. Hiro seems an average troubled protagonist dragged around by Zero Two, but he was the one who named everybody and that’s a character trait that could grow in the future. Another pair that I like is Kokoro and Mitsuru. Although they aren’t partners and had only one scene together, I think their chemistry could be something. One thing though, despite Zero Two being very charming and all, I don’t like her that much, because she seems so…apathetic towards everything that’s not Hiro. It’s hard to relate with her. (I’m not in Team Ichigo either, even if I relate to her more.)
The opening theme is what I like most at this point.
Overall, it has been a fun four episodes and FranXX has a lot of potential, combining dystopia + mecha + relationship problems. No wonder it’s so popular.
bonutzuu 