Darling in the Franxx / First Impressions

「まものと王子様」 (Mamono to Ouji-sama)
“The Beast and the Prince”

You know I’d normally be annoyed at getting another character development episode in Franxx for seemingly the umpteenth time. It’s been a full season, where’s the big reveal, the death, my melodramatic teenage battlefield angst? I paid good money god dammit! And yet I cannot be mad, because by hell did Franxx give us a showcase in flashback done right. Hiro dragging out the forced amnesia and leading to another 12 episodes of ridiculous artificial drama? Not this time, the true pairing is here at last. Someone Ichigo is weeping profusely.

As anyone could have guessed from last time, Hiro is Zero Two’s original darling, although hilariously enough named that by Hiro himself. Zero Two was the test victim, viciously poked and prodded for some reason or another (read: not anything good), only to be temporarily “saved” by a curious and empathetic Hiro distraught at her pain. It’s a standard boy-meets-girl setup complete with childhood friend spice (the knife in Ichigo twists ever more), but be honest, if you’re not d’awwing at those smiles you know something is wrong. That’s a smile worth protecting if I ever saw one, horns and all. Simple or conventional sure, deliberately emotional maybe, but this flashback served its function fantastically.

Part of the reason for this of course lies in what we learned about Hiro’s and Zero Two’s past. We now know low number parasites are all special for example, seemingly separated from their high number brethren by the presence of emotions and individuality. Again this was noticeable from the start, especially when the cookie cutter squad made their debut, but it’s nice having actual confirmation. Particularly important as well is the implications of the testing in the first place. Parasites are seemingly bred to pilot Franxxs, but the testing on Zero Two and Dr. Franxx’s fascination with her regenerative abilities (that’s new) suggests something more nefarious at play. These kids are destined for something more than just S&M posturing in a cockpit (pun intended), with the teen numbers likely given preferential treatment because they’re closer to reaching this ideal state. Considering that Zero Two is almost certainly a klaxosaur in human form (just look at Dr. Franxx’s joy), my bet is on the end goal being the creation of a “perfect” lifeform combining the best aspects of humans and klaxosaurs both. Wouldn’t even be that farfetched, not with Zero Two’s humanization and Hiro’s ability to seemingly contain the beast that Zero Two has a way of bringing out. In more than one way Franxx is starting to look a lot like The Last of Us in post-apocalyptic mecha form.

Where we go from here, however, becomes the interesting question. It’s very likely the future for Zero Two and Hiro now is going to follow that heavily emphasized fairy tale picture book given the obvious hints, with Zero Two looking to stay with her darling (prince), but held back by the sacrifice she made to APE (the witch) which calls for the prince’s death if she is to keep her humanity. One way or another there’s a hefty sacrifice in the cards for either Zero Two or Hiro (hell, maybe both) in the future as both are the darlings (heh) of whatever greater purpose APE is pursuing. As both our destined pairing now realize their past relationship we have now moved beyond simple playing around to tangible action. If Hiro and Zero Two are to remain together (press F for Ichigo), how are they going to manage it? Will the likes of Mitsuru and the rest support them once they learn the actual truth? Will everyone be up for the inevitable sacrifices that must be made? Or is this all just an elaborate copout ending with everyone surviving for a happy ever after? As is Franxx’s penchant of late every answer received gives rise to three more questions, with us being nowhere near closer to figuring out the endgame. Who knew a slow drip feed could be so bloody annoying and satisfying at the same time.

Stick around boys and girls, Franxx may be teasing like a son of a bitch, but you know you need want the answers which come at the end of this tunnel. There’s an ending here we’re all desperate to discover, and we’re going to get to it one way or another.

 

ED4 Sequence

ED: 「ひとり」 (Hitori) by XX:me

158 Comments

      1. there are some little differences in this comapring pictures, like:

        1st pic:
        – He lick her blood to help cure her wound, to prevent an infection (i think)
        – She lick her Skin because it “reeks” of non Human

        2nd Pic:
        – correct

        3rd Pic:
        – correct, but someone in reddit wrote. Hiro was pulling her into the light. Zero Two pulls him now into darkness

        4rd pic:
        – correct (someone must have teach her)

        5rd Pic:
        – correct (funny fact Asuka Langley also had “02” on her Body Suit.. Also Zero Two could also be called Asuka Zero ot Asuka Oni. Asuka = Red)

        6rd Pic:
        – correct

        7rd Pic:
        – Hiro is giving her “Sugar Bombs” bonbons
        – Zero Two is giving him “Honey sweet” things

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

    2. https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2025.jpg
      Hiro is standing the light

      https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2024.jpg
      02 in the dark.

      Hiro is literally Jesus and 02 is Mary Magdalene. I finally realized it at this scene.

      Jesus cast demons out of her and she became one of his followers, or his lover (considered a heretical belief). She was supposedly the first to testify to his resurrection.
      Hiro will make her human but will leave her at some point in this show.

      Rederoin
      Reply

  2. They missed a chance for a nice little bit of extra detail at the end. As Hiro brings up the picture book we’re still seeing Zero Two from behind with the screen showing stampede mode, what they should have done is had the meter start to waver at his first mention of it before suddenly dropping just before she turns around as her surprise causes her focus to shift away from going berserk.

    qwert
    Reply

    1. You’re not the only one who thought of that, I was seriously waiting for the meter to start dropping once she recognized Hiro, but no dice sadly. Guess we’ll have to blame budgetary constraints (heh), unless there’s a deliberate reason for it 😛

      Pancakes
      Reply

      1. The depths of their consiousnesses will connect through Strelizia and merge!
        Both Hiro and 02 are connected to the Strelizia in the stampede mode.
        Hiro sucked 02’s blood and contracted DinoAIDS, he has DinoAids all the way since the childhood. Hiro is a skilled double-digit teen code, he also close to saurify. Hiro is probably close to 002 in strength now, that’s why 02 failed to consume and kill him, and the butt controls remain active, Hiro can control Strelizia in the stampede mode if he moves them. Then it seems quite obvious that they did it purposefully so that Hiro can control Strelizia in the stampede mode in the next episode.
        Then it seems quite obvious that they did it purposefully so that Hiro can control Strelizia in the stampede mode in the next episode.

        Kruszer
        Reply

    3. Perhaps it is happening offscreen, when she turn around we can not see the monitor anymore

      But Ichigo lost an arm to catch Zero Two in berserk mode, i wonder if she get out of the FranXX, her arm are paralyzed for some time, like as if its broken or not there anymore and the Human body needs some time to recover. So an visual proof what sacrifice she did to save them both

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

      1. and some guilty emotions is rising inside Zero two and she slowly begins to make bonds with Ichigo, because what she suffered to save her and Hiro

        That would be logical and heartily right

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      3. The depths of their consiousnesses will connect through Strelizia and merge!
        Both Hiro and 02 are connected to the Strelizia in the stampede mode.
        Hiro sucked 02’s blood and contracted DinoAIDS, he has DinoAids all the way since the childhood. Hiro is a skilled double-digit teen code, he also close to saurify. Hiro is probably close to 002 in strength now, that’s why 02 failed to consume and kill him, and the butt controls remain active, Hiro can control Strelizia in the stampede mode if he moves them. Then it seems quite obvious that they did it purposefully so that Hiro can control Strelizia in the stampede mode in the next episode.
        Then it seems quite obvious that they did it purposefully so that Hiro can control Strelizia in the stampede mode in the next episode.

        Kruszer
        Reply

      4. Hiro is not controlling anything. His hand are not on her butt controls. it was really Zero Two that was on Stampede mode, and Ichigo catch her, while losing an FranXX arm for not doing something reckless and attempting to save Hiro from her

        Yes. Both are on the same level. But Zero Two’s body know this drill. for Hiro it is surpassing Human bodys limits. he could break in Body and Mind. So it would be better if they tame down Zero Two for their anime benefit

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      8. It was funny how Ichigo lost an arm and was screaming how Zero Two were a monster who was using him while Hiro ignoring her and crying because he finally remembered about his dino waifu.

        joel_s95387
        Reply

    1. Loli Zero Two is a miracle of this world! I wish Dr Franxx and the rest of the ‘adults’ a gruesome death for the way they treated her.

      And lolwut at those mice. At first I thought that Zero Two chomped it’s tail off, but on second glance it somehow managed to scurry away.

      Yojimbo
      Reply

      1. It doesn’t change the fact that 02 used and killed a hundred innocent men who did absolutely nothing wrong because of a selfish wish, when Hiro himself never worried about skin color, horns or even skin blood, he even licked his blood. 02 also attempted to rape and murder Hiro in response to Hiro’s being supportive of her are absolute bitch moves.

        I hope Zero Two actually regrets her actions instead of brushing it off.

        one3rd
        Reply

      2. @one3rd You’re blaming Zero Two for those deaths? Not the organization that’s breed them as disposable tools in the first place? Being a child in the parasite program is already a death sentence. Whether they’re culled for being too weak, succumb to the injections, are killed in battle or were killed by riding with Zero Two they were already dead men walking.

        qwert
        Reply

      3. The Adults do not give them names for one reason, they are tools not humans.. If you give some just an number then you dehumanize him. So what Hiro said about giving names are entirely correct

        they are born inside an Labor, but they are still human. do not the “egg” comes from Humans? Just they leeched all humanity away

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

  4. Doesn’t Hiro’s eyes look bigger in the end? Maybe a not-so-subtle physical cue to the transition from a reserved and emotional distant Hiro into a more emphatic and rebellious Hiro.

    Tempest
    Reply

    1. Yeah I think it’s safe to say he’s done taking orders, at least at face value. Everything he does from here is probably gonna be calculated to buy them time while they figure out how to get out of there intact.

      Though I’ll be amazed if he ever let’s Zero-Two out of his sight again.

      Aex
      Reply

      2. What happens next will likely depend on what APE has in mind. Hiro isn’t about to go full strategist for example, it would be too soon, he has to digest everything first. I could easily him trying to raise questions in the meantime that attract very unwanted attention. APE finds out the memory erasure didn’t work? Well time to try something else.

        Pancakes
        Reply

      3. By looking at his monologue at end of Episode 13, I think shota Hiro is back. He had strong grudge as a child and realizing that he got mindwiped would strengthen that grudge further. While memories of the past made Zero Two hate herself, they made Hiro questioning and hating the system itself.
        With that, I can’t imagine Hiro doing anything but rebelling against APE.

        dragoneyes001
        Reply

      1. https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2038.jpg
        One thing for sure now that Hiro regained his memories

        https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2039.jpg
        he won’t allow anyone seperating him from 02 ever again,

        https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2020.jpg
        or that the other children suffer again.

        Sir_Brass
        Reply

    2. I think the rest of the Squad will get a bit afraid of her, but seeing in how Hiro do not care about that, then they even accept her as “our” Zero Two that they know for some time, even if her skin is red and she grow bigger horns.. Hiro’s reaction is the Key

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

      1. and Ichigo, too.. Because she is the “contact” trusted person while Zero Two is in the Girls doom, where males do not enter

        So. Ichigo’s and Zero Two bonding progress is also important for future “plausibility”

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      1. i must disappoint you. They are still Kids, not knowing anything of the World. No i mean the Basics to survive alone.. They would die of Hunger.. Well Zero Two less, But Hiro

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      1. https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2023.jpg
        – Current 02 is fine with Dr. FranXX even after she been tortured

        https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2001.jpg
        – 02 wasn’t mindwiped (Klaxo healing powers regenerated her brain cells) but didn’t recognize her Darling until after almost choking him to death even though he treated her exactly the same for half a year

        I don’t know what is even going on anymore.

        Nom_Anor
        Reply

      2. ehh? she wanted to run since the beginning so I doubt she’s really fine with dr. franxx…But I guess Franxx is the one giving her freedom so she doesn’t really give a damn about the past

        I’d wait for next episode for that….We don’t even know if she actually remember everything its possible she knew she got a darling but that’s it..remember all those things happen when she’s still a kid with 0 knowledge on almost everything

        ricz
        Reply

      3. Perhaps somehow Zero Two’s Self regeneration ability, triggered Hiro’s old deleted one back. Because this is the only logical conclusion i can see now. How did Zero Two received Hiro’s memories then? Also she just triggered back his ones while merging in the FranXX Dive. Perhaps while in Dive mode, her ability could also regenerate Hiro’s wounds, too. She is the dominate one in the Dive

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      4. Both of them were strapped to Dr Franxx’s wild brain drain machine. Either 02’s regenerative abilities regenerated her brain cells, or the Dr Franxx cheated so he could use the memories to control 02.

        Heinzendegger
        Reply

      5. The mindwipe isn’t perfect. Even Hiro has flashes of his “wiped” memories and as we have seen it can actually be undone entirely. 02 was most likely wiped as well but it simply wasn’t as effective on her, possibly due to her being part klaxosaur and all.

        As for how she feels about the Doc, well, she’d have no reason to hate him in particular over any other adult. If he started acting nicer to her after the events in the flashback when Hiro was 9 (or they both were maybe, she was actually smaller than him) then she might have come to like him. Most specifically I think she might’ve come around if he was the one who did something to make her ‘human’.

        DuskyPredator25
        Reply

      6. Yeah neither Zero Two nor Hiro have a reason to hate Dr. Franxx. He was responsible for what they experienced, but it was always from a distance, he never actually performed the torture and manipulation himself. For someone like Zero Two that’s significant as she doesn’t have the experience yet to equate such orders with her suffering which would lead to some serious Dr. Franxx hate.

        Pancakes
        Reply

  8. Zero Two story reveal!

    Is that a Klaxosaur or just a memory block effect?

    Switching between the two.
    Hiro kind of gets what he wanting, the talk he wanted.
    They tell each other about themseleves.

    Ok theres classes, looks even more adavnced than university.
    Hiro’s memories offer insight but he doesn’t have the whole truth.

    Zero Two was just dragged in?
    Feels like she was reared as an experiment of sorts, could be lots more in the facility she came from.
    Somehow her windowless room reminds me of Akira.
    Dr Franxx looks like a mad scientist, but I suppose the current time he has mellowed out?

    Hiro is the walking question 😛

    All this time I don’t remember the children being treated badly, no violence.
    The most is just stern warning.

    Hiro looks like he has a lot of freedom.

    Hiro looking top right as he promised, is it a white lie?

    The scene Hiro witness Zero Two’s torture reminds me of Chaos;Child.
    Wow, she went rubber…

    The way Dr Franxx says he want to see how kids like Hiro turn out.
    Kind of makes me think Hiro just a rare case.
    Or was he engineered as such?

    I think we need a Dr Franxx episode.

    Oni really became a consideration, lol.
    lol, Sounds like A2.

    The Beast and the Prince….
    Was it specially crafted by the facility?

    Ok, I see violence at Hiro.

    Ok, so they both got brain wiped.

    The picture book…what if thats a folk tale of Zero Two’s people?
    What if her race was enslaved by humans?
    No, Dr Franxx remarked that Zero Two turn out look so human.
    Her caretaker was what Zero Two’s ‘species’ are normally like it seems.
    Experiments or natural beings?

    Oh…I want a Dr Franxx episode.

    The full picture book at the end, is it a hint of the ending?
    The first half is Hiro’s Jian bird stuff, the second half is Zero Two’s picture book.

    iron2000
    Reply

      1. Didn’t watch that anime, is it nice?

        Hmm, aliens…
        Could be possible.

        But coming from the manga’s teeny-weeny look at the past, this alien discovery would have to come before?
        The manga say they started excavating magma energy, build plantation then Klaxosaur appear.
        Commenters are saying the Klaxosaurs are man-made, perhaps from experiments on this alien lifeform?

        I was thinking Klaxosaurs came about from the magma energy discovery somehow.
        Or was Zero Two’s race some secret subterranean creatures?
        The human-like forms are experimented Klaxosaurs.
        A whole “beast kingdom” that has been secretly living on magma peacefully deep deep under the Earth’s crust for a long long time?
        Hmm, I do have the impression that subterranean creatures would be albino though.

        Why is Zero Two red?
        When the Klaxosaur color is blue/black?
        Is red skin the in-between form to human skin?

        iron2000
        Reply

    2. The first half is Hiro’s Jian bird stuff, the second half is Zero Two’s picture book.

      Nope, Episodes 1-6 is Hiro is Jian bird stuff, Episodes 8-13 is Zero Two’s picture book.

      Alchemist
      Reply

  9. I don’t care about deaths, rather I wouldn’t want any of the wonderful characters to die.
    What I want the most is the whole truth, what really happened in their universe.

    The highest code we know who retain individual character is 666.
    Of the 10 parasites with individual character in P13, theres 6 which are not teen codes.
    But I don’t know about the teams in other plantations, maybe they are all made of teen codes?

    Never thought of APE for the witch role.
    Her former facility would be the beast kingdom then.

    lol, the picture book reminds me ‘The Little Mermaid’.

    iron2000
    Reply

      2. Stamen
        Code 016 (Hiro)
        Code 056 (Goro)
        Code 214 (Futoshi)
        Code 326 (Mitsuru)
        Code 666 (zorome)

        Pistil
        Code 002 (02)
        Code 015 (Ichigo)
        Code 196 (Ikuno)
        Code 309 (Miku)
        Code 556 (Kokoro)
        Code 703 (naomi)

        dposse
        Reply

    1. -a colored girl wants to be white because she thinks that’s how she can find her love
      -protag loves her as what she is and tries to encourage her self image

      Hmm why is this agenda so familiar?

      FenixFiesta
      Reply

  11. This episode flagged up that it was going to be different right from the start, because we had the title card at the beginning instead of the end. Then, all of a sudden, we were in fairy tale land, but in a subversion of Beauty and the Beast, this time it was the girl who was the beast, not the prince, and in a subversion of The Little Mermaid, this time it’s the prince who must die, not the mermaid.

    I laughed at Hiro’s attempt to give 002 a name – “Demon? No, maybe not…” – then settling on the startlingly original Zero Two, and I cried at the torture than was being constantly inflicted on her for no apparent reason. OK, she always healed quickly, but burning holes through somebody apparently just to see what would happen is unforgivable. I guess she was just a “something” rather than a “somebody” to Dr. FranXX.

    So where do we go from here now that our little demon is officially revealed to be Hiro’s childhood friend? They almost always lose, don’t they?

    Angelus
    Reply

    1. the second experiment we saw.. she had some kind of exoskeleton on her body.. i think this was an very early stage of an easter egg of some EVA “things” we know and their secrets
      Show Spoiler ▼

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

      2. Did you actually watched the Anime? or just assume it from these Screenshots? I do not tell you how to behave, because even sometimes i assume things from Screenshots. But this here is simpler then it looks. He just mimic how animels clean up their wounds to heal, so he saw this more in Books. So even an 8 Year old Boy do not now the real meaning of Marriage

        But barking loud would not solve you anything. Try an calmer nice voice and you get an nice conversation here

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

  12. So we see them when they are young children.
    Then we have them at present.

    I hope they will reveal the happenings in between.

    With just 11 episodes left, I don’t think it could be in detail.
    Unless they deem it important?
    And theres the whole “how the world came to be like that” explanation too.

    iron2000
    Reply

  13. Are you whiners happy now? We got somehow just the right amount of story development to compensate for your entire cour’s worth of complaints.
    This flashback hurt, the cuteness hurt, the emotional sledgehammering via simplicity hurt like hell, the story implications behind this evil fuckery burns my heart to dust.
    Hurt Zero Two or Hiro and the storytellers (and Dr. Franxx) will have to answer to me because all I want are for questions to be answered and marriages to happen now.
    This plus impending Mecha action?
    I’m so on board.

    Kabble
    Reply

    1. I’m sure you never needed other’s validation to be on board to begin with right? Don’t worry about the whiners. I personally have problems with this show but it’s not got to point where i can’t stand it. The production is competent; it’s got some good visual direction; I just find the character writing and so non-descript, which is shame because that’s what the series is mostly selling itself on

      sonicsenryaku
      Reply

      2. They adults are gonna want to isolate him ASAP. I look forward to what Zero-Two has to say about that…

        Hell, once Mitsuru finds out about the mind-wipe he might become Recruit No. 1, and this might drag out the full truth of what Zorome learned, which will spur on the others when they are reminded that they are worth exactly nothing to the Adults.

        Explain this one away, Nana…

        Aex
        Reply

      3. or APE want his memory wipe again, because he is (right now) the only one that could pull out this amount of power from zero Two. This they cannot push aside and we do not know how desperate they need zero Two#s power on the frontline

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      4. Next episode won’t be about healing.

        -Ichigo makes some kind of drama because of her being attacked.
        -They separate 02 and Hiro.
        -Hiro starts the revolution in order to reunite with 02 etc etc.

        Basically Ichigo is a bitch, fuck that cunt.

        MrTerrorist
        Reply

    1. They’ve censored the words so it’s definitely not marrying.
      I’d wager it’s either kissing or something even lewder, it’s well within chad Hiro’s abilities.

      KyuuA4
      Reply

    3. Under a huge Mistletoe tree so nothing could be more sacred!

      Side note as I understand it Shinto accepts all religions as real. In Shinto local deities are as their believers thought of them, local customs work like Mistletoe. Major deities are avatars of themselves in the different religions. In Shinto, the Christain/Jewish/Muslim god is the same being as the head god of Hindus and Japanise in an example.

      RedRocket
      Reply

  16. Is she perhaps an try of the “Alien race” to be born as an emissary of peace? But then the humans found her and have other plans with her? Like the all female lolis crew in Shokou no strain stranded in space and humans found them and use them as guinea pics and weapons?

    So Zero Two was not unknown to the blue humanoids and even got love (head pats) but they died out, perhaps of the War with the humans or magma sucked out… So APE do know more of these Blue Klaxasours. Like in Star-ship Troopers (TV Series) the HQ know that they provoke the enemy first

    So APE is perhaps the real bad guys here and shoot first

    Worldwidedepp
    Reply

    1. Nah, she’s man made. This brings the theory that Klaxosaurs were created by humanity in the first place.

      To stop their own creation they developed hybrids like Zero Two, and then implanted Klaxosaur DNA into the Parasytes.

      The fact the Parasytes didn’t die is proof that there is compatibility between Human DNA and Klaxosaur DNA. As such Klaxosaurs are most likely failed experiments.

      Also remember her codename, 002.

      001, is probably the original Klaxosaur, went on a rampage and started the whole Klaxosaur invasion. 002 was created/bred as a countermeasure to stop the first Klaxosaur that has since then spread and created new Klaxosaurs.

      The Franxx mechs have been shown to be similar to Klaxosaurs, they can transform if they go into rampage.

      There’s a lot of hints that it was humanity itself that created the Klaxosaurs. The Klaxosaur core is the same size of a cockpit. Klaxosaurs specifically target humans, they ignore other living species. Parasytes have Klaxosaur DNA inside them. And if Yellow Cells overtake, they start becoming Klaxosaurs, like Hiro was shown earlier. Hell, its going as far as to show that inside that Klaxosaur core there might be a human inside.

      Shadow
      Reply

      2. I can feel the confrontation. 02 tells hiro he’s turning into a monster and he has to stop piloting her ass and Hiro casually asks how to accelerate the transformation.

        Why? why is it? Am I not able to find the answers I seek because I’m just a child who doesn’t the power to protect anyone?

        Now Hiro already has the answers to this question and this time Hiro is prepared and willing to do everything in its power to achieve their objectives, even if this means losing his humanity and become a monster.

        Then it’s more than obvious that Hiro is going to accept the power, his saurification and even turn into a monster to protect and save 02, just as the other children from their cruel fate and the clutches of the Papa and APE, besides being and living with 02 for ever.

        Unlike 02, Hiro knows exactly what to do with power and how to use it.

        Mad_Scientist
        Reply

  17. https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2037.jpg
    Well in this Scene, Dr. FranXX saved both or at last Hiro, with wiping their memories out, or Hiro would had be executed. But that do not make him an Good Person. Perhaps he was doing it out of curiosity for his own sake and still do it.. I can not see really much change of heart, or he has to hide it to still protect them from APE

    How i see Dr. FranXX moral: 70% on the light and 30% on the dark.. But how strong his science curiosity take over, i do not know.. I let me be surprised, dear story teller

    Worldwidedepp
    Reply

    1. because Zero Two has some skill that the Humans want it for themselves.. Self regeneration, to expand their Life even more. in some kind she is like Wolverine, just without the adamantium Bones

      So perhaps they abuse her Body cells for themselves. that would explain also the recharging of their Hearts.. Perhaps all based on her.

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

    2. He’s not necessarily good. But you can see Zero Two as she is now.

      She’s no longer Red Skinned, she can speak japanese and most importantly, she bleeds red.

      Whether he’s doing it for his own experimentation, for the plantations sake or to actually help Hiro and Zero Two out and start a Revolution.

      Cyborg Professor is indeed turning Zero Two into a human.

      Shadow
      Reply

      1. “Cyborg Professor is indeed turning Zero Two into a human.”

        Makes me think of the early Kamen Rider plot where the evil organization turn the man into a Kamen Rider. But this time its the opposite, lol.

        iron2000
        Reply

      2. To think about it, there wasnt a single time when Dr. FranXX showed positive attitude towards 02. He may be dedicated to humanity, but still thinks of her as an alien specimen and a tool.

        Miyashiro
        Reply

    1. Ups, i “rule” the posting list right now.. Sorry, but this Anime gets the good side inside me.. Perhaps Trigger and A-1 trigger my right buttons 🙂

      Gome-ne i am just catch an good feelings wave and riding it on top

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

    2. This is my guess.

      Cyborg Professor, originally was working together with the Plantations no problem. He developed the Franxx mechs and ensured that parasytes could fight against Klaxosaurs.

      Something changed, he developed Squad 13 following a different pattern. Unlike past Franxx teams, this team has emotions and most importantly, each pilot team has a unique Franxx mech.

      The Professor specifically decided not to tamper with the emotions of Hiro. And while drastic, he also experimented onto Zero Two to turn her into a Franxx pilot.

      After the event where he erased Hiro’s memories. He probably realized something. And started working into his next plan. The Plantations have failed. Revolution is inevitable.

      Its too much of a coincidence that Zero Two arrives to Hiro’s plantation the same day Hiro has failed his pilot tests and Zero Two’s current partner is deemed imcompatible with her.

      The Professor probably set this up. For what reasons, its hard to tell.

      But here’s one fact that is true. Zero Two is no longer Red Skinned, and Zero Two now bleeds red.

      Zero Two is being turned into a human. Now that Hiro has his memories again. All that’s left is Revolution.

      Shadow
      Reply

      1. Good guess, but i think Zero two’s Humanity are DNA Injections like Parasite. So with time her true Body gain back the upper hand and drive the Human FranXX DNA out, until she turn to be like the child we know

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      2. Perhaps Dr. FranXX used sample DNA from Ichigo to turn her slowly into an Human.. because Hiro is an Male and Chromosome problems would occur…

        And Voila!, we have Ichigo as an silent hero without knowing it…

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      3. So in an way, Ichigo has Two Siblings.. Hiro (from the Code) and Zero Two (from their DNA)…

        I find this idea interesting.. But of course it is not my decision

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

  20. Just wow just wow!
    When Hiro told Zero Two about the ehon, I had to clench myself to hold the tears back… geez
    And the ending credits this time around, not very children friendly fairly tail but still so so beautiful

    Love this episode!

    ornehx
    Reply

  21. Took them a while to finally address the huge character regression Zero Two had.

    Still, with how unlikable she was for the past episodes, i don’t want to see a fucking 180 change from her.

    It would feel cheap if she returns to act the way she did back when she was Best Girl at the beginning of the series. I want to see some struggle.

    She still treats the other pilots like shit, has zero empathy for humanity and generally only cares about her own objectives.

    Now just because Hiro was her darling all along i dont want to see her become instantly nice with her team mates, start trusting humanity and forget her objectives since she has darling now.

    No, i wanna see struggle. I wanna still see Zero Two be cold towards her team mates while struggling to find a way to apologize, because certainly she has never done that. I want to see Hiro confront her and tell her they need to work as team. I wanna see her questioning her actions. Knowing very well that Hiro doesn’t care how she looks, yet struggling for this objective she has followed ever since they got separated.

    I don’t care if she still has no empathy for humanity, but i wanna see her start getting ideas into Hiro’s head that Revolution is the only way they can escape and be together. And now with combat mechs, there’s no one to stop them.

    Everything is set up for Revolution. Zero Two and Hiro together with Squad 13 will Revolt and escape the Plantation. The Nines will be sent to hunt them down. The enemy weren’t the Klaxosaurs, it was humanity.

    Shadow
    Reply

    3. yes they could revolt, but they still need help for maintenance and “daily life” stuff they had in their Garden so far.. Do one of them knows how to prepare the food and other basics? and also repair their FranXX or illness? they need to shoots right? So i go more with an Rouge City that supports them

      But of course, if there are some kind of small mobile base for all of this problems. be my guest

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

      1. Perhaps this woman that helped Zerome out when he got missing, can secretly give them their Shoots.. But this is the only thing she could help them out.. She can not fix the other stuff..

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

    4. Oh there’s definitely going to be struggle, there’s no reason for Zero Two to start treating everyone nicely just because she remembered Hiro’s kindness before. The other parasites are just nuisances interfering with her darling, I could see Zero Two latching onto Hiro even harder and taking a very aggressive stance with Ichigo should her crush flare up. If anything it’ll be Hiro now trying to turn around Zero Two’s behaviour and get her to be part of the group.

      Pancakes
      Reply

  23. BTW am I the only one who noticed the age sixteen from the book? Its can be 016=Hiro or the age 16 where they will die or something(since I think its obvious by now that they won’t grow up to be adult…even Hiro knows that) ofc its just an age from the book but I find it cool they chose 16

    ricz
    Reply

  26. Earlier they mentioned how Zero Two was going to turn Hiro inhuman if he doesn’t die first. After this episode, if I were Hiro, I would make that no-going-back jump in a heartbeat if it meant staying with Zero Two, because that’s how much injustice there is towards the 2 of them. This episode was powerful!

    yoloalchemist
    Reply

    2. I imagine this is where the Nines are going to come into play. Hiro tries to escape with Zero Two for the happily ever after, and the little blondie and his triplet trio come to stop APE’s dreams of klaxosaur-free utopia from disappearing into the void 😛

      Pancakes
      Reply

  28. You know, I think we already know what the ending’s going to be like. 02 going into the Grand Crevice while smiling and saying her farewell to her Darling.

    If we follow The Prince and The Beast,

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2016.jpg
    Either Dr FranXX is the wicked witch or Father and APE as a whole is the wicked witch.

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2017.jpg
    You know… These scenes were the hardest to watch. And I really like how they used ambient lighting for Hiro’s and 02’s scenes. 02 being in darkness while Hiro in the light. Pretty much reflective of their respective situations

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2026.jpg
    No. Lolis don’t eat rats…

    Henrietta Brix
    Reply

  30. I’m glad that this time around, they devoted much more time into explaining what happened in Hiro’s past, and what details this gives us about the fate of the kids around him. Smol Zero Two was also very cute, and it was touching to see the lengths kid Hiro went to try to reach out to her.

    It was a little too on-the-nose with the storybook and Hiro not remembering anything through memory wipe, but this episode did make me think much more highly of this show than before.

    Choya
    Reply

  32. First great episode in quite a while that held my attention all the way through. It was a well-done flashback and while I think we all knew this from the start, it was still satisfying to see it play out.

    Little 02 is so cute! And her story fleshed out made me warm up to her as she is now.

    Arin
    Reply

  35. Love how so much is connected in the story. Things to grab you cheaply or bug you like the positions of the male and female in the mech as a way to explore gender issues. The “fanservice episodes” that move plot and characterization along. Now lots of Zero Two strange traits secrets are revealed. Hiro the typical beta indecisive MC is that way for a reason and now that is sure to change.

    I think the first few males Zero Two killed probably bothered her but as the authorities said that’s ok they were doing their job and we need you to fight Zero Two became jaded. The fact that Zero Two’s partners most often were like the last one and seaming fine, about her killing them probably did not help. Zero Two’s last partner even seamed determined to drive her into fighting and thus killing him. Don’t blame the victim Zero Two the lab rat and slave of the system for killing her partner’s deaths blame the people in charge.

    RedRocket
    Reply

      1. @RedRocket
        Yea… here’s a tip… if you’re going to make a perfectly sound and valid argument you’re not really helping yourself by including meme buzzwords at any point. Because no matter how right you may be about something, everyone that reads your post now is just going to think you’re a total prick.

        @Tarage
        Because He used meme buzzwords. The mere use of any meme buzzword in a comment invalidates any value that the comment might have.

        Vaisaga
        Reply

    2. @RedRocket
      I totally agree with you that Hiro is an Alpha decided MC
      He called her the girl with the book and overlooked every single physical abnormality about her as a kid.
      just when I thought he could not be a MC even more decided and alpha. Hiro not only confirmed that he is a Alpha decided MC, but also confirmed that her delusional selfish wish to become human is so retarded and pointless as herself and their retarded childish behavior.

      I also totally agree with you that 02 is your typical otaku pandering character for fanservice and waifubait.
      02 is dense as a stone she didn’t even recognize her Darling until after almost choking him to death even though he treated her exactly the same way he treated her when they were children for half a year. She has also has absolutely zero personality since Zero Two just mirrored everything Shota Hiro did for her and some scenes of the picture book in these 13 episodes. Not to mention that she used and killed a hundred innocent men who did absolutely nothing wrong because of a delusional egocentric wish, when Hiro has never worried about the skin color, horns and the colour of blood, he even licked her wound. And he has reiterated this in this episode when he regained his memories and He called her the girl with the book and overlooked every single physical abnormality about her as a kid.

      @Tarage
      Wow, you’re really defending and supporting the resident feminist shitposter of this blog and his retarded shitpost. This user called RedRocket has a huge pointless hate boner for male MC and the male characters, and giant cannibal faboyism for female characters. 98% of your shitposts can be easily summed up to him underestimating and shitting on the male MC and the male characters with meme buzzwords and a huge pointless hate boner, while he unconditionally defends and overestimates the female characters with cheap feminism and filthy waifufaggotry.

      Fae
      Reply

      1. Her memories were literally altered. How was she supposed to recognize him? Your post is cancer, your alpha beta bullshit is cancer, you should try interacting with people outside of your keyboard

        Arin
        Reply

      2. @Fae This was one of the best reviews I’ve read about this show.

        Hiro doesn’t sees 02’s features as actually making her non-human. She’s a normal girl to him, so it follows that he wouldn’t see any particular value in growing horns himself, since horns don’t actually matter. If society or people have a different opinion from him about 02, then society and the people must change, not him or 02. He’s essentially an enlightened non-racist. to the point that it’s natural to him. He’s not just suppressing his urges or trying hard to not view her that way. His brain literally does not register it as important information.

        Like he was breaking down in the cockpit and said “you’re the girl with the picture book” not “the girl with the horns” or “the girl with the red skin.”

        Hiro has no fear.

        @Arin As Nom_Anor and Fae mentioned Klaxo healing powers regenerated her brain cells and 02 has also imitated everything Shota Hiro did for her and several of the scenes of that picture book in these 13 episodes.

        Pleroma
        Reply

  36. @Pancakes

    but the testing on Zero Two and Dr. Franxx’s fascination with her regenerative abilities (that’s new) suggests something more nefarious at play.

    The real purpose of the Papa and APE is that 02 achieve its full saurification so that her regenerative abilities achieve its peak. They’re are going use her to carry some sort of bomb into the Great Crevasse and her regenerative abilities can allow her to carry some sort of bomb into the Great Crevasse without dying too fast. And this becomes still plainer, since they continue allowing Hiro to ride her, even knowing that Hiro is accelerating 02’s saurification.

    BlueMoon
    Reply

    1. I’m not sure yet if her intended fate is destruction, she’s the ideal link between human and klaxosaur—you don’t destroy that without a good reason. More likely IMO is as I mentioned in the post, Zero Two being the key to finally merging klaxosaur and humanity together in the way it was originally designed.

      Pancakes
      Reply

    1. Because Hiro was much more smarter than the other children, taking initiative and handing out names to a bunch of orphans and humanize them, even a Oni which behaves like a irrational animal.

      JustinGallimore
      Reply

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