Darling in the Franxx / First Impressions

「罪と告白」 (Tsumi to Kokuhaku)
“Punishment and Confession”

Ah the sweet, sweet sounds of not wholly unexpected (read: fully predictable) developments. After Hiro and Zero Two realized their adorable past together, you had to know something would throw a wrench into that tearful reunion, and indeed we got just such a wrench. In fact, we got more than one wrench. Ichigo cockblocking? Zero Two reassignment? Hiro failing to confirm the already confirmed? Oh yeah every important part of a balanced helping of drama were present, and Franxx made the most of it all.

After last week’s grand reveal I honestly thought Zero Two would be the one who would become the aggressor, but lo and behold Ichigo instead rising to the occasion. This was not entirely surprising to be honest, resolving Hiro’s past with Zero Two quickly would remove a good source of tension, but damn did Ichigo come across as the tragic villain. Refusing to let the two childhood friends meet? Trapping Hiro in his room? Actually confronting Zero Two when she knows full well what the pink haired demon is capable of? Yeah Ichigo is setting herself up for one hell of a fall later on, particularly after that confession (finally) made in full. It’s not even her fault, she only knows what she saw with her own two eyes, but you know when the dust settles she’s going to get burned bad; it’s the job of this childhood friend to suffer after all. Considering Ichigo also involved all of Squad 13 in on the “protecting” when more than a few had doubts regarding Zero Two’s debilitating influence—not to mention rejecting one as partner and potential lover both—I don’t think she can comprehend how deep of a hole she just made for herself.

Hiro and Zero Two of course aren’t likely to be kept apart for long (not with where everyone is heading), but how both wind up back together will be interesting. With Zero Two heading back to the Nines for example, it seems a few higher ups aren’t willing to take any chances with darling and the red demon both awakening to their pasts, and thus have assigned the best of the best to ensure Zero Two goes through with her fate. This will make Hiro’s immediate future interesting because it’s basically confirmed his he needs Zero Two in order to pilot anywhere near effectively—not because of any special ability mind you, but because of the side effects of that earlier memory erasure. Ichigo may be determined to the point of desperation to see Hiro connect with her, but this pairing won’t last more than a day or so before Hiro’s part of Squad 13 is openly called into question. With his role to escort Zero Two to the Grand Crevasse now over, what’s the point of keeping him around if he cannot pilot a Franxx? Unless the capture and defense of the Grand Crevasse goes badly—or Zero Two kidnaps her darling—I imagine we will soon find out what happens when a parasite is liquidated. We need a way to bring Hiro and Zero Two back together after all, and what better way than through a little illegal eloping. It’s not like Hiro doesn’t already have the skills—and yellow blood cell count—for it.

One way or another, you can bet what comes next isn’t going to be tame in the slightest.

 

155 Comments

    2. Don’t think so.

      There’s nothing more heartbreaking than a girl chasing a boy who doesn’t want her (and has another romantic object of interest). We can be politically correct until the cows come home, but at the end of the day, it’s just neither socially nor biologically natural: being forward with your feelings and chasing your object of interest is considered a masculine quality. As soon as she begins to chase him, she has already lost.

      Little Tangerine
      Reply

      1. How the f**k did you try and bring in political correctness into this lol. First, it’s fiction so impossibilties are part of their nature, two even in non-fiction a women chasing a man is not an insurmountable achievement even if rare. Your prediction may infact be correct based on the writing style of this genre, but it wasn’t your reasoning that got you there.

        shurai
        Reply

      2. Ichigo is perfect, everyone loves her. Now that she’s won the Hirobowl, I hope Goro will fix the dyke and form team megane with Ikuno as they help each other get over her.

        joel_s95387
        Reply

    1. I agree.

      Her sudden outburst came out of nowhere.

      https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2026.jpg

      I get she’s frustrated, but to suddenly attack squad 13 thinking they deceived her when they really looked genuinely concerned…

      https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2025.jpg

      …in the event of Hiro disappearance is rather questionable.

      SpitFire
      Reply

      1. https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2008.jpg

        people defend this shit

        gib daalin
        you put him in the hospital
        gib daalin
        you killed other people
        gib daalin
        you’re making him lose his humanity
        daalin is mine gib daalin
        i thought we were friends
        never gave a fuck gib daalin
        you’re grounded

        y eryone no gib daalin

        [beats the shit out of them]
        ;_; gib daalin
        okay since you do seem sad you get to talk to him but while we’re there
        okay gib daalin
        what he not here?
        you no gib daalin
        [beats the shit out of them]

        DaGreatKobe
        Reply

      2. I laughed myself out of this comment. I can’t blame Ichigo what she did even the last part (please don’t burn me) but nonetheless, how would you react to see whom you care so much be squished and tossed aside like shit, even me won’t take that just out of context but i sure would take some drastic actions.

        Zero Two’s action for the past 4 episodes mean that she is breaking little by little and this episode just proved it and she is ultimately paying the price. This look just made it harder for her swallow the pill on what she has done but the real question is how does one with no clue as to whatever is she going to do? Do you just let it slip by or you vent it out in a rage to keep yourself bottling the issue.

        Hiro, its kinda hard for me to understand his concept but when you see something that is well out of borderline yandere like you have to stand your ground then again you can’t be seen weak by others and in this case Zero Two taking advantage of you further more.

        All in all a good episode very much heart wrenching, and we still have another 7 days of freaking waiting AGAIN!

        I’ll leave the speculation for the other but APE squad will have to make it or break it for Zero Two especially blondy boy

        FlippySirk
        Reply

      3. I feel like this was bad and lazy writing tbh. You can justify it to the cows come home, it’s canon, it’s what actually played out on screen, but this whole episode feels like a bad fanfiction or something. I guess it’s not epically worse writing than the Goro x Ichigo x Hiro episode. This series has some terrible ups and downs in terms of straight up narrative cohesion.

        Arin
        Reply

      4. Narrative Cohesion will have to come into play in the next 5 or 6 episodes but keep in mind that for the past few episodes this week did really hit the nail in the coffin and was a turning point between the characterization of Strawberry Girl, Hiro & Zero Two.

        Sure that the last few minutes of the episode could have played out on a different tune, but i don’t think that would have played to the roles of the characters. Remember its always better to show than tell.

        I couldn’t laud much more the A1/Trigger guys who did this hats off to them as the most last and recent anime that have kept me engaged on wanting to knows what happens next was back in 2007/08 years (Gundam 00 & Code Geass).

        FlippySirk
        Reply

      5. It can be either or IMO. Zero Two’s outburst certainly came out of nowhere with little prior buildup, but she was also high strung by this stage and looking for some sort of validation. It didn’t matter to her that some of the squad was showing concern, all that mattered was they were (as a group) keeping her away from Hiro. To then pull a 180 and allow her to see him? Would seem fishy, even before you bring Zero Two’s emotions into it. Zero Two saw what she wanted to see, and no amount of evidence (i.e. Hiro escaping himself) could change that.

        Pancakes
        Reply

    2. Maybe she don’t know what to do.
      She hasn’t this kind of experience so shes a bit lost.
      Coupled with her physiology, the saurification.
      Hazy mind, immature thinking.

      She already have the bias that Squad 13 is against her too.
      Trust was low I suppose.

      iron2000
      Reply

    3. I think you’re forgetting that Zero Two isn’t exactly in the best mental state.

      1) Lifetime of abuse / torture / experiments
      2) Separation from the only person who cared for her
      3) Realizing that she was dragging that person down with her (even if it was unintentional)
      4) Constant life/death battles
      5) Anxiety of her transformation.

      So yea, the girl snapped. That tends to happen when you have a lot of stress built up. It’s just that her perception of being lied to was what tipped the scales.

      Crimson7
      Reply

      1. Hiro’s attitude also does not help much. He knows that she grew up being tortured and yet lost to fear. Humans when they do not understand something immediately create the feeling of aversion and do the worst things to save themselves.

        Charkan
        Reply

      2. God dammit, this episode literally spelled out for us that 02 has been lying and using Hiro on since episode 1. Yet when the shoe is on the other foot, and she thinks the squad lied to her, she literally beats the shit out of them.

        vastoceans
        Reply

      3. @Charkan – wow, He almost died by the hands of person that he loved and trusted, and he further discovered he was also being used by this person all the time. And you wanted him to act rationally after all that.

        ninjapet
        Reply

      4. @ninjapet – He had time to think and decided to run away to talk to her. He did not reveal anything of the past to others and did not ask her if he was being used. He only gave up on the fear and called her a monster. A monster that he himself saved and showed love. If she really knows who he is from the beginning, who betrayed who first?

        Charkan
        Reply

    5. I agree here and putting teammates as Guards was a bit over the top. This is their decision to add spice and surprises into the storyline. But for me they created just more “hate and despair”

      for me this is reaching Muv-Luv emotions.. i just hope next Episode it turns around

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

      1. explanation:

        – if they would put on some APE Guards, then the “stranger enemy” is the Adults that separate them.

        – but they gone there and used their teammates for this.. This is not an “stranger enemy”, they are pals now. it has an totally different impact if they go against them. So this action had an strong impact, more as APE Guards

        – Ichigo did act selfish here, but the entire Squad follow, even if Kokoro and Goro agreed to let Zero Two visit Hiro. Ichigo used her status as Squad leader here

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      1. She certainly saw it, but by this point it probably didn’t matter. Zero Two was enraged enough that any sort of evidence would have been perceived as planted by the squad. She wanted an excuse to take out her anger and Hiro’s escape right at that moment gave it to her.

        Pancakes
        Reply

      1. When will Oni finally learn to stop treating other kids like a turbo cunt?
        When will Goro finally get over Ichigo?

        I don’t know how anyone can enjoy this show with every character being so unlikable.

        Gewurtztraminer
        Reply

    8. Not stupid but she doesn’t really trust “human”(she wanted to become human for her darling but that doesn’t mean she likes human) and Ichigo acting like she own Hiro really helps a lot

      rocz
      Reply

      1. If you accept people being bad for what happened to them in the past, you’re going nowhere fast. They’ll just continue to be how they are forever if you don’t put a stop to it.

        8mmspikes
        Reply

  3. Agh.

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2032.jpg

    I was hoping this episode was going to explore why APE do their “business” with children…
    (so that there is more depth in the story and that APE aren’t just the cliche evil villains)

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2006.jpg

    But what we got is a very frustrating relationship debacle for Hiro, Ichigo, Goro, and Oni.
    To be fair, Oni was just as self-centered as Ichigo in this episode from the past couple of episodes. Don’t forget that she had her hands trying to suffocate Hiro a couple of episodes ago.

    Anyways, too many questions-new and old.

    But I am entertained. I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time watching this.
    And that’s what really matters.
    Looking forward to next week’s episode.

    SpitFire
    Reply

    1. I feel that the show is more about the characters and not about the why things happened.
      So far its more of a drama piece to me.

      But I still hope they will explain things as that mystery is the main thing that keeps me coming back.

      iron2000
      Reply

      1. But what we got is a very frustrating relationship debacle for Hiro, Ichigo, Goro.

        Not only Hiro, Ichigo and Goro but also Mitsuru, Ikuno and Naomi have had their relationships, couplings and their lives directly affected because Hiro drank the blood of 02 and it ended up getting the Dino Aids. After that day, Hiro’s aptitude score kept going down, because the Dino Aids kept killing their yellow cells regardless of the number of Elixirs Injections (yellow cells) him to receive, until he ended up being paired with a normal three-digit Pistil with a extremely high code and failed the connect test.

        But if Hiro hadn’t drunk Oni’s blood, Hiro would have been paired with Ichigo, because both are skilled teen codes (001-020) and two-digit’s elites (010-099), and they would have been paired in this way…
        Hiro x Ichigo
        Goro x Ikuno
        Futoshi x Kokoro
        Miku x Zorome
        Mitsuru x Naomi

        EmbraceMe
        Reply

      2. If the childhood mortality rate is what it used to be everywhere when 50% to 75% of all children do not reach adulthood that attitude is understandable. Probably still hurts but you’re also prepared and probably get sort of numb to it. Historical example Peter the Great and second wife 2 out 12 became adults. Louis XIV King of France’s wife 16 children 4 lived. I have seen old family graveyards with many tiny little headstones for all the children who died early all others normal size tombstones.

        RedRocket
        Reply

      3. Because Hiro is Charlemagne and 002 is Desiderata.

        Darling in the Franxx is a Frankish Empire allegory – Karling in the Franks?

        /his/friend here.

        I’ve got this particularly bizarre theory. Darling in the Franxx is based off of the story of Charlemagne and Desiderata, where Hiro is Charlemagne and Zero-Two is Desiderata:

        “Desiderata, or Ermengarda[1], was one of four daughters of Desiderius, king of the Lombards, and his queen, Ansa. She was married to Charlemagne, king of the Franks, in 770, probably to form a bond between the otherwise enemy states of Francia and Lombardy. The marriage was annulled in 771 and this hurt relations with Lombardy, presaging the war of 774. She had no known children and her ultimate fate is unknown.”

        The Lombards are the Klaxosaurus. Hiro is Charles before he becomes Charlemagne. He “marries” Zero-Two, a Lombard/Klaxosaur princess and eventually throws her away to invade Lombardy/conquer the Klaxosaurs, eventually becoming Holy Roman Emperor/God-Emperor of Mankind.

        Furthermore, what we see here are the other three girls in the back of this image who look suspiciously like Zero-Two. They are the other “three daughters of Desiderius”.

        What we see is that Charlemagne had at least one illegitimate child, Pepin the Hunchback. This may be interpretated as insinuating that Hiro will engage in sexually unbecoming behaviour in the future, siring a bastard child, who, like Pepin will attempt to rebel against him.

        Notice additionally, that the Capetians who succeed the Karlings, had a floral coat of arms – we see very clearly the floral symbolism in Strelitzia and Delphinium. Thus Hiro/Charlemagne’s successors will also be floral and might have something to do with the fleurs-de-lis.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepin_the_Hunchback

        Thank you for reading my crackpot theory

        Iwatch2muchanime
        Reply

  4. Picking up where we were left off last week.
    The girl in the hoodie with horns of light.
    The boy seating behind her.
    Their mutual truth.

    A tinge of regret of not connecting earlier?
    Is it safer to remain behind your walls? To be mysterious?
    She found what she was finding and it appeased her demonic emotions.

    Hiro hangs on the edge, maybe Zero Two can kiss the sleeping handsome?
    Hallucinate?
    What if what Hiro and Zero Two remember are false memories planted by Dr Franxx?
    Nah, don’t think so 😛
    Yellow blood cells and saurification…

    Looks like her emotions are not fully appeased.
    Still mildly disturbed.
    Ichigo is angry, with no Hiro will group band together in a “lets safe Zero Two together” scnario?
    Ichigo have had enough.

    If only Zero Two managed relations better, now she is thrown out.

    Is Mitsuru outside crying tears of joy?
    “He remembered!”

    Taking in Zero Two’s blood has such effect?
    Before they flash that scene I thought its the memory wipe that affected his score.

    Zero Two is stuck in that mental state, bitiing her indestuctable nails.

    The Gran Crevasse.
    The 2 didn’t say much just call it a ‘certain place’.
    Enemy base? Not sure.
    Finally get to see the Nines in action soon.

    Ichigo goes all out.

    Wonder why didn’t Dr Franxx pair the two together back then instead of doing the memory wipe?
    By order of the Seven Sages?

    Wonder how will the Nines handle Zero Two.

    When your friends are doing you no good but they think its for your own good.
    Hiro understands their kindness.
    Maybe it would be better if everyone has smartphones, lol.

    Hiro expertly go into it smoothly, no agression.

    Just watched Gundam F91 yesterday.
    Zero Two now reminds me of Cecily when she cuts her hair.

    The knife…

    Goro…Kokoro…good!

    …
    And he is gone.
    Hiro the smooth operator.
    But his timing…

    Things going downhill…speeding…
    How things go now, looks like Hiro need to bring Zero Two back from madness.

    Without words what the 2 see mess things up further.

    Hiro…
    Zero Two excepts ‘punishment’.
    Ichigo steps up her game.
    Goro recedes.

    These kids really have the thing going on for them.

    iron2000
    Reply

    1. Hiro’s aptitude started to decline after the incident with 02 (Hiro licked 02’s wound and he contracted DinoAIDS. The DinoAIDS progressively destroys yellow cells). That’s why Hiro was paired with a high number as Naomi (703), even being a skilled teen code and a two-digits elite, and it failed in your test connection, because the DinoAids was killing their yellow cells which is the key factor for piloting a FranXX.

      https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2006.jpg
      Hiro started to produce yellow cells again After piloting 02’s ass in episode 1, that’s why Hiro was able to connect with Ichigo and pilot Ichigo’s ass for a few seconds. But after the episode 4, Hiro started to produce tons of yellow cells which is the key factor for piloting a FranXX. Currently, Hiro is fit to ride any pistil thanks to its absurd amount of yellow cells.

      child of Lilith
      Reply

      1. Hmm…
        Certaining fits the “he can only pilot with her” words from Hiro.
        I wonder does piloting kills yellow blood cells?

        So her blood makes stamen compatible to her?
        Or is there a factor of feelings too?

        iron2000
        Reply

      2. it’s a slow and progressive process, then needs to be done when as a child. Hiro drank Zero Two’s blood as a child, then his body had enough time to adapt and stabilize the dinoaids and his immune system for combating it.
        The feeling factor more for performance and connection apportionment.

        one3rd
        Reply

  6. Honestly, we can find both faults and bright sides with everyone in this mess. Zero Two was pushy and just couldn’t control her urges and should’ve at least tried to reason with the other teammates if not with Ichigo, but the fact remains she finally realized that the darling she was searching for all along throughout all of her male partners was right there with her, and she genuinely wanted to make things right with him. Hiro was too reserved after the revelation he just had when he could’ve AND should’ve insisted on seeing Zero Two again despite Ichigo’s objections (he seriously shouldn’t have prioritized her feelings when this mystery was gonna drive him crazy), but then again, there was also the possibility that Zero Two was really just exploiting him (which turned out to be true after all, as even Zero Two admitted she was being punished for it near the end) hanging around his mind, causing him to hesitate to find out for sure. Then there is Ichigo, who’s fatal flaw (per TV tropes dot org BTW) was always to separate between them even before finding out about Zero Two’s secret because she’s in love with him, going so far as to confess it and even force a kiss on him (Twice!) in a particularly bad moment above all, giving no care to how both Hiro and Goro would feel about it, being annoyingly self-centered about it. But the bright side with her is that, like it or not, she did potentially save Hiro from perhaps being entirely consumed by Zero Two, but then to what end? 02 is gone now, Hiro cannot possibly be able to ride with Ichigo, so then he’ll likely go back to being the sorry mess was at the beginning of the show, or maybe even make a run for it. Let’s see Ichigo be able to smile about that.

    Personally, in terms of faults : bright sides ratio, I find Ichigo to be the least favorable. I get it. She’s in love with Hiro, and she’s angsty about it. It doesn’t make her a bad character (as this is an interesting plot at least), but it does make her a person I would rather live without.

    yoloalchemist
    Reply

      2. Oh they’ll pilot alright—for a grand total of 30 seconds. It would be incredibly surprising if Hiro and Ichigo suddenly showed the aptitude they distinctively lacked during their first try earlier in the season.

        Pancakes
        Reply

      3. Normally parasites are just injected YBC and eventually they start producing it on their own, with a certain level required to be able to operate Franxx. In Mitsuru’s case, he was either not producing enough or not producing any at all despite injections, which is why he had to undergo a procedure, and even then, the procedure wasn’t 100% guaranteed for Mitsuru to come out of intact.

        as other people have already mentioned Hiro swallowed the 02’s blood and after that day, his aptitude score kept going down until he fails with Naomi. You don’t need to be smart to know that Oni infected Hiro with some sort of virus that it started to kill or weaken Hiro’s YBCs.

        But Hiro began to produce an enormous amount of YBC after the episode 4, and in this episode, his YBC count has gone for beyound what the human body can handle.

        Ohoni
        Reply

    2. let’s see…
      Episode 2:Hiro was able to connect with Ichigo (100% – 100% – https://i.imgur.com/s7jXmTv.jpg and http://i.4cdn.org/m/1523839044533.webm) and he was able to pilot Ichigo’s ass and Delphinium for a few seconds, but until then, Hiro had no sufficient number of yellow cells to maintain it longer, and we were not aware of things too.
      Episode 5: They showed us that Hiro was producing a huge amount of yellow cells which is the key factor for piloting a FranXX, while the other Stamens who ride the 02’s ass had a very large loss of yellow cells.

      EmbraceMe
      Reply

      1. Episode 11: They showed us that the yellow cells is the key factor for piloting a FranXX, and that Mitsuru had poor aptitude score because he had few yellow cells, and then he needed to take an elixirs injection so that he could have produced more yellow cells thereby increasing his aptitude score and becoming able to pilot a FraXX.
        Episode 12:They showed us that the lower the code of the parasite, the bigger his aptitude to pilot a FranXX. Episode
        13: They showed us that after that day where Hiro drank the blood of 02 and it ended up getting the Dino Aids, his aptitude score kept going down regardless of the number of yellow cells’ injections him to receive because his Dino Aids kept killing his yellow cells, until he ended up being paired with a normal three-digit Pistil with a extremely high code and failed the connect test. Actually it is funny how people keep shouting ”Muh X is not compatible Y” to justify aptitude.
        These people probably forgot we had a duo duo formed by Mitsuru and Ikuno. Not to mention that Mitsuru has managed to connect with 02 and pilot 02’s ass and Futoshi did the same with Ikuno.

        EmbraceMe
        Reply

  7. 3 things are happening in this episode…

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2010.jpg
    Online sentiments are pretty much divided between Ichigo and 02 but both are valid in their own ways. Ichigo is acting based on what she has observed and know thus far unlike us viewers who have seen both sides of the story. So its understandable that Ichigo acted that manner.

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
    02 on the other hand, we’ve seen her downward spiral for several weeks now so it’s no surprise she reacted emotionally instead of rationally. I was hoping for 02 to punch Ichigo’s face in.

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2032.jpg
    How many NTR can 1 show have?

    Henrietta Brix
    Reply

    1. Ichigo is still the best girl.

      Regardless of butthurt for petty reasons, Ichigo fought for what she believed in, did not resort to lying, deceiving, od other underhanded methods, acknowledged there’d be consequences and accepted them, told the truth to everyone about what would happened to Hiro if 02 continued to be with him, was hurt by 02 to whom she extended a hand to and welcomed as a team member, and even when she did the only thing she thought that would snap him to reality, she summoned the courage to pour her heart out and confessed to him.

      Svidrigailov
      Reply

    2. Neither of these two is the problem. The problem was Hiro still being a doormat, not saying a word about how he needed to see Zero-Two. Ichigo only sees Zero-Two being an unreasonable brute, but if Hiro was just as outspoken she would’ve realized there was more going on than Zero-Two’s need. Instead he just sat there for days with no idea what was going on like an idiot.

      Aex
      Reply

      1. You’re acting as if Ichigo never ever gave her a chance. But she did. She was glad to collaborate with her as part of the team. She fucking DEFENDED her against Alpha. She thought they were friends. And yet Zero Two didn’t make any attempt to approach anyone. Everyone around her was completely open and they would have empathized with her, and she did NOTHING. Because she didn’t care. She didn’t want to. All of this is the result of HER actions not Ichigo’s.

        And Zero Two kept talking shit to them. All she had to do was tell them she needed to talk to him but all she did for most of the episode and the previous two episodes was make everything worse.

        And then Ichigo agrees to go with Goro’s plan to let them talk TOO and Zero Two beats the shit out of them because she’s crazy.

        DuskyPredator25
        Reply

  8. Ahh Ichigo, wrapping up your selfish desire to monopolize Hiro to his own mental and emotional detriment in your own well-founded concerns.

    Now that you’ve royally fucked things up for everyone, step off and let Hiro make his own decisions like a big boy, eh?

    Bob
    Reply

    1. she won’t let Hiro and 02 meet!
      Completely reasonable since 02 is a psychotic bitch who may outburst at any moment.
      She also agreed to let them meet under the condition that the squads are supervising
      she ruined muh Hiro 02 ship!
      02’s own dawn fault for being a low EQ unreasonable bitch and upset Hiro by hitting his friends.
      b-but all the things she did is only for her self-interest!
      Said she is fine with Hiro hating her as long as it keeps Hiro alive.
      Literally the very definition of selfless love,
      in comparison of 02 who was only using Hiro.

      ThomasBlanc
      Reply

  9. 10 episodes left.
    Will it be enough to build a satisfying ending?

    How is the viewer rating of this show in Japan?
    Enough for a season 2 or movie?

    So far the epicness is pretty toned down and the drama is on full.
    I guess drama is A-1 Pictures’ trait?

    iron2000
    Reply

      1. I don’t mean to be negative and I’m not blaming A-1.
        Nope I haven’t watch Kiznaiver.

        I do admit my expectation was skewed towards the typical Trigger mecha anime types.

        iron2000
        Reply

  10. @Crimson7 & Henrietta Brix

    002’s predisposition before being allowed to see Hiro…

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2009.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2022.jpg

    …while vilotile, seems to be, for the most part in control of herself until seeing Hiro’s disappearance.

    This shows she atracked squad 13 with the intention of revenge by concluding that she was desceived. Basically, she knew what she doing. She had the intention of hurting squad 13, and she accepts her “punishment” as consequence of her actions-like an honest criminal.

    SpitFire
    Reply

      1. not entire correct, she knows that they are important for his Darling, that’s also why they did only got brushes not any more worse.. I was afraid she choke Ichigo to death

        But even if i backup her state now, i am not satisfied of her way. Teammate as Guards, Ichigo “even if you hate me!” protection, i even bring in that they see Hiro like an Drug Addict to Zero Two, but then the love confession at an very bad timing. Where Goro has keen ears, but even just watch at the distance you get the gist.. This confession is the gravestone for the next episode or the entire Squad

        Ichigo’s FranXX will not boot up or Ichigo will do all means necessary to be “compatible” with Hiro… aka injections. Goro is now out of Sync waves, and i bet APE will force Goro and Ichigo to sortie in their current state. “Fackeln im Sturm” aka “Torches in an Storm” Death Flags arise

        Zero Two will also sortie and in her anger she instant consume her pilot (again) so we will have 2 out of the play in the next Episode. Squad 13 doom is about to start, and i will become very frustrated if Trigger and A-1 plan to let Zero Two survive the entire Squad 13 and she smiles back to an new Hiro clone.. “Are you my Darling?!” again

        Uff, again i wrote more then i wanted.. I should avoid this in the future for not hurt myself

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

  11. I don’t full on hate Ichigo, but everything would have been so much better if they had removed that confession scene. So separating them wasn’t enough, you’ve got to force a kiss and confession on him at his lowest point, suggest a team up that has been already shown to fail and just abandon your own partner in the process. FUCKING WHY TRIGGER/A?!

    Mami
    Reply

    1. Ichigo has literally done nothing wrong in this episode.

      If anything it’s mostly 02’s fuckups.
      Everything could’ve went smoothly if she is not a raging bitch and beat anyone up.

      Vinitachi
      Reply

      1. I wouldn’t call forcing a kiss and a confession on your obviously distressed friend who has basically had his death certificate signed now that he’s unlikely to have a partner,not caring about the fact that you seem willing to abandon your own partner, and doing all of this before a dangerous mission’nothing wrong’ guy. Zero two has stuff to pay for, but Ichigo did fuck up

        Mami
        Reply

      2. also o do not hope that Ichigo goes there now and take Injections to match Hiro’s waves, to boot up her FranXX with him. In other words, Ichigo become like Hiro, on the border to become an “monster”

        That is an logical conclusion of her lines

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

    2. Probably because it’s the best way to inculcate tension and development at the moment. Ichigo’s desperation is going to force Hiro into action, because no matter his personal opinion of Ichigo, if he cannot prove his piloting abilities with someone besides Zero Two, he’s not long for the piloting world. Combine that with the way Zero Two left and the lack of confirmation between Hiro and Zero Two and Hiro is now looking at a perfect storm of hell set to fall on him.

      Pancakes
      Reply

  12. some Episode Directors make Zero Twi into an Lone wolf (again) and some other Episode Directors make her all lovely again

    This Black and White play will lead into chaos, some time the frontier of now return are penetrated.. Perhaps this is it?

    i wait for the next episode..

    Worldwidedepp
    Reply

  13. Kissing and saying that you love will not convince a person who sees you as a family (sister). Ichigo is selfish, Hiro several times put her in a zone of friendship. But she does not understand that Zero Two has something deeper than her.

    The only thing forgivable in all this is that children are learning what it is to be human. Adults look like aliens in this dark future that sees them as tools. From their point of view they are not wrong, just like us (spectator) who grew up hearing that animals do not think soon can be used by mankind. What would you do if you came across the kids and the lab rats?

    Charkan
    Reply

    1. Ichigo literally did nothing wrong, I bet most 02 fans have never been in a relationship or truly loved a 3D woman. 02 should have never got involved with Humans in the first place. Too much blood on her hands now

      Harleyquin
      Reply

  15. I’m so annoyed. Why cant 02 and Hiro ever catch a break. Why cant Ichigo learn to know when she’s beaten (all those episodes ago) and move on. She should have jyst started looking at Goro aaaaaa

    Beep
    Reply

    2. Hiro’s life means more than 02’s redemption. It would be nice if they could’ve had both, but down to the wire it’s perfectly reasonable to save the non-murderer.

      DaGreatKobe
      Reply

  16. I can understand both of the girls here. I can’t understand Hiro.

    Zero-Two is broken. She’s been broken for almost eight years, living off just the thought of becoming human and meeting her “darling”. That’s a reward that she’s going to be given, so she never thought that it was even possible that she would basically stumble across Hiro. He should be waiting for her, they shouldn’t have been able to meet before she’s a human. It doesn’t fit her psychosis, but now that she realizes that it happened she’s even more screwed up than before because she knows how badly she’s made herself look the past few days. She needs to talk to him ASAP to salvage what little is left of the dream that’s been the only thing keeping her going for years now while she fought, killed, and dealt with the ugliness of the humans around her.

    Ichigo is in love. She’s seen the boy she loves break again and again and now again. She can’t take it anymore, so she’s ready to use what authority she has to keep Hiro safe, and that means keeping Zero-Two as far away as possible. She pretty much knows now that Zero-Two is aware of what riding with her was doing to Hiro, and knows that Zero-Two didn’t care. She thinks that’s all there is to it, and since no one is correcting her, why would she think otherwise? As far as she knows, Zero-Two disappearing fixes the immediate problem and frees Ichigo up to focus on Hiro.

    Then we come to the main problem here: Hiro. The literal bump on the log who just sits there for days while everything gets flushed around him. Sure, he couldn’t leave the room because it was guarded, but you know what he could’ve done? Talk to someone. Ichigo visits him often, and there’s always someone outside, so if he’d told them even half the story about meeting the red girl and getting his memory wiped, and how he was confused as hell now that he’s got his memories back and is pretty damn sure Zero-Two is his little red girl, the squad would’ve let them meet. One time they could’ve brushed off as a hallucination, but if he kept bringing it up and they saw how Zero-Two was acting, someone would’ve caved. Hell, forget the story, even just saying that he wanted to see her to try to understand what she thought and what’s happened to him could’ve been enough. But no, he just sits there stewing for days without a word, putting on a fake smile for the squad and apparently not giving a thought to how Zero-Two might be feeling! Apparently he was looking for a chance to escape, but that wouldn’t have even been necessary if he’d even tried to communicate. So goddamn stupid.

    Aex
    Reply

    2. You haven’t been paying attention and forgot how the setup of the boys and the universe is. The concept of love is not taught, so everyone has to realize and think a lot before take any step, and even others won’t understand your actions or will hesitate. The fact Hiro is in the verge of losing his humanity and everyone knows 02 is the cause of this, so of course they want to separate them, specially Ichigo for more reasons. And of course their status as pilots of mechas used to wipe out monsters who want to destroy their home. Also, Hiro is hospitalized because he almost die by her hand. Is not like everyone is going to let him talk to her because the power of love, he said he wanted to see her and everyone denied him fpr good reasons.

      cvb
      Reply

      1. When did I talk about the power of love? I said Hiro should’ve talked to someone about what he was feeling and why he needed to see Zero-Two. Sure, part of that is love, but the rest is the blue blood, the memory wipe, and what’s been happening to both of them since the day in the snow. But he didn’t try. They said he couldn’t see her and he rolled over and gave up on them, despite being able to tell them that Zero-Two might have answers to what he’s been going through for years. The rest of the squad did what was narural, I even said that, but Hiro doesn’t try to correct them and give them the full picture, so he’s just as responsible for the resulting mess.

        Would anyone have listened to him? Who knows, but it would’ve been better than giving up on talking to them while he plans to go behind their backs.

        Aex
        Reply

      3. @EivionGreen: Didn’t you? It only got to that point because he tried all of one time to do anything before that. He could’ve diffused the situation right from the start, instead he sat there.

        Aex
        Reply

      4. wow, He almost died by the hands of person that he loved and trusted, and he further discovered he was also being used by this person all the time. And you wanted him to act rationally after all that.

        ninjapet
        Reply

      5. @ninjapet: if anything I thought Hiro was too rational. Not talking because he thought no one would listen so why bother, not causing a scene even though the door was unlocked, putting on a fake(?) smile for Ichigo while he looked for a chance to escape… That all feels over-rational, definitely not the outburst of emotion I was expecting after someone gets such a huge memory back.

        Aex
        Reply

    3. Hiro is the personification of the generic male MC of this genre. He is a proverbial knot on the log which all the girls grind their clits against. It’s kinda funny and kinda sad and mostly just more poorly executed than usual this episode.

      Arin
      Reply

    4. I agree re hiro. If there was any time to take an aggressive stance, this was the time imo (AND NOT when 02 went berserk on team 13). I was a bit disappointed to see how hiro was being all passive in this episode especially after he had regained his memories.

      Beep
      Reply

      1. Hiro questions if her love was real, but then flashbacks to the scenes he was questioning as why he loves her. When he finds out, he won’t love her. He can’t forgive being used, that’s why he’s seeking the answer.

        Darksorrow29
        Reply

  22. https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2035.jpg
    A moment of silent to our fallen brother Goro. You will always be my best guy in this series.

    And hell did break loose this time. And im so guilty for enjoying every tense drama from both Z02 and Ichigo. Damnn those girls. Well i couldnt care less about gary stu Hiro lol (Goro is the best so i dont care anymore with this dragging Ano Natsu Matteru angsty drama) but whatever it is, on forward we go!

    Onion Warrior
    Reply

    2. @Onion Warrior
      Goro was never entitled to Ichigo’s love, anon. I realize you haven’t gotten over your schoolday rejections but nobody was in the wrong for not reciprocating your romantic feelings.

      vastoceans
      Reply

      1. Why do you sounded like you’re just came out from some heated shipping wars here dude?

        What do you mean Goro is not entitled to Ichigo’s love? Did Ichigo flat out rejected Goro’s confession during ep.9? She said she’ll give it a thought right? Up to this point no one here has the right to own ANYONE because we are only at ep.14. Anything can happen (just look at Futoshi!). I rest my case after what happen in ep.13, be it Hiro and Zero Two getting it back together, or Hiro and Ichigo pairing up or Ichigo finally accepting Goro, or heck nobody is getting anyone, they all end up dead.

        Im just saying that Goro is my favorite character in this anime, thats all.

        onion warrior
        Reply

  23. I hated what happened, I wanted Hiro and Zero Two kiss. But thinking back just like everything the last episode was well supported by earlier things everything in this episode was set up by earlier things. I’m not wild about the Hiro and Zero Two missing each other in their efforts I don’t like things like that but Shakesphear put one of these tragic timing plots at the end of Romeo and Juliet so I can not say it a bad thing to put in a story.
    Hey maybe hope for a second season! The separated lover’s plot can put off the knowing everything going on rebelion plot long enough to justify more story.

    I got to know why the triplets have those masks?

    RedRocket
    Reply

  24. I HATE shipping. I hate it because it blinds the viewer into racing to conclusions instead of thinking logically about what’s going on. I HATE how the Japanese fans have gotten so angry about this episode, the director had to go online and tell everyone to shut up! I HATE what we’ll most likely have to see this same kind of headaches until this show ends!

    I DO NOT hate the episode itself. It’s actually rather exciting to watch. I DO hate the fans.

    starss
    Reply

  26. Can’t wait for that big torpedo to sink that Hiro/Ichigo ship in one big blaze of glory.

    It’ll be spectacular. It’ll be glorious.

    Sorry, but she inserted herself into a situation where she wasn’t wanted.

    邪魔

    Banana Furikake
    Reply

    1. The ship sank before it sailed. At the end after the kiss Hiro looks up at the sky as he hears the ship carrying Zero Two away. He sees no sense in what she insists on doing.

      Charkan
      Reply

      1. -Keeping the abuser away from the abusee.
        -Protecting her friend from his own self-destructive tendencies
        I mean I get it that you hate yourself and want to die but that is actually not good anon.

        Mugen1style
        Reply

  27. Since people were so passionate over this, I downloaded and watched the episodes this afternoon.

    First thing, just love Zero Two, she is a refreshing leading girl! The only thing that gets on my nerves is the constant “darling, darling” thing, I hate this in every anime/manga. I totally understand her feelings of frustration, not able to be together with Hiro when he needs her the most and both they went through such traumatic battle. She is always saying she wants to talk to him and see him, I felt sorry for the girl. As she always says, she is not a human, so she would never sit politely to talk about the situation over a cup of tea. I was surprised she did not snap sooner and kicked his door opened.

    I agree when people say Ichigo has been forcefull and selfish. She had all the time in the world before Zero Two appear to confess. First, the kiss, then the confession while the poor guy was crying his heart out, mostly out of guilty and his feelings towards Zero Two he was unable to say due to his own frustration over the things they could not discuss and how everything happened, having to take sides between her and his friends.
    I feel bad for Goro, but have the utter most respect for the guy. He has feelings for Ichigo, realized she would not answer them and just kept quiet about it, supporting her.

    On animation side, it reminded me of Ano-hana and I LOVED THE ROBOTS, because I was a Star Driver fan! Even their red thing on their uniforms are similiar to Takuto’s chest scar. The kira-kira moments of being connected on the mechas, too! The first ed with Zero Two running and Star Driver first op with the same concept. But I hated the pose the girls have to be inside the robots. Why do they have to be “controlled” if it is a partner effort?

    I wonder why grown ups keep putting teens on such important “save the world” situations, dont they know teens are dumb and problematic most of the time?? Dont they learned anything with Evangelion?

    neko_in_blue
    Reply

    1. We probably keep seeing teens in these scenarios because of a combination of strength and mentality. Teens/young adults often bounce back better physically after taking a beating (represented by the pseudoscience of better control of whatever seasonal magic system being used) and are at the age where impressions stick in the mind best. Adults can be very cynical, while teens will typically take what you say as the truth if there’s some form of evidence behind it, especially if inculcated in the dogma since birth. The related drama is simply icing on top, as these stories require some form of tension and teenage drama provides a cheap and easy means to feature it.

      Pancakes
      Reply

    2. I have problems with the world in this series now because we’ve seen how much resources it takes to produce these children on a planet where resources seem hard to come by even if not scarce (due to having to protect themselves from attack). I believe that because of the high failure rate, the “starting” children should probably be low value “items” but the final children who become successful parasites should be high value items. True, they can’t invest in them emotionally, but anyone who has paid shitload of money for something knows how much you don’t want to see it broke and have to replace it.

      I doubt this will be explained very well as it seems like this entire world is a flimsy setup for the world’s slowest and most repetitive coming-of-age story.

      Arin
      Reply

      1. -02 outright tells Hiro she doesn’t care about him and to die like a good little drone
        -02 goes crazy in a life or death battle, harms Ichigo and her mech and almost kills Hiro the second time
        -gets herself taken out of the team by the adults for being a crazy bitch
        -makes sure to tell the team she doesn’t care about them and beats the shit out of everyone before she leaves
        -singlehandedly gets Hiro to personally calls her a monster all on his own
        -BAWWWWWWW ICHIGO BAWWWWWW THIS IS HER FAULT SHE’S A RAPIST

        The absolute fucking state of Onifags.

        Hikikomori
        Reply

  29. Honestly, this was a great episode.

    The people losing their s*** seem upset that their choice of “shipping” wasn’t instantly validated, or that we didn’t get an instant route to a warm and fuzzy ending.

    This isn’t a warm and fuzzy show. We all knew the world they live in is f**ked up and the kids even more so. At best we can hope for a bittersweet ending.

    The lack of logic is to be expected. Teens going through puberty are already irrational, emotional, not necessarily the most communicative. This is especially so when they don’t understand puberty or how it effects their emotions, let alone how the adults have put them through anything other than a “healthy childhood”, especially zero two.

    A good show will make you care about the characters, but ya gotta remember that this is still just a work of fiction.

    LoliHat
    Reply

    2. I do not know if Zero Two express them same puberty like humans. Perhaps her “fake” Human cells give her this, but her real body.. is it nearly Human alike, too?

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

  31. I switch sides. Hiro is a worthless generic knob of a MC and he deserves the equally generic childhood friend. They can be together and then 02 can kill everyone except Ikuno and they can have all the lesbian sex they want and she never dies. The end.

    Arin
    Reply

    1. Zero Two will survive the current entire Squad 13 members, yes even her Darling, then it takes some time to clone an other Hiro with fresh “reset” memories and Zero two welcomes him with an bright smile “I found you my Darling!” again

      okok,, this is inspired from Sky Crawler

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

      1. @Arin
        Speaking like one of those filthy beta men who self-insert filthy into female character.
        You’re literally disgusting and retarded people like you disgust me. Get a life!

        Fuck tumblr-kun
        Reply

  32. Imagine, if you will, that Ichigo was put into Hiro’s place. Imagine that Hiro had just coldly left her, and Goro walked up, confessed, and forced a kiss on her twice. Would you be upset at Goro? Pushing his feelings onto poor Ichigo? Unwanted advances?

    Congratulations, you now understand why what Ichigo did was wrong.

    Tarage
    Reply

  33. https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%2032.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx/Darling%20in%20the%20Franxx%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2034.jpg

    ಠ_ಠ

    Ichigo literally forced herself NOT ONCE but THRISE on to Hiro. THIS IS SEXUAL ASSAULT.

    ^^^^^^ = court martial her please.

    The masses have called 002 a “slut”, a “bitch”, a “dinosaur” and even a “tin can”.

    I say Ichigo should have her own new moniker for the masses too.

    EndoC
    Reply

      2. >Only the comments praising Ichigo or talking badly about 02 are in green.

        I mean, if you honestly want to believe that the majority of people like Ichigo despite the majority of comments being the opposite, feel free. I’m going to continue to correctly assume that a butthurt Ichigo fan is spamming this like has happened before.

        Tarage
        Reply

    1. What the actual fuxx…

      If something actually happened to the show because of all these idiots I think I might literally roll on the floor laughing. Even though none of it is funny.

      Aex
      Reply

  38. The comments about this episode is just as amusing as the episode itself. Since I don’t take this show seriously, reading these comments was less frustrating than the events in the episode. I guess that makes it a win for the comments then.

    The news is rather disturbing though. Hope it doesn’t take away anyone’s joy in creating anime. Being passionate about something should never lead to harassment.

    theirs
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *