Main Character Index | Plantation 13 | Pilots of Strelizia | Pilots of Delphinium and Argentea | Pilots of Genista and Chlorophytum | APE | Additional Plantations & Squads | Klaxosaurs
Due to wiki policy, trope names will not be spoiler tagged. Reader beware.
open/close all folders
Plantation 26 Squad
Code:090 voiced by: Makoto Furukawa (Japanese), Josh Grelle (English), Rubén Felis (European Spanish)
A more battle hardened and experienced squad than Plantation 13's. Their leader is Code: 090.
Plantation 26 Squad in General
- Attack Pattern Alpha: They attack in a formation with coordinated teamwork, usually using tethered harpoons to latch onto the klaxosaur, wrapping it up, and then either zapping it or having another member come to deliver the final blow.
- Back for the Dead: They show up for a second time after Episode 6 only for them to be killed after watching their plantation be destroyed before their eyes.
- Berserk Button: They were quickly angered when they learned they're working with Zero Two.
- It's Personal: 090 hates Zero Two because a previous engagement with her led to the death of his partner because of her recklessness.
- No Name Given: Not that they have names in first place, but the audience never even learns their codes. Even 090 doesn't have his code mentioned on-screen, only in the credits and the official site.
- Rapid Aging: 090 has noticeably gone gray the second time he appears in the story.
- Senseless Sacrifice: After their Plantation is destroyed they sacrifice themselves to attempt to destroy the klaxosaur responsible before it can do the same to Plantation 13. However, it still releases enough smaller klaxosaur to do significant damage and the hand ultimately destroys the entire plantation at the end of the battle.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: They're pretty subdued because of how many battles they've been in. This is especially evident when Zero Two pops up.
- Shock and Awe: Their Franxx use electrical charges in their weapons.
- Suicide Attack: After Plantation 26 is destroyed by the Super Lehmann-Class klaxosaur, Papa orders them to execute Protocol 32: A suicide charge using massive magma energy bombs. All it manages to do is cripple the beast.
- Taught by Experience: They have significantly more experience in piloting that Plantation 13, at least 2 years worth.
- You Are Number 6: Unlike the protagonists they don't have names, or even nicknames; only numbers. More creepily, they seem to question the point in having a name in the first place.
The Nines
From left to right: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta.
An elite special forces squad. Zero Two is/was a member.
The Nines in General
- Ace Custom: Subverted. Despite their rank and skill, the Nines (barring Zero Two) all pilot the same model of Franxx. Their models are based off of Strelizia's design, however, so while they may be generic, they still stand out in comparison to the likes of Plantation 26's units.
- Ace Pilot: A whole squad of them.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: By virtue of not getting around to mess with Plantation 13 in the manga as much as they do in the show, the Nines as a whole come off as less prickish.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Jerkasses they might have been, Delta and Epsilon's horrible death and overall betrayal by VIRM does make you feel sorry for the bastards.
- Ambiguous Gender: It's really hard to figure out which members of the squad are girls and which are boys, thanks to all of them having androgynous appearances and unisex uniforms. In episode 17 Nine Alpha implies they are neither, though whether they are genderless, hermaphrodites or something else entirely is unclear. Further muddling the waters is the fact that they don't seem to follow the established rules for piloting the FRANXX, with the most masculine members of the group being the pistil of their pairs. The manga at least addresses this, with each character generally having features that match their voices (Beta and Gamma having masculine torsos with Zeta, Eta, Theta, and Delta having more feminine chests and hips).
- Ambiguously Human: They all look human but Nine Alpha refers to Squad 13 as "humans" in a way that would be pretty weird if he was one himself. In the four panel manga, Zero Two mentions how they taste like artificial sweeteners. Dr Franxx later confirmed that they're clones of Zero Two, justifying the trope, their behaviour, and Zero Two's comment.
- Anti-Villain: They're not entirely heartless or unsympathetic to others, but their allegiance comes to APE first and foremost; they do come around to helping the protagonists later though. You see it more in the manga, which humanizes a few of them more.
- Break the Haughty: Both in the anime and the manga. In the former's case, Papa's betrayal and the horrifying deaths of Delta and Epsilon cause them to snap; in the latter's, the Klaxosaur Princess's slaughter of everyone but Alpha and Delta causes the same effect.
- The Beautiful Elite: The squad's appearance and clothing are much more elaborate than Plantation 13's, in part due to being an elite soldier unit.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Alpha and Delta join the pilots of Squad 13 because they chose to protect them from being disposed of after their disastrous defeat against the Klaxosaur Princess.
- Bury Your Gays: Per the metaphor, the Nines are the only squad that has the group-wide ability to be compatible with same-gender partners. All of them are either killed or go missing by the finale, with only Alpha and Delta surviving in the manga.
- Clone Degeneration: Dr Franx reveals that they're clones of Zero Two, who is herself a clone of the Klaxosaur Princess (making them copies of copies of true klaxosaur). He explains that because of this trope they didn't inherit klaxosaur blood like she did. The viewer sees that they have holographic klaxosaur horns glowing over their foreheads while piloting; like Zero Two they have exceptional piloting aptitude, however that's about it. Best seen after episode 20, where because they aren't getting nutrition from fighting the Klaxosaurs, their bodies turn pale and shriveled up. It's also heavily implied that their "not quite right" personalities, fanaticism, and gender/sexuality non-conformity is a result of cross-species cloning degeneration.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: In Episode 21, Nines Delta and Epsilon's FranXX are brutally mauled and ripped apart by the VIRM, and since they're connected to the FranXX they can feel every painful sensation. And that is before the capsule they're in is squashed to Ludicrous Gibs.
- Culture Police: The Nines show shades of this in episode 17. They show up unexpectedly at Plantation 13, ostensibly to check up on the kids. After discovering Kokoro’s book on childcare,they practically put Squad 13 on trial since the book’s subject matter is expressly forbidden by Papa. Taken further in Episode 18, where the Nines bring a squad of armed goons to interrupt Mitsuru and Kokoro’s wedding to take the bride and groom away for re-education.
- A Day in the Limelight: The Nines have a drama track to themselves, which gives a few of them (Delta, Gamma, Beta) a bit more character.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Beta and Gamma are killed alongside their Stamens during the Klaxosaur Princess battle in the manga. Zeta also explicitly dies instead of dropping out of the plot. In the anime only Alpha, Beta, and Gamma were confirmed alive and lasted until the final battle with Zeta, Theta, and Eta dying offscreen.
- Dies Wide Open: Zeta dies trying to reach out to Alpha, looking at him all the while.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: A cruel and unusual example. Nine Delta and Epsilon's FranXX is swarmed and devoured by VIRM klaxosaurs, and visually they're groping and tearing at the feminine-looking mechanical body while she's screaming and struggling in pain. At best it looks like cannibalistic feasting; at worst it plays out like a traumatic gang rape and murder.
- In the manga, there is a similarly themed but different scene. Delta/Epsilon's FRANXX gets invaded by the Princess instead of Hiro/Zero Two. Much like Hiro, Delta is captured, bound, and forced to act as the Princess' Stamen while Epsilon can do nothing but watch helplessly.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: They may be a very loathsome group who look down on everyone they meet, but they do sincerely care for each other, if Nine Alpha's reaction to Delta and Epsilon's deaths is any indication. The manga takes it a step further, with Delta's most important memories flooding through the FRANXX as the Klaxxosaur Princess hijacks its system. One of them is clearly being with Epsilon.
- Zeta's death shows that she and Alpha at least did care for one another, as she reaches out for him when she dies, and Alpha looks utterly miserable after her life gives out.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Nine Alpha's dialogue seems to imply that, like Zero Two, they may not be completely normal. Subverted in episode 21 as Dr Franxx confirms that the Nines are just clones of Zero Two, who is genetically speaking not human, just without any Klauxosaur blood passed on.
- Heel–Face Turn: Having been betrayed by Papa and the Virm, they join Squad 13's side in Episode 22 and post Princess battle in the manga.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- In the finale, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma act as extra men for Team P13 and hold off an attack from VIRM in the process.
- The manga has a couple:
- Epsilon manages to eject Delta out of their rig, in order to deprive the Princess of a Stamen and protect Delta. Too bad the Princess can use Franxx without a partner...
- Meanwhile, Beta, Gamma, Theta, and Eta use themselves as meat shields to let Alpha retreat with the ejected Delta.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Epsilon gets taken out this way in the manga by the Klaxosaur Princess.
- It Has Been an Honor: Before Alpha retreated with Delta, Beta and Gamma thank him for being able to fight by his side for so long.
- Living Prop: The team in general has little screen time in contrast with Nine Alpha, but the triplets (Nines Zeta, Eta and Theta) have the least characterization of all of them. Despite being part of the elite team of Super Soldiers and one of them being Alpha's stamen, none of them have any spoken lines (which turns out to be because they're all mute), they are completely interchangeable and they didn't even appear in some of the Nines' focus episodes. We don't even know what happened to them after Papa's betrayal, and we certainly don't see them when the remaining Nines offer to help fight VIRM. The one thing that changes in the manga is Zeta being the most significant of the three, and getting very minor characterization as she dies.
- Mauve Shirt: No matter what continuity, the majority of the Nines always die before they get any major character development.
- Opposite-Sex Clone: They are revealed to be clones of Zero Two, but some of them are more masculine... and have different hair color and heights.
- Sanity Slippage: By episode 21, the Nines are on the verge of a mental breakdown following the Klaxosaur Princess’s Info Dump about the true nature of her species and VIRM’s sudden arrival on the battlefield. They speak in flat, emotionless monotones, have eerily blank expressions on their faces, and become so fixated on carrying out Papa’s orders that they’re clearly about to attack Squad 13 for abandoning their posts before getting distracted by a fresh wave of klaxosaurs. Their mental state only worsens after Delta and Epsilon get Eaten Alive by VIRM’s mechs.
- Sixth Ranger: In the anime, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma join the final battle after they were rescued and treated following the Gran Crevasse incident. The manga reduces this to Alpha and Delta, after the pilots of Squad 13 stood up to protect the two and Dr. Franxx fixed Alpha's mech.
- Skewed Priorities: The Nines try to prevent Squad 13 from abandoning their posts and going to Star Entity, seemingly not caring that it’s about to explode and destroy the planet unless they do something about it. As far as they’re concerned, following Papa’s orders is more important.
- Spared by the Adaptation: While the rest of their squad died in battle and Delta got torn apart by APE's monsters in the anime version, Delta and Alpha are the only two Nines who make it past the final battle in the manga. They don't come out unscathed, though— Alpha loses an eye, while Delta went into a coma before being used as a puppet by the Klaxosaur Princess.
- Super-Soldier: Like Zero Two, they're shown to be extremely strong and agile. They can go one on one against her in a fight and easily overwhelm her when they gang up on her.
- Theme Naming: Their names and implied ranks are based on the Greek Alphabet: Nine Alpha, Nine Beta, Gamma, Epsilon, etc. This is also implied for Zero Two's name when among them, Iota (the Greek "9"). Which doubles as foreshadowing that Iota/Zero Two is the "Nine" from which The Nines are derived from.
- Zeta, Eta and Theta all end with the same syllable, fitting for the triplets.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After the VIRM give up on taking earth and decide to destroy it instead, they turn on the Nines that served them so loyally (and fanatically), and send their own warped "klaxosaurs" to deliver a Cruel and Unusual Death. In the manga, this attitude is turned on Alpha and Delta only, since they and their team were weak against a Klaxxosaur attack and cannot fight anymore with reduced numbers and critical injuries.
Nine Alpha
A mysterious Elite pilot that has taken an interest in Hiro's group and Ichigo in particular.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: In the anime he first appears after the climactic battle in episode 6, but isn't properly introduced until several episodes later. In the manga adaptation he appears in Plantation 13 and introduces himself to Ichigo and Goro before the battle.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He goes by a Nice Guy act in most of his appearances at first, but hints of his real personality show every now and then, and Episode 17 shows it outright.
- Broken Pedestal: For all his unpleasantness, he truly believes in Papa's hype, and thus he is completely distraught by Papa's betrayal and abandonment.
- Cruel Mercy: Allows Hiro and Zero Two to join the fight during the transfer of energy between Plantation 13 and Plantation 26 in the manga, but it's very clear that he's doing it to see Hiro die out to his corruption rather than any sense of empathy.
- Depraved Bisexual: Certainly gives off this vibe. When he first meets Hiro, he invades his personal space and declares that he has a thing for cute boys right now. He's later shown flirting with Ichigo, and acting as the submissive while piloting with his feminine Stamen Zeta. Nevertheless, Hiro balking when he states this, Zero Two's open hostility to him, and Alpha's own loathsome personality while acting as Papa's Culture Police against normal love (like marriage and reproduction) make clear that his implied bisexuality is meant to highlight his moral depravity.
- Eye Scream: Gets his eye damaged in the fight against the Klaxosaur Princess during the manga.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Blows himself and his Franxx up to destroy a VIRM soldier trying to stop Hiro from getting to Strelizia Apus.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He's undeniably an asshole, but Episode 20 implies that he and the other Nines go out of their way to personally antagonize Squad 13 because of envy. What they're envious about is not certain, however.
- Heel–Face Turn: He ends up teaming up with Squad 13 in Episode 22 after he was betrayed by Papa. He also does it again to save Zero Two in the manga.
- I Kiss Your Hand: To Ichigo, much to the surprise of the group and the ire of Goro.
- Insistent Terminology: Even after Zero Two makes it clear that her name is the one Hiro gave her, Nine Alpha keeps on calling her by her codename "Iota", representing his refusal to acknowledge her humanity.
- Jerkass: While he seems like a cold and snide Foil to Ichigo in his initial appearance, subsequent events starting with Episode 17 reveal he is a rude and vicious character who does nothing but insult and undermine the humanity of Plantation 13, going so far as to order Nana to be replaced now that she is starting to feel emotions. His manga counterpart is no better as he denies Hiro a chance to help his friends since that would be going against orders with a smile on his face.
- Knight of Cerebus: As Episodes 17 and 18 exemplify, the show takes a sharp turn into serious territory whenever he appears.
- Mr. Exposition: His role post Princess battle in the manga is to basically explain some things about their society, what APE has planned, and whatever's happening to Delta after the Princess began using her as a puppet.
- Pretty Boy: His looks are enough to immediately lure Miku in.
- Redemption Equals Death: Makes a Heroic Sacrifice to help Hiro get to Strelizia Apus in Episode 23.
- Smug Smiler: His default expression. If he drops that condescending smirk of his it means the situation is extremely serious, or someone managed to step on the right toes.
- The Stool Pigeon: He tattle-tales to APE about how Kokoro is dabbling into forbidden topics, and gladly crashes her wedding to have her and Mitsuru re-indoctrinated.
- The Gadfly: He likes to tease practically everyone, specially Ichigo.Nine Alpha: Is this your Franxx? How truly adorable.
- Unstoppable Rage: Breaks into this in episode 21 after Nine Delta and Nine Epsilon are killed by the VIRM.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His explaining to Ichigo exactly why Zero Two's partners always die plays a big role in the falling out between Zero Two and the rest of Squad 13. His true intentions were pretty clear in Episode 17, as he claims that Squad 13 aren't good enough for her because of their humanity.
- Villainous Breakdown: It's clear that he's lost his marbles when Delta and Epsilon get killed.
- Villainous Crush: Despite being totally against human emotions and humanity as a whole he can't deny but have a particular interest in Ichigo and her impulsive nature.
Nine Delta
- Ascended Extra: Aside from surviving the battle against the Klaxosaur Princess, Delta is possessed by her and serves as a mental link to take control of Zero Two; later on, she joins forces with Squad 13 alongside Alpha.
- Blood Knight: More than anything, she loves fighting the Klaxosaur forces. In the manga, she's shown getting excited over the feeling of destroying Klaxosaur cores.
- Grand Theft Me: Her manga incarnation is possessed by the Klaxosaur Princess after waking up from her coma. Fortunately, she regains control of her body once the Princess is defeated for the first time.
- I Don't Want to Die: Nine Delta cries this in her last moments.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Delta is very much a "shoot Klaxosaurs, ask questions later" type of person, a trait that is featured prominently in the manga. Delta doing this only leads to the Princess capturing her Franxx.
- Sacrificial Lion: Of her squad, she gets the second most character exploration after Alpha, especially in the drama tracks and the manga. Despite this, she's ultimately the first of the Nines to die to show things getting serious.
- Ship Tease: Oodles of it with Epsilon. The manga has her fondest memories be about hanging around Epsilon, and one of the manga sketches has them (and only them of the Nines) performing a couple's dance.
