Darling In the FRANXX (Trigger/ A-1 Pictures collaboration)

Yeah, because she just so happened to understand how that works...

I suppose it's better than nothing for her. It says a lot when her relationship is only heavily implied and not outright confirmed like the others. And she's paired with someone who wasn't relevant since the first episode lol.

Like a lot of things in the show, it could have been worse. But it could have been better.

Hiro and 02 especially deserved better.

The BD sales apparently aren't anything to write home about, but supposedly the merch is selling like hotcakes last I heard. So who knows? Maybe some kind of continuation eventually happens and wraps things up a bit better. But I'm not counting on it.

Edited by Eschaton on Jul 9th 2018 at 2:57:26 AM

I don't really see what a continuation would bring, unless the new human society starts to crumble again for some reason…

If they wanna make a sequel, they’ll make a sequel.

They'll just write whatever contrivance or something to generate some kind of conflict.

I wouldn't mind seeing a continuation of some kind. Despite all the problems the show had, I'm glad I watched it through to the end, and do kind of miss it.

Though I would've liked to see Blue Oni Hiro in more episodes than just the one he appeared in. Transformations from human to something else I always like to see.

Edited by LDragon2 on Jul 9th 2018 at 3:13:12 AM

Well between Hiro and 02's reincarnation, Hachi and Nana remaining ageless, and VIRM still being a threat in some form or another, there's plenty of leeway to do something.

I dunno, I kinda wanna see how their society, after a millennium or two, remembers a bunch of hormone-addled teenagers and dinos saving the world from an alien hivemind.

She wears glasses. That makes her the science-person by default. Goro would've gotten the job, but he decided to take it in a more Indiana Jones-y direction.

Its funny most people are calling Hiro and 02 one of "the best couples ever" and then I read the ANN review and calls them the worst parts of the show lol.

The ANN review has problems. I’m the first one to point out this show has a ton of problems thanks to A-1 Steak Sauce Studio, but that reviewer seems mad about perceived “heteronormative” writing and that’s all I’ll say about it.

Edited by Beatman1 on Jul 9th 2018 at 4:35:34 AM

...what?

To avoid importing drama, the ANN reviews of Franxx are not well liked among their own forums and other people. A lot of people cite an unreasonable bias.

I mean... they're not entirely wrong about that... I haven't read the review, but that complaint isn't entirely wrong in relation to the show. Does anyone have a link to the review? I kind of want to see if it's got a point or not.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/darling-in-the-franxx/.126587

Episode by episode review for what it’s worth. Like I said, I don’t like the reviewers there much, especially Jacob, but maybe YMMV.

Having read the reviews, I think it's definitely YMMV here, because I absolutely agree with his reviews, especially about the heteronormative writing and about the decline of Hiro and Zero Two's relationship (and Zero Two's overall personality). In fact, I think in some episodes the review should have been harsher then it was.

Edited by TheLovecraftian on Jul 10th 2018 at 12:07:45 PM

I do not mind that but I can see how someone else could get angry about it; however, I will admit out that Ikuno and the Nines could have been approached in a much more refined way, even if the writers were indeed weighting the show towards the het stuff, they could at least make the other side relatable enough to avoid falling into Unfortunate Implications.

Yeah, as much as I do think there is some focus on the heteronormative stuff, I don't think it's entirely mean-spirited. It feels to me like at least some part of that is poor writing lending itself to an easy interpretation that's harsher than intended. Not that this removes the issue. The show is still mainly heteronormative, moreso than what would be typical of japanese culture.

Well, this story has been a project for around ten years before it was animated so I guess that it's kind of dated on some things.

Wait really

What? You mean to tell me this was the product of ten years of work? That's... appalling.

Edited by TheLovecraftian on Jul 10th 2018 at 11:29:54 AM

&

Yeah, someone on Sufficient Velocity that's a rather reliable source did said that Darling in the FranXX existed as a project of Nishigori for around ten years before it was made into an anime.

My main suspicion about why the writing declined is because of problems between Trigger and A-1 pictures behind the scenes, maybe I'm expecting more of Trigger but at least I thought they would approach this idea with more care than how it turned out.

Edited by raziel365 on Jul 10th 2018 at 7:36:24 AM

Okay that reveal is shocking.

I wonder how different the reputation of Dit F would've been if it was released in the 2000s in regards to its stance on heteronormativity.

It probably would've been better thought of in that regard- I don't know of any characters similar to Ikuno from that period- but "would've been ahead of its' time a if it had been released a decade ago" is pretty faint praise.

Edited by Gilphon on Jul 10th 2018 at 12:20:25 PM

Wouldn’t it have to contend with some other mecha shows back then?

Edited by slimcoder on Jul 10th 2018 at 9:31:36 AM

/looks that up

So the Mecha series from 2008 were Macross Frontier, the second seasons of Code Geass and Gundam 00, and something I've never heard of called Kurogane No Linebarrels.

So that's reasonably stiff competition. I can't develop that thought any more because Code Geass is the only one of those I've watched.

Edited by Gilphon on Jul 10th 2018 at 12:30:27 PM