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

I won't put it that high. Like, there are definite evil vibes coming from some of them, but let's not jump to the conclusion that they're the top of evil ladder.

Also I'm not really getting NGE vibes at all. Like, I'm seeing some NGE shout outs, but the only real shared plot beat that jumped out at me is that the protagonist has self-esteem issues.

edited 15th Jan '18 10:29:02 PM by Gilphon

The head pope even looks like he's from the KKK.

I'm guessing that some of the adults are the bad guys, but that are probably different factions within the group who have their own aims, some villainous, some not so much.

Also, do we have any info on how many episodes this series is getting?

I've consistently heard 24. No idea if it's split-cour or not.

There's lots of places this could go, and the more I think about the first episode, the less certain I get about the direction this is going to take. I'm still amazed at how blunt the symbolism/metaphor seems to be, which makes me think it must either be a red herring or there's something else going on entirely.

I don't know, the fact that mysterious, faceless council was appearing via tele-presence gave me some distinct "SEELE'' vibes as well.

That being said since the mecha are co-piloted I think is ultimately going to drive things in a different direction, at least as far as character interactions go. That and 02 seems like the type to physically haul her partner into the cockpit instead of endlessly telling him to "get in the damn robot"

For anyone wondering about "klaxosaur", the original Japanese was pronounced the same as their word for "dinosaur" ("kyouryuu"), but replaced the kanji for "fearful" with the one for "shout". The translation seems to have erred on the side of maintaining meaning rather than maintaining wordplay (Like "dienosaurs" or something)

Ooooh I just saw the first episode & I like this.

Looks good, good start-up episode, & the mechs look interesting & unique.

Something I recall in the advertisement to this show is that Hiro's relationship with Zero Two is gonna function like a dark romance with her has a corrupter or something. I wonder how that's gonna go.

I could definitely see it going that way. Also, it's probably not a coincidence that the mysterious superpowered girl in this mecha show is one letter away from being named C Two.

Not gonna lie, between the mysterious girl with that kind of name, the emphasis on mecha, and the shady government that refers to people by numbers, it did feel a little familiar.

Then again, that also might be because I'm rewatching Code Geass at the moment and have it on the brain.

It's Oni.

a (raw) Preview of Ep 2 is up:

https://streamable.com/ca4ab

they aren't being subtle with the sexual imagery: Bananas, Lolipops, and that piloting position

I mean all that stuff is considerably more subtle than the stuff in episode 1. In that it's suggestive imagery instead of what literally's going on.

Is that how they're all piloted though? It looked like Strelliza has a different set up than that but that might just because its unique.

Episode 2 were the Innuendo ramps up.

Watched episode 2.

Apparently this is "Does This Remind You of Anything?: The Series". I mean, it's blatantly obvious that the piloting is a stand-in for sexual activity and Hiro is basically suffering from ED. At this point it looks like some sort of metaphor for "sex for sex's sake" vs "sex as part of an emotional relationship with someone", given that it's implied that normal romantic relationships aren't a thing in this series, and 02 is basically the only person on the team who's aware of the concept.

Also, 02 is related to Buddy from Elf, if her sweet tooth is any indication.

Was a good ep but that OP does not imply good things happening in the series.

Naomi lived though somehow. Didn't think she would considering this seems like the type of series to kill characters off one by one.

02 could stand to be slightly less sinister but then she might lose her charm.

I will say I'm surprised that they confirmed that she lived. I mean, I didn't think she was killed, but I thought it would be more of a "everyone thinks she's dead and then it's a big reveal when she shows up alive later on" situation.

Zorome is also kind of a piece of shit.

Just caught up. Zorome is definitely a piece of shit and I'm betting that it'll end up getting him, Miku, Argentea, or some combination of the three killed. Also betting that they go first.

So Hiro can't get it up for anyone besides Zero Two, hence his inability to sync with Ichigo. Ichigo was blasted harder than most childhood friend types.

Because it keeps popping up I bet Hiro is really code: 000 or something like that. It seemed like they referred to him as the special package in the sub I watched when the TOTALLY NOT SELEE dudes were talking.

So...does that make Shiro a masochist? I’m reading too deep, I know.

Boy, and I thought the piloting position in Cross Ange was awkward. You could almost take out the dialogue of the piloting sequences and slap it onto a standard sex scene. I get why they gave the manga to Yabuki now.

I found some of the parasites' reactions contradictory, honestly. Like, they don't know what "Darling" means, yet they act like they know exactly what that means. And I can't tell if they understand the concept of romantic couple or not, because there are indications of both.

edited 20th Jan '18 12:15:58 PM by Lyendith

02 really like Honey, doesn't she?

I'm guessing they have a vague concept of it, but no first hand experience.

And yeah, at the moment I'm tempted to summarize the series as "Hiro can only get it up when paired up with a dom", because seriously that's kinda what's being implied. Damn near everything about the Franxx implies it's a massive sex metaphor, from the "pistil and stamen" code names, to the fact that nearly all the dialogue surrounding it sounds like it could be about sex. Not to mention the "blood mixing" thing that seems to indicate there's going to be symbolism about offspring as well.

Zorome is definitely an asshat. I think it's up in the air whether he undergoes Character Development or gets himself killed.

edited 20th Jan '18 12:36:00 PM by JapaneseTeeth