Since the rise of the mecha genre, different producers and studios have tried to portray this specific genre in a distinguished way, but along the way, several reputed studios decided to collaborate and ended up producing an original mecha anime called Darling in the Franxx. The main idea behind this collaboration was to encapsulate the essence of the finest existing mecha anime into a single anime.
Although Darling in the Franxx debut received mixed critics from the audience, there are still more than enough reasons that make it a must-watch for all mecha fans out there. With that said, Let’s talk about the very reasons that make Darling in the Franxx a worth watching mecha anime.
10. You won’t get bored
Anime with a slice-of-life and comedy elements can get boring sometimes, probably because of a shallow storyline that doesn’t give you the essential thrills, but Darling in the Franxx is one of the series that is sure to keep you glued to your screen with its crazy storyline that only gets better with each episode. Although Darling in the Franxx feels a bit like a slice-of-life anime at times, its action sequences and plot twists will never let you feel bored or annoyed. The fact that you won’t be able to skip the euphonious opening and ending themes shows how much entertainment and thrill Darling in the Franxx offers.
Darling in the Franxx makes use of its music, animation, and characters to feature epic fight moments that keep you excited during the entire episode. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that these epic moments will send chills down your spine. Some of these epic moments include Strelizia’s true form awakening and invasion of an alien race called VIRM.
9. Good number of plot twists
Plot twists are a great addition to all types of anime, but mecha anime and plot twists have a directly proportional relation as the featured storylines are sure to shock us with plot twists at the most unpredictable times. Darling in the Franxx features a good number of plot twists that make you question what just happened as everything you imagined goes completely off the road with just a single plot twist. Although all plot twists might not make sense at first, which will be frustrating but eventually, Darling in the Franxx manages to connect all the dots making the plot twists worth your time.
Some of the most unbelievable plot twists include the sudden reality check of Papa and the APE organization and how Klaxosaurs are not enemies but alley of humans. The plot twists in Darling in the Franxx are spaced evenly throughout the show, so instead of getting so much shocking information in one sitting, you get multiple little shocks throughout the series, which is great as it keeps you glued to your screen, wanting to know what happens next.
8. Real World Messages
Although anime is a work of fiction, the creators behind them are human, so it is not surprising to find some similarities to the real world and hidden messages in it. The creators also deliberately portray some of the taboos of the real world as society and people are reluctant to talk about such matters on public forums. Darling in the Franxx, being a mecha anime, convey real-world messages like the destruction of the earth, low birth rates, homosexuality, and sex drives of young children.
The very storyline of Darling in the Franxx is set in a dystopian future where humanity has exhausted the earth’s natural resources, and the world has become barren. The author used this setting to express how our real world is drifting towards chaos as we continue to exploit natural resources while producing pollution. On the other hand, adults in Darling in the Franxx have lost the ability to reproduce, which might also happen to our world because several major countries like Japan are suffering from low birth rates. The author featured the unrequited feeling of Ikuno for Ichigo to show that homosexuality is discouraged as it results in low birth rates. The growing sex drive of children in Darling in the Franxx is a reminder of how humans in this period develop unusual temperaments as their hormones and body develop at such age.
7. Great Character Development
Character Development is one of the biggest challenges that creators face during the production of a certain anime, as this particular aspect leads the audience to either hate or love the characters of that series. Since the mecha genre tends to feature a storyline where the tragedies of the world have forced the characters to fight a war, the element of character development is quite necessary to develop the characters from ruthless war soldiers to ordinary humans, or else they will have to fade away with the war-ravaged world and certainly the audience won’t be happy with losing their beloved characters just for the sake of storyline.
Since the creators predicted the audience to love Zero Two and Hiro, they prioritized their character development for the sake of the audience as well as the storyline. The changes in personalities and lives of both of these characters prove that Darling in the Franxx bet all its ace cards on them. The fact that Zero Two considered herself a monster in the beginning but later came to acknowledge her origin and decided to live on with it is one of the aspects that highlight her character development. On the other hand, Hiro, who was bent on proving himself useful as a pilot, realizes that life is not all about fighting, as something much more important lies beyond all this.
6. Absolute Banger Music
Music in anime has always been amazing as each series tries to feature the best possible opening and ending songs to enhance the viewers’ experience. In the mecha genre, the significance of music and soundtracks is way more than an ordinary casual anime because the fight scenes and emotional moments need the right music to bring out the maximum potential of that respective series. The same goes for Darling in the Franxx. It’s able to make us feel a range of emotions with its amazing soundtracks. Although it only has one opening song called “Kiss of Death,” it’s very catchy and has been on people’s playlists for a long time.
When it comes to battle scenes, Darling in the Fraxx sets the scenes right with pulsating drum beats that are accompanied by the tense sounds of violins that just put you on edge while watching the characters in battle. Dramatic scenes are flavored with violin sounds that set the mood right, and there might also be hints of soft piano playing to make things more dramatic. All in all, Darling in the Franxx masterfully uses its soundtracks to elevate an already great story to greater heights.
5. The Animation is on point
When it comes to mecha anime, we have seen almost all kinds of animation styles, and since the honorable “Sunrise” studio has animated most of the legendary mecha anime, all mecha fans have quite high standards regarding animation. If I had to pick one thing that every fan of Darling in the Franxx admires, it would be animation because the animation in this anime is simply breathtaking. Moreover, Darling in the Franxx is special as three popular studios (A-1 Pictures, Trigger, and CloverWorks) collaborated to produce Darling in the Franxx. All the animations from these studios are fantastic, from character design to world design, and Darling in the Franxx is no exception as it’s also a gem created by these three studios.
Being a newer mecha, Darling in the Franxx features animation that makes your eyes happy. Unlike most mecha anime, Darling in the Franxx features a more bright and vivid animation. Throughout the anime, you’ll be seeing colorful scenes here and there because this anime is also a slice of life sometimes. These bright and colorful scenes, however, provide the viewers with a mental break from all the dark and gloomy serious scenes that are also a part of Darling in the Franxx.
4. Mecha with a splash of drama
In present times, an anime is incomplete without drama as it is one of the integral genres that shape the characters and storyline of an anime. We have witnessed several past mecha anime perfectly capturing the drama genre, which hints at the fact that mecha and drama genres share uncanny compatibility. Darling in the Franxx features not only drama but melodrama as well, and most of the time, the audience deemed it to be melodramatic as the creators deliberately featured tear-jerking moments rather than characterization, which basically sums up the definition of melodrama.
However, the surprising thing about Darling in the Franxx is that it stands between melodrama and drama because the characters like Ichigo and Mitsuru did gain some development in the later half, which proves the existence of the drama element. It is sad how the critics highlighted the melodrama but didn’t talk about the drama element, but we can’t blame it on them because Darling in the Franxx melodramatic moments indeed kept us busy, and we failed to look upon other aspects. Given all of this, if you want to discover how a mecha anime feels with just a splash of drama, then Darling in the Franxx is your answer.
3. Love is everywhere
Mecha anime has featured the romance genre but not to the same extent as pure romance anime, which is fair considering action is the primary focus in the mecha genre. However, Darling in the Franxx focuses on the romance element as much as it does on mecha, which is one of its unique selling points to people who haven’t explored mecha anime yet. The creators used this strategy because romance is more of a global genre than mecha, and people are sure to try an anime with romance, which is a win-win situation for both the mecha and romance genre fans.
Love is the element that drives the very storyline of Darling in the Franxx as children never get to experience the love of parents because adults artificially created them, and unknowingly they end up seeking it in each other; Mitsuru and Kokoro healed each other’s scars and ended up falling in love, as shown in episode 18 of Darling in the Franxx. On the other hand, Hiro and Zero Two’s romantic relationship taught others that love is not bound by any restraints like race and lives shine only in unison with each other.
2. Mecha with more comedy in it
For ages, the mecha genre has all been about fighting, warfare, blood, and all possible violent themes, but lately, we have seen producers trying to incorporate humor into the mecha genre to make it a flexible genre. It’s not that previous mecha anime lacked comedy; it’s just that the comedy element wasn’t prominent in them. Darling in the Franxx is one of the mecha anime in which creators tried to feature humor in a noticeable and enjoyable way for the audience. The moments of children messing with each other and Hiro being at the mercy of Zero Two are just some of the moments that show how much comedy Darling in the Franxx has to offer.
Although the idea of combining two such genres felt drab at first, but the fact that many hardcore mecha genre fans liked the comedy moments featured in Darling in the Franxx proves that mecha goes well with comedy. It is worth noting that with comedy, we get to explore the personalities of casted characters on a deeper level. Zero Two running away with the clothes of other children shows that despite her Klaxosaur origin, she is just as normal as other human children.
1. A unique twist when it comes to the mecha genre
People expected Darling in the Franxx to adhere to the norms of the mecha genre, but it not only introduced new concepts but also surprised mecha fans with a twist regarding mecha piloting. In Darling in the Franxx, a pair of male and female pilots the mechas called “Franxx,” unlike the usual mechas, which only had one individual pilot. Moreover, the creators took the pair piloting concept from sexual intercourse; that’s why some people found the positioning of male and female pilots inside the cockpit repulsive. However, to make it bearable for viewers, the producers crafted a storyline in which children piloting Franxx are unaware of their own sexuality; therefore, they don’t harbor such sexual feelings during the piloting of Franxx.
Since the male pilot called Stamen synchronizes with the female pilot called Pistil, both of them must understand each other’s feelings and thoughts for the efficient functioning of Franxx. Hiro and Zero Two shared strong romantic feelings for each other that’s why they were even able to break free from VIRM’s trap, as shown in episode 21 of Darling in the Franxx.
You Might Also Like: Is Darling in the Franxx Good?
Still didn’t get what you were looking for? Rest assured, it was just a teaser of good things about Darling in the Franxx, and we have a lot of them coming for you because we just don’t want you to miss out on this one-of-its-kind mecha anime.
If you’re still haven’t got the one thing that tells you whether to watch Darling in the Franxx, then click here to check out our article called “Is Darling in the Franxx Good?” which will surely clear up things for you.
You Might Also Like: Is Eighty-Six Good?
If I had to name the best recently released mecha anime, Eight Six is the answer, as it has the same standards and perks that preceding mecha anime had. Moreover, its storyline is similar to Darling in the Franxx as both anime feature young children forced to fight a tragic war to save the world. Since the animation studio (A-1 Pictures) of Darling in the Franxx has animated Eighty-Six as well, you can expect high-quality animation from it.
Since Eighty-Six is rising nowadays, it is confusing to decide whether this series is actually good or people are just following the trend. If you want to discover the truth, click here to check out our article, “Is Eighty-Six Good?”
Our Final Thoughts
Lastly, the point of listing so many reasons is that as anime fans, we all look for one particular thing in various anime, whether it is mecha or any other genre, and if that anime happens to feature that particular thing, then we end up watching it. However, the surprising fact is that we develop this particular thing subconsciously. Most people can’t compromise on the storyline, while some love watching character development. As for me, I can’t compromise on animation, and this one thing helps me pick my next anime. Darling in the Franxx is a global anime because it covers the majority of geeks’ favorite themes; that’s why we have fans of Darling in the Franxx all over the world.
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