Darling in the Franxx falls under the category of those anime that are hard to digest because it defies mecha anime clichés by featuring teen melodrama and unusual mecha designs, which some viewers found repulsive, but the majority of fans ended up liking this concept as the anime adapts it so well that we can’t help but admire the producers for it. Looking back, the journey through Darling in the Franxx was short yet wholesome as the series entertained us with so many things that it is no wonder to miss out on some important facts here and there. With that said, Let’s discover some of the interesting facts that you might have missed in Darling in the Franxx.
10. Darling in the Franxx: Birthrates and Homosexuality
Darling in the Franxx focuses very much on biological themes like birthrates and survival of species from names of children to their given titles; all the terms related to reproduction and biology, like the XX symbol on Franxx, symbolize male and female chromosomes. It also stresses how homosexuality results in a lower birthrate. Ikuno’s sexual feelings for Ichigo that remains unrequited further prove that Darling in the Franxx discourages homosexuality.
“The leaving something behind part. My body can’t do that. It’s wonderful. You’re all wonderful. You have the ability to decide your futures with your own hearts.”
Zero Two to Squad 13
Moreover, the anime features the decline in birth rate as humanity lost their reproductive abilities in exchange for immortality, and the author of Darling in the Franxx integrated this theme as Japan is currently suffering from a declining birthrate that threatens the very existence of Japan and its people.
9. Squad 13 and their Custom Franxx
Parasites are divided into pairs and then into squads as each squad is tasked with protecting a specific plantation. Dr. Franxx specially assembled some of the children with high aptitudes to test out how far these children can go as Parasites and humans. Moreover, Dr. Franxx also gave them a new generation of Custom Franxx because he expected them to produce some unexpected yet intriguing results.
Talking about the members of Squad 13, there are a total of ten members Hiro, Naomi, Ichigo, Mitsuru, Kokoro, Ikuno, Miku, Zorome, Goro, and Futoshi.
“Children are usually obedient, docile and rational. They only live to fulfill their mission: fight the Klaxosaur and protect the adults. Not these kids. Too many times, they don’t know what to do with their emotions and get carried away. That’s definitely not child-like.”
Nana talking about Squad 13
Squad 13 is different from other Parasites in several things; like each member of Squad 13 has a Japanese name in accordance with their codename, and they are often given special treatment because they have the backing of Dr. Franxx. It’s worth noting that Dr. Franxx maintained a careful check on them since he was interested in learning more about humanity’s past emotional and reproductive impulses.
8. Nana and Hachi
Nana and Hachi are the adults tasked with taking care of Parasites in special residential quarters called Mistilteinn. All Parasites harbor positive feelings for them as they appear to be kind and caring, just like normal parents, but in reality, they are just following the orders of APE. Eventually, Nana begins to feel guilty as she sends children to battles countless times despite knowing there is little chance of survival. On the other hand, Hachi continued to be calm and rational toward children, but he overlooked some of their forbidden actions, like Kokoro having a wedding with Mitsuru because he believes that there is no harm in it.
“That feeling…is having it that wrong? The children’s sole purpose in life was to fight and if this is truly their final battle, and in their lives after, don’t you think they’ll need someone like you?“
Hachi to Nana about the children’s future
Later, we get to know that Nana and Hachi are special adults because they were also Parasites in the past, but surprisingly they survived and reached adulthood, and eventually, they underwent immortality operations so they could serve APE as caretakers of Parasites.
It is important to note that Nana and Hachi were on the same team in the past, and Hachi witnessed Nana falling in love with her partner, but her partner died in a battle, leaving Nana in a distressed state. Furthermore, APE officers erased Nana’s memories of her beloved partner as they considered it nonsense, but because of it, she managed to get out of her depressed state, as shown in episode 17 of Darling in the Franxx.
7. Parasites have no Parents
All Children in Darling in the Franxx are referred to as Parasites because Dr. Franxx artificially created them for the sole purpose of piloting the Franxx; therefore, they have no Parents. Although Parasites appear like normal children, they are quite different in terms of personality as they aren’t afraid to die because they are pretty much emotionless. However, we see that some of the children like Ichigo and Hiro are exceptions as they have normal children’s personalities. Moreover, all Parasites are administered with Yellow Blood Cells, increasing their aptitude and capabilities as pilots. Despite having no Parents, Parasites have a mature demeanor, which is mostly due to their secluded and arduous upbringing. It is important to note that Parasites have reproductive abilities, unlike adults, because the piloting pair of male and female must be fertile to pilot the Franxx.
“Our sole reason to exist is to become FRANXX and fight. We were born only for that purpose, raised only for that purpose. But to me, the failure of the group, that’s something I can’t forgive. With nowhere I can feel like I belong… that’s when I met you.”
Hiro’s first narrative in Episode 01 preview
Although adults don’t treat Parasites as humans, I strongly believe that they are more human than the so-called adults who gave their soul and planet to invaders (VIRM) in pursuit of immortality.
6. APE and its goals
APE came off as a revolutionary organization to provide technological breakthroughs and, in turn, alleviate the suffering of humanity on Earth. They first introduced Magma Energy and began its extraction to use it as a primary energy source for all upcoming technology, and eventually, it led them to produce gadgets powered by Magma Energy that provided humans with immortality at the cost of their reproductive abilities. Given APE’s conduct, it’s logical to say that their goal was to evolve humanity and the very way of living on Earth. The real issue began when Papa and other founding members revealed themselves as members of VIRM, the true adversary of humanity and all lifeforms.
“We will absorb all lifeforms on this planet, and we’ll take you to eternal paradise.”
VIRM to Humanity
In short, Papa and other VIRM members built the APE organization with the goal of conquering planet earth and the weapons of Klaxosaurs, which they failed to acquire in their last battle against Klaxo Sapiens, as shown in episode 21 of Darling in the Franxx.
If you want to read more about papa and APE, you can click here to read an entire article about them.
5. Zero Two and Hiro’s Reincarnation
Zero Two and Hiro made a long interdimensional journey to destroy the main fleet of VIRM by using the giant bomb made by Klaxo Sapiens. After going through several devastating situations, they managed to destroy VIRM, but they lost their lives as they got caught in the explosion as well. Zero Two and Hiro swore to meet each other again despite losing their lives because as long as they have souls, they will be reincarnated one day. After the blast, We see countless souls, released from the imprisonment of VIRM, going back to their original bodies. Among these souls, We see Hiro and Zero Two’s souls beginning their long journey back to Earth while holding hands. Centuries later, Hiro and Zero Two’s souls are finally seen reaching the earth. After the credits, We see a kid with hair similar to Hiro sitting beneath a cherry tree reading a picture book. Soon, a girl with pink hair similar to Zero Two runs past him and trips. As the boy helps the girl up, they introduce themselves, and the screen fades, concluding that Zero Two and Hiro did end up reincarnating on earth.
“It doesn’t matter how long it takes If we have souls, I swear I’ll meet you again on Earth.”
Zero Two to Hiro
If we ever get to see Darling in Season 2 of the Franxx, I believe the reincarnated Zero Two and Hiro will be the primary characters.
4. Darling in the Franxx tells us how we could kill Earth
The Darling in the Franxx storyline depicts a dystopian future in which humanity lives in massive plantations powered by Magma Energy as the rest of the world is barren, but the true tragedy is that humans extracted an excessive amount of Magma Energy from Earth’s core, causing the planet to become desertified as shown in episode 19 of Darling in the Franxx. The author used this setting to send a message about how our real Earth is deteriorating as we continue to exploit natural resources while producing pollution and that it will not be long before the planet becomes uninhabitable.
“By the time we finally fought off VIRM, fighting and warfare was all that remained of our civilization.”
Code 001 explaining about desertification of Earth
Looking back on the timeline of Darling in the Franxx, the KlaxoSapien race also met demise because they overused the natural resources of Earth to gain the upper hand in their war against an alien race called VIRM. Eventually, the Planet ran out of energy, and Klaxo Sapiens sacrificed their own lives to save the planet from destruction. Several million years later, Humanity ended up doing the same mistake, causing harm to the planet, but Hiro and Zero Two defeated VIRM in due time at the cost of their lives while their fellows stopped extraction of Magma Energy and eventually restored Earth back to its normal state as shown in episode 24 of Darling in the Franxx.
3. Why did Zero Two have red skin and fangs when she was younger?
Zero Two is a clone of Klaxosaur Princess (001), as Dr. Franxx created her from the DNA extracted from the hair strands of Code 001. In childhood, Zero Two had the physical appearance of a monster with fangs and horns, but eventually, she developed human skin because she was fascinated with becoming a human, as shown in episode 13 of Darling in the Franxx. Despite being a hybrid KlaxoSapien, Zero Two had red skin color instead of blue because she is an artificial clone; therefore, it’s not surprising that she differed from Code 001 in terms of physical traits. It is also possible that some kind of genetic mutation occurred within her that altered her supposed physical appearance. It is important to note that although Zero Two had a different appearance than Code 001, she still inherited the KlaxoSapien blood, which many previous subjects failed to inherit.
“Kill more and more of those monsters and make me human. You’re only my fodder, after all!”
Zero Two talking to a desperate Hiro
According to another theory, the author gave Zero Two red skin because it demonstrates a demon (Oni) in the Japanese language of colors. Moreover, Zero Two codename 002 means Oni when read alternately supporting this theory even more.
2. Why did Ikuno’s hair turn white?
Ikuno is one of the characters that don’t get much spotlight because of her sexual feelings for Ichigo despite being a female herself, but in my opinion, among all children, she gets the most significant character development in the series as she gets mature early than other kids. Talking about her personality, She appears to be shy with a laid-back attitude, but Ikuno opens up with her fellows after getting acknowledgment from Ichigo. As you already know, all Parasites usually die young because they age rapidly because of Yellow Blood Cell dosage, and Ikuno is an example of how Parasites age rapidly. She ended up using her abilities to make way for Zero Two, causing her Paracapacity and Yellow Blood Cell to reach critical levels; as a result, her hair turned white, indicating rapid growth, as shown in episode 21 of Darling in the Franxx.
“I’ve decided to make most of the time I have left”
Ikuno to Hiro and Zero Two about her accelerated aging process
Although Ikuno suffered from rapid growth, it enabled her to discover a way to prevent other Parasites from aging rapidly. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that Ikuno sacrificed her life to save her fellow parasites from the dreadful fate that awaits them all.
1. Is Hiro a Klaxosaur or a Klaxo Sapien?
Hiro became a Klaxo Sapien instead of a Klaxosaur because a Klaxosaur comes into being when a pair of male and female Klaxo Sapien sacrifice their bodies and combine to become a single entity. At first, Hiro was a normal human struggling to become a Parasite capable of piloting Franxx because of compatibility issues, but eventually, he managed to pilot a Franxx with Zero Two, as shown in episode 1 of Darling in the Franxx.
“Zero Two…we’re becoming one. Now you are me… We’re probably going to disappear soon, but the path we walked on, others will take it from here… I love you, Zero two.”
Hiro’s last words to Zero Two before his death
Later, Hiro developed a blue tumor on his chest because of a psychological mutation called Saurification that began within him because of piloting Franxx with a hybrid Klaxo Sapien like Zero Two. Surprisingly, Hiro suppressed the tumor with his willpower and became normal again, as shown in episode 6 of Darling in the Franxx. From this point onward, Hiro’s body begins to undergo a genetic mutation causing him to develop blue horns on his head like Zero Two. It is important to note that the continuous bonding of Zero Two with Hiro caused alteration in Hiro’s genetics and made him similar to Zero Two, as shown in episode 24 of Darling in the Franxx. Given all of this, it’s reasonable to believe that Hiro’s genetic mutation allowed him to evolve into a hybrid Klaxo Sapien.
You Might Also Like: Darling in the Franxx: Season 2
Darling in the Franxx story seems to be ended, but personally, I don’t believe it is the end because the main enemy called VIRM claimed that they would not give up and have a final showdown at the apex of the next evolution. It is highly possible that reincarnated Hiro and Zero will be the main characters in Season 2.
If you are curious to know what kind of mysteries will be unfolded in Season 2, then click here to check out our article “Darling in the Franxx Season 2: All You Need To Know.”
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