Darling in the Franxx - An anime with more innuendo than you can fit in your cockpit!

Warning: Heavy GIF use and possible NSFW material ahead. The following anime is extremely ecchi and is likely not suitable for all audiences. Particularly your grandma. At least not unless you want her to regale you with the various times she let bikers ride her. It does avoid outright nudity though, as does my post, barely.

When I read the description of Darling in the Franxx, I expected some sort of derivative mech anime. I'll admit that I didn't really read the description too closely.

Darling in the Franxx is about a group of teens that are trained to protect their city using giant battle mechs, which they can only control through the combination of a male and female partner!

_{Skip to the conclusion if you wanna avoid spoilers. I'll try to avoid any major spoilers though.}

Everyone likes mechs, right? Who doesn't like mechs? They're giant robots that you fight in! That's awesome, right? Ehh...I didn't really like these mechs.

If you like mechs, I can't say if you'll like this show. You probably won't like the mechs in the show though. They're very animated, and not very mechish.

_{The best thing about the mechs is their fighting is reminiscent of Gurren Lagann, which I only noticed due to this gif.(source)}

Despite the plot being centered around the mechs though, and the characters regularly riding in their cockpit while they thrust their weapons through the crazy looking mechanical monsters they're fighting, their look isn't really central to the story. Sure, they just look like some kind of dumb cartoon aliens with some weapons strapped on, but is that really important? Yes, yes it is, and I'm really annoyed by it. It's the worst part of the show.

It's about to get ecchii up in here!

The interface to the Franxx uses a partner system, with one partner playing the 'pistol', with the 'stem' riding behind them, and using them to interface with Franxx. The pistol is somehow connected directly to the Franxx, and only through interfacing with her and penetrating her mind can the stem control the giant robot.

_{Perhaps the weirdest part of the Franxx is just how you "ride" them. (source)}

Every single possible innuendo about riding a girl that can possibly be made is probably made at least once in this anime. So, if you like innuendo...

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Despite the various references to sex though, the teens in the show are actually innocent to an extreme degree. Well, other than spying on girls while bathing...

_(source)

Or avoiding telling them when their suit is melting away...

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The main characters don't even know what a kiss is, despite regularly getting all up in their Franxx.

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Zero Two seems to be a bit less innocent than the others though. She's the demon looking girl with the pink hair.

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She seems to somehow know more about human relations than the others. Perhaps she learned some things from being on her previous team? I have the sneaking suspicion some of her forwardness is just an act she puts on though.

The story really centers around Zero Two and Hiro. She's a dangerous partner killing pistol that's not quite human, and he's a flunky who somehow might be one of the only people that can ride her. But will it kill him? Or will it turn him into something else?

Of course, they're more than just those two. There's an entire team of Franxx pilots, all learning what it means to become adults, while not even knowing if they'll survive tomorrow.

They live in some sort of weird, perhaps even dystopian, future, where cities are in domes, and they move around the planet. They are tasked with piloting the Franxx and protecting the cities from some sort of bio-mechanical monsters that attack them whenever they're harvesting magma from the planet for energy. Except they never actually see the city they are protecting. They are kept in some sort of large house, in its own dome, with trees and even lakes and streams.

Conclusion

Darling in the Franxx might be derivative and full of ecchi, but I found myself really enjoying it. It's really about the characters coming of age story, and learning that they can best move forward together.

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There are tons of better animes out there, but I found Darling in the Franxx to be a nice little mini that I hope continues. I'd like to learn more about their dystopian future and just what happened, as well as the characters themselves. Sure, maybe you don't wanna delve too deeply into their weird tech, or why things are the way they are, but it's a fun little anime to watch, when you don't have anyone nearby that will question what the fuck you are watching.

You might consider giving it a watch, but just don't expect too much.