If Darling in the FranXX was not a joint production between two of the most influential anime Studios in recent years, this show might not have been on my radar, but since it was I decided to check it out. To my surprise, Darling in the FranXX may turn out to be a pretty decent show.
The story is set in a far-off future, where pairs of male and female kids pilot robots called Fran. Hiro, one of these kids, is unable to pilot one of these robots with his partner, so he decided he should leave the place known as the birdcage and go home. On the day before the pairs of kids, also known as parasites, are supposed to test pilot the knew Fran, Hiro, the shows main character, meets a mysterious girl, the one who many call the partner killer. From their, Hiro’s life starts to change forever.
Right off of the bat, though, I do have a few complaints. First, the show has not clearly explained what about Hiro makes him incapable of piloting the Fran, and considering 
this is a key plot point for why him and Zero Two, the girl he meets, even begin piloting together, it would be nice to find out by next episode. Second, I am a little worried that a lot of the show’s main cast is not going to get much development. With a show like Eureka Seven, this was not a problem because it was over 50 episodes. Darling in the FranXX, however, only has 24, and considering that the Director has had little work in actual directing, I am not too confident overall.
That does not mean that the show cannot be good and in fact what the show has given in the first episode has been overall pretty good. Zero Two certainly seems likable enough to carry the show even without Hiro being interesting at all, and at the very least the 
character drama between her and the other pilots will likely create some intense moments. I’m not convinced this is going to be the next Eureka, and especially not the next Evangelion, but I do think that what is here so far could come together cohesively and make a pretty decent mecha.
How did you guys feel about it? Does it have potential? Is it going to be a total flop? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos!
Animated Observations 
I found this first episode decent enough for a mecha series. I’m certainly going to keep watching as I haven’t had a mecha on my review list since Iron Blooded Orphans and while I’m not a huge fan of the genre I don’t mind the odd one or two. And this first episode certainly hints at potential for the series. It may not have been a perfect introduction and there are certainly some concerns about some elements, but it was interesting and I’m curious enough to see where they take it.
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I agree. I think another concern I have is that it just ends up being ok, cause at least with a bad series it’s interesting because it’s bad, but this has the possibility of just being meh.
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That’s definitely a concern given episode 1 didn’t really step outside of anything we haven’t seen before. Still, I’m kind of hopeful this ends up relatively decent.
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I agree.
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I enjoyed the first episode. Like many bloggers have noted, it’s not the most perfect introduction, but I loved it for what it was. I definitely got some Eureka Seven vibes, but I don’t think it’s going to be similar to that series. I really enjoyed the Easter eggs they had in the series from TRIGGER’s other shows, and the animation overall is spectacular. I have hopes for this being damn good, but only time will tell. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! It was awesome to read.
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Appreciate it. I also hope it flourishes into something really good, but like you said, we’ll have to wait and see.
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It’s hard for me to judge a series by the first episode but was so excited to see a mecha series again. had been a long time since doing so in seasonal for me anyway. The first episode really enjoyed honestly it was a little fast paced but was a great setup for me what the plot was going to be about. The franx mecha themselves design why ahhh loved it. colorful and bright honestly reminded of the series star driver with those eccentric designs.
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It was definitely fun, and I haven’t seen star driver, but I know what you mean.
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