Darling in the Franxx

It is a shame that the best thing I can say about this anime series is that probably the only really powerful scenes are in the ending itself. The final episode was really good and gave the show some meaning and its message made sense. Well, yeah, this is true even though unfortunately the rest of the anime series was not anywhere near as engaging. The beginning and the first three-quarters of the season or so are pretty boring, it features a narrative regarding teenagers who pilot robots in a world that looks quite interesting and yet tells you almost nothing about itself. So you get to watch some young people dealing with their problems, forming relationships and while it might sound interesting - it really is not. All the time you are reminding yourself that this was produced by Studio Trigger, so you just hope the best is yet to come. Fortunately, from time to time, you get little indications that the world it is set in has some secrets yet to be revealed, so it manages to keep you hanging on. Because of that, you can tolerate the romantic relationships, the monotonous mecha fight scenes, and the teenage dramas that are often more exhausting than thrilling. The chemistry between the main two protagonists is quite good, although in all honesty I still preferred the two other couples Kokoro x Mitsuru and Ichigo x Goro. However, that is quite enough about the show’s romantic relationships and love stories, even though that is what this show is really about. Now, more about the plot. The last quarter of the season is quite eventful and at first, you are bombarded with information that reveals some stuff you have kind of been suspecting all along and you are like “yeah, it is there although I was expecting it…” So anyway, you are going to be disappointed rather than shocked by the first info dump. However, a series of shocking revelations and another barrage of rather insane happenings come along that will have you wondering if the anime’s creators are being serious, and where you are going to be wondering if this show is insanely stupid or insanely cool. Also, possibly for the first time in twenty-something episodes, you finally realize that you are watching something that was created by Studio Trigger, the Japanese animation studio founded by former employees of Gainax... and these are the dudes who are famous for giving the world anime series such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gurren Lagann… As I have already written, the finále is satisfactory and the last episode itself is really very good indeed. However, could the ending possibly redeem the entire season considering the tediousness of the first three-quarters of this season? Unfortunately, I think not, not this time, and I cannot say this is an especially unforgettable experience, more like just your average anime series with a very good ending and that is about it. 5.6/10. (07/07/2018)