If there was ever an episode of a currently airing anime that left me begging for more, it would be this. Like a samurai filled with anger in his last stand, Darling in the FranXX uses this episode to run from the stereotype of generic Evangelion clone in the bleak mood towards something much more subtle and meaningful.
What was apparent from the getgo was the staggering improvement in the artistic and production departments- and I am not just talking about the action scene by the end of the episode. One of the highlights are the scenes involving Zero Two and Hiro together, especially the one when they are looking towards the cityscape- camera moving around Zero Two in unique ways really works here to enhance the feeling of chemistry between those two characters. Action scenes have a distinct Kill la Kill touch to them that just makes them much more enjoyable to watch. They are presented in an impactful manner, and animation carries weight behind it in this regard, despite goofy mecha designs- it almost reminded me of Asuka's final fight in The End of Evangelion. Cinematography, in general, has been improved significantly, here using Scum's wish-styled cuts where the near area of the character is visible, but the rest is taken up by blackness- in the context of the important conversation of the two characters this felt very fitting, increasing the tension of the decision one of them had to make.
The plot progression is also very apparent this time around. This episode is set up in a way of the monster of the week- the new monster appears, go and kill it. But, this formula is used in a unique way here to put more mystery and ecstasy behind Zero Two's wacky personality and her relationship with poor Hiro. By doing this, show points towards one of its, so far, major themes- unconditional irrational love, something you do not get much of anymore. Other characters also get screen time this time as well, and in this department show now seems purely solid- they have varied personalities, and the dialogue between each one is entertaining and by the end of the episode, I could recognize them by just the way they spoke.
Overall, Episode 3 sets Darling in the FranXX as the potential best show of the season- but even if it doesn't end up being that, it will still end up as a testament that the genre of mecha is not dead. This season's must watch.
You can stream Darling in the FranXX atCrunchyroll. Score breakdown: Story: A
The plot progression is apparent, and the show makes the great use of the monster of the week formula.
Characters: A
While the cast is not entirely unique, the dialogue of each individual character feels distinct. The cinematography creates a great atmosphere around Zero Two's personality.
Animation: B+
While it is not particularly fluid, it has that Kill la Kill touch that makes it visually appealing.
Cinematography: A+
Whoever storyboarded this episode deserves an applause and a raise.
Art: A+
This time we see the city and mechas in action which looks somewhat goofy, and most important of all- very unique. Design of the world feels solid overall.
+ Strong progression of the plot, triumph in the visual department.
- Um... let's be neat picky! Side characters are... perhaps... not unique enough?
Overall: A
Like what you are seeing here? Support the blog by subscribing to it!
If you paid attention to my previous reviews of its episodes, you will know that I don't think very highly of Beatless- this episode has been barely different, but that barely here stands for a couple of inches towards the positive direction.
This episode's hook is the kidnapping of Lacia, which the episode uses to show how hIE are perceived as nothing more than objects- stuff we already know. This pretty much continues into a long, long car "chase." And please keep in mind that we are using the word chase very loosely- it happens at usual car cruising speed. So, if 60 km/h down the suburbs gets your veins filled with adrenaline, you should stop reading and watch this episode right now!
Pretty much after that, we get introduced to the kidnapper for a brief moment, resulting in him being portrayed as a stereotypical psycho before Kouka shows up for a brief action scene, and- the credits roll. This progression of the plot leaves a lot to be desired- in the pacing especially; show seems to be moving at a much slower pace than it is supposed to- here we do get some information about a particular group of hIEs know as "Red Boxes," which I found to be somewhat interesting, but not very well explained. This seems to be a recurring problem in this show- it expects you just to pick up these concepts as the plot moves along, without any explanations. This is because, primarily, all characters are residents of this world and pretty much know all of this fancy terminology. It would be much better if it had a character who was a foreigner to this world so that we would get better explanations.
Why was this episode slightly better than the previous one? Well, it introduces the intrigue behind the character of Kouka and Lacia and brings forwards some themes related to robots which are mildly interesting, but again- I hope that the show does not delay these revelations for too long. I just hope this does not go in the same way regarding the mysteries as .hack did...
Visually, this episode is so-so, the slight highlight being the action scene at the end- it feels rough around the edges and overall unappealing while in motion.
Score breakdown:
Story: C
Has some potentially interesting themes, some intrigue behind Lacia and Kouka.
Characters: C
The new character, the kidnapper, is stereotypical, but there is some intrigue to be found in Kouka and Lacia.
Animation: C
Has a so-so action sequence at the end, overall unappealing in motion. CG cars are not jarring as they seemed at first.
Art: A
Nothing to say here which was not stated before.
+ Some intrigue
- Slow pacing for an action series, needs to hurry up with its revelations to keep the viewers engaged.
Please note: This is a opinion piece based on Bubble Tea Scans' scanlation of this manga. Please read it on their website, since they do not appear to be making any money from it. Please support the mangaka by buying print/digital releases when they are available in English.
I am generally not a fan of manga adaptations of TV shows- I always found "manganizations" of character designs to be jarring, and the quality of the story takes a major blow, almost always- take RahXephon's manga adaptation, for example, an utterly incomprehensible trainwreck that takes everything good about anime version and throws it out of the window in favor of fan service.
Enough babbling about RahXephon- today we are examining first two chapters of Darling in the FranXX's manga adaptation, which is one of the rare exceptions where manga actually seems hopeful in a sense that it will be a good version of the story anime is presenting- even if that story ends up being a pile of Klaxosaurus' excrement.
Starting off with the art, this manga feels incredibly grounded in the show's art style, here giving much more detail to the characters, which is to be expected, while not altering the designs fundamentally. Some designs actually feel like they were cells taken from the anime- take the old professor at the beginning for an example. This is, in my opinion, a good thing, since I will be able to seamlessly follow character progression in the manga and the anime without feeling that they are different people. Speaking of characters, the manga does indeed provide us with some snippets of information that was not presented in the manga- such as one important bit at the beginning about Zero Two. And, it gets quite a bit more technical, especially during the fight with Kaloxaosaurus, where the professor gives a remark about the form Zero Two's Franxx is taking when she is alone in it.
What is questionable? That has to be the sexual content, which is much more apparent here than in the anime- here we get a glorious look at uncensored Zero Two's breasts. The reason why I am going to abstain from reading into this is that this show may take the fan service and turn it into something different. This is amplified by a sexualized nature in which the Franxx is piloted- either that or the production team has very, very naughty. Art, in general, is very well drawn, with some great panel layouts and sweet looking action sequences.
I recommend this manga because it gives you some technical information, features well-drawn characters and action sequences and has an intrigue behind a way in which it may take its plot.
Score breakdown: Story: B While it is almost identical to the anime, it provides some technical nuances here and there, which make it worth it. Characters: B-
We learn more about Zero Two, who is really, the only interesting character, except maybe the professor. Others seem beyond generic.
Art: A Well drawn, designs are well thought out. The excellent transition of characters from anime. Sexualization of Zero Two is either going to make sense or not depending on where the story goes.
+ Provides some technical nuances to the story, well drawn, Zero Two is a likable yandere.
- Sexualization is either going to make sense or not depending on where the story goes, there is no denying that this is another candidate for a possible Evangelion clone- but hey! In the realm of harem and isekai sh*te, even Eva clone feels unique!
Scanlation comments: Done with great attention to detail, and it feels very professional. It almost feels like an official release in English. Praise to Bubble Tea Scans!
I wanted to start this with an Evangelion joke, but the joke in the question is old, very, very old. This episode takes some famous beats from Evangelion- and we are not just talking about the fact that the main character is a Shinji's bastard twin on a personality level, but some elements that are way too obviously ripped straight from Evangelion- this episode's example is the council of those men with white robes and masks which looks like a cartoony version of SEELE.
Aside from that, Darling in the FranXX in this episode manages to move in a somewhat interesting direction, at least visually. This does really look like Kill la Kill more than something A1 Pictures would make, but some beats taken from Kill la Kill do not really fit Darling in the FranXX- take the fanservice for example, which feels out of place. It almost seems like they wanted to make another Kill la Kill but also Evangelion-like mecha series. Speaking of mechs, they are hand drawn- finally! No more of that 3D CG sh**e. And for the most part- they look great, at least from the outside. Inside of the mechs feels like a naughty joke. Some aspects of this show seem quite a bit sexualized and I am lead to believe that at some point they will do something with that.
Plot progression in this episode is minimal- instead, we focus more on the characters, especially Zero Two, the pink haired girl, and we get a glimpse of her personality, which seems like a stereotypical yandere pulled from The Future Diary. But, aside from that, even if she ends up feeling stereotypical, she provides some needed variety in the cast, which is so far- nothing to be excited about.
The animation in this episode feels OK and does have some great composition of shots, albeit they feel stolen from this show's major influence.
Overall, I recommend that you continue watching Darling in the FranXX, or start it if you haven't already. The show can go pretty much anywhere from here, and while it is harmed by gaping of Evangelion, I still do think that crew behind Darling is not stupid so much that they turn this into an exact ripoff of Evangelion.
Score breakdown: Story: B-
Has potential to go anywhere from now, but its gaping of Evangelion is a major concern. Characters: B-
While the cast is nothing revolutionary, we get some taste of Zero Two's personality, and she gives some needed variety. Animation: B-
Not much action this time, but character animation doesn't disappoint. Art: A-
Great character and world design, but stylistic choices are taken from Kill la Kill feel out of place.
+ Has potential to be a quality mecha series, unique mecha, world and character designs, Zero Two has potential as a character.
- Hiro is still a Shinji Ikari clone, gaping of Evangelion is apparent in some aspects of the show. Not much plot progression this time.
Immediately from the first shot of this episode, I realized the core problem of this series' first two episodes- it seems like the crew behind it don't know what to do with it. The second episode, plot-wise seems like a filler episode from a series that has a couple dozens of episodes. Basically, it is sort-of a side story about Lacia being used as a fashion model. That's it- zero plot-twists, if you do not count the scene after the credits roll, no one receives any character development, but we do get some world-building regarding hIE, and how they function in the society in the relation with humans. The obvious stuff, you know- discrimination against them and the fact that they are perceived more as objects rather than human beings. The execution of these elements is mediocre and stereotypical, and worst of all- obvious. When they started talking about hIE, I immediately knew what I was going to get by the end of that conversation. New characters that we get to meet are, again- nothing even remotely interesting.
At the end, we get a post-credits scene with a guy in the room who receives a "visit" from Kouka, a red-haired hIE from the poorly animated scene from the first episode. This feels pointless at the end because the entire episode is wasted on useless conversations and that fashion show which does nothing for the plot, except wasting time. There the show introduces a poorly explained concept called "Analog hack," which seems somewhat promising, but I can't see it going anywhere.
Visually, this episode is even bigger meh that the first one- we get zero action this time, so that is to be expected. What hurts the animation the most is the poor composition of the shots, which often seems embarrassing- at the beginning there is this reality-bending embarrassing shot of Arato's face, with black space around them- I have no idea what they were trying this to symbolize. The design of the world is very good, mixing familiarity with science fiction to achieve quite a bit of a result.
If you haven't already started watching Beatless, I cannot entice you to start watching it, to be perfectly honest. There is a potential for an interesting story, but the execution of this episode feels mediocre.
Score breakdown:
Story: D+
Feels like a filler episode from a long-running series.
Characters: D-
No attempts at character development, new characters are not interesting.
Animation: C-
No action this time, nothing worthy of praise.
Art: A
redjuice's character designs are great, the world is well designed.
+ Has potential to be something great, good character and world design.
- The poor composition of certain shots, the animation is nothing to get excited about, same can be said for the story.
Philosophy and anime are no strangers to one another- just one look towards the end of the last millennium reveals a plethora of movies and shows like Ghost in The Shelland Neon Genesis Evangelion that incorporated ideas of various philosophers such as Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. But, as time went on, less and less anime used philosophy as the main focus of the story, and today it is a rarity, but it does not mean that it does not happen from time to time. One such example is Harmony, a subtle blend of interesting cinematic and philosophical ideas.
The story follows Kirie Tuan as she investigates series of suicides that happened across the globe and a group that stands behind those suicides. This sets of a premise Harmony builds around its plot and characters- most of the side characters are there for a brief period of time and are there more to make Kirie's nihilism even stronger. Speaking of her, she is quite likable and suits the story well as a protagonist- strong but not invincible, has quite a bit of a moral dilemma and wants to know the truth, her motivation being her, at first straightforward but later mysterious friend Mihie Miach, who is the only recurring side character. The story is mostly focused on Tuan and her development, so if you are looking for a solid roster of characters, Harmony will not suit your tastes in that regard. But, not having many strong characters actually works in the context of the film.
Harmony relies heavily on visual metaphors and foreshadowing to convey its story. One such metaphor is the buildings of the city, which look like they are made out of biological cells, which serve as the metaphor for this world's obsession with medicine. In the original novel, I don't think that it can be inferred that the world looks like this, but here I think it was a well-thought-out liberty with the source material. Because of this, visuals are unique overall, which cannot be said for the character designs, which are serviceable and distinct from one another but not something that you will remember till the end of your life. But, I think this was the right decision, considering the seriousness of the movie.
Production values of the movie are average, nothing too bad here and nothing too stunning animation-wise. The only jarring thing was CG character models in certain scenes. CG models of characters worked great when camera spinning around them and gave them some more depth, but when the camera wasn't moving it became very jarring. This usually happens in the scene where a lot is going on so I would presume that this was a way to cut down the budget.
Music in the movie is actually pretty great. It is a mixture of minimalistic, atmospheric tracks that enhance the mood. I also liked the ending song by Egoist. Confusingly, it hasn't been released as a standalone, you can only get a soundtrack if you buy a special Japanese edition of the movie.
Lastly, the movie has Serial Experiments Lain-like finale and requires interpretation. I personally think this works in the context of the movie. Another complaint regarding the way movie presents its world; there is a piece of information related to Miach that is presented somewhat poorly, and I think it got omitted completely from the original novel while I was watching Harmony for the first time, but it just requires you to pay special attention to the subtitles.
Speaking of that, English dub is not necessarily horrible, but necessary good either- it is one of Funimation's weaker movie dubs, so this is the one you want to watch in Japanese with subtitles.
I can recommend Harmony to the fans of movies like Ghost in the Shell and series like Serial Experiments Lain. In North America, series is currently licensed by Funimation and available from them on Blu-ray/DVD combo or just DVD.
Score breakdown:
Story: A
Some truly interesting philosophical ideas, interesting use of visual metaphors and foreshadowing.
Characters: B-
While Tuan and Miach are great characters, others are there just to reinforce Tuan's nihilism.
Animation: C
Nothing too stunning and nothing too bad. Some great use of CG, and some bad use of it. Overall, a mixed bag visually.
Art: A-
Visuals work well with the story, but character designs are somewhat, perhaps intentionally, dull.
Music: A
Enhances the mood, ending theme is excellent.
+ Great philosophical ideas, music, interesting use of visual metaphors.
- Don't go into it expecting action or great amount of interesting characters. Most people not interested in movies you need to think about will find it, well, boring.
I personally think that the memories of a piece of art are more important than the work of art itself because they tend to be actually of much better quality than the work itself. This feeling caught me while re-watching Neon Genesis Evangelion and realizing how the second half of the show feels like its held by only duct-tape. This is true of many anime series that I watched as a child- my memories are much better than the show itself, so much so that I am afraid to watch some of them out of fear that I am going to ruin them.
But, this is not always true, which is the case with the Korean animated series Hamos the Green Chariot, which ultimately shocked me- this show is actually much better than I remember it! What caught my eye first was the opening of the first episode, which is in itself just a huge exposition, telling us the history of the planet Terra, but the way that it is presented is absolutely stunning. This is reflected in the moment when the theme song kicks in and shows us the world is reborn. This song, called “Rick’s theme” is, in my opinion, one of the best pieces of music that have ever touched my ears to this day. It is kind of song that starts by the humming of the singer, before jumping into the subtly sung lyrics. This song is used throughout the show immensely, and it does not start being jarring after a while, but rather feels incredibly fitting for the scenes it is used in.
Characters of Hamos are rather fairly simple to understand, starting from the main character Rick, who is funny and somewhat innocent, to the Gutpo, a robot who is the group’s voice of reason. Another one is Roto, who is a spoiled kid and doesn’t have much of a purpose throughout the series- he is more of a comedic relief character, while that comedic relief is mostly him being annoying. The character they meet at the end of the first episode is Bora, a mysterious girl that has a pretty big mystery behind it, but she does feel like Rei Ayanami, to be honest, and has a big purpose in one of the most emotionally tense moments at the end of the series. That moment is also tied to the another character- Merry Hunter, who also hides a decent mystery behind herself, and is a fairly tragic character at the end of the show.
One of Hamos’ major strengths is its structure of its episodes- there is not a single one where nothing is happening, and adding to that each new episode we get new side characters, some of them just for one episode- but this instead of being a jarring thing it ends up working well in the context of the show, because the characters are all memorable, and in the end, when they save Terra, they show them being happy and you immediately recognize them, speaking volumes of the impression they leave on the viewer.
The animation is actually excellent- feels incredibly fluid and it does not deteriorate as the show progresses. The composition of the shots is also excellent, and in my opinion, the scene of Rick entering his robot Patron is iconic, especially when combined with the theme song.
Art style's major strength is its variety- deserts, megacities, meadows, even Arctic are all flawlessly tied together. No two episodes seem the same, and the design of the sci-fi areas is a subtle blend of common science fiction fare and some fantasy elements, to create a visual masterpiece.
Speaking of that robot, it is the element that changes the show significantly- up till Episode 12, we are mostly focused on the group in the tank doing combat on the foot, and they end up running from the most of the enemies, especially in the city of robots, but when Patron appears, this changes- now battles are much more varied and Rick ends up destroying the threat instead of running. Mech designs in Hamos are very distinct- Karon and Patron are both very unique function-wise, as well as other two mechs piloted by show’s main villain, Nero.
Speaking of them, show has ultimately two main villains, Dr. Chako and Nero, but they both have a twist related to themselves in the ending of the show. Chako, for example, is actually a positive character in the end and ends up sacrificing himself for the good of Terra- contrast that with his appearance at the end of the first episode!
Show's finalle is what really struck me down to the heart- this is in fact saving the world type of story, but the way it is presented is absolutely stunning. One important element of it is appreciating saving the world as an experience in order to love the world more. That subtle feeling that the ties of cold winds of uncertain future and warmth of certanty produce in you. That's what is important. The greatness of the faith in the Earth echoes Hamos from the first to the last episode.
You will be forever in my heart, as you head towards the red sunset, Hamos the Green Chariot.
In short- Guilty Crown 1.5
The traffic light switches. A character walks across the street. The traffic light switches. A character walks across the street. Now, if this sounds monotonous to you, because it is, you will be surprised that this is the composition of one of the first shots of Beatless’ first episode, which is true to its name- beatless.
Moments in, I was overcome by the feeling of deja vu, and with a good reason- this show does indeed feel like Guilty Crown, and I am not just talking about the fact that both shows share the same character designer, but rather the overall premise and characters- Arato and Shuu are basically the same character (visually and personality wise), and the same can be said for Lacia, which is basically this show’s mascot and the clone of Inori. It doesn’t help that the show starts in the most non-unique place ever- high school, giving us a taste of school life, which by this point in anime feels like rotten spam, before introducing us to a couple of generic guys in a helicopter fighting other “hIE,” which are supposed to be robots who function as slaves for humans?
The world building is for this episode barely there, and what I found to be the most memorable is how the convenience store functions, which should serve as a sign of how uninteresting this world feels. This is not to say that it does not have potential to explore themes of relationships of humans and machines, which has been done before and more effectively.
Show’s art style is solid overall- redjuice again proves to the world that he is the God of female character designs, which look sleek, attractive and poster-worthy. Same cannot be said for the boys, which look rather meh. But, those designs look only good when they are not moving, because of the animation here, during action sequences especially, looks janky and rough. 3D CG animation, which this episode uses for the cars, is jarring as well, but it is fairly brief.
Overall, Beatless does not make a good impression in its first episode. It is not to say that it lacks potential, but its stereotypical delivery, underwhelming production values, and copy-paste characters make this questionable. I would sum this up as poor man’s Guilty Crown.
Score breakdown:
Story: C-
Does not make a great impression, despite the potential for some interesting philosophy.
Characters: D
Copy-pasted directly from Guilty Crown, which is a show you do not want to copy characters from.
Animation: C-
Action sequences lack fluidity and are overall very basic.
Art: B+
redjuice’s female character designs shine, but the boys not so much. The world feels a-ok.
+ Great female character designs, has the potential for some philosophical themes regarding robots.
- Feels like Guilty Crown clone, intentionally or not- its characters are stereotypical at best, underwhelming animation.
Have you ever seen a very, very old car that has a lot of modern accessories dotted all over itself? Well, if you haven’t seen one, surely you can see a metaphorical one, and its name is Darling in the Franxx. Aside from its out there name, its inspiration is not- Neon Genesis Evangelion, that tiny little obscure anime series no one (except apparently everybody?) has heard about. This does not only amount to the premise and plot elements, but rather to show’s cinematographic techniques. This is actually not a very bad thing- show’s visual composition is excellent, and it does not feel monotonous.
Regarding the plot- it starts by introducing the viewer to the show’s main gimmicks- show’s mechs need to be piloted by a pair of pilots, one male and one female, which show so far explain by using a metaphor involving a bird called Jian. Later on, we follow Hiro as he follows Shinji Ikari’s steps to his mech. Speaking of characters, no one really caught my attention, except the pink haired girl, who has enough mystery below her skin to keep me interested. She is confusing the first character we see- I wanted her to be a protagonist! Fact that Shinji Ikari’s clone is the protagonist is not a good start. Regarding her, there is also a fan service scene where Hiro stumbles on her while she’s naked. This is was quite worrying, but later in the episode, she gets a very great moment with Hiro. Speaking of that moment, have you noticed that explosions around the attacking monsters’ are identical to the ones around Eva’s Angels? And that the introduction of the attacker is identical to the way Evangelion introduces each individual Angel? The episode ends on a cliffhanger regarding her as well, which definitely made me curious about the next one.
Animation-wise, while not obvious at first, this does look a lot like Kill La Kill, especially during action set-pieces. Animation overall is pretty good, especially during the action piece at the end. Character animation is pretty basic overall. Art design is excellent overall, with some truly unique, albeit spartan in the terms of detail, looking sci- fi environments which contrast more real-world like locations.
Overall, judging from the first episode, Darling in the Franxx has a lot of promise and I would definitely be following it. My greatest worries with it are that it does not turn into another fan service riddle and focuses on the development of its characters. Recommended.
You can currently legally stream Darling in the Franxx on Crunchyroll, albeit currently only for premium members.
Score breakdown:
(Episode 1)
Story: B
Has promise but also has worries.
Characters: C
The main character seems like a Shinji Ikari ripoff, others seem promising, at best.
Animation: A
Has some great moments, especially during the action
Art: A+
Has some unique character and enviroment designs. Mechs deserve special mention.
+ Unique visual style, solid animation, some characters are promising.
- Has potential to be riddled with fan service, has big potential to be another Eva clone.
Alternative recommendations? If you look for a show that has a chassis of Evangelion and has a brand new bodywork, do not look further than Raxhephon.
