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.
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