Darling in the FranXX Episode 8 Review

"Darling, you pervert!"

     While the previous episode had a fair bit of stereotypical attached to it, this one decides to play with the stereotypical in order to create something that is rarely seen in today's anime.
     The episode kicks off with the action scene that has the intention of sabotaging the expectation of the viewer- the rest of this episode contains almost no banter about the defense of the plantations, but rather something very similar to the previous episode- sitcom elements with the touch of world building. Here the show presents a couple of very stereotypical situations- girls get angry at guys, guys walk at the girls in the bath- you know, stuff that you saw the million times before. But, Darling in the FranXX approaches these with the touch of humanity, here represented in Zero Two, who shares a very touching moment with Hiro at the roof.
     The world building is here once again, and it presents a very interesting detail about the past of the plantation. I love this approach to the world building- it feels more natural for the world to be explained little by little than with few gigantic info dumps. Now, this ultimately often results in a slower pace, but I ultimately consider the pace of this show to be appropriately slow. The sitcom moments do not feel out of place, but rather add to the good overall experience.
    The animation is again, well produced, but what is the best part of the show visually is the cinematography. Here the show often changes the aspect ration of the show in order to amplify the scene- Scum's wish style, if you will- but here they feel like they amplify the experience, versus just being there so someone can write a lengthy blog post about it.
   
Overall: A+

Darling in the FranXX Episode 7 Review

I know that I am a week late with this one, but I still need to talk about this.
     If there is a Nietzschean Eternal Recurrence, beach episodes would definitely be a part of it. Get your characters in tight swimsuits and the fanservice shall be initiated almost immediately- as if we wanted more fan service. But, despite this trope being overused, Darling in the FranXX still manages to pull off a tiny miracle and make this episode work.
     Part of this tiny miracle are characters' personalities- show uses this episode to show them off like on a stage, and this works. The structure of this episode is pretty much like a sitcom, getting characters in often hilarious situations, one after the other. This episode has a nice balance of serious and funny moments- serious moments are used here to build up a world that goes beyond the glass walls of the plantation.
     This does not mean that the episode lacks stereotypical content- boys ogling over girls' detailed curves and the stuff that you would expect from this type of "filler"- which here honestly does not feel like "filler," because of the world building that the show provides. It also hints towards the possible exploration of the teenage sexuality, or shall we say, lack of characters knowing anything about that subject.
     The animation is excellent, feeling as smooth or as rough as it needs to be. What amplifies the animation is the cinematography- excellent use of camera angles and shot composition in almost every shot really make the episode visually stimulating, despite often stereotypical content.
     Overall, a solid entertainer.

Overall score: B-