Darling in the FranXX Episode 2 review

"So I swore not to run away again"
   
     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.



   

Beatless Episode 2 Review

   

     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.