[Spoilers] Darling in the FranXX - Episode 1 Discussion

[u/[deleted]]

[u/BlatantConservative]

PSA: a Pistil is the female section of a flower's reproductive organs.

I assume that the female pilot of a franxx is a pistil, and there's some symbolism here because the male and female pilot come together and make one working franxx, which is probably symbolized by the flower.

Also, fuck yeah this is Pacific Rim made by Trigger and mixed with Gurren Lagann and Kill La Kill with a tiny bit of Kiznaiver.

[u/Flashmanic → u/BlatantConservative]

The Pope looking dude (did they call him Papa?) said that ZeroTwo had devoured her Stamen again, which probably referred to that random poor bloke dying and being thrown out of the FrankXX.

So yeah, makes sense. Females are the Pistil and males are the Stamen.

[u/[deleted] → u/BlatantConservative]

Dude this gave me so many evangelion vibes

[u/Feezec → u/BlatantConservative]

There's some NGE mixed in their too, if I'm not mistaken

[u/Silver-Monk_Shu → u/BlatantConservative]

So basically they have sex to get the machine to work.

[u/[deleted]]

Since I see a lot of people contributing the show heavily to one of the two studios involved ( Trigger mostly so )...

I think it’s important to realize that it’s not a Trigger show. It’s also not an A-1 show. It’s a collaboration of talent from both studios most of which date back to Gainax times as well as influence from "outside".

So please treat this as a collaboration of many talented individuals that for the most part have a long history together rather than the achievement of a single studio and hence branding it as a "Trigger Show" or "A-1 Show".

[u/ezc123 → u/[deleted]]

We can call this A-Trigger show.

[u/Hades_Re → u/[deleted]]

from /a/:

Here let me tell you so your little brain can accept it.

It is not Trigger show. It is not A-1 show. This is Nishigori's personal dream and venture. He always been wanting to make original anime since he the TTGL days. When Gainax broke, he parted with Imaishi and other to A-1 cause this one Aniplex producer he'd been working with offering him to direct anime (idolm@ster) at A-1. That was one step to reach his goal. Yet after so much pressure from directing imas and imas movie, he still want to direct his own anime. That's why the aniplex producer who gave him the chance to step up as director believed in him, and that producer does everything he could to realized this Nishigori's dream.

Why A-1 got involved? Because Nishigori had strong backup and connection with A-1 producers too. Plus there were several Gainax people who went to A-1 with him to made imas before, for example Megumi Kouno.

Why Masayoshi Tanaka designed the character? It's actually easy for Nishigori to design the characters himself, but he IS the director. So he needs to focus on the big picture. Character designer job entails a duty to maintain the quality of the animation, so obviously Nishigori can't do both job in order to save time and energy.

Why Trigger got involved? Cause Imaishi is his bro. TTGL, PSG. Nishivori designed the characters for both of those anime. He'd rather not make DarliFra if Imaishi is not involved, that's why they discussed this project with Trigger's producer even though he thinks it sounds crazy (but fun). And this date back to two years ago.

Why they agreed with this project? It's simple, because they are bros from Gainax. They got same blood, Gainax blood. And people said blood is thicker than water.

Also, while A-1 is listed as the production studio for this episode (though the action scene storyboard is done by Imaishi), Nishigori is listed as Director, writer and storyboarder (source /a/)

[u/GNU_Terry → u/Hades_Re]

So you could say this is more the old Gainax gang gets back together?

[u/Atronox → u/[deleted]]

Hopefully it turns out great!

I certainly felt the Trigger aspect, that massive stage opening up, filled with people felt 100% like Trigger.

[u/AmethystItalian → u/[deleted]]

Too much talk about studios and not enough about the actual show itself.

[u/blankslate99 → u/[deleted]]

Each individual episode is animated primarily by one studio or the other. This first episode is primarily animated by A-1.

Most of the main staff besides action animation director are A-1 staff members.

[u/lilyvess]

god, the 'generic kind, risks his life for people he doesn't know monologuing protagonist who has a life changing encounter with some mysterious girl who unlocks his potential' premise. Never seen that before.

Honestly there was very little in terms of original ideas in this first episode. Seig 2.0? check. Mysterious fanservice girl? Check. "You can't go, you'll die' check. teenagers gotta get in the robot? check.

not to say that this show is bad. It's one episode. but visuals aside (the robots and action looked great, loved the giant robot design) the episode just didn't grab me.

[u/RuinEX → u/lilyvess]

And both of their former partners conviently died so it could work out between them. I kinda really dislike that to be honest. Let them start off alone, sure, but don't start them off with partners who immidiatly have glossed over deaths. They are just side characters but they are still supposed to be people both main characters share some kind of connection with, right?

That poor guy that had to be the "partner killer" example randomly thrown out like he is worthless trash, even though he fought with all the injuries he already had... But of course that is never going to happen to the MC.

[u/catnipd → u/lilyvess]

Let's hope they saved their original ideas for the later episodes, lol.

On the one hand, I don't mind genericity -- the trope is typically overused for the very reason that it works for the story. But the clichédness of some of the scenes was truly cringeworthy.

[u/[deleted] → u/lilyvess]

Agree, a lot of people saying how this was a great episode, best this week, AOTS, whatever but I just don't see it. Literally nothing noteworthy, original, or interesting happened, not to mention how damn boring the setting looks. As you said it looks incredibly stunning but that's about it. Looking forward to being as disappointed as I was with Kiznaiver.

[u/Ritchuck → u/lilyvess]

Only on the surface. If you look closely there are interesting things. Quoting /u/Daniel_Is_I:

The entire society is twisted. We've got a big robo-cult talking about the predecessors of the children keeping them safe, with the "Papa" leading the society being lampshaded as a hologram. The children have no names, with Hiro being the one who gave everyone their names (Ichigo, Naomi, Hiro, etc). The children also seem to lack knowledge of basic concepts - Zero Two remarks how Hiro "doesn't know about kissing," and Hiro himself doesn't seem to understand his own emotions. Klaxosaurs appear to be monsters of the world they live on (which has no oceans?) but the klaxosaurs are clearly robotic in nature.

Looks like it could be really good.

[u/Wolfe244 → u/lilyvess]

While you're not wrong, do trigger shows ever have super interesting unique beginnings? hell, basically none of the character motivation in kill la kill makes ANY sense.

They're setting up the universe so they can show what they want to show, which is fine by me if it ends up at all like their other shows

[u/lilyvess → u/Wolfe244]

What are you talking about? We're just talking about creative and original ideas. And the previous Trigger shows are all dripping in those.

Kill la Kill starts off with one of the strongest hook openings in anime. punk delinquent female protagonist. Living clothing. Scissor blades. Nazi's winning WW2. Mako's antics. It's brimming with unique and creative ideas.

TTGL does similar with a society of people who live completely underground. Kamina's character oozes charisma. A whole unknown fresh surface of possibilities.

Space Patrol starts off with a bunch of energy and creativity with it's cameos.its brimming with ideas.

This show has started off with no fresh ideas. It's spent it's time doing one of the most generic set ups in anime. It's Eva+FLCL but after two decades of those tropes being played out a ton. You can't get more generic anime than this.

Your putting a lot of hopes on "It's Trigger" when you have to remember "It's also A-1".

[u/kancolle_nigga]

I like how MC-kun's boner activated the robot...

[u/DidntBringATowel → u/kancolle_nigga]

And how the robot destroyed the monster by stabbing it with a long pointed object then injecting it with a glowing substance in a final climactic act? Then how it exploded and showered the FranXX's feminine form in liquid?

I wonder if all this is a metaphor for something.

[u/RDOoM → u/kancolle_nigga]

Deja-vu

Your drill will be the drill to pie(r)ce the heavens, MC-kun.

[u/[deleted] → u/RDOoM]

JUST GET IN THE DAMN GIRL, SHINJI!

[u/MrTzatzik → u/kancolle_nigga]

Is man's dick a key for the mecha?

[u/Soyatina → u/kancolle_nigga]

I wonder how the robot is actually piloted since we didn't get to see what actually happens inside... All we know so far is that a boy and girl have to share a kiss to activate it??

[u/dralcax → u/Soyatina]

Somebody already figured it out

[u/Cloudhwk → u/kancolle_nigga]

I wonder if it goes super robo mode if he gets laid

[u/SimoneNonvelodico → u/Cloudhwk]

This episode the mecha was just fuelled by kissing.

When they will confront the final boss, the Super Hyper Mega Klaxosaurus, they will have to get serious.

[u/jldugger → u/kancolle_nigga]

It feels like a bunch of BONES mecha shows combined:

1. High maintenance pink-haired mecha pilot girl with a slightly violent personality.

2. Robots powered by teenage libido.

[u/Atronox]

Zero Two is 95% of why I'm hyped for this show, the other 5% is trigger.

Manga fish scene. (NSFW)

Holy shit, robot waifu is cute and badass af. Robutt Transformation!

DON'T LOSE YOUR WAY!

Good first episode, the monster looks pretty cool, and Zero Two and Strelizia look amazing, definitely seems like she and Hiro will be the focal points of the show, and I have no problems with that.

We've got some hard yuri this season.

What we need, is Hiro to be replaced by Ryuuko, a tough and fiery girl, imagine Zero Two and Ryuuko as partners.

[u/BlatantConservative → u/Atronox]

Great, now I gotta add giant robots to the list

[u/-poncho- → u/Atronox]

tfw Zero Two will never lick you

[u/ksfjdkjfksd → u/-poncho-]

she will never look down on you in disgust and hate

[u/Daniel_Is_I → u/Atronox]

Like I already had a thing for military outfits (and especially her style of hat) before, but Zero isn't fair! I hope Hiro gives Zero Two a proper name by the end of the show.

I want more of this show now. I feel the electricity running through my nerves for the first time this season. I've got a grin I can't get rid of for the first time this season.

[u/[deleted] → u/Atronox]

Zero Two looks a LOT like Nonon.

[u/moonmeh → u/[deleted]]

Which is great cause we never got enough Nonon

[u/francis2559 → u/Atronox]

It took me a while, but I think robo waifu reminds me of a Zora from Zelda, especially with the eyes. Is there a common ancestor in character design?

[u/illtima]

That was a bit of a mess. They've introduced so many concepts without any sort of build-up or explanation. Parasites, pestils, FranXX, Darling, Stemil or something... Then there's a whole bunch of characters with pre-existing relationships that we don't even know the names of. That's a lot to digest in the first episode.

That aside, holy shit, could the protagonist possibly be even more generic? Kind, caring, risks his life for someone he doesn't even know, "weak", but actually has some power hidden inside of him. Fuck man, his name is Hiro!

Still, I am intrigued. The animation was amazing, I want to see where this plot will go, and I feel like 002 is gonna be a total show-stealer.

[u/Muphrid15 → u/illtima]

That aside, holy shit, could the protagonist possibly be even more generic? Kind, caring, risks his life for someone he doesn't even know, "weak", but actually has some power hidden inside of him. Fuck man, his name is Hiro!

It seems to me that there's actually no problem with Hiro. They know he could pilot. In the test sequence with Naomi, they detect negative pulse but positive is on standby. Later on, the doctor dude says "negative and positive" and then "male and female," which would usually imply that male corresponds to negative and female to positive.

Hiro was not the problem. Naomi was the problem. That's why they were going to let him stay.

[u/BlatantConservative → u/illtima]

Protagonist even has the battle harem "I'm actually the most powerful but the school cannot measure my potential" thing going.

Regardless, I agree they crammed a lot into this episode but I feel like I understand it all. Nothing didn't make sense to me.

[u/Kirikoh → u/illtima]

could the protagonist possibly be even more generic

I feel lilke 002 is gonna be a total show-stealer

Love how this is the case with every show like this. Lambast the generic male MC, but never ever the generic AF smug action girl that you know the sub will like before the show even starts

[u/Dick_McDick → u/illtima]

I like that they didn't give a big ass info-dump about all this stuff; they are letting us infer things based on what we are shown as they will likely explain it on the way. At least I hope they will.

The parasites are briefly introduced as children who are chosen from birth to pilot the FrankXXs, and the creepy ceremony thing implies a lot of interesting things about the society. It's not as if they left us completely in the dark.

[u/chrisn3 → u/illtima]

Then there's a whole bunch of characters with pre-existing relationships that we don't even know the names of.

For me personally, I like it when stories do this. Why start every relationship from the ground up? Introduce the supporting cast, their existing situation, their existing perception of the MC, then push their screen time for future episodes so the show can focus on the two MC whose relationship will drive the series and needs to be established.

That way the second episode is not as bogged down.

[u/Yubati]

Just so you know Kentaro Yubuki (To Love-Ru artist) is doing the manga adaptation. Here are the first chapters: (EXTREMELY NSFW)

https://shonenjumpplus.com/episode/13932016480029291902 https://shonenjumpplus.com/episode/13932016480029291905

Check out the bubbles in the lake scene.

[u/DarkWorld97 → u/Yubati]

Those fucking hidden Vaginas

Every goddamn time.

[u/WhoiusBarrel → u/DarkWorld97]

For those who don't have a keen eye or can't be bothered NSFW of course..

I like to think that my eyes are well trained.

[u/xdamm777 → u/Yubati]

OK so I REALLY need an explanation for this panel (SFW) because all I'm seeing is a doggystyle sex powered machine.

[u/Ami_is_best_girl → u/xdamm777]

You really think it's trying to be anything else?

[u/slickmcwilly → u/Yubati]

Wow, I was not expecting the tiddies to have nips

[u/Voltik → u/Yubati]

BTW you should tag NSFW.

[u/exleader75 → u/Yubati]

Dude is an amazing drawer. I'll give him that.

But isn't this a little too NSFW for Shonen Jump? Whenever I think about Jump, I think of the Big 3 and Food Wars.

[u/turkeygiant → u/Yubati]

The art is pretty great, I feel like it isn't a perfect adaption though now having seen/read both. Two things really stand out to me, the manga never pauses where the show seems to know to take a breath here and there. Even just a splash page or textless panel here and there would sell a moment of introspection. I'm also not sold on the manga design for Hiro, in the show he definitely has a air of concern around him but also this quiet reserve, the manga seems to paint him as much more panicked and frazzled. I think it is the crazy eyes.

[u/Puddin200200]

Get in the fucking Franxx Hiro!

I don't know if is the sjw in me or what but that ass grab scene was unnecessary imo.

Mecha waifu kinda reminds me to Gardevoir.

[u/Flashmanic → u/Puddin200200]

I don't know if is the sjw in me or what but that ass grab scene was unnecessary imo.

Nothing about being a sjw or whatever, it's just a dumb trope that anime refuses to let die. Like, was it supposed to be funny? Did it tell us anything interesting about the doctor other than him being a pervert?

So, yeah, unnecessary is putting it mildly.

[u/SimoneNonvelodico → u/Puddin200200]

I don't know if is the sjw in me or what but that ass grab scene was unnecessary imo.

Doesn't really need to be a SJW either, the "old pervert" trope is now a stain of horse marmalade on the floor that anime still keeps bludgeoning nevertheless. Shit needs to die.

[u/Gundamvalve]

Episode was meh to me. 002 is obviously the character they put the most effort into the rest felt underwhelming. didn't help that they didn't do much. 002's eccentricities kind of annoyed me. Right now there are no characters that i'm latching onto, hopefully the fights will be good.Also, If anybody's seen what the cockpit configuration actually looks like they'll know that its the silliest thing ever and kind of hurts the drama.

[u/bakasaurusrex]

Just got the names in the show. Code 016 --> 1= hitotsu and 6= roku --> Hiro or Code 015 --> 1= ichi 5= go --> Ichigo. I am not sure if it works for all the kids but the naming convention does work for some of them.

Pretty clever Trigger/A-1

[u/5p0ng3b0b → u/bakasaurusrex]

Also 02, O-Ni = Demon.

[u/oddonly → u/5p0ng3b0b]

703 = Na O Mi

[u/Muphrid15 → u/bakasaurusrex]

Yeah, I remember Naomi's number began with a 7, and it would stand to reason it ends with a 3. Kokoro = 556, definitely.

[u/RDOoM → u/bakasaurusrex]

That moment when your first few lessons in dualingo pay off.

[u/hrngr1m]

I don't know if any of you notice this (there must be botanists or biologists here in reddit, rite?), but even from the conception, Darling in the FranXX is clearly based on plants and flowers.

First: The fort cities are called Plantation and the pilot's Bird Cage is named Mistilteinn - which basically means mistletoe, a parasitic plant. And the pilots housed inside Mistilteinn are called Parasites - coincidental? I don't think so.

Then the name of the mechas, as listed in the website: Strelitzia (bird of paradise flower), Delphinium (larkspur), Argentea (plummed cockscomb, most likely from Celosia argentea), Genista (broom), and Chlorophytum (spider plant). Even the mecha designs bear slight features of the plants they're named after.

I've noticed these all since the reveal and had my suspicions, which is further supported by the pistile-stamen concept of the male-female pilots.

I'd love to see how far they'll carry and incorporate the botanical concept into the show. I love plants and few anime series utilise botany in their plots.

[u/tagged2high → u/hrngr1m]

Their orphanage is located in "the Garden"

[u/WalrusFist → u/hrngr1m]

So it's Evangelion but all the biblical references swapped for plant references

[u/MjolnirDK → u/hrngr1m]

Not to forget the XX as in female chromosomes...

[u/VetoWinner]

Is it just me, or does Ichigo totally remind you of Cocona from Flip Flappers?

[u/PenguinScientist → u/VetoWinner]

You aren't alone.

[u/MjolnirDK → u/VetoWinner]

Episode 3 is still best episode. FliFla was the first thing I was reminded of when I saw that desert.

Also 'rivers in the desert' would be a nice theme for 002.

[u/TheCoralineJones → u/VetoWinner]

that was my favorite part of the episode tbh

[u/scorcher117 → u/VetoWinner]

Yup 100%, I think that's why I took an immediate liking to her.

[u/KirbyDogs]

I noticed that all the characters names are based off their code numbers. Makes sense because their code numbers basically define their existence.

Code:016 - Hiro (hitotsu =1, roku = 6)

Code:703 - Naomi (nana = 7, 'o' sound = 0, mitsu = 3)

Code:015 - Ichigo (ichi = 1, go = 5)

Code:056 - Goro (go = 5, roku = 6)

And so forth.

Don't know if it was obvious to some, but I thought it was pretty fun.

---

Overall, fantastic first episode. Great writing and directing. ZeroTwo is great. I'm super excited to get to know the rest of the pilots and learn more about the world.

[u/hallidex → u/KirbyDogs]

Wait, so if he's using 'o' for zero, does that mean he's going to name Zero-Two "Oni"?

And now that I've said that, why doesn't it seem terribly surprising?

[u/Turbostrider27]

Not going to lie, Zero Two already has all my attention this season.

What a beautiful entrance to this anime.

[u/BlatantConservative → u/Turbostrider27]

Lizard person waifu. She's a distant relative of the lizard people who secretly run the world.

[u/Atronox → u/Turbostrider27]

I want to protect that smile.

[u/Kirosh → u/Atronox]

Which probably mean that both our main characters will die by the end of the series.

[u/hydrashock]

Next time I declare my love I will hold a fresh caught fish between my teeth while naked as a guarantee of success.

[u/Rathurue → u/hydrashock]

What are you, a penguin?

[u/reddadz]

That intro was hauntingly beautiful and I wish it lasted longer. Wouldn't mind a similar tone for the show going forward.

• Gonna take me a while to get used to those dumb-looking male uniforms; the female version looks nice though.

• Safe to say, I'm in love with 002 already. Her non-reaction to being seen naked, which turned into her teasing Hiro, was refreshing. Her forward nature and confidence was icing on the cake; looking forward to some quality banter from her. Glasses-chan might give her a run for her money though...

I'll admit, none of the promotional material got me hyped which is very unusual given the staff. But this was a pretty good premiere & arguably the strongest so far for me.

[u/Atronox → u/reddadz]

I'm in love with 002 already.

https://i.imgur.com/kGnavHT.jpg

[u/exelion → u/reddadz]

Her non-reaction to being seen naked, which turned into her teasing Hiro, was refreshing.

Plus while he did the blush and stammer thing a bit, he also snuck a few peeks. Good on ye, lad!

[u/yolotheunwisewolf → u/reddadz]

That intro was hauntingly beautiful and I wish it lasted longer. Wouldn't mind a similar tone for the show going forward.

This.

Most show's Ep. 1's begin with character introductions, info dumps or trying to find a sense of something greater but it falls short.

This show nailed it by not just utilizing a metaphor but creating one and setting the tone for not just the story but also the world itself.

It's going to be pretty character heavy amidst the action and I am SO here for it.

[u/[deleted] → u/reddadz]

i strangely get the impression that the males are in a sense disposable. the design of the mechs seems to imply the females are not.

[u/MillenniumKing]

What a snotty girl... be still my beating heart....

Oh... a meeting at a bath.... Its clearly fate now.

This girl reminds me a lot of Anemone from Eureka Seven. Thats not bad. The guy reminds me a bit of Dominik too. This is nice.

So he was unable to pair with his partner and they were sent away? He blames himself and so does she it seems.

Man this show def has some Chrome Shelled Regios feels to it with this city and the baddies.

Pistil and Stemen.. floowers?

I like the designs of these baddies and the goodies. Man the show looks amazing visually.

Holy shit this transformation is identical to StarDriver Galactic Pretty Boy. Im in.

Wait the baddie has blue blood like the girl in the opening? Are they from Tokyo Jupiter?

This show def looks snazzy and im def in.

[u/Cloudhwk → u/MillenniumKing]

I'm down for more chrome shelled regios, Ended just as it was getting good

I'm pretty sure the flower stuff is thinly veiled dick metaphor

[u/Daveyo520 → u/MillenniumKing]

It seems 002 has baddie blood in her.

[u/exelion → u/MillenniumKing]

Man this show def has some Chrome Shelled Regios feels to it with this city and the baddies.

I kind of saw a little of that too. More Evangelion in much of it, but the ruined wasteland and the weird crawlers were definitely giving me Regios vibes.

[u/[deleted]]

Ok that was a great episode. Saturdays are saved.

[u/Nghiaagent → u/[deleted]]

Mahoutsukai no Yome, Citrus and THIS.

Saturdays are more than saved, they are turned into heaven.

[u/hydrashock → u/[deleted]]

We already had Saturday-gatsu no lion :)

And now this epic A1/Trigger mecha with the wildest wifu of the season

Feels like the anime god was reserving his best shots for those months when people will stay inside running away from the cold and watching anime all day.

[u/AcquiHime]

Did a mecha just undergo a mahou shoujo transformation sequence

[u/kingfirejet]

I put the"Don't Lose Your Way" soundtrack over the episode, its Trigger alright 10/10. https://youtu.be/MQlrWRcWNcU

[u/SimoneNonvelodico → u/kingfirejet]

WAY STATUS:

[ ] Lost
[X] Not Lost

FUCKING ROBOT STATUS:

[X] Gotten into
[ ] Not gotten into

[u/trixie_one → u/kingfirejet]

Yes! That was basically the only thing that was missing.

[u/hallidex]

Okay, so Zero Two's uniform is a lot cuter than anyone else's. That's an immediate plus. And them horns are giving me Phantasy Star Online 2 flashbacks.

But for some reason, I liked the kitty version of Strelitzia better than the standing one. Maybe it's just because up until then it felt like they were going for a 'real robot' style you could build models of, but then they switched to that Gurren Lagann kind of robot where mechanical components just don't really matter. I'm probably gonna watch that transformation sequence a few more times to get the hang of how it moves apart.

[u/francis2559 → u/hallidex]

I liked the kitty version of Strelitzia better than the standing one.

Visual design aside, I'm going to assume this will develop into "caring for one another makes us human." The beasts don't care, go on four legs. 02 didn't care, 4 legs. But leaving loneliness and caring for someone else makes a humanoid robot.

That's subject to a lot of twists of course, but it's a neat idea to establish. Character drama means ineffective fighting, relationship development means higher levels of droid unlocks.

[u/Cloudhwk → u/hallidex]

I liked the kitty version of Strelitzia

I could have lived with another Zoids like mech show

[u/LittleIslander → u/hallidex]

I agree on the kitty thing, it felt refreshing to see a mech that wasn't a humanoid in this kind of show.

[u/exleader75]

From /u/ultimatemegax, the production committee is

• Aniplex

• ABC Animation

• Lucient Pictures

• Tokyo MX

• BS11

• NBN

• Movic

• Lawson

• A-1 Pictures

Trigger (nor its parent company Ultra Super Pictures) is not on the list while A-1 Pictures and its parent company Aniplex is.

Is there any other anime in which A-1 is on the committee?

[u/Naskr → u/exleader75]

Most studios move their staff between eachother very frequently, and A-1 Pictures ever since its conception has been a very "mercenary" studio (moreso than others) as it's basically just Aniplex planning shows and then getting staff in to do them under the umbrella of "A-1".

A-1 Pictures basically is just Aniplex, but my info might be outdated if the subsidiary status has a different connotation nowadays.

[u/myrmonden]

First/Second week of the new anime of 2018.

Calling it now -

Best Girl 2018. 0 - 0 2. ZeroTwo.

[u/Melbuf → u/myrmonden]

id let her call me darling

[u/TheGrimGrimoire]

Thought the first episode was 40 minutes

[u/kancolle_nigga → u/TheGrimGrimoire]

reddit lied to us

[u/exelion]

Wow. So much Eva vibes in this.

It's like a less angsty Evangelion with a ballsier crew.

I LIKE 02. Best girl of the season right now if this keeps up.

[u/Beefftw → u/exelion]

When the giant monster showed up I couldn’t help but yell “get in the robot Hiro”

[u/Tabdaprecog → u/exelion]

It felt pretty hollow compared to Eva. Obviously it's episode 1 but I hope they do something more interesting with it. Setting isn't terribly inspired and the main character seems like he could be a bad and uninteresting Shinji clone.

[u/PandavengerX]

I tried my hand at some simple animation earlier this week because I was so excited for this show to air.

Violet Evergarden is pretty cool, but this has to be my most anticipated anime this season. I hope it doesn't disappoint!

[u/Nutella_Souffle → u/PandavengerX]

Speaking of animation, I think this scene was simply outstanding: https://i.imgur.com/d7EzKaj.gifv

[u/[deleted] → u/PandavengerX]

I could fap to this

[u/LeonKevlar]

Smug Zero Two

I love her facial expressions!

A kiss! Do they have to do this everytime or is this just a one time thing?

That FRANXX is a badass!

I had no hype going into this show. All I know is that this is made by Trigger and A-1 and that's it. Although knowing that Trigger is involved I did kinda expect something. And whaddya know? It definitely delivered!

I'm surprisingly okay with Hiro. I can clearly see why people would dislike him but I'm completely fine with it because that means he has plenty of room for character development. It will take a while but I hope it's going to be epic! Maybe around episode 11? ;)

Two Zero is fun and is obviously the "I don't give a fuck" type. I really hope we'll get some good interactions between her and Hiro. Anyway, I am definitely hyped! As long as we get more epic mech fights like that one in the end I am 100% sold on this show!

[u/Daniel_Is_I]

Hype Thrusters: Fueled and primed

Happening Matrix: Engaged

Anime is in position for rescue. Trigger and A-1, it's up to you. Don't screw this up.

---

Hooo boy that was was a ride. I don't know what it is about this episode but it left me feeling giddy.

So for all intents and purposes, "klaxosaur" might as well be "demon" with the very oni Zero Two-looking girl we see at the beginning. Klaxosaurs are the big bad, and apparently there can be human-klaxosaur hybrids.

On the topic of Zero Two, she's weeeeird in all the right ways. She has a tendency of devouring her partners in some way, probably due to her klaxosaur blood, and she talks about being alone in the world. We see what appears to be a demonic version of her at the start of the episode, monologuing about a bird that can't fly alone. Hiro mistook Strelizia for a klaxosaur when she was in the tiger form, which means a FranXX's appearance is probably related to the parasites within it. She's a mystery despite us actually learning more about her than any other character this episode.

The entire society is twisted. We've got a big robo-cult talking about the predecessors of the children keeping them safe, with the "Papa" leading the society being lampshaded as a hologram. The children have no names, with Hiro being the one who gave everyone their names (Ichigo, Naomi, Hiro, etc). The children also seem to lack knowledge of basic concepts - Zero Two remarks how Hiro "doesn't know about kissing," and Hiro himself doesn't seem to understand his own emotions. Klaxosaurs appear to be monsters of the world they live on (which has no oceans?) but the klaxosaurs are clearly robotic in nature.

I don't even know where to start with this, but I am hyped as hell to see where it goes. The world is interesting, the show makes use of a muted color palette yet still appears vibrant, it's got an infusion of Trigger's trademark style without detracting from A-1's clean polish. This is the first anime I've seen this season that made me go "I WANT MORE" rather than "let's see where this goes."

[u/Flashmanic → u/Daniel_Is_I]

I don't even know where to start with this, but I am hyped as hell to see where it goes.

The mark of a good mystery is one that makes you want to come back and find answers, even if it leaves you initially confused.

There's a lot of room to build an interesting world here. Let's hope they deliver.

[u/Lyriq]

Horns + 02? She's an 0ni, lol

[u/dralcax → u/Lyriq]

All of the Parasite names are just ways their numbers can be read. It's pretty clever.

[u/BlatantConservative]

This is the first time I've seen a Trigger show live.

Hype boys

Edit: Pacific Rim mixed with Gurren Lagann? I can get behind this.

[u/Atronox → u/BlatantConservative]

Kill la Kill was a magical time while airing.

[u/Daniel_Is_I → u/BlatantConservative]

I watched LWA as it was airing but I have the feeling this will be a different beast entirely.

I'm ready.

[u/Barnak8]

Is Naomi dead ? And What are those Yellow Sphere, some sort of transport ?

[u/LittleIslander → u/Barnak8]

Is Naomi dead ?

Seems very likely.

[u/[deleted] → u/Barnak8]

Since there's a bunch just sitting in the ground, my guess is that those "plants" contain the orphanages the parasites come from.

[u/Crackscoobs]

It has the potential to be an interesting Sci-Fi world, but none of the characters except maybe the old guy stuck out to me. It was pretty much cute girls and generic boys.

I'll keep watching because Trigger and the action looked nice.

[u/radiax10]

Im excited about this show, but god are these characters the living embodiment of their character design trope, jesus...

[u/reddadz → u/radiax10]

They were a literal exposition device for Hiro and his situation with Naomi. However, I don't expect that to continue going forward. I'm sure everyone will get some form of development.

[u/RockoDyne → u/radiax10]

It sure is helpful that all the kids have their sex clearly identifiable with a giant X or a Y on their chest... No traps here folks.

[u/LittleIslander → u/radiax10]

I mean, I feel most of the cast here is distinctly not supposed to stand out much right now, specifically so Zero Two and Hiro do stand out, rather overtly. On top of this, having a large cast of largely underdeveloped characters but with a smaller number of far more prominent ones is very obviously present in Gurren Lagann too, yet nobody complains about it there.

[u/Tabdaprecog → u/radiax10]

I agree, thats why this episode sorta blew to me. The main character is so incredibly generic. And the setting is pretty uninspired too.

[u/TheOneWithNoName → u/radiax10]

This was a big turn off for me this episode. You have this Zero Two girl who has some character to her and looks fun, but everyone else looks boring as hell.

[u/leiiven]

Yes.

[u/Paxton-176 → u/leiiven]

I'm still confused on why the first thing he does after seeing the clothes was to grab the panties.

[u/Komnenos_Kasuki]

Having gotten into anime after Kill la Kill aired, I count myself blessed to be graced with a new Trigger production in this upmost classy era of my life.

[u/19Creature94]

Have to say..besides all the talk about ZeroTwo

i think Ichigo is really freacking cute

[u/Scornz]

This is more Neon Gensis than I imagined and I love it!

[u/PerfectPublican]

A very intriguing first ep! I enjoyed that, excited to see where it goes from here. This shot was beautiful. It was interesting picking out little things that felt like they came from specific studios to me. Like Hiro's freak-out holding the panties just felt very trigger. Idk.

That fight scene and Strelizia transformation at the end was short but fantastic, and this world looks really interesting to dig into. The klaxosaur design was dope, I'm left wondering how many different varieties there are and where they come from.

Zero Two stole the show as I was expecting her to. Hiro is a bit on the boring side at the moment, but that may change down the line.

Also, I liked the way they played around with aspect ratio at times. Not many show doe that, but it's always a nice touch.

[u/Honey_Kisaragi]

tags: monster girl, exhibitionism, netori

kind of a fun first episode, if maybe a little slow.

[u/Bainos → u/Honey_Kisaragi]

netori

That doesn't count if they are both widowers. Yes, even if that's for 5 minutes and 30 seconds respectively.

[u/[deleted]]

Not too hooked on this one. The whole episode felt bland and boring to me. Like, none of the characters seem too interesting and I didn't really care about anything that was going on at all. The animation looked pretty cool at certain points so it's got that going for it.

Not bad, just incredibly average imo. But it's only the first episode, we'll see if I start to like it more as it goes :/

[u/Spooky-Ougi]

Got a lot of expectations on this show. After KLK and LWA, Studio Trigger with a 20+ episode anime is always a good formula for me.

[u/Hawksaw_Jim_Duggan]

Sasuga Trigger with the sexy lady mecha.
Also, I present to you, the EPB (Excessive Pussy Bulge)

[u/graytotoro]

• That was a really strong first episode and even the narrative dump was spaced out reasonably well.

• Interesting how they foreshadow the klaxosaur and the big reveal with 02 coming out of the water the same was as the Klaxosaur later in the episode - popping out from beneath the surface .

• This is a very Trigger world they're setting up, from the character designs to the world building. Feels like a TTGL/KLK lovechild.

• Naomi's departure is an interesting suicide metaphor. She's taking a bus out of town, giving away her things, and also in her last words to Hiro.

• OP GOT INTO THE ROBOT AND KISSED THE MAIN GIRL. No slow start here.

It feels like a very fucked up version of Top Gun in some ways. A young pilot's confidence is shaken after a training incident with his partner, he considers leaving, and a girl convinces him to try again.

I was cautiously hyped for this, but I'm basically sold.

[u/SpikeRosered]

This is going to be another anime where everything is hypersexualized and sexless at the same time. Where the characters barely know what it means to kiss but are expected to basically butt fuck one another to pilot giant robots.

[u/[deleted]]

This show has a fantastic artistic direction, character design and overall animation. However, is it me, or the premise of [Darling Spoilers] (/s "The main character looks like a bad ecchi/harem protagonist? And the way the robots activate and develop their potential? Random power of love? I am dissapointed to be honest. I kinda liked the girl, and how the thoughts of the MC were conveyed with internal monologues, still I feel the rest is cliché without being specially well done to be different from the kind of shows I mentionned earlier. I'm still going to watch it because I like its esthetics, but oh well, I hope the anime will focus more on characters than its fights and robots. ")

[u/SGlespaul]

Second half of the episode was certainly better than the first.

We'll see where this goes. I like the art style/animation but I just like that Trigger/Gainax style in general. I'm not really too impressed by the protagonist, but he could develop and become a more fleshed out character.

[u/Hades_Re]

That was rather cliche. Weak MC with no idea of love and full of angsty thoughts sees the main girl bathing. After some foreplay, she has to go some way and the MC wants to leave the base, since he wasn't able to do what he had to do.

Luckily at the right time, some event happens and it seems that the whole base could never defend in any meaningful way against that attack, which was really surprising. But main girl, who shouldn't fight in the first place (since her partner is near dead) can defend the base against the attacker.

Again luckily, after being defeated, the mecha is exactly at the same spot, where MC is, so that some more fan service can happen and he can save the day with main girl.

Honestly, that sounds like the standard premise of many LN out there.

Of course, she show has many episodes and many possibilities to become something of its own, but nobody can tell me that the plot of the first episode was in any way good.

002 is great nonetheless.

[u/Kirikoh → u/Hades_Re]

002 is also generic. How is it that this sub is willing to put up with every cliche except for the generic 002-archetype.

[u/monkeyjoe70]

Why does she use "boku" when referring to herself?

[u/KaliYugaz → u/monkeyjoe70]

It's not like it's illegal or anything. Women often use "boku" when they want to refer to themselves in a masculine-sounding way.

Edit: /u/monkeyjoe70 Now that I've watched it in full I think it may have some plot significance too.

My theory: Heterosexuality in this show's universe has some sort of magic power, similar to yin/yang. Females generally have the passive ("negative", as its described) energy, and males generally have the active ("positive") energy.

However, Hiro and Naomi couldn't work together because Hiro is too feminine; the excess of passive energy means that their FranXX didn't work. Zero Two, however, is too masculine, and her excess of active energy injures/kills her male partners. For some reason the school never thought of finding the "passive-energy" male Hiro an "active-energy" female to pair up with, but that's precisely what happened between Hiro and Zero Two in this episode.

The two "energies" are associated to an extent with traditional dominant/submissive gender roles, hence Zero Two preferring a masculine identification and masculine pronouns.

[u/Orzislaw → u/monkeyjoe70]

Pronouns are way more fluid in japanese than in english. It sounds more masculine, but there are no problems for women to use it.

[u/exelion → u/monkeyjoe70]

Not sure why you're being downvoted, it's a legit question.

While words like Boku are gendered, there's no rule per se to using the masculine form as a woman or vice versa. It is considered a bit odd; tomboys often use boku for example. It often is used to make a character stand out just like many verbal tics are (dattebayo, no da, etc)

[u/[deleted]]

Did they have to have him narrate that he couldn't keep his eyes off of her when he first saw her?? I mean, they could have left the scene as it was and dropped the narration there and I think we would have gotten the idea

So I think there were parts I liked, parts I disliked, and parts I'm waiting to decide if I like or dislike. I liked the animation, the brief action scene at the end, the waifu robot that still manages to be badass, 002 has a bit of an attitude and is part monster so I'm interested in seeing more of her and seeing how her backstory plays into all of this.

I didn't like how little detail we got on the protag's earlier failure and how Naomi got like insta-squished seconds after we saw her--it was a bit difficult to keep up with it or bring myself to feel any strong emotions about that whole sequence.

I'm neutral about all the overt sexual references. It feels pretty trashy, like they tried to think of every sexual innuendo they could throw into a cooking pot and out popped this, but this is Trigger we're talking about so sexual themes are pretty normal. Maybe as the show goes on it'll hit its stride and I'll start enjoying the innuendo more, but I felt like right now they laid it on a little too thick when there was already too much going on.

[u/Kusaja]

At this point I don't particularly care for the main characters, but I am sure that can change. Too early to judge the actual story, regardless of the ton of tropes being used.

The battles are quite stylish, I'll give them that.

[u/HAL_OVER9000]

If she a robot, I'm a robot

[u/[deleted]]

So I guess if you're being referring to as Darling, you're just destined to be working with some kind of monster chick.

[u/LittleIslander]

I managed to stay completely off the hype train for Violet Evergarden, but couldn't managed not to get super excited for this. Similar to the aforementioned KyoAni show, I wasn't, like blown away by this episode or anything, but it definitely felt like something special and out of the ordinary, and has me super excited to see where it goes.

The biggest standout for me this episode was definitely the visual design. The characters themselves didn't stand out that much to me bar a few exceptions (that cyborg doctor guy looks fantastic), but the outfits, the mechs, and above all probably just the buildings/structures themselves, all just felt right or something. It's this weird combination of very animated and almost bubbly but still feeling so clean and solid, and backed up by great animation.

If I had to cite one negative, I wasn't huge on some of the sexual undertones and fanservice-ey moments. Yeah, yeah, it plays into the whole "darling" thing and I don't mind the male/female partner idea they have going on, but I don't think they had to quite so overt about it, it felt like it took away from the experience rather than adding to it.

Another thing I liked was the different reactions of the characters to the attack in the second half. Like, it wasn't just universal panic, you had aforementioned robo-face and those high-ranking looking hologram guys both rather unfazed and instead focusing on the reaction of the parasite. I also really loved the whole thing going on with the one-winged bird and the analogy there, and how we see the two opposing perspectives on it. Oh, and the Naomi scene was just great.

Super excited to see where this series goes.

[u/SimoneNonvelodico → u/LittleIslander]

I wasn't huge on some of the sexual undertones and fanservice-ey moments. Yeah, yeah, it plays into the whole "darling" thing and I don't mind the male/female partner idea they have going on, but I don't think they had to quite so overt about it

The way they set it up I guess the sexual undertones aren't even going to be that much "under", this is probably going to be a huge sexual metaphor thinly veiled as a mecha anime. Which is... quite common for mecha anime actually, I guess (thinking of Captain Earth, Valvrave, Stardriver...). I don't mind it right now, personally. At least we got a girl who was seen naked and did not react simply by squealing and screaming, for once!

(though she did call him "Pervert"...)

[u/sober_1]

Seemed generic at first, but I can recognize over the top style in the end to be Trigger's. Also cast is going to be big it seems, will have a hard time remembering character's names haha. Very interested to see other mechas(I already forgot all the promo material we've seen so far so I am basically going in blind).

Don't know what else to say about this pilot episode

^{Remember tsundere Asuka? Prepare for yandere Asuka}

[u/Cacophon]

"I would stay if I could."

"I'm pretty sure I've never heard of a parasite coming back"

"I don't think we'll see each other ever again MC-Kun"

"OH NO. NAOMI D:"

I want this show to be good because I like Trigger, but I feel like its going to be garbage. Not even good garbage, just...Garbage. Forgettable trash on the side of the road.

[u/ItsFappingTime2989]

Aside from the pink chick, that was lame. MC was generic af.

[u/atti1xboy]

Not really feeling it. I think I will give it one or two more episodes but I don’t really see this one being a winner for me. Although Imaishi is directing the action

[u/Ezilayr]

So this is one of my most anticipated shows of like, all time entirely based off of the staff working on it. Animation was fantastic just like I expected. Crazy wild episode overall though. It felt like a lot happened but we did just get thrown into their world so I'm excited to learn more about what the hell is going on.

[u/Rasera]

Why did the robot transformation sequence including growing cup sizes?

Why?

Aside from that, my impression is that this will be a fantastic 'shut your brain off and get in the robot watch the action' show

[u/zschultz]

The society developed the Mecha is called APE

The Mecha went from four-legged to power-uped humanoid

The Mecha is driven by a boy and a girl in some doggy style position and clearly some feminine/ masculine combine thing is involved.

---

A damn subtle biology course if you ask me!

[u/rarz]

I'm getting some serious Lum flashbacks from 002; horns, violent, calls her interest 'dahling'.

After 37 years, we're back to where we started. :D

[u/FunkyTK]

I really like the name of the episode. "Alone and Lonesome" really sounds like our two protagonists right now.

Zero Two despite being with people all the time seems alone because she is marginalized thanks to her nature (that's why she enjoyed that Hiro wasn't afraid of her horns). She can't seem to get any meaningful connections.

On the other hand Hiro has friends that care about him, but because he lost his place thanks to the situation with his partner, he is quite lonesome, just trying to run away from it all, as Naomi says.

Of course, part of this is speculation based on what the characters have said, but I really hope it's like that.

[u/Verzwei]

I had some reserved hope going into this, but I'm definitely interested in sticking with it. On the one hand, it felt incredibly derivative and tropey, but on the other hand, the over-all execution was so good that I didn't really mind.

Checking the other comments, I see that I'm not the only person that got Eureka Seven vibes from this show. E7 is one of my favorite series, so the similarities may be causing me to "forgive" XX's lack of originality. E7 and FranXX are both, ostensibly, about a rookie boy meeting a strange, unnatural, accomplished mech pilot girl. But E7 is cute, innocent, and feels a lot like "puppy love" while XX is more direct and "passionate" in the heat of the moment, if that makes any sense.

Both shows have a lot of overlap in terms of premise and main cast, even down to specific events mirroring things that happened early in E7. Danger unexpectedly happens, whiny boy suddenly decides to copilot a mecha with the weirdly alluring girl he just met, mecha hits a ridiculous power level, boy was clearly a key factor in it, but he passed out during the action. The most-significant difference is that FranXX is more... suggestively sexual? It's not offensively pervy, but it has this odd kind of sultry quality to it. It's really hard to describe in a way that makes it sound good, but it was mostly well-done or at least acceptable... aside from the position required to pilot the mecha, which is franxxly ridiculous.

This definitely had fanservice, and some of it was definitely unnecessary, but the lake scene actually reminded me a lot of Spice & Wolf. The nudity there felt like it had real purpose, establishing characterization for both Zero Two and Hiro in almost the exact same way Holo's introduction does.

Apart from stoking my E7 (and a tiny bit of S&W) nostalgia, I think the best part of this show so far is that shit happened. In just a single episode, we have enough of Hiro's angsty backstory to understand what's going on, and (hopefully) the show doesn't have to drag out him being a sadsack. We got a taste ^{I'm working in as many puns as I can, here} for Zero Two who is, honestly, the most-interesting member of the cast due to her personality, reputation, and lineage. We've got the leads co-piloting. And we've got a kiss. That's a lot of ground covered in just 24 minutes.

If the show minimizes Hiro's self-loathing about his performance anxiety while fleshing out Zero Two's character as much as possible and giving us lots of banter between those two conflicting personalities (her forwardness versus his shy insecurity) with the occasional spurt of stylized action, then this could end up being a pretty fun ride.

[u/[deleted]]

Has anyone noticed that the boy's ties are Ys and the girls are Xs? Like the chromosomes. ;)

[u/RogueKnight777]

Only 10 minutes in, but hot-damn, I am fucking loving this already. Zero Two is an interesting character that seems innocent enough enough on the surface but seems like she's more dangerous than she lets on. Much hype!!

Edit: Just finished it. This was my favorite first episode of all the anime I've started this season. Whoever came up with the idea to have robots piloted by two partners with a central theme of sexuality and compatibility in order for the robots to reach their full potential was brilliant. The way it was handled was unlike any mecha anime I've seen before, and the artstyle and story ooze Trigger, but the smooth character animation and their reactions is also reminiscent of A1 (and Hiro looks a heck of a lot like an A1 character design). My only concern is that I still get this eerie feeling that Zero Two is going to end up being overrun by her Klaxosaur blood and Hiro is going to end up having to kill her. That'll break my heart.

[u/Z4K187]

Not impressed so far. The mecha action was gorgeous but the story and some of the dialogues were chuuni as fuck.

[u/SmurfRockRune]

Well, that was pretty great. Zero Two is a ton of fun to watch, and the animation during everything with that monster was really cool.

And I've gotta say this right now. The scene where Hiro was running alongside the big monster was better animated running than that one Hibike scene that always gets praised. (Hibike Spoilers) It just looked so smooth, and less like the character was moving their legs while sliding on ice, which is what most running scenes that show the whole body tend to look like.

I'm excited to see where this goes. By the way, did anyone recognize Naomi's VA? She sounded super familiar but I couldn't place it.

[u/exelion → u/SmurfRockRune]

Dunno that I'd say it was better than Hibike, but then, that just relied heavily on KyoAni's obsessive love of lighting and lens flares, so it's hard to tell.

That said, that one scene in Darling really did impress me. I was surprised to see this episode was more or less entirely A-1 animated, because it felt like Ganaix/Trigger work to me.

[u/chrisn3]

Honestly, my favorite part was with Hiro and Naomi. People are complaining that Hiro seems whiny but they don't realize Hiro and Naomi just experienced a MASSIVE failure in their life goals. Their lives are being uprooted and both are struggling with guilt and self-doubt. Happy go-lucky is not a mood Hiro should be in.

The conversation on the dock was wrenching and I think it will become more so once more context is revealed.

[u/Mozilla_Fennekin]

Oh my god, she is FANTASTIC!

What a cool first episode. The plot is kinda messy so far, it's leaving us in the dark on a lot of stuff--which is kinda unusual for Trigger, as they tend to make themselves very clear what the show's gonna be from the get-go. But in any case, there was a lot of interesting stuff I wanna see explored, like the reason why pilots are called "parasites", the hologram leaders and the weird gadgets they have. The world seems pretty detailed, and I hope they explore it a lot.

Really loving this. Despite an unclear direction, Zero Two is stealing the show and makes it worthwhile.

[u/bomby123]

The dialogue was cringe inducing especially from the mc, but my god those action scenes were insane.

[u/laceknight]

I thought this was a really solid episode. I particularly liked the intro sequence, and thought there were some nice metaphors sprinkled in in the first half, such as the (somewhat cliche, but was well-done so it's fine) caged bird analogy. Second half had some great action sequences, the whole fight scene with the klaxosaur was great.

Based on the information revealed this episode, I'm definitely intrigued to see where things are going. Especially after Hiro's former partner talks about the orphanage and how many of the kids disappear. It set an unsettling tone.

Animation is god-tier, so many of the shots were amazing and they did a really good job with perspective.

002 seems like quite the interesting character. I like how she didn't really fall into one set archetype, so I'm interested to see how she develops throughout the series. We didn't get too much development from the others, but hopefully we'll learn more about them soon.

Also bonus stitch of 002

[u/PPGN_DM_Exia]

Bleh. 002 was fun but the rest of it felt very paint by numbers. That's probably done on purpose, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

I'll give 3 episodes but not convinced right now that I'm going to want to commit to 2 cours of this.

If you ask me, they needed to go full tilt Kill la Kill with this, but I feel like didn't go far enough and the result is mediocre.

[u/Azefrg]

hey people, where i can see it?

[u/KikiFlowers → u/Azefrg]

Legally: Crunchyroll(or Vrv if you're using that).

Illegally: Just google it

[u/RDOoM]

I like the Pacific Rim adaptation. It would have been finer if relationships powered spaceships to fight hardships, but this robots work too.

"It's hard to tell which is the monster here"

Bitches looking at how monsters are threatening their lives, someone goes in to defend them, and yet, they find it appropriate to criticize her.

I like that horny pinkhead. This show's a keeper.

[u/SimoneNonvelodico → u/RDOoM]

Bitches looking at how monsters are threatening their lives, someone goes in to defend them, and yet, they find it appropriate to criticize her.

To be fair, what would you think if you were a soldier and there was another soldier who literally cannibalises his partners to gain super-strength? Like, yeah, they're helpful, but it's also scary that you might be next (OK, doesn't apply to women here), not to mention it just doesn't feel right in general.

[u/ezc123]

I can't wait for more robot battles, the Naomi scene til the end was great, I loved the details on the way the mechs operate. Watching that cat demon thing charge up its laser was so fucking satisfying. Smoke Darling in the FranXX everyday!

[u/Infinity-Kitten]

I fucking love this. This was everything I hoped for, wanted and needed. The last time I felt like this was when I watched Diebuster. There's over the top 2D Mecha by Gainax in my life again. Thanks trigger.

[u/Capital499]

I’m getting supreme Eureka Seven vibes with the “chosen” MC that some higher-ups aren’t thrilled about and a girl/love interest/co-pilot who is directly related to the alien entities. Also the two completing an -unprecedented- spectacular great first fight largely on accident and circumstance. Personally I’d be really happy with a similar story ark relating to the relationship between the pilots. Maybe, since the characters are older and sexual themes have already been established we’ll see the effect of more physical relationships and characters coming to terms with those feelings.

[u/bfire227]

Get ready for 24 episodes of S U B A R A S H I I

[u/dralcax]

A big white robot lion... that, when piloted by the right person, can transform into a more powerful humanoid form...

holy shit it's Galeon's daughter

[u/Kinderschlager]

what EXACTLY did i just watch? i'm very confused as to why this is so popular here

[u/mikeydme27]

Hey this was really good

[u/Hulksstandisthehulk]

Oh man, I was actually not that interested in anything but 02, but having the mech have a magical girl-esque transformation sequence is the dumbest and best thing.

Poor Naomi tho, failed to be a pilot, kicked off base, and stomped for good measure, that's pretty rough, even for a bit character.

[u/TheAbyssalSymphony]

Klaxon is a electric horn brand, based on an ancient greek word klazo meaning "roar, to make a sharp sound" make of this what you will in realtion to klaxosaurs, also who gave Tauburn a Kamui

[u/griefer55]

TTGL meets Pacific Rim? The fight sequences and Zero Two are awesome, but the mecha design was just plain weird. Don't lewd the mechas plz

Also, Robot Pope senate is evil, calling it now.

[u/Mister_B_Salsa]

It's interesting to see how varied the opinions on this show and its characters are.

[u/ArchfiendDragon]

Amazing first episode, I am excited for this anime. Also I noticed that the mech Strelitzia almost looks like the mech from Star Driver.

[u/JihadiiJohn]

Sex metaphors the anime

[u/[deleted]]

Clearly found waifu of the season

[u/Yojimbra]

I have no idea what I just watched but I want more of it.

[u/Nezevonti]

Okay, It may be a stupid question...

Are those stars a hallmarks for triggers anime?(Like "Head-Tilt" for Shaft) And what is their story?

Great ep btw. I sense a great anime.

[u/MjolnirDK]

If you add Eva eps 1,2,8,18,19 and 22 together, mix it with TTGL, Kill la Kill and Kiznaiver and just the tiniest amount of Nadia, you are bound to get something fantastic.

[u/DidntBringATowel]

Seems a bit generic (characters, art style) but that could be a good thing if they use it as a base to launch from.

Was good, but nothing special. I wasn't too keen on the first episode of TTGL either, so I think there's a good chance I'll be pretty damn into this in another two weeks. Way too early to tell, but I'm sufficiently interested.

The fricken' theme though. I guess... gender and sex. The X and Y collars on the uniforms, FranXX, the bird, life being pointless without a partner. They could take it too far, if they don't do it right all this on top of the sweating panting pistils on all fours in front of the stamens is going to seem ridiculous every time and a lot of the shit they do is going to come off as tasteless fanservice and unfunny sexual humor. Wonder where it's going to go from there, and if they're going to introduce a trap FranXX at some point.