(L+CR) Darling in the Franxx

[Dengar]

Originally Posted by Solace

Just a thought, but perhaps this conversation would be more pleasant without the passive aggressive sniping at each other.

Just a thought.

You're not wrong. I am sorry, I lose control of my emotions easily with sensitive subject matter. But I really do not believe I was the only one in the wrong here, and I will only apologize for the passive aggressive stuff.

I will not apologize for defending myself when people accuse me of hating people I don't. I also won't apologize for pointing out the double standards when it comes to calling out people's responsibilities.

While I do not hate Hiro for doing what he did, he is in love after all, and I can only applause a person for fighting for what he wants. I don't even think that 02 'got off easy'. That state she was in was pretty horrible. I do think that giving us the resolution only a single episode after this all started, makes this arc but a shadow of what it could have been. They could have had a few episodes where 02 loses her humanity more slowly as she visibly chews through stamen after stamen while actually showing us that she hates herself for it. Then have things play out the way they did. That would have made for a much more powerful redemption arc.

That being said, I hope 02 learned from this ordeal because if she does not become a better person after all this then the arc really was pointless.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Applehell

Sure, but in ep 14 he wasn't running away from her and understood after regaining his memories that they needed to talk and took action towards. The slight hesitation came after witnessing 02 injuring his friends in her more monstrous form. It's not I would hold against him and he was gonna accept her much more readily before that.

You might not hold it against him but the show does. The point the show is trying to make is that if he loves her, he has to face the fact that she is indeed a "monster." She's not human and never will. What the show is asking Hiro is whether he can accept that and still love her. Hiro didn't have an answer to that until this episode. Before this episode he was trying to deny the fact that she's not human. He was trying run away from that fact. And 02 was running away too.

02 wanted to be human but that was wrong. It was an impossible dream and chasing after it would only cause her pain. She had to accept that she's not human but she couldn't do that alone. She needed someone that would love her despite not being human. That's what it took her to accept herself.

That's why the robot takes a red color, symbolizing that 02 has accepted (or is close to accept) the fact that she's not human and that's just fine. This isn't an arc about redemption. It's an arc about accepting oneself.

[EroKing]

So now a good question for the next episode would be, where are they gonna shower with the Plantations destroyed?

[Haak]

Originally Posted by EroKing

So now a good question for the next episode would be, where are they gonna shower with the Plantations destroyed?

In the lake like an Oni.

[Sinestra]

Cool interesting episode and yeah its great that Hiro and Zero Two were finally able to get back to that connection they shared when they first met, and Hiro stopped being passive aggressive. However, they wasted 15 episodes on this when it could have been resolved sooner. We still know very little about the world at large, what are the adults trying accomplish, why society is the way it is, why do only children fight, what were those yellow things that were being released, why dont the children grow up (surely not all of them die in battle) where did the Klaxx come from (are they natural or were they created) The problem is not the series itself its the writers and their inability to pace the series effectively

[Sakuratsuki]

Well there is plenty of space and time to answer all those questions. It's not like they only have 15 episodes to work with.

[KPSJ]

Do we have anyone that can translate Japanese?

https://www.animatetimes.com/news/de...?id=1524405262

This is a interview that recently came out.

[Cosmic Eagle]

――あのオトナとゾロメがどういう関係なのかも気になりましたけど、今はまだあまり言えることはないですか ね？

若林：そうですね、オトナとは何なのか、プランテーションに秘められた謎とは、ぜひ第16話以降の展開を楽 しみにしてもらえればと思います。

――では最後に、第16話以降の見どころを教えてください。

若林：第15話で大きな戦いが終わり、半壊したプランテーションを舞台に残された13部隊のコドモたちやゼ ロツーがどう生きていくのか。これまでトリカゴの中の世界で生きてきたコドモ達が次から外の世界に触れるこ とになり、また作品のトーンもこれまでと少し変わります。そして、もちろんエンディングの楽曲も変わります ！第三部の開幕をぜひ楽しみにして頂ければと思います。

Finally moving on with the main plot next ep it seems, now that 02 is kind of settled with. Kids leaving the Birdcage to see the outside world for what it is next arc.

――本日は第7話以降のお話を聞いていくのですが、そこからここまでずっと種を撒いてきたものが、第13話 あたりで一気に花開いた感じというか。ただその伏線部分も、SNSによってそれぞれの知識や考察が共有・拡 散されていくところが、昔と違うなと感じました。

若林：反応が速いですよね。今は放送直後からみなさんネット上でも意見をぶつけ合ったり、独自の考察をされ ていたりと、そういった反応をどんな内容であれ頂けるのはスタッフも嬉しいと思います。更に昔と違って海外 からの反応も多く、言語は違えども、思い思いの考察してくれているんだなって。そういった感想をダイレクト に見られるというのは、今の時代らしい面白さだと感じてます。

Staff being overwhelmed and delighted with the various rapid and direct responses on SNS, both from JP and overseas viewers

――オリジナル作品、しかもSFものを作るというのは、そのくらい細かく詰めておかないといけないんですね 。

若林：ロボットをデザインするとして、たとえば「カッコいいロボット」と言っても、その「カッコいい」とい うのものが監督の原体験におけるどこの部分を指しているのか、みたいな部分を引き出していく必要があるんで す。

コヤマさんのインタビューでも触れている通り、そういったやりとりの中で今石さんが「錦織はロボットよりア イドル(かわいい女の子)のほうが好きなんじゃない？」と指摘したところから女性型ロボットの方向に大きく シフトしていった。そこからコヤマさんが他のモチーフや設定を絡ませつつデザインを組み上げていく。錦織監 督も最初は表情豊かな女性型のロボットになるなんて、まったく思っていなかったんですよね。そういった部分 もオリジナル作品作りの面白さだと思ってます。

Apparently, after Imaishi remarked that Nishigori prefers cute idol girls over robots, they shifted the design of the Franxx to the current feminine designs. Koyama then added other motiffs to finish the designs. Nishigori totally did not expect this result lol

――いろいろな伏線とか含みのあるセリフもありましたけど、基本的には第7～8話はホッとする回でした。第 ９話『トライアングル・ボム』ですが、ゴローがイチゴに助けられる回ですね。

若林：めずらしくゴローのモノローグから始まる回。この話数はスタッフがイチゴとゴローに強い思い入れを持 って描いてくれたので、この話をきっかけに特にゴローの株がだいぶ上がった印象があります。ここまでイチゴ のヒロに対する想いが伝わらない中、ゴローが影でイチゴのことを支えてくれていたことや、ゴローのイチゴに 対する想いを知ることになる。お話の流れとしてはゴローがイチゴに助けられる話ではあるんですが、感情の流 れとしてはイチゴがゴローに助けられる話になっています。

As is evident, ep 9 shows how Ichigo's role is reversed and she is now supported by Goro instead of the other way round when they were younger. The staff put extra feeling into writing Ichigo and Goro for this ep and the result was Goro's surging popularity

――それがこういう感じで、ゴローとイチゴの話になるとはっていう感じですね。最後、ゴローはイチゴに告白 しますけど、やっぱりイチゴはヒロが好きだと……。

若林：この時点ではヒロに対しての想いの方が大きいですね。そんなイチゴの気持ちをわかっていながら想いを 伝えるゴローの一途さが彼の魅力なんですよね

Kawabayashi considers Goro's earnestness in his confession to ichigo despite knowing her feelings for Hiro one of his charms.

――第12話『ガーデン／始まりの庭』。ここはずっと匂わせていたゼロツーの暴走というか、竜化が進行して いくお話ですね。

若林：そうですね。他にはゼロツーが過去に所属していたAPE直属親衛隊 9'sの登場回にもなりました。第７話以降、各話完結に近い構成となっていましたが、第12話から第15話 まではひとつの連作のような流れになっています。第12話は子供達が幼少期に育ったガーデンやラボを舞台に 、その頃のことを思い出しながら物語が進んでいきます。それと同時にゼロツーも心の中に押しとどめていた感 情が溢れ出してきてしまう。

これまでの話数で徐々にチームワークが出来上がりつつあった13部隊ですが、竜化が進む焦りから、独断で戦いはじめるゼロツーはヒロや仲間の制止を遮ってニンゲンになるため、一体でも 多くの叫竜を倒すため戦い続ける姿がもどかしくも切ない回となりました。

That bit seems to confirm that 02's berserk rages in battle are driven by her desperation to avoid her dino transformation as opposed to being purely something physiological that she cannot control. (This also is supported by how she regains control of herself when she finally overcomes her fear of rejection in ep 15. Seems like she'll fare much better if she just goes along with her nature rather than running from it)

――もう誰も止められなくなっていましたからね。

若林：それまでは少しクールで、ときに小悪魔的で、コドモ達をひとつ上からの目線で見てきたゼロツーが、逆 にヒロたちが心配してしまうくらい焦り、感情を露わにする。湖畔でのヒロの告白シーンも、ゼロツーは「キス 以外のことを教えてあげようか」と、ヒロを押し倒すんですけど、セリフとは裏腹なその余裕のなさが見ていて 苦しくなってしまう。

で、最終的には思念体となったゼロツーに触れたれたことで、失っていたヒロの過去の記憶がフラッシュバック し、第13話につながっていく。

The 02-on-Hiro assault scene was meant to contrast with all the earlier times she did something similar in more benign contexts

[KPSJ]

Thank you Eagles for the translation... so goro is a staff favorite and looks like its set in stone he will get ichigo 2nd half. And we are getting world building finally

[Applehell]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

You might not hold it against him but the show does. The point the show is trying to make is that if he loves her, he has to face the fact that she is indeed a "monster." She's not human and never will. What the show is asking Hiro is whether he can accept that and still love her. Hiro didn't have an answer to that until this episode. Before this episode he was trying to deny the fact that she's not human. He was trying run away from that fact. And 02 was running away too.

02 wanted to be human but that was wrong. It was an impossible dream and chasing after it would only cause her pain. She had to accept that she's not human but she couldn't do that alone. She needed someone that would love her despite not being human. That's what it took her to accept herself.

That's why the robot takes a red color, symbolizing that 02 has accepted (or is close to accept) the fact that she's not human and that's just fine. This isn't an arc about redemption. It's an arc about accepting oneself.

Like I said, I get 02's angle in all this, but if this was supposed to be the case for Hiro than just another example of show's poor writing in this aspect imo. Hiro at least as far all the episodes haven shown past 6 he had accept that 02 wasn't human. This not first time he's hesitated, but after ep 13 where he recovered his past memories from a time where he created a bond with even less human-ike 02 he had whole accept her when witnessed her situation and saw her for what she was. In fact very first thing he wants to do when he woke in episode 14 is find her and reconnect. This is after she nearly killed him and called him fodder. Even the fact his body was changing into something wasn't human or literal beast claws marks all over her room didn't faze him.

The only thing made him fear her was when she looked was going she about to kill his friends which he just happened to conveniently walk in on. However the term monster is nebulous one that can apply to humans as well and 02 is clearly someone sentiment, capable of reasoning and emotions. She also partly human and far just a beast. What she did near the end of ep 14 wouldn't have looked any better had she been purely human. I know what the show was trying to go for here, but it already messed up it's foundation by making Hiro already so accepting of her to point despite his life being in danger several times willing choose not to care and revealing their shared backstory at the time they did.

As a result the slight hesitation in ep 15 felt artificially induced and only served to ping-pong his character to in end in a catharsis that doesn't feel whole earned due it being tainted. I think I would have liked this episode a lot better had 14 not existed or another had been slotted in-between to make separation feel meaningful and give cause for all the characters involved to reflect build towards this resolution. Even Ichigo being such a prominent figure in all of this and the most at stake felt she turned too easily without the necessary groundwork laid to change her mind. I mean we know Hiro and 02 are going to make up and get back together, that's fine and most presumed anime couples got through things like this. But as they say the devil is in the details and when they don't hold up not convincing or compelling imo. All this just makes it hard for me to get emotionally and intellectually earnestly invested in DIF's drama becasue it constantly undercuts itself.

At least it bigger background plot is starting to go somewhere however many episodes it took to get there and remains most consistently interesting aspect of the show.

[Funkatron]

Designations for the 9s

Images

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According to Wikia page (which I'm assuming got their data from the credits) Voice by:

Alpha: Soma Saito
Beta: Toshiki Masuda
Gamma: Takuya Eguchi
Delta: Ayane Sakura
Epsilon: Atsushi Tamaru
The triplets didn't have speaking roles, but everyone else did, so by process of elimination, they have to be zeta, eta and theta, which is really fitting.

From what we saw, a Triplet rides Alpha, and Delta rides Epsilon, so Gamma and Beta get ridden by the other two Triplets

[Twi]

Yeah, I'm with Applehell for the most part. I think's it's less her appearance being a monster but her behavior and lack of empathy. But if they were going to just have them make up, then what was the point of having the last episode end how it did? I mean, we could have gone without the entire second half of drama and just have her being kept away from Hiro until they arrived to the Grand Crevasse and then have the start of Episode 15 being the second half with his decision to go to her after seeing the repaired mirror acting as the end credits.

[stray]

Originally Posted by Applehell

Like I said, I get 02's angle in all this, but if this was supposed to be the case for Hiro than just another example of show's poor writing in this aspect imo.

My Japanese isn't that great but I can tell you that literal monster vs. figurative "monster" plays pretty much the same in Japanese as it would in English.

At no point does Hiro really give a crap that 02 is a literal monster; he does however think 02 may be playing him and could be as horrible of a person (entity?) as everyone makes her out to be.

[Kazu-kun]

When it comes to 02, the line between literal monster and figurative monster is blurred, specially from Hiro's point of view. He was afraid of her and hesitated despite his feelings.

This episode is about Hiro saying to himself "fuck it, I don't care if she's a monster, I love her all the same." And it's about 02 saying to herself "fuck it, I don't care if I'm a monster, Hiro loves me all the same so I will accept myself the way I am."

It was a pretty good episode.

[ZGoten]

I loved this episode. I think now that the 02-Hiro thing is mostly settled, we can finally start to delve into the mysteries of the setting.

[Ray]

I really, really love this show. The mech designs, 02 x Hiro, the entirety of the supporting cast, and just the overall aesthetic, really.

Episode 15 was fantastic and made me really happy! I'm really excited to see the direction in which the story will be taken in now. I just hope Squad 13 (namely Hiro and 02) will get a happy ending. Which.. might be asking for a lot, but hey! I can sure hope.

[Marcus H.]

To those who think that the story has been "wasteful" in showing what it wanted to show, which episodes do you think could have been pruned to make room for the actual focus of the story?

[HtwoN]

This show isn't plot-driven. It's character-driven.

If you don't like any character, it's your subjective opinion. Don't fault the writer for that.

[Kazu-kun]

It's not like the character work was flawless though. It actually was generally mediocre with only a few interesting moments like the whole dynamic between Kokoro and Mitsuru, and these latest episodes with 02 and Hiro.

[Blueknight78]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

It's not like the character work was flawless though. It actually was generally mediocre with only a few interesting moments like the whole dynamic between Kokoro and Mitsuru, and these latest episodes with 02 and Hiro.

i don't it was really like that, only 3 characters we don't have any real "deep aproach" so far which was fatso and the "brat/tsundere couple", hiro, zero two, specially goro, kokoro and even ichigo while somehow they are "generic" i really liked they role so far and was good, the drama while it was your "generic annoying" romance drama it was not that "terrible" it was good and was a good aproach of real life relationship problem specially hiro and zero 2 which where almost the way to show the "steps of relationship, like when your first meet and everything is "love" then as you learn more about the other things get complicated, the first fight and all that problem, for me they really did a good job in take the aproach here on that things and not just the "generic romance love triangle" you actually get some "real relationship steps" here what was good