Darling in the FranXX – Ep. 11

Been a while since I last saw and blogged about Darling in the FranXX. I’m on vacation right now so let’s play some catch up.

• It’s a Mitsuru focused episode which had me skeptical at first because I’ve never really liked the guy. Overall, I’d say this was alright.
• Apparently, Mitsuru’s inferiority complex and stoic demeanor is due to Hiro having seemingly forgotten a promise the two made when they were kids. Seems kind of petty to hold onto after all these years but it’s a decent justification.
• I have to admit that the chemistry between Mitsuru and Kokoro is the best part about them. Kokoro’s gentleness plays off of Mitsuru’s insecurities really damn well. Having those two together makes so much more sense and perhaps Kokoro knew that she’s really the only one who could help Mitsuru when she proposed the shuffle.
• That said, I love how Kokoro emphasizes with Mitsuru feeling betrayed by Hiro by bringing up her betraying Futoshi, which canonically is like a couple hours ago. I don’t know, it seems awfully deliberate on the writers’ part to have Kokoro very conveniently pull a switcheroo so that this scene could even happen.
• I get that Futoshi feels like some upset and desperate ex but I ended up liking him a lot less. Darling might have pushed him clinging onto Kokoro a little too much, almost to the point that it’s a little creepy at times.
• Of course Zorome would tell Futoshi to lose some weight. This anime just had to push the whole fat thing, huh? Zorome is a rude piece of shit.
• Kokoro’s cradling that stuffed baby was an admittedly subtle means to bring up that childbirth book again. It seems like she’s more interested in just raising a family of her own which is a little refreshing from this show’s usual “gotta fuck to power the robots” shtick.
• I don’t know if I’d call Kokoro the most original character ever but she is one of the few cast members I can actually say I like.
• Surprisingly, vague anime cold is given a name in Darling.
• A big shame that same-sex piloting doesn’t work. That alone could’ve raised some really interesting questions but instead Darling pulls it once to shut us up about asking it again. Come on, at least do it for the shipping opportunities.
• So the girls can pilot the FranXX into a rogue, animalistic “Stampede” mode. I was wondering what that was whenever Zero Two was fighting solo. That said, I can’t help but feel that it’s potentially sexist to have the girls be the ones who activate this uncontrollable and emotionally unstable mode. Good job, Trigger and A-1!
• It wasn’t overtly stated but Zero Two seemed awfully aggressive this episode, sometimes requiring Hiro to intervene a lot. Methinks something is going on here.

Thanks for reading!

Darling in the FranXX is officially available on Crunchyroll & Funimation.

For more Darling in the FranXX posts, check out the show’s archive page!

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