English Dub Review: Darling in the FranXX “Darling in the FranXX”

The members of Squad 13 are invited to surrender themselves to the pleasures of merging with VIRM in an explosive lead-up to the finale.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The final battle against VIRM has commenced, and the Parasites boldly go where no Parasite has gone before in order to rescue 02. Not all the Parasites, though. While the rest of the gang speeds into space, Kokoro stays behind to watch over 02’s body. And Mitsuru stays behind to watch over Kokoro.

The battle tests everyone’s courage and resolve, but in the end, 02 and Hiro decide to enter the space portal to chase after VIRM and put a stop to them for good.

Our Take:

Whenever a show blasts itself into space, you know things have gotten serious. Darling in the FranXX is no exception, delivering an episode packed full of emotions and explosions big enough to encompass an entire galaxy. The episode itself, which is creatively titled ‘Darling in the FranXX’, holds together pretty well for the most part, incorporating some real human drama amidst the bombastic battle scenes.

The conflict of the episode is ostensibly about Squad 13’s battle with the VIRM, but we still only have the weakest of reasonings for their struggle. The extraterrestrials offer the Parasites a chance for eternal peace and tranquility. But the squad has learned that life without struggling is meaningless. (I’m not entirely on-board with this trope, but we’ll leave that aside.) The fight sequence on its own is fine, but definitely does not reach the top tier of visuals this series has shown itself capable of pulling off in previous episodes. The sequence is certainly colorful, but the flashy colors can’t overcome the static battle ground backgrounds that have laser fire overlayed on them in a blantantly obvious fashion. When it doesn’t even manage to look like the laser beams are aiming at anything, that’s a problem. (I also do wish we got a bit more time spent on showing the Parasite’s initial ascent into space. It’s funny how quickly they brush over it.)

The entire team camaraderie is on full display for the final mission. Whether it’s Ichigo and Goro sharing a last laugh with Hiro, or Mitsuru and Kokoro rekindling their relationship. These close connections shared by the cast make for solid character drama, but Darling lost me when it tried to make the leader of the Nines death feel like it meant something. How did Hiro and Squad 13 help him learn more about being human? I’m not entirely sure and neither is the show, considering it has shown us basically nothing good about him up until now.

Back on the ground, Kokoro has given up on her life having meaning thanks to her pregnancy leaving her ostensibly unable to pilot a FranXX. Mitsuru decides to stay with her, seemingly feeling responsible for and wanting to protect her. It’s up for debate how much these two remember their former lives, but what is clear is that APE was awful at their job keeping them separated. I was interested to see how Kokoro and 02 interact alone, and I think I would’ve liked seeing more of their everyday interactions in the series prior.

When it’s all said and done, Darling in the FranXX is an episode that solidly builds up the tension and mystery to keep viewers engaged through to the finale in a week or two. While some scenes didn’t quite work (like the janky laser beam backgrounds), there were enough magical moments to offset them (like 02’s mystical transformation into a giant woman accompanied by an uplifting musical arrangement). Darling in the FranXX can’t quite make it into space, but it easily clear the atmospheric barrier.