English Dub Review: Darling in the FranXX “The Beast and The Prince”

Hiro and 02 relive their repressed childhoods in a fascinating episode of Darling in the FranXX.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Hiro has questions. Lots of them. But being cooped up in the Garden every waking moment, surrounded by armed guards and emotionless test subjects, he never finds the answers he seeks. That changes when he encounters a mysterious child being experimented on by Papa. She has bright red skin, pointy teeth, and two horns atop her head.

Acting on his curiosity and desire to help, Hiro finds a way to break 02 out of her room. Together, they escape into the surrounding forest. What follows is a series of cute bonding moments (okay, maybe that blood-licking can’t exactly be called ‘cute’). But unfortunately, even a determined young human and fierce little monster are no match for Papa’s patrol. Once recaptured, they have their memories wiped, erasing Hiro’s promise to Matsuru – and his time spent with 02.

Our Take:

This week brought on the backstory I had expected last week! And what a story it was – part fairytale, part flashback, and all of it very interesting. The mirrored parallels between Hiro and 02’s experiences definitely enforce the connection between them and make us root for the two of them to salvage whatever relationship they may be able to have in the present day. The voiceover from their present selves helps the episode feel less like a one-off side quest and more like a vital part of the whole that will shape things going forward. It was nice to see Hiro and Ichigo’s first interaction, where he helps her feel less alone by granting her a unique name. Also, tiny monster 02 is sooo adorable, right?

While Hiro asks most of the questions this episode, I am left with a few myself. Apparently, he knows all about the institution of marriage? I continue to be baffled by what the show wants us to believe about the Parasites and their knowledge of romance. They have no idea about kissing, love, or sex, but for some reason, the overseers at the Garden let Hiro read books about marriage?

The dub came through this week. In an episode filled with voiceover,  Tia Ballard and Matt Shipman do an excellent job with their performances featuring enough emotion to accurately convey their feelings about their traumatic upbringings. Also, big props to whoever they brought in to do their younger voices! (Especially mini 02 and her monster noises… OMG!)

Darlifra starts its second half off strong with a unique episode that gives us the fairytale-like first meeting of Hiro and 02. Not only do we learn more about what their lives were like growing up as test subjects for Papa to play with, but we get to see that they were both ADORABLE little tykes. After this episode, I’m definitely feeling more sympathy towards both their characters, and I’m looking forward to the aftermath now that their memories have seemingly been restored.