Darling Has A Franxx

I wanted to call this post “Darling in the Bronx”, but I couldn’t justify it. :-p So let’s talk about Darling and 02. We all know that Darling just wants 02 for her Franxx, and I’m pretty sure she just wants his. 😉

Ok, so I’m not typically one to toss a lot of innuendo into my writing, but you have to admit that was funny. And that’s kind of the point. Innuendo is supposed to be funny.

Except in Darling in the Franxx. Darling is practically nothing but innuendo: From the (admittedly creative) positions that the parasites take inside the Franxx, to the suggestive noises and commentary they make in and about their Franxx experiences, to the whole drama about swapping “partners”, to buildings “kissing” (yes, they call it “kissing”), practically everything is a reference to sex or something closely related to sex in some way. In a recent post I called it “Mecha as Sexual Metaphors: The Series”, and I stand by that.

“Reference” is actually not strong enough. This is hit-you-over-the-head, rub-it-in-your-face stuff, so you can’t possibly miss its significance, even if you were a virgin raised by Jedi. And yet, somehow, it’s not funny. What’s the point of sexual innuendo if it isn’t funny?

This is just symptomatic of the larger fundamental problem with Darling: It takes itself WAY too seriously. Which, in a sense, is entertaining in itself. If I may speak Franxxly, I do enjoy watching Darling. I don’t enjoy the show itself, but I enjoy watching it, in a MST3K sort of way. “Surely, they’ll avoid that cliche… oops, they did it again.” For all of its Freudian undertones (overtones? over-and-undertones?), the pleasure of watching Darling is not the height of great sex: it’s picking a scab and alternately feeling pain and relief. For thirty minutes. Every week. The entertainment comes not from Freud, but schadenfreude.

Now, I don’t want to critique Darling unfairly, and so let’s acknowledge its strengths. Of all the elements of a story, perhaps the most important is the plot. Darling has one. Yes, it has a plot. Credit where credit is due. It’s not a particularly interesting plot, but it is, technically, a plot. Have an Emmy.

Aw, do I have to say more about the plot? It’s basically “boy meets girl, mean people separate them, they meet again, mean people separate them, etc.” Rinse, lather, repeat. You’d think such a sexy show as this would at least know how to climax.

What about characters? Well, again, technically Darling has one. One character in its entire cast. 02 isn’t even as interesting as, say, Asuna,* but she comes off as fascinating because everyone around her has all the personality of a charismatic pile of sand. Kids and adults alike are one-dimensional, acting on the most tenuous and cliched of reasons (assuming they have reasons, which is not something I would bet my beer on 100% of the time). I’m all for cliches at the proper time, but Darling uses them all the time.

Even the fanservice is disappointing, if you’re into that sort of thing. I’m not, as it tends towards objectifying women, which I don’t condone. Nonetheless, if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it wholeheartedly. Darling has one nude swimming scene in the first episode, and… tight female uniforms, I guess? Anime isn’t lacking in fanservice: If you want the tight uniforms (and a plot), check out the new Star Blazers 2199; if you want lots of skimpy outfits, watch Fairy Tale;** if you want the outfits to disappear entirely… well, you probably already know where to find that better than I do.

I’ve read Freud, and honestly, he reads a lot like Darling: He takes the most interesting stuff and presents it in the most flat and uninteresting way possible. So they’re a pair well-suited to each other. Yet in the end, just as it’s possible to fall in love with someone who isn’t a model, so it’s possible to enjoy a series that isn’t great. Sometimes a Franxx is just a Franxx.

So let’s show mediocre anime some love. If you want to watch something that has what Darling is missing, but without watching a quality series, here’s a little something just for you:

Anime          Plot    Characters    Mecha    Fanservice   Innuendo

Phantasy         X                                            X
 Star Online
God Eater        X
Is it wrong to   X         X                     X
 pick up girls in the dungeon?
Knight's & Magic                       X

Peace out!

NOTES

* In the GGO story arc. What’s that you say? She wasn’t all that interesting in that arc? Yes, I know.

** Fairy Tale: A series full of entertaining plot twists and unique and memorable characters. Even if it is just a re-write of Rave Master, to the point that it even includes some of the same characters.