Zero Two asks to assist them on Strelizia, but she is not allowed to sortie with Hiro, until Mitsuru, determined to prove he is a better pilot than Hiro, offers himself to pair up with Zero Two. However, the situation turns to the worst when they end up surrounded by a horde of Klaxosaurs and are forced to flee. Transcription: " Tatakau Ningyō" ( Japanese: 戦う人形)įollowing the mock battle, Hiro's fellow pilots are assigned to their first sortie, with the task of defeating a Klaxosaur under the city, but as they are about to leave, Ikuno and Mitsuru's connection falters, thus the pilots of Delphinum, Argenta, and Genista proceed without them. This breaks Hiro's confidence in himself and leaves Ichigo frustrated that she can't do anything to help Hiro. During the mock battle, Hiro is briefly able to connect with Ichigo and pilot Delphinium, but suddenly loses his connection with her and is unable to restart Delphinium. Zorome and Miku volunteer to be their opponents. Ichigo volunteers to partner with him in Delphinium. Meanwhile, the leadership of APE decide to further test Hiro's abilities and instruct him to participate in a mock Franxx battle, though he is forbidden from partnering with Zero Two or using Strelizia. Hiro's fellow pilots are also wary of Zero Two due to her reputation, especially Ichigo who is concerned about Hiro's safety. Transcription: " Tsunagaru to Iu Koto" ( Japanese: 繋がるということ)ĭespite being able to pilot Strelizia with Zero Two, Hiro has no memories of what happened in the cockpit, leading some of his fellow pilots to be skeptical about what really happened, since it is rumored Zero Two is capable of piloting a Franxx on her own.
Strelizia effortlessly defeats the Klaxosaur, and it is revealed that Zero Two is a human-Klaxosaur hybrid who has a reputation for killing her partners. Hiro volunteers to become Zero Two's partner and she kisses him in response, activating Strelizia's true form. Zero Two deploys in her Franxx, Strelizia, to fight it, but ends up getting injured and her partner is mortally wounded. As Hiro's classmates attend the welcoming ceremony to become official Franxx pilots, Hiro debates leaving the city when a Mohorovičić class Klaxosaur attacks. He encounters Zero Two by chance, who briefly flirts with him when he shows no fear of her horns. Hiro, meanwhile, is left depressed after failing his test to become a Franxx pilot and synchronize with his partner, Naomi. Franxx and Zero Two arrive in one such city to develop his latest Franxx. Klaxosaurs can only be fought by Franxx, giant robots that can only be operated by a male and female pilot working in unison. In the distant future, humanity is forced to reside in massive, mobile fortress cities due to fear of attack by giant monsters called Klaxosaurs. Transcription: " Hitori to Hitori" ( Japanese: 独りとヒトリ)
Aniplus Asia is simulcasting the series in South East Asia. Crunchyroll is simulcasting the series, while Funimation is streaming it with an English dub. The opening theme song, titled " Kiss of Death", is sung by Mika Nakashima and produced by Hyde, while the several ending themes, titled "Torikago" ( トリカゴ) (ep 1-6), "Manatsu no Setsuna" ( 真夏のセツナ) (ep 7), "Beautiful World" (ep 8-12, 14), "Hitori" ( ひとり) (ep 13), "Escape" (ep 16-20), and "Darling" (ep 21-23), are performed by XX:me (read as "Kiss Me"), a unit consisting of the series' main female casts- Haruka Tomatsu (Zero Two), Kana Ichinose (Ichigo), Nanami Yamashita (Miku), Saori Hayami (Kokoro), and Shizuka Ishigami (Ikuno). The story follows a squad of ten pilots, particularly focusing on the partnership between Hiro, a former prodigy, and Zero Two, a hybrid human and elite pilot who aspires to become entirely human. ĭarling in the Franxx is set in a dystopian future where children are artificially created and indoctrinated solely to defend the remnants of civilization. Service partner Funimation began the dubbed release of the series in February 2018. The streaming service Crunchyroll internationally simulcast the series, with Aniplus Asia simulcasting the series in Southeast Asia. It was directed by Atsushi Nishigori, with Nishigori and Naotaka Hayashi handling series composition, Masayoshi Tanaka providing the character designs, Shigeto Koyama acting as mechanical designer, Hiroyuki Imaishi serving as action animation director and Asami Tachibana composing the music. Tokyo MX, GYT, GTV, BS11, ABC, Mētele, HOME, BSS, BBC, AT-X ĭarling in the Franxx ( Japanese: ダーリン・イン・ザ・フランキス, Hepburn: Dārin In Za Furankisu) is a 24-episode anime series co-produced by Trigger, A-1 Pictures, and CloverWorks.