In the distant future, gigantic creatures known as Klaxosaurs have driven humanity to the brink of extinction, driving the survivors to seek safety in enormous fortress cities known as Plantations. The only weapons known to be effective against the Klaxosaurs are the enormous mechas known as FranXX, which the children reared here are taught to control in boy-girl couples. However, when the romance between Hiro and Zero Two begins to take root, fate begins to take unexpected turns. What implications does it have for The Beauty and her Prince, as well as what does it mean for the other kids?
Plot:
Hiro, an aspiring FranXX pilot, has lost his motivation and self-confidence after failing an aptitude test. Skipping out on his class’ graduation ceremony, Hiro retreats to a forest lake, where he encounters a mysterious girl with two horns growing out of her head. She introduces herself by her codename Zero Two, which is known to belong to an infamous FranXX pilot known as the “Partner Killer.” Before Hiro can digest the encounter, the Plantation is rocked by a sudden Klaxosaur attack. Zero Two engages the creature in her FranXX, but it is heavily damaged in the skirmish and crashes near Hiro. Finding her partner dead, Zero Two invites Hiro to pilot the mecha with her, and the duo easily defeats the Klaxosaur in the ensuing fight. With a new partner by his side, Hiro has been given a chance at redemption for his past failures, but at what cost?
What’s To Like?
- Story: It’s a beautiful narrative of how the young parasites overcame their old soviet liberal system because everyone realized that the ancient ways are still valid and that we should never give up our freedoms and humanity to play the role of God.
- Characters: Although having ten major characters would seem like a formula for disaster, each character has a little story of their own. All of them serve a role in the narrative, and none of them feel forced.
- Character Development: The most vital point of the show. It captures the essence of being a teenager; love and heartbreak, the awkwardness around sex, and teen romance.
- Animation: Although Trigger and A-1 Pictures are known for their fluid animation, there is a slight degradation when Trigger stops animating it in the third quarter. All characters are neatly created and have realistic proportions; there are no odd frames or odd motion.
What’s Not To Like?
Untied Ends: In one of the most confusing sections of the series, many strange events occur, including why Papa conquered the world and what its true nature is, why adults are immortal, why parasites never reach adulthood, what happens when the parasites don’t die, what happened to real klaxosaurs, and Ikuno’s eventual confession to her beloved Ichigo. Without a doubt, these sections caused a tremendous amount of backlash (which was somewhat fair), and if they had been written correctly and with greater clarity, I’m confident that this series would have fallen on the far side of the anime Heaven.
Conclusion:
I really liked this anime because it was about a group of young people trying to figure out why things are the way they are and why they have to suffer while also getting to know one another and acting as our human nature dictates. But the fear, trembling, and the episodes’ confusing portions did not cause anxiety that dominated the latter half of the episode; instead, they were caused by the fact that the very ordinary things we do on a daily basis are in grave danger of being destroyed by an elite group whose only goal is to end life as we know it as we know it.