Neon Genesis Evangelionhas inspired no shortage of imitators, but few are more deserving of the title of its true successor thanDarling in the Franxx. With the latter just celebrating its seventh birthday, it’s a perfect time to remember it and give it a watch. LikeNeon Genesis Evangelion,Darling in the Franxxis a series made to be argued with; the more issue one takes with it, the more its questions embed themselves.
In other words, both series exist to get inside viewers' heads. There are countless surface-level similarities betweenNeon Genesis EvangelionandDarling in the Franxx, andthere are even legitimate reasons to have pause about the latter. In spite of all that,Darling in the Franxxis a wonderful effort that still commands (and demands) viewers' attention today.Darling in the Franxxhas spawned its own anime progeny, and its influence is crucial to understand.
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In January 2018,Darling in the Franxxpremiered. The series wasa collaborative effort of multiple big-name studios—A-1 Pictures (Black Butler,Your Lie in April), Studio Trigger (Gurren Laggan,Kill la Kill), and CloverWorks (Spy x Family,My Dress-Up Darling)—and would spawn a manga based on the original animation. From the get-go,Darlingin the Franxxwas divisive, at times facing accusations of derivation. Although it’s a beautiful masterclass in animation, it never quite attained the level of serious interpretive energy a series likeEvacould secure.
Darling in the Franxxcenters around children who are separated from adult society in a world where immortality and neutered anatomies are considered the chief prerogative. The few children who do manage to spring forth are segregated and forced to pilot mechas. On the surface,Darling in the Franxxmight seem to share a lot with introspective mecha anime likeNeon Genesis Evangelion—but from that perspective, it’s too easy to thinkDarlingis a lesser imitation.
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This dystopian future would seem a far cry from the psycho-gnostic symbolism ofEvangelion, andDarlinghas been criticized for not achieving its full potential. It’s been widely accused of having a bad second half and losing focus. However,Darlingis just as worthy of a watch as its most frequently compared inspiration. The similarities and differences run deep, and they can be thought-provoking in their own right.
Mecha Mechanics Show Just How Different Darling and Evangelion Are
The Comparison Misses a Critical Distinction
Neon Genesis EvangelionandDarling in the Franxxboth deal with seriously heavy themesin ways that are easily taken for granted. In bothEvangelionandDarling in the Franxx, only children pilot mechas. But that’s a shallow interpretation. At risk of sounding pretentious: think about the different ways the mechas operate. InNeon Genesis Evangelion, the HCL fluid that surrounds the pilot has a metaphorical function like amniotic fluid, and the connection between the pilot and the Eva unit is much like an umbilical cord.The mecha is the mother.
This metaphor can span out even further, too. The mother Eva unit can reject or be incompatible with the pilot; its amniotic fluid replaces oxygen and sustains the pilot accordingly. The idea of compatibility runs deep inEva, and a threat to the mother is a threat to the child. An invading angel violently penetrates the mother in a deeply Freudian (even directly Oedipal) gesture. The damage threatens to disrupt the connection between the “mother” and “child”, andthe “mother” is literally the medium and scene of the conflictbetween the pilot and the threatening invader of the angel(who thus stands in as the Oedipal father).
InEva, in other words, the mecha is the site of the “generated”; it reflects not conception itself, but the conceived.Darlingflips this on its head.Its mechas have two pilots, and they occupy sexual positions. It’s an obvious allusion to the act of conception, rather than the coded symbolism of conception’s product found inEva. Some viewers are turned off by the overt sexuality on display in series likeDarlingor evenEvangelion, but considering the psychoanalytic layers at play, it’s also crucial to consider them in light of the broader points either series tries for.
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The broader points ofDarlingare where things get a bit sticky.It carries forward its habit of being on the nose with its central themes,especially in comparison toEvangelion. If one acceptsthe Freudian reading ofEvaand the mother-child analogy of piloting an Eva—and it becomes very evident that this sort of reading is the intention, as the story presses on—then the goal of psychoanalysis, in addressing and resolving the conflicts that emerge during childhood, is literally the dynamic on whichEvangelion’s world hinges.
Full resolution, self-acceptance, and psychological health are the grand conclusion inEvangelion’s original ending, and an equally thick, unintuitive conclusion is apparent inEnd of Evangelion. Where critical toEva’s themes is the working-out of Freudian psychodynamics as they’re present in the conceived,Darling’s dystopian world focuses on the literal act of conception as the path to salvation.
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Many viewers have noted that, in light of previous Prime Minister Shinzō Abe’s birthrate rhetoric, this can leave a sour taste. Some have even said thatDarling in the Franxxis explicitly political propaganda in service of a focus on birthratesthat, at least in the case of Japan, has a notably nationalistic (and even homophobic) bent. While there’s little evidence to directly support that conclusion, it still bears mentioning.
At the end of the day, it’s easiest to conclude thatDarlingis supposed to be challenging.
Even if one forgets that troubling background for a moment,Darling in the Franxxstill has to face up to some of the stronger criticism about its storytelling. Gorgeous animation can only carry it so far, and if one watches the series carelessly, it’s easy not to take a lot from it. However, just likeEvangelionbefore it,the best way to enjoyDarling in the Franxxis not to take it at face value. Taken at face value, it can be a self-certain slog with heavy-handed messages. It’s capable, though, of being more—which is the biggest lesson it took from its much subtler progenitor.
At the end of the day, it’s easiest to conclude thatDarlingis supposed to be challenging. It’s an overt expression of sexuality’s potential and a love letter to sexuality and unions between individuals. Thatdoesn’tmean that the love letter is always well-written, nor does it mean that the contents of the love letter are valuable in themselves. Along the way, it finds time for an intricate exploration of identity and the different shapes love can take.Darling in the Franxxhas more to say than people give it credit for.
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In fact,Darlingdeserves props for its willingness to put its romances front and center. Just likeEvangelionfocuses on the individual and their relationship with the world,Darlingfocuses on how two individuals can be seamlessly integrated with one another and share a relationship with the world. It’s been seven years sinceDarling in the Franxxcame out, and it’s one of the only series that comes close to being as thought-provoking and challenging asNeon Genesis Evangelion—if only viewers allow it to be.
