February 25, 2018
Life's a Beach (episode)
Episode 7 is the Beach Episode of Darling in the Franxx. As a reward for their good job in the previous episode, the 13th squad is allowed to go to a safe little beach cove for a couple of days. Normal beach episode type things ensue... at first.
But you have to remember, these kids are orphans raised from an early age to pilot the robots, and if it weren't for the Protagonist, they wouldn't even have names. So there are a number of things about their mentalities that are just wrong. And Zero Two's addition to the crew has brought along with it some ideas that they are just not equipped to deal with, like what a kiss really is, or love. Now the Jealous schoolkid reaction you see in many shows towards the guy who is getting some female attention thing rears its ugly head, but the result is decidedly off-kilter.
About halfway through the episode though, the crew discovers a fissure in the cliffside, which leads to a path to an abandoned town. These kids were never taught anything not needed for their mission. Like history. They never knew that people used to live on the surface, instead of the mobile plantations. One girl wanders into the remains of a clinic and finds a book for first-time expectant mothers. Expect that to cause issues in the future.
When they get back, there's a barbecue buffet set up for them, and they dig in. Although at least one of them wonders about how it appeared, since they're alone on the beach.
But afterwards, how badly they've been mind-fucked is put on display, as one of them declares the plantations to be superior to living on the surface, how he's proud of his function to defend the cities, and his hopes to join the ranks of the adults in the future, and the others respond enthusiastically. This in the middle of a discussion about why humanity left the surface, as Zero Two mentioned. "But the world is full of Klaxosaurs!" (The monsters they fight). Our hero speculates that mining magma energy might have brought them, but that is shot down as going against the revered Dr. Franxx, who moved everyone TO plantations to make them safe from the Klaxosaurs. The order of events, as far as they know it, is inverted. I actually found the scene rather chilling.
But you have to remember, these kids are orphans raised from an early age to pilot the robots, and if it weren't for the Protagonist, they wouldn't even have names. So there are a number of things about their mentalities that are just wrong. And Zero Two's addition to the crew has brought along with it some ideas that they are just not equipped to deal with, like what a kiss really is, or love. Now the Jealous schoolkid reaction you see in many shows towards the guy who is getting some female attention thing rears its ugly head, but the result is decidedly off-kilter.
About halfway through the episode though, the crew discovers a fissure in the cliffside, which leads to a path to an abandoned town. These kids were never taught anything not needed for their mission. Like history. They never knew that people used to live on the surface, instead of the mobile plantations. One girl wanders into the remains of a clinic and finds a book for first-time expectant mothers. Expect that to cause issues in the future.
When they get back, there's a barbecue buffet set up for them, and they dig in. Although at least one of them wonders about how it appeared, since they're alone on the beach.
But afterwards, how badly they've been mind-fucked is put on display, as one of them declares the plantations to be superior to living on the surface, how he's proud of his function to defend the cities, and his hopes to join the ranks of the adults in the future, and the others respond enthusiastically. This in the middle of a discussion about why humanity left the surface, as Zero Two mentioned. "But the world is full of Klaxosaurs!" (The monsters they fight). Our hero speculates that mining magma energy might have brought them, but that is shot down as going against the revered Dr. Franxx, who moved everyone TO plantations to make them safe from the Klaxosaurs. The order of events, as far as they know it, is inverted. I actually found the scene rather chilling.
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February 23, 2018
Gonna need more sources
Ever since Nyatorrents lost its old host, it's been kinda crippled. It's not as comprehensive as it used to be. I've found a couple of other lists, but they all seem to be only one or two circles participating. Lots of shows seem to get dropped or skipped. I could really use some suggestions of better places to check.
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February 11, 2018
Killing Bites
I was kinda hoping for "So Bad it's Good" out of this. But no, I'm bouncing hard off the start of episode 3 and they haven't even introduced the third girl yet.
The Setup isn't that atypical. Four ancient Yakuza/Corporations have been settling their differences with bloodsports for ages, and recently thanks to some mad scientist type, they've upgraded their fighters to "Therianthropes" - were-creatures who can transform at will to exhibit enhanced powers. Due to an accident of misfortune, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, our hero/harem center finds himself embroiled in the scheme that will upset the entire apple cart. Not so bad, right?
Oh if only....
So the writers I guess want to appeal to the Otaku crowd, so they make our hero an otaku, although it's not entirely obvious from his apartment what he's a fan of. And he's a college student for once, instead of a high schooler. But our first exposure to him is when he's driving the van for a bunch of "cool" bastards who apparently took advantage of his gullibility, telling him that they were gonna pick up girls and get him laid (for the first time, they make sure to mention), but they didn't mention that in this case "Picking up girls" meant snatching them off the street, dragging them into the van for a bit of the ol' Gang Rape.
Unfortunately for the boys, the girl they grab is a Were-Ratel (Honey Badger), and she don't care. In short order the guys are bloody rags, and our hero is freaking out, and she orders him to drive her to where her first actual deathmatch is.
And thus he becomes embroiled in the whole sordid game. And of course, she has to stay in his apartment. Contestant Number 1 has joined the harem, and he thinks she's cute when she's not threatening to kill him.
Now remember, he's an otaku, but really not much of one. He's even barely handsome. The next day, he's back at class, and Honey Badger for some reason has to go with him. That's when the single most obnoxious geek character I have ever witnessed shows up - his best friend. And things go to contrived shit from there. It becomes obvious that while the writers are perhaps trying to cater to the otaku audience, they absolutely revile them. By episode 2, Player Number 2, a Were Cheetah shows up, mostly because she's stalking Honey Badger and wants to be the one who kills her in her next sanctioned match. And in episode 3, our hero is now hanging out in the college otaku clubroom with two pretty girls, and at least five, lecherous, slobbering, leering creepazoids, led by his hyper-fat, obnoxious "best friend", and the only contrived way to escape this situation is not to just walk out, or callously slaughter the entire manga club, but to make the girls wear costumes.
This is where I stopped.
Now perhaps, once we get past this, it will be less shit, but I doubt it. I might jump ahead to the next episode just to see the Were Bunny show up, but right now all the male characters are all the worst refugees from a guro hentai game animation, and all the women are bitchy killers, and the hero is a blank-slate nobody.
The transformations aren't all that much better either. Their animal characteristics are limited to growing huge clawed arms and legs, tails and ears, and fangs (But the male therianthropes go much further). I suppose that kind of transformation has been done before - see Felicia from Darkstalkers. And it could be worse. The werewolf from Monster Princess (something I reviewed YEARS ago) only grew giant paws.
I miss Liru already.
The Setup isn't that atypical. Four ancient Yakuza/Corporations have been settling their differences with bloodsports for ages, and recently thanks to some mad scientist type, they've upgraded their fighters to "Therianthropes" - were-creatures who can transform at will to exhibit enhanced powers. Due to an accident of misfortune, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, our hero/harem center finds himself embroiled in the scheme that will upset the entire apple cart. Not so bad, right?
Oh if only....
So the writers I guess want to appeal to the Otaku crowd, so they make our hero an otaku, although it's not entirely obvious from his apartment what he's a fan of. And he's a college student for once, instead of a high schooler. But our first exposure to him is when he's driving the van for a bunch of "cool" bastards who apparently took advantage of his gullibility, telling him that they were gonna pick up girls and get him laid (for the first time, they make sure to mention), but they didn't mention that in this case "Picking up girls" meant snatching them off the street, dragging them into the van for a bit of the ol' Gang Rape.
Unfortunately for the boys, the girl they grab is a Were-Ratel (Honey Badger), and she don't care. In short order the guys are bloody rags, and our hero is freaking out, and she orders him to drive her to where her first actual deathmatch is.
And thus he becomes embroiled in the whole sordid game. And of course, she has to stay in his apartment. Contestant Number 1 has joined the harem, and he thinks she's cute when she's not threatening to kill him.
Now remember, he's an otaku, but really not much of one. He's even barely handsome. The next day, he's back at class, and Honey Badger for some reason has to go with him. That's when the single most obnoxious geek character I have ever witnessed shows up - his best friend. And things go to contrived shit from there. It becomes obvious that while the writers are perhaps trying to cater to the otaku audience, they absolutely revile them. By episode 2, Player Number 2, a Were Cheetah shows up, mostly because she's stalking Honey Badger and wants to be the one who kills her in her next sanctioned match. And in episode 3, our hero is now hanging out in the college otaku clubroom with two pretty girls, and at least five, lecherous, slobbering, leering creepazoids, led by his hyper-fat, obnoxious "best friend", and the only contrived way to escape this situation is not to just walk out, or callously slaughter the entire manga club, but to make the girls wear costumes.
This is where I stopped.
Now perhaps, once we get past this, it will be less shit, but I doubt it. I might jump ahead to the next episode just to see the Were Bunny show up, but right now all the male characters are all the worst refugees from a guro hentai game animation, and all the women are bitchy killers, and the hero is a blank-slate nobody.
The transformations aren't all that much better either. Their animal characteristics are limited to growing huge clawed arms and legs, tails and ears, and fangs (But the male therianthropes go much further). I suppose that kind of transformation has been done before - see Felicia from Darkstalkers. And it could be worse. The werewolf from Monster Princess (something I reviewed YEARS ago) only grew giant paws.
I miss Liru already.
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February 04, 2018
Darling in the Franxx
There have been lots of giant robot shows. There have been lots of post apocalyptic giant robot shows. But I think this is the first one where the giant robots have huge anime eyes....
I even saw some guy on Twitter go on about them being sexy, god help him.
There have been lots of sexy robot shows. But this, perhaps, may be the first Sexy Giant Robot show. What do you think?
(Oh, and there is that whole thing about how the pilots drive it....)
I even saw some guy on Twitter go on about them being sexy, god help him.
There have been lots of sexy robot shows. But this, perhaps, may be the first Sexy Giant Robot show. What do you think?
(Oh, and there is that whole thing about how the pilots drive it....)
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