I have been watching a lot of anime lately, and I just finished two series, so I thought I would let you know how I felt about them. First up is Darling in the FRANXX.
I started Darling in the FRANXX because there was a lot of excitement online about this show, but after the first episode I was confused. It seemed like the standard girl in a skin tight outfit with a crush on a whiny dude who pilots a giant robot mecha-anime. To make matters worse the guys have to get behind the girls in a very compromising position to pilot these mechs, but it was well drawn, and the action was cool, so I stuck with it.
It turns out the looks can be deceiving. While Darling could have very easily turned in to just another cheesecake affair, it morphed in to something deeper. The ‘children’ driving these mechs had real feelings, and the bonds they were creating were fascinating. The mystery of the world around them was intriguing. By the end of its twenty-four episode run I was tearing up on a regular basis. Sure hearing “Darling” and “Zero-Two” over and over got a little annoying, but I will forgive it just this once. I am not sure how they could create another season, but I would watch it if they figure out a way. You can watch all of Darling in the FRANXX on Crunchyroll or Hulu now.
Now for Children of the Whales!
Children of the Whales was another anime that took me by surprise. At first it is a bunch of happy kids on an idyllic island, but then everything goes sideways and there is blood everywhere. The fact it is TV-MA should have tipped me off. While I didn’t like it as much as Darling in the FRANXX, it is still a well done show.
The gist is that there are a bunch of kids on an island, the ‘Mud Whale’, on a sand sea that floats around all over the place. There are two types of people on the island, the ‘Marked’ who can move stuff with magic, and they die around 30. While the ‘Unmarked’ get to live long lives, but they don’t get the cool powers. They believe they are all alone until they come across a new island with a lone girl who also has magic powers. That is of course when all sorts of bad things start to happen.
Netflix only has half of the twenty-four episode arc as of now, but I am dying to find out what happens to the “Mud Whale’ and her passengers. If you can handle a few crazy people and a lot of blood, Children of the Whales is the type of anime that reminds you that Japan can do more than just fanservice-y nonsense. It can also create weird and interesting mysteries to solve.