Darlifra made waves in 2018 by redefining how the mecha genre could be approached through his cast of main characters. Three years have passed; is there a possibility for Darling in the Franxx Season 2?
Continue reading to find out!
What happened so far in Darling in the Franxx
In a dystopian post-apocalyptic world where humanity has to fight against giant Klaxosaurs, society is divided into three parties.
Adults who achieved immortality at the price of sacrificing reproduction and relationships live in mobile fortresses called Plantations protected by giant mechas called Franxx. Children (Parasites), who are now created artificially, have a short lifespan and are raised in Birdcages for the sole purpose of piloting Franxx. Members of APE, an almighty organization ruling over all humanity and responsible for creating Franxx and accessibility to immortality. At the top stands Papa, an entity perceived as a God by the rest of the world.
As adults cannot reproduce anymore, and a pair of fertile boy-girl can only pilot Franxx, the children in Birdcages are told that their only goal in life is to be pilots and are forced to forfeit all notions of love, gender, physical attraction, affection, and individuality.
Focusing on Squad 13, we meet Hiro, a fallen from grace pilot candidate who cannot synchronize with his partner during the training program and ends up failing it. Depressed as he squandered the only reason justifying his existence, circumstances push him to encounter Zero two, a half-Klaxosaur female Franxx pilot with a dark reputation. Rumors declare that all her partners died after the third time synchronizing together, which does not stop Hiro from volunteering as her new partner, her “darling” as she calls him.
This marks the start of a series of events that will shake the foundations Squad 13 believed in as they start to experience puberty, confusing feelings, doubts in their own identity and goals. Their quest for the truth and how they want to define their future will take them on something bigger than humanity itself.
The manga started right after the anime ended and took a different direction from Volume 4 onwards. The core stays the same, but the characters’ deaths, emotional journeys, interactions, and fights are altered. The ending has drastically been modified.
What is going on with A-1 Pictures, Cloverworks & Trigger?
Darling In The Franxx premiered on January 18 and ended on July 7, 2018. The twenty-four-episode anime is a co-joint project co-produced by A-1 Pictures and Trigger and animated by Trigger and CloverWorks. Created by Code:000, it is directed by Atsushi Nishigori with Masayoshi Tanaka designing the characters and Asami Tachibana composing the music.
With three different studios working on it, Darling In The Franxx required a lot of attention and coordination to ensure each step would facilitate the staff’s workload. Nishigori took full advantage of Trigger’s ex-Gainax staff with their experience in action scenes and mecha (think Evangelion) and A-1 Pictures for their focus on character animation and drama. The final result is a combination of genres, including action, drama, coming of age, sci-fi, comedy, and mecha.
During CrunchyRoll Expo 2018, Atsushi Nishigori was asked if he was ready to consider a second season as Trigger Studio seems to be excited at the idea. However, Nishigori countered: “My mind is completely emptied. Over time, if my passion wells up and there’s a qualified talent that wants to come along, then maybe”. As the original project director, his answer points to a meager chance Darling In The Franxx might have a sequel.
All three studios are working on upcoming projects: Trigger is working on the Disney anthology Star Wars: Visions scheduled to be released in September and on a new anime for Netflix (Cyberpunk: Edgerunners); A-1 Pictures keeps busy with its big licenses Uta Prince Sama and The Idolm@ster and the original work Visual Prison; CloverWorks has a movie for October and a new anime (Akebi’s Sailor Uniform).
What do we know about Darling in the Franxx Season 2 so far?
There is no new information regarding any updates in Franxx Season 2. The producers have not brought forward any updates in the last two years.
What are fans saying about Darling in the Franxx Season 2?
Fans are still active on social media, sharing fanarts, opinions, theories, and cosplay pictures. New people are still discovering the anime even in 2021, bringing back the question of whether Darling In The Franxx has or will have a new season.
A large part of the fandom would like a new season to see Zero Two and Hiro’s impact on the future or a completely new ending. A petition was addressed to the studios on change.org, and it gathered 19,781 signatures out of 25 000 over a year. People are still signing it to this day.
Will there be Darling in the Franxx Season 2?
The manga debuted one day after the first episode’s airing on January 14, 2018, and concluded on January 26, 2020. It is written by Code:000 and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. Its 60 chapters span over eight volumes, with volume 4 marking a big change in the story’s direction compared to the anime.
On July 1, 2021, Seven Seas Entertainment finally announced that they would publish the manga for North America. Finding figures encompassing all eight volumes is difficult, but because the first two volumes in Japan sold 400,000 copies in Japan, we can conclude that the manga is popular.
Google Trends shows an extreme and sudden peak in searches around January 3rd, 2021, which might be due to the announcement of the manga being licensed in North America and reignited the rumors about a second season. Since then, searches have been on the low side but still regular.
Funimation released the full series in two parts with two combo boxsets (Blu-ray & DVD) in 2019. Domestic sales for Part Two are estimated to be around $141,612. Unfortunately, information cannot be found about Part One. With how popular the anime is, it was obvious that merchandise would be made available. Fans can have their fill with the wide selection and, three years after the anime ended, goodies are still in demand. CrunchyRoll recently restocked their DarliFra hoodies, and new official figures coming straight from Aniplex are still distributed worldwide.
The anime went through some criticism due to the sexual innuendos and undertones surrounding the cast of minors. A Franxx can only be activated when piloted by a pair of fertile female-male, respectively called a Pistil and a Stamen (reproductive organs in flowers). The posture the two pilots adopt to pilot said mecha so forth. The most significant controversy regarding that matter is the relationship between Mitsuru and Kokoro, with both engaging in intimate activity and Kokoro ending up pregnant. Another issue arose after episode fourteen when Ichigo confessed to Hiro and kissed him. Some fans went crazy over Ichigo’s behavior and took to Twitter to insult and threaten the staff.
Darling In The Franxx is indeed still pretty popular in its fandom and attracts newcomers. Yet, that is not enough to justify a new season when the director expressed that he has already realized his vision.
When will Darling in the Franxx Season 2 be released?
Darling In The Franxx will probably never have Season 2, considering the ending was pretty conclusive, and the director said he used all the ideas he wanted to incorporate.
What can we expect in Season 2 of Darling in the Franxx?
If Season 2 should be produced, it might be set 1000 years after the ending, following the reincarnations of Two Zero and Hiro and the descendants of the rest of Squad 13. It would give the viewers a good look at the newly rebuilt world. It could be a kind of reboot adapting the manga since it is pretty different from the anime.
