40 Fun Facts About Darling in the Franxx

Which celebrity posted Darling in the Franxx's Zero Two on Instagram as her hairstyle inspiration?

Kim Kardashian shared the picture in March 2018, while the series was still on air. The show's staff had agreed that Zero Two should be its most eye-catching character.

Early designs of Zero Two in Darling in the Franxx had dark hair; which colour replaced it?

Pink was chosen to help market her as the face of the series. The first concept was a small, quiet, dark-haired character, which the team felt did not suit her personality.

For her deadly record, which nickname do other pilots give Zero Two in Darling in the Franxx?

Partner Killer comes from the rumour that nobody survives riding with her more than three times. Hiro becomes the first co-pilot to break that pattern.

Male pilots in Darling in the Franxx are called stamens; what are the female pilots called?

Pistils and stamens are the female and male reproductive parts of a flower, so the pilots' job titles come straight from botany.

In Darling in the Franxx, which wish does Zero Two believe killing more klaxosaurs will grant her?

To become fully human is her goal because she wants to reunite with someone important from her past. That person turns out to be Hiro himself.

Which spear-wielding Franxx do Hiro and Zero Two pilot together in Darling in the Franxx?

Strelizia fights with a giant spear named the Queen Pike. Hiro is the only male pilot able to ride in the machine with Zero Two without being hurt.

Which studio behind Kill la Kill co-produced Darling in the Franxx with A-1 Pictures?

Trigger was founded in 2011 by two former Gainax staff, and the series was first announced at the studio's own convention panel in July 2017.

In Darling in the Franxx, what did the people who chose immortality lose as a side effect?

The ability to reproduce vanished with the immortality treatment, and the adults came to see relationships and procreation as obsolete and undesirable.

As Hiro takes on klaxosaur traits in Darling in the Franxx, what does he slowly begin to grow?

Horns sprout on Hiro's head late in the series, matching the ones Zero Two has always had. His are small and blue, where hers are red.

After sacrificing themselves, how do Hiro and Zero Two meet again when Darling in the Franxx ends?

Through reincarnation, the two return as young strangers who meet in the final scene. Their sacrifice had destroyed the enemy's home planet and freed the souls trapped there.

What are the artificially created child pilots of Darling in the Franxx officially called?

Parasites are raised apart from adult society and schooled only to fight. Their isolated homes copy a bygone era so that they develop the emotions needed to pilot.

What are the mobile fortress-cities that house the adults called in Darling in the Franxx?

Plantations became humanity's refuge after APE led people to abandon Earth's desolate surface. The young pilots who defend them are kept apart from the adults inside.

In Darling in the Franxx, who must normally work the controls for a Franxx robot to move?

A boy-girl pair has to synchronise for a Franxx to work, which is why Hiro washes out of training when he can no longer connect with his co-pilot.

Which pilot leads Squad 13 in Darling in the Franxx and has loved Hiro since childhood?

Ichigo fell for Hiro when he gave her a name as a child. She later accepts his bond with Zero Two after he turns her down.

Which service simulcast Darling in the Franxx with subtitles while Funimation made the English dub?

Crunchyroll carried the Japanese version as it aired in 2018, and Funimation began releasing dubbed episodes a few weeks behind, in February.

Where is Squad 13 sent on holiday as a reward for a victory in Darling in the Franxx?

A beach trip is the squad's prize, and it leads them to the ruins of a town. Until then they had believed people only ever lived in the mobile cities.

What name do the pilots of Darling in the Franxx use for the masked chairman of APE?

Papa is worshipped almost as a god, and every decision about the young pilots' health and upbringing is left to him.

Which alien race is revealed to be secretly controlling APE late in Darling in the Franxx?

VIRM once attacked Earth and was beaten back by the klaxosaurs. Everything APE did was part of its plan to turn mankind against those old enemies.

As runaway children in Darling in the Franxx, what do Hiro and Zero Two promise to do as adults?

Get married was the vow, made after Hiro broke her out of a laboratory cell. Security forces caught the two soon afterwards and separated them.

Which song by Mika Nakashima is the opening theme of Darling in the Franxx?

Kiss of Death opens the show, while the closing songs are credited to XX:me, a unit made up of the five main female voice actors.

The names of the Squad 13 pilots in Darling in the Franxx are Japanese readings of what?

Their code numbers supply the names, an idea Hiro himself came up with as a child. Most other squads simply address each other by number.

In Darling in the Franxx, Zero Two learns that Dr. Franxx created her as a clone of whom?

The Klaxosaur Princess is the last of her ancient race, and the scientist grew Zero Two from DNA he took from a sample of her hair.

What shape does Zero Two's Franxx take in Darling in the Franxx when she pilots it alone?

A four-legged animal form is all the machine manages with her alone. It stands upright as a humanoid only once Hiro joins her in the cockpit.

Which picture book comforts the young Zero Two in the laboratory in Darling in the Franxx?

The Beast and the Prince mirrors her own story with Hiro, so she later rewrites it herself. She leaves the last page blank, fearing the two will have to part.

What did young Hiro do in Darling in the Franxx that tied his piloting to Zero Two alone?

Hiro licked her blood from a cut while the two were on the run as children. It altered his aptitude and made him incompatible with every other co-pilot.

What does APE do to Mitsuru and Kokoro after soldiers storm their wedding in Darling in the Franxx?

APE erases their memories of each other, so the newlyweds return to the squad as strangers. Hiro and Zero Two recognise the signs, having been through the same thing.

What does Kokoro find in a ruined town and keep hidden from the adults in Darling in the Franxx?

A baby book fascinates her so much that she starts to long for a child of her own. Its discovery later lands her in trouble for holding forbidden knowledge.

Which Squad 13 pilot gets lost in the adults' city in Darling in the Franxx?

Zorome idolises adults and dreams of becoming one. The woman who treats his injuries seems oddly familiar to him, though she denies that they have ever met.

Which Darling in the Franxx pilot becomes a doctor and cures the squad's rapid ageing?

Ikuno develops the cure after overusing her strength in battle, which wrecked her health and turned her hair white. She stays bedridden while the others grow up.

Which elite APE unit did Zero Two belong to before joining Squad 13 in Darling in the Franxx?

The Nines grew out of attempts to make working pilot teams from her DNA. Their leader, Alpha, looks down on Squad 13 but ends up dying to save Hiro.

In Darling in the Franxx, Zero Two's mind fights near which planet while her body lies on Earth?

Mars is where Earth's defenders meet the invading fleet, with her consciousness inside the giant machine. Wounds appear on her body back home as the battle goes on.

Which L'Arc-en-Ciel frontman produced the opening theme of Darling in the Franxx?

Hyde and singer Mika Nakashima had first worked together 13 years earlier, and the 2018 single was only their second collaboration. He has fronted the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel since 1991.

Which voice actress, also Asuna in Sword Art Online, plays Zero Two in Darling in the Franxx?

Haruka Tomatsu also sings the show's closing themes as part of XX:me, the group formed by its lead actresses. Her other heroines include Kyoko Hori in Horimiya.

Which To Love Ru illustrator drew the manga adaptation of Darling in the Franxx?

Kentaro Yabuki's version ran on the Shōnen Jump+ website from January 2018, and from its fourth volume the story departs sharply from the anime.

Which studio, spun off from A-1 Pictures, took over its credit on Darling in the Franxx mid-run?

CloverWorks began as A-1's Kōenji studio and was rebranded in April 2018, partway through the broadcast. Persona 5: The Animation switched to the new name as well.

Which director of Darling in the Franxx told fans that Zero Two was his favourite character?

Atsushi Nishigori said it was her charismatic personality, more than her romantic appeal, that won him over. He also helped inspire her final look.

Which actress, also Happy in Fairy Tail, voices Zero Two in the English dub of Darling in the Franxx?

Tia Ballard grew up in Paris, Texas, about two hours from Funimation's studios, and got interested in voice acting at a local anime convention.

Which weapon inside the Gran Crevasse are Hiro and Zero Two sent to control in Darling in the Franxx?

The Star Entity turns out to be booby-trapped: the enemy has fitted it with a self-destruct meant to wipe out its old foes and Earth together.

Which publisher licensed the Darling in the Franxx manga for North American release in 2021?

Seven Seas announced the licence in July 2021, more than three years after the manga began. By May 2018 the manga had already sold 400,000 copies in Japan.

A viral edit of Darling in the Franxx's Zero Two took its dance from which music video?

ME!ME!ME! supplied the dance for the video edit, which went viral in November 2020. The trend began in China, where TikTok users copied the moves.