u/SykshMD

Despite the fact I haven't been yumeshipping for that long, the time I've spent in the tiktok yumeshipping space has taught me that the majority of them are insufferable. People harassing and dming you about how your f/o only loves them and not you and other petty stuff. Personally, it doesn't offend me; it gets on my nerves with how often I see it.

Alongside those issues, is the issue of people not understanding what yumeshipping is and hating on it regardless. They assume every yumeshipper is an adult, male, predator who has NSFW body pillows of prepubescent girls. This is, obviously, an inaccurate and harmful assumption yet instead of leaving us alone they will infiltrate our community and harass us.

The reddit yumeshipping community have been so much kinder and supportive from everything I've seen of it in the months I've been here; I love it!

I don't think I'll ever find another anime like Darling in the Franxx. I've watched many anime, and there are anime which I prefer over Darling in the Franxx (such as Madoka Magica and Chainsaw man), but no show has ever left me with such an intense feeling of aching emptiness in my sorrowful heart.

Initially, before I first watched DarliFra, I expected to not like it that much and that it would be a poorly written story where the writers only focused on fan service and developing a character to have the most waifu potential. However, as I continued watching, I started to become more intrigued with the cast; I was enthralled by the more slice-of-life episodes with an imperative meaning at the end, such as the beach episode and boys x girls episode. Nearing the end of Darlifra, I felt it was rushed and I wished they had allowed for more episodes because I feel certain plot elements, such as the Klaxasaur princess, could've been really interesting. By the time I had reached THAT scene with Zero Two and Hiro, I was speechless. Nothing else mattered in that moment. When the episode ended, I was empty. I couldn't stop thinking about Zero Two and Hiro, even till this day, months later. My initial judgements were based on what I had heard people say about it online — that it was a boring, meaningless plot and that Zero Two was the only good thing about it. However, that is FAR from the truth.

My interpretations: this show is an extended metaphor for puberty (obviously) and the teenage experience. A large amount of viewers have interpretation this series very sexual nature as just blatant and shameless fanservice. It is not. The sexual undercurrents of this show is a reference to puberty. When teens go through puberty, they experience a lot of newfound emotions, feelings and situations – one of these being a libido. This show helps depict how it is normal and NATURAL by showing it quite explicitly because it wants to help show that veiwers don't need to be ashamed of their sexuality. The kids in squad 13 were never taught about it and had to learn it themselves. The beach episode, I interprete as a metaphor for exploration and a sort-of loss of innocence. The kids venturing outside into the city represents how kids will research and explore into topics they are sheltered from due to a natural curiosity. Kokoro finding the book about childbirth represents how kids have many questions, but fear they aren't allowed to ask, so they will find someone or something that does answer these questions. Kokoro, I feel, is one of the best characters because it depicts the very real situation that sheltering children too much will lead them to make mistakes (such as teen pregnancy) because they were never taught how to avoid them. This anime tells the viewers how we need to treat teenagers how they are, not like innocent children, because otherwise it can cause detrimental affects for them.

This anime's realism is one of the best aspects. For example, Ikuno is revealed to be a lesbian. So, she tries to ride with Ichigo. However, the Franxx's mechanics don't allow it. This is a direct link to how homosexual people are treated in society. Unlike other shows, it doesn't depict homosexuality as something to be celebrated, exacerbated, or accepted by the wider society because that's just not realistic. We, unfortunately, live in a bigoted society where queer people don't have rights in many countries and only recently were given the right to marriage. Ikuno being unable to ride with Ichigo shows how society rejects homosexuality as they feat it isn't to their norm despite it being natural and seen in nature. Zero Two and Hiro's relationship could also represent racism. Zero Two isn't like the other kids, and therefore is shunned by them until they finally learn to accept her. However, when she makes a mistake, they revert and hate her once again. Hiro wanting to continue his relationship with Zero Two is a parallel to how interracial couples are treated in society, shunned and people try to separate them. Zero Two and Hiro's relationship also shows sacrifice. Zero Two sacrificed lives to try and be human to aquire her desire. However, by the end, she has turned Hiro like her. Not because he had to, needed to, or wanted to. Not because she wanted to either. But because love transcends identity and when people love each other, they become one flesh and see the most intimate and visceral aspects of one another.

Hiro and Zero Two's death was one of the saddest scenes I've ever seen. The only time I've properly cried while watching an anime. It shows how true love is sacrificial and how, in the end, no one gets exactly what they wanted. But, maybe maybe close enough is enough. Zero Two's strelitzia mecha resembling a wedding dress is an astounding visual. In wedding vows, couples often say "til' death do us part" and this sentiment is extremely true for Zero Two and Hiro. Their love was shunned and rejected, but they knew each other better than anyone and that kept them together till their dying day where they died alongside one another. It shows how love can conquer evil and rise above because love is natural. Love is the most complex and visceral emotion seen everywhere. Zero Two and Hiro have the best romance I've seen in all of anime. Zero Two and Hiro "rewriting" the ending of the book could be a metaphor for rebellion. Rebellion is a very natural thing that nearly all teens experience. The book could represent society's ideal life and situations it has planned for individuals but Zero Two and Hiro choosing to fulfill their own path depicts defying the system and society to do what you know is right.

There's something oddly nostalgic about Darling in the Franxx, as if you've seen it before. This could be due to the experiences of the children, while taking place in an unfamiliar situation, resemble that of common, real-world scenarios that teenagers (the shows demographic) experience in real life. This is why Darling in the Franxx is so powerful but, unfortunately, some people can't care enough to REALLY pay attention to what this show is telling us.

This was just a quick analysis I needed to get off my chest. I'll never forget Darling in the Franxx.