Darling the Franxx - The Adults

With its very blatant metaphors for sex and doggy style cockpits, it can be easy to miss that there is other stuff going on in this anime. Puberty is not just about sex.

There's also annoying adults and their rules to consider.

Let's talk about it.

While not as blatant as the sex metaphors, Darling in the Franxx cannot be accused of being subtle. After all, the kids are literally called parasites.

No, they are not just parasites because they are inside the robots. They are parasites because they are parasites on society by virtue of being teenagers.

Hell, the guy in charge is literally called Papa.

The "parents" put the kids into pairs and tell them their worth is decided by how well they can perform (have sex and procreate). If they can't do it, they have no worth as people. The kids don't even get to live in the real cities. They live separated from the real world in a place that's literally called a birdcage.

The society in this anime has very strict rules and regulations. There is heavy indoctrination going on.

Enter 02 and Hiro to throw a wrench into things.

Let's think of the pilot pairs as arranged marriages for a moment, because that's what they are. They are not decided on personal chemistry. They are based on whether two people can pilot together or not. Ichigo is the perfect example of this. 

Even though Ichigo's heart is clearly elsewhere, she and her partner get along well. They are amicable. They can pilot, and that's what's important. Not that they love each other, but that they are able to have sex. They can fulfill their social obligations.

Hiro and 02 don't work like that. They don't fit in the normal arranged marriages the parents are putting everyone else in.
 
Hiro is someone who people thought was going to be successful when he was a kid. Then he couldn't perform his role in the relationship and was deemed a failure by the people around him. Meanwhile, 02 is the opposite, she was too much for any of the partners they set her up with.

However, lo and behold, they can work together. They have compatible kinks. They are actually into each other.

Now, at this point, the authorities should realize they have hit gold, but this is not an anime where adults are smart and capable. This is speaking directly to teenagers. Adults are an obstacle. Adults are old-fashioned and just don't get it.

Indeed, the adults are having none of Hiro and 02's new age fetishes. It's not normal. It's not how relationships are supposed to go. It's not "how it is done."

Instead, they try to, once again, make them fit the mold.

Hiro is put in a relationship with Ichigo, a more traditionally feminine character. Likewise, one episode later, the adults' refusal to let Hiro and 02 team-up leads to 02 being paired with Mitsuru, a more traditionally masculine character than Hiro.

Both attempts fail. Hiro can't get hard for Ichigo. She doesn't do it for him. Mitsuru can't handle 02. She's not someone he can control. She's the one who does the controlling. Both their partners suffer in different ways because adults simply don't get it.

Society is the enemy. It's not a question. It's as natural as gravity. The only question is how will 02 and Hiro deal with it? Will they get the adults to accept their relationship? Or will they run away from the cold and lifeless city?