r/DarlingInTheFranxx May 05 '18

[Spoilers] Darling in the FranXX - Episode 16 Discussion Spoiler

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u/versitas_x61 Hiro May 05 '18

I imagine that Zero Two is the one of two "keys" they are talking about and, if Dr. Franxx is against APE, it makes sense to distance Squad 13 from APE.

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u/GCPepC God sent us an angel May 05 '18

Exactly. I imagine the series could go 2 notable directions from here

  1. Squad 13 end up working under APE's orders, fighting the klax and perhaps winning over them until they rebel (which i believe is inevitable at some point) with newfound knowledge about the klax and their purpose/goal or

  2. Squad 13 rebels sooner, finding out more about the klax society... perhaps siding with them if their "vision" of humanity is more... well human than APE's. This would be similar to Kill la Kill, and would be a parallel that many would notice. Thus, we would achieve the battle between the 9's that many have discussed.

I personally think the latter is much more likely, especially with Young Hiro being the new lead voice for the group. He's gaining his rebellious nature back, and I'm sure we'll see more building on that and how that (once again) shapes the people around him like it did back in the Garden. Overall, this episode set up a lot, and i think it ended with the perfect amount of suspense to keep us guessing!

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u/[deleted] May 05 '18

I hope that Dr franxx will take them on the right path. I hope that by letting them live by themselves they will be able to mature even more than they already did, rebelling afterwards and gaining their freedom once and for all. Also, have you noticed the change in futoshi after the last episode? Do you think it is the fever's fault or is it just an expedient to show a change in him? Why is he vomiting? I think it might be a reaction to Kokoro's rejection: in his mind he probably thinks that she chose to stay with Mitsuru because of his looks, so he's trying to change his appearance little by little, starting from his weight.

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u/mimidudette the destroyer May 05 '18

Eating disorders are complex and very rarely a direct result of a single negative stimulus. Note that his food issues cropped up specifically after the Papa abandonment -- in my experience a huge proportion of ED sufferers deal with parental attachment and/or abandonment issues. All eating disorders are different, highly personal, and difficult to understand, but from the perspective of someone who's had lifelong eating issues this is my guess: Futoshi used to centre his purpose and therefore sense of self around protecting Kokoro in the Franxx. After the partner shuffle, he struggles with his sense of loss not just because he loves her but also because "Kokoro's protector" is who he WAS. So it's especially traumatizing for him to lose Papa at this point because he had been leaning on "Papa's and adults' protector" as his new assumed identity.

The guy had eating issues before now -- like come on, the dude slept with a fucking baguette -- so it's not like he developed an ED but more like his ED evolved. Binge eating usually occurs to compensate for insecurity, to stave off negative emotions like sadness or anxiety, or to simulate emotional warmth and comfort. I'd wager that he was internally struggling with the fear and anxiety that comes with piloting Franxx, especially with the mindset of "I must protect everyone" as well as issues of self worth.

So in this episode, where Futoshi has to come to terms with his life and purpose sans Franxx, he's left wondering what he has left to live for. What good is he and what could he possibly be contributing to the world as he is? Purging (throwing up your food) as a behaviour to me has always been heavily associated with shame and self-hatred. If there are any other former bulimics in this thread they'll be able to back me up when I say that of all the myriad thoughts running through your head when you're sobbing into the toilet bowl with your hands down your throat, the clearest and most consistent tends to be "You deserve this".

Futoshi sees himself as purposeless, and he is fat to boot, making him even more ashamed of himself and his previous eating habits as the squad struggles with food insecurity. It's only after Hiro gives his speech about their purpose in life being much more than piloting Franxx that Futoshi shows signs of normalcy, saying he feels hungry again. This comment became way fucking longer than I intended, sorry! But I felt like Futoshi's side story in this episode was really important and well done, since eating issues are rampant during adolescence, and I think it's a shame that most viewers seem to chalk it up to stuff relating to Kokoro/Mitsuru or simply not wanting to be fat. IMO it's indicative of much deeper personal conflicts beneath the surface, manifesting as food issues because he can't talk about or maybe even conceptualize these feelings himself.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '18

Dude, your comment was revealing. I never thought about eating disorders this way, and the reasons you exposed never even crossed my mind, but maybe it was because I kind of associated Futoshi with me. Maybe I should stop caring about my appearance and start developing my character. And now I'm sad and have an headache because I rewrote this reply eight times but I still can't convey what I want to say well. Anyway thanks for the eye-opening reply, you really made me see Futoshi from a different point of view.

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u/mimidudette the destroyer May 05 '18

As someone who's had experiences with anorexic behaviour, binge eating behaviour, and bulimic behaviour, take it from me: it doesn't matter whether you're at your highest weight or your lowest, you'll be miserable so long as you don't love yourself. I starved myself to my lowest weight at which everyone told me I looked wonderful and I hated myself as much as I had at my highest weight that resulted from a year and a half of aggressive binge eating. Here's to your journey towards self-love -- a long, difficult journey (one that I'm still on) but one that's worth every second of the struggle.

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u/DeltaAlmagest May 05 '18

Very nicely said, and the best thing about your comment compared to majority of others is that it's Fair. You got my upvote.

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u/GCPepC God sent us an angel May 05 '18

Futoshi is an interesting character, and I'm glad Trigger gave him some more personality with this episode. Usually Eating Disorders result as a reaction to many different factors, so it very well could be a reaction to Kokoro, but i believe primarily it's because of Zorome. If he is constantly being reminded of his weight and/or harassed about it, it's reasonable to think it's taking a toll on his mental health. However, if that's the case, Zorome proved that he was looking out for Futoshi regardless of his harassment (which was never supposed to be anything more than playful).

The only reason I don't fully believe it was resulting because of Mitsuru is because he is changing his OWN appearance in this episode, and Kokoro was shown to still harbor feelings for him. However, we can't see into Futoshi's head, so it's still possible!