/a/ - Animu & Mango

>>786299

In case the question wasn't clear -- NTR revolves around emasculation. Emasculation is a key aspect of cuchholdry/netorare. But who was actually "emasculated" here? Hiro or Mitsuru?

How long until we get a doujin called "Darling in the FranXXX.

I think the theme this episode was 02 being more mature, therefore a relationship with her is a lot more serious. It's also more intense because of her personality. So most stamens can't keep up with her. I guess Hiro is different because she actually wants to make the effort to slow down and take the lead in a not-so-rough manner.

All the anime will be plagued with these NTR subplots and partner swinging, good for those into that I guess?

Maybe Zero Two's situation is a metaphor for STD's and Hiro is immune or sterile or already has AIDS or has the soul equivalent of a condom.

Why are all the girls running around cities in school uniforms in the ED if they've never been allowed to set foot outside their facilities?

I wonder what a band of enormous faggots it took to sit down and decide that making your average mech battles anime, but this time turning it into a big analogy for repeated NTR was an idea so good, it should be made into two cours right off the bat. At least if they had to get on with it to fit 13 episodes they couldn't afford to spend like 4-5 on just getting started and making our resident faggot MC-kun get behind the oni.

>>786317

It's Nippon Anon, remember who is making this.

>>786331

The whole point of the show is that piloting is made to look and sound like relationships, marriage and sex, so obviously when you trade partners around it's taken by the audience as NTR, hell it's made to appear like NTR on purpose

>>786331

It's going to be a repeat of the Nagatoro threads at this rate. It'll probably keep degrading until it gets stopped in the same way that did.

So far I can say I don't like any of the characters (Those that have gotten characterization (except for zero-two, I like her a little bit)) or the plot.

But I'm still going to keep watching to see where we end up.

>>786347

I'd be surprised if anyone liked any of the characters except zero-two. Everyone's intentionally written like potato to make zero-two look better.

>>786350

I like the girl that pilots the pink robot with the arrogant redhead. But yeah nobody has any depth at all. There isn't much getting around that with their background though? Kids raised in sterile captivity with no entertainment besides doing their job, and no knowledge of relationships or anything remotely sexual. They'd be boring fucks who only talk about their work.

>>786357

Correction: the girl is a redhead, the arrogant kid is not. See, they're so boring I can't even remember them properly.

>>786305

Both.

>>786350

Miku is ok. The blonde girl and the fat boy aren't unlikable, that's more than I can say for the rest of the cast I guess.

>>786359

This. Hiro emasculated himself by allowing someone else to pilot with her when he didn't really need to. He could have stuck to his guns and the management would have to relent to save the others. And then Mitsuru was emasculated by no fault of his own, but by 02 being stronger than himself. Hiro is worse off here because he's a cuck, while Mitsuru is merely not physically/mentally strong enough to handle her.

>>786366

>emasculated by no fault of his own

Overestimating yourself is very much a fault of your own, it's not like he had no idea what he was getting into.

>>786366

>and the management would have to relent to save the others

Would they? Neither the guy on the screen nor whatsherface seemed too worried, I came off with the impression that they'd sooner let people die than break protocol.

>>786366

>He could have stuck to his guns and the management would have to relent to save the others.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. 002 mentions that there was a previous squad of parasites that was wiped out at that plantation. Maybe the higher-ups just don't care about the kids at all and they're willing to sacrifice them in order to avoid 002's blood getting "contaminated" with Hiro's (who seems to be a "special specimen").

>>786368

But he did his best and it just happened it wasn't good enough. Overestimating yourself is a problem, but not in regards to manliness.

>>786369

>>786371

It seems like a lot of resources to lose when you don't have to. They talked about numbers in the teens being rare and kids being kicked out of the garden- how many potential pilots do they go through before landing on SIX that are actually suitable? And how much do the Franxx cost them when society is living in bubbles on what appears to be a ruined planet with limited resources? Do they have six more pilots and spare franxx lying around for when this crew gets wiped out? Will they just be defenseless until they train up the next ones, and then THOSE dumbasses get wiped out on their first mission too?

>>786372

>Overestimating yourself is a problem, but not in regards to manliness.

Overestimating yourself and coming up short is pretty unmanly, even more so in a sexual context.

>guy asks you to fuck his girlfriend to save the life of his friends

>you go in thinking you're hot shit and better than him

>she laughs at your size, you can't get it up, and then you pass out

I won't be surprised if he comes out of this with a trauma.

>>786372

We don't know that they get kicked out of Franxx completely, only that they leave... maybe they have pockets of kids all over thinking they're they only ones since they're in isolation.

Or maybe failures get turned into klaxosaur cores

>>786378

Since the wannabe bull is out of it maybe Hiro will pair up with glasses next episode... will Ichigo kill herself if he pilots better?

>>786299

Goddammit this show is confusing me. The first two episodes made me wonder if it was going to be Zero Two being a cock teasing slut for the entire thing, but is it now it looks like the MC is going to be a willing cuck.

>>786382

No, she'll just fuck up again and endanger everyone around her.

>>786387

Seems like everyone is going to take turns doing that.

>>786360

>The blonde girl and the fat boy aren't unlikable

They haven't gotten any significant screentime to be unlikable yet, but so far they haven't acted like a cunt.

>>786397

>Fat person

>Not already instantly unlikable

Do you like pigs, Anon?

>>786385

I'm actually confused about the pacing of the NTR plot, why the fuck do we need another guy in the symbolic sex seat again will we actually see the accelerated aging process and how that's a metaphor for being a man and also a metaphor of how women are succubi? Is this it? Normally you'd establish a few more episodes to at least ruse the audience but this seems really fast I don't even half-way care about MC to even project over him yet.

>>786397

They have the lowest sync ratio if you watch carefully, and he has to be gently reassured by her that he is doing it right, pretty clear metaphor for the inept fat guy who can't satisfy his too-sweet-to-argue girl.

They're only functional because the guy has no confidence and she is too afraid of confrontation and bad things happening to ever fail to make white lies and pretend like she's enjoying it.

>>786305

You're reading to much into it.

>>786400

Reading what you wrote right now makes me disgusted about sharing a board with people who think like you.

>>786403

Ain't my fault gainax symbolism flies right over your head.

>>786408

>they're going to have Hiro pilot with 02 a third time at the very end

Nah, they already stated this episode that he's super speshul and doesn't get the negative effects from piloting with her, they're gonna do it a bunch of times. They're just building up for the first time (with him conscious, that is) since that's literally all the anime has going for it right now. WILL HIRO FINALLY PILOT WITH 02 IN THE NEXT EPISODE? TUNE IN TO FIND OUT!

https://desuarchive.org/a/search/image/1M1FFWXxQeJr3baFDTE1tw/

I see you, OP. Go back.

>>786414

You first.

>realize that by their own metaphor, oni-chan is someone that goes through a bunch of partners, uses them up, and then shows no signs of feeling bad about it

>point this out because this seems like a huge fuckup on the part of the writers, various anons sperg out because criticizing the show based on the metaphors they very heavy handedly bash you over the head with yet themselves fuck up is apparently bad

>show turns out to be a bunch of partner trading bullshit, including the MC telling his supposedly super faithful perfect waifu to be someone else's partner

I called it and now I'm fucking glad I dropped this. The carbon copy MC made it bad enough on its own, but shoving in NTR makes it absolute shit. Now I'm starting to wonder if the writers actually deliberately went for the NTR or if they still fail to understand what all this partner trading means within the very obvious riding together = marriage and sex metaphor they clearly created deliberately. Either way it's bad and NTR needs to get out of my anime.

>>786299

>was episode 3 really NTR?

Pretty much.

>>786313

Holy shit, I hope this happens. But using the same logic as 15 being named Ichigo, she'd be Zeroni or Reini.

>>786420

They deliberately went for NTR motifs, but oni wasn't shown to be a slut or anything of the sort. Since you're a faggot discussing an anime you're not watching, the piece of context you might not know is that MC was not allowed to pilot and was basically presented with

>do nothing and your friends will probably die

>tell oni to go with the other guy and save your friends

while oni was expecting him to go third choice,

>break the rules and go with oni to save your friends

which he didn't do because he's a fag. Oni wasn't particularly impressed and wrecked the other guy on purpose.

>>786429

>Oni wasn't particularly impressed and wrecked the other guy on purpose.

She sure did. I guess it's her way of being a bitch for not getting what she wanted (to go with Hiro). Hiro was a faggot relenting so easily.

>>786437

Yeah, kinda fucked up how she deliberately fucked him up by raising her strength and getting them out of sync or something.

>>786439

That's what he gets for thinking he has a big dick

>>786440

His inflated ego WAS pretty annoying.

>>786441

He was already sweating from her going easy, but briefly thought he was a badass.

>>786442

>Urgh! Yeah! Ohh, YEAH! Sex! Sex is great! I'm having sex! I'm king of the world!

<Ara, it's only been three seconds and you came seven times, boy. Let me show you the world of adulthood.

>dies

>>786446

>meaning on the NTR

That makes sense, but Hiro is clearly compatible with Oni. But he cucks himself, to her and the audience's disappointment. Unless you yourself are a faggot into NTR.

>>786408

>Only in the third episode are we told that FRANXX have magma-based weapons and that klaxosaurs have cores and that magma-based weapons can destroy cores

The weapons are a new mention, but klaxosaur cores were made very obvious when 02 killed one in the first episode and the camera lingered on the pierced core.

>I know it will eventually get going based on the hopes that you can't possibly make something this derivative without putting your own twist on it later

God I fucking hope so.

>The idea of someone finally getting his dream job as director for a mecha anime animated by Trigger and then using that chance to make the most generic by-the-books shit possible is too cringeworthy for words

That's the age we live in right now. Everything is by the books, safe, derivative. Everything is controlled by people who would rather make safe bets that made money in the past, than experiment with new interesting ideas. They don't care if it's boring as long as it makes a profit. I'm starting to think TTGL was Gainax/Trigger's swan song and nothing will ever come close to that level of engagement and drama again. Even that was derivative, but the characters and the plot advancement was solid gold.

I cant believe I'm getting Darling Cucked by my best friend Mitsuru.

>>786469

If he managed to get out and was in a good enough condition to request another try it'd prevent her from getting the dick from the cuck

>>786470

Yes, however she knew just from looking at him that that wouldn't be the case with that "taste" thing she does.

Also do you think it will ever be revealed how he rode with her whilst unconscious?? or was it cowgirl?

>>786471

He's just that good and special.

Or more likely he can ONLY ride with her while unconscious.

>>786413

Is there a symbolism when they show her with or without horns in certain stills?

>>786429

Or perhaps he wanted to see someone else fail at piloting oni because hes insecure and not sure if he was piloting or being piloted.

>>786482

Functional people have no room for character growth. The only direction from there is down, and then everyone would hate the anime for the protag slowly becoming more of a faggot.

>>786484

I honestly believe that this character grow or progress thing in every story is just a newfangled expectation. I mean, the fundamental hero story is about the hero overcoming a challenge, not about changing his personality to the better. Yet I read people bitching about a lack of "character progress" in stories like Lord of the Rings. Yet by the same criteria most if not all myths and classic stories would fail. Damn, you could say that there is no character progress in Hamlet, and it's hard to find a more character-driven story than that.

>>786490

>newfangled

Whoa there grandpa. There's plenty of character growth in LOTR, so I don't know what those people are talking about. I could go on all night about that but it's off-topic. Many of the OLDEST myths and stories are extremely short and boil down to a person overcoming an obstacle, and they don't feature character growth because the entire story (as much as got successfully passed down through generations) is like 5 sentences long. Everything after that is either Mary Sue wish fulfillment crap, or stories about characters improving themselves to overcome obstacles. Humans don't get attached to stories if they don't have any human elements they can identify with, like physical, intellectual, or emotional weakness. Star Wars OT was simplistic as all hell when it came to plot, but people wanted to see Luke finish his quest because they identified with him when he started.

>>786337

>>786338

He meant swinging. NTR is cheating; they’re not the same.

>Thought it'd be Nippon breeding propaganda.

>Maybe it'll be as charming and fun as Little Witch Academia but sexier.

>It ends up being NTR.

>Has none of the charm that Gurren Lagann or LWA had.

What is Trigger doing?

>>786521

Dropping the ball as per usual.

>>786527

That's what they look like when they "connect" to pilot the mechs

>>786521

Apparently they didn't get hamfisted melodrama out of their system after Kiznaiver. I'm still engaged enough to want to see what they'll do with it, but all 3 episodes so far are clearly pointing towards an angsty love polygon flaring up drama, all dressed up as being much more meaningful than it actually is if the monologue at the beginning of ep1 was any indication. The "evil adults manipulate child soldiers and cause dysfunction" thing is fine, but it's old and overdone at this point (Gundam will be 40 soon for fuck's sake) and it seems like they're just doing it so they can have a plot excuse for drama (MC forced by orders to choose between disobeying or being a cuckold) and as a way to stuff in more Eva references.

>>786532

>>786521

A1 is also involved in the writing, it's not just Trigger. And Mari Okada wrote Kiznaiver.

That being said, I don't like this series a lot either.

>>786518

Why couldn't the anime go full ecchi like this? Not suitable for a christian broadcasting company? Would it distract too much from the themes, or pound the viewer over the head with them? Wait for BDs?

>>786537

They could've gotten away with a lot more if they didn't have to meet multiple network's restrictions, for sure. It'd be near impossible to pitch 2 cours worth of original anime for OVA format, though, especially these days.

>pound the viewer over the head with the themes

It's already doing that, really.

>>786537

Because it is boring, think of how many doujinshi you go threw with your limp dick in your hand before you find something worth a damn. Half the time its the thrill of the hunt (followed by the nut) that does it for you. Once you find something good its a couple minutes tops and you're done, and moved on. Not saying I don't like a good ecchi ova, 2 love-ru was amazing. I don't know why ecchi doesn't go along more often, all I can think of is that it just becomes vulgar after a while. Its a logistic problem as time and talent have to be allotted for ecchi plus it isn't compatible with a lot of tones and themes while not making a lot of sense and bordering on ludicrous. Even in this episode fanservice dropped waaaaaay off compared to the first two episodes, its a good hook for guys who just hit puberty.

Also ecchi anime exists but it tends to employ mosaics.

>>786372

>They talked about numbers in the teens being rare

Not teens, that's a translation mistake. Goro was saying they are like siblings because ichigo and hiro are 015 and 016. Close numbers in the tens range.

>>786483

Yeah, pretty much. He wanted proof that he was special enough to be with 02 so he wouldn't be thrown out. I won't argue that it wasn't stupid, though- all he did in the end is get Mitsuru injured, meaning that they'll be down a franxx in the future.

>>786546

Given the overall lewd theme and manga artist they'd better not have just being using it as a hook for the first 2 episodes only.

>tends to employ mosaics

Or horrible novelty filters (looking at you DxD or KnJ).

>>786414

That would explain it. These threads are going to be trash because for whatever reason we've received an influx of half/a/ scum. The hope would be that they'll all drop it at some point, but like >>786420 one of their defining properties is they keep shitting up threads about things they neither like nor watch.

>>786469

I figured it out actually, since this show is exploring sex and relationships Hiro is the fucking grass eater. Think about it there is an epidemic in japan of all these guys who just drop pursuing relationships all together of course this show is going to explore that but the question is "who is supposed to be the grass eater" since Hiro is the only one with the highest compatibility with her of course he is, and his "not going to age" property is just a pretense to hammer this point home everyone else is going to be older then him because he will be forever a manchild.

This thread is like if my high school English teacher watched anime.

Hiro made the right decision.

>>786560

Making one last post about why the show is highly unappealing (or at least intending to, before a certain someone started bring it up) is not "shitting up threads". What you're asking for is a hugbox, where only the opinions you want are allowed and any criticism that you don't like is shitposting.

>>786573

It's not reading too much into it when Trigger were the ones who made the piloting = marriage metaphor explicitly obvious. When they do that and then them, we assume not deliberately, fuck it up, there is no reason why we can't criticize them for it. If you make an extremely obvious metaphor you're going to have to consider what it means in the long run - or at least something as basic as apply it to your main character(s) actions.

Instead of being so upset at people applying logical thinking to something, be upset at Trigger for fucking up the writing. Is this the first time you're in a thread about something with poor writing? Shows like that get shat on all the time, so why do you people expect this one to be immune to criticism?

>>786491

>Everything after that is either Mary Sue wish fulfillment crap, or stories about characters improving themselves to overcome obstacles

Are you really suggesting that any story that doesn't feature character growth is shit? I'm pretty sure you'd find plenty of exceptions even in your own library, nevermind anime as a whole. If anything, the only stories that really stick to the mandatory character growth formula are shonenshit, and they're called shonenshit for a reason.

>>786593

If you're just watching something for the spectacle and don't give a fuck about the characters, then yes I think it's safe to say, it is a shit story. Appreciating visual spectacle is fine, but you should have the self-awareness to realize that if they go back to the status quo at the end of the episode, it's kinda shit and you're only in it for the visuals. Similarly, comfy slice of life stuff has an almost complete absence of story or character building. We watch it because it's wish fulfillment, we wish we were in that setting with those characters having comfy fun times. But it's not a story.

>>786573

No one is reading too much into it though, the way they talk and act is clearly made to be taken sexually. And I'm not talking about the subs, it's like that in Japanese too.

When 002 says "Are you okay with me riding with someone else?" it's clearly meant sexual, and even Hiro regrets it and wishes she would have refused it.

Miku gets angry when her partner talks about riding with other girls, Hiro and Ichigo kiss while Goro knows nothing, Mitsuru yells about how he can ride 002 to his partner and Hiro's face. Like it or not a lot of things in this show can be interpreted as cheating, NTR, swinging.

I've even checked 5ch, not going to read 1000 posts but they talk about it. I've seen people saying "I like NTR awesome", "This anime's selling point is NTR doujins.", "Keep on swapping partners", "Director sucks, if you're gonna do ntr don't show only the guy and do it right"

As everyone knows Nips have shit taste. NTR supporters are more vocal there than people against it, basically opposite of here. I hope mods won't nuke the threads because this is a part of the show that deserves criticism.

>>786599

This is more of a semantics argument than a literary one

>this and that are not really proper stories because something something

But it still leaves the exception that are works which prioritize worldbuilding over character development.

>you should have the self-awareness to realize that if they go back to the status quo at the end of the episode, it's kinda shit and you're only in it for the visuals

Lack of character development doesn't equal to lack of story development, things can happen in a story without the standard "challenge, hero has to rise to challenge, hero rises to challenge" arc. Specifically, the middle one can be omitted.

<but then it's wish fulfillment which is categorically shit

I guess, suit yourself. I personally don't have a problem with a competent, decently written hero being able to deal with problems.

>>786573

>Hiro made the right decision.

It wasn't, because Mitsuru got wrecked as a result. Still, based on what he knew at the time it was the most rational available to him, especially since he'd just got done failing at piloting Delphinium and failing out in the field like that would result in the deaths of all his friends. He voted for the pilot he thought had the best chance of making it work, his problem was he didn't have a complete picture of the situation.

>>786601

>This thread is like if my high school English teacher watched anime.

<responds with this autism, proving anon's point

Good grief.

>>786580

Claud go back to your self imposed containment board, reddit spacing fag.

>>786616

Can't reply so you resort to shit flinging?

There's even a thread complaining about everything being shitty sexual metaphors on 5ch. itest.5ch.net/test/read.cgi/anime/1516787578/

Even Elevens get it, what's so hard to understand?

>100 posts in a few hours

Wow, this episode sure was something huh?

>>786640

I have only posted 3 times in this thread, and first time in a thread about this show. You might be confusing me with someone else but I'm not really trying to win an argument at all cost or anything.

It's just that some people seem to believe there are no metaphors or hidden meanings in this show when you'd have to be a retard to miss or not understand them.

Yeah, this show is just about teenagers battling weird aliens and that's all. The ass controllers and compability is just Dr. Franxx guy fooling around. There's no reason behind the plantation looking like a boob with a nipple and connecting them being called kissing. It's all just an in-joke by the professor and we'll have 24 episodes of battling aliens and it'll be just that.

Even the manga is drawn by the To love-ru guy and filled with boobs and hidden vaginas reflecting from water drops. You'd have to be denser than a harem MC to miss the metaphors in this show.

>>786549

>meaning that they'll be down a franxx in the future.

Since they were prepared to let six pilots and three franxx get fucked, I don't think they care.

>>786649

But they didn't say it was made of magma.

Good luck figuring out that the blue orb is magma and their weapons is powered by magma with something other than guesswork.

>>786650

>It's just that some people seem to believe there are no metaphors or hidden meanings in this show

Don't care. Whether there are or aren't there's no reason to sperg up the thread.

>You might be confusing me with someone else

I don't know how much of it was your fault specifically, there are many people here that need to take it easy.

>>786662

Does it matter? That detail isn't important to the setting, why do they have to cram all those side issues into the first episode?

>>786560

>for whatever reason

A popular halfcuck mobile application has recently added support for 8ch

>>786666

There is nothing wrong with that anon's posts. You, on the other hand, are shitposting for no good reason. Ironic that you would tell others not to "sperg up the thread."

>>786674

>>>/tech/855270

>>786405

This, they saved us from Josh.

This show isn't pro cheating or NTR. Anything that could be suggested as those things has ended in failure and pain. So far lit looks to be pointing out those things are bad.

>>786695

The entire point of cucking is failure and pain though.

>>786613

I'm willing to bet the competent, decently written heroes you speak of still grow in some way and you just don't consider it growth because it's not a strict shounen formula.

>>786696

Not for the cucker it isn't.

>>786701

Been expecting him to name her Oni from the start. They even teased a naming this time. Are they avoiding it because it's too obvious?

>>786706

I'll be looking forward to next week's episode and staying the hell away from threads until then. Fortunately I have 15 other shows I can talk about.

>>786707

I don't think he'll name her that for exactly that reason. I predict Sakura or Hana.

>>786706

>we don't want to be fed cuck propaganda

>WE'RE the faggots

>>786451

>>786408

TTGL was a bit of a slow starter too and took 8 episodes to finally tip its hand. I have a feeling that with its pacing and all the setup with the obvious Eva references this is going to be fairly slow until around then too.

>>786713

It's gonna be Oni or Honey.

00 -> 8 Ha, 2 ->Ni ハニー Fits theme with Darling Honey plus the city has a beehive theme inside.

>>786735

At least that one is ambiguous, since her knees were dirty it's likely she was made to bow even though she is prideful. Rape just doesn't fit Spice and Wolf.

>>786742

Not that one, the time when some merchant tried to cuck Lawrence.

>>786742

>Honey

Oh that works great, it'll be that.

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Darling in the FranXX. The cuckoldry is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical NTR most of the adultery will go over the typical viewer’s head. There’s also 002’s unloyal outlook, which is deftly woven into her characterization. Her personal philosophy heavily draws from Anthony Burch videos, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly prep the bull, to realize they’re not just getting cucked, they say something deep about ANIME.As a consequence people who dislike Darling in the FranXX truly ARE idiots - of course they wouldn’t appreciate, for instance, the eroticism in 002’s unloyal adultery in episode 3, which itself is a cryptic reference to the NTR section on hentaihaven.com. I’m smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Triggers genius wit unfolds itself on their computer screens. What fools...How I pity them.

>>786735

Yeah I remember it ruining the entire S2 for me and really left a sour taste on the franchise.

Isn't the whole point of this thing that you should stick with a partner that works with you, that being forced with partners you don't like sucks and things end up badly, and that if you switch partners around things end up poorly?

This is the opposite of pushing NTR or cuckoldry or whatever. It's like people see the partner switching part of the show but then completely ignore the fact that when they do that things don't work out well.

Until partner swapping actually ends up resulting in something positive I believe any post accusing this of NTR or cucking can be safely ignored as 4chan retardation.

>>786801

I think the problem is the partner-swapping happening in the first place.

If Hiro and Oni both refused this thread wouldn't have this many posts

>>786801

You can easily accuse the MC of being a cuck though.

Telling your girl to go with somebody else and repeating your demand when she questions it, and then getting all depressed when she obeys you.

Hiro is a little shit and he needs a good dicking.

>>786804

Sure but I think they wanted to show the bad consequences of switching partners. It's been pretty well established that doing so only ends up poorly. Maybe they could have used other characters to show this instead of the MCs but it kind of had to be 02 and Hiro because they're different from regular pilots.

>>786805

He had to pick between letting 02 pilot with someone else or letting 6 of his friends die, did you even watch the episode? While the piloting is obviously a metaphor for relationships or sex, it is NOT having a relationship or having sex. Do the pilots even see it like that? The pilot swaps that happened left people disappointed in a similar way any time this happens in shows without any of these relationship metaphors. This is a pretty common thing in anime, at some point the partner has to do the thing with someone else and no one is happy about it. They perform once with someone else, it sucks, and the end result is they like the original partner even more. The only one who felt like she was cheated on so far was Ichigo and even she realizes she shouldn't be feeling as shitty as she is.

Hiro let 02 pilot with someone else to save people and he wasn't happy with it. Neither was 02. He didn't let 02 take a dicking to save people, if that was what was going on then I would have dropped this already.

>>786810

He could easily have demanded to be the pilot himself. The brass was in a tight spot, and they might have given in, given a little more pressure. But there was no pressure from him because he felt too intimidated to try.

It was not just about saving his friends. That's exactly why he got depressed about her not saying no.

His self-esteem issues played a big role in the scene.

>>786813

Partially agree, he should have pushed a little more, but I wouldn't say the brass was in a tight spot, we don't know how valuable the parasites and Franxx really are, but it looked like they were fine with just letting them die in the mines.

And we're talking about someone who spent his whole life in military facilities taking orders from these higher ups. This isn't like in Gundam where civilians end up working for the military so we get Amuro fighting with Bright about what he can and can't do. Hiro knows what the boundaries are.

He got depressed because he didn't get to pilot, and because of the possibility Mitsuro could do well enough piloting with 02 that Hiro would have no chance to ever do it again (this is reinforced in the scene where they're watching the fight and Mitsuru is boasting about how well he's doing).

Of course Hiro didn't want someone else piloting with 02, but that was the only option he had at the time that allowed him to save his friends. I don't think there are self-esteem issues here, Hiro wants to pilot really fucking bad.

>>786819

>I don't think there are self-esteem issues here,

And I think that it's in line with what we've been shown of him so far. The first episode had him trying to leave the facility because he feels worthless.

>>786821

Believing in some inherent self worth is some /pol/ tier bullshit.

>>786821

And then he figured out he can pilot with 02. Maybe it is self esteem issues, but being unable to pilot was basically depriving him of his reason to be alive, and piloting with 02 did give him a confidence boost of sorts.

>>786828

Believing in some inherent worthlessness is some really weak faggot shit. Are you seriously criticizing people for believing in self-worth? What the hell is wrong with you?

Anyone ITT who has read the manga, how is it compared to the anime?

So, people can ride with her and not almost die, like Mitsuru before she went "all out". She's actually purposely killing her partners so she can find her "darling".

It's romantic in a way.

>>786843

She wants the one she can go all out with.

>>786842

I see. I thought maybe it might have a lot more content. Since anime often begins from a well-developed manga. But I guess this one is straight manga -> anime every week, huh?

>>786844

But can she really go all out with Hiro?

After piloting with her he looked just as beaten up as everyone else she piloted with

>>786843

It may well be that she deliberately held back with Hiro because she didn't want to hurt him, as she did with Mitsuru until he managed to really piss her off.

>>786848

No, he was just unconscious. The blood was hers from trying to pilot it alone earlier.

>>786848

>But can she really go all out with Hiro?

That's the question of the day, right? My guess is yes, she will be able to eventually. But probably not immediately.

>>786853

>It may well be that she deliberately held back with Hiro because she didn't want to hurt him, as she did with Mitsuru until he managed to really piss her off.

I don't think that's the case because the klaxosaur they fought was a big one.

>>786848

>But can she really go all out with Hiro?

I believe so but it would be pretty interesting if she can't. Then it would turn into a story about how she found the perfect piloting partner into how she just pretended she did because she really liked how he looked from a distance and fell for him.

>>786843

I rather think she's using them as non throwaway batteries. A necessary evil to accomplish the mission. I don't think it's something as frivolous and self serving as making herself available. Anyways she can always switch partners, why would she have to kill them?

>>786844

She wants a reliable energy source.

>>786843

Do we know that he wouldn't have suffered any consequences if she hadn't gone all out?

In any case, the "going all out" greatly accelerated the effects at the least.

>>786420

See you next week.

>Female has red horns.

Isn't that a symbol for female cucking?

>>786946

TTGL was the first anime I downloaded and watched episode by episode as it came out and talked about it with /a/ and it was really good.

>>786948

TTGL didn't really feel like classic GAINAX to me, though.

Franxx feels like I'm watching Gunbuster, Eva, and FLCL so far. TTGL just felt like various other mecha series not made by GAINAX meshed together.

>>786950

Funny that you mentioned Gunbuster. I'm personally getting bits of Diebuster vibes. I can't help but feel that something like in the video will happen.

>>786741

At the ending of TTGL ep 1, I was thinking "holy shit, that was awesome and I want to know more about this world." And then they actually gave me details almost immediately. I also gave a shit about Simon and Kamina instantly because they seemed like cool guys stuck in a shit situation. After episode 1, the scale of what you perceive to be going on constantly increases, bringing new excitement with it. It really doesn't move slowly at all.

By episode 3, TTGL went from nobodies suffering in a hole in the ground, to a team of badasses who have hijacked an enemy robot and fought a commanding officer from the enemy forces. And along the way, they explained why humanity is living in holes in the ground.

Franxx, in the same time, has given us a whole lot of fucking nothing. We don't know ANYTHING about the world besides they live in bubbles and get their energy from geothermal plants, which monsters enjoy sucking on. All the characters are boring except 02, I don't find myself rooting for anyone. Do they live in bubbles because of the monsters, to protect themselves? Was the planet always a desolate wasteland? Are the monsters a new thing in the last 20, 50, 100 years, or have they been there forever? Is it even Earth we're watching? What does everyone who's not a mecha pilot do? Are their lives threatened when the mecha piltos fuck up? Why doesn't anyone seem to care? Everything takes a back seat to partner swapping drama about piloting, but we need more large scale information to determine exactly what's at stake and how we should feel when someone's mech shuts down in the middle of a mission because they de-synced.

>>786963

Same. Noted this since episode 1.

>>786950

Yeah, I divide GAINAX into 3 ages:

Golden Age: Honneamise to Evangelion.

Silver Age: Kare Kano to Diebuster.

Bronze Age: TTGL to Panty and Stocking.

Or alternatively, the Anno Era, the Tsurumaki Era, and the Imaishi Era.

FranXX feels like an anime straight from the Silver Age. Very early 2000s vibe.

I assume the more into the older GAINAX series you are, the more you'd like this, so I'm not surprised by this anon's >>786975

>>786741

I think that while both were slow starters, TTGL and Eva both actually gave us some stakes in the world that were connected to more than just the main cast.

We had people living underground dying because of Beastman mech drops. And Surface dwellers living under their tyranny as well.

For Eva we saw how Tokyo was getting fucked and how the military response wasn't cutting it. In that case we had a face to the population as well.

In Darling we had a sprawling city with no visible people and a ceremony attended by holograms. The kids live in isolation and the rest of the population is invisible.

>>786980

impression* (dammit I fucked my post).

I don't really like any of Imaishi's shows beyond a very superficial level. I like his style but he tends to lose narrative focus (this was evident in his work since Dead Leaves). TTGL, PnS, KlK all are very inconsistent. I was one of those faggots who got really annoyed that the prologue from episode 1 turned out to be nothing (because Imaishi had forgotten all about it) and pissed off hard by the tonal changes after episode 15. Imaishi's works seem to me to be less than the sum of their parts.

FranXX (and older GAINAX anime) are in some ways much the opposite of that. But we'll see how things develop .

>>786985

Part of that is intentional due to the thematics of the story though. (Birds in cages and all that.)

I'm sure we'll get more tidbits about the world as the series gets going. It's not like we're starved for details right now. There's only so much you can put into 20 minutes of story, and I much prefer this approach to the exposition dumps that have been becoming increasingly common, especially with LN adaptations.

We know that there are at least 26 plantations for example. I doubt we'll stay on this one (13) for much longer. I give it until episode 5, or 6 tops.

>>786990

>>786990

>It's not like we're starved for details right now

Speak for yourself

>There's only so much you can put into 20 minutes of story, and I much prefer this approach to the exposition dumps that have been becoming increasingly common

You know when we went down into that city this episode? Just show cars driving around or something.

In the first episode of Evangelion there isn't a lot of population but the city still feels lived in. And outside of the military men in board rooms everyone else is just in cars or tanks. But you know there are people that are dying and fighting.

In the first episode of TTGL we know they are digging holes to make room because of overpopulation. We see people all over the place.

This isn't about infodumps, you can use visual storytelling to convey information as well and for as hamhanded as the symbolism is in this series, I'd expect they could fit other details in as well. Knowing that there are 26 plantations isn't as important as showing us the life that exists in the one the cast is protecting. All the halls are empty and there are no guards outside the birdcage. Maybe there will be information that makes all this agreeable but at this stage it's offputting that we know nothing about this world of real consequence.

>>786992

>Jesus Christ are we ever going to see such an epic name combo ever again?

And create another monster AND another endless waifu war ? no thanks

>>787025

>I don't understand why NTR is popular there

NTR is a subcategory of masochism with an emphasis on self-degradation, and lots of nip men are masochists with poor self-esteem. You should be able to solve this.

>>787031

That's why they might get into NTR, but the question is why they are such masochists with poor self-esteem to begin with. I mean, I know they're inherently lower in testosterone, but NTR isn't the inevitable outcome of that. I have some /pol/-tier hypotheses but I want to maintain a comfortably fun level of derailment.

>>787035

>why they are such masochists with poor self-esteem to begin with

Take your pick.

- Raised with the perspective that good grades in school are life or death and nothing lower than perfect is acceptable.

- Have to compete to get into high schools of their choice.

- Have to do it again with difficulty raised for university.

- When they finally get a good job, seniority is everything and they get shit on by everyone who's been with the company longer than them, for the rest of their employment.

- If they fuck up at their good job after finally earning some respect, they'll be forced to resign instead of outright fired, which destroys a person's self-worth more than just giving them a pink slip.

- If they don't do well in school and get a shit job like retail, a random customer's stupid request has more value than their life.

- If they drop out of society and become a NEET, it's pretty obvious how that fucks people up mentally.

- Usually some pressure from parents mixed into all this, about continuing the family business or being X because your father was X.

- Strict no fun allowed crime-free society with no way to blow off steam besides drinking, video games, and martial arts (which nobody is gonna bother with unless they were brought up doing it as a kid).

>>787048

I have a nisei friend who regularly goes to Japan and from the stuff he tells me it seems like the cousins close to our age he has there are pretty happy. Most of them didn't go to college, they got trade jobs, and those pay really well in Japan, more so than in the US. He has one cousin that did go to college and is now a salaryman but he's not one of those work until you die types, apparently because he isn't in Tokyo or any other major center and they just take it slower in those areas. He also has cousins that are factory workers, I actually know one personally from when he came over here to visit, and he told me the work is pretty relaxed, everyone works well but not to exhaustion, and the boss even takes people out to eat and does barbecues in the factory and pays for everything.

Of course this is all word of mouth from one person and his relative, but what I'm trying to say here is that it is absolutely possible to not be miserable in Japan, you just need to not fall for the dumb shit they push into people.I know it's hard but japs live in a really good place with a lot of good options, they just need to open their eyes and not care so much about all the pressure.

>>786992

How you use Civilians is up the the individual shows. One piece that hit me hard was Kamen Rider Kuuga which made it apparent how many people were dying in these monster attacks and would frequently remind the audience of how many people have died overall. And this number would jump as the threats increased and the Grongi switched to their higher caste of warriors.

The thing I'm asking for is any civilian presence. If you just want implied civilians by virtue of a city being logically populated, and use things like the trains and schools that there are people fine. But at least it's something. These kids live in isolation from the population. There is obviously a good reason for this if Purity is something they are trying to maintain. But as early into this as we are they seemed to jump right into the monster of the week and has shirked the world-building that is necessary to (at least for me) give me some grounding in the setting.

>>787052

At least according to OECD, the average Japanese works less than the average American.

I highly suspect that the "all Japanese work to the death" belief is based on the past and bad reporting.

A similar thing can be said about getting the Japanese citizenship, you always hear how it's impossible but the actual acceptance rate is ~99%.

>>786991

>All the halls are empty and there are no guards outside the birdcage. Maybe there will be information that makes all this agreeable but at this stage it's offputting that we know nothing about this world of real consequence.

The cities are empty because everybody died and the only people alive are associated with the military, showing this to you too early would ruin the twist.

>>787068

If they do that then I'll have no complaints.

>>786591

>We are literally operating at a rate of 1 thread per episode.

It's finally happening. I don't know whether to be glad or scared of us getting to old halfchan speed.

Hopefully this doesn't kill us in a wave of newfags like TTGL did back then.

>>787052

>apparently because he isn't in Tokyo or any other major center and they just take it slower in those areas.

I wouldn't be surprised if Tokyo carried the bulk of the NTR population, sort of like how San Francisco is full of fags.

>>787065

>A similar thing can be said about getting the Japanese citizenship, you always hear how it's impossible but the actual acceptance rate is ~99%.

FUG

If that's true, that is awful. They can say goodbye to their nice low-crime society if they're so accepting.

>>787074

It's probably just this show. The pace in all the other threads seems pretty normal.

>>787085

>If that's true, that is awful. They can say goodbye to their nice low-crime society if they're so accepting.

There are several prerequisites someone needs before even applying to a citizenship though. A high acceptance rate doesn't exactly mean getting Japanese citizenship is easy, it could mean the prerequisites are strict enough to work as a filter, so applying is hard but once you've applied you're good.

>>787088

Ah, so if so, it's just impressive efficiency with the Jap mindset intact. Got a little worried there.

>>786366

Don't forget about Ichigo partner. He also cucked too.

>>787111

>There's a guy and a girl and they're piloting a mech together. What the fuck did you expect?

I was expecting the characters to develop an organic relationship throughout the course of the series instead of swinging/ntr drama shit

>>787113

The problem with that is that when you remove the relationship stuff, you get very little mech anime content

>>787114

>The problem with that is that when you remove the relationship stuff, you get very little mech anime content

Exactly, so what's with all posts implying that this interpretation is just autism and conspiracies?

>>787114

>I was expecting

An action adventure evidently.

>when you remove

Gundam was a character-driven story.

You remove non-mech scenes and you get what, 5 minutes an episode in Gundam? What the hell do you want? The mech in this show is great, and it's the first time in a long time it's drawn in 2D with good attention to weight.

>>787052

>>787048

>>787065

I think it's mainly cities that end up being so shit. Same with every country in the world. Working and living in a city drains your life away. The further you go out from a city, the more relaxed people would be.

Hell, if I ever visit Japan, I'd take more interest in seeing places Hokkaido than Tokyo.

Trigger is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

>>787065

The real issue is more the amount of worthless makework that they seem to have a hard time shaking. Although we're starting to get bad on that front here in the US as well.

>>786626

>5ch

You know that's nip reddit, right? Futaba channel is the image board.

>>787124

Kyoto is supposed to be a good piece of "real" Japan, among others. Hokkaido is mostly farms and forest, though, isn't it? But I've been told that you have to see Tokyo at least once just to see it in person, because it's just an impressive place to be in. I'm not a city person, either, so I'm not sure it's totally worth a stop.

>>787122

>Gundam was a character-driven story.

>You remove non-mech scenes and you get what, 5 minutes an episode in Gundam? What the hell do you want? The mech in this show is great, and it's the first time in a long time it's drawn in 2D with good attention to weight.

That's all true, but when you look at this show without the understanding of the relationship metaphor it just feels very by the numbers. Generic protagonist meets weird girl. Weird girl likes protag because reasons. Protag can't pilot with anyone but her. She hurts anyone else who tries to pilot with her. Maybe they'll give it more depth later on, but without the stupid drama, it feels very by the numbers. The designs for the mechs look cool and the action seems great, but that's barely there

>>787128

I think Tokyo would be worth a stop only if you know where exactly you want to go. Check out some museums, specialty shops, and the like. Spots that interest you.

As for Hokkaido, there's some big cities near the coasts, but it's still mainly rural. Wouldn't mind taking my mauser and some bourbon to go on a camping/hunting trip there.

>>786810

>Do the pilots even see it like that?

Hiro did that crazy kissing thing with Oni. What if asshole does that with her too to pilot!?

>>786830

>Are you seriously criticizing people for believing in self-worth? What the hell is wrong with you?

Sounds like that asshole just wanted to start shit by throwing /pol/'s name out there.

>>786980

>I assume the more into the older GAINAX series you are, the more you'd like this

It's true. Gunbuster didn't really pick up until episode 4, where it turned into an unforgettable ride unlike anything else.

>>786986

Imaishi shows have solid, classical animation and silly themes and old otaku references. I mean references for the original otaku that goes over most modern viewer's heads.

It carries the flame of where otaku came from, the SF clubs. For example, in the clubs, there were sub-groups like military otaku, train otaku, game otaku, etc. and one actual group was the Sailor Fuku otaku. "Sailor Fuku will rule the world!" was something that was said in those groups. This is the basis for Kill la Kill.

This sort of thing, this old flame on their shoulders, is what I like about Imaishi the most.

But yeah, I agree with you about narrative focus and such.

>>787068

I can't stop thinking about QUALITY Code, where they thought they were protecting a city but in reality they'd been brainwashed by aliens into being their pawns, and the 'monsters' that were attacking the 'city' were actually the human forces trying to break them out.

>>786910

You mean the woman gets cucked or the other way around?

She's got some mixed imagery going on with her, her name essentially means she's loyal in a relationship but then again her entire theme is a red oni.

>>786601

5ch?

>>787065

>bad reporting.

Like you're doing right now. The citizenship acceptance rate is so high because very few people actually apply. Those with poor prospects of getting citizenship are discouraged from doing so through various means.

>>787130

It's anime original. The managa is the adaptation.

>>787129

>it just feels very by the numbers

So did Evangelion for the first 13 episodes. It was a monster-of-the-week type of story with high production values (for its time, but the directing made it stand the test of time).

>>787133

It's pretty obvious that Mitsuru didn't kiss her. It was a special thing that marked Hiro as 002's "darling", and she did it because she knew his stamen ability was dormant (she knew because they talked about it at the lake). Mitsuru was already proven to be able to sync with a pistil.

>>787184

My mistake, but either way the manga is the path to the lewd, and at least they chose a good artist for it.

>>786890

Larger than average size if indeed correct.

>>786890

>All of the pilots are just "engineered babies", based on a original. Numbers indicate the order in which the originals were introduced into the system

>therefore lower numbers would be considered better, since they have had more versions than the higher numbers

Wouldn't they have less versions than the higher numbers?

> If the pilot exhibited some sort of useful anomaly during his life, it is passed onto his clones

Again, wouldn'T this make pilots with higher numbers better, because they have a higher chance of carrying more "anomalies"? Basically they evolved more than lower numbers?

>>787096

If you interpret the pairs as "copulating" when they enter the mech, and there's no reason not to since the anime beats you on the head with how the pilots are positioned and how the boy grabs the female by the hips (plus the upper part of the female suit looking like a Japanese wedding dress) it is pretty cucky. That whole scene in Episode 3 was the protagonist allowing himself to be cuckolded. Just because the female was too much of a rough ride for the "Chad" doesn't change this simple fact. The gravitas of that whole scene relies exclusively on the audience interpreting it as PC chickening out and letting another guy ride his girl.

The glasses faggot is forgiven because he's too autistic to realize what was going on when Ichigo decided to partner with someone else.

>>787098

It reminds me of that other godawful anime that had a similar male/female pilot setup and beat you on the head with relationship drama. Took place in some not-Venice and had a dumb plot, can't for the life of me remember what it was called.

I just wish we'd finally get a mecha show where the protagonist is a Chad like in Thunderbolt and the plot was more than an Evangelion rehash with NTR on top.

>>787096

>Implying that this show doesn't have the subtlety of a nuke

You'd have to be blind or actively ignoring it to miss this.

>>786992

Eva was pretty open about the human costs, both in terms of numbers, and later on in the plot in the spiritual and moral context of what humanity had to sacrifice to survive. The pilots being children was another deliberate move and it goes to show how they get manipulated and exploited to make them perform.

One thing that struck me with Eva is how Misato mentions to Shinji everyone at NERV is ready to die for humanity, and in EoE you get to see these people, that gave their all to safeguard the species, get slaughtered like cattle once they served their purpose.

>>787260

I was expecting something different, but it's the same NTR garbage we've seen a few times already recently, just with shitty mech designs on top. Outside of the weird piloting dynamic that has yet to be explained and only exists to generate drama so the writers can pretend there is a plot in there somewhere the show is as generic as they get.

>>787253

>Wouldn't they have less versions than the higher numbers?

I think what he means is that each number is it's own series, so if 016 dies he gets replaced by another 016.

>>787272

No that's the Nier Automata of anime.

>>787275

In that case, then we go by this >>786890 and call it the MGS4 of anime.

It makes sense because of all the "2 deep 4 you" shit and no action.

The only way I can see the writers resolving all the bullshit is by having Hiro and Oni fuck with her confiding he's her first. That way they can say they really were just piloting a mecha. Other than that I can't see anything but constant debate among us.

>>787258

>>787420

Symbolism goes both ways: The writers and directors could be using the audience's association of the sexual symbolism with cuckoldry to tell the audience that "Yes, 02 really was getting fucked by another man while Hiro watched", or they could be using it to say "the act itself is platonic, but it feels to the characters the same way the audience would feel about cuckolding".

>>787424

Doesn't matter, what >>787420 said is right, unless 02 is a virgin this whole thing is a dumpster fire on a slow burn.

>>787502

>the anime was "unpure" from episode one

That it was. You have to be a very special kind of autist to look at the in-your-face symbolism at play and not see the NTR shining proudly through. Someone needs to firebomb their offices least this garbage catches on.

>>787502

Sick minds like >>787521 will see their sickness projected into everything, don't bother.

The thread as almost hit bump limit anyway.

>>787521

>Every time "NTR" happens something negative happens

>Somehow this is "NTR shining proudly"

It really is a special kind of sickness.

>>787522

>>787524

>I can't refute the claim that NTR is slapped into the audience's faces at every opportunity so I'll ad hominem

This garbage had two instances of pseudo-NTR on screen not three episodes in, and the female is clearly not pure. Only an idiot would think things are going to improve when anyone with two brain cells he can rub together foresees more pointless relationship drama and the protagonist finding new ways to humiliate himself.

>>787527

For starters the NTR shit has been addressed a million times in the thread, but, again:

Yes, it was pseudo NTR, no it wasn't sex, you imagining her as not pure based on robot piloting partner swapping is entirely on you. Changing piloting partners will only have as much weight as each specific character and each viewer gives it.

>Only an idiot would think things are going to improve when anyone with two brain cells he can rub together foresees more pointless relationship drama and the protagonist finding new ways to humiliate himself.

If this is what really ends up happening it will be shit, but, again, every instance of the pseudo-NTR ended up poorly. NTR is not being portrayed as something desirable, so I believe it will stop eventually.

And do you realize the irony of bitching about ad hominen and then starting a sentence with "Only an idiot..."? At least be fucking consistent.

>>787528

>no it wasn't sex

Nobody said it was sex, just that it is clearly meant to evoke the idea of sex.

>her as not pure based on robot piloting partner swapping is entirely on you

And the fact the show makes it clear she knows more about sex than the other characters.

>Changing piloting partners will only have as much weight as each specific character and each viewer gives it.

This is where we fundamentally disagree. You can choose to ignore the implications, that's on you, but the creators practically beat the audience on their heads with the "symbolism". The MC got cucked, agreed to it even, and what's worse cucked his buddy too. He's pond scum.

>it will be shit

Mate, we're three episodes in and they're already laying on the NTR thick and putrid. It's not that I believe that it will get worse, it is that I know that it will get worse. This has trainwreck written all over it.

>NTR is not being portrayed as something desirable, so I believe it will stop eventually.

Have you ever seen a lewd NTR manga? The kind of people that get a kick from reading it enjoy feeling like shit. I frankly can't recall a single instance where NTR, in any format, is portrayed as something to be happy about by the point-of-view character (usually the boyfriend/husband or childhood friend), but feeling like shit seems to be part of the experience.

>At least be fucking consistent.

I am consistently calling you an idiot.

>>787536

By all means, do show me what makes you think the whole thing won't be an endless loop or relationship drama and NTR teasing. Tell me where you found this well of boundless optimism.

>>787539

Ok.

>Have you ever seen a lewd NTR manga? The kind of people that get a kick from reading it enjoy feeling like shit. I frankly can't recall a single instance where NTR, in any format, is portrayed as something to be happy about by the point-of-view character

Correct me if I'm wrong because I'm no NTR expert, but in NTR porn the person being cucked is unhappy, but the woman and the "bull" are happy about the situation.

In Franxx not only was almost everyone involved either miserable, injured or at the very least reluctant in both instances of partner swapping, but the ventures ended in situations where the lesson learned was basically "we shouldn't try this again".

Ichigo was frustrated, Hiro was frustrated in the first one and devastated in the second one, Mitsuru was injured, 02 has been pretty clear all the time she does not want to ride with anyone except Hiro, and only does it out of duty... only Goro didn't seem to have any problems, it didn't look like he gave that much importance to the swapping, hence me saying "Changing piloting partners will only have as much weight as each specific character and each viewer gives it." This could apply to 02 too, she wants to ride with Hiro but she's not getting irrationally mad or sad about not piloting with him, or him piloting with someone else, like Ichigo was.

Another thing is that they've established that 02 wants to pilot with Hiro, and Hiro wants to pilot with 02. I believe this is the direction the anime is going: swapping partners does not work. They haven't showed us anything to believe it works. The end game will be Hiro and 02 piloting together, and possibly all the other couples doing so too.

Believing NTR is the end all be all of this is insane to me, this is moving towards a Hiro and 02 relationship. Hiro can only pilot properly with 02, 02 will kill anyone else she partners with except Hiro, where else could they go with this setup?

But what I won't do is pretend I know how this will turn out, I don't know why you said I have boundless optimism when I even said in my post that if things end up like you say they will this anime will be complete shit. This could end in NTR hell but based on everything they've shown so far this seems like the less likely outcome to me. Seeing the drama from the first 3 episodes and reaching the conclusions you reached seem like a very superficial way to interpret things to me.

Even if the NTR goes away the show isn't very good. It lacks a lot of the charm that Trigger shows usually have. It feels generic honestly. It's just not very good. I kind of want to rewatch Little Witch Academia now.

Isn't it more about settling for used goods than NTR?

Either way it's obvious every doujin of this will include NTR. Next comiket will be worse than normal.

>>787579

Sorry, I was fucking with someone on /erp/ and I forgot to turn the trip off.

>>787548

>Believing NTR is the end all be all of this is insane to me, this is moving towards a Hiro and 02 relationship.

I agree here. It's going to be a love story, where they all fall in love following Hiro and 02's example.

>>787569

Your taste is shit and you should feel bad. This has all the trappings of a classic GAINAX show. Imaishi is through screwing around and wants to do something semi-serious again finally.

Taking bets now. Is Hiro's Darling status because he's subordinate enough for femdom yet able to keep the reins, or is it because he turns into a MAN when he feels at home in the cockpit? Haha, it's neither.

>>787521

You're wrong. The nice thing about interpreting symbolism is that said interpretation is colored by the observer; either you are a remarkably insecure wretch, or you've decided to parrot the views of a remarkably insecure wretch. Either way, you should probably go back and re-watch for clarity. I'll even give you a neat keyword: Womb.

>>787593

At the same time, this is absolutely true, the veneer taken at absolute face value can translate to oodles of NTR doujin. Burn Comiket instead.

[CUCKS BLOWN THE FUCK OUT]

Where were you when Gainax saved anime again? I hope the last episodes aren't as shallow as KLK and we all get

GAINAX'D

Well hey would you look at that, we've established that Hiro can pilot with Oni without being damaged...something we knew since the end of episode one.

USELESS EPISODE ONCE AGAIN

>>789164

>keyword: Womb.

Life must be tough in the womb, constantly fighting to tame your sweaty phallus especially when it is almost as big as you and has horns.

It is very dangerous to leave your meat stick on autopilot, bad things can happen.

>>787660

And a Steven Universe reference... yes we are being raided.