Well then…
What They Say:
“Your Thorn, My Badge”
It’s time for Plantations 13 and 26 to start kissing, and the squad prepares for the huge battle this will cause. They also have to get used to Hiro being Zero Two’s partner, and so does he.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Things are getting pretty intense. Plantation 26 and 13 are undergoing the “kissing” process of transferring magma fuel reserves from one plantation to another. They are preparing for the fiercest battle they have ever fought because of the large number of klaxosaurs this will attract. Hiro has been going through some after-effects from riding with Zero Two, of which Goro is worried about but Zero Two is very aware of, of course. Hiro has this growth developing on his chest that has apparently been there since the last time he rode with Zero Two. Goro is the only one that knows about this so far. Zero Two is very aware of it and asks once again whether Hiro is still sure about riding with her; Hiro, of course, is still ready and willing. He’s doing anything to fulfil his purpose even if it kills him sooner rather than later. It feels like a calm before the storm when he talks about feeling more alive despite his pain. This is obviously because of the fact that he knows that he can pilot but it doesn’t make it any less of a naive way of thinking. It really brings into perspective how important fitting in is in their society of parasites.
Hiro is being very stupid about his decisions. He is still very much in that mindset that, even if it kills him to ride with Zero Two, it will be worth it because he gets to live out his purpose. I really hope it doesn’t come to that and that it doesn’t cause something to happen to the squad. This episode has some symbolic things to it, one of them being the water drop we get as a sort of transition between some scenes. This could represent the ripple effect and how this relates to Zero Two’s presence on their plantation. Every drop comes before a scene where we get a taste of how her presence has changed a few of them in the sense that everything was normal until she came along. This is especially true for Ichigo, Goro, Misturu, and especially Hiro. Ichigo is worried about Hiro, as is Goro.
Speaking of Goro and Ichigo, I think my favourite moment was their interaction after she had an exchange with Zero Two. If you had been going through this series not believing that these kids know nothing about their feelings or bodies, well here’s definitive evidence. Ichigo reacts to her painful emotions she feels in response to her feelings towards Hiro, and Goro moves to touch her and is confused at the feeling he has to do so. I found this to be very important in these kids realizing the effects emotions have on them, even if they don’t know what they are yet. Goro could be in love with Ichigo and he’s reacting to it but not knowing why, and Ichigo is the same but about the unrequited love she feels for Hiro. It was a great character moment and it made me think.
I thought it was really interesting to hear about the differences between the squad we know and this new set of parasites. Their franxx look more alike rather than unique like Plantation 13’s and have more similar weapons for simplicity in battle. I also thought it was interesting when we found out that Zero Two had fought with the members of Plantation 26 once before, even getting the main guy’s partner killed (he’s not given a name or a code that I could see). This could be foreshadowing of the ensuing battle ahead with the swarm of klaxosaur and I am not prepared to watch anyone on squad 13 die…
In Summary:
The next episode is going to kill me, I know it. My fears aside, this is the best episode of this series so far. It gives us the sense of impending doom while showing the children of 13th Plantation become confused about the emotions they feel. I liked seeing another squad from another Plantation to show a contrast.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
