The consistent conversation surrounding Darling in The FranXX isn’t around its lavish flashes of visual prowess.

It’s not around its for better or for worse writing.

And it’s not around any thematic substance it attempts to muster up and cleanly convey.

No, no, no.

The consistent conversation is around Zero Two’s sex appeal.

Zero Two is hot, no scratch that, she’s downright sexy according to a notable chunk of the community, and if you even remotely wade into a Darling in the FranXX forum or comment section, you’ll surely find someone pointing this out to you somewhere.

It virtually doesn’t fail.

Even in content/discussion that’s not directly about her, lusting over Zero Two and her beauty still finds a way to show up.

 

 

However, what I don’t understand is why.

To me Zero Two doesn’t look any better than your typical pink haired bishoujo in anime.

Her character isn’t exactly that interesting either.

So I really didn’t get the amount of fascination and praise for her from all corners of the community.

Well, that’s until I decided to ask around and actually got better discussion on the topic than I thought I would.

And now here I am.

Prepared to give you a take on this pink haired chick’s appeal that’s hopefully a little more insightful than the “she’s got gud anime tity xD” reasoning I was seeing before all of this.

 

 

For starters, a viewer won’t discover her scope of honesty in just any common bishoujo, definitely not with her mix of traits as well. Zero Two has shown to be playful, funny and alluring – yet passionate about her duties leaving little speculation to the foundation of her appeal on a personal level.

When you turn your attention to her aesthetic, many would agree that her physique is gorgeous. But beyond that obvious note, it’s her overall depiction in context that makes her shine.

Zero Two’s portrayals aren’t incredibly elaborate – yet they tend to act as a fine testament to what fundamental choices could do to make a character look attractive.

Pink for her hair, layered in an abundance of tints and white depending on the illustration in question, makes for a calming vibe – everything is tranquil here, so much in fact, that it’s almost like a soft lullaby.

As you descend from there, her fair toned skin is an immediately standout aspect, followed hastily by the waves of crisp colors from her cyan eyes to the burnt orange of neatly knotted tie which are quick to swallow up attention.

Building on that and directing your gaze to the artwork above, her head isn’t too spherical or sharp – this particular artist found the balance needed that still aligns to proper anatomy, which is a more missed on feature than most come to realize. Furthermore, Zero Two’s cheeks and chin are all angled appropriately bringing a sense of fluency to finish and close out her face.

When you move onto her well-endowed upper body, her red uniform instantly denotes power and grabs attention.

There’s a lot of pink haired anime girls, and even more anime girls in general that are sketched with way too over sized mammary glands, however, Zero Two’s never steps in that messy territory.

Pushing forward, it’s not that the selection of hue that’s attractive, but rather the active color scheming when you shift attention to the whole of her ensemble. The choices are very complimentary, not only to particular pieces of her outfit – but to the backgrounds and scenes she’s usually seen in as well.

In the same vein, there’s nothing really shocking about the line work in most of her imagery– rather, it’s their restraint of heavy use which makes them formidable and inviting. The lines fade away notably at particular points in an effort to drive home the shadow and volume – sketching the form of this enchanting character’s body and legs.

Regardless of that, the colors still manage to harmonize without anything blatantly disruptive or abrasive occurring – and the color usage in itself is very graceful and precise, hence the soft yet distinctive appearance like the work above, which ultimately makes for a more sensual mood; further enhanced with exquisite expressional work and light lollipop touch.

Finally, most pieces Zero Two finds herself the subject of are powerful in the sentiments they attempt to invoke, but varying degrees of conservative in how they portray it. Ultimately they end up embodying the seductive and sensuous nature Zero Two thrives on, and mixed with the based notes of her personality, what inevitably drives her amount of attention to the status it is today.

 

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