Darling in the Franxx
Best Anime of 2018 (Must Watch Anime)
Speaking of Gurren Lagann, Darling in the Franxx is the product of Studio Trigger and A1 Pictures, the former of which is responsible for some of the best action scenes the medium has to offer.
Set in the distant future when Earth’s land is almost entirely gone, the last slivers of humanity reside in a mobile fort city named Plantation. Children born here are kept inside, forbidden to never learn of the outside world.
They’re tasked with carrying out combat missions to the point where piloting robots called Franxx give them meaning to live.
These giant mechs are used to do battle against huge lifeforms called Kyouryuu, who constantly threaten what remains of the human race. As grim as all of this may sound, Darling in the Franxx is actually pretty lighthearted in nature.
The way in which these Franxx are piloted, for instance, will leave you scratching your head for days. It’s silly, fun, and delivers on all the action you’ve come to expect from Trigger after all these years.
Devilman Crybaby
Best Anime of 2018 (Must Watch Anime)
The Netflix original show Devilman Crybaby stays true to Go Nagai’s manga from decades ago and succeeds in delivering on just about all the hype in had accrued up until release.
Starring an innocent young man named Akira who’s suddenly possessed by one of Satan’s servants, Devilman is a show that expertly lays out the trials and tribulations of becoming an adult through a series of metaphors and surprisingly graphic images.
It culminates in a battle that pits the purest of human instinct against the sanctity of human intellect, resulting in something that’s far from perfect.
If you’re a person that’s easily turned off by gore and sexual content, Devilman Crybaby certainly isn’t for you. If you’re willing to push past that to discover the themes that the show lays out before you, you won’t be disappointed with what you find.
Oh, and that’s not even mentioning all the great hip hop tunes you’ll get to listen to.