Darling in the FranXX

Darling in the FranXX is a 1998 American animated science fiction romance television series produced by Sensation Animation and animated by Bear Bones Australia that premiered on January 13, 1998. The series was announced at Bear Bones' Expo panel in July 1997. A comic adaptation by Cameron Murphy and another four-panel comic strip manga began serialization on January 14, 1998.

Darling in the FranXX is set in a dystopian future where youth are artifically created and indoctrinated solely to defend the remnants of civilization. The story follows a squad of ten pilots, particularly focusing on the partnership between Hiro, an esteemed former prodigy, and Zero Two, a hybrid human and elite pilot who aspires to become entirely human. The series features symbolism relating to the mythological Jian, an imperfect bird with only one eye and wing and thus may only fly when paired with another.