Genista

Genista (ジェニスタ) is a FRANXX from Thirteenth Plantation piloted by Kokoro and Mitsuru. It was originally piloted by Kokoro and Futoshi.

Appearance
Genista is a mainly black, dark gray, and green mecha robot with light pinkish-purple eyes. Its head resembles a hat, and a pair of gold strands resembling hair come out of it. Genista's front body resembles a long dress, and it has cubic shoulder pads. Genista's hands appear to wear black and green mittens and its feet resemble boots. Like other FRANXX, Genista is armed with a weapon. Known as "Rook Sparrow", it is a cannon that is slightly taller than Genista. The cannon is mainly black with green, grey and orange accents. At the top of the cannon is a magma-energy bayonet used to shatter Klaxosaur cores.

When the pistil tries to pilot Genista all by herself, Genista transforms into its Stampede Mode form. In this form, it vaguely resembles a duck, with orange four-pointed stars for eyes appearing on its hat as a big mouth with sharp teeth completely covers where her face would be.

Episode 02: What It Means to Connect
Genista is first seen in Episode 02 when Kokoro and Futoshi synchronize and activate it during the startup ritual. After successfully connecting, Futoshi asks Kokoro if he did it right. Kokoro reassures him that he did great. Zorome tells them to stop acting lovey-dovey, and then the two pilot the mecha for the first time.

Episode 03: Fighting Puppet
Genista is once again connected and activated when it, Delphinium, and Argentea go on their first mission to eliminate a klaxosaur. They all arrive at a Level 8 mine to battle a small Klaxosaur. However, the magma-energy of Genista and the other two robots attract many other Klaxosaurs. After fighting all of them at once proves to be dangerous for them, Genista, Delphinium, and Argentea try to escape but Kokoro (as Genista) realizes that there are a lot more Klaxosaurs in the area. The three of them keep battling the Klaxosaurs until Strelizia arrives to rescue them.

Episode 04: Flap Flap
Alongside the other FRANXX robots, Genista faces off against a worm-type Klaxosaur. With the help of Strelizia, the worm-type Klaxosaur's core is shattered and the klaxosaur defeated.

Episode 06: DARLING in the FRANXX
Genista takes part in the joint operation with Squad 26 to defend their plantations while kissing occurs. Squad 13 stands as the second line of defence and takes care of the klaxosaurs Squad 26 lets pass. Genista struggles due to their inexperience and gets ganged up against by a bunch of klaxosaurs. After the klaxosaurs were killed off, Kokoro praises Delphinium for being so skilled. Ichigo (Delphinium) commands Chlorophytum to take care of Genista as she jumps back into the fight. In the hangar, Zero Two comments Squad 13's tactics are all over the place and are barely hanging in there. She expresses her aching to be part of the fight, so Strelizia jumps into battle and takes out a whole lot of klaxosaurs.

After defeating all the Conrad-class klaxosaurs, Squad 26 attempts to attack 'target Beta' which turns out to be a giant Gutenberg-class. Squad 26 fails to eliminate the Gutenberg-class and runs out of fuel, leaving Squad 13 to defend the plantations themselves. After Argentea moves Squad 26's FRANXX out of the way, Squad 13 regroups and starts attacking the Gutenberg-class as it heads for the plantations. Following discussion, Squad 13 climbs up the klaxosaur so they can stop its movements. Genista struggles to climb up the klaxosaur and Chlorophytum comes to their rescue. When Ikuno reminds Mitsuru they need to create an opening for Strelizia as they pull Genista up he replies annoyedly that she didn't need to tell him. Genista and Chlorophytum shoot into the klaxosaur's legs and cause it to fall on its back.

Strelizia spears the Gutenberg-class but does not shatter its core. The klaxosaur gets up and hurls Strelizia onto the wall protecting the magma fuel lines. This causes Hiro to lose consciousness and disconnect, shown by Strelizia reverting to its stampede-mode beast form. Hiro wakes up in a daze after Naomi chiding him for always running away from his problems and Zero Two looking so sad in his dream. He saw Zero Two struggling to fight on and realises they hadn't killed the klaxosaur, plus Zero Two couldn't continue fighting alone. Hiro comforts Zero Two and they reconnect. After Strelizia reactivates, Genista and the other FRANXX of Squad 13 jump into the Gutenberg-class klaxosaur to create an opening for Strelizia to strike. Strelizia delivers the finishing blow and they defeat the klaxosaur.

Episode 08: Boys x Girls
The klaxosaur Squad 13 battles spews goo all over their FRANXX, including Genista. Although the goo is harmless to the FRANXX, it leaks into the cockpits of the FRANXX and melts off the pistils' FRANXX suits. After recovering from the initial shock, Squad 13 works together to defeat the klaxosaur. When the pistils find out the stamens had been keeping quiet about their FRANXX suits having melted off, they freak out as they realise they had been oogled, with the exception of Zero Two. This sparked off a giant fight between the girls and boys, later on, led by Miku.

Episode 09: Triangle Bomb
Squad 13, including Genista, fights a klaxosaur which is able to expand and shrink its body at will. Mitsuru (Chlorophytum) spots the 'core' and makes a run for it. Chlorophytum gets caught in the klaxosaur trap and is unable to break free, so Delphinium jumps in to save them. When Goro discovers he is being trapped too he quickly ejects Ichigo out of Delphinium before an explosion goes off.

While Goro is trapped inside the klaxosaur, the rest of Squad 13 discussed a strategy to get Goro out alive. Chlorophytum and Genista stand as the last line of defence while Ichigo sits on Strelizia's hand to get to the klaxosaur. She enters the klaxosaur through an exhaust hole on the top and swims to reach Delphinium. Meanwhile, Goro decides he has enough fuel left to make Delphinium self-destruct and take the klaxosaur with it. Just as he is about to activate the bomb, Ichigo enters the cockpit and tells Goro she came for him. Ichigo tells him he's always been so headstrong although he's weak and even though he can't win alone they can win together. Goro smiles and reaches out his hand to Ichigo. They reconnect and escape the klaxosaur, dropping the bomb for it to detonate inside. Once Delphinium breaks free of the klaxosaur Goro yells for everyone to move away. The bomb Delphinium left detonates and takes the klaxosaur with it, defeating it.

Episode 11: Partner Shuffle
Hachi mentions Chlorophytum's kill counts need to improve, to which Mitsuru explains he wasn't feeling very well that day. During the next sortie, Chlorophytum disconnects even before combat. Ikuno turns around to find Mitsuru is ill. After recovering from his fever, Mitsuru tries to pilot again but his para capacity levels remain low and Hachi warns he might become a pruning target. Hence, Nana introduces the idea of a partner shuffle to Squad 13. Ikuno requested to try a pistil-to-pistil connection as she wanted a backup plan in cases when they lost a stamen, which Nana accepted. When Nana asks if anyone else wanted a partner shuffle, Kokoro requests to try riding with Mitsuru, devastating Futoshi as she had previously made a promise to partner him forever. Kokoro and Mitsuru later commence connecting in Genista. While their para-capacity rate is low, it is stable and meets the minimum requirement.

Kokoro and Mitsuru later pilot Genista with the others in a battle against a Gutenberg-class klaxosaur which keeps regenerating into smaller Conrad-class Klaxosaurs, acting as rear defence alongside Chlorophytum. Kokoro creates a plan on how to defeat the Klaxosaur, and Ichigo (Delphinium) approves of her plan. Genista struggles to defeat a Conrad-class klaxosaur to the point where Strelizia had to kill it for them to avoid letting it get past. Frustrated that Hiro had to kill the klaxosaur for him, Mitsuru blindly charges towards the klaxosaur, bouncing off its leg. He begins to slip away and Genista's score drops lower and lower until it completely deactivates.

Inside Genista, Kokoro gets Mitsuru to open up about his insecurities, so Mitsuru reveals why he doesn't trust anyone anymore. Kokoro comforts him and tells him to lean on her more. She reconnects to Genista and enters stampede mode as Mitsuru didn't manage to connect to her. When Mitsuru realised Kokoro was hurting herself he disconnected her from the machine. They smile at each other and reconnect at maximum para capacity. Genista defeats the Klaxosaur using Kokoro's plan, as Strelizia delivers the finishing blow after a powerful blast from Genista's canon reveals where the Klaxosaur's core is.

Episode 12: The Garden Where It All Began
While Squad 13 is at the Garden for tests, a bunch of Conrad-class klaxosaurs are detected in the Garden. The adults are surprised as klaxosaurs have never appeared at this part of the garden before. To take care of the Conrad-class klaxosaurs, Squad 13, including Genista, is dispatched. During the sortie, Zero Two went berserk and went all out of them despite them being very easy to kill. Even after defeating the klaxosaurs, she continued stabbing their remains with her spear. She claimed she was running out of time and she needed to kill more klaxosaurs to become truly human, perplexing Hiro.

Genista is dispatched alongside Squad 13 again to take out more klaxosaurs. Zero Two goes rogue again and Hiro tries to stop her. Zero Two and Hiro disconnect. Her Red Oni form appears, attempting to strangle Hiro, who receives visions of his lost childhood memories.

Episode 15: Jian
Genista takes part in the first battle of the Gran Crevasse with Squad 13 and other FRANXX squads as the 6th United FRANXX Company. Squad 13 is horrified by the klaxosaurs' huge numbers but fights on. They find many other FRANXX squads are fighting too, including Squad 26 and the 9's, plus many more who had perished. When Ichigo asks the 9's for insight on the situation, 9'β states that they've been able to hold the klaxosaurs off but they haven't made much progress. He explains the Gran Crevasse is sealed with a thick dome and the only way to attack it is from the inside, through the entry points the Conrad-class klaxosaurs are exiting from.

The 6th United FRANXX Company takes out a lot of klaxosaurs, but the 9's defeat more. The 9's even take turns in insulting the klaxosaurs, although they are unable to kill all of them since the klaxosaurs just keep coming. Ichigo comments the 9's FRANXX are like a bunch of Strelizias. Code 090 notes they're fighting well and although they are still all over the place he's glad they came. He tells Squad 26 to regroup as Genista, Delphinium, Chlorophytum and the 9's head for the entrance point at the side of the Gran Crevasse. Right before they strike, the control room in Cerasus detects huge magma energy readings from underground and an enormous klaxosaur emerges from the exit point. It is announced the klaxosaur is of super Lehmann-class, to which Hachi comments he has never heard of before. As the super Lehmann-class emerges from the ground, it pushes Plantation 26 onto its side and destroys it, to Squad 26's horror. Vice Chairman commands 090 to execute Protocol 32 and when noticing Code 090 seemed rather hesitant, he adds that it's a great honour. As the super Lehmann-class moves straight for Cerasus, Squad 26 lines up in front of it, armed with bombs. Code 090 whispers it's up to Squad 13 now before they detonate their bombs.

The klaxosaur stops moving but its face crashes through the wall of Cerasus, releasing lots of Conrad-class klaxosaurs inside the plantation. Strelizia jumps into Cerasus and starts attacking the klaxosaurs mercilessly. Squad 13, including Genista, follows her lead but struggles against the klaxosaurs' massive numbers. Kokoro (as Genista) says they're being pushed back. Chlorophytum runs out off ammunition so they rip off a pillar to use as a weapon. Amidst the chaos, Delphinium and Argentea notice a training unit zip past them, realising Hiro was the one who took it out. The training unit is quickly destroyed and Ichigo (as Delphinium) reprimands Hiro for taking it out to see Zero Two. Goro stops her, explaining he can't stand seeing Hiro and Zero Two that way and telling Hiro to get into Delphinium so he can reach Zero Two.

When Ichigo and Hiro connect, Ichigo cries as she finds all of Hiro's memories are of Zero Two, realising Hiro will never see her as more than a sibling. Argentea picks Goro up and takes him to safety while Delphinium makes a beeline for Strelizia. Strelizia attacks Delphinium, who retaliates and they start to fight. Later, Hiro manages to enter Strelizia

Episode 20: A New World
In Episode 20 and 21, Genista takes part in the battle at Gran Crevasse to help Strelizia take control of Hringhorni. However, an alien species called VIRM suddenly appears and begins fighting with the klaxosaurs and kills numerous parasites. Squad 13 is confused whether they should fight the klaxosaurs or the new enemy at first. However, upon seeing the klaxosaurs fighting VIRM instead of them, Squad 13 joins the klaxosaurs in the fight against VIRM. Whilst battling, Mitsuru compliments Kokoro. At first, he calls her by her code number, but when he says her name, it triggers a painful flash in his head as it recalls memories that no longer exist anymore. The headache causes Mitsuru to gradually lose his connection with Kokoro. Kokoro notices and asks Mitsuru if everything is okay, calling him by his name and getting the same painful flash. They deduce the pain was caused by calling each other by name. Confused and frightened, Genista shuts down in the middle of battle and Delphinium has to jump in to save them. Although Genista does not continue in the fight afterwards, it takes part in helping Zero Two reach Hiro later.

Episode 23: DARLING in the FRANXX
In Episode 23, Genista stays behind while the rest of Squad 13 travels to space to help Hiro rescue Zero Two as Kokoro‘s pregnancy renders her unable to pilot. Mitsuru chooses to stay with her, despite the fact he could have gone with another pistil, as he wants to reconcile with Kokoro and take care of their forthcoming child.

After the rest of Squad 13 has left to fight in space, Kokoro takes care of a catatonic Zero Two's wounds. They stand in front of an inactive Genista, watching the battle from Earth. Despite her best efforts, Kokoro is unable to keep up with the growing number of injuries appearing on Zero Two's body, caused by the damages Strelizia sustained in space. However, she stays by Zero Two's side, even during the thunderstorm.

Under Genista's shadow, Kokoro holds on to the lifeless body of Zero Two as the thunderstorm intensifies. Mitsuru calls her to get back inside as the rain is not good for her body. Kokoro doesn't listen, clinging on to Zero Two even tighter and begging Mitsuru to let her protect Zero Two. She admits she feels she was of no use anymore since she was no longer a parasite. However, Mitsuru convinced her otherwise, saying if she had nothing left, he too had nothing. But he'd found his purpose for living - to protect Kokoro and their baby. Even without their memories, they could start over. Crying out each other's names, Mitsuru and Kokoro embrace each other while the new Nana watches from afar.

Episode 24: Never Let Me Go
In Episode 24, within the ten-year time skip, Genista becomes a monument and sits next to the school for the new generation of children.

Trivia

 * Along with Chlorophytum, Genista is the only other FRANXX who does not vaguely resemble the plant that gives its namesake, the actual Genista flower species is a vibrant yellow flowering shrub, while Genista's color scheme is a variety of dark grey with hints of neon green. However, the Genista flower species is known for seed pods that burst open furiously when triggered by insects, which may have been the inspiration for Genista's cannon.
 * The design of Genista's cannon, "Rook Sparrow", could possibly have been inspired by the "Gunlance" from the "Monster Hunter" video game series.

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