Episode 10

The City of Eternity
Kanji	永遠(えいえん)の街(まち)
Romaji	Eien no Machi
INFO
Debut	March 17, 2018
Opening	KISS OF DEATH
Ending	Beautiful World
Episode Guide
Previous	Episode 09
Next	Episode 11

"I've never directly spoken with an adult. But they are always looking after us. If we do our best, they praise us and even give us rewards. If I continue fighting for them, I'm sure that someday I can also become an adult. I've been dreaming forever for this day to come."—Zorome

The City of Eternity is the tenth episode of DARLING in the FRANXX.

Synopsis

The members of the 13th plantation are rewarded for their many recent successes in battle. An award ceremony is held where they are to be given medals,lauded in front of an enormous audience in an even more amazingly enormous auditorium taking place in the city. The children are ecstatic, as it will be their first trip (outside of battle missions that is) to the city which they protect. Among them, Zorome, who had always dreamt of becoming an adult, and have in a similiar way, youths raised soley to be disposable 'assets' doing the same job Zorome is currently undertaking, except in this future anyone that survives their military services & duties, surely himself at the very least will grow-up to be an adult, and just the thought of getting to live such a life is just beyond ecstatic for him.

On the day of the ceremony, the mayor of Plantation 13 personally encourages the children. The ceremony itself ends solemnly, and on the way home, Zorome strays from the group and becomes lost in the depths of the city.

Plot

Zorome narrates that he'd been having the same dream over and over again where he's surrounded by darkness and staring at a distant bright light, and crying. Gradually, the light grows larger until it envelops him, and he lets out a loud peircing scream.

Squad 13’s FRANXX units attack a klaxasaur and easily disarm it. Before Strelizia can kill it, Zorome and Miku deliver the final blow. However, Zorome takes too long to pull Argentea out of the klaxosaur and it shoots blood all over Argentea, much to Miku’s annoyance.

The Seven Sages discuss how Squad 13 is moving ahead compared to other squads. However, they are concerned individualized FRANXX giving a unique asset to the squad as a whole is creating an imbalance with APE’s ideology of calmness and informality, thus making the children imperfect. They decide to move on to the next stage of their plan, as klaxosaur activity has been detected in the depths of the Gran Crevasse recently and it is Squad 13’s duty to escort Zero Two to the Gran Crevasse. Papa agrees and says he will arrange for the squad to undergo maintenance at the Garden. Tarsier suggests that they reward the children and explains it has been custom since ancient times to reward soldiers as inspiration and their way of life reflects a bygone era. Papa agrees.

At the docking lounge, Zorome and Miku argue about their previous battle. Hiro notices that Zero Two seems sad and hasn’t come out of the cockpit, so he asks her what's wrong. She replies that she was just thinking about something. Nana shouts that she has good news.

The parasites gather around her and she happily explains that they have to wear their formal clothing the next day as Papa is going to award them medals. The ceremony will be held in the Plantation Parliament HQ. Though the other kids are excited, Zorome doesn't understand and seems indifferent to the medals. Miku explains that it means they can go into the city. Zorome looks to Nana for confirmation and she smiles. He becomes overjoyed and yells, to the annoyance of Miku.

Zero Two looks indifferent and turns to leave. Before she can, Nana stops her and says that she'll arrange for her to undergo tests while there. Zero Two says that she hates the tests and always feels lousy after she takes them. She turns and smiles, saying that she's in great shape right now and will pass on the tests for a while. After she leaves, Nana says that she thought she'd grown more obedient since she teamed up with a certain someone.

The next morning, the kids stand at the door and they remark that Zorome looks cooler than usual. Zorome smugly agrees, but Futoshi teasingly says that he was checking himself out in the mirror the entire morning. Mitsuru asks how he didn't get sick of it, causing Zorome to become angry. Kokoro giggles and says that he does look a lot cooler, though, returning him to his positive mood. Miku tells Kokoro not to flatter him, causing she and Zorome to bicker again. Hiro notices that Zero Two is being standoffish, but Hachi and Nana open the door and they all leave.

At an ID gate, Hachi and Nana easily pass through. The children hesitate so Nana tells them to come along. Zorome suddenly throws himself through the gate, to the amazement of the others, but lands on the ground.

The children marvel at the city. At the ceremony, the mayor congratulates them and thanks them for their efforts. When he congratulates Ichigo, she says that it was everyone's effort. He tells Zero Two that their plantation is honored that a former Nine like herself has joined them. He turns to Hiro and says that he's lived up well to the expectations placed upon him. Hiro thanks him, but looks troubled and turns to Zero Two who still looks indifferent.

He thanks Miku and when the mayor thanks Zorome, he is overjoyed and offers his hand. The mayor seems confused and walks away.

Afterwards, Zorome stares at his hand. When Hachi says that he's leaving the rest to Nana, the children are disappointed with how the ceremony actually played out. The girls push Nana to let them walk back, and she reluctantly agrees.

The children look around as they walk back. Zorome happily looks forward to when they too can live there as adults. The others disagree and feel like they won't be able to become adults, though they don't know why. Ikuno says this is a delusion.

Zero Two and Hiro walk far behind the group. Hiro asks what she meant when she said the city was lifeless. She says just what I said. Hiro says that she'd been acting weird, and asks if something happened. She says that she just couldn't care less about this place.

The children marvel at the city's main energy source. When Goro asks Ichigo something, she seems uncomfortable. He says that maybe he shouldn't have told her how he felt and says to not let it bother her.

Nana tells them they have to return, but Zorome wanders off and is separated. He looks at the energy source, but realizes that he's been separated and cannot contact the others.

Zorome notes that the city seems empty. He sees a person and calls out, but they walk away. Zorome tries to crawl down, but notices an adult and falls to the ground.

He wakes up to find that he'd been treated by an adult. She is happy that he is okay and says that the medical checker just wouldn't work on him. But she tried a bunch of things, like using pet mode settings, and then it worked out. Before she can let them know where he is, Zorome asks to just talk for a bit. She agrees and removes her face covering.

The woman disinfects the house by spraying orange liquid, and then offers tea and sweets. Zorome stuffs them in his mouth. He asks her various questions, and she explains that there was a time when she used to enjoy the sense of taste, but she doesn't really care now. As long as her body gets the nutrition it needs, that's enough, she lives with her partner. She asks if he'd like to meet him.

She brings him to a dark room where her partner lies in a machine. He smiles and the woman explains that he's activating his brain's reward system to gain a sense of pleasure. Zorome says that he'd rather gain it by eating those snacks from earlier. She falls to her knees and says that talking had just made her tired.

They return to the living room. She says that she doesn't even remember what his voice sounds like. She doesn't think either of them is dissatisfied with their partner. They don't meddle in each other's business, which gives them the freedom to live their lives as they please. Zorome complains about Miku, so she says that he should change his partner, then. He is taken back and begins defending her. The woman somehow already knows his code 666. She becomes more ill and says that she needs to get him picked up.

On the phone, she says that she checked with him, so there's no doubt about it.

She returns to say he'll be there soon, but notices that he's crying. He says that he doesn't know why, but he feels really familiar somehow. He recalls his living in the Garden. He feels that someone's always been watching over him. Gentle and kind, like they're always there to protect him.

She wants to comfort him and tries to move her arm towards Zoromo, but she stops. She says that he is mistaken, as kids are the ones protecting them allowing this immortal environment, designed for mass storage, but are fairly close in appearance to any large city's condos. Zorome becomes happy and tells her that he'll keep protecting it, fighting until he kills all the klaxosaurs, and then one day, he'll become an adult. He begins to ask if she can be his family when he lives in the city, but stops and instead asks for her to be his friend. She finds this funny and says that's obviously out of the question but is cut off before she can explain.

Zorome feels alienated when he is being disinfected by two adults.

The woman explains to a man that she treated and fed him. He hands her a heart. A man tells him not to waste their time and infected children shouldn't enter. The other man tells him to knock it off, since they're victims too, calling them pitiful.

Ichigo happily announces that they found Zorome and everyone sighs in relief. Miku calls him a jerk for making them worry. She sentences him to clean the bath for a week.

Zorome rides the elevator with Nana. As he cleans the bath, he hums. Miku enters and yells at him to take it seriously. He asks why she's watching him for. She says that he won't take it seriously unless she does or he might get lost. He laughs and asks why she got such a useless kid. He scrubs her with his brush. Outside, Hiro hears them bickering and laughs before looking at Zero Two's window. She looks at herself in the mirror and sees that her teeth have become fangs.

He thinks that they're not pitiful. He wonders why the women felt so familiar. He thought about it a bunch of times after that day, but he never found an answer. Eventually, he stopped thinking about it, and even forgot about her and stopped having that dream.

Appearances

• Hiro
• Goro
• Zorome
• Futoshi
• Mitsuru
• Zero Two
• Ichigo
• Miku
• Kokoro
• Ikuno
• Hachi
• Nana
• Mayor
• Old Woman
• Seven Sages

Trivia

• The name of this episode is in reference to that the Inner City, which the squad visits for the first time, is inhabited by a population of immortal adults.

Gallery

TVアニメ「ダーリン・イン・ザ・フランキス」第10話次回予告

The core of the Klaxosaur

Blood on Argentea

Zorome jumps through the gate.

Six parasites look at the city and are surprised.

Zoromo is fainted and wakes up.

Sketch

Sketch 2

Transcript

Zorome	"I have the same dream over and over again. In it, I'm surrounded by darkness for some reason, staring at a distant bright light, and crying. I dunno if these are tears of sorrow or joy, but they continue to flow endlessly. Gradually, the light grows larger until it envelops me, and I let out a loud scream. "
Miku:	Now!
Ichigo:	Finish it off, Strelizia!
Hiro:	Right!
Zorome:	Sit back and relax, Hiro! This is my time to shine! Gotcha now! See that? Piece of cake!
Miku:	H-Hey, hurry up and get out of... Why, you...
	[Opening - KISS OF DEATH]
Man	My, how intriguing.
Man	It's so strange.
Man	Regardless of how they do it, they're linking up in ways other squads cannot.
Man	Does this mean the imbalances caused by individualized FRANXX can give a unique asset to the squad as a whole?
Woman	But that's also a double-edged sword. The future we at APE exalt is one of calmness and uniformity.
Man	So you say they are imperfect? How ironic.
Man	I'm thinking it's time we moved them on to the next stage.
Man	To that area, you mean?
Man	We've detected klaosaur activity in the depths of the Grand Crevasse area recently. It's squad 13's duty to bring Code 002 there safe and sound.
Man	The plan is already in motion. We must have them undergo maintenance in the lab at once.
Tarsier	Before that, why don't we award them something?
Man	You mean... reward the children?
Tarsier	Awards have been the most common way to inspire soldiers since ancient times. It may prove more effective with them, as their way of life reflects a bygone era.
Papa	Ah, that's an interesting idea. I shall allow it.
Zorome:	Can we drop this already? I apologized, didn't I?
Miku	You did? You think that was an apology? Your heart wasn't in it at all!
Hiro	They're still at it?
Zorome	Oh? And how can you be so sure it wasn't? Can you read my mind? Can you?
Hiro	Zero Two, what's wrong?
Zero Two	Just thinking about something.
Miku	Apologize right now!
Zorome	Over my dead body!
Miku	Grr! I'm gonna kill you if it's the last thing I do!
Zorome	I'd love to see you try! Come on, come on. Can't touch me!
Miku	Jeez, hold it!
Zorome	Ow! Stop, stop!
Nana	Kids, we need to talk. I bring good news.
Nana:	Tomorrow, all of you are to dress in your formal attire and gather in front of the boarding house at 0900 hours. Got that?
Futoshi	Formal?
Ichigo	What's happening?
Nana	Papa values what you've achieved in battle so far very highly. As such, though there is very little precedent, all of you are going to be awarded medals.
Futoshi	M-Medals?
Zorome	What are those?
Nana	The ceremony will be held tomorrow, in the Plantation Parliament HQ.
Ichigo	Really, Nana?
Goro	Wait, does that mean...
Futoshi	W-We did it, Zorome! Aren't you glad?
Zorome	Huh? What are you talking about?
Miku	You idiot! This means we'll be allowed into the city!
Zorome	Hooray!
Miku	My ears! Quit yelling!
Zorome	How can I not?
Goro	He must be really happy.
Futoshi	As he should be. This is what he's been working towards.
Nana	Wait, Zero Two.
Zero Two	What?
Nana	This is convenient timing. I'll arrange for you to undergo tests while we're there.
Zero Two	I hate those tests. I always feel lousy after I take them. Besides, I'm in great shape right now. So I'll pass on the tests for a while.
Nana	Here I thought she'd grown more obedient since she teamed up with a certain someone.
Goro:	We haven't worn these since the welcoming ceremony.
Ichigo:	Zorome, you're really owning that look today. You look pretty mature.
Zorome:	Right?
Futoshi:	He spent all morning checking himself out in the mirror.
Mitsuru:	I don't understand how you don't get bored of that.
Zorome:	Say what!?
Kokoro:	But you do look better than usual.
Zorome:	Right? Right?
Miku:	Don't flatter him, Kokoro. With boys, it goes straight to their heads.
Zorome:	Shut it!
Nana:	Good morning. Everyone here?
Nana:	Come on. Hurry up.
Zorome	Whoa!
Man	You are the first children to ever be welcomed here. This is a truly great honour. I hope you consider this day a source of pride for a long time, live up to this honour bestowed upon you, and make even further contributions to this plantation. Are you the team leader?
Ichigo	Yes! I'm code 015!
Man	You have achieved great things. It shows that you're an excellent leader.
Ichigo	Thank you very much! But I couldn't have done it alone! Everyone in the squad contributed!
Man	Plantation 13 is honoured that a former Nine like yourself has joined us. And you've done well to live up to all the expectations placed upon you.
Hiro	Th-Thank you very much.
Man	Thank you for defending us adults. Your efforts have been splendid, too. Keep it up.
Zorome	I-I will, sir! Thank you very much!
Hachi	Well, I'm going to visit R&D before I head back. Take care of the children.
Nana	Got it.
Zorome	What? That was it?
Nana	Well, yes.
Goro	That was over too soon.
Futoshi	I was expecting some kind of feast.
Ikuno	Too bad.
Miku	Hey, since we have the chance, why don't we walk back?
Kokoro	Agreed!
Ichigo	It wasn't that far. We can walk, right, Nana?
Nana	Oh, all right.
Zorome	This is so great. When I become an adult someday, I'll get to live here too, right?
Ichigo	But I can't picture us "becoming adults," for some reason.
Futoshi	Same here, actually.
Mitsuru	There's no proof that we'll be able to, anyway.
Zorome	That's because you guys have no imagination.
Futoshi	Imagination?
Ikuno	What you're talking about is called "delusion."
Miku	You can say that again!
Hiro	Zero Two, you called this city lifeless before, remember? What did you mean by that?
Zero Two	Exactly what I said.
Hiro	You've been acting a little weird today. Did something happen?
Zero Two	Nothing. I just couldn't care less about this place.
Miku	I've never seen it from so close before!
Kokoro	It's so pretty!
Goro	That's the main energy source for this plantation. Right, Ichi- Should I not have done that, after all?
Ichigo	Huh? W-What do you mean?
Goro	Telling you how I felt was a selfish act on my part. So please, don't let it bother you.
Ichigo	Okay.
Nana	We're heading back now.
Parasites	Yes, ma'am.
Zorome	Hup. Awesome! What!? Seriously? What a day... Why isn't anybody here? Are they all asleep? There's one! Hey! Excuse me! What? Why?
Woman	Oh, you've come to? Thank goodness. You didn't wake up even after I treated you, so I was a bit worried.
Zorome	Th-Thank you so much!
Woman	You know how your body and other things are a little different from ours? The medical checker just wouldn't work on you. But I tried a bunch of things, like using pet mode settings, and then it worked out.
Zorome	Am I in... Is this an adult's home? Oh... S-Sorry.
Woman	My... That must have been rough.
Zorome	They're so heartless.
Woman	Don't worry, I'll send word right away.
Zorome	U-Um... Before you do, could we just talk for a bit? You see, I've always looked up to adults, so I have a bunch of questions and stuff.
Woman	Very well. Let us have a little chat, then. I'll make us some tea.
Zorome	What are you doing?
Woman	Disinfecting.
Zorome	Huh...
Woman	Go ahead. Help yourself. Did you like it?
Zorome	I-It was super delicious!
Woman	Really? I'm glad.
Zorome	Aren't you going to eat?
Woman	I suppose not. There was a time when I used to enjoy the sense of taste, but I don't really care now. As long as my body gets the nutrition it needs, that's enough.
Zorome	Your home is pretty huge. How many people live here?
Woman	Two. My partner and I.
Zorome	What? Just two people in this huge apartment?
Woman	Right.
Zorome	Wow. And adults have partners, too?
Woman	That's right.
Zorome	Does that mean... Wait, it wouldn't be to pilot FRANXX. What are your partners for?
Woman	Well, we're following an old custom. You could say it's for convenience's sake.
Zorome	Custom?
Woman	Apparently, pairs of men and women used to form special relationships in the past to make things easier for themselves and to procreate. Life must have been so uncomfortable back then.
Zorome	Uncomfortable?
Woman	Well, they had to rely on others for every little thing. Doesn't that sound really annoying?
Zorome	I guess...
Zorome	Would you like to meet my partner?
Zorome	What? Is he here?
Zorome	Come with me. This is my partner.
Zorome	I see... That's a big smile. Is he having an amazing dream or something?
Zorome	He's not dreaming. He's getting his dose of happiness. He's activating his brain's reward system to gain a sense of pleasure. It's a truly, truly wonderful thing.
Zorome	I'd rather gain it by eating those snacks from earlier. Is something wrong?
Woman	I feel a bit tired. Let's go back to the living room.
Zorome	Sure. Are you alright?
Zorome	I'm sorry. It's been a long time since I've talked with anyone so much, so I'm not used to it.
Zorome	But you talk to your partner, don't you?
Zorome	No. Come to think of it, I don't even remember what his voice sounds like.
Zorome	You haven't talked in that long?
Zorome	There's no reason to, after all.
Zorome	Are you on bad terms?
Zorome	Not at all. I don't think either of us is dissatisfied with out partner. We don't meddle in each other's business, which gives us the freedom to live our lives as we please.
Zorome	Is that so? I couldn't begin to tell you how much I'm forced to hear my partner's voice daily. And of all people, the loudest and naggiest girl on the squad had to be my partner. Talk about unlucky. She gets hysteric at the drop of the hat, so it feels like we're always arguing.
Zorome	You got matched with the wrong person, then. You should change your partner. If there's a problem with your partner, doesn't it affect your missions?
Zorome	Uh... but it doesn't really bother me much when we're fighting. And I'm probably the only one who can deal with how cranky she is. I don't think the other guys could.
Zorome	Oh? If there isn't a problem, then I guess that's fine.
Zorome	No problem at all! Even Miku... Oh, my partner's name is Miku.
Zorome	Name?
Zorome	Oh, our squad has these nicknames for each other. I'm Zorome. My actual code is...
Zorome	666.
Zorome	Huh? Did I mention that? Anyways, Miku has an awful personality, but her looks aren't half-bad. Actually, I think she's pretty damn cute when she keeps her mouth shut. And while we're fighting klaxosaurs and stuff, sometimes I feel this urge to protect her. It makes me wonder if that feeling is what lets us fight together. Huh? Is that why FRANXX are built to be operated by male-female pairs? Are you all right?
Zorome	Yes, I'm fine. But I'm really tired now, so I'll send word and ask someone to pick you up.
Zorome	Oh, okay. Fair enough...
Zorome	Yes. I checked with him, so there's no doubt about it. They say they'll be here right away.
Zorome	Thank you.
Zorome	Is something the matter?
Zorome	Huh?
Zorome	Are you hurt somewhere?
Zorome	No, I'm fine.
Zorome	Then why?
Zorome	I don't know.
Zorome	But...
Zorome	I don't know why. I don't know why, but even though this is the first time I've met you, you felt really familiar somehow. And then...
Zorome	What made you feel that way?
Zorome	I don't know.
Zorome	I believe this is the first time I've really met you.
Zorome	Right. But it feels like... How do I say this? Like, you know... Someone's always been watching over me. Gentle and kind, like they're always there to protect me.
Zorome	Then you really are mistaken. I can't protect you. You... You kids are the ones protecting us, right?
Zorome	We are, aren't we?
Zorome	Right. You're protecting this plantation.
Zorome	Yeah.
Zorome	That's something to be proud of.
Zorome	And I'll keep protecting it. I'll fight more. I'll fight and fight and kill all the klaxosaurs, and then one day, I'll become an adult, right? So, when I'm able to live in this city too, would you, uh, be my fam... W-Would you be my friend?
Zorome	That's obviously out of the question.
Zorome	Out of the question?
Zorome	After all, you are...
Woman	I treated his wounds and fed him a little.
Zorome	Don't make us waste our time. This isn't a place infected children like you should enter.
Zorome	Cut it out. They're basically victims in all this, too. The poor, pitiful things.
Ichigo	They found Zorome, apparently.
Miku	That jerk... Making us all worry. I sentence him to clean the bath for one week!
Zorome	We're not pitiful.
Miku	Hey! Take this seriously!
Zorome	Huh? What are you keeping watch for? This ain't a show!
Miku	You won't take this seriously unless I do, and you might get lost again.
Zorome	Like I'd get lost here!
Miku	Why must I have such a useless kid? Life is so unfair!
Zorome	Why're you acting like you're my guardian?
Miku	Gross! I'm gonna kill you!
Zorome	Let me see you try!
Zorome	Why did that adult woman feel so familiar? I thought about it a bunch of times after that day, but in the end, I never found an answer. Eventually, I stopped thinking about it, and even forgot about her. And ever since, I've stopped having that dream.
	[Ending- Beautiful World]

Links

• Official Website