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Aniplus Asia to Air Simulcast of DARLING in the FRANXX Anime

Aniplus Asia announced on Tuesday that it will air a simulcast of Trigger and A-1 Pictures' DARLING in the FRANXX anime. The simulcast will premiere on January 14 at 1:00 a.m. GMT +8, and encore broadcast will air every Sunday at 10:00 p.m.

The show stars:

• Yūto Uemura as Code:016 "Hiro" and Haruka Tomatsu as Code:002 "Zero Two" with their Franxx named Strelizia
• Kana Ichinose as Code:015 "Ichigo" and Yuichiro Umehara as Code:056 "Goro" with their Franxx named Delphinium
• Nanami Yamashita as Code:390 "Miku" and Mutsumi Tamura as Code:666 "Zorome" with their Franxx named Argentea
• Saori Hayami as Code:556 "Kokoro" and Hiroki Gotou as Code:214 "Futoshi" with their Franxx named Genista
• Shizuka Ishigami as Code:196 "Ikuno" and Aoi Ichikawa as Code:326 "Mitsuru" with their Franxx named Chlorophytum
• Marina Inoue as Nana
• Katsuyuki Konishi as Hachi
• Kenyuu Horiuchi as Dr. Franxx

The series will premiere in Japan on Tokyo MX, Tochigi TV, GTV, and BS11 at 11:30 p.m. on January 13. The anime will also air on ABC, Mētele, Hiroshima Home TV, BSS, BBC (Biwako Broadcasting Co), and AT-X.

The story is set in the distant future. The land is ruined, and humanity establishes the mobile fort city Plantation. Pilots produced inside Plantation live in Mistilteinn, also know as the "birdcage." Children live there knowing nothing of the outside world or the freedom of the sky. Their lives consist of battling to carry out missions. Their enemies are mysterious giant lifeforms known as Kyōryū, and the children pilot robots called Franxx to face off against them. For the children, riding the Franxx proves their existence.

A boy named Hiro is called Code:016, and he was once known as a prodigy. However, he has fallen behind, and his existence seems unnecessary. Not piloting a Franxx is the same as ceasing to exist. One day, a mysterious girl known as "Zero Two" appears before him. Two horns grow out of her head.

Atsushi Nishigori (The Idolm@ster, character designer for Gurren Lagann) is directing the series, and Toshifumi Akai (chief animation director for Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Sound of the Sky) is assistant director. Nishigori and Naotaka Hayashi (director for Girl Friend BETA, Morita-san wa Mukuchi) are in charge of series composition. Masayoshi Tanaka (anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, High School of the Dead) is designing the characters and is chief animation director. Shigeto Koyama (Michiko & Hatchin, Ancien and the Magic Tablet) is providing the mechanical designs. Hiroyuki Imaishi (director of Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill) is supervising the action. Mika Nakashima (NANA) and L'Arc-en-Ciel's Hyde are collaborating on the opening theme song "Kiss of Death." Hyde wrote and composed the song while Nakashima provided the vocals.