announced they licensed the manga for North American publication. Mato's four-panel spinoff manga ended on July 11, 2018, and was compiled into a full-color physical book released on October 4, 2018. Soundtrack The series' soundtrack is composed by Asami Tachibana and published by Aniplex. The first disc containing 21 tracks is enclosed with the first home video release volume of the anime which was released on April 25, 2018. The second disc also containing 21 tracks is enclosed with the fourth home video release volume which was released on July 25, 2018. The third disc containing 22 tracks is enclosed with the fifth home video release volume which was released on August 29, 2018. All three soundtrack volumes were released digitally on various online music stores on March 27, 2019. Reception Critical response Reception to Darling in the Franxx in English-language media was mixed. Some reviews praised the large focus of the series on its coming-of-age and romance elements. Other themes with a more mixed or negative reception involved the heavy sexual innuendos of teenagers, the lack of plot development regarding the alien species VIRM, and the plot twists of the second half of the series, and the rushed pacing of the storyline following episode 15. Eric Van Allen of Kotaku described the series as having "moments of brilliance" with solid work on the early mech fights and the character of Zero Two, but disliked the plot developments in the second half of the series and the ending. Kyle Rogacion of Goomba Stomp called the series "an endearing character-driven coming-of-age story" but criticized it for having by the end "eschewed everything that made it great and settled for the easy way out". Random Curiosity voiced a more positive opinion to its ending, stating the series will be "well-remembered for seasons to come" and "kept us all fixated and eagerly anticipating every episode set to air". Awards and nominations At Newtype Anime Awards 2018, Shigeto Koyama was awarded Best Mechanical Design, with Zero Two and the series itself being runners-up for Best Female Character and Best TV Anime, respectively. See also Neon Genesis Evangelion Raxephon Diebuster Eureka Seven Gurren Lagann Code Geass Gundam Seed Gundam Seed Destiny Mecha anime and manga Notes References External links Crunchyroll's Darling in the Franxx webpage Darling in the Franxx 2018 anime television series debuts 2018 manga Animated television series about extraterrestrial life Anime with original