The sci-fi anime DARLING in the FRANXX brings a whole new meaning to the idea of the “ride or die.” Playboy model and musician Cristiana Love is completely simpatico with the series’ incredibly memorable protagonist, Zero Two, and loves to cosplay as her. Here’s why.
Why Cristiana Loves Cosplaying as Zero Two
“She’s very rebellious and and spunky and she has these little devil horns,” Cristiana told Playboy. “But she’s super sexy and really fun. And I’m just like, ‘My God!’ I love her. That’s me.”
Cristiana is a consummate anime fan, but shares a lot of traits with Zero Two. In the anime, Zero Two takes the lead in a very close partnership with the series’ other protagonist, a young man named Hiro. This back and forth between two diametrically opposed personalities is incredibly relatable to Cristiana, who tends to take the lead in relationships.
“What I need in a relationship is somebody who will play back with my energy,” Cristiana says. “Give me the little push and pull that I’m looking for, It’s fun. I need some mind games, in a healthy way.”
Who is Zero Two from DARLING in the FRANXX?
Explaining who an anime character is usually requires at least one explainer related to the fantastical world they live in. Zero Two’s world is a post-apocalytic sci-fi where humanity has harnessed magma as a limitless energy source. At the cost of their ability to reproduce, humanity has become immortal. This new energy came at a cost. It awakened massive beasts called klaxosaurs. Luckily, because this is an anime, humanity developed mechs called FRANXX to fight this constant foe.
These mechs require two pilots, one boy, and one girl. Child soldiers called parasites pilot FRANXX in tandem. A one-time parasite prodigy, Hiro, fails his capacity tests to pilot a FRANXX. And then there’s Zero Two, a human klaxosaur pilot, whose partners keep dying. Hiro volunteers as tribute, as they say, becoming Zero’s fourth partner. After a successful mission, Zero Two announces that she has finally found her “darling.”
Cristiana Love is on The Playboy Club. Talk to her now.
