Zero Two

**Zero Two** (ゼロツー, *Zero Tsū*) is the main heroine and deuteragonist of *DARLING in the FRANXX*. She is a human-klaxo sapien hybrid and a member of the APE Special Forces, primarily fighting on the front lines. As an elite Parasite with the codename "002", also known as the "Partner Killer", Zero Two had always accepted solitude due to her horns and Klaxosaur blood. Despite having no regard for human life or her own and being accustomed to fighting solo, she took interest in Hiro and offered an opportunity to pilot with her, making him her new partner and "darling". After Hiro was able to ride with her more than three times, the pair became the 13th Plantation's newest members, piloting the powerful FRANXX Strelizia.

Over time, Zero Two developed romantic feelings towards Hiro. However, her determination to become fully human, along with Hiro's apparent fear of her increasing feral characteristics resulted in the couple briefly drifting apart. When their relationship as partners began to take a turn and slowly crumble, they realized their forgotten memories of their meeting during childhood. The two chose to sacrifice their lives in order to safeguard and ensure the survival of humankind.

A thousand years later, Hiro and Zero Two's souls reincarnate as a pair of children that meet each other again and rekindle their romance.

## Trivia

* The alternate reading for Zero Two's code, 002, is Oni. In Japanese, Oni (鬼) means "demon," a reference to the pair of horns on her head. Hiro was about to name her Oni, but he didn't go with the idea, probably because he knew what oni means.
* Her old codename is Nine Iota. "Iota" is the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet. The kanji for 9 is 九 and can be read as "kyuu" or "ku". A different kanji for "ku" is 苦, meaning "pain", "anguish", "suffering", "hardship." The combination of "Ku" and "Oni" would also make it "Kuoni," which means "brave" in Old High German.
* Her theme is "Vanquish" (also known as *Strelizia Awakening*) by Tachibana Asami. Its lyrics are the perfect summary of her thoughts and feelings in Episode 12 and 13.
* Zero Two has a sweet tooth, which is seen because:
	+ She's constantly sucking on lollipops.
	+ She loves candy, cakes, and other sweets.
	+ She loves honey and eats honey with almost everything.
* Zero Two appears to be a good artist, and even made a perfect recreation of the images from her picture book.

* Zero Two is ambidextrous and has been shown using either her left hand or her right.
* Zero Two wished to see the ocean and would also like to taste it; her wish is fulfilled in *Episode 07: Shooting Star Moratorium*. She finally swims in the ocean and licks herself, satisfied it finally tastes salty.
* Zero Two is fascinated by rain.
* Zero Two's horns do not have nerve endings similar to nails. Several times Zero Two can be seen modifying them with a filer.
* According to Tia Ballard, as suggested by the director (Clifford Chapin), she attempted to voice Zero Two with a lollipop in her mouth in the scenes when Zero Two had one in her mouth. However, it made a crunching noise against her teeth when she tried to speak, and she opted to use her finger instead.
* Zero Two seems to have taste-related abilities; for example, she guessed the personality of three people in Squad 13, and despite the erasure of her childhood memories, she managed to remember them by licking herself.
* Zero Two is ZiNG // Pac-Zing's First Anime character that originated from a different anime series that is not video game related.
* ZiNG // Pac-Zing refers to both her old and new personalities as, Sour on the old side and Sweet on the new side.