News Reporting

Anime Producer Yuichi Fukushima Harassed Over DARLING in the FRANKXX Episode 14

Written By Samantha Ferreira

…Yeah, no TV show is worth threatening an innocent person over. This is not okay.

Over the past few days, former A-1 Pictures (now Cloverworks) producer Yūichi Fukushima has seen his Twitter account flooded with harassing and threatening messages from DARLING in the FRANKXX fans.

The attacks began shortly after episode 14 aired on Saturday. The episode brought back a love triangle between Hiro, Zero-Two, and Ichigo, and saw many fans acting out in anger toward Ichigo’s actions.

To summarize, over the past several episodes, the show built up Hiro and Zero-Two greatly, establishing that Zero-Two always saw Hiro as her Darling. In the episode, Ichigo pulls the two apart, separating physically, and doesn’t allow contact between the two. One thing leads to another, and Ichigo confesses to Hiro before kissing him.

Fukushima tweeted about the episode on the day of its airing, April 14. The first tweet was a basic (paraphrasing) “thanks for your hard work, team; readers tune in next week, no matter what it takes” notice. The second complimented the unique ending sequence to the episode.

Rough Translation: DarliFra Episode 14 just aired! Ryuichi-san, director Hasegawa-san, Nakamura-san. Thanks to everyone who took part! It was Trigger’s turn! I have high hopes for next week! Next week, I’d like you to tune in, no matter what it takes. Thank you.

Rough Translation: I really liked the timing of the ED animation to the music.

Both tweets (but mainly the first) have been repeatedly besieged by angry comments and expressions of disappointment. More concerning, though, is that both tweets feature several death threats aimed at the show’s writer and director. Folks have called for Fukushima to fire writer Hiroshi Seko, threatened to kill the families of staffers, and urged Hiroshi Seko to kill himself.

Examples below:

https://twitter.com/sakuraisora777/status/985395433483612160

Rough Translation: Just die, director and writer.

Outside of Japan, complaints about the episode have been mainly compiled under the #Bitchigo hashtag, with folks expressing similar sentiments to their Japanese counterparts, and going as far as to wish death upon the character.

That said, there have also been numerous English arguments levied directly at the tweet. They’ve taken a generally similar tone, urging Seko’s firing or suicide.

https://twitter.com/RISrELkxmdvkPn8/status/985199567795699712

Source: Anime News Network

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About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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