FutoKoko

FutoKoko is the het ship between Kokoro and Futoshi from the DARLING in the FRANXX fandom.

Anime
Kokoro and Futoshi knew each other since they were small children living in the Garden but they had very little interactions with each other. When they are 14, they are assigned to the same FRANXX squad and, after passing their capacity test, they are paired up together. They quickly became good friends and developed a strong friendship.

During the squad’s startup ritual, KokoFuto smiled and flashed each other a thumbs up to encourage each other. The next day, the startup ritual, which was interrupted by a klaxosaur attack the day before, resumes. When Kokoro and Futoshi attempt to synchronize, their para sync is shown to be the lowest compared to the other FRANXX. However, their numbers quickly rise high enough for them to successfully synchronize and activate Genista. He nervously asked if he did okay and she replies he did a good job. Zorome tells them over the comms not to say lovey-dovey things.

A week later, while Zero Two is eating breakfast with the squad and sits in Futoshi’s seat to feed Hiro, Kokoro offers him to sit next to her and she attempts to mimic Zero Two feeding Hiro by feeding Futoshi, much to the disgust of Zorome and the confusion of the others.

Futoshi quickly develops a crush on Kokoro and assumes the role as her protector, especially when they are piloting Genista in battle. He especially gets angry when a klaxosaur attacks Genista and hurts Kokoro, which makes him fight back.

During a vacation to the beach, Futoshi joins with Zorome and Goro to admire their pistil partners’ figures, and they later corner Hiro to ask what a kiss means. Futoshi is infatuated with the word because it sounds magical. Mitsuru leads the squad through a cavern to an abandoned city he found. Kokoro says the dark freaks her out and Mitsuru coldly tells her that she didn’t have to come, prompting Futoshi to tell him not to talk that way to Kokoro. He is the first person to notice that Kokoro was missing from the group, as she wandered off on her own.

During a battle, a klaxosaur sprouts mysterious goo all over the FRANXX units and the girls’ suites melt in front of the boys; Futoshi is shocked and has a nosebleed. When the girls find out, they freak out but, unlike the other girls, Kokoro isn’t angry at Futoshi but she is deeply embarrassed. He later says he was ogling her only because he found her to be very beautiful, which embarrassed her even more and makes her whole face turn red. During the Boys x Girls conflict, both are reluctantly forced into it and. While the other girls glare angrily at the boys after splitting the house, Kokoro looks almost sorry for not having the courage to go against her friends' wishes, while Futoshi seems apologetic for having partially caused the fight. After Zero Two tricks the boys into walking in on the girls bathing, Futoshi blushes in shock while Kokoro freaks out. However, Kokoro does not join with the girls when they throw bath supplies at the boys, awkwardly hiding behind a pail. When they all reconcile, Futoshi gets on his hands and knees to apologize, which embarrasses Kokoro.

Six months following the squad’s formation, their friendship hits a rift. While guarding an S-Planning facility, Kokoro and Futoshi chat with each other. He says they’ve both grown stronger and she thanks him. He starts to blush and says he already vowed to protect her and asks her to be his partner forever. She is surprised but then smiles and promises him, which makes him happy. Zorome tells them on the comms not to say weird things and Futoshi is embarrassed everyone heard but Kokoro laughs. Due to Mitsuru and Ikuno’s incompatibility, Nana proposes the squad try a partner shuffle. Futoshi says there is no reason for him and Kokoro to split up because he promised to protect her forever, and she agreed. However, when Nana asks if there are any volunteers, Kokoro suddenly raises her hand and asks to try riding with Mitsuru, which surprises everyone. Futoshi is devastated and asks why Kokoro is breaking their promise, and she apologizes, which breaks his heart. He later cries in his pillow and doesn’t understand why this happened, and asks if he is pathetic. Mitsuru is indifferent to the arrangement and this provokes Futoshi to attempt to attack him but he misses and crashes into the wall. He tells Hiro that he feels pain in his chest and it hurts but he doesn’t understand why.

When a klaxosaur is seen approaching the facility, Futoshi tells Mitsuru to protect Kokoro but Mitsuru brushes this off as nonsense and this angers Futoshi. Kokoro assures Futoshi she will be alright and she smiles when he tells her to do her best. During the battle, Genista is put out of commission when Mitsuru blindly charges towards the klaxosaur, hurting Kokoro in the process. Futoshi and Ikuno use Chlorophytum to hold the klaxosaur off while Kokoro talks to Mitsuru to get him to reconnect with her. Despite the difficulty of doing this, Futoshi vows to protect her no mater what. When Kokoro and Mitsuru reconnect, Futoshi is relieved. However, after the battle is over, he angrily confronts Mitsuru for his recklessness that got Kokoro hurt and he punches him in the face. As Kokoro tends to Mitsuru, Futoshi condemns Mitsuru for making Kokoro cry and hurting a girl is the worst thing a man could do. Mitsuru then promises to Futoshi that he will protect Kokoro. Futoshi falls to his knees and tearfully confesses he loved Kokoro.

Following this, Kokoro and Futoshi remain close friends and, although he still has feelings for her, he decides to put her happiness above his own. This is demonstrated when he finds out from Zorome that Kokoro and Mitsuru were caught in a compromising position (she was unzipping his uniform while trying to initiate sex with him), Futoshi is visibly upset and he grabs Mitsuru's collar, asking if they kissed. Kokoro blushes and this is confirmation to Futoshi, who backs down and says as long as they are happy. Nine Alpha comes in with a baby book Kokoro has been hiding and asks why she has it because it contains forbidden knowledge. Kokoro admits she wants to have a baby and that is all humans came to be. Futoshi is surprised and asks if Papa didn’t create them, which she says no and explains how boys and girls are able to procreate like all animals, along that she wants to leave a mark behind before she dies.

Several days later, when Hiro announces Kokoro and Mitsuru have decided to get married before they all leave for the Bird Nest, they nervously look at Futoshi, who abruptly declares he will be the priest so he can stand beside them and wish them congratulations, and she thanks him. On the day of the wedding, Futoshi is happy as Kokoro and Mitsuru walk down the aisle. After exchanging vows and rings, he tells them to seal their vows with a kiss. Before they can, the 9’s and an APE assault team storms in to take the two away, and Futoshi tells them to run but they are captured anyway. A couple of weeks later, Futoshi and the others are devastated Kokoro and Mitsuru’s memories of each other have been altered. Kokoro is implanted with fake memories in which Futoshi remained as her partner. When the squad confronts Papa about this and he says their memories and feelings would have interfered wish APE’s objectives, Futoshi is the most angry and demands Papa apologize before his friends stop him.

Kokoro attempts to partner with Futoshi again but he refuses and insists that she stay with Mitsuru before walking away. The next day, he notices that they took off their wedding rings. Goro is surprised Futoshi noticed and asks if he still isn’t over her but they are interrupted when Kokoro becomes sick and rushes to the bathroom. A few days later, Futoshi and the others are shocked when they learn Kokoro is pregnant with Mitsuru’s child and he stands beside Mitsuru, who has fallen to the ground in utter shock. In the hallway, Mitsuru asks what is he supposed to do on the options of abortion or keeping the baby, and Futoshi angrily tries saying something before Goro stops him.

While everyone fights VIRM in space, Kokoro stays on Earth with Mitsuru due to her pregnancy making her unable to pilot. Futoshi keeps them on everyone’s mind and how they are fighting to overcome their differences to reconcile. Upon returning to Earth, Futoshi is fiercely supportive of Kokoro and Mitsuru when they decide to keep their baby after reconciling. When Kokoro enters her third month, Futoshi and Zorome bring her nutritious food and have to drag Mitsuru back to fields when he doesn’t want to leave Kokoro’s side. Six months later, Kokoro gives birth to a baby girl, whom she and Mitsuru name Ai. Futoshi is overjoyed and hugs Mitsuru, tearfully declaring him as the first parasite to become a father.

Shortly after, as all the parasites join hands to send their thoughts and prayers to HiroZero in space, Futoshi stands beside Kokoro and Mitsuru.

Over the next eight years, Futoshi’s romantic feelings for Kokoro fade but they remain close friends. He marries another girl and has three children, whereas Kokoro is still happily married to Mitsuru and they now have four children together. Futoshi remains close to Kokoro and Mitsuru, to the point their children refer to him as ‘uncle’. When the squad reunites at a cherry blossom tree to remember Hiro and Zero Two, Futoshi stands next to Kokoro and Mitsuru.

Manga
Kokoro and Futoshi are later seen holding hands—imitating HiroZero—which baffles Zorome but Futoshi says Kokoro has no problem with it. However, when Kokoro notices Mitsuru walking alone, she asks Futoshi to let go so she can go water the plants and he reluctantly does.

Shortly afterwards, Kokoro suggests the squad save the 9’s from being pruned after nearly getting killed by the Klaxosaur Princess. Futoshi tries to rationalize with her that they can’t go against Papa’s order and it would give them a bad impression. Kokoro doesn’t change her mind and Futoshi adamantly refuses to agree with her, saying she is more important to him than the 9’s to go against Papa. However, when Mitsuru tells them he has an idea on how to save the 9’s, Kokoro looks at Mitsuru while Futoshi fidgets.

After rescuing and hiding the 9’s, Futoshi and Ikuno eavesdrop on Kokoro and Mitsuru talking. Futoshi is sad that Kokoro is getting closer to Mitsuru, which Ikuno says cant be helped because Mitsuru said the words Kokoro needed to hear but she adds that protecting someone dear to them makes them want to act. As he wants to protect Kokoro, Futoshi agrees. The next day, Futoshi and Kokoro bring food to Alpha but Futoshi eats the food after Alpha says he doesn’t need to eat and Kokoro goes to the greenhouse. Later, Futoshi is listening to Miku and Ikuno's conversation about Mitsuru and Kokoro, and Miku says those two have been acting strange, which catches Futoshi and Ikuno’s attention. Futoshi later confronts Mitsuru and reminds him that Kokoro is his, not Mitsuru’s, partner and Mitsuru needs to stop getting close to her. However, when Mitsuru collapses because of the child fever, he asks Futoshi to keep it a secret from Kokoro it else she will worry but assures Futoshi that he is not competing with him over Kokoro, Futoshi becomes troubled. Kokoro later asks Futoshi if Mitsuru is unwell and Futoshi recognizes how worried Kokoro is for Mitsuru. Reminded of Ikuno's words to Futoshi, he mentally tells himself that he can say the words Kokoro wants to hear, because he likes her. Futoshi then asks Kokoro to listen to his request. Later, it is shown that Futoshi and Ikuno request a partner shuffle in order to pair MitsuKoko up, as both believe MitsuKoko will help each other.

In the battlefield, Kokoro solemnly looks at Chlorophytum and says she understands Futoshi's strength just by looking, and reveals that up until now, Futoshi always held back to protect her. When Mitsuru and Kokoro talk inside Genista, Kokoro says that she knew she hurt Futoshi by teaming up with Mitsuru, but she still wanted to team up with him. Meanwhile, Futoshi angrily shouts to the Klaxosaur not to get close to Kokoro. Later, when Genista successfully reconnects, Chlorophytum is shown helping Genista and Mitsuru shouts at Futoshi that he promises to protect Kokoro, making Futoshi tearfully smiles. After Mitsuru got a haircut, Futoshi tells Mitsuru that he will eat Mitsuru's dessert if he is too reckless with Kokoro in the next battle.

Drama CDs
In the first Drama CD, as everyone wakes up from eating mushrooms that made them fall asleep and have strange dreams, Kokoro says she saw Futoshi’s sleeping face, which embarrasses him.

In the first story of the second drama CD, when the squad is frightened because of a cockroach is in the house, Futoshi tells Kokoro that when the cockroach is gone, he will eat a lot of sweets and suggests Kokoro to do the same, which she agrees. When the cockroach approaches them, Futoshi runs with the others to find safety. He trips and shouts to everyone to not leave him behind. Kokoro tries to save Futoshi, but Mitsuru stops her because Futoshi is already 'fallen'. Kokoro then run with the others to the bathroom. In the bathroom, Kokoro cries for Futoshi.

In the second story of the second Drama CD, Futoshi attempts to lose weight to impress Kokoro after the partner shuffle. However, this has a negative impact on his health and Kokoro is worried about him. When Futoshi succeeds in losing weight, Kokoro knows that he is in pain and asking him to stop, as she liked the Futoshi who enthusiastically eats his food better. Before Futoshi faints, he desperately says that he only wanted to become partners with Kokoro again. Ikuno, who understands Futoshi's feelings, says that Futoshi's partnership with Kokoro must be very important to him and he wanted to keep holding on to it. Futoshi later tearfully says that he wanted to show Kokoro his manly side and Ikuno comforts him. Futoshi later accepts that his partnership with Kokoro is over and says he will do his best with Chlorophytum.

In the final story of the third drama CD, two years after HiroZero leave for space, Kokoro and Ai run into Futoshi, and Kokoro tells Ai to call him ‘Big brother Futoshi’ but Ai misspells it as ‘Uncle Futoshi’, and he says it’s fine. He expresses his amazement that she is a mother and Kokoro replies she still can’t believe it herself. He says he is thinking about leaving the Bird Nest to become a baker so he can make delicious bread for the next generation of children. Futoshi says that he wants Kokoro to know first. Kokoro is thankful for everything Futoshi had done for her, even when she one-sidedly broke off their partnership but he never blamed her. Kokoro says that she is a selfish person and always causing trouble to Futoshi. Futoshi tells her to smile and says because of her, Mitsuru and everyone else is here. Futoshi says that he is not the same as he was back then. Futoshi adds that Kokoro and Mitsuru, along with Hiro and Zero Two are the ones who showed them courage. Futoshi and Kokoro later thank each other for everything they had done.

Fanon
This shipping started off descent with the fans, as many found Futoshi’s crush on Kokoro to be cute and sweet, and they had similarities in their personalities. However, it diminished as soon as Kokoro paired with Mitsuru during the partner shuffle.

Reactions to the partner shuffle have been mixed. Some were angry that Kokoro broke Futoshi’s heart and ended their partnership in favor of being near the boy she liked (Mitsuru) despite how good Futoshi treated her and, up until her first sortie with him, Mitsuru treated her coldly. Some critics went as far as to refer to her as a thot for breaking her promise to Futoshi and then sleeping with Mitsuru. Fans in favor of the shuffle say that breaking a promise does not mean sexual immorality, as she was never a couple with Futoshi because she considered him as only a friend and she has been intimate with only Mitsuru because she was in love with him.

Fans of the shuffle had no problem with it because Kokoro does admit she didn’t feel the same way as Futoshi felt for her and she felt bad for hurting him and continued being friends with him. Supporters of MitsuKoko insist that Kokoro was not in the wrong to break off her partnership with Futoshi because the promise, even if she agreed to it in order to avoid a rift with him, made it uncomfortable for her and she had good intentions to break it in order to help Mitsuru with his problems. Supporters also noted that even Futoshi didn’t blame Kokoro for her decision and he accepted it as long as she was happy.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Kokoro/Futoshi on FanFiction.Net

FANARTS
 * Futoshi/Kokoro tag on Pixiv
 * Gorgeous Mushroom

Trivia

 * Kokoro’s English voice actress, Jeannie Tirado, is a MitsuKoko supporter. Whereas, Futoshi’s English voice actor, Blake Shepard, doesn’t have an opinion.
 * During their first connecting phase with Genista, Futoshi’s positive rates were shown to be high but Kokoro’s negative rates were shown to be low; in fact, her numbers were the lowest among the rest of the squad during the drill.
 * Although they are just friends, Kokoro and Futoshi have similar personality characteristics, which made it easy for them to get along.
 * In the first OP, Kokoro seems to be looking at Futoshi, who is looking at the camera. In the second OP, it turns out Kokoro is looking at Mitsuru.