FutoKoko

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

Canon
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. Kokoro and Futoshi successfully synchronized and activated Genista. He nervously asked if he did okay and she replies he did a good job.

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. Kokoro and Futoshi are later seen holding hands, as Futoshi says she has no problem with it. However, when she notices Mitsuru walking alone, she asks Futoshi to let go so she can go water the plants and he reluctantly does.

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 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 wasn’t ogling her because he found her to be very beautiful, which embarrassed her even more and makes her whole face turn red. During the Boys vs Girls conflict, both are reluctantly forced into it but when they all reconcile, Futoshi gets on his hands and knees to apologize, which again embarrassed her. However, after 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, Gebista 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.

In the second drama CD, Futoshi attempts to lose weight by eating less and working out to impress Kokoro after the partner shuffle. However, this failed to win her attention and he accepts she sees him as only a dear friend.

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 upset nnd he grabs Mitsuru, asking if they kissed. Kokoro blushes and this is confirmation to Futoshi, who doubles 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. 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.

Two years later, Kokoro and Ai run into Futoshi, and Kokoro tells Ai to call him ‘Uncle Futoshi’ but she has trouble pronouncing ‘uncle’, and he says it’s fine. He expresses his amazement that she is a mother and Kokoro replies she can’t believe it herself. He says he is thinking about leaving the Bird Nest to become a baker so he can make delicious food for the next generation of children. Kokoro thanks him for everything he’s done for her while all she could do was cry, making her emotional. Futoshi tells her to smile for him and she does. He thanks her because she was able to help him grow up and she changed Mitsuru into a better person. She thanks him for the compliment.

Over the next eight years, Futoshi’s romantic feelings for Kokoro fade but they retain their close friendship. 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’.

Fanon
This shipping started off descent with the fans, as many found Futoshi’s crush on Kokoro to be cute and sweet. 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 the fact that she promised to be his partner forever. Others 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 her friendship with him to avoid a rift with him.

Trivia

 * Kokoro’s English voice actress, Jeannie Tirado, is a MitsuKoko shopper. Whereas Futoshi’s English voice actor, Blake Shepard, doesn’t have an opinion.