Ikuno

Ikuno is one of the main characters in DARLING in the FRANXX. She is a former Parasite with the codename "196" of the Thirteenth Plantation, where she's partnered in boy-girl pair with Futoshi to pilot a FRANXX called Chlorophytum. She had Mitsuru as her original partner. As she struggled with her sexuality, she shared a stormy partnership with Mitsuru and didn’t know how to express her true feelings for Ichigo. She usually kept her thoughts to herself until Ichigo encouraged her to be more open about herself. She has deep purple hair tied into a short ponytail with a blue butterfly clip and bangs on either side of her weary green eyes. She wears a pair of black-rimmed glasses and has freckles on her cheeks. When piloting Chlorophytum, she wears a white bodysuit with light violet accents. In Episode 21, her purple hair turned white due to overusing her capabilities. In Episode 24, she is shown to have aged significantly compared to the other parasites, having chin-length white hair and being confined to a hospital bed. Ikuno is an intelligent, logical, and quiet girl who doesn’t speak much with others. She naturally comes off as emotionally detached and serious, as she prefers to keep to herself and maintains an air of poise. She is considerate of her comrades and expresses concern for them in troubling situations, such as Hiro’s fate as a parasite and his decision to ride with Zero Two. She doesn’t mind saying what is on her mind, whether it's a question she wants the answer to, an opinion she holds firmly, or, although rarely, a frustration she can't let go of. She is an avid reader and spends her off-duty time reading. Although she gets along with most of the squad, she has a tumultuous partnership with Mitsuru and they don’t hesitate to show their dislike for each other. They often prefer not to associate with each other, and when they exchange words, there is usually a negative atmosphere between them. When Mitsuru speaks coldly or mocks her, she never backs down to retaliate with her own mockery towards him. However, she is not completely indifferent towards him and is willing to help him if necessary, even if he refuses her help and treats her coldly. She demonstrates this when she was visibly hurt when he paraded how Zero Two was a preferable partner and when she got worried for him when he came down with child fever. To fulfil her duties as a pistil, she was willing to maintain a strictly professional attitude with Mitsuru when they pilot Chlorophytum together. After their partner shuffle, they become more civil with each other. Ikuno even noticed a significant change in his demeanour from moody and stoic to friendly and smiling since Mitsuru paired with Kokoro, suspecting they had become romantically involved. Once this was confirmed, she was not surprised and became very vocal in her support for them. While not much of her interactions with Futoshi as her partner is shown in the anime, it is implied that they are more amicable with each other than she and Mitsuru were when they were still partners. In the manga, she and Futoshi get off to a good start as the squad notices an immediate improvement in both of their fighting. In the manga, Ikuno becomes interested in Mitsuru’s budding relationship with Kokoro and she rationalizes with Futoshi that the two are drawn to each other because only Mitsuru can say the words Kokoro needs to hear. The reason for her interest is because she longs to be able to share that same emotional connection Kokoro and Mitsuru formed with Ichigo. Despite her composed exterior, she is rational and will carefully analyze a situation so she can help conclude a logical solution. Being keenly observant, Ikuno is strongly opinionated, especially regarding the pros and cons of both genders. By her own admission, Ikuno loathes the boy-girl pairing system, to the point where she openly states she agreed to participate in the Boys vs Girls conflict because she prefered to keep the boys and girls separated forever. This is due to her never harbouring any interest in boys. She finds it repulsing when the girls and boys take an interest in one another, surprising Miku when she says she is not interested in any of the boys from Squad 26. Later on, Ikuno exhibits dismay when she realizes the FRANXX can never function with two pistils, as she attempted to try it with Ichigo as a back-up plan, confusing the other parasites. In truth, she wanted to see if it was possible to be Ichigo’s partner. Although she rarely exhibits sentimentality, deep down, she admitted she secretly hates how she feels. Despite being happy for Mitsuru and Kokoro when they find happiness together as a couple, later on, this deeply irritates her. She struggles to accept her complicated feelings for Ichigo and how she can’t have that kind of relationship with Ichigo, who sees her as a dear friend. She later admits to Ichigo that she is attracted to her and she has been this way since Ichigo gave her her name. She adds she is ashamed about this as it makes her feel she is abnormal. Despite this, she is comforted and encouraged to not be scared of her true feelings by Ichigo, who says while it may be a pain, it’s part of life. Her struggle with her own sexuality tends to have a deep impact on her over concepts such as gender; when Alpha said humans cast their gender aside for evolution because it was a nuisance, Ikuno was enraged and slapped him before attempting to attack him, surprising her friends. With Ichigo’s encouragement, Ikuno becomes more open and sociable and is willing to take risks for the sake of her friends. This is demonstrated when she goes full power in episode 21 to help Zero Two reach Hiro, causing her health to significantly weaken. She also spends ten years developing a cure for the parasites’ accelerated ageing process, although she chooses to keep her condition as a gesture of her surrendering to her fate but also as one of making a significant contribution to her friends so they can all live their lives to the fullest.