Ichigo (DitF)

Ichigo is a major character from Darling in the Franxx a 2018 mecha anime series co-produced by studios Trigger and CloverWorks. Her name comes from her code number 015 (1 - ichi and 5 - go in Japanese). She is introduced in the story as one of the "Parasites" -- young boy-girl pairs piloting mechas called "FRANXX" and tasked to protect the rest of humanity from invading monsters known as "klaxosaurs". However, she is best known as the childhood friend of the protagonist Hiro and the romantic rival of main girl Zero Two.

During the show's runtime, Ichigo became widely reviled by frustrated users in the online anime communities --- especially Zero Two fans --- with "Bitchigo" becoming a popular nickname for the blue-haired pilot. This is mainly because of an incident in episode 14, which provided the climax of a love triangle set-up involving the two girls falling in love with Hiro. In the episode, Ichigo prevented Hiro from seeing Zero Two and confessed her feelings to him at the same time. However, her confession was rejected, and the love triangle was eventually resolved a few episodes later after she concedes that Hiro and Zero Two were meant for each other. She ends up marrying Goro, her partner who had feelings for her early in the series.

Contest profile[]

In the saimoe contests, Ichigo plays second fiddle to Zero Two, who is clearly designed as the anime's main girl, and therefore garner the most amount of fans.

As the anime garnered sizable online attention for its waifu wars, users from r/anime anticipated an Ichigo vs. Zero Two final in the subreddit's winter 2018 seasonal contest, providing another extension to the rivalry. While the match did happen (with predictable results), the #2 seeded Ichigo had to win by higher seed as her semi-final bout ended in a rare tied result against #3 seed Rin Shima from Yuru Camp.

In ISML's corresponding seasonal however, Ichigo actually won against Zero Two in their semi-final match, causing her to directly qualify for 2019's main tournament. That result may or may not have involved Violet fans (but that doesn't matter anyway as the Saber-lookalike would've dominated either or them regardless). Of course, 002 got the last laugh as she lasted longer in the 2019 main tournament, while 015 was eliminated three rounds in with only a single win to her name, in what could possibly be her only appearance in the competition....

....until she returned in the 2021 main tournament with a vengeance, having been boosted by Chinese DitF supporters who caught wind of the contest via the Douyin (Chinese TikTok) social media app.

ISML record[]

ISML Profile Flavor Text

(written by Momento10)

What does it mean to be a leader? How heavy is the weight of the "Leader" title? These questions tackle Ichigo's mind on a daily basis.

For the longest time, Ichigo has always done what the higher ups informed her to do. Whenever there is a new mission, she will relay the information to her squad in order to make sure that the mission is completed successfully so that their leaders can shower them with praise. Because her number is the closest to zero, she is theoretically the strongest member of her team and the most attuned to her partner and her gear.

Indeed, she comes across as that. Out of all the squad members, she is the most strategic and level-headed of them all. No matter how difficult a situation is, Ichigo is able to make a call in the middle of the battlefield, and everyone will respect her decisions. There have been a plethora of instances where her quick thinking and dedication has helped saved her team from a number of near-death situations. Even if their mission ends in failure, as long as all of her teammates are safe, she will be content.

Despite playing the role of a stoic and composed figurehead, Ichigo is first and foremost a girl. She is prone to fits of emotion, whether it be love or jealousy. She will play sides because she favors some members of her team over others. Above all else, she wants to have fun and enjoy life as a human being and interact with her teammates as friends, not as soldiers. In a world where they were only born to fight, Ichigo wants a few minutes to enjoy her life, as she will never know when she may lose it in the battlefield.

In this fight for humanity, Ichigo will whatever it takes to win and come out alive. There is no regret, only hope for a better future.

Main Tournament[]

Record: 1 win, 8 losses

ISML 2019
Directly qualified (2018 Winter seasonal -- runner-up)
Rd	Opponent	Score	W-L?
Aqua 1	Rachel Gardner	4153 - 5244	~L
Aqua 2	Index	4647 - 5316	~L
Aqua 3	Yuzu Aihara	5368 - 5355	~W

Tpz 1	Rikka Takanashi	4754 - 6098	~L
Tpz 2	Tohru (Dragon Maid)	5430 - 6092	~L
Tpz 3	Homura Akemi	6495 - 7166	~L
Wildcards: 9574 votes (8th / 8th, Survived)
Amet 1	Emilia	4529 - 5744	~L
Amet 2	Shouko Nishimiya	4089 - 5887	~L
Amet 3	Isla	4212 - 5128	~L
Wildcards: 54,713.3 (14th / 8th, Eliminated)
Final position: 56th (based on wildcard finish)

Seasonal & Exhibition[]

ISML Seasonal & Exhibitions Record
Rd	Opponent	Score	Series	Prd.
2018 Winter - seed 2
Group M1	Hotaru Shidare	6088 - 1045	Dagashi Kashi	Aqua 10
Group M2	Kagura	8832 - 1540	Gintama	Aqua 13
Ro16	(15) Pipimi	12,463 - 6241	Pop Team Epic	Aqua Gem
QF	(7) Ai Hinatsuru	5000 - 4312	Ryuuou no Oshigoto!	Tpz 2
SF	(3) Zero Two	5164 - 4473	Darling in the Franxx	Tpz 3
Final	(1) Violet Evergarden	3212 - 8729	Violet Evergarden	Tpz 4

r/anime record[]

Seasonal Salt & other contests

Seasonal Salt & Others
Rd	Opponent	Score	Series	VF%
2018 Winter - seed 2
Ro64	(63) Aishela	2053 - 273	Grancrest Senki	~W
Ro32	(34) Yui Akamatsu	2348 - 548	Mitsuboshi Colors	~W
Ro16	(15) Yuzu Aihara	2114 - 930	Citrus	~W
QF	(10) Aoi Inuyama	1967 - 1114	Yuru Camp	~W
SF	(3) Rin Shima (advanced as higher seed)	2495 - 2495	Yuru Camp	~W
Final	(1) Zero Two	1696 - 5032	Darling in the Franxx	~L
Best Girl of 2018 - seed 13
Ro32	(20) AE3803	2101 - 1629	Cells at Work!	~W
Ro16	(4) Tomoe Koga	1471 - 1754	Bunny Girl Senpai	~L

Best Girl

Best Girl Contest history
Rd	Opponent	Score	Series	VF%
Best Girl 6 - seed 61
Ro512	(452) Yuki Takeya	2868 - 1453	School-Live!	~W
Ro256	(317) Utaha Kasumigaoka	2637 - 2363	Saekano	~W
Ro128	(68) Alice Nakiri	3157 - 4078	Shokugeki no Soma	~L

Best Girl 7 - seed 83
Ro512	(430) Panty Anarchy	1737 - 1031	PSG	~W
Ro256	(174) Akane Tsunemori	2232 - 2096	Psycho-Pass	~W
Ro128	(46) Miku Nakano	1759 - 3433	5-toubun no Hanayome	~L

Best Girl 8 - seed 26
Ro512	(487) Elza	3379 - 555	Interspecies Reviewers	~W
Ro256	(231) Ruiko Saten	2186 - 1794	Raildex	~W
Ro128	(154) Reina Kousaka	1326 - 2050	Sound! Euphonium	~L
Best Girl 9 - seed TBD

External links[]

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