Papa

Papa is a major figure in DARLING in the FRANXX. He serves as the chairman of the APE council, effectively the supreme leader of what's left of humanity in the series' dystopian world. The child pilots (known as Parasites) and most adults revere him as a god-like authority figure, addressing him as "Papa" and viewing him as a benevolent caretaker who guides and protects humanity.

He appears as a mysterious, robed figure wearing an elegant white outfit with golden details and a distinctive golden mask (resembling a gorilla, fitting his role as head of APE, whose members have primate-themed masks). He speaks in a calm, refined, and calculated manner.

(Without spoiling major plot twists) — while initially presented as a distant, almost divine overseer who directs the children's lives and battles against the Klaxosaurs, his true nature and motivations become a key revelation later in the story.