Domestic Girlfriend

Have you ever watched an anime and been annoyed at how slow the relationship between characters develops? Sometimes the furthest characters go throughout an entire season of liking each other is hand holding. Well, not with Domestic na Kanojo!!! The very first scene is two of the main characters having sex, almost making me think for a second that I had accidentally stumbled across a hentai. This anime immediately strives to set itself apart from the crowd. It endeavors to be special and throws all sorts of drama at us in the forms of forbidden incestuous love and depressed characters as if attempting to getus to be impressed by how far it’s willing to go to be extra dramatic and unique. Though alas, it falls far short of the mark. Honestly, I'd much rather watch those imouto anime that everyone else loves to hate on over this crap. Yeah, I said it! I’d also much rather watch characters take 24+ episodes to get to the hand holding stage of their relationship over this show. There isn’t really an overarching narrative so much as a collection of short stories. I say this because the flow of the anime is simply atrocious. Characters would go through one event, such as the arc covering heroine Hina’s relationship problems, only for it to be completely forgotten for several episodes in favor of the protagonist dealing with another issue plaguing a different disturbed girl. And the worst part is that none of the characters ever evolved as people throughout these arcs nor do they learn from their mistakes. None of the scenarios were deep or impactful precisely because hardly anything ever amounted from them. They just seemed like halfhearted attempts to create romantic tension between the characters, and for me, it just didn’t work. But don’t despair, for there is one bright spot amidst all of the mediocrity. The opening theme song, Kawaki wo Ameku, is so good that it has its own anime entry on this site. And it’s much higher rated than the anime itself. Deservedly so, because the song is amazing! The emotion that the vocalist is able to convey is really special, and is something that, from personal experience in the music industry, is hard to accomplish. So hats off to her. Unfortunately, the rest of the soundtrack is plain, and the anime often decides to play upbeat songs during “emotional” moments that further ruin the authenticity of these scenes. Aside from Hina’s seiyuu, the other voice actors just sound so dull and uninterested. Yes, I get that that’s the point when it comes to Rui, but that doesn’t mean that the other girls have to sound so deadbeat. And Natsuo’s seiyuu isn’t any different, though I guess that perfectly fits with Natsuo’s character. Our protagonist Natsuo is one of the most generic yes men in all of anime. People complain about isekai and harem anime heroes being boring constantly, but at least they can say no from time to time, particularly when anything sexual is involved. This dude just does whatever he’s told with like one exception when he decided not to kiss one of the girls once. *clap clap* And when the anime tries to show that he regrets some of his more immoral decisions, he just goes ahead and repeats them anyway, proving that his growth as a character is still at 0%. Natsou’s incredible blandness and stagnancy is simply astounding. I honestly much prefer his glasses wearing chubby buddy. Like, by a lot. The heroines aren’t much better. By all appearances, Rui is a character that I should have enjoyed. I like both her personality and design, but she unfortunately suffers from being a poorly written character. Her awkwardness, which was her main trait, was completely thrown out the window after a few episodes, and she just doesn’t do much of anything important in the show. You could honestly write her out of the story and replace the sex scene with her with one of the other girls and nothing would change. The only female character who is actually important to the broken narrative is Rui’s sister Hina, who is the definition of a hot mess. Seriously, Hina has a lot of problems, and I’m sure she was written this way to be an interesting and layered character thanks to her flaws. But like everything else, it just doesn’t work. Why? Because she has no merits. Everything she does is immoral, and like everyone else, she never learns from her mistakes and any remorse she’s shown feeling is completely invalidated by her just repeating the same exact mistakes over and over again. Flawed characters who aren’t set up to be antagonists and don’t even receive a shred of redemption or personality just don’t work, and Hina is a prime example of this. There are other girls in the show, but they do absolutely nothing for the anime. I guess they’re simply there for some more love drama and harem-esque themes down the line in the manga. But from the anime alone, they contribute nothing to the story. They look cute though, so that has to count for something, right? My biggest issue with this anime was that I didn’t enjoy watching it. I was pondering what word could perfectly describe my feelings towards Domestic na Kanojo, and the first that came to mind was “cringy”. I was just so uncomfortable while watching it. Now you might be thinking, but isn’t that the point of the anime? Isn’t it designed to cover discomforting material? While that’s true, the reason why I cringed wasn’t because of the material itself, but of how poorly it was all executed in the anime. Characters weren’t deep, just stupid. They never learned from their mistakes and would just make bizarre choices that would often completely go against their established characters. And the scenarios they found themselves in never felt impactful. They were just random spikes of drama that would never actually go anywhere. Shows are meant to be fun to watch, yet with this one…I just couldn’t get into it. Now excuse me as I go and watch OreImo, Eromanga-sensei, and KissXSis, which all do a far better job with the brother x sister relationship thingy than this one.

Hmm, how should I sum up Domestic Girlfriend? Natsuo gets in between his two sisters…..nailed it! But Domestic Girlfriend is not your typical bludgeoning of the flaps for the purposes of stimulating that intense surge of dopamine. Instead, its primary focus is on the emotional aspects of an awkward circumstance of which the “fated” lovers — Natsuo and Rui — have no say over. It’s certainly not the type of anime that will appeal to the action-oriented crowd or the numerous romcom enthusiasts (although, there are a handful of comedic moments). No. This is the type of anime that offers asemblance of realism to a medium that all too often strays away from level-headed, unromantic situations, in exchange for chuckles and anticipated endings. “Happy-endings” certainly have their place among the droves of escapist-consumers, but the flooding of the market in recent years has made its appeal less desirable; hence, why Domestic Girlfriend is a welcomed change of pace. So what exactly separates Domestic Girlfriend from the throng of predetermined, quixotic shows that perpetuate fanciful illusions which rarely come to fruition? Well, rather than slowly building the eventual relationship between the two “destined” lovers, Domestic Girlfriend showcases a scene in which Natsuo and Rui are seen in a bedroom, after experiencing sex for the first time; yet, their jubilation is noticeably absent. What is normally considered the pinnacle of consensual relationships, was merely a simple task to be “checked-off” to avoid the embarrassment of being a virgin. But copulation done in haste is never so satisfying, nor is it a substitute for a passion-filled, endearing relationship. A reality that Natsuo and Rui discover in a most unpleasant manner, as their first kiss is done tentatively, without mutual attraction (as Rui’s affections are not reciprocated by Natsuo). This is not to say that Natsuo does not enjoy their tender encounters — he is a hormone-driven male, after all — but the connection is never fully established. Fostering an interesting dynamic in which Rui seeks the endearment of Natsuo, while he has his sights set on Hina. While branching away from the conventions of cookie-cutter plots and defined character archetypes, Domestic Girlfriend does have a myriad of blemishes that prevent if from being a truly great show. It seems the staff made a concerted effort to blitz the viewer with a multitude of plot twists and jaw-dropping moments when the bungling missteps of Natsuo, Rui, and Hina would have provided sufficient entertainment in its own right. Episode 8, with the underwear thief, was just one example of stretching the limits of storytelling too far to “conveniently” pose a new conundrum for the two to deal with (i.e. Alex being attracted to Rui — causing Rui to feel neglected by Natsuo). Literally every episode has one or two moments that resemble the high level drama of a daytime soap opera. It’s not quite as egregious as the machinations of Days of Our Lives, but there is a certain superficiality about it that cannot be ignored. Furthermore, Domestic Girlfriend suffers from an excess of exposition heavy dialogue. Upon discovering Natsuo’s secret relationship, Rui provides an elaborate explanation as to why she will harbor ill-feeling towards her step-brother. Ordinarily, though, when a woman is unhappy with a man, she is not as forthcoming with this sort of sensitive information. Due to a variety of reasons, women can be rather enigmatic, necessitating the man to figure out the cause of the strife without much guidance. In this viewer’s opinion, if Rui remained silent with her feelings, it would have placed Natsuo in a difficult, realistic dilemma as to if/when he would attempt to mend fences with his step-sister. In terms of the characters, the main three — Natsuo, Rui, and Hina — are thoroughly fleshed, with a preponderance of unique tendencies that enable the viewer to truly understand/empathize with them. The rest of the cast, regrettably, are relatively weak. Masaki Kobayashi, in particular, is generally irksome with an abundance of foolish moments that make the viewer want to slap their face or cover their eyes (dude needs to hit the gym to tighten those flabby butt cheeks). In fact, many of the secondary and tertiary characters were relegated to the sidelines for the mere purpose of comedic relief from the depressing atmosphere of Natsuo’s relationship troubles. Yet their various absurdities did not meld well with the intended tone of the series. Ice cream and steak are both delicious, but they are not the type of foods one mixes together. Neither should one mix erratic comedy with serious relationship issues. All in all, Domestic Girlfriend is a flawed series that attempts to take itself seriously, but far too often does not commit one-hundred percent of the time (or even ninety percent). Despite its flaws, however, it has a mesmerizing effect on the viewer, propelling him/her to tune into the next episode to see what happens next. It’s akin to sipping on a cup of tea. The taste is somewhat complex, albeit acquired. The experience is pleasant, but nothing special. And the character is unique, yet nothing revelatory.

Fate is a funny thing. Some may believe in it while others pass it off as a superstition. When someone like Natsuo decided to have sex with a girl named Rui, and later became his step sister, is that fate too? It’s too bad since this high school boy has been in love with a teacher named Hina Tachibana and his life got even more complicated when she is his step sibling too. What the hell is wrong with this world? From the way I see it, Domestic Kanojo (also known as Domestic Girlfriend) subscribes to a complicated romance story that feeds off of its drama.The first episode immediately makes us realize that Natsuo is not ready for a serious relationship. He’s pretty much the typical sensitive type of guy who lacks experience with love. Sure, he may have had a one night stand with Rui but what she wanted back then was purely to know what sex is like. Natsuo didn’t feel committed to the relationship either since he’s in love with Hina. Domestic Kanojo is saturated with drama so you should expect plenty of. The most evident is this complicated love triangle between the two main leads – Natsuo, Hina, and Rui. The meeting between the first three characters on screen brings out nothing more awkwardness. It almost felt like a moment of social suicide for Natsuo as he realizes the reality of his situation. But hey, everyone loves a secret right? Well, maybe not Rui. In the most direct way possible, she pretends not to know Natsuo and whispers to him to forget about what happened. Despite this, it seems Rui has developed feelings towards him. The show explores a deep degree of puberty for Natsuo and Rui. Being the younger characters, they try to experience what love is. However, the show also makes it unclear who Natsuo is commiteed to on several occasions. In many episodes, I feel like he uses Rui as a replacement for Hina. In respect, Hina also does show feelings towards Natsuo as the show progresses but a big question remains is “will or will they”? However, both sides of Natsuo’s relationship brings about controversy. Hina is at least 7 years older than him. Rui’s relationship with Natsuo would pretty much be designated as incest considering their circumstances. Like I said before, controversy and Domestic Kanojo belongs in the same sentence. Outside of the main cast, I confess to say the other characters are far less appealing. For instance, Momo is introduced as the nice and friendly ‘girl next door’ type. It doesn’t take long for her to show interest in Natsuo but the show dumps her without much development whatsoever. Natsuo’s friend Alex is introduced later with a goofy personality who manages to make no impact in the story whatsover. The manga expands more on his character but the anime adaptation treats him like a butt monkey. Perhaps the more important supporting cast includes Shuu, a married man who had engaged in an affair with Hina. There’s a plot that involves Natsuo and Rui trying to get Hina to break off their relationship yet she seems reluctant. Indeed, this show has adultery and isn’t shy to express it. The storytelling themes reminds me of modern day telenovela where romance always seems to have consequences. But hey, Domestic Kanojo could make a break for experimenting with love right? After all, the first episode included Natsuo and Rui in a sexual one night stand to experience what it be like. The sad truth is that neither seems satisfied and didn’t grow up from their experience at all. As someone who have read the manga, this 12-episode adaptation can’t even manage to capture the magic of their intimiate scenes. It’s hard to get emotionally invested into any of the main characters when you see how many mistakes they make. While I can say this is relatable to real life relationships, the anime indulges in too much drama. Every episode seems to add drama on top of drama for the sake of….drama. Anyone who is familiar with character relationships in similar dramas can easily see how flawed the characters are. To me, this was nothing less than a guilty pleasure that occasionally bought out some unintentional humor from time to time. By the time I reached the final episodes, I can say it’s pretty much a laughable drama with too many mistakes to fix. Diomeda is a questionable studio to be honest. Even some of their work in recent years (Sky Wizards Academy, Unlimited Fafnir, Fuuka) reminds me of production quality similar to the mid 2000s. You’re not going to find high level visuals or realistic animation here. Instead, you’re going to get fan service shoved down your throat in the form of panty shots, boobs, and in some cases, nudity. (yes, there’s an actual uncensored version out there) The manga isn’t shy with its sexualized content either. But for all its flaws, I give credit due for the incredible opening song (Kawaki wo Ameku) performed by Minami. It’s one of the most well decorated theme songs for a drama anime I've seen in recent years. The melancholy, stylish piano choreography, and character emotion in this song is phenomenal. Similarly, I also give praise for the performance of the two main female leads – Rui and Hina. Despite being flawed characters, their voices expressions reflects their personalities and emotions rather well. Watching Domestic Kanojo wasn’t an easy experience for me even as a manga reader. There are several episodes that made me want to tear my hair out. Relationships in this show is expressed through drama added on top of drama with weak direction. It isn’t one of those fairy tale romances with a happily ever after. No. This is more like a telenovela that’s suited for live action than anime with too much stupidity. Except, it is an actual anime...

i hate this show dont watch this show whenever things in the show start to go well and there's hope that it might get better, that's when this show likes to shatter your dreams and just bring everything back down to ruin. it's still a 6/10 because it looked nice and had good music and i can understand how someone could potentially enjoy such a dumb story. it also wasn't that bad 100% of the time. i might just be being a bit generous but surprisingly i did find a couple redeeming qualities. that still doesn't mean this show is worth watching unless you enjoy hurting yourself mentally. that'sall, that's the tea sis