Sweet Jesus, this show is a hot mess of the highest order. I purposely kept myself ignorant of most of the details of the plot for maximum surprise, and I have no regrets whatsoever. I get the feeling that shows like this are a dime a dozen within the genre, but I don’t watch much like this (probably the only thing I’ve seen like it in the recent past is Scum’s Wish, but the two shows so far are incredibly similar) so it was a wild ride for me.
The show opens with our MC, Natsuo Fujii and our presumed main girl, Rui Tachibana, in bed together after having met at a group date and deciding to bail on everyone to lose their respective virginities to each other. Already these people are seeming like inconsiderate pieces of trash. Rui has a very nice bra though.
Side note: this is one of my favourite fake brand names I’ve seen in a while.
I can’t decide yet whether or not I like Rui; she’s super weird and I’m not sure what direction they’re going to take her character in (I mean other than she’s almost certainly going to develop feelings for Natsuo despite her current frostiness), but I could see myself growing to like her.
Natsuo, on the other hand, I’m pretty sure I’m not a fan of. He acts all sensitive and creative, but he reminds me of some sort of gross eroge protagonist. I was getting mild Makoto from School Days vibes from him from the start, and him creeping on Hina-sensei while she was passed out drunk did not help with that.
Speaking of which, I was completely blindsided by the stepsiblings plot in this thing, I knew absolutely nothing about it. I figured that Rui would be Natsuo’s new stepsister, but my reaction to Hina-sensei coming along too was intense. Oh god, what quasi-incestuous horror of a love triangle is going to be wrought here? Do I want to see this? In hindsight, Rui and Hina being sisters was foreshadowed pretty heavily early on in the group date scene, but it went completely over my head and now I kind of feel like a moron. But I am glad that I had the surprise. Also, A+ parenting skills on Natsuo’s dad’s part waiting to tell his son he had a new girlfriend until they were practically married.
And Hina, oh boy. Red flags: the person. If you have to state multiple times in one day that you’re not interested in children, you’re probably protesting too much. And then there’s her apparent drinking problem and the fact that despite being an adult with a stable job she’s apparently happily living with her mother and her husband-to-be with no plans to move out. And I mean I can see being in that stage of life and still living with your mother – it happens, it’s not that unusual. But when she moves house to be with her new husband, isn’t that sort of your cue to find your own place? Would you seriously move into your new stepdad’s house in your mid-20s? This girl has issues. I mean, clearly. Everyone in this anime has issues. That’s why we’re here, that’s what we all came to see: damaged hot people making bad choices. Actually, I wonder if Hina is going to turn out to be a sociopath who sleeps around just to see the destruction in her wake like the teacher from Scum’s Wish. I guess I’d be down for that. I just want everyone to be their worst selves here.
AND THAT ENDING OH MY GOD, Natsuo’s face was absolute perfection.
I’m definitely going to keep watching this, but jury’s out on whether I’ll be blogging it still, because I could see this getting stale awfully fast just as much as I could see it getting crazy fun. So much happened in the first episode that I wonder whether they’ll have difficulty keeping up the pace in future, but I’ll reserve my judgement for now.
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed – I love a good shitshow
Possibility of Watching: Moderate – I’ll give it 3 episodes
Domestic’s mangaka, Sasuga Kei (aka Sasaki Keiko) is no stranger to making these types of dramatic, soap-style romances.
Her previous manga, GE – Good Ending had similar themes as Domestic, although some readers say Domestic’s characters are written as more flawed so it’s easier for her to generate Drama.
Here’s a pic of the mangaka.
“Consider the bulldog. A grotesque monstrosity born of relentless inbreeding. Riddled with sinusitis, crippled by joint pain. Chronically flatulent. A kindly pet, or humanity’s cruelest mistake?…Just look at that hideous face!…Ladies and gentlemen, just like that horrible creature, Domestic na Kanojo can be viewed as one of two things: either a jaw-dropping/shameful guilty pleasure that you just can’t turn away from or a horrible train-wreck that really just shows how broken we all are.” — Gavin Belson from Silicon Valley, reworded to fit the show.
Ok, when this was first announced to get an anime series, my jaw hit the floor. I got into the manga, and I thought that this was one series that probably isn’t the best suited for an anime, but then again, Scum’s Wish got an adaptation, so what do I know. (Looking at you, Minamoto-kun Monogatari) Regardless, I’m still reading the manga, so I guess I’m broken.
While the plot of the show may seem utterly ridiculous, in some sense, I feel slightly sympathetic to Natsuo, in that I’d probably have that same expression that he did when he first got the news. Knowing what I know about the manga, I hope that you continue blogging this, even though the chances are slim.
Also….gotta say, the character’s reactions are pretty hilarious at times. Sasuga Kei did a great job showcasing the characters and their facial expressions in the manga, and I really enjoy how Hina acts when drunk at times.