Domestic Girlfriend – Ep. 12 (END)

 

You know, it feels moot to call Domestic Girlfriend a trashy disappointment considering that I originally assumed it would be one in some way going in. But I don’t know, I really did think the first six or so episodes were quite good so I still can’t help but feel it’s a shame that this show got significantly less enjoyable as it neared its end.

It isn’t as though Domestic Girlfriend is awful. If there is one thing I can confidently give the show praise for it’s that it was never once boring or hard to sit through. However, the big clutch to enjoying the second half is how positively you have felt about Natsuo x Hina and me personally, I wasn’t too keen about it. Even if I want to pull the “not related by blood” card, a student-teacher relationship is still scandalous. They even acknowledge that it’s scandalous but time and time again, they fail to truly take that issue into consideration. Maybe if they waited until Natsuo graduated, I could see it faring better but even then, the easy solution would still be to call it quits while they still can.

I think what I would’ve preferred to see Natsuo date Rui instead. That is partially me thinking those two had better chemistry but it would’ve been a little more organic compared to Natsuo and Hina hooking up. At least it wouldn’t have stepped on Rui’s feelings and it would’ve even created a neat role reversal where her and Natsuo are doing something scandalous and Hina is positioned to either intervene or idly let it be (or maybe even support it). Alas, that isn’t what we got.

To give credit where it’s due, this finale does acknowledge that the most believable direction Natsuo x Hina could go is down. For once, you have Hina being smart — accepting punishment for her carelessness and distancing herself from Natsuo for both his sake and hers. It’s admittedly hard to sympathize with the ensuing aftermath but Natsuo’s heartache is believable and I can relate with him pouring that emotion into his writing as means for catharsis. There is even something satisfying about seeing his new manuscript earn him a prestigious prize and an editor. Perhaps that’s a sign that Natsuo has at least grown wiser from his recent experiences.

As for Rui, this girl sure doesn’t know when to quit, huh? I completely lost it when she appeared with a brunette wig, thereby resembling Hina and tricking Natsuo by accident. Yes, Momo is technically the one who bought the wig but even then, that’s pretty tacky of her to do (not to mention a terrible use of Momo). I’m not surprised that Rui kissed Natsuo again but really? I feel like this show is in some sort of loop because first, we had Natsuo and Hina not learning their lessons and now the same thing is happening to poor Rui. Just look at Natsuo’s face. Even he’s like “Oh no, not this again”. I’ll admit that this moment is a solid cliffhanger on paper but this is starting to get a little taxing.

Perhaps I should be glad then that the anime just ends right there. There’s no word yet on a second season but even if there will be one, I’m not sure if I’d hop on board for it. To reiterate, I don’t hate Domestic Girlfriend. It’s a pretty decent show. All the set-up and introductions in the first half is still great and all in all, this show is far from the massive disappointment that I feared it to be. It also says something about a trashy romance anime if I didn’t drop it early on and was even willing to sit through it in its entirety. Maybe I’ll change my mind in the coming days but for now, I think I’ve had my fill with this series. I don’t regret the time I spent watching and covering this show but I’m content to not see where this story goes on from here.

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Thanks for reading!

Watch Domestic Girlfriend on Crunchyroll & HIDIVE.

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