Created By: Kei Sasuga
Directed By: Shóta Ihata
Studio: Diomedéa
Audio: English, Japanese
Subtitles: English
iClassification: 18 (BBFC)
Format: Blu-Ray
Episode Count: 1 – 12 (Complete)
Licensed By: MVM Entertainment
Release Date: Available Now
Natsuo Fuji is just your typical high school boy, who has a massive crush on his teacher Ms Tachibana. Since there is zero chance he will ever get to go out with her, he agrees to attend a mixer with his friends in order to meet some cute girls. Whilst out he gets talking to Rui, a quiet but straight talking girl who persuades him to follow her home to do the ‘deed’. Thinking that they will never see one another again, Natsuo returns home to the news that his widowed father is getting remarried and she is on the way over with her two daughters – Rui and Ms Hina Tachibana. Let this chaotic new family dynamic begin, as Natsuo must learn to live with the woman he lost his virginity to and the one he wishes he could sleep with!
Well this is an anime that is just filled with drama and questions around romance within blended families and the morals that surround them. It initially began as Natuso having a long standing crush for his teacher Ms Hina Tachibana. In order to try and get past his one sided romance, he ended up sleeping with Rui, who inevitably ended up being the teacher’s younger sister. As fate would have it, they all ended up under the one roof when their single parents remarried thus creating this incredibly complicated family. Following the initial revelation, the show then turns direction into Natuso and Rui keeping their first ‘encounter’ a secret from everyone and Natsuo also trying to resist all urges to pounce on Hina. The story further develops when Hina’s secret relationship is exposed, Natsuo acts upon his feelings, Hina attempts to play the older sister and obviously Rui ends up transferring to the same school.
So there is clearly a reason this show is marked as an 18 classification, both for the nature of the story and the numerous naked scenes included. It’s a pretty raunchy show at times and has a pretty narrow audience, however even though the premise of the show will be too much for many people to overlook – the character development, plot progression and the overall conclusion of the show is pretty well thought out! I can not falter the script whatsoever, it always keeps both feet in reality with its character reactions and inevitable consequences. We see the challenges that come about when step siblings develop romantic feelings for one another, normal high school antics, a school trip and even Natsuo thinking about his career as he throws himself back into his writing again towards the end thanks to the members of the Literature Club. Hina on the other hand is walking a tightrope, as her relationship to a married man is exposed and later we see how the cycle is repeating itself once more when the origins of which are revealed. With Hina now in the opposite role, her career ends on a cliff edge as well when a picture of her school trip antics lands on the Principal’s desk. Its an inevitable conclusion to the series, a sad one at that but one that is more realistic than the hopeful happily ever after many would have been expecting from the series. As to if the anime’s ending is the same as how the manga series ended, I’m unsure as the manga concluded over a year after the anime did.
Speaking of which, the manga was created by Kei Sasuga, the same author behind the one shot harem romance ‘GE – Good Ending’. The ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ manga ran in Weekly Shónen Magazine from 2014 upto just last year in 2020, with a total of 28 volumes released with 11 extra chapters bundled together in one last volume. The English translation is being handled by Kodansha USA, with the volumes only being available in a digital format. The anime adaptation was then aired in 2019, with a total of 12 episodes all handled by studio Diomedéa. The same studio behind ‘My Girlfriend is Shobitch’, ‘Girlish Number’, ‘Squid Girl’ and ‘Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They?’. This anime release is being handled by the dedicated team over at MVM Entertainment, giving it a BluRay only release.
Bonus Features Include:
Clean opening
Clean closing
Discs Credits
Also Available from Sentai Filmworks
Although this anime’s plot is far from family friendly or aimed at casual anime viewers, it is still worth a watch for those that are willing to give the show a chance. The character development and interactions involved are rooted in a reality on par with our own, where actions such as student/pupil relationships are met with dire consequences. No magic, adventure, epic battles or quests, just a show that dives into a plausible scenario where a student ends up with two step sisters and a romantic love triangle ensues. ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ is available now from MVM Entertainment as a BluRay only.
Overall: 7/10
