Buckle up, weebs and normies, because this ride might end in a car crash
- Every DomeKano review
Now, you have probably heard of this show at some point. Either read a review somewhere, or watched a YouTube video. And things you've probably heard are "dumpster fire", "how is this not hentai", "lmao alabama". My response to that?
Well, yeah, but actually no
Let me elaborate.
There is no doubt that the premise sounds like a car crash. And in certain ways, it is. You can't expect a story about a guy having affairs with his step-sisters to end in any good way whatsoever. And not only because it is weird to bang your sisters, even if they are not blood related, but also because it actually poses problems beyond just the weird factor.
You see, Natsuo (our protagonist-kun) isn't just any normal harem anime protagonist. He isn't dense, he isn't asexual, he isn't 2D-sexual - none of that. He is just a normal guy, with normal problems, who cares about people around him. As such, any time something weird happens between him and his sisters, Natsuo is always worried about the consequences of such actions - what will this do to his family, how will this affect him and people close to him, etc.
But.. that's it?
Looking at Domestic Girlfriend from a purely critical point of view - that's about how deep this show gets. The story doesn't really move far, and some characters feel really shallow, as they aren't given much screen time and attention in general. It just feels that some of them are there just to create an impression of a harem anime, no more, no less. Throughout 12 episodes we don't really get strong developments, even for the main cast. And there's a reason for that - this show isn't a full story.
You see, DomeKano is actually a pretty long manga series, and anime covers just about one arc of it. As a result, we don't see significant development of about anything in the anime, which doesn't really help it. The manga takes its time to flesh out the characters and relationships and justify decisions taken by the characters - something anime.. can't.. really do because of how short it is. The premises for relationships pop in and out of existence which creates the sense of spice in the show, there is always a turn, and sometimes they are really forced. This is until you read the manga, which actually has content that explains the circumstances. The camping arc was cut from anime completely, and it set a strong foundation for Natsuo and Rui, as well as Natsuo and Hina as possible couples.
In my personal opinion, this show is a good watch if you just wanna fall back and enjoy the memes that happen on screen. You can't really expect anything deep and sensible from a story that is basically 20% of the full story. I'd say that DomeKano the anime series is a nice way to figure out for yourself whether you will like the manga or not, but if you are here for the story, you should read the manga. Do not, I repeat, do NOT expect the anime to have a story you will remember and characters you will connect to. This just doesn't happen. I hate to repeat myself, but the amount of development you will get from the anime series is miniscule.
It has good visuals and music though, so if you are a fan of that, you will enjoy it.
TL;DR: The anime is adapting only a small part of the manga, which doesn't really present a strong development for the characters, and because of lack thereof, the anime has to constantly keep the viewer's attention by only showing the moments of spice from the first manga arc.
#Overall: 69/100, anime is a dumpster fire, but manga is a nice read.
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