I still can’t believe Domestic Girlfriend/na Kanojo ended the way it did. It’s like I witnessed a murder and I am still in shock and recovering from the trauma. Actually I take that back. I DID witness a murder. I want to start off by saying no offense to Kei Sasuga because her job ain’t an easy one but how does one mess up a story this bad.
When I first heard the plot for Domestic Girlfriend, I was intrigued for various reasons... and just because I happened to have some spare time before a lecture, I decided to check out the anime. And after the first two episodes I moved on to the manga and I kept reading and I couldn’t stop even though I knew it was a terrible mess. I soon came to the conclusion that it’s okay that I found DomeKano appealing because I’m human and I’m not perfect and that we all have a guilty pleasure we are ashamed of.
The most intriguing part about DomeKano was the drama and the characters themselves. Also the .5 chapters lol. The plot was raunchy, absurd and ridiculous but its seemed to pull me in. The story had its ups and downs and while it was nowhere near perfect it was still an okay read. The emotion the manga conveyed was good and I felt like I understood the struggles the characters went through sometimes. But those feelings only came once a blue moon. The rest of the time I felt like I was reading a cheesy soap opera, which quite honestly, is what DomeKano truly is. Still, it was the one manga where I could thrash it but still enjoy it.
My hopes for an amazing ending were never high. But I did expect a decent one which would leave me satisfied in some way. However, after chapter 218(Rui breaks up with Natsuo) my enjoyment began to dissipate and it felt like Natsuo, Rui, and Hina’s relationship was being beaten around the bush. Hina’s story arc was truly irritating as well because of how she behaved like Natsuo’s lap dog rather than his actual sister. While Natsuo and Rui were both growing independently in their own right, Hina is in her own little corner, simping over Natsuo instead of moving forward herself. And I get that she just wants to support him, but she seems too focused on his life instead of improving her own.
After Rui's pregnancy and Natsuo and Rui telling everyone about it, I thought the story was heading in a good direction even with the issues it still had, specifically the pacing which seemed to start picking up rather quickly. And then, Natsuo and Rui’s relationship took a turn for the worst. In less than 20 chapters they go from soulmates to exes on good terms? My issue is not that Rui blew a 3 - 1 lead and lost to a vegetable -- although it does make me salty -- but the fact that the ending ruins a lot of character development that has been built over various chapters by suddenly tossing a wrecking ball of bullshit at it and making it all come crumbling down. Had Hina gotten together with Natsuo after Rui broke up with him, (chapter 218) I would’ve been okay with that. Before Rui became pregnant and she was in need of help, Natsuo had to make a choice: Whether he would listen to what Hina had to say or run to the airport to head to NY and be with Rui. And he chose Rui. That should’ve solidified the ending. So I don’t understand why there suddenly had to be 180 degree turn at the last minute and Hina wins with no buildup whatsoever.
Natsuo is one pushover, lousy, terribly written MC. He was always shown to be indecisive but I really thought he had grown out of that stage. The man is a successful writer for crying out loud. You don't become successful if you still have a hard time deciding if your favorite color is blue or light blue. His character has also been shown to have gotten over Hina so the fact that he didn’t even try to argue against Rui wanting to call off the wedding was a big red flag. Not even 10 chapters before that, he and his father go to his mother’s grave (262) to talk about his relationship with Rui and he says “This isn’t something I decided on a whim. Trust me.” THIS MAN swears on his dead mother and proceeds to be like “yea, let’s not get married, your sister is hotter anyay”. THIS MAN gets Rui pregnant and then proceeds to be like “still beat tho”. THIS MAN tell’s Tsukiko (Rui/Hina’s mom) that he promises to make Rui happy and proceeds to let her become a single mother. All that love and promises made are thrown out the window. Natsuo is pretty much a damn potato by the end of the story with a lifeless expression of :) The villain of this story was never the serial killer, chef boy, or the 80 different girls who wanted Natsuo’s d*ck. It was Natsuo himself.
Rui’s child, Haruka, feels more of a consolation prize for coming in 2nd place rather than the creation of Natsuo and Rui's love. Like I said, Nat just goes along with Rui on everything she says, proving who truly is the man of the house. The wedding fell flat and lifeless, no speeches no nothing. And Hina deserved better instead of going through miserable shit and ultimately becoming a housewife. But then again, the title is "Domestic Girlfriend". Not "Strong and Independent Girlfriend". So it makes sense. And the final panel of the manga just had me staring at it expressionlessly thinking about whether I should have takeout for dinner or not. This is what happens when you try to please both sides. You get one giant mess.
If Domestic Girlfriend taught me anything is that it is better to forget and move forward than to remember and be sad. Therefore I have decided to erase the existence of this manga from my brain or atleast forget about the last 5 chapters. Props to Kei Sasuga for being the only human in the world with the ability to bait me so hard that she stole a massive chunk of valuable time that I could’ve put to better use by reading another shitty manga. Even now, I waste my time writing this rant that no one will really care about. Do I recommend this manga? The answer is quite simple. Just read the .5 chapters.
Update 2025: Fuck everything i said above this, my ninja Natsu or whatever the hell his name is, da GOAT. I wasn’t familiar with his game. Brother had motion, pullin two A-class baddies let alone SISTERS at the same time. Elite levels of game, the Bron of whatever the fuck u call this genre I forgot .
The true winners of the story: