Domestic Girlfriend Episode 3 Review
Part of the enjoyment of Domestic Girlfriend definitely comes from the incredibly low expectations I went into it with but at the same time there were a few things about this episode that really helped me to enjoy it. Visually this anime is average though the music, particularly the OP, is pretty solid. Voice acting works well enough at conveying emotions but it isn’t exactly the selling point. There’s a lot here that’s decidedly average.
Then you have the plot that seems more or less like yet another trashy harem, and then you start watching it and realises it is more like a soap opera or melodrama. But episode 3 kind of made me realise I’m not watching this anime in spite of its genre; I’m definitely watching it because of what it is delivering.
Continuing on with the saga of sensei, Natsuo consults his friend about his feelings and ultimately is cheered up by the thought that he’s just kind of jealous. That and the story his friend shares of the office worker having an affair. And then, as they are walking they spot Sensei as she is saying goodbye to someone in a car and guess who the girl having an affair was?
It’s a cheesy plot move straight out of a day-time soap and yet here they play it absolutely straight. Natsuo confronts her quietly in her room and she admits it and then tells him to butt out. He kisses her. Inappropriate, yes, and poor timing to boot, but teenage boy who has been highly emotional and is seeing his long-time crush in this situation, while it doesn’t make it right you can kind of see why he gave in to the impulse.
After slapping him, she kisses him back and then drops them on the bed. I’m going to be honest, Sensei – Hina, is my least favourite character of the central trio so far because she is the adult, as she keeps claiming and yet so far she’s the one who has been making the most awkward and stupid decisions propelling the drama. What is worse, is she then taunts Natsuo for being scared and kicks him out of the room.
Needless to say, he leaves the house to crash at his friend’s. There’s a whole other thing where Rui then runs away before we get the team of Natsuo and Rui coming back to deal with the situation, but the other point I really enjoyed in this episode were the parents.
Anime parents kind of suck, and these two haven’t really been an exception given they just kind of threw the family together at short notice. But amazingly enough, when the kid runs away, they immediately realise that maybe that wasn’t the best idea (admittedly, it wasn’t the reason he ran away but it would have been fair enough if it was). While I think jumping straight to divorce papers is a little extreme, I really appreciated that the parents and their views are actually here in the story rather than just dealing with the kids and their perspective. Also, consequences of joining two families together without sufficient thought being at least mentioned is something of a novelty.
So yeah, Domestic Girlfriend isn’t a perfect anime, not even close, but I’m going to enjoy my weekly dose of drama from it and so far its been quite the enjoyable ride.
Or, you can visit the bookshop and buy the ebook.
Karandi’s Bookshop
- Series Review – Domestic Girlfriend
- Episode 1 – And He Thought This Was a One Night Stand
- Episode 2 – The Growing Bonds That Join These Characters
- Episode 3 – Why Not Prepare Popcorn For This Fantastic Drama?
- Episode 4 – Good Intentions; Questionable Activities: How Will This End?
- Episode 5 – The Rumour Mill Surrounding The Easy Girl
- Episode 6 – When In Doubt, Just Pile on More Characters and Stir
- Episode 7 – Domestic Dramas and More Mundane High School Problems
- Episode 8 and 9 – Making Choices and Hearing Truths
- Episode 10 – Natsuo, If You’re Going To Lie, Cover Your Tracks
- Episode 11 – Foolish Hearts and Foolish Choices
- Episode 12 – Fuelling Fiction Through Pain
- Images from: Domestic Girlfriend. Dir. S Ibata. Diomedea. 2019.
You should know by now, anime parents don’t talk to their kids, they either jump to conclusions or simply bully them into submission. That’s why the most rounded kids in anime are the one left alone! 😛
I would really love more examples of good anime parents (you know, other than dead ones). It would occasionally be lovely to see a well rounded family that communicates.
The theme for a future article perhaps? 😉
I don’t know. It keeps running off the rails for me. Doesn’t feel true enough to human nature to be character driven. The plot continues to harvest unlikely coincidence and situations, so that isn’t driving it.
It does remind me of a daytime soap opera. Never liked any of those – unless Dark Shadows counts. Yet another problematic kiss by Natsuo followed by an even more problematic kiss by Hina. Hina’s incredibly immature behavior is very off-putting. Natsuo’s hormone-addled teenager has gone from merely confused to creepy. The parents are oblivious idiots. Rui is the only sympathetic character of the lot. I need more than one character to get me to give it two thumbs up.
For me, the anime remains at OK with intermittent shots of good along with intermittent preposterousness. One thumb up. The one I cut last week on a paper cutter and that still hurts. I really hope it improves but I am not optimistic.
It’s definitely soap opera-ish and definitely not true to life (or at least I hope not). Still enjoying the drama these characters are experiencing.
I went in with the same expectations and then like you I think I’m going to stick around for a bit.
I’m just impressed that it hasn’t been complete trash, and at the same time it seems to be delivering a pretty compelling soap opera plot. I’m not that into soaps but this is kind of working for me, probably because I had such low expectations for it.