Domestic Girlfriend

Ep. 3,
I do not expect this show to get good at all for a number of reasons. I looked up people thoughts on the manga so far and its no where near close to finishing, probably because the author doesn't know how to end the series. This is making me think of when Rumiko was having trouble figuring out how to end Inu-Yasha. When an author struggles with how to end a series, it never bodes well.

I don't have a problem with sexuality in romance anime when its done tastefully. But I think the problem is how Natsu can't make up his mind on which girl he likes. I hate it when the protagonist is indecisive, and no, being a teenager is no excuse. Despite production value I don't sense the series is going to be any good, so at the very least I'll finish season 1. For now or always, 2/5 for me!
 
Ebonyslayer said:
Ep. 3,
I do not expect this show to get good at all for a number of reasons. I looked up people thoughts on the manga so far and its no where near close to finishing, probably because the author doesn't know how to end the series. This is making me think of when Rumiko was having trouble figuring out how to end Inu-Yasha. When an author struggles with how to end a series, it never bodes well.

I don't have a problem with sexuality in romance anime when its done tastefully. But I think the problem is how Natsu can't make up his mind on which girl he likes. I hate it when the protagonist is indecisive, and no, being a teenager is no excuse. Despite production value I don't sense the series is going to be any good, so at the very least I'll finish season 1. For now or always, 2/5 for me!
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I'm not quite sure what you mean with being indecisive. Natsuo only has eyes for 1 girl at the moment, there isn't any competition yet.

Rui is starting to get interested in Natsuo but Natsuo is only interested in Hina so far. Natsuo just slept with Rui, there isn't any love from his end for her. Hina is just feeling lost, she feels bad because she understands she's messing with Natsuo feelings but she's well aware that everything she's doing are all just terrible life choices.
 
Sorry to hear the show didn't suit your fancy, @Ebonyslayer. If it didn't work for you, then it didn't work for you.

That said, I will agree with @Rudeboy's point and maybe add
that any feelings towards Rui that Natsuo might seem like he's expressing, right now, are probably a mix of two things:
  1. that they had sex, which is new and shiny and emotional--and all of which absolutely lingers.
  2. that Rui and Natsuo have great natural chemistry.
So, where we might absolutely be headed towards some kind of indecisive love triangle, we are not yet at that stage. Natsuo's very much into Hina...which, perhaps particularly for someone so inexperienced, will lock him into that mindset, making his more subtle and natural chemistry with Rui that much harder to see--which normally means the masked attraction to her will leak out in less direct (sometimes unconscious) ways. So, rather than not knowing which one to choose, I think he is more likely unaware that he's even got a choice to make.

...which doesn't matter a wit if you weren't having fun with it. Which matters so, so, so much more.
 
interregnum said:
Sorry to hear the show didn't suit your fancy, @Ebonyslayer. If it didn't work for you, then it didn't work for you.

That said, I will agree with @Rudeboy's point and maybe add
that any feelings towards Rui that Natsuo might seem like he's expressing, right now, are probably a mix of two things:
  1. that they had sex, which is new and shiny and emotional--and all of which absolutely lingers.
  2. that Rui and Natsuo have great natural chemistry.
So, where we might absolutely be headed towards some kind of indecisive love triangle, we are not yet at that stage. Natsuo's very much into Hina...which, perhaps particularly for someone so inexperienced, will lock him into that mindset, making his more subtle and natural chemistry with Rui that much harder to see--which normally means the masked attraction to her will leak out in less direct (sometimes unconscious) ways. So, rather than not knowing which one to choose, I think he is more likely unaware that he's even got a choice to make.

...which doesn't matter a wit if you weren't having fun with it. Which matters so, so, so much more.
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Funny enough, I feel this is somewhat of a role reversal of how things mostly play out in real life. A boy who just unknowingly is friendzoning a girl while the girl is starting to crush on him.

Normally a guy starts to crush on a girl who he likes to hang out with and one of the most common response from the girl is, "I see you more as a brother". I'm a 100% sure we all know somebody like that :p
 
nukebeach said:
It’s only 3 episodes in and Hina pulls a Scum’s Wish.
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I know.

It's awesome.
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But maybe I'm being a bit harsh on the series, and also wrong in my assessment of the characters. I'm more or less annoyed after seeing
Rising of the Shield Hero and everything the author just does wrong, the same with the Ero-Manga Sensei ova. Curse me for wanting to know how bad it was.

Now that I think about it, I personally don't want to write off the series quite yet. I want to keep going with it, give it a chance, and yet I can't help feeling that its going to derail. Well, might as well enjoy the better part of the series while I can I guess.
 
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Ebonyslayer said:
I want to keep going with it, give it a chance, and yet I can't help feeling that its going to derail.
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Hey, if your gut says get out--listen to it. Don't let us indirectly persuade you to second-guess your gut.

If, however, you think you really were being harsh because of something else...I mean, the more the merrier, here, right? And there's always jumping ship later, if it goes terribly awry.

Ebonyslayer said:
the Ero-Manga Sensei ova
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You found it? HOW DID YOU FIND IT?!?!?!
 
interregnum said:
Hey, if your gut says get out--listen to it. Don't let us indirectly persuade you to second-guess your gut.

If, however, you think you really were being harsh because of something else...I mean, the more the merrier, here, right? And there's always jumping ship later, if it goes terribly awry.


You found it? HOW DID YOU FIND IT?!?!?!
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I found the OVA when I was on my anime streaming site, which would be kissanime.
 
StarsMine said:
ep 4
Ya know I really dont care about affairs and the like if people are being honest with each other, so I was prepared to defend hina's boyfriend....
Nope Douchecanoe was just stringing her along for 2 years making her think will he wont he
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love is cruel, the kids saw through his BS in one short sitting, she's been going along for that long.....and she calls THEM kids....smh.
 
Episode 4:

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2QRSo.jpg

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Sneak Level: over 9,000

This is unbelievably funny. Which part, you ask? To which I say to you: ALL OF THE PARTS. Fuck yeah, this dramatic trash is amazing on all levels. But man oh man, MC's dad really aged after his first wife died, huh? That's kinda sad.

Best moments:
- Sneaky Duo's despair that the only thing they found out from their stakeout was how much sensei valued her alone time.
- Marie's "We have to turn this into a chance for business!" Plus that one waitress at the cafe. We were working on the same wavelength the whole time, her and I.
- MC's "aw why'd you have to run so far?!" after the dramatic storm-out, which followed that dramatic water-chucking! G A S P.
- The weird tango music playing over Rui Rui's dramatic breakdown in the park. TRASH STATUS CONFIRMED. This show doesn't hold back at all and I love it.
- MC's mom attempting to fix his crybaby gene with weights. wtf lady, seriously.
- The interesting um... sausages on the platter:
2QRSv.jpg
 
Oh, good. A discarded script from Masamune-kun's Revenge found itself a home.

That's...sure.
So, to continue my running assessment that this is a show written by a finicky genius and producer who has to fill in the gaps that he won't, this week was clearly the result of the poor producer only being given a napkin with an outline on it.

I mean...WOW. What the hell happened? Like, I know what happened--as in I recognize that the lazy ending from last week got to play itself out, in this episode. But I cannot for the life of me understand who thought it was a good idea to do that. I mean, that f***ing we're-in-a-silent-French-film-parody violin music alone was something so brazenly off the "Cliche Anime Comedy X" discount rack that it DIDN'T MAKE SENSE as played under the whole damn thing. (WHERE WERE THE JOKES IN THE PARK SCENE AT THE END, SHOW--BECAUSE THIS MUSIC IS FOR F***ING JOKE SCENES.)

Which is not to say that the whole scheming to interfere/stalking Hina stuff couldn't have been funny, but...it sure as hell didn't work being specifically played for laughs. Because Rui and Natsuo are, yeah, being ridiculous (...in thinking they will be able to salt Hina's affair game), but they aren't actually ridiculous. That is, they can absolutely do this incredibly stupid thing and not think it's stupid, but there's no way they would do something this stupid while playing up how stupid they're being and not be able to notice they're being stupid. (The phone bit, would probably be an example of what the stakeout stuff could have been--just them immediately seeing that they aren't thinking things through.)

Same goes for the scene in the cafe. That the staff is thrilling over the real-life drama that's unfolding in front of them is not only totally fine but also very funny--and very believable. That they would act like tertiary School Rumble caricatures as they do so is just bizarre--because the people they're thrilling over are RIGHT NEXT TO THEM. They can hear you, you twits! THIS IS NOT A UNIVERSE WHERE LOUD ASIDES ARE ASSUMED TO BE ONLY FOR THE AUDIENCE'S SAKE. The manager and waitress should be cutting the tension of the scene not setting the tone for it. They should also be whispering.

And what in holy f*** was that discussion between Rui/Natsuo and Hina/Affair Guy? What in the hell was Hina doing the whole time? Why was she just sitting there, passively letting it happen? I know she's hurt and conflicted, but...she should be wildly ashamed to have her siblings SEE HER with this guy, forget CONFRONT HER about it in front of him.

What makes this worse, though, is that, as I mentioned at the top, the Good Writer wrote an outline for what the episode was going to be, and the bits of the outline that made it into the episode were--as far as beats from an outline go--actually very good.

If only they had been given the full treatment the previous episodes had gotten...

Really, the issue was how unserious this episode was written to be. But the general idea of it was more or less exactly what it should have been: Rui/Natsuo try to stop Hina and fail; they run into Hina by accident; they comfort each other in their failure; Hina throws yet another wrench in the Rui x Natsuo works by actually ending the affair. If that had been done with an eye towards the weight of the matter, I think it would have been another really solid episode.

I love that Rui's the one to fully lose it. I love that she cries into Natsuo chest in the park. I love that those two are effortless in their companionship, as though they've been together forever. And I love that they (...or maybe just Natsuo, I dunno) can't see it.

And, yes, as much as I hated it, I loved Rui's idiotic "I brought snacks!" intensity for their despairingly stupid plan.

...and Rui's casual wear in the phone scene really worked for me.
And yet--still not as bad as the Unknown Blonde arc of Bunny Girl.

StarsMine said:
Douchecanoe
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I can't promise this is the first time I've seen this word, but it certainly feels like it.

Hilarious.

10 points.

Franconator said:
her and I.
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...she and I.
iu
 
interregnum said:
And what in holy f*** was that discussion between Rui/Natsuo and Hina/Affair Guy? What in the hell was Hina doing the whole time? Why was she just sitting there, passively letting it happen? I know she's hurt and conflicted, but...she should be wildly ashamed to have her siblings SEE HER with this guy, forget CONFRONT HER about it in front of him.
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Because she still thinks she's the one for him. When they all sat down at the table, she was still falling for his little act. A smooth talker like that can really pull a fast one on you if you let them and I don't think anything has ended, I think Hina is going to be lying through her teeth because she doesn't want to hurt the 2.

interregnum said:
Really, the issue was how unserious this episode was written to be. But the general idea of it was more or less exactly what it should have been: Rui/Natsuo try to stop Hina and fail; they run into Hina by accident; they comfort each other in their failure; Hina throws yet another wrench in the Rui x Natsuo works by actually ending the affair. If that had been done with an eye towards the weight of the matter, I think it would have been another really solid episode.
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I made a comment about this a while ago, it's a show that's actually handling silly anime tropes in a somewhat more realistic manner which makes it cringe worthy but you also can't stop watching. The characters don't look the part what they're doing either, they're too serious looking to be playing hide and seek.

Franconator said:
This is unbelievably funny. Which part, you ask? To which I say to you: ALL OF THE PARTS. Fuck yeah, this dramatic trash is amazing on all levels.
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The art style doesn't seem to fit what we're watching, it's like you're watching a comedy with actors that are just too serious for the role they're suppose to be playing. It's pretty awesome.
 
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Rudeboy said:
Because she still thinks she's the one for him. When they all sat down at the table, she was still falling for his little act. A smooth talker like that can really pull a fast one on you if you let them and I don't think anything has ended, I think Hina is going to be lying through her teeth because she doesn't want to hurt the 2.
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So, two things:

1. I still don't think--even if she thought she was the one--that she'd be okay with just sitting down with Rui and Natsuo. They threaten the homeostasis of her relationship with him. She's kept this guy a secret for years. Waves like this could make him quit her. She should be in extreme preservation mode, if that's the case. Which means lashing out (in some form) at the kids and/or leaving.

2. I don't think she's lying about dumping him. She threw herself at Natsuo, last week, because she was already in a bad spot over her boyfriend. I think she was serious about Rui and Natsuo putting her over the edge, giving her the excuse to do what she was afraid to do previously--that is, stand up for herself. The guy was a smooth-talker, no doubt about it, but it wasn't working so completely that she wasn't already looking for a way out.

3. Unofficially: it'd be stupid to just do this whole thing over again. That doesn't mean they won't. I'm just...the first three episodes were so good. Please don't fall off a cliff, show. I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE TO GIVE YOU!!!
 
interregnum said:
So, two things:

1. I still don't think--even if she thought she was the one--that she'd be okay with just sitting down with Rui and Natsuo. They threaten the homeostasis of her relationship with him. She's kept this guy a secret for years. Waves like this could make him quit her. She should be in extreme preservation mode, if that's the case. Which means lashing out (in some form) at the kids and/or leaving.

2. I don't think she's lying about dumping him. She threw herself at Natsuo, last week, because she was already in a bad spot over her boyfriend. I think she was serious about Rui and Natsuo putting her over the edge, giving her the excuse to do what she was afraid to do previously--that is, stand up for herself. The guy was a smooth-talker, no doubt about it, but it wasn't working so completely that she wasn't already looking for a way out.

3. Unofficially: it'd be stupid to just do this whole thing over again. That doesn't mean they won't. I'm just...the first three episodes were so good. Please don't fall off a cliff, show. I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE TO GIVE YOU!!!
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I don't actually think she was looking for a way out, she was acting more hurt that she can't have this man all to herself. I think she gets upset when he leaves to go to the other woman. She wants this man so the whole reason she didn't act or say anything because she's literally like a deer staring at headlights and the guy still kept working his magic. He also made it quite clear he doesn't want to quit her, even after this whole situation... 'Boyfriend' wants to get his willy wet and he knows what she wants. He even asks her the question... We are lead to believe she told 'm to piss off but we don't hear her say it... That's a powerful scene that they didn't want us to see.

Also I'm not sure that we're looking at the Hina and Natsuo thing the same way. Natsuo wanted to act like a knight in shining armor and he just failed horrible, like face first into the dirt. He couldn't back up what he was saying and she feels bad for putting him in that situation... she got needs. If anything, she actually degraded 'm pretty badly.
 
Rudeboy said:
I don't actually think she was looking for a way out, she was acting more hurt that she can't have this man all to herself.
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Rudeboy said:
Also I'm not sure that we're looking at the Hina and Natsuo thing the same way.
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Two years is a looooong time to be strung along. She's been more than just a little upset--and, if we believe Rui, it's been like this for a while. Yeah, she wants this guy to be hers and hers alone...but, in terms of last week, she's not lashing out because she's sad. She's lashing out because she's frustrated and hurt.

What Natsuo's confrontation about the affair, last week, did was show Hina that her relationship is no longer in a bubble. Once other people can see it, it no longer has the shape solely of her choosing. That is, the relationship now exists under the weight of consensus: she thinks it's fine, so it's fine...except other people think it's not-fine, so now there's a conflict. This means she can no longer see it just through her eyes--which means any of the doubts she's pushed aside to keep herself content with a relationship that she's not getting 100% from are now amplified. Which should undercut her resolve in believing Mr. Fancy Patter is the way to go.

Now, I don't think she's bought Natsuo's teenage white knight routine. It's..childish. But it also puts her in a bind. And you're right that she might just be doing it because she feels, now that other people know about and disapprove of it, an obligation not to cause further upset. BUT...she's also awfully flirty with him--specifically with him. Because she likes how it makes her feel. She's not like that with anyone else (it seems), so it's not just that she's some kind of shameless flirt.

So: she's hurt, embarrassed, and oftentimes openly flirty with one of her students. At least two of those in combination tells me she was looking for the exit--on some level, at least. The kerfuffle of this week just put the lie to her rationalizations and gave her an objective reason to get on with it.

I won't commit to saying she's being totally honest about the breakup (as in, she might be very, very sad to have done it, and might also be hiding that from them), but I definitely think it actually happened.

...which is not to say that it's definitely going to stick.
 
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