High schooler Natsuo is hopelessly in love with his cheerful and popular teacher, Hina. However, one day at a mixer, he meets a moody girl by the name of Rui and ends up sleeping with her. Soon after, his father announces that he’s getting remarried to a woman with two daughters of her own. And who shows up in tow, other than both Hina and Rui. – ANN
Streaming: HIDIVE
Episodes: 12
Source: Manga
Episode Summary: Natsuo has been nursing a crush on his teacher Hina-Sensei for quite a while. In his mind he knows it’ll never work out – he’s a student, she’s a teacher, and there are social rules about this sort of thing. But he can’t help but read into each and every one of their interactions. In his fragile state, Natsuo agrees to have sex with a girl named Rui who he meets at a mixer, no strings attached; she’s just interested in knowing what the big deal about sex is. After it’s all said and done, she demands that they treat each-other as strangers going forward.
That turns out to be a promise that Natsuo can’t keep, because his single father has chosen to remarry, and not only does his new wife happen to be Rui’s mother, but Rui’s older sister is none other than Hina-Sensei herself. Their living situation becomes tense for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that Rui happens to catch Natsuo going in for a kiss while Hina-nee is drunk and incapacitated.
Impressions: Domestic Girlfriend‘s premise reads like either a sordid soap-opera or the paper-thin plot of a porn movie; the “siblings-but-not-really” trope is a well-trod mainstay of taboo titillation, as is the “affair between student and teacher” aspect. I gather that the appeal in these types of stories comes partly from the melodramatic twists and turns stemming from the betrayals, confessions, and romantic dodecahedrons that exist between the characters, but whereas soap operas and telenovelas get a lot of juicy mileage from garden-variety affairs, arguments over the paternity of infants, and dastardly deeds committed by evil twins, the elements in this story that are its source of melodramatic life force are a few levels more cringe-worthy and questionable.
Before I dig down too far, I’d like to mention that there were some things that I liked about the episode. I think it’s sort of common for teenagers to build up the idea of “their first time” into something that can never actually be fulfilled. While I won’t say outright that early sexual experiences are doomed to mediocrity from the start, the chances are that two (or more!) people who don’t know that much about their own bodies are probably not going to be immediate sex gods when faced with the prospect of intercourse. Communication, delicacy, endurance… these are all skills developed over a length of time, not really bestowed upon people automatically. Rui’s pragmatic attitude, though it comes across as maybe too dispassionate, is probably one of the more realistic I’ve come across while watching anime. I can definitely appreciate her matter-of-fact approach, especially her openness with Natsuo and the fact that she leaves plenty of opportunity for him to leave the situation if he’s uncomfortable.
I’m also oddly impressed by the levelheadedness of Natsuo’s bespectacled friend, Fumiya. Typically in harem (or harem-adjacent) anime series, the male protagonist’s close friend is a real goofball or buffoon, comedic relief further addled by pubescent hormones. Fumiya is, thus far at least, the series’ voice of reason, drawing the conclusions about Natsuo’s predicament that most normal people would tend to and voicing the very logical expectation that Natsuo will finally have to give up on his unattainable crush, since she’s not only his teacher but now his step-sister.
Of course, the drama in this episode results partly from the fact that Natsuo can’t give up on his inappropriate dream, and therein lies a major conundrum that’s really much bigger than this anime series alone – what’s interesting about the story is the taboo nature of its potential romantic relationships, but the relationships are considered taboo for a number of very good reasons and to transgress those means wandering into major squick territory. This is likely not a big problem for viewers who can compartmentalize their entertainment and consciously choose whether or not to associate their media with things that happen in real life, but unfortunately(?) I’m not one such viewer.
The teacher-student relationship constitutes a power imbalance that makes romantic interaction between them unethical, in my eyes. I can’t speak for Japan’s rules and regulations, but where I’m from I’m almost certain there are at least policy reasons why these sorts of relationships are condemned. There’s also the matter of the characters’ age differences; again, I’m not going to argue about Japanese age-of-consent laws with anyone, but Hina (despite her immature personality) has to be at least 20-years-old based on her alcohol consumption, and Natsuo is obviously in high school. There’s definitely a less-than-zero percent chance that the two characters interacting on a sexual level would be illegal and considered statutory rape in some jurisdictions. I’m not necessarily trying to dump a bucket of ice water on this steamy set-up, but for me these types of situations feel more predatory than they are sexy or fun. It doesn’t help that, for all her lighthearted nature, Hina-Sensei pushes boundaries of propriety in nearly all her on-screen interactions with Natsuo; a lot of what she does reads as flirting and she peripherally participates in some of the sexually-flavored banter of the other male students.
I also think that attempting to interact with someone sexually, even “just” kissing them, while they’re drunk and clearly incapacitated or asleep, is a really blatant violation of consent. In my mind, this is one of those 101-level things that most people can agree on – don’t hassle people when they’re not capable of saying “yes” or “no.” Luckily Natsuo’s lips don’t manage to connect with their target, but they get awfully close; either way, he intended for it to happen. I know that models of consent are not always a high priority in series that bank on shock value and bad behavior for entertainment, but again for me it’s not something I’m able to willfully ignore.
Perhaps surprisingly, I feel like the fact that the primary love triangle is comprised of step-siblings is maybe the least controversial part of this story. It’s not like they all grew up together and would have to push past some already-established mental boundaries to initiate a relationship. They’re basically all people, similar (though not equal) in age, who are thrust together by chance circumstance. It’s something that’s handled in a much more sober way than many other more fanservice-filled, titillating anime (or hentai).
I don’t want to discount the value of melodramatic, soap-opera entertainment – I’ve watched some trash in my day wholly by my own choice. I think watching folks misbehaving in opposition to what’s in their best interest can be a great release (at the very least we can model our lives in opposition to their mistakes). Unfortunately, for me there’s a limit to the type of material I can tolerate before it actually crosses a line into squick territory, and this one has already managed to set off a few proximity alarms.
Pros: Rui’s pragmatism towards her first sexual experience is kind of refreshing. Yumiya’s wisdom relative to other anime “best friends” is also a nice change.
Cons: The setup runs afoul of various ethical and legal boundaries (at least in consideration of US rules). There’s a near non-consensual kiss near the end of the episode.
Grade: C-