It’s certainly an odd experience, watching this series.  I keep waiting for the other closet full of shoes to drop.  And there were definitely a couple of times this week when I was sure it was going to happen.  A couple more mines were buried in the path ahead, fully capable of taking the show completely off the rails.  But still it persists, continuing the unlikely balletic progression through all the dangers and coming out relatively unscathed on the other side time after time.  Domestic na Kanojo is, to say the least, an unlikely occurrence.

In trying to capture what it is that makes this show work when it so blatantly shouldn’t, a couple of theories come to mind.  First, we have an utterly preposterous premise that’s treated in an extremely realistic (so far, anyway) manner.  Going for complete camp would be one approach, but instead you have people acting like, you know, real people probably would.  And second, everyone in the cast (well, almost) has a stake in the game.  Even the supporting characters have actual personalities and opinions, and they’re not overly obnoxious or stupid.  If you’re going to do a show about a teenager whose first sexual partner and crush-teacher coincidentally happen to be sisters who coincidentally happen to be the daughters of his father’s girlfriend and move in with him, Domestic no Kanojo is taking the best way to go about it.

Natsuo’s friend Fumiya is one of those supporting players who actually matter here.  I can do without Tsuda Kenjiro’s cafe manager (really, anime needs to get past this – it’s 2019) and yet another preposterous coincidence is the last thing this series needed, but the scene in the cafe itself was rather amusing and Fumiya brings some interesting quirkiness to his role as Natsuo’s father-confessor.  He’s also vital in that he gives Natsuo (and later Rui) a refuge to escape to when things get awkward at home.  Even his family (mother and younger sister) are kind of interesting in limited screen time.  When I was in high school I had a friend flee a bad (legit bad, not like this) situation at home and the way my parents opened their doors to him remains to this day one of the things I most admire about them, so Okaa-san scores some points in my book here.

Of course, whether either Natsuo or Rui should have fled in the first place is another matter.  Yes, I even liked the way the scene between Hina and Natsuo was handled – or rather not so much the scene itself, but the aftermath.  Hina is pretty messed up, clearly, and I think the way Natsuo went on tilt after she jumped him was pretty in-character.  It was an immature and selfish thing to do, no doubt – and that, more than anything, was why he fled (I mean, how much humiliation is tolerable in his situation?).

But – and sorry to sound all “adults have adult problems” here – I think Hina was kind of right in telling both her siblings to back off.  I personally think extra-marital affairs are wrong – if things are bad enough, keep it in your pants until you finalize the divorce, then do whatever you want.  But truthfully, adults making adult decisions – even bad ones – is their right.  It really is none of either Natsuo or Rui’s business.  Hina didn’t ask Natsuo to fall in love with her (though she arguably did lead him on to a degree), and neither of these zygotes has the context to understand Hina’s situation.  Express your opinion – and they’re right, she’s obviously in a bad situation with this loser – but then step off and let the woman make her own mistakes.

The other element I really like here is how Domestic na Kanojo stubbornly refuses to turn the parents into ornaments, and never ignores the impact the decisions their kids make have on them.  When first Natsuo and then Rui leave, they both assume what most people would – their kids are upset that they remarried without giving them much notice (or choice).  Choices have consequences for the people around us – it sounds so obvious you’d never need to think about it but believe me, a lot of series act like it’s not the case.  I’ve said it already, but credit where it’s due – whatever expectations of disaster I may have (and I still have them), I’m not going to sell a series short when it shows me something worthy of praise.  For another week at least, deal me in.