Anime Review: Domestic Girlfriend (2019)

This show is highly taboo! It explores romance between a teacher and student, as well as step-sibling romance. Because of this, I can’t recommend it to most people. However, in its defense, the anime does not portray these relationships in a positive light.

Personally, I don’t avoid taboo topics because I want to see the world as it is, not how it "should" be. These situations do happen in real life. As someone who studies psychology, I don’t have the luxury of choosing which parts of the human psyche I find palatable. Humans frequently engage in taboo and immoral behaviors, that's just part of life.

Plot: In the story, we are met with Natsuo Fujii. He is in love with his teacher, Hina Tachibana. At first, this is just a student falling hopelessly in love, as the teacher displays no feelings for him and already has a partner.

He loses his virginity to a girl his own age, Rui Tachibana. He barely knew her when it happened, it was simply an agreement to have sex for their first time just to "get it over with."

Did you notice something interesting? Probably not, unless you are an insanely focused reader. Both women have the same surname because they are sisters. The story goes crazy when Natsuo's father decides to marry the mother of Hina and Rui.

Imagine this dynamic: You live in one home with your teacher, on whom you have a crush, and her sister, with whom you had secret sex. The situation becomes intensely complex very quickly. This is not a normal family at all.

To avoid spoiling it for those who want to watch, I will end it here. However, the story involves:

• Infidelity and cheating

• Intense psychological drama

• Relationship envy

• Moral anger moments

• A situation so dire the parents almost divorce to save their children's well-being.

Do I suggest watching it? For most people, no. But if you want to dive into taboo psychological topics, this is a good watch.