Mysterious Girlfriend X / Domestic Girlfriend / After the Rain – Quick Thoughts

Mysterious Girlfriend X

Japanese Title: Nazo no Kanojo X

Genre: Romance

Length: 13 episodes, 1 OVA

Today we look at a trio of romance anime with a taboo or socially repugnant theme, all requested by readers like you (some to torture me. I am a glutton for sufferring after all). First up is Mysterious Girlfriend X, about a boy who falls in love with a girl after tasting her drool. This drool once tasted creates an unbreakable dependency.

Is it as disgusting as it sounds? No, it’s worse. Off the desk, out of a test tube, and off her finger are but a few ways in which he consumes drool. If you don’t have a drool fetish, you will likely find this disgusting.

Magic drool is the only unique selling point of Mysterious Girlfriend X, for what we have here on closer inspection, once past the urge to vomit, is a boring high school romance. This is a perfect example of why a unique premise is the least important part of a great story. I’ve certainly never seen a story about a guy addicted to drool, and yet this is one of the worst romances in existence. It tries to sell you on the idea of how “mysterious” the girl is, both in the title of the show and the pitch – the guy even repeats how mysterious his girlfriend is to close off several episodes (“Did you notice him mention the title? Did you get it!?”)

The drool is a metaphor for love – when he’s sick, he’s actually lovesick, for example – and lust comes in the form of another girl’s drool for a forced love triangle at the last minute. Until that “twist”, nothing happens. It’s just the same events each episode. The characters are insufferably dull. He’s the clichéd shy guy and she is as mysterious as an open, empty box. Her other defining characteristic is carrying a pair of scissors in her panties and her inability to hold hands or accept a hug from the guy she feeds drool to. (Kill me slowly, why don’t you.)

The drool is an immediate putoff, but I hoped that at least there would be something more to it such as absurd comedy (think Chunibyo). Mysterious Girlfriend X can’t even be funny.

Overall Quality – Very Low

Recommendation: Avoid it. Even if you have a drool fetish, surely you want a better story and characters than this?

*     *     *     *     *

Domestic Girlfriend

Japanese Title: Domestic na Kanojo

Genre: Drama Romance

Length: 12 episodes

Now for a change of pace, we have a taboo relationship fetish. It follows Natsuo, a guy who just lost his virginity to some girl called Rui that he met at a party, as consolation for not believing he could sleep with his teacher, Hina (why such little faith?) Things take a shocking – shocking, I tell you – turn when his father announces that he is remarrying to a woman with two daughters. And who should those daughters be that step through the door? His first time girl Rui and his teacher Hina. And they’re all going to live together! Awwwkwaaaard…

Well, it would be awkward if Rui didn’t keep trying to gobble his flight stick in the bath (he barely objects) and if he wouldn’t keep kissing his teacher (she objects by climbing on top of him for a bit of frottage). He may be a pervert as a teenager, but his teacher wouldn’t behave like this. If nothing else, she wouldn’t move in with the family. It certainly doesn’t gel.

Inconsistency is a serious issue of Domestic Girlfriend. Tone is all over the place. The love triangle (yes, it is serious about the idea) tries to be mature at times, but when no one truly objects to what is going on (even the authorities hand wave it clean), this feels written by a teenager who has never seen an adult relationship and self-inserted into a story. The next episode, it tries to play for comedy, such as when Natsuo and Rui stalk the teacher after work to uncover who she is in an affair with. Oh yes, there is an affair in this triangle as well. And I’ll give you one guess how the man knows Hina… He was her teacher! Such masterful plotting.

That’s not all. When Natsuo goes to the library one time, he sees what he thinks is the literature teacher kissing a student from the literature club. Turns out it was a misunderstanding from his viewing angle (she was getting an eyelash off his face – still inappropriate, by the way). But get this turn of events no one saw coming: the girl does have a thing for him and it is implied that she will make a move and the teacher would reciprocate. Hell, the literature teacher has a yaoi bait moment with Natsuo when they first meet.

Whenever I think Domestic Girlfriend can’t get any worse, it takes my expectations and does to them what Roy Mustang did to Lust, revealing even greater levels of idiocy. This is worse than a daytime soap opera. At least those are consistent and know how to play up the cheesy drama.

During the confrontation between Natsuo and the married man, we have the restaurant staff (friends to Natsuo) playing the overreacting comedic audience. Am I supposed to take this seriously or not? In case you were wondering, no, Natsuo isn’t presented as hypocritical.

The premise, as I reiterate often, doesn’t automatically make the story a failure. It’s about the execution. If a premise could sink a story before it begins, we would never be able to have protagonists that are murderers, for instance. What if such a situation did happen? What if the girl you slept with the other day did turn out to be your new stepsister? (Let’s keep the teacher out of this for the moment – would have been better cut it down to one character anyway.) You can’t blame the guy for what happened at the start. How was he to know, right? The question is what happens next. One would look at the psychology of it, the social connotations, and how people would react. Domestic Girlfriend merely pretends to do this. As for the teacher relationship, the idea isn’t unthinkable. It does happen, after all. So what if it did to this guy? Well, we ask the same questions as we did with the younger sister. Even if he were an adult, it wouldn’t be as simple as presented here. There is a reason any good university doesn’t allow relationship between professors and their students or why doctors can’t date patients. Asking the question, “What if?” isn’t a problem. How you go about answering that question is what matters.

Maybe Domestic Girlfriend isn’t trying to tackle this subject matter seriously, you ponder. What if it’s just smut? You would have a case to make if not for the novel subplot. Natsuo’s dream is of becoming an author like one of the Japanese dramatic greats, and he finds help in achieving this through the literature teacher. At the end of the series, his first novel, which he shits out in a few months, wins first prize at a contest and is celebrated by all. And what is this novel about? A student in love with his teacher.

I’m not sure I have seen a more pathetic anime than Domestic Girlfriend.

Given that the manga has far more volumes than what could fit in 12 episodes, I gave the final two volumes a gander only to find quite a different scenario, as expected, and a far worse ending, which didn’t go over well with fans, as I understand it. So you can’t even go to the source for a good version of this story.

Tackling such a difficult topic requires great skill and understanding of the human condition. You have three avenues to take that can turn out well – go serious and make a gripping drama, go full comedy and laugh at the absurd, or go maximum cheese like a soap opera. Failing those leaves you in this middle ground of nonsense. There is always the fourth option, of course. Go full lewd.

Domestic Girlfriend doesn’t have the balls to be hentai.

Overall Quality – Very Low

Recommendation: Avoid it. Domestic Girlfriend has nothing to recommend about itself and plenty to keep you away. I would have dropped this at episode one if not for review. Wait, I do have a positive. The opening song is great, far too good for this.

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After the Rain

Japanese Title: Koi wa Ameagari no You ni

Genre: Romance

Length: 12 episodes

Lastly, we have After the Rain, also about a taboo potential relationship. Tachibana is a high school girl that keeps to herself as she works at a restaurant ever since a crippling injury knocked her out of the track team. Her manager, Kondo, is seen as quite the weakling for how much he apologises to everyone and puts the customers above himself, even when they are in the wrong. He’s 45 years old and unfortunately for Tachibana, she has feelings for him.

Now unlike Domestic Girlfriend, After the Rain doesn’t dive head first into the mire of taboo. It asks the “What if” question and then seriously considers it in a light drama way. He shuts her down when she confesses, but due to his weak and caring nature, he also can’t push her away outright.

At its heart, this story isn’t about the “romance” (it remains platonic). Every important character in a story should have a want and a need. The want is what they think will bring them success/happiness/whatever. The need is what will actually do it, unknown to them. She wants to be in a relationship with him to make herself happy. She needs to get back out there and stop using her injury as an excuse to hide. He wants to feel young again. He needs to grow a spine and take charge, do something for himself for once. The taboo is almost bait. They find comfort in each other (doesn’t cross the line) as they slowly discover these truths.

I say slowly because After the Rain is as slow as swimming in a honey lake. It could have handled the story in half the episodes and still not felt like a fast show. If one were to keep to 12 episodes, then we need more development, particularly from side characters. Tachibana’s best friend and running partner, who plays an integral role in her need, is barely a character considering her importance. The closest thing to an antagonist is a chef at the restaurant, who figures out Tachibana’s secret and blackmails her into a date. There is mixed messaging around the guy, as he is the one to truly point out how bad of an idea a serious relationship would be with the manager, yet the way it is presented with him as villain, makes it sound as if we are meant to disagree with him. Then the story drops him after the confrontation.

After the Rain ends up being a whole lot of nothing. The characters do have arcs, there is change by the end, yes, but those arcs are so small that I wonder if it was worth experiencing. Without the visual department working some absolute magic in the atmosphere, this anime wouldn’t have much going for it.

Artistically, there are some beautiful shots in After the Rain. Whoever did those clouds deserves a raise! The OP and ED songs are lovely as well.

Overall Quality – Low

Recommendation: Try it if you are an unrequited romance fan. After the Rain doesn’t have anything crippling against it, yet doesn’t much going for it either. You may be in the mood for something light with pretty colours.

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