Domestic Girlfriend Season 2 is a must for anime-only fans wanting to see how this torrid relationship turns out in the end. Will Natsuo choose Hina or Rui once all is said and done?
The good news is that the Domestic na Kanojo anime (which goes by the nickname DomeKano) was often in the top 20 most popular anime on Crunchyroll during the 2019 season. That’s important since streaming revenue is now the most important factor when it comes to the decision of greenlighting an anime sequel for production.
Better yet, there is plenty of source material available for producing Domestic na Kanojo Season 2. The manga even finished in June 2020.
The bad news is that Anime Geek is predicting that the 2nd season will not be greenlit for production. (Please see the predictions section below for more details.)
This article provides everything that is known about Domestic Girlfriend Season 2 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Domestic na Kanojo Season 2 release date predictions: Renewal unlikely
As of the last update, Kodansha, studio Diomedea, or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the Domestic Girlfriend Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of a sequel been announced.
Once the news is officially confirmed this article will be updated with the relevant information. In the meantime, it’s possible to speculate about when, or if, the Domestic na Kanojo Season 2 premiere date will occur in the future.
Regardless of receiving good international ratings, it’s difficult to say whether the anime will be renewed for a sequel. With the exceptions of Squid Girl and Beatless, animation studio Diomedea almost never produces a second season for any anime they have created. Although, in recent years they have produced OVA episodes for some of their more popular series.
As of January 2023, the anime sequel still has not been announced. Since the manga has been finished for over 2 years it’s highly unlikely that a 2nd season will be produced, so anime-only fans will need to turn to the finished manga to see how the story ends.
Domestic Girlfriend manga compared to the Domestic na Kanojo anime
The Domestic na Kanojo anime is based on the Domestic Girlfriend manga series by creator Kei Sasuga. Published by Kodansha, the shonen demographic manga is released on a weekly basis every Tuesday.
As of August 17, 2020, the Japanese manga ended with Volume 28. Domestic Girlfriend Chapter 276 was the final chapter.
English manga readers will be happy to know that Kodansha Comics USA has already finished the official English translation. The only negative is that volumes can only be digitally purchased through platforms like Kindle or ComiXology since an English physical imprint hasn’t been announced yet.
When an animation studio adapts a manga usually there are some major changes. The ordering of story events are sometimes shifted around and story arcs are condensed to focus on critical plot points.
For those unfamiliar with the manga, the anime kept the focus on Natsuo, Hina, and Rui while also giving some screen time to side characters. Except for the later episodes, the character development didn’t come off as forced and the middle episodes offered a form of plot resolution for most of the major relationships.
Episode 12 also offered the happiest possible ending considering the progression of the manga’s story. Just don’t say that while standing close to a huge fan of the DomeKano manga.
Fans have been aghast at this adaptation, with many going on to to Reddit to vent their frustrations at how the Domestic Girlfriend anime was handled.
Warning: The following comparison contains major manga-only spoilers and also spoilers for the first season. Those who want to read the Domestic Girlfriend manga series without manga-only spoilers should start from Chapter 20 since that’s where the first major divergences begin.
At first, the pacing of the anime was pretty normal, with the first episode adapting only two chapters. Even then, little things were changed and gags were dropped. For example, shortly after Natsuo was tempted to kiss a drunk, sleeping Hina, he had a nightmare where both sisters were bathing undressed together and they announced they couldn’t live in the same house as him.
Episode 2 found an ending during a dramatic moment from the middle of Chapter 5. The ending of Episode 3 corresponded to the ending of Chapter 7. The pacing accelerated a bit further in Episode 4, which adapted up through Chapter 10.
Surprisingly, the TV show skipped the obligatory hot springs scene that’s practically in every anime. But since that was a Volume 1 extra chapter it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s adapted for a Domestic Girlfriend OVA episode.
Beginning around Episode 5, which is when Momo appeared in Chapter 11, more major changes starting popping up. A gag involving the “wrong hole” during the Rui suppository scene was censored entirely. More importantly, story arcs related to new girl characters like Momo were all resolved within a single episode.
In order to pull this off, story events were shifted around. The Episode 7 beach scene involving Natsuo, Hina, and her past with Shuu was introduced in Chapter 14, which took place before the events at Momo’s home were resolved in Chapter 16. (Manga Momo also didn’t give up so quickly and suggested they go back to her bedroom after their touching dinner scene. “Not happening!” Natsuo replied.) Episode 7 also pulled the kissing scene between Natsuo and Rui from Chapters 20 and 21.
The same shifting of story events happened with Episode 6. The introduction of the teacher Mr. Kiriya originally happened at a separate point in the manga. The end of Chapter 17 introduced Literary Club President Miu Ashihara whereas Chapters 18 through 20 and also 23 provided the meat of the Literature Club story arc.
However, the anime skipped all of the relationship issues Natsuo had with Miu, whom he briefly pondered dating because it would be a normal relationship. Chapter 22’s visit to Miu’s family got crazy quickly when the kids discover Natsuo had a condom on him. Shortly later, Natsuo and Miu end up pushed into a locked closet together. The Miu story arc picked up again in Chapters 26 and 27, but the anime left this part of the story underdeveloped.
It appears as if animation studio Diomedea decided to hit the gas pedal to the floor on the pacing starting with Episode 8. Stories from entire chapters were entirely skipped, including a Literature Club camping trip that started with Chapter 24 and 25.
Instead, Episode 8 skipped ahead to Chapter 29 for the introduction of Alex (many of his scenes were skipped) and the underwear thief…and, of course, there was that “Fate-ful” moment from Chapter 30 where Hina caught Natsuo and Rui kissing. From there, the anime went straight to the end of Chapter 33 for when Natsuo and Hina confessed their love for each other during the summer festival night.
Episode 9 picked up right again with Chapters 34 through 36 but then skipped a mini-story arc that picked up immediately after Natsuo and Hina shared a secret kiss in the middle of the school. In the manga, a letter was sent to the school office calling out a “lewd teacher” but it turned out to be targeting Mr. Reji Kiriya, not Hina.
This whole section was skipped, including more scenes with Momo and references to the camping trip and upcoming cultural festival. Most importantly, the skipped chapters built up Natsuo’s suspicions that Mr. Kiriya might be secretly dating his student Miu.
Episode 10 jumped to Chapter 42 and ended with Chapter 45. Even manga chapters that were partially adapted like the Akamori High School Cultural Festival (Chapter 39) were relegated to picture collages, with poor Alex dropped into a cafe maid’s outfit without any backstory explanation. Unfortunately, rushing through the story meant that most of the past of Mr. Kiriya and a related revenge plot was outright skipped. The anime also failed to fully animate the multi-slap combo that a furious Rui gave to Natsuo.
By DomeKano Episode 11, Diomedea slammed the pacing into high gear and hit the nitro, skimming through 17 chapters worth of content (Chapters 46 through 62) in a flash. The episode time skipped from scene to scene so quickly to get to the fireworks sex scene of Chapter 54 that the anime felt like it was a summary of the whole thing.
In a nutshell, the problem is that the anime skipped so much emotional development that led to this critical plot juncture. Payoff without setup is pretty much the mantra of the final third act of this adaptation. The biggest omission was Chapter 53, where Hina tells an old friend the entire truth about her relationship with Natsuo… and Natsuo overhears her innermost feelings, including the fact that she was doubting their relationship was realistic.
In addition, the anime spent the time to show Alex getting drunk off of awamori sauce, but couldn’t show Rui working through her feelings by using Alex as a rebound relationship. Miu also tries to express her feelings for the surprisingly dense Mr. Kiriya.
The anime also skipped humorous moments like the scene in Volume 6 Chapter 50 where Hina lost her bikini top at the beach. Natsuo comes to the rescue by allowing her to shadow his movements across the beach to safety by blocking everyone’s vision.
Alex even discovers how Natsuo and Rui had sex at the beginning of the whole story. This skipped character development culminated in a very drunk Alex trying to rape Rui in Chapter 52. Natsuo breaks into the room for the rescue, but an angry Alex demands to know why Natsuo didn’t admit to having sex with Rui even though Natsuo knew Alex had been interested in Rui from the start. This discussion eventually leads to revelations about Alex’s past and how his horrible relationship mistakes made him afraid of love.
Chapter 59 was a huge moment to be skipped since it showed that Hina’s mother suspected that Hina might be in love with Natsuo. This suspicion caused Hina to consider eloping and fleeing to live in another far-off city. It also caused an argument since Hina didn’t want to tell Natsuo what really happened and this caused him to believe she didn’t have confidence in a future with him. In the end, they both agreed that telling the family about their relationship would be best in the future.
The part where Rui wins a literary award and Natsuo reconsiders his future as a novelist also came later in the manga. In this case, the anime studio probably made the right move in presenting the story out of order since the story change allowed the beginning of Episode 12 to directly connect to the fireworks sex scene.
But that’s also the second big problem. Natsuo and Hina are only allowed a fleeting moment of happiness in the anime version’s story before they both face a major conflict. With so little emotion given time, it seems like the build-up to Episode 12 was greatly diminished.
Fortunately, with Episode 12 Diomedea let go of the accelerator and settled down to slightly-less hectic pacing by adapting Chapters 63 through 67 and then ending with Chapters 69 through 72 of Volume 8. The end credits even briefly referenced Hina’s short haircut from Chapter 76. However, there were some major parts skipped, including Hina saying a secret goodbye to Natsuo before leaving by taking him on a normal date at an amusement park that ended with a public kiss.
The anime even skipped a gag that didn’t need to be skipped. When Mr. Kirya “kidnapped” Natsuo for the literary award ceremony the manga meant this very literally since they dragged Natsuo off handcuffed and blindfolded.
The final scene for the ending of Domestic Girlfriend Episode 12 condensed moments from several chapters. Instead of Rui jumping Natsuo in bed, she instead forces him to go out for a fun Sunday where he must do whatever she says for a day. Natsuo is expecting something crazy, but it turns out she just wanted a normal fun time with ice skating and waffles… that is, until the end of the day.
At night Rui forces Natsuo to get under the bedsheets and then close his eyes. She then stripped off her clothing and held his hands until midnight. She eventually let Natsuo open his eyes again, but not before putting her clothes back on. This act left an unsuspecting Natsuo feeling very confused.
In regards to how the ending set up the conditions for Domestic Girlfriend Season 2, the biggest difference between the anime and the manga is that in the manga Rui declared her intention to not hold back for Hina’s sake in a quiet manner whereas in the anime’s ending she openly voiced this determination aloud for Natsuo to hear while straddling him. The anime also gives the impression that Rui barely waited for Hina to be gone before pouncing, whereas in the manga she considered her feelings before signaling her intentions.
The good news is that this anime original ending is close enough to the manga’s story that creating Domestic Girlfriend Season 2 should not be a problem. Better yet, with over 200 chapters available there’s enough source material for Domestic Girlfriend Season 3, never mind just a second season.
For those wanting to read the manga, the major divergences started around Chapter 20, so it’d probably be worth going back to read the missed story arcs and gags. If you just want to read ahead I’d suggest starting with Chapter 68 simply because the skipped content gives a better feel for Rui’s motivations. Readers should be aware that the manga contains a large amount of female sexual nudity.
DomeKano Season 2 spoilers (plot synopsis/summary)
At the beginning of Domestic Girlfriend Season 2, the anime might start to sound an awful lot like the American sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Chapter 73 opens with a flash-forward scene to a time where Natsuo is married and working as a professional novelist.
During a phone call, he is asked whether his next work will be a story about how he got together with his wife, but the manga never reveals the identity of this wife. The manga does have this person call out that “we’re home” (which might imply children), but the anime will probably skip this moment since everyone would immediately identify the voice actress.
Jumping back to the present, Rui will desire to track down her missing sister, Hina, because she doesn’t feel right about just swooping in. She wants to help Natsuo wipe the slate clean so he can move on. Rui suspects that their parents know where Hina has moved, but her mother will only admit that she spoke to Hina but claims she doesn’t know where Hina lives.
Of course, this is a lie since the parents already paid an investigative agency to track Hina down. Rui even attempts to blackmail Mr. Kiriya but he legitimately doesn’t know the school where Hina now works. Finally, Rui successfully blackmails school administrator Takeuchi into revealing the transfer location.
The problem is that Natsuo doesn’t want to seek out Hina. In the letter that Hina left Natsuo, she stated she was leaving because she wanted to give him a chance to seek his dream of becoming a novelist. Therefore, Natsuo is resolved to wait until he’s ready to see Hina again.
Of course, from the perspective of anime-only fans, this story from Chapter 69 doesn’t make any sense since the ending of the first season showed Natsuo winning a literary prize and gaining an official editor, Soichiro Tsutaya, at book publisher Shinkosha. But the anime will probably need to cover this skipped story simply because it explains why Natsuo doesn’t immediately rush away to seek out Hina.
Natsuo desires to become a professional novelist before they reunite. At the same time, he accidentally stumbles upon Rui getting dressed and then can’t get memories of the time they had sex out of his head.
While the relationship issues linger in the background, the story focuses on the Literature Club’s efforts to build up membership. Miu literally passes out during her club introduction speech, but that moment (and the much-advertised fact that Natsuo won first prize in a literary award) is memorable enough to attract three potential new members.
The drama begins to heat up when one of the potential new Literary Club members, Subaru Shibasaki, accidentally overhears Rui asking Natsuo when he will be ready to move on with another girl after what happened with Hina. Shibasaki is jealous of Natsuo’s success and he immediately uses this scandalous secret to blackmail his classmate into a writing contest.
The twist is that whoever ranks lower must never pick up a writing pen again. At the same time, the pathos of Shibasaki’s past is enough for Natsuo to feel sympathy. With the unexpected help of Mr. Kiriya, Natsuo manages to resolve that conflict in a way where everyone wins.
Meanwhile, Hina’s old boyfriend Shuu managed to track her down. She knows that when she was a student having a crush on Shuu as a teacher that he held back and that’s why her own career as a teacher was preserved. While Hina thanks Shuu she also doesn’t want his help now since she is still holding on to her love for Natsuo in her heart.
In response, Shuu goes out of his way to stir the pot by meeting up with Natsuo at L’amant’s coffee shop. First, Shuu challenges Natsuo by asking whether he’ll keep Hina waiting forever if Natsuo never becomes a novelist. But then Shuu twists the knife by falsely claiming that Hina is already over Natsuo. Shuu lies because he believes Hina will be haunted by guilt and her heart will never be free unless Natsuo willingly lets her go.
Natsuo decides to tell Rui about Shuu’s claims and she asks him whether he has lost his motivation to become a novelist. With Natsuo unable to form a coherent response, Rui says that she likes Natsuo’s stories and that he should continue writing for the sake of her and other readers.
Rui’s feelings develop even further when Natsuo buys her a hairpin as a gift for helping him out so much in the past. What’s more, he calls her cute and she clings to that precious memory. But Natsuo is conflicted and he even tries avoiding Rui in hopes that his feelings will fade.
The inner family drama also grows a little bigger since Rui’s biological father, Jou Mikimoto, also comes a calling. Jou is an Italian-trained chef who has opened two restaurants and he even has a new daughter named Hibiki. (She was actually briefly introduced during a New Year’s scene in manga Chapter 67 when Natsuo helped Hibiki find her family in the crowd, but that scene, and thus Hibiki’s introduction as a thighs scarf, was skipped by the anime completely.)
That reunion only causes even more drama when Rui proclaims that she wants to become a chef and train under her father. This choice defies her mother’s expectations and causes her to run away from home and live at her father’s restaurant. What’s more, Hibiki isn’t exactly thrilled that her “sister” Rui is in the picture.
All this drama is just the backdrop for how feelings begin to develop. Being separated from Rui only makes Natsuo think more and more about her.
As might be guessed, hunting season is on and Natsuo is Rui’s prey! But it’s not one-sided since Domestic na Kanojo Season 2 will show how Natsuo slowly develops feelings for Rui.
How that drama plays out, and which decisions Natsuo decides to make concerning Rui and Hina, will be the focus, but there are also touching scenes with Momo (who still hasn’t given up on dating Natsuo!) and other fun moments involving the other members of the Literary Club.
Unfortunately, anime fans wanting to watch how the drama plays out will just have to wait until the second season releases. Let’s just hope the Domestic Girlfriend Season 2 release date isn’t too far down the road. Stay tuned!