Domestic Na Kanojo has been on my list for a while, but since I'm not a fan of serialization I waited until its completion to pick it up; I've binge read it in under a week, and what a journey it has been.
This manga is far from perfect. It is flawed in its sometimes farfetched narratives, its characters make questionable choices and the pace isn't always consistent; in spite of all of that, the amazing art and the sheer talent of the author are enough to make you really invested, really quickly.
It is clear to anyone who read the manga how, in truth, it is more appropriate to talk about two separate mangas: the first 272 chapters and the final 5.
For 272 chapters, we experience very deep emotions: some positive and some less so, some expected and some that we could never predict. What kept us reading is the realism of these characters. The whole "Rui vs Hina" war, in which I did not directly partake, is not the usual best girl war. It is more vivid and heartfelt.
These characters. Feel. Real. Their emotions become ours.
Taking all of this into account, we arrive at a sudden turn around chapter 270, and in chapter 273 shit hits the fan. Everything that was slowly built up in the past 272 chapters is literally shrugged off, like it never happened.
We are left with a few panels of a 5 (FIVE) years flash-forward and an out-of-the-blue ending, that not only does not make sense to anyone who read the manga, but does not follow the emotional continuum built up for the whole 272 chapters.
It is... heartbreaking. And while some may argue that a bad ending cannot invalidate a whole manga, this is not true when the manga creates such a deep connection with so many readers. I felt rage, sadness, headache. When a relationship ends on bad terms, it is not possible to think about the ex as a whole. All that is preceived is how he acted in that last period, the terrible emotions we felt and the desire to never see that person again, no matter how much love was poured into the relationship.
This is exactly why Domestic Na Kanojo's ending is enough to invalidate a beautiful manga, that would have lived in my heart forever, and that I will instead always remember as the manga that managed to hurt me deeper than any lover could.
