As much as Sasuga-kei sensei is criticized often for using some major catalysts to get her characters to move the plot along instead of writing 'em in such a way as to arrive at the conclusion more naturally, people have to admit that she knows how to drama, and at the end of the day, it's spicy,exciting and instigates discussion.
It's basically a Sasuga package deal ~ you take the good with the bad if you wanna enjoy the ride. I'm very familiar with it by now and find DnK super fun to both read & talk about.
As for how the developments proceeded? Coming from the anime a bit over a year ago, and having enjoyed that despite it's many faults before jumping into the manga, I'm glad to see the story's coming full circle.
I still remember this heart-wrenching moment and then how Natsuo uses his passion for writing and inspiration from his time with Hina to write an award winning story to both lift himself out of depression and propel his career as a writer. Hina went into literal exile on the rush to keep his dream alive and alive was.
Now, as we're nearing the end, I'm glad to see the story's coming full circle again. Taboo love story between teacher & student as well as Natsuo's passion for writing being big themes of the DomeKano.
Then there's also Rui who has to grow emotionally(and finally achieved that 272/273 chapters in), understanding what it means to truly love someone, ~ she, despite not exactly being a favorite of mine, is the character that goes through the most growth in this story ~ granted, she also starts at the blankest state compared to the other two so there's plenty of room.
Hina's probably Sasuga's centerpiece character for creating spicy drama and being the one who treasures Natsuo's passion for writing the most, is also the most fitting one to be with him. I especially like how strong Sasuga constantly tests her bond by making her go(and us, her fans...) through some of the most painful situations where at some point you're surprised she didn't crack(lol), yet her love holds and grows stronger as a result. Like, the length this girls goes just to see him succeed, holy shit, remembering moments like these brings out all those PAINFUL FEELS DAMN IT HINA Y U DO THIS TO ME?!:
RIP HEART! ~ fucking hell, I need to do some push-ups now to regain my manliness
It also took A LOT to get Natsuo to stop chasing after her, including Hina herself rejecting him, Shuu's lie & him getting into a relationship with Rui, not to mention 1st break-up. I like how even after being convinced that it's over between him & her, Natsuo still has this sort of natural connection with her where they both hang out & have fun in various slice of life moments, just as it happens with Rui, but you also get moments like these he forces himself to back-off because he remember he's with Rui now and doesn't want to hurt her.
If you couldn't tell by now, I'm team Hina all the way. Given that I'm a firm supporter that a person should follow their passions or at least hard at it in order to achieve true happiness & satisfaction & considering how passionate Natsuo is about his writing, I only had to look who's been the most involved in that part of his life from from early on and throughout the entire manga to know where his heart would most likely always learn towards. Became more sure on that the longer the story went on. You could say this amazing artwork of vol 27 is a solid illustration of a major part of what DomeKano's about:
Admittedly, I did really consider the possibility Kei-sensei either got rushed by her publisher to end this quickly, got bored,stressed or just drunk or something at 249+ the sudden pregnancy off a broken condom thing though, lol, thinking she'd literally leave some very important questions unanswered and just picked the most convenient way to end, but I'm very glad that wasn't the case and now that all cards are on the table, every character gets proper closure. As of ch273 as I'm writing this, Rui already got hers and the other two are not far behind.
Would most definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good romance! But I'd recommend people to read the story for what it is, not what they want it to be. Wrong interpretations could lead to disappointment.
