Nazo no Kanojo X

It is safe to say that the core concept of which this anime is built on, the saliva mind meld, is pretty obscure, if not totally weird. However, although Nazo no Kanojo X goes to the absolute extremes of weirdness in some areas, it is perhaps the single most realistic in others. So I'm not going to talk about the drool, that may be what drew me to Nazo no Kanojo X initially, but it is not what kept me watching, it is not the part that I love about this anime. Most romance anime, especially school-based romance, are ludicrously unrealistic. We see the tsundere girl, theweak, whingey guy. We see the noble, unfaltering cool guy and the submissive girl. Characters that are, for all intents and purposes, completely rooted in fiction. Worse yet, we're often presented with a female character that has absolutely no control over her sexual urges, once the MC breaks down a few walls. We are given characters who are offensive to men, offensive to women and completely unrealistic. Because of this, we are often presented with a type of romance which can only exist in the anime world. A type of romance that, if we were to try to emulate in real life, would end in utter catastrophe. This is where Nazo no Kanojo X surpasses all others and stands up as the pinnacle of anime romance, in my book. The utter realism that it shows us. I see a lot of myself, or perhaps my former self, in Tsubaki. Everything he does, I can remember myself doing at-least once in a previous relationship. From flirting with an ex-crush, to not wanting others to see her after a new haircut, wanting her all to myself. Tsubaki is a good reflection of most of the 'regular guys' in their first relationships. We, who watch anime and may not be the best at sports. We might not be the top of our class, but we know a thing or two. The regular guy. He is a cacophony of contradictions. He has an inferiority complex, but believes he can get better. He is needy, but sometimes wants space away from Urabe. He is proud of his girlfriend, but in some ways ashamed. Love doesn't make sense, love is rife with contradictions and Tsubaki represents them perfectly. He is almost like a mirror of myself, back in the day but, hopefully, not anymore. Don't get me wrong, he is very likable. He is not the whingey MC we're used to, he's not the asshole, he's not clueless. But that doesn't mean I necessarily want to be him. Now we see Urabe. Beautiful, shy, strange, kind, strong, talented, awkward, uncomfortable. There are so many words to describe Urabe, but submissive and reliant aren't some of them. She represents the real girl. She gets sad when Tsubaki hurts her, very sad. But she doesn't get on her knees and beg. She gets turned on by Tsubaki, sure. But she isn't taken aback by sexual emotions, emotions which take complete control of her mind and body. She's not quite an open book, but she's not mean - she's very kind. She's not submissive, dependent or a tsundere. She doesn't represent any of the offensive female characters we see in most romance anime. She is real. And best yet, although there are other love interests - there is no ridiculously unrealistic harem. I'm not a girl, so I don't know what this anime gives them. But if you're a single guy wanting to know what real first relationships are like, watch this anime. If you're a needy, dependent, possessive guy in a relationship and want to see a reflection of all of your negative aspects; watch this anime. I wholeheartedly believe that Nazo no Kanojo X can teach you about love, about real love. An aspect which most romance anime fall completely flat on.

Ah yes. Mysterious Girlfriend X. When I heard that the manga was getting an anime adaption, I looked forward to seeing other people's reactions to the synopsis almost as much as the show itself. Perhaps a fair few WTFs amongst viewers who've never read the manga? The story is simple. Boy encounters transfer girl. Boy deliberately tastes girl's drool on a desk. Boy falls in love with girl after that. Um, yeah. The drool. If there's anything in this series that would turn off those who watch it, it'll obviously be the various saliva-swapping scenes. Personally, I don't think it's that bad. If it helps, thinkof it as an inevitable aspect of French kissing except without any lips touching. Nor tongues. Nor sensation. Well maybe sensation, in the form of the recipient of the drool experiencing the other's mood or feelings. Perhaps not as romantic though. But it's mostly down to individual tolerance levels for the things you find okay in anime; the same with fanservice, blood and gore, hentai, etc. The series closely explores the slow-building but charming relationship between the main characters, inside and outside of high school. It's quite different to the romances found in other anime. After all, who shows affection by ripping up a photo of a previous crush as opposed to holding hands or kissing to start a relationship? And that's just one of many examples. Although it rarely feels out of place, there is some ecchi and fanservice present. Saying that Mikoto Urabe is weird would be a huge understatement. At times in her relationship she just seems like a normal shy and compassionate girl underneath a cold demeanour, but her hobbies and certain superhuman abilities makes her more than that. She's a compelling character to watch however, and her various quirks (Fits of laughter? Scissors?!) are what makes the anime so addictive, along with her bond to Akira Tsubaki. Tsubaki is a relatively normal character, despite his attraction to Urabe's drool, and it's fun to see him cope with being the boyfriend of such a strange person and the requirements that come with the role; romancing Urabe is much harder than he thinks. The anime mainly focuses on the odd couple so important side characters are limited, but two of their classmates, Kouhei Ueno and Ayuko Oka, provide some extra entertainment; the playful and wild Oka has a particularly big influence in how the relationship develops between Urabe and Tsubaki. The art style of Mysterious Girlfriend X is excellent and rather interesting. It goes for an older style of animation, and reminds me of anime that were made a decade or two ago, back when clichés were still original ideas. Backgrounds are also quite nice, especially parts of the school like the classroom and gardens as well as the surrounding town. However, I'm still undecided as to whether I like the character models retained from the manga, which are sharp and detailed but make the 17-year old students look like they're in middle school rather than high school. The series makes use of a variety of background music that is sombre and mysterious, but also some which makes you think of a circus, and this works well with Urabe's character and the strangeness of the show itself. A few soothing melodies are thrown into the mix too. The OP is a catchy and upbeat song that fits with the high school setting, while the ED is also good and has a nice tune. The voice acting is decent all around; the voice actress for the role of Urabe is a newcomer but she's done an especially good job. Overall Mysterious Girlfriend X, or Nazo no Kanojo X, is about a bizarre high school romance with unique additions in the form of drool with multiple and mysterious effects, excessive nose-bleeding and a very weird yet enjoyable character in Mikoto Urabe. This anime is sure to captivate some viewers while alienating others but like the manga, it does what it sets out to do with a passing grade. And that is to provide us with an entry in the genre that feels fun and more than just a little different. Assuming it doesn't make its audience sick to the stomach first.

I watched one episode last night and ended up burning a sickie from work to finish it off today... I found this series by clicking through recommendations starting from 'Kimi ni Todoke', how I arrived here I don't recall, but thank goodness I did. I don't think I've come across anything as unique as this. The story line was out of this world but not so far out that it is unwatchable. The art was a plus for me, it was clean and easy to look at. The characters are very well designed. It was only 13 episodes, but I felt like I really got toknow them well. The soundtrack was very well thought out and really added to the experience of watching the story develop. I'm almost tempted to hit up the manga to see if it goes any further. I was left wanting more. Definitely not a waste of my time. Give it a go. If you get through episode one, you will shoot through the next 12 very quickly.

Mysterious Girlfriend X is a show that’s pretty icky. There’s no getting around it. As a viewer, one always has options, one can always make decisions. So, if you’re planning on watching this show, you have to get past the hurdle that is the synopsis of this show. A high school student one day discovers the new transfer student asleep at her desk after school. After she hurriedly leaves, he sees a small pool of her drool on the desk, and for some unfathomable reason, he puts his finger in said drool, and takes this finger into his mouth. He licks her drool. Without getting intothe other bizarre things about this anime (the main character’s proclivity for randomly laughing, the scissors she keeps in her panties, etc.), the drool issue is the most major one to contend with. Part of this piece will be about hopefully putting “the drool issue” into a larger context regarding what this show’s actually doing. It’s fairly obvious that the show is on some level about how love, at one point or another, must lead to intimacy. The protagonists of our show, because they’re weird, don’t take the usual path in these matters. They’re inching toward intimacy, but they do it in their own particular way. Mysterious Girlfriend X, in its own weird way, celebrates the time of our lives where we groped and felt around and decided what worked and didn’t work for us, what felt right; it’s a show about our sexual exploration, and how it’s a necessary aspect of relationships. After Tsubaki, our male protagonist, tastes Urabe’s drool, he just knows he has to be with her. It’s not a question of psychology or of motivation; his body dictates it. After not tasting her drool for a couple of weeks, he’s actually bedridden and sick. It’s only after Urabe shows up and gives him her drool that he recovers. So he asks her out. She says yes. The reason behind this is simple – he had a reaction to her drool, and to her that means he’s special. Every day after school, in order to stave off sickness, Urabe sticks a finger in her mouth and lets Tsubaki suck on it for a bit. It’s a moment of an awkward physical intimacy; and, I think, an undeniably erotic moment for both of them. Later on, we find out that Urabe’s drool can also serve as a communication tool (Urabe can find out about Tsubaki’s dreams and they can even find out what the other is feeling because of it). This daily ritual is no different than kissing before saying goodbye. I think if the drool itself were animated in a more tasteful way there wouldn’t be as much resistance to this show. Hoods Entertainment, the company who made it, do the series no favors when they choose to animate the drool, as being not at all dissimilar to other bodily fluids. The drool lingers, drips from fingers, forms puddles; in the op, it even splashes like we’re suddenly in a hentai or something. It’s distracting. In Mysterious Girlfriend X, the exchange of drool comes to represent other possible exchanges of bodily fluids. The act is both literal and metaphorical. This is really what we are talking about, isn’t it? Tsubaki and Urabe both understand where their relationship will end up. Every time they exchange drool, they come to realize the fact of it. This is where we’re heading, this is what’s going to happen. But many of the 13 episodes are about the slow crawl toward that goal (in this series, that goal is unfulfilled). One episode finds Urabe going over to visit Tsubaki wearing nothing but a coat, because apparently this is a normal remedy for the common cold. Like Junko Nakano’s Chisa x Pon (though nowhere near as explicit), the series maps out how over time, they become more comfortable with each other. Whereas in the first few episodes, Urabe almost kills Tsubaki when he tries to hug her; near the end, it’s Urabe who demands that she be hugged. There’s even a moment later on where in a fit of blind passion, Tsubaki licks Urabe’s ear, and she’s completely overwhelmed by the sensation. Although this sense of experimentation and play is lighthearted in the show, I believe the show takes absolutely serious the drives of the main characters. Tsubaki has nightly dreams about Urabe where they dance in some strange circus-like town (not hard to understand what’s happening there), and Urabe herself often finds herself blushing and testing her own limits regarding what she’ll do (one episode finds her stripping completely down and letting Tsubaki lick her drool while his eyes are closed). The way they approach the issue is unorthodox, sure, but everyone’s different. The show even provides a foil couple to accentuate how different they are. Although the show is relatively straightforward in its depiction of teenage confusion, hormones and love, there’s one really interesting strand that I haven’t mentioned. Tsubaki and his friend, Ueno, both get girlfriends during the show, but they insist on keeping this a secret. Whereas in other shows, there’d usually be a scene where everyone whispers about the new couple, in this show our main characters never acknowledge their girlfriends in any special way while they’re at school. While I don’t think this is done for any real reason by the characters, it betrays an uneasiness about their own sexual development. I couldn’t help thinking that they were hiding their relationships because it meant that they were growing up, that they were embarrassed by their sexual curiosity/progress/etc. And, yeah, it’s completely embarrassing. During this time in their lives, we have no idea what we’re doing. Tsubake and Urabe may understand the mechanics of where this is all going, but it doesn’t mean that they have any idea of what it means, of what it looks like, of what it feels like; and not knowing, looking foolish while you figure out, is completely embarrassing. It’s easier to pretend you don’t have a girlfriend, because then you can keep that side of yourself completely separate from people’s image of you. The only one who can see you at your most vulnerable, most ridiculous, state is your Mysterious Girlfriend; and only she knows how much her drool turns you on. copied/pasted from my blog: thenextthingblog.wordpress.com

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