Nazo no Kanojo X: Nazo no Natsu Matsuri

‘Skeptical’ is the word which best sums up my feelings when I sat down in front of my laptop and prepared myself to watch the Nazo no Kanojo X OVA. I’ve had a less than savoury experience with OVAs in the past, finding they do little to add to the show, existing mainly to provide fans with the excessive fanservice forbidden by the show either due to the time it airs on TV or by the fact they had to stay suitable for their target audience- and considering Nazo no Kanojo’s pushed boundaries within its TV show (which are always, comparatively, more reserved)… well, canyou understand my cause for concern? I was also worried it wouldn’t make up for the slightly boring finale of the show, but stupid me, I should’ve learnt from experience that it’s pointless making any kind of pre-conceived assumptions when about to watch Nazo no Kanojo- ‘cause it will always end up doing something completely out of the left field! Still, there was fanservice… But that’s almost a given in OVAs today, isn’t it? But the fanservice actually wasn’t that bad! It wasn’t flagrant and all in your face like in, say, the Highschool of the Dead OVA, or any of the Code Geass picture specials. There were a few lingering shots of Urabe’s butt, an almost nude shot of Tsubaki’s sister, a scene where Urabe was tied up (it works for some) and the fact Urabe wasn’t wearing panties underneath her yukata, but that was about it. It was about the same level of ‘ecchi-ness’ as in the TV show, and there wasn’t any of that sleazy saxophone music playing in the background during any of these moments, as if to say “Yeah, fyi, this is supposed to be sexy!”, so you barely noticed it really, it certainly didn’t hamper upon my overall enjoyment of the OVA. As I always say, fanservice is OK, so long as it’s not excessive and distracts away from story. As for the story… Well, it started off a little dull, but things really started to pick up about 10 minutes through when Urabe was held hostage by two, very strange, individuals who force Tsubaki to complete a test in order to save her. The test itself (which I originally perceived to be simply fanservice) was, in typical NNK style, a metaphor! Yay!! When he first attempts to save her Urabe wards Tsubaki off, telling him not to come to close to her, which, ironically, is exactly what Tsubaki must do if he’s to save her, come close to her, not physically, but emotionally. If he’s to pick the correct string to free her, he’s going to need to tap into that mystical ‘couple sense’ where you just know what to do to help the one you love. At this point I was almost frothing at the mouth in excitement- yes, that’s something they struggled with throughout the entire show: Urabe always kept Tsubaki at arm’s length, rarely sharing how she felt, something which I felt held them back, but this was something she needed to overcome to save herself! I was hoping Urabe’d say that it was OK for Tsubaki to come close to her, that she needed him, that he ought to climb up the structure and let her down, maybe then the structure would start to collapse and they’d fall together and he’d cushion the blow and it’d be all romantic, or something!! But then al that happened was more “Hey, remember our bond?” and mystical drool nonsense… I just couldn’t help but feel more dramatic, not to mention symbolic, possibilities could have been explored here- they resolved the situation the same way they resolved all situation in the show, by placing faith in their bond and in drool and it felt as though no progress in the relationship was made… Nevertheless, an interesting diversion from the usual summer fest antics. The two individuals who forced the pair into completing the task where interesting also. I originally believed that Hell’s museum and its unusual curators was something the pair dreamt up- they’d shared dreams before, right? But Urabe felt pain from her short fall, not to mention we were shown a conversation that took place between the strange duo shortly afterwards, so they must not have been dreamt up. Perhaps they really were the mischievous spirits they claimed to be? Well, I wasn’t far off. Matsubuya and Togawa are actually the main characters in Riichi Ueshiba’s (the mangaka of NNK) other publication Discommunication- Spirit World, a story where several characters have the ability to control the content of dreams, which explain a lot. So whilst their inclusion, and specifically their inclusion, was merely fanservice for those familiar with the numerous works of Ueshiba, I still appreciated the message they left us with: that by unlocking the mysteries of the one you love, you can learn something about yourself in the process. So whilst the OVA didn’t add to the show, as such, it was still vaguely interesting at points. Definitely worth a watch if you’re more than satisfied with more of the same or you’re a fan of Discommunication- Spirit World.

The OVA for Mysterious Girlfriend X is here, and includes an original story not seen in the manga. However, it still includes the characters, concepts, and relationship development you'd expect from an episode of MGX. It slightly misses the high bar set by the full series though - Urabe and Tsubaki must overcome a wholly supernatural phenomenon that goes beyond the strange nature of her drool which feels slightly out of place. It is only temporary though, and serves not only slightly further their relationship, but to also have cameos recognisable by fans of the authors' previous works. The relationship pay off didn't seem as important asothers in the show though, even if it was arguably one of the more important developments that has happened. This may be due to the original nature of the story, but at the very least it's still in the spirit of the show. Here's hoping for a second series

Ok, this is my newly edited review of this 1 off OVA of "Nazo No Kanojo X OVA," since my first review was removed by some *****, co'z according to ***** my first review has a lot of troll what so ever kind of things that I'm being accuse of- I wonder what happened to freedom of speech? Anyway let's get down to business, what we have here is a an OVA summer special from the parent anime. So far it still maintains the usual genre but with more emphasis on romance and mystery, romance co'z there is still that Tsubaki X Urabe kind ofthing plus an Oka X Ueno part and the pretty thing here is that them female cast are in yukatas. The mystery part here is when Urabe was kidnapped by 2 fox deities in human form and poor Tsubaki is forced into rescuing Urabe by knowing which string to pull, so for the story I give it a "Good" number 7 since upon watching this OVA (and its parent anime) it really made me puke in agony in which normally I would dropped this but seeing the romance thing here really make the puking agony worthwhile when watching this thing. Art & Sound: Mediocre 5. Ok, for the art, like I always say "I'm no art critic" so whether the illustrator goes retro or what I don't give a thing about it as long as one can see the character. For the sound, I'd say that both the opening and ending themes are still there. but I do have something to say about Urabe's seiyu, Ayako Yoshitani san, her voice really lacks that teenage girl kind of thing and if I were Ayumu Watanabe the director, I would have prefer Ayako Kawasumi san to be Urabe's seiyu since she has the certain flexibility to play the part. Character, Enjoyment and Overall: Good 7. Well, most of the characters- I'm referring to Tsubaki X Urabe and Oka X Ueno are best suited to be love teams, but there is this addition of the 2 fox dieties in which I find them sweet, thought the tear licking still makes me puke. Thought I could have given it a higher score, the disgusting drool makes me limit it to just 7, overall I'll describe this OVA and it's parent anime as disgusting entertaining, the enjoyment is ok so long as you have a strong stomach for the gross or better yet have a barf bag available when watching this OVA and its parent anime. Excuse me while I throw away my barf bag.

Nazo no Kanojo X: Nazo no Natsu Matsuri (2012) Well, this is a pretty nice OVA and takes directly from the main series. Leaves a hole from the beginning with a question by Akira but it does not affect the storyline at all. It also contains a nice cameo from another series that is much shorter which was nicely done and made for a pretty unexpected turn of events. The art again is of an unpolished standard in my opinion that hasn't stood greatly with the drool of an odd off-putting colour and style. It is though rather average of its time and is good enough.In many ways, it calls back toward the much older shows in its style. Sound is of a good standard. Characters don't actually develop per se because they just deepen the relationship but then that is the same pattern we have seen from the main series. The new characters introduction was nice from the cameo that made for interest. I do wonder if anyone who the sister was with. Also, why Akira and Mikoto don't just kiss, it would be a bit easier to watch. Doesn't have to be crazy just more normal. I do always question why the relationship needs to be such a secret. It is an enjoyable OVA which closed off the series nicely. Perhaps it'll be a nice read one day.

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