Nazo no Kanojo X

Now, now, now. I've been informed that certain people think that Nazo no Kanojo is ecchi. I've also been informed that a lot of people think it's bad that it has some originality. Well, guess what? It ain't so. Not often will you find an anime which revolves around drool, and this one did a damn fine job in doing so. So, you think that people sharing drool is nasty? Well, guess what, it is. Oh, but you watched only the first episode of the anime and took upon yourself to be an arse and immediatelly toss it aside? Well, guess what, not all anime ... start off great. There needs to be progress. Fluidity. And damn right I'm not gonna sit by idly while a perfectly good anime is being dissed.
Now, let me start this review right.
The storyline is about a guy. Not your generic anime guy without a personality/cowardly/insanely courageous guy, no; it's about a simple highschool boy with his unique personality. And, by a game of chance, he tastes the spit(yeah, kinda gross, but come on, you do that when kissing as well) of a new girl in class. Now, that new girl is kind of weird. She starts laughing in the middle of class without apparent reason, she's not socialising with anyone, and half her face is covered with bangs. And yet, this guy falls in love with her. And then, in time, he realises he's hit the jackpot. Now, her personality has been presented extraordingly. She's unorthodox, and mysterious, and I think that this anime will need a season 2 in order to fully explain her backstory. Now, let me move on from the characters.
The storyline progresses pretty slowly, as it should with highschoolers, but not slow enough to make you bored. It's reasonably paced and will make you anxious in about what'll happen in the next episode. I think they were low on budget, so they couldn't make more episodes, but if there were more, I'm damn sure they would be even more awesome.
The animation reminded me of old style. I'm talking before 2000 animation here, and it invokes a wonderful feeling of nostalgy and familiarity. Not too much fanservice in my oppinion, just the right mix. Didn't register many flaws in it, really.
Now, the music. It's WONDERFUL. Track 04 from the anime, dream, is composed to reflect the mystique and the weird nature of Urabe (female protagonist). Not too thrilled about op and ed though, but thye're not bad. The songs playing during certain scenes in the anime are exceptionally fitting and they don't get boring quickly.
And, finally, my overall and my grade.
Overall, this is an unorthodox anime, with an original storyline and plot, and damn right it shouldn't be cast aside for trying something new. It has almost no mistakes/errors and it's pretty well made. It's one of the better romances I watched, and it differs from all others with it's unique way of presenting and developing the feelings of the characters; and that's why, this anime will make it in my top 5, along with GITS, NGE, Bakemonogatari and Toradora.
My overall grade is 9, and I reccomend everyone to watch this anime, and not to give up in the first episode.
Over and out, please submit your feedback about my first review :D

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, the ... weak, 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, think ... of 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.