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.

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 to ... know 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.

"Upon discovering the existence of sex, every boy wonders one thing. They wonder what kind of girl they'll be with for their first time."

TL;DR: boy meets girl, hen things happen, no general romantic shit.

The series starts very cliched. We have The Ordinary High School Student, we have The Ordinary New Transfer Student... or not that Ordinary? Yepp, new girl looks weirdo, do weirdo things, drooling as hell and, in nearly everything, isn't usual high school girl, filled with shyness and taboos. That's cool, if you gonna ask me. Main Hero aka Akira-kun despite being at top of his sexual maturation is all round nice guy, ... not pervert, not bookworm etc. Perfect character to project with yourself. Also, this is goin' to be very unusual romantic anime, just because it's targeted on boys and ant the same time it's not Yet Another Harem. There is also one feature, makes this title so special, but I'm not gonna spoil it. So for the story 8pts and 9pts for the girl (she's really mysterious, lol).

It's also 8pts for the art. It's quite oldschool, but not that dried mammoth shit like in parallel Ozuma. It have that 90-s flava. So if you're not scred of that, you'll like it. I'm glad to see so different art styles presented today at TV-anime market. 8pts.

Sound. Is. Quite. Amazing. Especially for the last scene of the first episode. It's some parade music with trumpets and stuff. Really brings feelings of craziness, madness and only God knows what else. 9pts.

Enjoyment. That's very undebatable part since it's quite personal. 10pts. I'm gonna reccomend it to anyone. It's worth it.

Overall 9pts after 1st episode. That's gonna be one of the very few sweets this season.

Have you ever found an anime that "SALIVA" or "DROOL" is become a proof to the bonds of love? if you're havent, then maybe you could try Nazo no Kanojo X.

Nazo no Kanojo or Mysterious Girlfriend in english is not your typical comedy - romance anime, why? First of all, if you're an easy people to puke because of something weird then maybe this anime is not for you, since this anime will have SO MANY scenes that will make several people go puke. like i said before, your first impression while watching this anime is DROOL, yeah, i am not kidding. but dont take ... this drool is something that revolting, but take it as the PROOF of the couple's bond.

STORY
The story began with Tsubaki Akira, our normal main character that unexpectedly meet with a weird girl, i mean REALLY weird. that girl was Urabe Mikoto. she was transfered into Tsubaki's school, she is known as the weirdo because yeah... she is weird in many ways. Later, in afternoon after school, Tsubaki found Urabe in classroom and still sleep. without any ecchi or dirty minds Tsubaki wakes Mikoto, after Mikoto leaves he found a pool of DROOL in her table. And surprisingly, Mikoto without any particular reason lick the drool. A few days later he become sick and Mikoto comes to his house and cure him with a weird ways, and after that again, he date with her.

This anime story is very unique or maybe the uniquest one that i've ever watched in another rom-com series. Maybe you will think this anime will about lovey dovey, that they will kissing, flirting, or maybe make out. if you think that way, then you're VERY WRONG. what makes this story interesting is Urabe Mikoto, she is not your normal-type-moe girl. I am not gonna spoil it on how weird this girl was. anyway, The execution of this anime in the storyplot os really good. i mean, at the way they end each episode was really amazing. Usually they put some cute and heartwarming scenes in the end of each episodes. and with this strategy, they really attract (especially me) the viewer to keep watching this.

Sometimes, this anime maybe will make you bored if you're not into a romance story. Since this anime is more focussing on the way how they develops their drool-lationship and moreover, this is not-your-all-anime since some of people will probably said disgusting with "droll" as the main themes. But however they said, i still found this anime is romantic and pretty enjoyable.


ART

The first thing that will comes to my mind while trying this anime is 90s. I guess several people will saying the same things since this anime art was like the anime from 90s. Small eyes, the contour of the hairstyle, and even the character design Its kinda rare to see this kind of art especially in nowdays, while other anime are trying to improve their art (like SHAFT's anime which have an amazing art) but this anime take a risk to use an old style, but does it bad? No! its really suitable with the story itself and moreover, its like they're bringing you back to the 90s, nostalgic. When i thought this art will irritate me with their old style,but it didnt happen and surprisingly i really fell in love with it.

The background is pretty much increasing the atmosphere of romance feels. like when in the afternoon, the sunset is pretty beautiful and when it adds with romance scenes, it feels like the scenes is getting more romantic. The coloring in this anime are also pretty colorful and bright. They really representing the mood in the anime.


SOUND

From the sound section, there was nothing special in this. though The OP and the ED wasnt so bad, in fact it was really good, when i hear the OP and the ED, the feel of 90s really exquisite, especially the OP "Koi no Orchestra" by Ayako Yoshitani which is also voicing Urabe in this anime. Piano and violin is really dominant in this song. The song itself is really catchy and easy listening and moreover its really suitable with the anime which is focussing on the romance thing. For the seiyuu, they have done well with their roles. Especially for Yoshitani Ayaka. she hasnt voicing any anime characters beside Urabe but surprisingly she is good and really suits with the Urabe personality.


CHARACTER

The last, Character. The focus on this anime was between the couples, Urabe Mikoto and Tsubaki Akira. since this anime was focussing on these, the character development between two of them is really touching, there was sadness, happiness, jealous, and anything like that, furthermore In my opinion this one is what makes this anime is so appealing, i cant deny that i have fallen in love with Mikoto, you can said she is weird but sometimes she shows her cute side (Until now i dont know what kind of dere she is, i think this one is a new dere type). and for Tsubaki, none to much to say for this boy, he is kind and easy to nervous around the girls. but of course he wont be a main character if he doesnt have any special nature, and for him is loyalty.


OVERALL

Well, many people said this anime was weird and feel so old, i dont deny if many people saying that. but i am sure what they said are cannot be accounted, since i am sure they havent see the whole episodes. and for those who are saying that, boy you have missed an amazing unique romance anime. Giving it a 8 because this anime is not especially for all, but for me, this anime is pretty much enjoyable and really fun ride to watch.

Anyways, If you're looking for something special and bored with usual romance anime, then this anime is for you.


P.S : Feedbacks are welcome*

This show is unique to say the least. I was expecting something f**ked up and weird, but I must admit I was expecting something more on the comedy side for some reason. Not that I dislike how f**ked up and serious this show actually is, I actually think I love it even more that way. I was expecting some crazy ecchi with just some original characters, but it doesn’t look anyway like that at all.

The first thing that caught my attention with this anime is how old the animations looked. It had this grainy and low definition look to it, It was kind of a ... minor disappointment. But at the same time, the animation and style reminded me of some other special show like Paprika or Serial Experiment Lain, so it did add to the seinen and dreamy style of the anime.

The second thing that caught my attention was this artistic and seinen way to present the story. There is this weird atmosphere in the show, were it looks like everything is just a little bit too normal to be real. There is this calm and constant feeling that everything you are watching at the moment is important. Because every dialogue and actions are so slow, we can really appreciate the feelings behind them.

Next thing that caught my attention was obviously the characters. They are unique to say the least. While Urabe is quite rapidly labelled as a weirdo, I don’t think Tsubaki is any better. Who in their right mind would taste the saliva of someone else on a whim like that? No wonder he got sick in the first place, even if it was not love sickness. But let us return to our characters, Tsubaki might look like a regular guy, but he has some pretty weird and colorful dreams, not only that, he fell in love at first sight with a girl whose face looked retarded and she had drool on her cheek while looking at him with a confused look. I think Urabe isn’t the only one who has some mental issues.

But talking of the mysterious girlfriend in question, Urabe is a lost cause, she hear voices while she sleeps in class and proceed to laugh her ass off and roll on the floor laughing. She is so antisocial that even when everyone tried to talk to her and be compassionate towards her, she still managed to avoid all the attention and stay lonely at her desk. She spent her time sleeping during lunch break, so I wonder if that girl ever actually eat and while it was only revealed in the preview for next episode, we also know that she carries around scissor in her panties to cut paper. If anything, this girl sure has a personality of her own.

Overall, I am positively surprised and impressed by this show, I was not expecting something so mysterious and serious from characters that are that special. I will most definitively watch this show and cover it. I think it might fit exactly in the kind of show I love and dream of.

Possibility of Watching: High

Mysterious Girlfriend X. What hooked me to watch this was, of course, the drool tasting. This series made me more open-minded to watch romance-ecchi, since this was ecchi but has a good storyline.

What makes this anime different from others is its uniqueness. Drool as bond is not something a couple usually has, and drool tasting is something you can't see everyday. Now, on to the details.

This review may contain spoilers.

Story: 8/10

Honestly, after seeing "ecchi" in the tags, I thought this anime was about sex, but man I was wrong. The story is surprisingly really good. It's not based on sex, though you can sometimes see ... Akira loosing control, since he's in puberty and he has a girlfriend. The story is about how Akira, live his lovelife with his mysterious girlfriend, Urabe. Urabe's not your ordinary girlfriend. In fact, she's one of the weirdest girls I've seen in anime. But the plot is solid. There are scenes that made me emotional, laugh, and surprised.

Art: 7/10

The first episode, I thought that the art sucked, but in the long run I realized that the art contributed to the uniqueness of the anime. It's kind of an old-style looking anime, comparable to Ranma 1/2 or Dragonball Z, but there were looks that I really liked. I liked how the following characters were drawn:

Oka, Urabe (with her other hairstyle), and Youko.

Sound: 8/10

This rating might be a bit biased, since I'm a sucker to Violin, Cello, and Piano music. The producers did a pretty good job in providing background music, since the BGM matches the atmosphere of a particular scene.

Character: 10/10

My expectations were met (and blown away) by Urabe's character. Since the title of this anime was "Mysterious Girlfriend X", I really expected that the female protagonist should be weird, and Urabe's character was right on the money. Other characters like Oka, Ueno, and Akira portrayed the "high-school student" role very well, especially when it comes to love and dating.

Enjoyment: 9/10

I really, really enjoyed this anime. The drool thing was very amusing. Made me laughed a lot. This series also made me think and reflect deeply on situations related to love and dating since I never thought of drool to become a couple's bond.

Overall: 8/10

Mysterious Girlfriend X really reached my "must-watch list". I enjoyed this series a lot. I recommend this to anyone, especially those who just started dating.

Nazo no Kanojo X
This anime is a little bit tricky, while at first you're like WTF? is he/she really doing that? and by that i mean they interchange saliva but then you will be thinking that that's romantic for some reason lol and end up liking a lot this anime.

Story
The story at first is really weird, but it starts to grow on you in every episode and you want to know more about this weird relationship between Mikoto Urabe and Akira Tsubaki and how is it that just with saliva they feel what the other feels, you don't get to exactly know the reason but ... it's very good and worth following.

Art & Animation
A very good art style, it has a mysterious feeling and sometimes you feel this is really unique.

Sound
The sound on this was great, it was constant, and sometimes a cirquesque feeling on some scenes, i really liked a lot that and the voice acting was great it was believable, the two MC were really amazing to hear.

Character
The characters on this one are special, i have never seen a character like Urabe, i really liked her a lot, i wanted to know more about her and she even was adorable (for me) she was really something special but she really was mysterious and you will not know much about her and i wanted to know more, Tsubaki reminded me of Kosuda from B Gata H Kei, because they were normal, like if they didn't have something special but they are still good characters.

Enjoyment
I never knew i would like this a lot, but it was very enjoyable, you could watch it over and over again and never get tired of this, the only thing that i wanted was a 2nd season because there wasn't much romance, even though they have their own way they never showed that clearly and because of how it ended, i didn't give it a 9, but it's 8.5 close to a 9.

If you've got this far, you know the show's synopsis. Your standard anime transfer student doesn't quite fit in, as expected, but due to a series of events ranging from ordinary to a bit weird, the show's main character ends up falling for the weird transfer student. All this made possible due to the strange effect her drool has on him, creating a bond between the two that makes him physically ill if he goes without it.

While this may not sound all that interesting, and perhaps down right gross with the drool aspect, Mysterious Girlfriend X stands out as one of the most unique and ... charming romance anime's I have ever seen.

I'm not going to beat around the bush - the drool part is a bit disgusting to begin with, even if it's generally limited to licking it off fingers. The first episode serves to set up the circumstances and plot of the rest of the show, and while it's mildly intriguing to begin with, it's not until the end of the episode that you get the first glimpse of the more honest approach the show takes with young and/or first loves.

This is the first hint that MGX is going to be different from most other Anime. Love and relationships with teens is usually dealt with in love triangles and harems/reverse harems, with the entire show mostly having unresolved sexual tension for either Japanese cultural reasons or just because it's the done thing. A lot of these and other relationship tropes get subverted throughout the show, and it doesn't get preachy about the romanticised pre-conceptions of love in media either.

You don't have to wait long for any of this to start though, as the second episode is when the story really gets going. By the third you'll probably have gotten used to the drool aspect, and by then you'll be hooked. The drool is just a mechanism for the two main characters to understand each others feelings, both emotionally and physically, and aids them in the developments of their love life. Understanding is a big theme in the series, and leads to some genuinely tender moments.

It's not just about the two characters getting to know each other, the viewer themselves is in on the process of getting to know the protagonists and the meaning of the show. While Akira Tsubaki, our eyes into the world, is portrayed as a fairly normal and relatable guy, Mikoto Urabe, his girlfriend, is a mystery. As the name of the anime suggests. However, while she has the almost supernatural drool, an odd manner, and is freakishly adept with a pair of scissors she keeps in her panties, it all seems like an allegory for the mystery and unknown of being in love for the first time.

There is a bit of ecchi in the series as well - with the two main girls drawn as being quite busty. I honestly think this is commentary on how teenage boys see the world, and how love can sometimes alter your perceptions of your partners. Which in this case is shown by giving the girls big tits, as you do. The art style in general though is a little retro, which fits the atmosphere of the show a lot better than spindly limbs or soft moe features.

Compared to the manga, it's usually very spot on, and any small changes made to the story, whether they're chronological or characters reactions, mostly better the flow of events. Due to the short nature of the anime, and the fact the manga is still ongoing, some stories have been dropped or blended together. However nothing feels rushed, forced, or out of place, and it at least means there's probably enough material for a second season if it gets that far.

There are a few words that have been tossed around in this review that do manage to sum up the show better than others - that it is a charming, sweet, honest look at young and first loves. I hope they make more after the OVA.

Intro:

This is a review I've been planning to write for a long time. I've been putting it off in part because reviews like this are by FAR the hardest to write. Here is what I mean. The easiest reviews to write are bashing bad anime that absolutely nobody cares about. They get quick and easy laughs from readers. Nobody gets angry or offended. You can just say whatever you want with no fear of the consequences.

The second easiest to write are gushing praise onto a universally beloved classic. Have you ever seen an "Anime everyday" review? I'm not trying to be mean, I'm totally ... serious. All you must do is repeat the same praises that other people have said countless times before and suddenly most people will think you are a deep thinker and sophisticated intellectual. I could go on IMDB and copy/paste pieces of essays written about Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal and come across as brilliant without ever putting an ounce of effort or thought into the review.

The 3rd most difficult type of review is bashing a series that is well loved. This can be a bit tricky and requires some thought, but it's still workable if you know how. The most common tactic would be to acknowledge the things the series does well, but also point out its flaws and basically say "maybe this series isn't quite as good as people are saying".

The absolute hardest type of review is defending and praising a series that is widely disliked. Since few people will dare to do this, you can't rely on the words and arguments of others. You are on your own. Even if your words are elegant and your defense is Johnny Cochran worthy, it is slamming hard against your reader's preconceived notions. This means you will likely get a lot of bashing and "thumbs down" regardless. Defending an unpopular series is a Pyrrhic victory. No massively popular anime critic I can think of made their fame and popularity by commonly defending series that are widely loathed. Despite knowing this, I'm writing this review anyways. Now as the great poet Pushkin wrote in his poem Wagon of Life, "Let's get going for Fuck's sake!"


Overview:

Mysterious Girlfriend X is essentially the story of a quirky romance between 2 extremely socially awkward youths. So…this will be like Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom? Nope. This is a series featuring psychic saliva that creates a mental and physical link between those who share it. Basically, think Alexander Dumas’ short story The Corsican Brothers only gross. This is a WEIRD anime, but if you give it a chance it is surprisingly pretty good!

Plot and characters:

The story takes place in a highschool, as romance anime tend to do. Our hero is a guy named Akira Tsubaki. Akira is a lonely and withdrawn boy who lives with his father and older sister since his mother died when he was young. Akira has never had a girlfriend before, but is intrigued by an odd transfer student who is even more introverted than he is. This girl is named Urabe and she is…odd. She sleeps through most of her classes and quickly becomes a social pariah through her bizarre behavior. Her hobby is making art with scissors, which she has learned to use with superhuman speed and accuracy. One day after school, Akira notices that Urabe left a large puddle of drool on her desk and decides to taste a sample of it because he had never kissed a girl. Soon he develops a fever and starts having unusual dreams. It turns out that Urabe is psychic and can transfer her emotions and feelings through her bodily fluids. This link is also physical and causes any pain or injury inflicted on one to affect the other. Urabe quickly senses that someone must have tasted her drool and figures out it was Akira. She tells him that he will go through painful withdrawal unless he tastes a sample of her saliva every day. Now these 2 oddballs must learn to form a relationship and adjust to their new psychic link. The relationship between Urabe and Akira is also contrasted against the far more normal relationship between Akira’s only friend named Kouhei and his girlfriend Oka.

Most romance anime rely on tired gags and a strict formula. The boy will accidentally see the girl naked or feel her up, then she will yell at him and punch him. BAKA! The next minute, the fight is over and the relationship is back to normal. Mysterious Girlfriend X manages to entirely avoid this. Not only is there a noticeable absence of bad romance anime gags and clichés, but just when you think you know where the series is going it completely surprises you. What is astounding is that it actually feels like a realistic relationship despite the whole psychic drool thing. I’m serious! Akira wants them to be public with their romance, but Urabe is shy about it. Akira wants to advance their physical relationship faster than Urabe is comfortable with, so this leads to a believable quarrel and gradual compromise. The relationship between Urabe and Akira has ups and downs like any real relationship, but grows stronger as both realize what it means to be in a long term romance and how they must now always consider their partner’s desires, hopes, and feelings. Romance anime typically either move WAY too slow to keep a status quo, or they move far too fast and characters are having sex 5 minutes after meeting. Mysterious Girlfriend X has a gradual and satisfying romance that feels more organic.

The final element that makes Mysterious Girlfriend a quality romance anime is the characters. Urabe is indeed highly unusual, but besides the whole psychic powers thing feels like a person you could meet in real life. She doesn’t really fit into an anime archetype of “Tsundere” or “Yandare”. Instead she seems to exhibit traits you would expect from someone with Aspergers or “Autistic tendencies”. She is extremely aloof, anti-social, dislikes physical contact, and has a very hard time making friends. She doesn’t understand social norms and has gotten to the point where she has stopped caring. However, she is warm and caring to the few people close to her. She has a good heart, but has a hard time relating to other people and forming meaningful bonds. Akira like many romance lead is the clumsy and awkward male virgin. However, he is far more realistic and relatable than most. Akira doesn’t put up with comedic abuse. He actually wants to get more physically intimate and is understandably frustrated by Urabe’s extreme reluctance. He isn’t an abusive asshole who forces himself on Urabe, but he also isn’t a stepping stone or whipping boy. He’s a fairly realistic teenager going through his first serious relationship.

Music:

Very solid opening and closing. Most of the soundtrack is quite good and really fits the atmosphere… then there is Urabe’s theme. WTF were they thinking?! The track is called “Dream” and I think they were attempting to instill a sense of mystery and awe. Instead we got creepy, sinister, circus music. Why? Just why?!

Here is Urabe’s Leitmotif: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5YRokOjrdY

Here is the theme to the shitty IT miniseries from 1990: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC4zgfVj-K4

Basically the same shit. If anything, Urabe’s theme is creepier.


Art:

Now since this is a series with a WEIRD premise it needed to find an animation studio that gives zero fucks and is willing to draw some weird shit. Unfortunately, that means it really had only a couple choices: Studio ARMS or Hoods Entertainment. Ultimately, they went with Hoods, who is best known for the brother/sister fucking hentai Aki no Sora and breastfeeding stupidity that is Seikon no Qwasar. Hoods is…not exactly known as a maker of quality titles and this really hurts the perception of Mysterious Girlfriend X . Basically the same way that being an ARMS title hurts Elfen Lied or Kurosawa’s Runaway Train was completely overlooked or slammed because Cannon Films produced it. While most of the art and animation is fine, I do have one gripe. We are told over and over again that we are looking at “drool” or “saliva” but it is far too thick, viscous, and green. Hoods decided to draw phlegm or a “loogie”, which makes the series WAY grosser than it needed to be. This choice is a self-inflicted injury that wasn’t present in the manga and serves only to repel most viewers away. God damn it Hoods Entertainment!

Overall:

Mysterious Girlfriend X is not a perfect series, but it is still heavily underrated and gets way more shit than it deserves. This is the only anime I’ve ever seen where the back of the DVD cover for the English release actually bashes it. The entire back cover is basically “LOL, can you BELIEVE this stupid shit!” I live by a used DVD store and I’ve purchased a LOT of shitty anime to watch with friends. Here are some anime I own with only positive comments on the DVD cover: Mad Bull 34, Plastic Little, Garzey’s Wing, Kite, Legend of Lemnear, and even fucking Dark Cat!

The tragedy in this is that many highly talented people worked on Mysterious Girlfriend X and actually put effort into it. There is a legitimately good anime buried underneath the thin outer layer of mucus and scorn. The series director is Ayumu Watanabe, who also directed Space Brothers. You know, one of the highest rated series on all of MAL. The series writer is Hitomi Mieno, who also wrote Arakawa Under the Bridge and of course Gintama. The guy that did the storyboard is the same guy that did the storyboards for Shinsekai Yori , parts of One Piece, and Penguindrum. I highly recommend checking out this series if you are looking for underrated, buried treasure.

I love this Anime! i have seen only a few romantic/comedy anime and this one is the best! Although it comes off a little weird with the drool bond i think that it is just something you have to see as a beautiful bond between two people. The creativity of this bond is art. The Romance and Comedy are a great mix as well, there wasn't a point were the one overpowered the other it was a smooth mix. The way the two dreamed about each other was really cute and reminds me of myself. The dream world was so crazy and wonderful it brought ... everything fun into one small town. Another awesome thing about this anime was the music! The music was perfect for every scene or tense moment. I now after finishing this show find myself humming the dream theme haha. The characters were also great. There was only 4 main characters so you got to know them pretty well! Plus Urabe and Tsubaki are such a wonderful couple with such strong feelings for each other but so little experience and differences they don't know how to show affection besides the swap of drool they share! I dunno i really enjoyed this anime and i hope anyone who reads this does too! Thanks for reading!

I am now your girlfriend.

Can we kiss? No.

Can we fuck? No.

Can I drink your saliva? Yes.

Naze no Kanojo X is the definition of abnormal relationship or rather a bizarre story of "how relationship can come in many forms". This anime was indeed disgusting however that critic mindset of mind had already vanished by the time I accepted the fact that it's not a big deal and I could learn a thing or two from this intriguing story. Which is of course exactly just like what I stated a few sentences above : "How relationship can come in many forms."

The entire anime is about an ... abnormal relationship between a boy and a girl as they spend their school days doing whatever abnormal things they always do. Other than that, there's nothing else which this anime offers.

This anime was great and I indeed enjoyed it but it probably would've been very much more enjoyable if there were some drama in it and/or perhaps a tragic backstory of why she ( the girlfriend ) became that way. Overall a 10/10. Very fun to watch. Recommended to all romancers.

This is my first review so stay with me on this please.

Before I start I would like to say I will admit that it is an anime that is probably not for everyone and is a little weird at times but if you can get past the first 2 or 3 episodes then I can say that you will probably enjoy it.

Mysterious Girlfriend X holds a special place in my heart. Why you may ask, because of the story it tells and how much I think people who have been in a relationship for the first time can relate to it and find it ... relatable.

Story- 10 : The story follows Akira Tsubaki a normal high school boy who finds himself in a relationship with the strange and peculiar Mikoto Urabe who has just transferred into his class and is a loner for the most part. One day he has a weird dream that prompts him to taste Mikoto's drool and making him fall in love with her and need her drool to keep going. After tasting her drool and forming a strange pact with Mikoto, Tsubaki decides that his feelings for Mikoto are real and asks her to go out with him making her his girlfriend and the story then follows the struggles and un-knownigness of a first time relationship and how bonds no matter how strange they may be keep people together and show how important some special people are to us.

Art - 8 : The art style is unusual for me but I still enjoyed it. It was easy for the eyes and even though there wasn't that much need for major animation or artistic need it did a good job and creating a easy and relaxable feeling while watching which I enjoyed a lot

Sound - 10 : The sound and Op and Ed songs were really well done. I found myself watching and listening to the Op and Ed songs on each episode which for me is a rarity. The sound and voice acting throughout the series I found to be perfect for it and made me enjoy it so much more than I was already enjoying it.

Characters - 10 : Now this is where the story thrives at the main characters Akira Tsubaki and Mikoto Urabe both share a strange bond and throughout the series you learn no matter how strange the two may have seemed at the beginning they both have real world problems they deal with and the problems that arise and anxiety of being in a relationship for the first time.

Akira Tsubaki is more over a normal high school boy who doesn't have that many friends other than Ueno, Kouhei. He isn't all that popular and just seems average which I find relatable and the plites that he has in past and present crushes and relationships that he has had.

Mikoto Urabe for the most part throughout the series is as the title says a mysterious girlfriend. Not much is revealed about her unless I talk about spoilers which I refuse to do. Anyways for the most part she is a very loner type of girl who doesn't seem to have any friends at all and doesn't make any attempt to make any either. And even goes as far to say to Tsubaki that he is the only person she needs. Even though she seems like a inscrutable person and hard to approach she is still a girl and has normal feelings as one even if she doesn't act all the time like a regular girl.

Enjoyment - 10 : The enjoyment I got out of watching this series is unfathomable; even though I had class early the next morning when I started this series I stayed awake just to finish it because of how much I enjoyed watching it and how I just didn't want it to end and even took up reading the manga even though I don't really read manga all that much.

Overall - 10 : Overall if you are looking for a good romance story and one with the unknowngness that comes with being in a relationship for the first time I highly recommend this anime. If you are a romance and or drama lover then this is also a very good anime to watch. All I have to say even though it has a weird synopsis about tasting drool all I can say is if you can get past the first 2 or 3 episodes then you should be able to get through this anime and I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy this anime as much as I have. I highly recommend that you give this a watch if you are even thinking about watching it.

Story:
Everyone at one point in their school life fell in love, and had a girlfriend/boyfriend, and they get awkward with each other and try to….blah blah blah blah. The point here is that the theme of this anime is that of the super typical ecchi school romance, with a chance of harem – of course that part did not develop (thankfully). Many anime have already squeezed this already-dry theme to the max. However, this particular series manage to find a unique, and rather… Weird aspect that made it stand out: Saliva. Hmmm… Ok, we’ve all swapped spit (and potentially other bodily fluids as ... well ;D) with a significant other before, but not in a way that the series does it, nor does it evoke the emotions the way they did neither. As strange as it sounds, it becomes more integral as the story progresses, and it becomes the vessel that keeps the characters and the viewers to become emotionally enganged. In short, the saliva swapping is weird, but it grows on you. I was apprehensive at first to continue with this series, but now, I can’t seem to stand it when I don’t see Urabe give Tsubaki her spit; it would lack substance. No pun intended. :P

Animation:
The plot for this anime at first didn’t seem to go along with the overall animation of everything, especially the character build. The animation was old-school; simple facial details, with slightly wild hair (at least for Urabe); the simplistic animation that struck me the most was the eye animation. They were so darn simple! It reminded me my animes from the 1990’s. The animation they chose was definitely something out of an action anime, such as Akira. Again it was awkward at first. Everything didn’t seem to match. However, this becomes second nature as the simplistic design gives way to the complexity that is… the spit (oh lawd). I mean if one observes this, it’s plainly obvious that they paid attention to the detail of what a spit should look like: it looked thick, almost gelatinous, yet you can see it trail from Urabe’s mouth to her finger, with slight grace – Yes… I’m describing DROOL!!! It works though!

Sound:
Not going to lie, the background music in the anime drives me nuts, even now that I’m 8 episodes in. It just seemed to me that it overpowers through everything else that’s going on. It’s too loud in my opinion, and any other special effects get distorted. That’s just my quirk. However, the Opening, I liked. It was pop-like and it definitely sounded something out of the 90’s for me. Sometimes old school music will just beat any modern day music. This, along with the old school animation just works, and works well. The Ending? I LOVE IT!!! It’s jazzy and pop-like while still being laid back, along with the rather… sexy shots of the women involved in the anime. It surely adds to the overall “drool-ish” theme of the whole series in a way, and the lyrics, they contribute to the romance even more. Loved the Ending the most. :D

Character:
The character development in this series is a bit simplistic, although for a 13-episode one, it’s good enough: two classmate, one introvert, and one extrovert meet at odds with one another, and one of them (the guy) becomes interested. They start going out and things happen, and they discover “how to love” and “how to be the proper bf/gf”. Sounds generic right? Well, it is, but again the whole spin about “swapping spit” gives this an edge. Per-character wise, it’s also generic for the most part, except for Urabe.
The lead male Tsubaki is your typical guy that kinda struggles in school, has a friend that he shares manly interests in and has those urges, like any boy in his age. He’s chivalrous but at the same time a little too innocent for his own good.
The lead female Urabe, however, is anything but simple. She started out weird, as she never talks to anyone, and is very private, while almost dwelling in her own world (as seen in the first episode + hiding scissors in her underwear), and just plain creepy to others. Her progression to “normalcy” though is interesting as her friend Oka, who happens to be the girl friend of Tsubaki’s best friend Ueno, gives her the push she needs in order to become a “better girlfriend”. Their interactions – including swapping spit – are anything but typical. But they work.
Oka is probably the most notable supporting character as she is basically the main catalyst to what’s happening between Urabe and Tsubaki. Her rather aggressive way of socializing with Urabe really becomes the backdrop of Urabe’s actions, either explicitly or suggestively. She’s just LOVES to teas Urabe, that it’s so cute, and almost yuri.

Enjoyment:
This series might throw people off, it might even make other’s eyes twitch, as no one in their right mind (at least in our society) would just get a wad of drool from their mouth and make someone else eat it. However, this is what separates the anime from other school romance animes out there. Does it work? Of course it does, or else I’d just drop it. It’s a unique way of conveying one’s series, though not necessarily sanitary(?). Overall, the simplistic, yet riveting character progression is really the aspect that one has to look for, especially for Urabe, as it’s probably the most extreme relative to her everyone else’s. The OP was very good, and the ED, I’ll be getting the full version definitely. Overall it’s something that has truth in its theme, while giving it a weird twist. Altogether, the series has definitely been something that I’ve been participating throughout this season.

my first impression when i started watching this anime was that it was disgusting because of the drool licking.. anyways once i started to watch this anime more and more i fell in love with it... This anime should have been name The Drool Bonding.... LIKE IF U AGREE :D

ok now the story is about a dude name Akira Tsubaki he's kind of hopeless plus hes a virgin lol. one day he encounter a new girl at school name mikioto urabe she is extremely weird and very anti social. she gave a weird impression to her class mates when she laugh out loud in class ... one day for no reason from that day people saw her has just another invisible girl.

one evening Tsubaki went up to his home room for something and saw urabe drool and for some reason since he's a perv he lick it. from that moment on his whole life changed. he became sick and couldn't attend school. urabe went to his home after school and ask him if he licked her drool he told her he did and she said that the reason why he was sick his because he needs her drool and they share a bond with each ( she also said the reason she laugh out in class was because she had a dream that he would take her virginity :) ). from that day on they started dating and since he needs her drool they walk home together from school everday. :D

I really love this anime and i recommend all of you to watch it :D :D...

The description for this show is absolutely terrible. I passed it up several times because I thought it sounded gross and fetishy, but its not. The whole "addicted to drool" part has nothing to do with the story, and is poor phrasing for what really turns out to be a super interesting and cool plot device. The show has a great sound track, superb depth of character for the main cast, and is awesomely weird. The psychological motivation of each character is based on their unique personalities and fields of experience, and they behave very realistically within the framework the author has created for ... them. The lead girl Urabe, for example, often does bizarre or outlandish things, but when you get a feel for her personality and how her head works, her decision making feels natural and fluid. Especially her, but all the main cast have an amount of depth to their character that is uncommon in anime (as it is a hallmark of excellent writing). Not to mention the supernatural part is beautifully dusted in and doesn't come across as stupid or forced. And the japanese voice acting is great. Watch this show. Watch until the end of the second episode at least if your skeptical. Really you can start on the second one, you won't miss any important content and the second episode is awesome. Watch this show.

In a plethora of environments you tend to see people who keep to themselves. People like this are assumed to be mysterious and generally avoided. Most others assume these loners have pent up rage or have some horrible past. On rare occasions others will recruit them for their close circles or these people will form extremely close bonds with a few individuals that they have almost nothing in common with.

Mysterious Girlfriend X was a title I was skeptical about simply because it involves bodily fluids. After finishing this I feel it is the most undervalued title of the spring 2012 season. A story of a ... mysterious slow moving romance revolving around drool, now thats original.

In the current anime industry originality is rare to come across, a good title will appear once in a blue moon.

Drool romance being what I'd like the call the theme probably set off an equal amount of disgust and enjoyment from all parties. The ratings certainly show this is the case. I like how Urabe and Akira meet through this strange idea of drool tasting and how its the basis of their relationship. A lot of romances now a days are based of visual novels that are generally harems, and they tend to become dull after too many are adapted. I particularly enjoyed this shows originality and everything it offered.

The environment of the story had a dark, gothic feel to it which again would put many viewers off. The carnival dreams that these two hard were probably what interested me the most. The sounds for most of the settings was similar to this dream space and it was almost eerie. A lot of romances feature songs with vocals and light instrumentals but this brought a new sound the table, while dull it was interesting none the less.

The animation style and old school theme songs is probably where this series was hurt the most. The majority of the new anime audience is attached to the post 2,000 genres of big eyes, large faces and colorful representations. While its a plus in the originality department a lot of fans are looking for new, not old. Another problem this show suffered from was the slow pace and dull VA acting. The pace was grueling and the romance aspect lacked in a traditional sense of what you have come to expect from rom-com's or straight romance. The progress of these two was limited by a bond of drool, and they barely made it out of first base minus naked middle school sweet heart.

None the less I enjoyed this every step of the way, rarely do we see something new and unusual. The anime industry should focus more on the new and unusual. More titles could gain excellence if they stepped out of boundaries more often that are not set by the best sellers.

If you enjoy a dark and unusual romance, you might just enjoy Mysterious Girlfriend X.

Since the ancient hellinistic dramas, through Romeo & Juliet, lots of romantic novels, movies, and finally in almost every anime. It's really unthinkable that there could still be any fresh and original idea for a romance. But suddenly it turns out that there's one series with completely new concept, so simple, that no one else would come up with the same idea. Nazo Kanojo X.



Story - 8/10

Continuing the thought, if you watch a romance there are usually just a few possibilities: there are two lovers, for some reason not able to be together; there are boy and girl that need n episodes to confess love ... to each other, proceeding with kiss ending the series; there's "date me" proceeded with "have sex with me"; there's some love triangle, rectangle or any other awkward polygon, where everything is about settling, who is the 'right' partner to whom.

The action usually takes place in high school. How many of situations presented above happened to you or someone you know during that period? If at least one, you're already a rare case. Whereas thinking of romantic love or sex is common among teenagers, usually there only are pairs, that are going out together and enjoy themselves. It's just natural. So, you ask why these don't happen in any form of novels, movies, anime? Because authors know that common stories won't sell. Something unusual is just way more appealing to everyone.

Nazo Kanojo X is an anime about a boy who falls in love with a girl. The 'love' is declared already in 1st episode and the rest of the series focus on them going together, showing every situation seemingly unimportant to the observer yet vital for them. Situations that seem completely usual, but hardly seen in any kind of media at all. Why? Because, as I already said, media tend to focus on three thing in romances: Confession, Kiss and Sex. The rest in between, which doesn't lead straight to one of these 'checkpoints' is supposed to be unimportant and either missed or treated as 'additional bonus'.

The series is episodic but not to the degree where you can skip an episode by mistake and not notice that. I would still mention a negative thing here, though: Because of this, the ending is an open one, which is annoying for most of people ("Will there be a sequel, or it'll just stay like this?")

Going back to the story itself, it mainly focuses on drool. "What?" you probably just thought if you neither saw the series nor read the description. Yes, here we are proceeding into the 'weird' part. Instead of kissing, for which the main couple is "unready yet" they are exchanging saliva. It bears a role of bond between characters, and they're able to transfer their feelings through it. Well, it's said that "You don't need words to understand a person you love." Here it's interpreted a bit literally, or to be more precise, literally in strange way.

This is where originality begins and where disgusted viewers give up on watching.

The whole drool thing as well as main female character, Urabe Mikoto, are in complete contrast to the rest of the world, what makes the whole thing even better in book. Although it may be annoying as well - Depends on the person.



Characters - 9/10

As I already said, Urabe is, well, unusual. Not to mention that her drool is linking the whole story together, which is odd enough, she has remarkable scissor skills and sleeps all time during breaks in school. Despite she rather enjoy drool exchange, she thinks that she and her boyfriend aren't ready for kiss. She doesn't like hugs either. Her eyes are hidden under long fringe, she doesn't seem to have any friends either. Have you noticed that this part (since not being ready for kiss) isn't THAT unusual. So in the end she is just some lonely girl, who happened to find a boyfriend, who she can exchange drool (yay!) with. And so she begins to be likeable and we start to understand Tsubaki, who chose her over 'standard' girls.

Speaking of Tsubaki he is 'dear-japanese-virgin-watching-this-anime-you-can-personalise-yourself-with-me' type of character. And he does this job surprisingly well. Used to standard romances, he have problems with understanding unusual (or maybe not?) way of Urabe's thinking. Well, men is trying to understand women (and vice versa) since prehistory to no avail.

As of rest of the cast: Oka, Urabe's friend (and Tsubaki's friend's girlfriend), often 'test' Urabe's ideas with her boyfriend out of curiosity. Save for her and one another girl, other characters neither know about main couple's relationship nor tend to act weird.



Art & Sound - 9/10

Moving on to the art. The backgrounds are well made, everything is full of details. Animation is ok, still it's not something crucial for such genre.

However, if I were to rate the character designs, they, well, aren't really pretty. Just take a look at the picture. Is it problem? Nope, it'd rather say it's even a positive aspect. Nowadays, anime creators rely hard on characters' 'moe-level'. They (obviously?) want them to appeal to audience as well as they can, not only with their character but the look. Nazo Kanojo X doesn't show us world made pretty girls and handsome boys. Why? Because real world doesn't look like this. So it makes this anime even more realistic in it's oddity. Also, it's like throwing down the gauntlet to other creators saying "We don't need pretty girls to attract people to our show, and you?". Nevertheless, it's also another way to repel potential viewers, not accepting series with non-moe characters. This may however be appreciated by fan of style from '80s and '90s.

As of music, it's hardly noticeable during the show. Opening is very optimistic, motivating to watch the series, whereas ending is more calm and nostalgic.



Enjoyment and other aspects - 8/10

I can easily tell that the series is enjoyable as long as you don't mind seeing saliva every now and then, don't mind the fact the characters don't look like taken from K-On or IM@S and aren't too sceptic about romances overall.

If I could speak of other flaws, it would be a little bit of fanservice. However it's not provided in a form of just another ecchi comedy, but more to emphasize the sexuality appearing in every love affair, even these without any kisses.



Final thoughts:

To me, this anime is really realistic in its complete absurdity. It shows love as it is in completely unusual way. This "way" may be both good or bad. In my opinion, it's great one, but even so it'll be best for you to just watch it and decide about it yourself.



Final grade: 9 of 10

Mysterious Girlfriend X is a sweet and innocent romance. A slow pacing, a classical soundtrack and retro character designs combine to create a realistic slice of life.

The series separates itself from other romantic comedies through its characters. Spineless main leads and hair-trigger tsunderes are nowhere to be seen. Tsubaki and Urabe are every bit as unsure of their relationship as first lovers should be and they approach each other with a refreshing nervousness and intensity.

You may be turned off by the premise. This is okay; different people like different things. Just know that some people have very high opinions of this work. It ... has artistic value.