Mysterious Girlfriend X: Complete Collection

Unfortunately, as too often happens, the people who write the product summary have either never watched the show in question, or are misguided enough to believe that sensationalism is the path to sales success. What I mean to say is the "Editorial Review" (which is rather a "official" product summary) is almost entirely misleading as to what this show is about.

Here's what Mysterious Girlfriend X is really about:

This is a low-key romantic comedy about a couple of high schoolers discovering love for the first time with each other. Although there are some unique circumstances as to how this comes about, the core of the story is not really about those oddities, but rather about how this couple grows together emotionally over time.

Mikoto Urabe is the titular "Mysterious Girlfriend" -and an intriguing mystery she definitely is. In the strictest sense she represents what is sometimes referred to as the "Magical Girlfriend" type of character... however this is played very low-key for most of the series, with the emphasis instead placed on how she handles developing her love interest (given her unusual attributes), rather than any stories focused on her "powers" per se.

Akira Tsubaki is the often bewildered protagonist -equally accepting and intrigued by Urabe. Probably the most important thing I can say about him is: he is normal, in the sense that he is neither an over-the-top pervert, nor does he recoil in fear whenever a female pays attention to him (unlike alot of anime male leads). His reactions are pretty understandable, and generally he is a pretty mellow guy.

There is drool exchanged, and alot of it -but this is reasonable when you consider how much drool is exchanged in your average french kiss (not to mention other bodily fluids in intercourse). Some people seem to haven a strong aversion to this, but that really comes down to some unrealistic ideas as to what is "hygienic" in human sexuality (which is not a terribly hygienic act). Mysterious Girlfriend X handles these realities with a very matter-of-fact honesty that is quite refreshing.

Overall, the series is heartwarming and humorous, and I think by the end of the series you will find yourself rooting for the couple to continue growing together long into their mysterious future.

There are techniques used by storytellers and others to grab the audience and to hold their attention;this crazy series grabs a "handful" and doesn't let go,even when it becomes clear the two are heading down the path to probable romance. The initial tasting of her drool may feel like a slap across the eyes to even the most hardy of otako's and cause the weak to run screaming from the room but if you take it as a French kiss... without the tongue...and the kiss...,well,it still is a bit off the wall.The tasting of drool,so goes the storyline,tells the taster the true feelings of the the drool doner that they are unable to express in words,but only if there is a "connection" to the other person.

What you will get is a great,well-drawn,dare I say,intelligent series about a male teenager that falls for a very strange teen-aged girl that,among other weirdness,carries a pair of scissors in her panties, even in her bikini while she sunbathes at the beach.For whatever reason,she pulls the scissors out and uses them to astonishing effect on whatever object that she targets.

Probably one of the best offerings from the anime "gods" this season and is on my "must buy" list. Easily PG-13 but probably aimed for the 16-17 age group. I got my copy quickly and it is a first-rate product. The "fan-serv" in this edition remains the same few times she pulls her scissors out and the "nudity" is,even without details,(ie,no nipples)the nude bodies are further shaded or blurred. As the story is the purpose of this series and not fan-service,it is most highly recommended.

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The initial impression I had from this anime is that this would be a really queer series to watch. I decided to give it a try since crunchyroll had it available for subscription and I actually enjoyed watching the story and seeing the characters progress through their problems.

Story:

The premise is that a new transfer student names Urabe comes into the class of the main character Akira and she ends up creeping everyone out by out bursting into laughter. One day Akria comes back into the class late and wakes up Urabe and tells her to go home and she ends up leaving a drool puddle on her desk. For some unknown reason Akira decides to lick that drool.

Throughout the series Urabe's drool has some mysterious effect on Akira. This is really out there with the drool thing, but the story does suck you in and makes you want to know what events take place each episode. I never found it to be predictable at all with a really unique character like Urabe. The series definitely has more a mature theme, but I never found it to be creepy, it's just how the characters are.

Animation:

The animation is pretty cool in this series. It has the high-definition quality of 1080p, but the character design have that classic 1990/2000's look to them a bit and it ends up blending together wonderfully. The locations they visit and the school setting all look amazing in HD and you never get bored watching the events taking place. The main characters themselves have their own unique look to them and you can tell who's who even if they are in the school outfits, or city clothes.

Soundtrack:

Some of the themes are really, really cool. The main one I love is the dream theme; which is the song that plays when Akira has a dream, or any dream like sequence that plays out during the anime. It was really nothing I have heard before and was stuck in my head for a while. The other themes are mainly a mix of the opening and ending themes.

Speaking of the opening and ending songs, the voice actress for Urabe actually sings both of them. I only found this out by looking at IMDB and I thought this was pretty cool that she can both act and sing really well. The opening theme reminds me a bit of Chobits though, since you can hear a bit of theme at the start of it. The closing theme is interesting to listen to as well.

Verdict:

I really enjoyed watching this anime and it's nothing like I have seen before. The memorable soundtrack, characters and story make this a series I really recommend to anyone who enjoys anime; especially those who like stories about relationships. Granted I know the droll thing can make some people not want to watch this anime at all, but is it really that odd compared to series that have aliens with superpowers that shoot beams, or giant robots fighting intergalactic wars? If you can get past the droll theme, you're in for one of the most unusual and great series out there.

Positive:

* Really cool story that sucks you in

* Never found it to be predictable

* Great mix of classic character design with High Definition Resolution

* Characters are identifiable with unique design

* Dream theme is amazing and extremely memorable

Negative:

* Drool thing might turn away some people

* Also has some mature themes in the episodes

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First, listen to the other reviewers and NOT the blurb on the back of the package. Though I like spit puns as much as the next person, that is a very inaccurate description of the tone of this show. It's actually a pretty serious and often sweet show, not just a gross-out comedy. Nothing really gets explained about Urabe's "powers" (no answers in the manga yet either) but it preserves her mystery. Anyway, when I first watched the show, I might has well have had some of Urabe's addicting drool: I marathoned all thirteen episodes in one day!

It is rated M, and rightly so, but it's pretty tame compared to most M-rated things I've seen. There is no sex, no violence to speak of, some nudity shielded by strategically placed shadows (edit: a bit more than I remembered, you can actually see some... topmost female body parts in the second episode, though they are shown in the shadowed side of a sunset), a few suggestive surreal dream sequences, and no bad language that I recall (at least in the subtitled version). The topics of sex and arousal are touched on, mainly to illustrate some of the embarrassing/confusing feelings, and honest wonderings about sex that most teenagers have. But one thing I really love about the show is that the main couple is taking their relationship very slow. I read an essay online calling it "the first pro-abstinence anime", and that sounds about right to me. I would say this show is appropriate for more conservative teens ages 16 and up.

Finally unless you really like the manga, I would not recommend buying this show without watching at least several episodes first. (At the present time, it's streaming legally for free on Crunchyroll.) I absolutely love it, but I realize that there are a lot of people who won't. There's a slowly building romance with no "payoff" in the traditional sense, so that may disappoint some viewers. And then there's the drool. And a lot of it. That kind of stuff doesn't bother me, but I have always kind of been labeled the weird one in my family... and at my school... and at my church... and, well... Try the show: you just might like it.

Update: Got the blu-rays, and just wanted to say that the picture and sound quality is fantastic. Had to watch the dub for comparison reasons and I LOVED it. Since I don't speak Japanese, I missed a lot of the nuances in the tones of voice the characters were (probably) using. I can actually discern them in the English dub, so I enjoy the show even more now than I did before. I thought the VA they picked for Urabe was perfect. Almost no special features, if you care about that. I found this to be a good release, and I'm sure going to get my money's worth out of it.

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I guess that to say Mysterious Girlfriend X is different would actually be an extreme understatement. To say that it's a love it or hate it anime, that's probably more accurate. The plot follows the romance between Mikoto Urabe, an unusual girl who within one episode bursts into a fit of maniacal laughter seemingly for no reason (she also she wields scissors as a weapon with some skill) and Akira Tsubaki, the guy who's addicted to her drool. Yes, you read that last part right. Some will immediately be turned off by the fact that this series is about a guy whose connection to his girlfriend is through her drool. The drool is very much a part of this series and yes, for many people this will be too much.

For those okay with this though, you're in for a treat. The animation on this series is STUNNING. Beautiful, gorgeous, a thesaurus will run out of words and not heap enough praise on the artistic merits of this series. In the opening episode there is a dream sequence involving a dance, and I knew from that moment I would have to watch the series to the end simply because of the visuals. The blu only makes it better. There are seriously some scenes that it feels like you could pause at any moment and hang the image on a wall.

Now that I've talked about the artistic merits, let me say, the story is amusing. There are several laugh out loud moments. The plot has some interesting turns and the series has better than average voice acting. Part of the fun of this series is listening to Urabe, who does not even sound like your usual anime character... she sounds like a real person in terms of her voice, which only adds to the strangeness of her character. For those who care there is an English dub included, which is surprising given Sentai's usual releases (I cannot judge the dub though as I'm a subtitle only person).

Some will probably complain that there is a lot in this series that goes unexplained. Some of the explanations for the weirder aspects seem illogical, and keep the viewer expecting for a different answer that will never arrive. While this may be annoying, I must point out that the title is "Mysterious" Girlfriend X. The title lets you in a little on this before you even watch the show, so you can't say they didn't warn you.

I'm honestly a little surprised this series got a release in the US let alone a blu-ray release. The plot is a little out there and no doubt a little gross to some. Yet, the novelty of this one is part of the charm. Hopefully Sentai will give more unique anime a chance here in the US. I highly suggest that if you're an anime fan you give it a shot. This one's worth it.

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