191; 12022 H.E.
I have to start with — I loved it. Let your partner know how you feel, and let them taste your drool, which encapsulates your physical and emotional state. Sharing the saliva is equivalent to sharing the burden of those states and bonding. Admittedly, it is a weird bonding method. Yet, Urabe Mikoto and Tsubaki Akira figured it out perfectly in Mysterious Girlfriend X. This is a small piece on the story’s emotional impact and what the show did incredibly well.
The initially bizarre premise of transmitting feelings through a drool might seem off-putting to many. Yet, I believe it is one of the core techniques that gives life to one of the oddest and one of my favorite relationships depicted in an anime. It starts with Tsubaki almost absent-mindedly tasting his newly transferred classmate’s, Urabe’s sleeping drool. Shortly after, he becomes severely ill with a high temperature and no likely cause for it. Urabe’s sudden visit reveals he is simply going through lovesickness withdrawal. Just a fresh portion of her drool will spring him back in order.
Thus, the bond of drool has been sealed between Tsubaki and Urabe. It would become a daily ritual for them to walk back home together and for him to get a daily portion of her drool. As the series progresses, we meet new friends, rivals, and tricky relationship situations, where step by step, the initial drool attachment naturally and warmly develops, deepening the relationship into genuine love. The wholesomeness of their sincerity and loyalty to each other left me with a drooling craving for more and a lonely night ahead.
What separates this story and its depiction of first love from many other shows is how honest it is with teenage thoughts and emotions. Instead of presenting Urabe as an all-knowing leading love partner or Tsubaki taking the entire blame for whatever is happening, we see two awkward young lovers trying to understand each other’s feelings and get closer—shouldering the ups and downs of their bond together. How Urabe is trying to get more comfortable with physical touches and hugs; Tsubaki is dealing with his possessiveness and jealousy when other boys look at Mikoto. Most of all, how open they are with each other about their feelings and what bothers them. All depicted so realistically, yet with a human touch behind it, it made me happy for them.
I have to mention the voice acting given to Urabe is excellent. It would not be a stretch to say, one of the best voice actings I have ever had the pleasure to experience. I would often scroll a couple of seconds or scenes back so I could listen to her voice one more time. Imagine my surprise when her seiyuu, Ayako Yoshitani, only had one anime voice acting job, and it was for Nazo no Kanojo X. One more reason for me to keep rewatching some parts or the whole of it.
Not only was the voice acting hypnotizing beyond belief, but the musical accompaniment managed to define the mysterious aura that envelops Urabe’s mind, and the story primarily dictated at her pace. OST is, I dare to say, out of this world! Give this one a listen, Kimyou na Yume composed by Hasegawa Tomoki.
Will they stay together after school and in years to come? I don’t know. The manga and the show heavily imply that they are to spend the rest of their lives together. I, for one, would dearly wish both of them to be happy. ◼