Previously the potential of which was only spoken of in hushed tones, but now the sweater episode has finally arrived.
What They Say
Tsubaki is haunted by a vivid dream while awake. When he finally gets a chance to act out the dream, he takes it too far. Has he permanently damaged his relationship with Urabe?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Mysterious Girlfriend X is a weird show: Simultaneously a fetish-of-the-week fanservice showcase, and a sensitive and perceptive look at the awkwardness of first love. Still, never before has the contrast been brought into focus quite like this. Lo, we have the first awkward, amusing, and oddly touching episode about, well, reaching second base for the first time.
We open on a dream sequence where Urabe offers to let Tsubaki touch her boobs for the first time. He does, and then he wakes up. He lies in bed for a bit with the tempting idea rolling around his head, so he decides he needs distraction. Downstairs, his older sister is eating meat buns. No good. He decides to go to a bookstore, but discovers a pin-up in the movie magazine he’s reading. So he decides to walk, and eventually finds himself in the place where he and Urabe part ways. On a lark, he decides to walk in the direction of Urabe’s house, and stops in front of a building, musing that it would be funny if Urabe lived there. Too bad for Tsubaki, she does, and she pulls up behind him on her bike, just having returned from a shopping trip. Tsubaki’s feeling guilty about his dirty thoughts, but Urabe is feeling very friendly today, and decides to invite him inside her apartment for the first time. Lucky! Or is it?
Urabe takes off her jacket, and Tsubaki is horrified to discover she’s wearing a sweater! Yes, a sweater, the horrible type that accentuates the curves of the wearer’s anatomy. Dark clouds gather outside, as Tsubaki’s sense of growing unease threatens to consume his very soul. Urabe returns with coffee, and the quick witted girl is quickly able to figure out that Tsubaki has something on his mind. Tsubaki tries to make a move, but Urabe’s suspicious gaze frightens him into meekly sitting back and enjoying his coffee.
Thunder claps as the sky grows increasingly dark. Urabe rises to turn on the light, but a startling flash of lightning causes her to trip and fall onto Tsubaki. Were Mysterious Girlfriend X a lesser show, this would be the end of it. Urabe’s boobs would fall straight on Tsubaki’s face, Tsubaki would get a nosebleed, and Urabe would punch him unconscious. But thankfully this show has something a little more honest and awkward in mind.
Tsubaki notices that his hand is in an advantageous position, but before he can touch anything, Urabe is able to ninja herself out of his arms and pull out her scissors. “What were you trying to do?” she asks him angrily. He apologizes, and she lowers the scissors. But an understanding is beginning to form in Urabe’s mind. Narrowing her eyes, she stares at Tsubaki, and asks if he’s certain something hasn’t been distracting him today. Tsubaki confesses, and tells Urabe all about his dream.
To say any more is to spoil the episode’s key scenes, which are refreshing in their directness. A lot of fanservice shows don’t have much use for consent, where groping all seems to happen by accident or by force. Here Tsubaki feels he oversteps a boundary by kissing Urabe’s ear, and immediately regrets it. He leaves Urabe, and walks home all through the rain feeling a tremendous sense of guilt.
However, Urabe was not as offended as Tsubaki may have feared, and she shares her experiences with Oka via drool, as per usual. Oka is so impressed by the speed with which Tsubaki and Urabe are moving, her glasses fog up. When it comes time for Urabe and Tsubaki to walk home together, Tsubaki states that he’s unworthy of Urabe’s drool, and refuses his daily dose until Urabe slaps him. She does so, somewhat reluctantly, and feeling some guilt for the confusion as well, taste’s Tsubaki’s drool so she too can feel the sting of the slap.
United again by the power of drool, Urabe runs home embarrassed, while Tsubaki is merely glad to know his girlfriend sees his influence on her as a positive thing.
In Summary
Fans of the series will find this yet another enjoyable episode, while everyone outside of the cult will wonder what the appeal is. Having a fanservice show with such a uniquely independent female lead is a rare thing, and it puts a very interesting spin on tropes we’ve seen so many times before. Anime feels richer and more rewarding just from having a show like this exist.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: Sony VAIO 17″ HD screen
