July 28, 2012

Mysterious Girlfriend X Ep. 13 (last)

[Note:  Feh, I've been sitting on this since the 13th.  I've only just started on screencaps, and I'll add them as I go.  Work is getting VERY demanding -I have to come in this Sunday as well as Saturday, so I'll let the text go free and add images as I can.]

[Update: Working on it.  But my new manager is "Designated Overtime"-happy.]

This last episode was very different from what went before.  While not precisely an ending, it was a sort of Coda.  We collect a lot of background information that may not have been known to the audience, but was known to the characters.  We learn a lot more about Tsubaki's sister (including her name) and his family history.  We also see that while in many respects Urabe is like an alien, in others she is traditionally Japanese, and the two things mix in odd ways.

The open is a bit of interaction between Tsubaki and his sister, revealing a few bits of information that wouldn't have come out in the normal course of the series.  Tsubaki arrives home to find his sister napped-out on the table, drooling in her sleep.  And NO, he's not going there, although he's a bit embarrassed to see it.  She awakens, groggy, and Tsubaki points out that she's still got drool running down her chin.  She is grossed out and mortified to be seen like that, and quickly wipes it away.  Then, because the connection between the topics is perhaps obvious to him, he asks his sister if she's seeing anyone.  Okay, normally you'd think he would KNOW this from living with her, but then again, there are a lot of secret relationships in this series.  The connection is not at all obvious to his sister, who questions why he's asking, and just pronounces him weird.  And he is, because he wonders to himself if she did have a boyfriend, would he think her face was cute while she drooled in her sleep.  Poor boy is a mess.

/images/mgx/MGX13Open1.jpg
"Living life vicariously through me is exhausting, isn't it?"

/images/mgx/MGX13Open2.jpg
"Akira, you are one disturbed unit."


After the credits, Urabe is walking through a shopping district when she spots Tsubaki's sister buying something at one of the stalls.  She dithers for a bit but finally decides as she's walking by to talk to her.  Urabe introduces herself as Tsubaki's classmate, and she remembers her from "that one time you brought him his homework".  Small talk with boyfriend's family member achievement unlocked, Urabe is about to take her leave when Tsubaki's sister asks her is she would accompany her for a bit.

/images/mgx/MGX13Market1.jpg
"I was walking downtown when I spotted the Dame I was supposed to be tailing...."

/images/mgx/MGX13Market2.jpg
"The Client wanted me to be discreet, unseen, but my target made me."

/images/mgx/MGX13Market3.jpg
"I tried to be nonchalant, made some small talk, and was ready to leave..."

/images/mgx/MGX13Market4.jpg
"... but the Dame wanted to talk, and whenever Dames talk, it's trouble."
  -- Mikoto Hammer

Retiring to a nearby coffee shop, Tsubaki's sister suffers from an attack of Nostalgia.  She fondles the sleeve of Urabe's school uniform, remembering the feel of it from when she wore the same sort of uniform six years before.  Then she starts pressing Urabe for any gossip about her brother dating anyone.  For reasons I have yet to fathom, she denies knowing anything.  Still in the grips of nostalgia, Tsubaki's sister speculates that her brother must at least have a crush on someone, being 17 and all, since when she was that age, she did, and eventually dated him.

She suddenly laughs because of the confluence of recent events.  She mentions how just the other day, she woke up with drool on her face and Tsubaki asked her about having a boyfriend, and how strange that was.  But the strangeness was how that echoed her crush.  Apparently one day she fell asleep at her desk and drooled all over it, and her boyfriend snapped a picture of her.  She was mortified, and wanted him to throw it away, but he said she looked cute and kept it.

At the end of the story, Urabe asks her what happened to her high-school boyfriend, and she tells her that after graduation, he went to college in Kansai, and after about six months, they drifted out of contact.  She wonders if he still has the picture, or if he got a new girlfriend who made him throw it out.  Urabe is thoughtful, but not entirely comforted by the possibilities this story lays out for her future with Tsubaki.  She then says that she really doesn't have time to think about romance any more, she has to act as Akira's mother.  Their dead mother would want it that way.  This shocks Urabe, who didn't know that Tsubaki's mother was dead.

As they part outside the shop, Tsubaki's sister thanks Urabe for listening to her boring old stories, and then gifts her with one of the sakura-mochi she had been buying when they met.  She says that their family loves it.  Just before she goes, Urabe catches herself, and makes a point of formally introducing herself with her full name.  Tsubaki's sister repeats it and says she'll remember it.  Unfortunately she doesn't return the favor, so so far, we're stuck calling her Tsubaki's sister.

The next scene opens in a graveyard.  Not the spooky horror movie type, but the nice, neat, somewhat sterile collection of markers the Japanese favor.  Tsubaki is fetching the pail of water for washing the stone, while his sister and father wait for him.  Yes, his dad.  13 episodes in, almost halfway through the last one, and we finally see his dad.  Sis dominates the visit, telling stubaki to wash the stone, saying that she'll manage the flowers and offerings, and tells dad to get the incense.  I never imagined the incense would be so hard to light, but apparently it's necessary to burn a section of newspaper in order to get it going.  Right there on the path.  This is what that Sakura Mochi was for.  Dad says that it was mom's favorite.  Preparations complete, she tells them all that it's time to say their prayers for mom.

On the way out, she says how great it feels to have sent her message to mom.  Tsubaki asks her what she sent to Mom, and she says "I told her about you, of course.... 'Until Akira graduates college and gets a good job, I promise to be a good mother in your place.'"  It's kind of a scary bit of determined martyr-ism.  Akira (I guess I can call him that in a family setting) is shocked, "So that means you won't get married until I get a job?!"  She maintains her determined expression and says yes.  Akira protests that he doesn't need her to babysit him THAT long.  Then Dad pops up, and days "He's right Yoko."  (SD:Youko).  Ah, THAT'S her name.  "If you're interested in a guy, you can move out and marry him.  I'm guessing Dad is a bit tired of having his 24-year-old daughter running the house, and determined to be a guaranteed spinster at 30.  She turns the conversation to Akira, and asks what he told mom.  He replies that he just told mom about what's going on in his life, and Yoko demands examples.  He hems and haws and avoids an answer, but he thinks to himself that there was really one thing he told her about (and we can easily guess what that is).

After the break, we join Tsubaki and Urabe on their way home from school a couple of days later (Why a couple of days, I don't know).  Urabe finally works up the courage, I guess, to tell Tsubaki that she met Yoko (Wait, I don't think she knows Yoko's name yet) Saturday out shopping, and that they had coffee and talked.  Tsubaki's reaction is like he's scared that she told her about them.  But, remember that this is a show about secret relationships.  When Urabe answers his interrogation about what they talked about, she mentions that his sister talked about her high-school boyfriend, which is news to Tsubaki.  (He would have been around 10 at the time).  After filling him on on how they drifted apart and such, she asks him out of the blue if he likes Sakura Mochi, and he says not really.  She relays that his sisters said your family loves it, and Tsubaki says "Oh, that must have been because we went to mom's grave Yesterday." (Someone has goofed on the timeline here).  Ah, I see what she did there, she asked an innocent question to get him to talk about his mom.  And he does, at length.  Except that she died when he was so little, he had no memory of her at all.  To him, it's normal not to have a mom.  I think this makes Urabe a little sad.  So after giving him his daily dose, she asks what he's doing next Sunday, and since he's free, she proposes that they go visit his mom's grave together.

That Sunday, as Tsubaki heads out, he reflects that Urabe sure asks for some strange things sometimes, like this trip to the grave.  There are some other odd ways of thinking going on here, like how because they're NOT wearing school uniforms, it's more like a date.  I had no idea that the uniform provided so much important context.  The outfit she shows up in shocks Tsubaki, who is dressed very casually.  HE likens it to her dressing up for a party.  It causes him considerable angst that I really don't get.  He does think the outfit is pretty, but he doesn't get why she's wearing it.

At the grave, Urabe makes her offering, and SubDesu badly blows the line.  Aside from the flowers, she's brought bacon wrapped meat rolls, which according to HorribleSubs, she learned to make from Oka-san.  Oka is known for having 11 different ways of preparing bacon.  SubDesu translates it as okasan, Mom, and mistakes meat for vegetables, which isn't even close.  This is why I like getting both translations, because they both make mistakes that the other catches.  Next time I'll keep score....

After paying her respects, Urabe gets up and starts explaining to Tsubaki why she's dressed up like this.  It's because this is the first time she's "met" his mother, and she wanted to look pretty for her.  Tsubaki is rather stunned to hear that she thought it through like that.  She asks him what his mother was like, but he really can't remember her.  He can't even remember how he felt when she died.  But Urabe proposes an experiment.  She puts his hand on the grave marker, and tells him to keep it there while they both exchange saliva.  This is something new, and he balks a little.  But in a somewhat overwrought scene, as he gets to put his finger in her mouth, he thinks about how soft her lips are, and what the inside of her mouth feels like, and think I don't need that vocabulary.... (I think SD wins this round by translating it as "Moist" instead of HS's "Slimy".)  But they sample each other, and Urabe starts flowing tears.

While he got an amazing feeling from her, she explains that what she got was the impression that he may not remember himself.  That when his mother died, he was crying, but that his life has been full of love from his family members, and she wants to be like that to him in the future too.

Roll the series end theme as they walk out of the cemetery.  Disappointing that SD didn't get the lyrics (HS never tries).  Tsubaki reflects that it was kinda weird and a little inappropriate for them to be swapping spit in front of his mother's grave, but her reply was just wonderful, that it couldn't be helped, because they're going to be doing even more inappropriate things in the future.

And in a final dose of symbolism, we see that the cherry blossoms are just starting to bloom, and a butterfly is fluttering around, landing in a flower... just like the one in the sex dream Tsubaki had in the opening of the first episode....

Posted by: Mauser at 12:30 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 1992 words, total size 13 kb.

July 11, 2012

Mysterious Girlfriend X Ep. 12

This was the perfect episode for this series. Funny, sensitive, and for once Tsubaki gets it right. There's a lot more we learn about Urabe, and it comes to a very nice ending.

The opening is hilarious. There is, of course, fallout from the stunt in the vacant classroom at Hoshinome Girls School, as Oka's fascination with and admiration for Urabe goes into overdrive. To start, she's brought out a piece of cardboard and a pair of scissors, wanting to see again her amazing move that shredded her cardboard robot costume. Urabe refuses, insisting it's not some kind of performance. But Oka still wants to talk about it, insinuating that it must be hard on poor Tsubaki, having seen her naked, he must be imagining her naked body all the time now. This embarrasses Urabe, but it's only the beginning, as Oka shows us evidence of what she was doing between the time Urabe stopped her from interfering and the time she pointed out Tsubaki's fallen blindfold. Apparently while she did have enough of a conscience to put down the camera when it looked like Hayakawa might be getting her taste into Tsubaki, once Urabe took over the situation, what's a nosy shutterbug to do? She pulls out the photo she took of Urabe sitting naked on the school desk, and tells her what a beautiful body she has. Urabe is scandalized, and tries to get the picture from Oka, who won't give it up. Finally Urabe jumps up from the bench, and gives Oka her first exposure to her infamous Panty-Scissors. The photo goes poof. And Oka instead of being properly full of fear, is amazed. Her fascination even extending to the point of lifting Urabe's skirt to look at how she'd stashed the scissors. Poor Urabe is totally stunned, unable to deal with the diminutive sex-obsessed powerhouse.

(And yes, Mr. Duck, you must watch this. It's the funniest two minutes in the entire series. Now how can I make Draft the default status?)

/images/mgx/MGX12Open01.jpg
"Do it again! Do it again!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Open02.jpg
"No."
/images/mgx/MGX12Open03.jpg?size=640x&q=95
"Did you ever think that now that he's seen you naked, that's all he can think about?"
/images/mgx/MGX12Open04.jpg
"Gotcha!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Open05.jpg
"10,000 ¥ every week. A bargain, I assure you."
/images/mgx/MGX12Open06.jpg
"Damn!  I had no idea I was so hot!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Open07.jpg /images/mgx/MGX12Open08.jpg
"I should have snapped your neck when I had the chance!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Open09.jpg
"You wanted to see my "Special Attack" huh? Be careful what you wish for."
/images/mgx/MGX12Open10.jpg
"HASAMI CHOP!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Open11.jpg /images/mgx/MGX12Open12.jpg
"Omae wa mo kitte iru"
/images/mgx/MGX12Open13.jpg
"That was the only copy, right?"
/images/mgx/MGX12Open14.jpg /images/mgx/MGX12Open15.jpg
"That was so awesome! You keep scissors down there?!"

After the opening though, we see that Oka was at least right about one thing. Poor Tsubake can't get the vision of a naked Urabe out of his mind, and every time he's with her, he can't help but picture what she looks like under he clothes. Walking home from school with a continuous blush, he thinks about this and how painful it is to resist his urge to glomp her. Urabe picks up on his distress, and asks him, so of course, he denies everything. He should know better, because after she gives him his daily dose, she ask if she can try his. He panics and says no, but where would the story be if people respected other people's personal limits? Using the techniques of distraction she learned from Oka in that track and field episode, she points off into the distance making a shocked sound and he looks, and with her supreme speed, she dashes around him and pokes her finger where he doesn't want it. Unable to stop her, Tsubaki watches as she tests his saliva, and suddenly, she's aroused. She ask him why, and he runs off instead of answering her.

/images/mgx/MGX12Walking1.jpg
"The obvious solution is to strip for her, but I can't. BD sales would tank!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Walking2.jpg
"No! You only want mine when I'm in trouble!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Walking3.jpg
"Look a kitty!" "What? It's a cliff."
/images/mgx/MGX12Walking4.jpg
Not guilty behavior AT ALL!

The feeling lasts until she gets home, when she recalls the evil little thought-worm Oka planted in her mind at the opening - Tsubaki must be thinking of her naked all the time. "He really is perverted, isn't he?" she realizes.

/images/mgx/MGX12Walking5.jpg
"Oh god, when I finally let him have me, I'm going to end up bedridden."

There is probably some kind of feedback going here. The next day at school, he actually starts hallucinating that he can see her naked....

/images/mgx/MGX12NakedClass1.jpg?size=640x&q=95
"She's not eating lunch. She must be pissed at Oka."
/images/mgx/MGX12NakedClass2.jpg
"It's like X-ray vision that only works on cloth."
/images/mgx/MGX12NakedClass3.jpg
"Nope, can't see through my arm."
/images/mgx/MGX12NakedClass4.jpg
"They're so squishy."
/images/mgx/MGX12NakedClass5.jpg
"Man, if I could find a way to market this...."

But after school, after her daily dose, he gets so light-headed and dizzy, he can't resist his compulsion to glomp onto her, with the inevitable result. (Interesting that her attack is a common enough thing that he knows to present her with a disposable target.)

/images/mgx/MGX12Glomp1.jpg /images/mgx/MGX12Glomp2.jpg
"Her lust combined with mine, it's too much to resist!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Glomp2a.jpg?size=640x&q=95
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
/images/mgx/MGX12Glomp3.jpg
Special Attack: Akira Grope!
/images/mgx/MGX12Glomp4.jpg
By vibrating her molecules at the right frequency, Urabe can pass through solid matter.
/images/mgx/MGX12Glomp5.jpg
I was gonna make a The Producers "Blue Blankie" ref, but even I didn't get it.

However, Urabe's impeccable aim is a little off, and she is utterly horrified as a tiny trickle of blood appears on Tsubaki's forehead. While Tsubaki thinks it's no big deal, Urabe is incredibly upset that she actually injured him, begging his forgiveness and insisting that she take him home and treat the wound so it doesn't scar.

/images/mgx/MGX12Blood1.jpg
"No no no no!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Blood2.jpg
"What? It's just a flesh wound."
/images/mgx/MGX12Blood3.jpg
"You fool, that was the Hasami Shinken! In ten seconds, your head will explode, and nothing can stop it!"

At Urabe's apartment, she sends him to wait in her room while she gets the first aid supplies. As she gets them, she spies a picture on a table, and decides to engage in a little target practice, shredding the picture, but then, the curtain behind it falls to the floor as well (How's she going to explain that to her mom and dad, if they ever appear?). This failure of her power causes her some angst.

/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment01.jpg
If anyone can read these book titles, please let me know. I'm very curious.
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment02.jpg /images/mgx/MGX12Apartment03.jpg
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment04.jpg
You are already... sick of Hokuto no Ken references.
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment05.jpg
More impressive to me is that the flower remained undisturbed.

Tsubaki, meanwhile, sitting on the floor in Urabe's room is going through some angst of his own, simply from being there and remembering how he conducted himself on his last visit (episode 8). But again, he can't resist checking out her bed. The pillow is somewhat damp (which is pretty amazing considering it's probably been 8-10 hours since she got up), so of course he sniffs at it, and it smells sweet.

/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment06.jpg
Check out the light and the poster.  See what they did there!

Urabe comes in just then with the first aid kit, and as she's treating him, she explains that normally she's very accurate with her scissors, but today she hurt him, and she's very sorry. Tsubaki says it's nothing, but asks if there's any reason her aim is off. She replies that she had a strange dream, and that may be why. Tsubaki asks about it, but she doesn't reply so in a rare fit of honesty, he admits to checking out her pillow and asks if that's connected to her dream. She turns red and can't face him. But then, she offers him a taste, and when he takes it, he feels dizzy and sees her naked again. (He might not have figured it out, but it says to me that the strong vision he got that got him in this fix actually came from her imagining herself naked, which is one of the things that arouses her). Feeling the urge to hug her again, he tries to stagger out, but she insists that she finish dressing his wound. But when she stops him, he sees her naked again.

/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment07.jpg
"Hey, what happened to those panties I gave you?  Oh, right, they were clean."
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment08.jpg
"You may feel a sting, but it's nothing compared to the guilt I feel."
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment09.jpg
Side effects include hallucinations and a loss of voluntary motor control...

After the break, picking up where they left off, seeing Urabe naked, and not wanting to make the same mistake, he shoves her away, and she stumbles and falls on the bed. Realizing that was a bad reaction, he dashes towards her but plants a foot in the first aid kit and trips. Now about to fall on her, and knowing how bad that would be, he twists at the last moment and faceplants directly into her bedpost. This is not much of an improvement.

/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment10.jpg
"You are not a well man!  I mean, less so than usual!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment10a.jpg?size=640x&q=95
"Vile Temptress...!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment11.jpg /images/mgx/MGX12Apartment12.jpg
"... Back I say!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment13.jpg
"What is it about my room that makes you get physical with me?"
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment14.jpg /images/mgx/MGX12Apartment15.jpg
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment16.jpg
If only he'd thought of this before he jumped around after her.
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment17.jpg
But instead, it's Target Urabe.
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment18.jpg
Evasive maneuver fail.

Urabe is very concerned about his well-being, as she has been the whole time. As he explains that he changed course so as to not land on her, she gets up and hugs his face to her bosom and says that if he's about to get hurt, it's okay to throw himself on her. The moment over, she realizes she needs some ice for his forehead. (In this case, the HS sub makes more sense, because she says he got a lump on his forehead from the impact, while SD says "large scratch").

/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment19.jpg /images/mgx/MGX12Apartment20.jpg
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment21.jpg?size=640x&q=95
"If it's a choice between hurting yourself or landing on me, I give you permission.  Just don't abuse it."

Finally finished with her ministrations, she sees Tsubaki off at the door, again apologizing for all the injuries she's caused him that day. Tsubaki brushes it off, but then asks her again about the dream. She admits that he was in it, but refuses to tell him any more. But I guess confession is good for the soul, because she tests her aim again, and the curtain behind it is spared this time. Laying back on her bed, she says that the odd feeling in her head went away after she hugged Tsubaki. Okay, substitute hugs for confession above.... She rolls over, and she smells the scent of her dream on the pillow, and admits that even though she chastises Tsubaki for being horny, she may be just as bad. Now I want to know what her dream was....

/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment22.jpg
"Gee, I had a swell time!  And next time, I promise not to forget my Safeword."
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment23.jpg
"Do I have to keep hugging him now to keep my powers?"
/images/mgx/MGX12Apartment24.jpg
"The sick thing is, that's not drool..."

The encounter that evening surely fueled Tsubaki's dreams. He dreams that he's chasing Urabe down the alleys of the weird city that is the landscape of his dreams. She's dressed in a red bunny suit, and when he finally catches up with her, she's in the middle of a circus ring pounding out Mochi in the traditional manner, with a giant mallet and a hollowed out stump. (For those not conversant in Japanese folklore, the Japanese don't see a man in the moon, but the image of a rabbit pounding Mochi, which is made by hammering cooked rice until it's an even paste.) As she pounds, blobs of the paste escape and turn into wriggling chibi Urabe figures, and soon, there are enough to dance in rings around him, before they pile in on him smothering him (in the nicest way possible) with their enormous Mochi breasts.  He wakes up clutching his pillow and recalling how soft Urabe's breasts are.  I was thinking about that kid's joke about dreaming about eating a giant marshmallow and waking up to notice your pillow is gone.

/images/mgx/MGX12Dream1.jpg
Ol' Hef has had a greater effect on Japanese Sexuality than even American.
/images/mgx/MGX12Dream2.jpg
She's sexy, and she can cook!
/images/mgx/MGX12Dream3.jpg
"Whee!"
/images/mgx/MGX12Dream4.jpg
Ring around the Mochi...
/images/mgx/MGX12Dream5.jpg
What a way to go.

That day at school, Ueno shows up sporting a bandage on his forehead too. Why? Because the day before, Oka insisted on cutting his bangs, and from the flashback, she wanted to do it Urabe-style, and it went very badly. Ueno asks about Tsubaki's head, and he merely says he fell. Ueno points out that the bandage looks a little old, and should be changed, but fortunately, he has a LOT of cut gauze. Why? Because in another flashback, Oka insisted on treating the wound, and had him hold up gauze while she attacked it with scissors, so he has a lot of scrap gauze. "I wonder where she got that idea?" Ueno ponders. Tsubaki declines.

/images/mgx/MGX12OkaCut1.jpg
"Seriously dude, avoid girls with scissors."
/images/mgx/MGX12OkaCut2.jpg?size=640x&q=95
"This can't end well" is writ large on this.

Just then, one of the plain, nearly generic girls in the class, Suwano, comes up because she needs to take him to the teacher's lounge for something related to a career survey they're on the committee for. She notices his bandage is coming loose, and before he can stop her, she tears it off and replaces it with a band-aid she's got. Urabe isn't happy to witness this. Neither is Ueno, who's stuck with a double-handful of gauze clippings.

/images/mgx/MGX12Bandage1.jpg
"Don't act so surprised, there isn't a single person here who respects personal limits."
/images/mgx/MGX12Bandage2.jpg
Does not approve of modern Adhesive Plastic Strips.

In the hallway, Tsubaki demands the bandage back, much to Suwano's confusion.

Later, when Tsubaki meets Urabe on the bridge for the walk home, she notices that he's replaced the band-aid with the original gauze, and he says the sweetest thing in reply. He says that he thought it would heal faster with the bandage he got from her. She gave it to him because she cared, so he'll wear it as long as possible. (SD: "I'd wear it forever.")

/images/mgx/MGX12Bandage3.jpg
Actually, she's shocked at his lack of care for wound sterility.

So, when they get to the parting point and she gives him his daily dose, there's a quiet moment, and he hugs her. And after another few seconds, the poor conditioned boy freaks, afraid of another attack for hugging her. But she staves off his panic by saying that this time the hug was HER idea (And obviously the urge was transmitted by the pheromones in her saliva). It's a nice change. And every little bit of progress means that much more to him.

/images/mgx/MGX12Hug1.jpg
#include jawstheme.mp3
/images/mgx/MGX12Hug2.jpg
Awwww...
/images/mgx/MGX12Hug3.jpg
Awwww again.
/images/mgx/MGX12Hug4.jpg
Don't let this happen to you.  Special moments can be ruined by negative behavior conditioning.
/images/mgx/MGX12Hug5.jpg
Clearly this is a skill she needs to work on as well.

Anyway, this was quite a sweet episode, lots of humor, some action, and a good resolution to the problem.

You know, the writing only took a long afternoon, but cutting down the screenshots and posting them took several evenings.  I culled 150 screenshots down to 75 this time.  I perhaps could have done it faster, but it's a draining process.  I wish there was a bulk uploading option.

Next episode is the last.  Then perhaps I'll upgrade some of the earlier reviews.

Posted by: Mauser at 02:55 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 2540 words, total size 24 kb.

July 04, 2012

Mysterious Girlfriend X Ep. 11

I really should have more faith in Urabe.  After all, she puts up with SO much of Tsubaki's idiocy.  On the other hand, the twists of events in this episode are so unbelievably improbable, with two girls battling naked for the affections of the boy who can't see them, it has to be some kind of fan service thing, along with BluRay bait.

I guess we got the bunny fur.

Anyway, I'm happy to be wrong, but I would have been happier if it had been a bit more serious.

Since this was a two-parter, we start with a recap.  Man, I could take some lessons in brevity there.

So, the Festival is running, stage is set, it's time to introduce the players.  We start with Tsubaki and Hayakawa wandering the halls, with Hayakawa making a big show of clinging tightly to Tsubaki's arm.  She explains over his objections that this is because she wants to make sure that if her ex sees them, he has to think they're REALLY close so he'll give up.  Tsubaki gives in.

/images/mgx/MGX11Open1.jpg
THIS dangerous robot is armed with Chekov's Bazooka.
/images/mgx/MGX11Open2.jpg
"Would you rather I cut off your circulation, or cut off your arm?"

Next up, Oka and Ueno.  Oka is having a lot of fun, but Ueno is just being dragged around.  Then she spots one classroom putting on a Maid Cafe and suggests they go in.  Ueno grunts an assent, but says he needs to hit the bathroom first.  When he gets back to the cafe, Oka is nowhere to be seen.  Until he takes his seat and discovers the maid serving his coffee is Oka.  Apparently they decided she was so cute, they let her borrow one of the uniforms.  She guides Ueno through several spit-takes, and then attracts the attention of a couple of guys with cameras, who ask her to pose.  This does Ueno's jealousy no good, and he storms off, thus removing an unnecessary piece from the endgame.  And to get Oka into the game, she spots the erstwhile couple through the window of the classroom, and simply MUST track them down (conveniently, with no time to change out of the maid uniform).

/images/mgx/MGX11Maid01.jpg /images/mgx/MGX11Maid02.jpg
/images/mgx/MGX11Maid03.jpg
"Maids, Why did it have to be Maids?"
/images/mgx/MGX11Maid04.jpg /images/mgx/MGX11Maid05.jpg
/images/mgx/MGX11Maid06.jpg?size=640x&q=95
"Surprise!"
/images/mgx/MGX11Maid07.jpg /images/mgx/MGX11Maid08.jpg
/images/mgx/MGX11Maid09.jpg
"Twirl!"
/images/mgx/MGX11Maid10.jpg
"I think it's little tight through here.  What do you think?"
/images/mgx/MGX11Maid11.jpg /images/mgx/MGX11Maid12.jpg
/images/mgx/MGX11Maid13.jpg
"Don't leave!  Man, I can't have any fun."
/images/mgx/MGX11Maid14.jpg /images/mgx/MGX11Maid15.jpg
"What a scandal!  Why couldn't I have set this up?"

So back to the unhappy couple.  Hayakawa drags Tsubaki upstairs to a disused part of the school, into an unused classroom.  So much for wanting to show him off to her ex, she reveals her other plan - get him alone, get him reminiscing, and get him back in love with her.  She's arranged a couple of desks the way they had them when they worked on the same committee (doing who knows what, looks like paperwork, and nobody else is around in the flashback).  Oka, doing her girl detective act, manages to track them down, but pauses outside the curtain over the door to listen in.  Specifically, Hayakawa gets him to remember a moment where he failed to get up the nerve to make a move on her, but she urges him that now, he has a chance, as she virtually throws herself at him.  Tsubaki, to his credit, says that no, he has a girlfriend, and he won't.  This doesn't go over well with her, desperate, she asks if that means his feelings for her back then are a lie because they have faded, and is all love destined to die?  She tears off her wig and throws it down cursing the unfairness of it all.

/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs01.jpg /images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs02.jpg
/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs03.jpg
"Welcome to my parlor...."
/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs04.jpg?size=640x&q=95
"This is what you like, isn't it?  You pervert."
/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs05.jpg /images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs06.jpg
"Scooby Doo, where are you?"
/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs07.jpg
Nothing creepy going on here in the flashback.  No sir.
/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs08.jpg /images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs09.jpg
"Why you stop?  I am Disappoint."
/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs10.jpg?size=640x&q=95
"If you want another shot, I'm Game, AND In Season."
/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs11.jpg?size=640x&q=95
"Dammit!  I spent all this money on a wig and you still can't get it up for me?"
(Maybe I overdid it on the pans, but hey, she may be psycho, but she's cute.)

She makes one more desperate plea, taking his hand and bringing it up to her hair, saying that if he were her boyfriend, she'd grow it out again, just to be what he wanted.  Oka is scandalized.  Tsubaki again tells her that he's got a girlfriend.  At the end of her rope, she tries to tempt him with her saliva, although by "Tempt" I mean she demands he lick her wet finger.  She insists that if he must choose between her and his girlfriend, she wants it to be after he has at least tried hers.

/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs12.jpg
"I will be anything you want, just so you love me again..."
/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs13.jpg
"... now lick it, bitch!"

Perhaps it's the depth of her desperation, he agrees to sample it.  Oka can't bear to watch any more, she must do something!  She reaches for her camera.  Then in a sudden attack of conscience, decides that no, what she really needs to do is intervene.  But before she can make a move, she's grabbed from behind!  Who could possibly be in the tatty cardboard robot costume?

/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs14.jpg /images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs15.jpg
"Yeah baby, lick it. Wait! What am I DOING?!"
/images/mgx/MGX11Upstairs16.jpg
... and with a quick snap, Urabe made sure she never troubled them again.

The final piece is now on the chessboard.  Urabe, whose hobby is papercraft after all, is the one in the robot suit.  And just as she's about to enter, Tsubaki refuses Hayakawa's last attempt to get him (Good timing bro!).  Making her less-than-grand entrance, Urabe announces that they will proceed.  That to make certain of Tsubaki's feelings, she'll allow a test.  Blindfolding Tsubaki, she says that they will do rock-paper-scissors to determine whose saliva he tastes first.  She wins (with paper, naturally), and delivers to Tsubaki a dose that makes his nose bleed explosively.  This is conclusive.  Just from their bond and previous experience, Tsubaki knows it's Urabe, and that she's indulging her secret fetish, public nudity (except unlike an exhibitionist, she doesn't want to be seen.).  So she drops the pretense and with her scissors, from inside the costume, she cuts herself free.  I guess it's okay if Hayakawa and Oka see her nude - don't ask me to explain fetishes, they aren't always rational.  And don't ask me how I know this.

/images/mgx/MGX11TasteTest01.jpg?size=640x&q=95
Nobody ever said she was GOOD at it.
/images/mgx/MGX11TasteTest02.jpg
"Stop complaining, the other option was a Garotte."
/images/mgx/MGX11TasteTest03.jpg /images/mgx/MGX11TasteTest04.jpg
Nasal Exsanguination.  It's not a pretty way to die.
/images/mgx/MGX11TasteTest05.jpg
"Wait, if you're not wearing panties, WHERE did you have those scissors holstered?"
/images/mgx/MGX11TasteTest06.jpg
Naked under her costume.

Below this point, there will be a lot of NSFW images.  So for once I'm going to use the More section.  I'm sure people won't mind that there will be a lot of images here....

more...

Posted by: Mauser at 07:26 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 2418 words, total size 24 kb.

<< Page 1 of 1 >>
76kb generated in CPU 0.1014, elapsed 0.1406 seconds.
33 queries taking 0.1333 seconds, 199 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.