Mysterious Girlfriend X Ep. 07

As I mentioned before, it seems that a lot of these episodes tell two stories, although this time they're a little less clearly demarked. A little bird told me that this is already up to volume 4 of the Manga, and that the series may have an Anime Original ending. The upshot is some things are really compressed. So the two threads are, Urabe's talent for running and whether or not to join the track team, and the healing power of swimsuits.

Yes, that means there WILL be more de-pans below. If you wanna jump ahead, that's okay. I'll be here when you get back.

Our story opens in the girls gym class where they're doing speed trials, and Urabe is up against Yajima, the fastest girl on the track team, and the finish is really close. Oka, who was running the stop watch comes up to her and tells her how amazing the run was, and then Yajima comes up and tries to recruit her for the Track Team. Urabe, of course, isn't interested in joining any after-school clubs, but at least she is drafted for the relay at the school P.E. festival. What follows is one of the most awkward high-fives ever, and Urabe is left looking at her hand quizzically.

On the way home, Tsubaki is commenting on this news about the Festival, he's very impressed (And of course, she isn't). This leads to him thinking about how athletic she is, in particular how fast she is with her "Panty Scissors". Urabe mentions how Yajima invited her to join the Track team, and Tsubaki is even more impressed and wants to know if she'll do it. In one of the sweet moments we occasionally get from Urabe, she says "I can't join. Because, if I join an after-school club I won't be able to walk home with you after school." Tsubaki is so touched by the sentiment that he tries to glomp onto her, which she dodges with her lightning speed. While she forcefully reminds him not to hug her without permission, he reflects on how her speed is proof of her excellent athleticism.


Later, at practice for the P.E. Festival, Oka pops up for her favorite hobby, meddling. As Urabe takes a break, Oka brings her some water, and probes her about why they're practicing during lunch, when normally she'd be sleeping on her desk, and isn't that tough on her? And then she pokes her about not joining track, but comes to the very odd conclusion that this is kind of sexy. Urabe is just as confused by this logic as I am, but Oka explains, rather lengthily that if she joined track, her legs could be trained to the point of winning regional meets, but "... these beautiful legs, Tsubaki-kun gets to hog them all to himself." And to emphasize her point, Oka starts stroking Urabe's thighs, much to her shock. (If Tsubaki had done it, he'd be a dead man). Oka further explains that she's sussed out that Urabe is doing all this just so she can walk home with Tsubaki. It's true, but the way Oka spins it (everything, really) shows how sex-obsessed she is. She blows Oka off by returning to practice, which Oka takes as confirmation of her theory.


We switch to Tsubaki, who is watching the practice from the classroom window. He is pleased to see that Urabe is running the "Anchor" of the relay, and the other girls seem to really appreciate her. Later, at home, after taking a bath, his sister tells him that she's just had his winter school uniform cleaned. During this exchange, she says two ominous things: First, she warns him to dry his hair after his bath or he'll catch a cold, and the second, after Tsubaki takes his Uniform to his room, is she reveals that she's had her old school uniform cleaned and remarkably, it still fits. If she weren't such a cipher, that might carry more meaning, but it can't bode well.


Speaking of ominous, when Tsubaki goes to bed, he reflects on how it seems (to him anyway) that Urabe is getting closer ot Oka, and getting along with Yajima and the other runners. "I should be happy for her, but I feel like I'm gradually losing her." WTF! Aside from the question of just how much you've actually "Got", you already know you're stuck with her for whatever that's worth. I dunno, if that's what the "Average" high schooler is like in Japan, no wonder the birth rate is down.

Well, I guess Tsubaki was so concerned about sharing Urabe that he went to bed with wet hair, because he catches a super flu and is out of school, which gives Oka more ammo for meddling. While feeding Urabe some nummy-looking food (Looks like Tempura shrimp wrapped in Bacon, and we all know EVERYTHING is better with bacon) she discusses how the teacher said he'd be out for days, and what a shame it will be for him to miss the P.E. Festival. Then, she sets her next trap, "So, since he's your boyfriend, aren't you going to visit him?" Urabe innocently lets out the affirmative, and Oka goes in for the kill, talking about how Ueno had the flu a couple weeks ago, and what she did to help him get over it. Now I may have spoiled it above, but for viewers, she whispers it in Urabe's ear, and convinces her that the what-she-did helped him get well enough to come to school the next day.


Urabe shows up at Tsubaki's house, where she hasn't been since the first episode, and recycles the same excuse to get past his sister, lying about having his homework. Now, sometimes one line might be a giveaway. In this case, when Big Sis introduces Urabe to Akira's room, she sweetly says "Take your time" (or "Make yourself at home."). I wonder if she knows. Nevertheless, just like before, she plops down on his sickbed and confesses to lying about the homework. Tsubaki notices the similarity to the previous situation, but Urabe points out that this time he is really sick, not just lovesick, and she doubts that her saliva would cure him, but they try anyway. And Tsubaki suddenly has a strong impression of Summer, and feels a lot better, so she leaves.


Urabe then returns to a darkened apartment, which makes me wonder if she lives alone, and reveals that the impression of summer her pheromones communicated was because under her coat she was wearing a Bikini.


Now it's time for the festival (More data for the detective work, it's Fumidai High School). Oka is sitting with Urabe with the female participants, and she's snapping pictures of the goings-on. She comments that Tsubaki is there, and Urabe says that it's thanks to her, she took Oka's little story in mind and visited Tsubaki. Oka is, of course, hungry for all the salacious details, but fortunately for us, she flashes back on HER visit to her sick boyfriend.


Okay, while he may have had the flu, Ueno is a sick pup. Frequently there's a bit of voice play over the previews, usually that seems unrelated to the story, but a couple of episodes ago in one of those, Ueno is talking about wanting to see Oka in a bathing suit, but not wanting to go anywhere public, because he doesn't want to share that vision with anyone else. When Oka visits to cheer him up/help him out, That is the request he makes. Not for her to get him a book or tidy up, but "I wanna see you in your swimsuit." He expands, "I think if I can see you in a swimsuit - something I usually only see in the summer - I might get better." Manipulative little shit. When she just lets the silence run just a little too long, he breaks and says he is only kidding. That's when she says, "Is that all?" and says she'll be back in 40 minutes in her swimsuit.

One sight of this and he's out of bed, ready to pounce her, but she puts her foot down and orders him back to bed, threatening to break up with him if he lays a finger on her. It's clear who wears the pants in that couple, even when she's wearing a bikini. She then takes the opportunity to blow his mind.


Remembering this, Oka asks Urabe if she modeled her swimsuit for Tsubaki, but she says that while she wore it, she didn't show it to him. "Oka-san, even to help my sick boyfriend, I'd never do a swimsuit striptease for him." and that is an illustration of the difference in morals between the two. Oka, not getting it, decides to sneak a sample to find out what Urabe is feeling about the idea, but she gets stopped with a classic sword-catch. Only through subterfuge and the use of a brilliant diversionary tactic ("Look, a kitty!") does she get the desired sample. The answer, "Oh, you're shy., I thought you have a more complicated reason than that, but I guess you just had a 'normal' girlish reason." Oh, the insult! Calling Urabe normal!


Then with a good-luck fondle to the thigh from Oka, it's off to the Relay Race. Tsubaki begins to get pissed about some of the guys making lewd comments about Urabe's legs, but once the baton gets to her, everyone is more amazed by her speed. The outcome is not in doubt (Although the staging sure is, since BOTH Yajima and Urabe have to pass everyone else in the race).


After school that day, Tsubaki goes to his shoe locker, only to find that someone has stolen his nametag. He then meets up with Urabe for their walk home, and he talks about how he thinks she should join track, and that he feels like he's holding her back from what she could accomplish. She detects BS, and then suddenly offers her dose right then. He gets a big smile on his face, and she tells him that he was lying about wanting her to do well in Track. How can she tell? Because she knows why he's smiling uncontrollably, and she lifts her skirt to reveal Tsubaki's locker tag pasted on her thigh, marking it his. She upbraids him about lying to her to protect what he thinks she's feeling. She really would rather be with him in the afternoons than winning races. Cue another evaded hug, and she offers to race him to the place they part ways.

Posted by: Mauser at 10:24 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 1950 words, total size 15 kb.