Mysterious Girlfriend X
| First off, I think that understanding is very important. In the context of relationships, understanding helps us to more fully connect with the other person, creating a stronger bond. Mysterious Girlfriend X takes this idea literally, giving it a physical existence in the form of the drool-bond. I love that they did this. It brings up the idea that no matter how hard you try, no matter how close you become, it is literally impossible to be able to tell exactly how another person is feeling, and then it does something about it, using the drool-bond to eliminate that barrier. That’s all well and good, but what is this drool-bond? Urabe clearly states in the first episode that there’s nothing special about her drool. If this is indeed true, how can her drool do the things it does? How can it let her and Tsubaki literally share their emotions with each other? How can it let her see his dreams and thoughts? My view on this is that it’s similar to the concept of two people having chemistry. There’s an innate connection between two people which exists even before a physical bond of drool is established. In addition to being a physical manifestation of the bond between two people, the drool serves as a catalyst that enhances this connection, leading to a fuller understanding between two people. For people who don’t have this connection, the sharing of drool does nothing (case in point: Ogata). On the flip side, for people who do have an innate connection, the strength of the drool-bond is determined by the strength of the connection. For example, Urabe’s bond with Tsubaki is so strong that she’s able to share very specific feelings with him and even see and influence his dreams. In contrast, her bond with Oka isn’t as strong and only goes up to the point where they can share physical alterations to their bodies, and somewhat more general emotional states. The drool-bond also serves as a physical manifestation of the connection between two people in another way. Everybody brings something different to a relationship. Tying this in with the show’s theme of emotional understanding, a person’s drool tastes sweeter if they’ve had more powerful emotional experiences, whether those experiences are good or bad. I’ve read that the drool-bond is supposed to be a substitute or metaphor for sex. While I do think this makes some sense, it also misses some things. Many people think of sex as the pinnacle of closeness in a relationship, as a physical expression of the various emotions tied to loving someone that much. In this vein, the argument of the drool-bond being a substitute or metaphor for sex makes sense. However, many people don’t look at sex that way. In contrast, for a drool-bond to be formed there has to be a connection between the people involved. You can’t have a dispassionate drool-bond. In addition, there are at least a couple times in Mysterious Girlfriend X when Urabe specifically mentions the likelihood of her and Tsubaki having sex in the future. Given that, I don’t think the drool-bond is just a substitute or metaphor for sex. Or for a kiss, for that matter. I’m pretty sure the drool-bond isn’t supposed to be Mysterious Girlfriend X’s version of a kiss, or even Tsubaki and Urabe’s version of a kiss. For the former, Oka and Ueno kiss, and they don’t have a drool-bond. For the latter, just think about what a kiss would be like for Urabe and Tsubaki. Given what’s known about the drool-bond, it would be a very powerful experience, particularly in the case of a French kiss. Not only would Urabe and Tsubaki be sharing saliva simultaneously, but it would be mixing together and going back and forth between them, not to mention happening over a much longer period of time than the few seconds a finger is in the mouth during one of their typical drool shares. Every time I've mentioned the drool-bond being a physical manifestation of the innate connection between two people, I called it just that: a physical manifestation, not the physical manifestation. It’s clearly made out to be something out of the ordinary. It’s telling that Oka and Ueno, who are probably a lot closer than Urabe and Tsubaki, don’t have a drool-bond. I would think they have some connection, since they’ve been going out for a long time and seem to get along really well. I wonder if their bond has a physical manifestation, or if they’re more typical in that respect. Perhaps the fact that Urabe can have a physical bond with someone via something like saliva is just another aspect of her mysteriousness. The idea of a drool-bond as a physical manifestation of the innate connection between two people and as a way to eliminate the barrier to complete understanding that is typically impossible to fully get through is fascinating to me, and I love how the show uses it to such great effect. I'm very curious and interested to hear other people's thoughts about the concept. :) |
More topics from this board
Poll: » Nazo no Kanojo X Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )tsubasalover - Jun 16, 2012 |
106 |
by patkarunungan
»»
Jan 4, 3:57 PM |
|
Poll: » Nazo no Kanojo X Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 )Yumekichi11 - Jun 2, 2012 |
82 |
by patkarunungan
»»
Jan 4, 3:11 AM |
|
Poll: » Nazo no Kanojo X Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )tsubasalover - May 26, 2012 |
101 |
by patkarunungan
»»
Jan 4, 2:27 AM |
|
Poll: » Nazo no Kanojo X Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 )tsubasalover - Apr 28, 2012 |
88 |
by patkarunungan
»»
Jan 3, 2:36 AM |
|
Poll: » Nazo no Kanojo X Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )tsubasalover - Apr 21, 2012 |
162 |
by patkarunungan
»»
Jan 2, 9:31 PM |