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It is safe to say that the core concept of which this anime is built on, the saliva mind meld, is pretty obscure, if not totally weird. However, although Nazo no Kanojo X goes to the absolute extremes of weirdness in some areas, it is perhaps the single most realistic in others.

So I'm not going to talk about the drool, that may be what drew me to Nazo no Kanojo X initially, but it is not what kept me watching, it is not the part that I love about this anime.

Most romance anime, especially school-based romance, are ludicrously unrealistic. We see the tsundere girl, the ... weak, whingey guy. We see the noble, unfaltering cool guy and the submissive girl. Characters that are, for all intents and purposes, completely rooted in fiction.

Worse yet, we're often presented with a female character that has absolutely no control over her sexual urges, once the MC breaks down a few walls. We are given characters who are offensive to men, offensive to women and completely unrealistic.

Because of this, we are often presented with a type of romance which can only exist in the anime world. A type of romance that, if we were to try to emulate in real life, would end in utter catastrophe. This is where Nazo no Kanojo X surpasses all others and stands up as the pinnacle of anime romance, in my book. The utter realism that it shows us.

I see a lot of myself, or perhaps my former self, in Tsubaki. Everything he does, I can remember myself doing at-least once in a previous relationship. From flirting with an ex-crush, to not wanting others to see her after a new haircut, wanting her all to myself.

Tsubaki is a good reflection of most of the 'regular guys' in their first relationships. We, who watch anime and may not be the best at sports. We might not be the top of our class, but we know a thing or two. The regular guy.

He is a cacophony of contradictions. He has an inferiority complex, but believes he can get better. He is needy, but sometimes wants space away from Urabe. He is proud of his girlfriend, but in some ways ashamed. Love doesn't make sense, love is rife with contradictions and Tsubaki represents them perfectly.

He is almost like a mirror of myself, back in the day but, hopefully, not anymore. Don't get me wrong, he is very likable. He is not the whingey MC we're used to, he's not the asshole, he's not clueless. But that doesn't mean I necessarily want to be him.

Now we see Urabe. Beautiful, shy, strange, kind, strong, talented, awkward, uncomfortable. There are so many words to describe Urabe, but submissive and reliant aren't some of them.

She represents the real girl. She gets sad when Tsubaki hurts her, very sad. But she doesn't get on her knees and beg. She gets turned on by Tsubaki, sure. But she isn't taken aback by sexual emotions, emotions which take complete control of her mind and body.

She's not quite an open book, but she's not mean - she's very kind. She's not submissive, dependent or a tsundere. She doesn't represent any of the offensive female characters we see in most romance anime. She is real.

And best yet, although there are other love interests - there is no ridiculously unrealistic harem.

I'm not a girl, so I don't know what this anime gives them. But if you're a single guy wanting to know what real first relationships are like, watch this anime. If you're a needy, dependent, possessive guy in a relationship and want to see a reflection of all of your negative aspects; watch this anime. I wholeheartedly believe that Nazo no Kanojo X can teach you about love, about real love. An aspect which most romance anime fall completely flat on.