There are not any headlines to be discovered right here, that is for certain. If there was ever a collection that was snug in its personal pores and skin, that is positively it Natsume Yuujnchou. It does what it does, week after week, season after season, and makes all of it look fairly easy. It loses a little bit of that natural high quality when Natori and his job are in focus – possibly that is why I like these episodes much less. However when it does what it did right here, it simply flows. It would not change and, to a exceptional extent, neither does my response to it as a viewer.
We’ve not seen Kitamoto Atsushi in a very long time, at the least that is what I bear in mind. I did not bear in mind a lot about Kishimoto apart from he is not a youkai seeing individual and he has a really even mood. Whereas going to his home to review, he and Natsume cease at an outdated bookstore that has been closed for thus lengthy that just about nobody remembers it was a retailer. If any human endeavor screams “youkai,” it is a dusty outdated bookstore, and this outdated home actually qualifies. It’s run by an outdated woman who sleeps a lot of the time, however of higher significance is the younger assistant Kaeda (Ichimichi Mao) who appears very aggravated by Kishimoto’s repeated visits and scolds him to not present up once more.
It is clear fairly shortly that Kaeda, in her Showa-style college uniform, might be a youkai. That does not clarify why Kishimoto-kun can see her, however Nyanko-sensei does later – the store might be a spot the place the human world and the youkai world meet. The opposite a part of the thriller is the collection of scribbled notes that Kishimoto begins to search out in some books. He cannot learn them, however Natsume can. They’re youkai writings, and the one he sees says “tongue.” Nyanko-sensei warns Natsume that the notes are unhealthy information, most likely some form of curse – and occasions quickly show that.
That is just about a Goldilocks episode for me. Simply sufficient hazard to maintain issues somewhat tense, some epic Nyanko-sensei moments like brushing herself after a shower, and the most effective showcase for the background music within the first 4 episodes. There’s additionally a touch of romance within the air between Atsushi and Kaeda, though there are apparent issues with that. Between his deadpan face and her tsundere, they’re exhausting to regulate, however the truth that he offers her a favourite ebook to learn – and that she really does, regardless of claiming she’s by no means learn a single ebook – tells the story. an fascinating story.
Kaeda seems to be some form of bookstore janitor – she comes out of a ebook herself (does that make her a tsukumogami?) however can solely materialize when the proprietor is sleeping (fortuitously quite a bit). And the curses come from Dei, an evil youkai who was sealed in a ebook and later launched when the seal was damaged. Kaeda’s relationship with each Natsume and Kishimoto deepens, albeit clearly in two alternative ways. Finally, Madara is named in for a monster hunt, with the aim of resealing Dei in his ebook and permitting the shop to stay at residence with out anybody being demonically cursed.
This positively has the texture of a one-off, with Kaeda going to sleep it off in her tome after utilizing a ton of energy on Ziploc Dei. However like several good ebook story, it leaves you interested by the place it may go sooner or later. That is the form of episode Natsume Yuujinchou appears most snug with, fully pure in its execution. And no different anime may give you that resolution Natsume Yuujinchou can.
