Alone in a Crowd - Musings on Natsume Yuujinchou San

Rumour has it that the next season of Natsume Yuujinchou (and obviously there will be one, at some point) will be the final one, although that might just be people voicing their desires. (How many years has it been since pundits claimed that Bleach was coming to a close?)

I'll say it right away: this series is one of my favourite anime. I'll try to be impartial, but I'm not the kind to remain 100% unbiased about something I love. That aside, this anime really has a lot of good points: a solid story, many interesting and intriguing themes, and a good level of character change done on realistic levels. There's also some bad points, such as the fact that some themes might just be a little too emo for some people (especially in its presentation), and that the fantastical nature of the anime is a little closer to shoujo than not (meaning it definitely turns some viewers off right off the bat).

There's a few "normal" spirits mixed in there.

Animation
I find the animation of this series to be quite good, with realistic character designs and little outrageous colours. Perhaps the colours are strange in a Japanese setting (Natsume himself has dirty blond hair), but it's within the realm of possibility within this world. The design of the various spirits and demons was what really caught my attention; often times, I found myself very interested in a supernatural being upon first glance. There are the humanoid spirits, and the monstrous ones; ones with correct numbers of limbs and organs, and ones with very distorted proportions; and so on. It was a very vibrant world.

The interaction between Natsume and Nyanko-sensei is definitely a highlight.

Setting
This series has a slightly complicated story, due to the fact that it's been three seasons already so there was a lot of time for development. At its core, it's about a boy named Natsume Takashi who sees the supernatural. He lost his parents at a young age and is currently in high school. After being shuffled from one relative to another, he eventually went to live in the countryside with distant relative Touko (on his father's side) and her husband Shigeru, a childless couple. That's where the first season began; however, since then, a lot more has happened. There's a slew of characters, most with their own stories (some more detailed than others), and those characters also include lots of spirits. The story for this season focused a lot more on the concept of friendships, which has always been a recurring theme (along with loneliness and fitting in), and on Natsume's changes since the series first began. I think this season is really best watched right after the other ones, because I frequently found myself just not remembering the story, despite loving this anime so much.

That's how the cat got so fat.

Story Presentation
Most episodes in this series are standalone, and this season was not an exception. However, there's a lot of continuity, as the episodes work to create a rather large picture and so come together in the grand scheme of things. Episodes tend to have one guiding plot point that holds the entire story together, and there's rarely any "fodder"; when a plot point has been milked for all its thematic goodness, the episode moves on to the next. That said, a lot of people would find this slow-paced, due to the fact that it's not about action (it's about themes). With this season, there were almost no re-introductions made, even though old cast members reappeared, which left me wondering who they were sometimes. Due to its overall themes, each episode was pretty emotionally charged; even without remembering everything about the characters on the screen, I felt touched with a lot of things that were happening. Ultimately, once I began liking the characters, I was pretty much a goner.

Essentially, the main cast of the series.

Characters
The character changes are very evident, if only because some episodes are actually dedicated to flashbacks in order to highlight it - especially Natsume. His situation is quite ironic: everything in his life before the first season caused him to work to become the person that he is today; however, with his current surroundings, his old personality would be more than perfect comparatively. The theme of longing seeped into the characters, such that there was a lot of talk about how to get through to people and how to open up. With this season especially, there was a lot of character development, especially with Tanuma since he showed up more frequently than in the past. It's a coming-of-age story done with a slight twist, and I've always found myself wanting for all the characters to grow and just be happy.

I just can't remember the story with the black one!

Final Words
I just can't say enough about this anime - and, at the same time, there really isn't anything to say. There's a lot of reasons why someone wouldn't like this series; much of it just has to do with its genre. It's a little more emotionally adult than a lot of other coming-of-age slice-of-life stories, with its emotional scenes quietly hurting at your core instead of the characters simply crying on-screen. My attachment to it has to do with my attachment to the characters and a strong desire to see them succeed at life. The fact that it's wrapped in a nice package - with interesting character designs and well-paced episodes - just fuels my addiction further. I can't suggest this series as a whole, but I do suggest just the first episode (of the first season, logically). It'll essentially reveal everything you'd need to make a decision.

I'm this close to actually wanting it.

Scoring - [8.0/10]
This is one of my all-time favourite anime, so the scoring is definitely very biased. In fact, it would probably be even higher than it is now if I had watched this season back-to-back with the other ones and so felt the full brunt of the emotions.

~Aaro

Natsume Yuujinchou San Eps11-13 [END]

I finally picked up my external drive today. Finally, the days of having no space are long gone! A drive of 2TB is exactly what I needed. Now, to increase that bandwidth cap my ISP imposed...

This final batch completed the third season of the Natsume Yuujinchou series, much to my chagrin. I wish there was more... Ep11 finished the arc about Tanuma being possessed, ending with a stronger friendship between him and Natsume. Ep12, meanwhile, saw Natsume under the weather due to a demon's attack, and a lengthy flashback from his past (that directly led into how he came to live with Touko and Shigeru). Ep13, to finish off the series, was the most feel-good one of the batch, focusing not only on Natsume's group of human friends but also his amassed group of spirit friends.

Damn, that cat has a lot of strength.

Ep11 picked up with a voiceover from Natsume, reminding viewers of the situation from ep10. Given that the priest was once again away on business, Natsume stayed over at the shrine in order to watch over Tanuma. A major plot point of the episode was the fact that Tanuma really didn't know the extent of Natsume's powers, especially in his day-to-day events. When granted the ability to see through the demon's eyes, Tanuma was quite surprised with what Natsume could see on a regular basis. It really drove home the fact that there's a huge communication gap between Natsume and any other character, something the viewer rarely sees considering we get a generally unlimited perspective.

The useless demons were unable to actually protect their mirror. How weird.

Due to Natsume's helpful ability to spy on nearby spirits' and demons' dreams, there was a pretty detailed back story for the demon possessing Tanuma. She had gone on an epic search for a special mirror after her friend unexpectedly left her, having come down with a serious illness that would have spread to her if he stayed. The mirror, of course, was the only thing that had any chance of healing him. This sense of loneliness allowed her to tell Natsume that it wasn't right he wasn't communicating more with Tanuma, which was the little bit of catalyst needed to further their friendship.

Another day of weird scenes!

The search for the rest of the mirror's pieces ended the next day, due to Nyanko-sensei getting "irritated" and wanting it to end. (He grouped up the lesser spirits of the forest and had them work hard in his stead.) Ergo, the remainder of the episode was about Natsume, Tanuma and Taki roaming around the school, trying to find the remaining pieces. When Nyanko-sensei showed up with the majority of the shards, the mirror came together and the demon possessing Tanuma was able to leave. (After a momentary flash to destroy the demon that had been following them around, trying to steal the mirror, of course.)

The cat has opposable thumbs!

Ep12 began with Natsume having lunch with Kitamoto and Nishimura, who talked about how he was so well-adjusted despite having moved around so much in the past. He spoke about still making mistakes, such as not letting Touko make his lunch in the past since he didn't want to be a bother. He had learned to let her make it because she wanted to hear from him that her cooking was good, which led directly into the main plot point of the episode: Natsume's past. When he got home, a demon attacked him (which ran away the moment Nyanko-sensei appeared); this caused Natsume to fall into a deep fever, which greatly worried both Touko and Nyanko-sensei.

That's actually a pretty scary face, as far as demons go.

It turned out that the demon was actually one from a long time ago, just before Natsume came to live with Touko and Shigeru. It took an interest in him due to his loneliness and heavy heart, wanting to take him along (to eat? to keep as a pet?). While Natsume was scared and confused, he didn't particularly feel the stress until he had something to protect - his future with Touko and Shigeru. Touko had come to visit him and, after leaving without saying anything at the first meeting, she sought him out for a second meeting in order to offer the option of coming to leave with her. This being the first time that someone had actually wanted Natsume, he was overcome with emotion and found it within him to confront this demon.

The family looks so cute together.

Honestly speaking, it was the scene of Natsume coming into his own and luring the one-eyed demon into the trap that reminded me of just how much I love this anime. I was overcome with emotion after seeing the transformation that occurred after he had just one person telling him that he was wanted, and seeing his newly-summoned courage in action. It was nice to see within this episode that not all of his family before Touko and Shigeru were terrible; the son of the couple he was staying with was sympathetic that his parents didn't behave very lovingly with Natsume. It's not like he did anything about it, which might just make him as bad as his parents, but that's not my point. It's too easy to point fingers; I just wanted to see at least some semblance of understanding and it was there.

Why does Grown-Up Natsume have a dark hair colour?

Ep13, the final episode of this series, was a look at Natsume's current life. His friends - Kitamoto, Nishimura, Sasada and Tanuma - were planning an outing after the end of midterms, while also talking about the changes that both Natsume and Tanuma had gone through since their arrival as the quiet and stoic new transfers. When the conversation turned to their futures and what to do after high school, I was interested in hearing that there was no question in Natsume's mind that he would be staying with Touko and Shigeru even after becoming an adult. That really signified that not only was he accepted, but that he had also accepted his place.

Natsume is so popular...

There was never any resolution to where the friends decided to go, after Natsume said that anywhere was fine because they would all be together. The remainder of the episode was focused on the spirits around Natsume, who had decided to hold a party in his honour on the night of the Spirit Moon, when sake tasted a lot better. While Natsume didn't particularly want to go, he was roped in (quite literally, after falling into a trap set by a rope-wielding spirit) and thus began the party. The spirits found the game of Shadow Tag incredibly amusing, and Natsume reminisced about how it was his first time playing it (when he was younger, he used to just watch the neighbourhood children playing). When his human friends came calling, Nyanko-sensei advised him to head off, giving a lot of meaning to the ending (that he had a foot in both worlds, and was able to devote time to both sides).

Natsume's school life won't end well with all these spirits around~

With the series closing for this season, I do immediately feel sad. I was struggling for the last few days in order to determine my actual rating for this anime; with just one good scene like the one in ep12, I easily remembered just how much I love this.

~Aaro

Natsume Yuujinchou San Eps08-10

It feels like it's been a ages since I last wrote about this anime. That probably has to do with the fact that it's in batches of 3 and I'm really behind; 6 weeks (for 6 episodes) is a very long time.

This batch was very focused on Natsume's friendships, as two of the three episodes dealt with this idea. Ep08 featured Natsume hanging out with Shigeru while also showing a fox spirit (that Natsume met in a previous season's episode). Ep09 used a rock demon as a plot device in order for Natsume to assess his friendships (which had grown by leaps and bounds) and feel extremely happy, while ep10 featured Tanuma in great length. The next batch should finish off the story of Tanuma's possession (as well as this season as a whole...).

The warmth...

Ep08 featured Natsume spending some time with Shigeru, since the male guardian was heading off to a weekend of pottery classes at a friend's place and asked Natsume to come along. There was also significant continuity from the previous episodes, as Nyanko-sensei's wound didn't magically disappear. The spirit seemed in considerable pain over it, which worried Natsume to no end. A final plot point was that the place Natsume and Shigeru were going was a place where Natsume had visited in seasons past (to pick up something for Shigeru), and also where he met a fox spirit whose mother had just died. I had no recollection of this happening, but the characters mentioned it.

I wish I remember you...

The underlying tones of sadness and loneliness always gets to me; I don't know why I keep coming back for more. I felt the fox spirit's pain throughout the episode; he didn't feel as though much time had passed and was hoping that Natsume would come visit soon. Even when Natsume showed up, it didn't seem to be for him. His daredevil and dangerous venture to get some magical herbs to facilitate Nyanko-sensei's healing was very touching - what really got to me was the rock spirit sacrificing his life for the young fox. Throughout the entire episode, it had been the rock spirit that had been warning the fox spirit about friendships with humans ending in sadness. The fact that Natsume clearly remembered the fox spirit and actually went looking in the forest, though, was just the happy bit I needed to not feel agonizingly sad at the end of the episode.

It's so easy to get rid of demons, Natsume.

Ep09, to an extent, was about the trouble that Natsume got up to while Nyanko-sensei was still resting and healing. On another level, it was a direct look at Natsume's friendships and his desire to protect not only his loved ones but also just everyone in general. A demon began following him around, taking the form of a small rock with a face that could possess people, and this continued throughout the episode until Naynko-sensei sent it away at the very end. The looming threat of such a powerful demon is what caused Natsume to think about his friendships.

Aw...

It's clear that Natsume's come a long way from his childhood, but it's also clear that he doesn't see that very well. When Kitamoto and Nishimura arrived at his house to ask if he really didn't want his role in the Culture Festival, Natsume cried tears of joy that night. (Quite literally; Nyanko-sensei woke up from his deep slumber to take note, but said nothing. It was an extremely touching scene.) When he ran off after the girl that the rock had possessed, Kitamoto and Nishimura came running after him and were able to get to him quickly after he went unconscious due an accident with toppling desks and chairs. The fullness of the nurse's office was an extremely telling scene; there are just so many around Natsume that care about him, knowing about him in various degrees and ways.

New genre!

Ep10 was a focus on Natsume and Tanuma (finally). Like I've mentioned before, Tanuma is one of my favourite characters and the one that I've been most anxious to see. This episode basically developed their friendship a little bit, with the subplot of demons. After a demon was struck by lightning and had her mirror shatter, she possessed Tanuma in order to find the shards to put it together. Natsume had the misfortune of his eye turning into a settling grounds for one of the shards (it was much less graphic than it sounds), and so he could "sense" the presence of the others since his eye began hurting when he was nearby. Thus, by the end of the episode, Natsume and Tanuma (along with the eager Taki) set off to gather all the pieces.

Holy shit, that must look weird.

It's really good to see Natsume and Tanuma increasing the strength of their friendship; with both of them feeling so awkward due to it being their first real friendship, they both have pretty similar desires but are unable to voice them. I had genuinely thought that Tanuma's strange behaviour in staying away from Natsume for the first few days after his possession had to do with the demon, but it apparently was his way of trying to keep Natsume out of it. It was really nice to see them talk through their problems and misunderstandings; I've been on edge waiting for Natsume's friendships to grow. It always happens suddenly with one good interaction, just like in real life.

Taki grows ever cuter with each appearance.

With ep10 ending on a cliffhanger, I'm a little excited that the next episode will also feature Tanuma. It's nice to have Taki around, as well; she's one of the few female characters that I don't inherently abhor.

~Aaro

Natsume Yuujinchou San Eps05-07

As I write this, I'm sitting in a slightly cramped sleeper car on a 6-hour train ride to visit Rho's extended family. I only regret the missed chance to get some McDonalds before getting on the train. I'll never forget it. (At the time of posting, though, it's been a full day. I hate not having free-time.)

Ah, so that's what spirits are scared of.

This set of episodes included a 2-episode arc that re-introduced some pretty important characters from previous seasons; it's too bad that I remember nothing about these people. Ep05 was a standalone, and had absolutely nothing to do with the Book of Friends. Eps06-07 were about the Matoba Clan, members of which Natsume had interactions with in a previous season, and the return of Natori, an exorcist/idol that Natsume was "friends" with. The story itself was interesting (though I might be biased due to my love for this anime), though I didn't like how the episodes ended with tinges of sadness. Then again, that's always been the prevalent theme of Natsume, anyway...

Natsume Yuujinchou San Eps02-04

Despite this being my favourite anime of this season, I've decided to do batch posts about it in order to be able to fully enjoy the episodes. (Otherwise, I'd constantly be looking at the screens for caps and thinking about what to say.) Besides, the story-telling is a little slower and sometimes repeated, anyway.

Even demons like playing with catnips, hm...

This set of episodes provided more insight to Natsume's past and less about Reiko's - in particular, it contrasted how Reiko never really "grew up", since similar events happened with Natsume but he was able to move on and find happiness. Ep02 catalogued his current fidgety friendship with Tanuma, and how both sides worried about becoming a burden to the other, while showing a little bit about Reiko's past days. The real information came from the next two episodes, however, which showed that Natsume had the ability to move passed his similar awful childhood memories and begin seeing each human and spirit individually, instead of as collectives.

Natsume Yuujinchou San Ep01

Natsume! Natsume, Natsume, Natsume~ If it's not clear yet, I love this anime. I loved the last two incarnations of it and, fully biased, I'm most likely going to love this third season as well. I couldn't wait to watch this episode and, at the same time, I needed to prepare my heart for it. It's an anime I love that fills me with sadness.

Oh, Natsume, I didn't even know I missed you, but I did.

I won't lie; because of how long it's been, I barely remember any of the characters or any of the major stories that occurred in the anime so far. Because of that, I'm really glad that the first episode did a little "recap" of sorts, reminding the viewers about the Book of Friends (yuujinchou) and Natsume Takeshi's grandmother, Natsume Reiko. Other than the recap, this hardly felt like a first episode, enshrining the typical handful of demons that each episode tends to have and the returning of names (along with some flashbacks about Reiko, but hardly anything revealing). Nonetheless, I loved every moment of it.