Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou

I put off finishing Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou, the sequel to Natsume Yuujinchou, only because I didn't want it to end. I had really enjoyed the first season, and this one was even better.

Like it's prequel Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou has a very gentle feel to it. It's heavy focus on loneliness and longing, is evened out with cheerfulness of love and friendship that Natsume experiences not only with the youkai he encounters but with his foster parents, school friends, and other humans.

You can see Natsume growing stronger bonds with characters introduced in the first season. It's enjoyable to see the almost sibling love between Natsume and ... Madara, along with a growing friendship with Natori.

More characters are introduced and the human characters have a stronger role as well. Natsume is growing into someone very different from the first season, and it is very noticeable that it is because of what he experiences with his fellow cast and the problems that he helps the youkai solve along the way.

Madara of course is the main source of humor, be it his comments and bad habits, or bantering with Natsume, he sometimes steals the show. It is also interesting to see how this season changes his relationship with Natsume, definitely not disappointing.

And the most pleasing is the better look into the past and character of Reiko; Natsume's grandmother. However, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding her, leading to fans hoping for the series continuation, if only to have the biggest questions about Reiko answered.

The show could only go so far with it's fascinating characters and heart catching stories. The art and music really help to pull everything together. With the light colors and almost paint brush feel of the scenery, along with the gentle soundtrack playing in the background, it just helps cement the feeling that the creators tried to create and pull off.

Sadly, one of the last episodes got a little sloppy,'little' being the key word as it is barely noticeable. Other than that the animation is smooth and pleasing to the eyes.

The opening and ending really complement the over all feel and message of the show. I especially liked the ending 'Aishiteru' by Kourin, her voice gave the lyrics a lonely but hopeful feel, it is very nostalgic.

Some might say that this show is boring because of how mellow it can be. This is not true, and the reason is that most of the series is focused more on 'themes' as the main plot, with one story episodes; rarely does a story or conflict go on for more then one episode.

The ending of the season is especially pleasing. While it clearly shows some bridges have been crossed as far as story development, it was left open for either the viewer's interpretation or a third season.

Over all, this series really makes one think about the workings of the heart, friendship, and trust. I recommend that everyone give this series a try, there is so much that it offers, and it would be sad to miss out on it.

---PS. This is my first review on MAL. Let me know what you thought.

~~Show completed as of March 30, 2009.

Story - 8.8/10 (B+)
At first glance, i thought the whole "defeating spirits" element was overused, but the way Natsume Yuujinchou does it is much different. Natsume's grandmother, Reiko collected the names of spirits she defeated in battles until the day she died, and Natsume wants to return all the names, even though he could risk his life in the process. It really flows well, especially how Natsume punches the spirits like it's no big deal, kinda funny there. Then we have Madara, or as we know him as Nyanko-sensei, the spirit who seeks the Book of Friends only to ... be told by Natsume that he will get it when Natsume dies. I'm surprised that Nyanko-sensei hasn't came up with a plan to kill Natsume, but then again, the pacing of this show is different. When i watched the first episode, i felt like it was Winter, and i was warm from a fireplace (weird, i know), but this show really makes you feel calm, collected and just mellow. Perhaps all the mecha animes and the shounen animes took a toll on me, and Natsume Yuujinchou is the cure to my pain.

Animation - 10/10 (A+!)
The art is spectacular! I can't believe it's so well animated, just blew me away. From the opening sequence, to the ending sequence, and all in between, i really am fond of this show even more. It's so simple that it's perfect, in every way.

Sound -10/10 (A+)
i love the OP, and the ED is the most soft, teary, and beautiful song i've ever heard. The voice acting is really tremendous, with Kamiya Hiroshi as Natsume Takashi (Who also voices Tieria Erde in Gundam 00 btw). The voice actors all do a really marvelous job, it makes you feel like you're a part of this as well.

Characters - 10/10 (A+)
Many people think of people like Natsume as the "gay-ish", femine person. Well, it's better than hearing macho, tough, know-it-all's (Naruto, Ichigo, Black Star) say the same s**t all the time. Natsume is the kind of anime guy i really like, not too femine and not too masculine. Then we have Nyanko-sensei, the lovable kitten who's real form is somewhat dragon-like. Reminds me of Yoruichi's cat form from Bleach, only more enjoyable. Nyanko-sensei always has to say something smart, or pick at Natsume for being weak or too much of a pushover. I can just have these two characters and no other characters appear, and i'd still love this show.

Enjoyment - 10/10 (A+)
Something so excellent as Natsume Yuujinchou is easily overlooked by redundant shounen anime, or money-wasting ecchi. Everyone needs to watch this show, whether you're feeling down, feeling stressed or just plain you. This show will not disappoint. Some might view this as too boring, but those people are the ones who survive off of (redundant) animes such as Naruto and Bleach and Soul Eater. As a former Bleach fan, this show really got me off the shounen animes, and i'm thankful. Give this show a try, because you'll be glad you did.
-----------------------------------------

The Good: Animation, Characters, OP/ED, Basically Everything

The Bad: Use of spirits (not so much a big deal) as a plot element.
Sometimes it can get too boring.

Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou

After the disastrous experience I had in the first season, I was already floored to learn that this show has 6 full seasons. I just thought to myself "what have I gotten myself into here!!!"
But to my surprise, this season was more than twice as good as the first, even if it didn't change much in the content.

Natsume's Book of Friends - is a show that follows the everyday experiences of Natsume, who unlike other people can see Yokai. This complicates his life enough, plus he has to deal with their problems. The problem with this show is that it is ... very episodic and has little cohesion, so it certainly won't appeal to everyone.

Even though I have to say that the pacing and quality of this show have increased massively since the first season, it's just about average here, which is what I would have expected from the beginning.

Another massive problem with this anime is the pacing, which can be cruelly slow, although most of the cases or stories are so short that you can complete them in 8-12 minutes, they are dragged out to 18 minutes by very questionable scenes or bad dialogue.
And while I'm on that point, yes this anime undoubtedly has some of the worst character conversations I've ever seen. If anyone wants to know what an anime with all Skyrim town guards in the lead would be like, here you go.

The only 2 positives why I can still mentally stomach the anime, other than a hope for improvement. Are -.
- The cat is a well-done and amusing character, reflecting the personalities of cats very well especially.
- The little Yokai stories are interesting from time to time, even if the execution is mostly poor or too much potential is wasted.


[Story 3]

Natsume lives his daily life and encounters new Yokai every day who either want to hug him, want his fist in their face, or simply remove him from their Instagram friend list. This is roughly the entire flow of the show.
Later in the course of the third season, something like an actual antagonist is introduced to form the antithesis of Natsume. But in the second season, there is no such thing.

[Characters 4]

Aside from that, the fact that only 3 characters in the entire show have even a rudimentary personality but are unable to have normal dialogue shocks me.
Nonetheless, Natsume is a hypocrite, but at least a barely satisfying character. He has a few positive points as negative ones.
Nyanko Sensei is what people call a "best waifu" in every sense. Even if his dialogue is mostly just running gags, he is entertaining.

The rest of the supporting characters aren't even worth mentioning, if I hadn't started season 3 the day before writing my review, I wouldn't have kept their existence in mind.

[Animation 5 / Music 6]

The osts are still inappropriate, uncreative, and annoying. I would like the anime more without music if this is the result of what my ears get. In a serious scene, they use music like the Pink Panther is just skulking around somewhere.

However, I have to note one thing here, I love the intro. It is one of the best slice-of-life intros I have seen, music included. The outro was also very appealing.

The animations in this season have improved greatly since the first. The backgrounds are more detailed and the characters' faces are less deformed.
By the way, it surprised me what happened in episode 10, the budget increased 5 times and it already had movie quality. Then it went back to normal, unfortunately, I didn't find any information about it.


[Conclusion 5]

Natsume's Book of Friends is a show for in-between, it's very hard to watch an episodic anime, especially one where more than half of the Yokai stories are very weak and boring. Combine this with mediocre characters, weak osts, slow pacing, and poor dialogue, and the whole thing becomes all the less enjoyable.

However, it's not that the second season was bad either, as I said, this is a definite step up from its predecessor.

[Enjoyment 4]