To be honest, I was hesitant to watch the series at first, but it is an excellent watch and will definitely leave a great feeling when you finish the series! Be sure to watch the other three seasons too because they're awesome!
[Note: This review is for the WHOLE series. Also, this review has no spoilers!]
Now to get into the details...
STORY:
The story is unique in it's own way, I've never seen an anime quite like it and I don't know if I will be able to find one like it for along time. Some episodes will leave you tears because oh my gosh it's so sad sometimes. The story pulls you in and then keeps you itching for the next episode. It's gets really saddening though, as you watch episode after episode before reaching the end. You might even want to slow down so you'll have more time to savor such heartwarming storytelling. The limited romance and a good dose of action scenes, which makes it extremely enjoyable to those who want to step away from all the kissing and tsunderes for a moment.
CHARACTERS - 10/10
This is the first time I liked all the characters I came across. Unlike animes where I hate this one particular character, I found coming to the conclusion that I can't really hate anyone in this anime. Sure I may dislike some of the characters, but all the characters really grow on you. I would like to comment on how well the female characters are executed. There are no super tsunderes that get on your nerves or that super shy girl that is super clumsy. All the girls are relatively normal and I grew to like them, making it the first time I liked female characters as much as I loved the male characters.
Natsume Takashi basically became my favorite during the few fist episodes. He's been through hell, but he just keeps trudging forward. The way he tries to avoid to cause inconvenience to the people around him is just so admirable, although I wish he would open up a bit more. I feel so sorry for him sometimes and I find myself shedding tears for him more than once. Nyanko-sensei is probably my favorite non-human favorite character too.
It's hard to forget the characters you've seen, even the bad guys. Sometimes you're watching and you go "Hey, I wonder what this character is doing." Needless to say, you won't be forgetting about any of the characters here soon.
ANIMATION - 10/10
The animation is extremely good for it's day and age. Although rather plain looking to some people, it really has some gorgeous-simple scenes that make you want to wish that you lived there. I myself, would jump at the chance at living at such a peaceful town that Natsume is living in.
Although some could compare this anime's animation to that of Sword Art Online, this anime was made in 2008 PEOPLE, 2008. It's pretty good if you ask me.
MUSIC - 10/10
Oh my gosh, the OST of this anime is so...beautiful. My favorite opening is from the second season (Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou), but my favorite song from this series is Ito wa Kanashi (OST Music). The music is fits right in with the action. Hearing some of the music makes you want to just sit on your porch and just watch nature to think about how fragile your life is. This is what the music is like. Also, everything is mostly traditional. There's no electronic tunes, most of the music is made by the traditional Japanese instruments, which gives this anime a very very peaceful feeling.
OVERALL JUDGEMENT - 10/10
Natsume Yuujinchou is probably one of the anime that I will never forget even though I tried. This is the first time an anime left me in such a peaceful state of mine. I had to take a moment after watching the last episode to just cry by myself. Yea, that's how the last episode of the series is like, just so peacefully happily sad.
Nonetheless, Natsume Yuujinchou is probably became one of my most favorite anime. I haven't watched anything this good in a long long time. It's also like a breath of fresh air for those who are watching intense action scenes all the time. I highly recommend this anime to everyone! The series (including the other three seasons and 2 OVAs) is quite long too, so you don't worry about it being too short. I really hope that there's a fifth season, otherwise I would be rather saddened, but Season 4 has a pretty solid ending so I won't mind if it never did continue the anime. If not you can always read the Manga.
ANYWAYS IF YA HAVEN'T WATCHED IT, WATCH IT. IT'S REALLY REALLY GOOD.
