Story:
Let me start by saying if you look at this and see a bishounen and hope for a lovey dovey romance to ensue with some other special human or a youkai then you should probably just walk away right now because you are going to be very disappointed. Though there are moments that Natsume gets a sort of crush on a youkai in the show, it’s not the point of the show and it’s not a major issue that is addressed later on in the show.
The series (for the main part) is pretty episodic, which in most cases I hate. But every once in a while a good anime comes through and makes me love it and its episodic-ness. This is one of them. Sometimes theres a few “IN THE LAST EPISODE” moments, and some characters, such as the 5 acre youkai, cross over into other episodes, but for the most part the series remains episodic.
I really enjoyed the details put into the series. Not many anime actually explain how the character knows what to do in those magical moments. It just happens. They just know to scream an attack and it happens. End of discussion. However in Natsume Yuujinchou, it shows every explaination of how he randomly learns to do something.
Another thing I like is that it doesn’t make all the youkai act just like humans but look funny. I like that youkai don’t pay attention to gender. Creatures are just creatures. Period. And that to me is a detail that makes the story a lot better in some scenes.
So finally what makes it stand out. Of course it’s the title object. The book. A book full of demon names that for some reason Reiko never gave back. Learning the back stories to all of these ayakashi is what makes this series worth every single moment you spend watching it. I can’t say anymore about it without spoiling an episode or two, but the more stories you go through the more you want to watch.
So the story is wonderful. Cons that took off two points? It is a concept that is done very often, and the concept doesn’t have a huge arch to keep with. It’s enough to keep a viewer watching, enjoying, and entertained, but not jumping out of your seat and excited like a 10 would do.
Animation:
I gave the animation an 8 out of 10. Why? It’s beautiful! And every youkai looks so different! And the backgrounds are so detailed! Yes this is all true, however there were a few cons. In the more action-y scenes, you’ll see a little bit of unnatural movement with the human characters. With the youkai you can shrug it off with “they don’t really exist so they don’t have to look natural” but that doesn’t work with the people.
Also the backgrounds as detailed as they may be at times, are unmoving. If there are a group of people in the background, the people are at a stand still. And unfortunately the show falls into the “I can see the different cell” trap. If there’s a box that’s about to burst open, it’s probably the one that you see that is a slightly different color scheme than the rest of the cell.
But there are a lot of good things about the animation as well. The details put into the show make things beautiful. And the animation during the “magic” scenes is so flowy and serene it really changes the atmosphere from an action to a spiritual feel.
Sound:
The soundtrack to this series is absolutely beautiful. I would give it a 10 if not for one thing. THE SOUND OF NATORI’S TATTOO. Ugh…I hate that sound. And it happens at times that are completely unnecessary. I understand that the point is to add the detail in there, but please…during those moments can it slither quietly? Please?
Although the music to this series isn’t as good as in the second season, I still could sit through the entire OP and EP each episode I watched (which takes a lot for some anime). And the background music is really good at fitting into the scheme of things. So I almost..aaaalllmost gave it a 10.
Characters:
Okay first the big guy. The protagonist. Natsume Takashi. He’s one of those guys with one of those skills that not many others posess and make him look crazy. So in reaction to that he keeps it a secret and is very much to himself. However he’s different than most other protagonist in these situations. He doesn’t completely shut himself off from the world on purpose. He zones out a lot and falls asleep a lot, but he welcomes friends and newcomers gladly, even if he doesn’t want them all knowing his secrets. He has an outlook all his own and he won’t change it.
And he knows himself, which is a quality that very few main characters posess. Most main characters spend half a series finding out what their weakness is and coming to terms with is. But he will bluntly say things like “If I feel like it’s important I just jump in even though I know it’s a bad idea. I don’t think about it.” Which he knows is a flaw to most people. Natsume’s values aren’t stupid either. He isn’t super insecure about his family that he has, his foster parents, but he respects them and tries his best just because of what he’s been though. And the more you get to know him the more you get to know how human he is. Not human in the sense of the show, but how like a human, you and me, he is. And that’s probably what makes it so easy to get attached to him.
Nyan-ko Sensei, aka Madara. He’s both our comedic relief and our secondary hero. There are moments where he runs off and you think “What the crap…get back over here” but that just ads to his degree of imperfection necessary to make a good character. He comes to the house drunk, eats a lot, gets on natsume’s nerves, and yet everyone else seems to love him. He’s old and wise, though he tries not to show the old part unless he wants to scare someone, but sometimes he can just be a douche. Eh they’re tiny, doesn’t matter you can’t fight for beans they aren’t worth my time so you can deal with them, Natsume. Nyan-ko also has that “Only I can kill you” complex. Though lets face it, he’s not gonna kill him. But there are some points where you see in the beginning he really didn’t care if he died as long as he inherited the book, but as time goes on he goes from intrigued to entertained by the events.
Sasada. She is goofy. She has her respectable “class rep” moments and her “I’m a mischeivous little turd” moments that make her stand out. I love that she isn’t just a stick in the mud and has a story of her own, unlike the other two classmates. She is really what gives depth to the other background characters, and was the topic of one episode, but all together, I can see where she could possibly a fan favorite, though mine comes as a pair up next.
Kitamoto and Nishimura. They have to be listed as a pair. This isn’t just one of those cases where the two background characters come around and make everything funny and that’s their whole point. I love the fact that they force Natsume to be their friend. Natsume never stood a chance at being a loner with these two around. And they provide some pretty good details to the story. Their whole point is to drag Natsume to numerous other side characters, but at least they aren’t boring and at least they get screen time. They bring a smile to my face almost every time they are on screen.
Tanuma. He is awesome. I love how he and Natsume just click from the beginning. He can be a bit of a bore sometimes because he can be brought on just to pick on sasada during her crazy moments, but other times he’s just a nice guy that you can’t stand to hate.
Touko and Shigeru. I love these two more than real parents in anime. Touko is such a sweet woman but not perfect, which makes her amazing. And Shigeru is so chill with everything. If these two have to have a flaw it would probably be that they don’t really exist as people. I just wish I knew a little more about them. Why dont’ they have kids? Why did they live alone before? That’s possibly to be revealed in a sequel so we’ll see I suppose.
And side characters. Because this show is episodic there are a LOT of recurring and not recurring side characters. Some of my favorites would probably be the 5 acre youkai, like I said. They are just so goofy. But I love how each one has their own story and each one is either loveable or hateable.
Finally Reiko, who isn’t in the series, but is flashbacked in it. I dont like her. Why? Because she’s confusing. I can’t tell if she’s a bad person or just a cocky person or if the writer of the show even knows. By the end of this series I just couldn’t figure out if she was a good person or a person who constantly has to have her screw ups fixed by her grandson.
Enjoyment:
This show is beautiful, and amazing. If there was a 5th season I'd be watching it. I can't find where taking a point away from the enjoyment of this show would be valid because it's pretty freaking amazing.
Overall:
So I guess that’s my review of Natsume Yuujinchou. Quickie review: It’s beautiful with a few jagged moments, the sound track is gorgeous with one sound I hate, the story, though done before, is original in it’s own ways which make it lovely, the characters are loveable and fun which make this an easy watch.
So I would definitely say to watch this series. Now I’m going on to the next season. Enjoy!
