I glanced at some comments in the shoutbox that this episode was supposed to be amazing. Now that I watched this episode, I agree. The episodes of the third season have been continuously one-upping each other. And we’re only at episode four.
My memory could be wrong, but I think that this was the first episode where Natsume didn’t play the part of main character. Instead, we got to see everything from the point of view of a Youkai he once met as a child. And the way in which it did this was just sublime. It was full of those small encounters, and it really seemed to come from the mind of a youkai whose sense of time is different from ordinary humans.
The way in which the creators portrayed this youkai was just brilliant. Due to the nature of this episode, consisting out of a ton of small encounters, they were really able to nail her development and make her change gradually over time. Her inner monologues were also delightful to watch. It was nothing short of adorable.
It also seems that the creators are shuffling around chapters this time. That’s also the reason why I was so ecstatic when I learned who was going to be behind the series composition of this series: Sadayuki Murai. He pretty much was the best guy that they could have possibly gotten in terms of adaptations. For those too lazy to click the link: this is the guy who adapted the story for Boogiepop Phantom, Kino’s Journey and Mouryou no Hako, on top of writing the scripts for Millennium Actress and Perfect Blue. This guy is a GOD amongst scriptwriters. Natsume Yuujinchou San still is one of the most normal things he’s done, but even here it’s great to see how well the chapters to be animated have been chosen so far. This episode once again delivers a ton of development for Natsume and it falls perfectly in line with the previous three episodes. Heck, this episode’s message about Natsume growing up, changing and appreciating the things that he once found scary was really strong here. I’m really interested in what he can do with the rest of this series.
Rating: *** (Awesome)
The only other time I believe that Natsume didn’t really fill the main character role was during the episode where Madara has a fight with Natsume and leaves, falling into a hole along with a little girl.
Another wonderful episode. Natsume is off to an amazing start this season.
They actually moved the chapters around during the first two seasons as well, I believe that the Five Day Curse chapter (episode 12 in the first anime) was a really early chapter in the manga, like the fifth one. As long as they cover all the chapters I don’t really mind what order they do it in, especially since the series doesn’t have tons of continuity to worry about.
For me this was one of the best episodes of natsume, regardless of season. I got very emotional at the scene where he hugged the cat and then the ending of the story was really heartwarming and it really left an impression on me for the rest of the day.
So far this is looking to be much better than the second season. This season started good and each episode after that got even better.
This episode was just so perfectly executed. You could really feel time progress through this one; I didn’t just see the change in season and scenery, I could also feel the youkai change as well. While it did end on a sweet note, one thought left me melancholic: the fact that the youkai was still ultimately alone. In the series it was mentioned that time didn’t flow the same way for youkai and humans. A year in human time may only feel like a moment for them. But watching this youkai just waiting and waiting made me feel otherwise. Before Meeting Natsume, this youkai was living in loneliness. After encountering him again, she would continue to live alone. But those small meetings and eventual reunion brought the youkai joy that would perhaps last a lifetime, which really made this whole episode bittersweet.How I wish Natsume could’ve brought that cat back with him… Though with Nyanko-sensei around, the possibility is nil.
I don’t think the spirit could have went home with Natsume. The impression that I get is that she was the spirit of that tree, hence why she has “haunted” that spot for all these years. I would say it is her fate to remain at that spot, watching the humans pass by with disdain. Nonetheless, having Natsume pass through her “life”, even if only momentarily in the grand scheme of things, was certainly important enough for her to remember it all those years.
I like how the tone of this particular story differed from the manga. In the manga, she was a lot scarier (in my opinion). She was somewhat concerned with him in a very possessive way. I believe at one point she threatened to hurt his family if he doesn’t listen to her. But, I could be mixing it up with some other story.
I kept wishing I could hug Natsume as a kid, he must have gone through so much.
There were a lot of good scenes in this one, but the scene where Natsume takes hold of the coat in the dark and smiles, it just gets to you how little it would have taken to have made him happy.
I agree with the youkai, humans can be such ugly jerks!!
And then to see that misundertanding when the youkai scares him when he’s just about to make a friend, or so it seemed.
Gosh I’ve still got the lump in my throat.