Natsume Yuujinchou Go

Episode 1
I decided to rewatch the previous seasons before Go started, and I just finished season four minutes before this aired. Perfect timing! This episode was everything I wanted it to be.
I absolutely adore this series, but what I really want is to learn more about Reiko and it's looking like that may just be what we're going to get this season. She's been so mysterious so far, and I've been curious as to who she got involved with. We've always seen her with youkai, never with humans, so the man she met must be interesting. I really do hope we get to know more about it.

Also, something I've noticed after my rewatch, Nyanko-sensei has grown quite protective and attached to Natsume's foster family and friends. He complains about them, but he's always moving to protect them from danger, with or without Natsume saying something. This episode showed that immediately. In previous episodes you could see it subtly becoming more and more of a thing, but now it's pretty obvious and open. I love it.

I'm happy this is back. The OP was great, and Aimer as the ED couldn't have been more perfect. I love her work and it goes so well with this show.
 
Finally I get to experience NY during autumn again. It's the perfect season for this show. Like with Durarara!! there's a slight change in animation style and quality changing from Brains-Base to Shuka, but it's not as noticeable. The new OP and ED fit the show nicely.

Episode 1
It's so great to have this back. Since your familiar with the show, its premise and characters now, it feels like visiting an old friend. I have also been hoping for more details about Reiko's past and it seems like she was shunned by her peers and adults. It would be nice to find out more about the mysterious young man she met.

Kayatsubo makes for an enjoyable "monster of the week", being quite mischievous but also childish. Nyanko-sensei finally gives a shit about his foster family and rushes to their aid, when Kayatsubo made for Takashi's home. Once again Takashi solves the matter in a peaceful and nonviolent way, which is always the best outcome.
 
Episode 1 was great and it was nice to see more of Reiko, but the art really did look pretty assy. Nyanko-sensei looked off model for the entire episode. Shuka should have taken some decent animators with them when they broke off from Brains-Base.
 
Episode 2:

The first episode was a fun reintroduction to the series, but this episode just blew me away. It was a beautiful episode that was just the right mix of sweet and sad. Like the best episodes of this show it uses the supernatural to hit at a very human truth. The exaggerated nature of the existence of the youkai is actually perfect for picking out and exploring themes of humanity.

Life is funny in how an experience can be world changing for one person, but just another day for someone else. Sometimes a single chance meeting can have a deep impact on someone's life even if the other person remains completely unaware of the significance. The youkai experience time differently than people do so an experience like this leaves a much deeper mark on them and in this case leads to a 50 year obsession with return a towel. Of course it's not really the towel, but getting to meet with a special person once again, but in this case it wasn't meant to be and she had to be content with a small token from the human that has shaped the last 50 years of her life. It's hard to not feel sad for her because the guy was there for all those years, but never able to see her because he was only able to see her that first time because a bunch of unknown conditions made him able to see her that day.

At the end I was hoping him being sick or older might be enough to make him able to see her one last time, but it wasn't meant to be. It was another heartrending moment, but life doesn't always offer us the catharsis we desire. At least she's able to accept things in stride and can maybe move on now the towel has been returned.

This is the type of episode that really makes me love this show.
 
Episode 3

Time to move the exorcist plot forward! I don't mind it, even though I would have preferred a stand-alone story. Since the main plot (if it actually is one) has only appeared sporadically throughout the show so far, I guess this is gonna take up a few more episodes than usual.

Matoba reminds me of Takasugi from Gintama a bit and it was nice to see him again, but I was even more happy about Hiiragi showing up in this episode. Also, I dunno but for some reason
something is odd about Natori this time. The way he talks to Natsume and how he's been acting, it's a bit weird. Also since Matoba was talking about some dangerous individual bound to a youkai or something. Then there's the inexperienced exorcist and his mysterious bearded mentor, of which we're most likely gonna see more in the meeting Matoba mentioned
 
Episode 4:

This was a great episode that did some nice world building. It gave a lot of interesting details on the politics the exorcists and there was nice intrigue going on behind the scenes. Poor Natsume ends up getting used in a conflict he barely understands, but at least he sticks to his morals.

Episodes 5:

This was a really cute episode.
It's interesting to see a being discovering love for the first time. The Youkai live such different lives from humans and Mr. Fury didn't even have a frame of reference for what he was feeling. Using a blank slate like that allows for the episode to demonstrate love in a powerful way. It's definitely an episode that makes you want to reach out to someone special to you.

Episode 6:

The owl thing was pretty cute. I liked the melancholic feeling of the owl's story as she waited for Reiko to come visit her once again. It was also good to see Natsume give back a name again.

The episode also does a nice job of showing Natsume is still vulnerable. He's matured and grown a lot, but he's still putting people at risk by holding on to the book of friends. He's looked pretty strong in the last couple of episodes, especially in episode 4, but in reality he still needs to be protected when youkai are constantly drawn to him.

Yup, this is still great stuff.
 
Episode 9:

What a lovely episode.

While it ended on a hopeful note, it's still a pretty sad episode. The scene before the very end was quite heartbreaking. It's a hard lesson to learn that some dreams are truly out of reach. However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't have dreams or dream big to have something to aspire to, but if you hang your entire identity on that dream then your world will come crashing down when the reality that it is impossible hits.

It was also a sad episode on the part of the divine youkai. His line "I'm sorry for my kindness to you" tells a sad story all its own. He's surrounded by this procession that venerates him, but is still lonely and was happy to find a companion even if it was just for a short time.

It was nice that there was a happy resolution to the episode. I think it's important that it emphasized how much hard work was going to be needed for the little mushroom to achieve his dream.

Great episode with a nice lesson that ends up being a little more nuanced than a black and white moral.
 
Episode 11:

"We know the flowers' petals will fall someday, and yet still, we're entranced by them."

What a perfect way to sum up the relationship between humans and youkai in this series. More than that though it's a poignant statement about the fleeting nature of a human's lifespan. I thought was a such a great sentiment to end the season on.

Overall, Natsume is still great. The show continues to be the perfect way to relax. It's funny and charming with a strong emotional core that makes the whole thing a very satisfying package. The art did go a little downhill after the change in studio, but after a couple of episodes I got used to it. 7 out of 10
 
Episode 10 lifted this up into greatness status for me.

The crow thing was a really great metaphor and fits with everything the show's been doing so far, and gives us some fine moments with natsume and his adopted parents, making them actual characters. I felt things for this episode more than any episode before now, it's always been good but yeah, this is really really good.

8/10 for this season, even though I'll always miss good brain's base. Wow.
 
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