Episode 09 –
Natsume Yuujinchou this week took a much more quiet and low-key approach, though I guess that isn’t really new for this particular series. What made this episode so great though was how it did an excellent job showing the fruits of Natsume’s character development since the very beginning of this series (and when I say beginning, I mean ep 1 of season 1). The focus here is on Natsume’s group of friends and youkai that lend support to him, which is very different from the very antisocial Natsume we met in the early episodes of this series.
What I really appreciate about this episode is how it really pushed the notion of Natsume being dependent on others. We all know Natsume is gifted with some abnormally strong supernatural abilities, but this episode does well in exposing his weaknesses; that he relies on others around him for help because he can’t properly use his abilities. The most prominent little detail with regards to this would be the temporary loss of Nyanko-sensei’s aid throughout the episode. The old saying “you don’t know what you’ve got until you lose it” fits perfectly here, where Natsume comes to have more appreciation for the companionship of Nyanko-sensei.
What was also nice here is how the episode did not only focus on Natsume’s youkai companions, but also his human friends. The nature of Natsume’s relationships with the two different types of beings reflects upon his very pacifist nature, and really proves how he has come a long way from the very beginning of this series. After all, at the beginning he had no human friends and absolutely despised youkai.
While Natsume has made a lot of friends, it is also extremely important to note that there is a darker caveat to all of this. Natsume’s need to hide stuff about youkai from his friends, as well as fight against evil youkai, are all part of the balance where “with the good comes the bad”. This does remind me of Natori’s comments over whether Natsume will choose youkai or humans, and does reflect upon a more subtle, darker tension in this series.
A cultural festival, as cliche of an anime event as it may be, actually did quite a good job at portraying a balanced perspective of Natsume and his friends. Natsume’s growing network of friends is great to see, but this episode does also remind us that there is also a darker side to all of this, which will probably become a central issue if Matoba is ever reintroduced to the story.
Overall Enjoyment: 3.8/5
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 
I just laugh when I found out that Natsume didn’t know how to ride a bike. Also it brings in character development on his two other friends.
Well, I feel this episode brings into perspective the entirety of the cast, though the two friends do get special treatment here. As for the riding the bike, the significant thing to note there is how Natsume never learned because he never had anybody behind his back guiding and teaching him to ride. The fact that he had friends that now could was an explicit message about how Natsume has changed in recent times.