Episode 06 –
Natsume Yuujinchou is known for it’s more atmospheric tone to the story, so this comedy oriented one took me by surprise. Nevertheless, Natsume Yuujinchou did a great job with meshing together comedy with some drama (courtesy of Nyanko-sensei). This was the 1st part to a 2-episode arc, which is a bit more rare in the Yuujinchou series, but the arc sure does seem to be capitalizing on the extra screentime. The show is both pushing forward it’s theme about youkai vs humans, all while exploring Natsume and his relationship with his human friends. This season has been all about exploring Natsume’s relationships with youkai and humans, and this arc proves to be no different as of now.
The comedic aspects to this episode were actually all due to Nyanko-sensei. After all, seeing Nyanko sensei masquerading around as Natsume was a great way to poke fun at Natsume’s normal, good-boy demeanor. From the usage of slang, sloppy eating, frowning, and getting angry at others, Nyanko-sensei’s flagrantly out-of-character acting was hilarious several times throughout the episode.
There was a serious side to this episode, and it was integrated into the story quite well. It tries to address Natsume’s fear of letting his friends get involved with youkai, as well as Tanuma’s concerns that Natsume is too reluctant to ask for help. This inherent tension in the relationship amongst these two friends has been present ever since they became good friends, and highlighting this concern they have for each other adds a new dimension to their characterizations.
From the looks of things, this arc may very well be the first one where one of Natsume’s human friends becomes heavily involved with youkai. It’ll be interesting to see if that really happens, and if so, if Tanuma will become more heavily involved with Natsume’s future affairs with youkai. It would be a very different way of changing up this series, because up until now it’s only been Natsume that’s been heavily involved with youkai.
Overall Enjoyment: 3.6/5
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 