It’s time for some more Natsume hype! The series has really stayed strong with 5 seasons and we have season 7 coming out soon so you can expect more reviews soon. It’s the kind of title that can really last for however long the author wants it to. The storyline is fairly basic but allows for more to be brought into the mix whenever it is needed because we still don’t know how big the book of friends is. Until that happens, we have unlimited time here and by this point you should either know if you are a fan or not. It’s more of the same and the series is pretty consistent like that.

Since the show is mainly stand alone we’ll go through each of the episodes. The season itself appears to be pretty short at 11 episodes but there were two bonus ones so that helps to get things back to a normal amount. Natsume is also being thrown onto his back slightly less often nowadays so he is getting better at working with the Yokai but I won’t be satisfied until I see him become really confident. I want him to show off his right hook and really have the respect his power. Natsume clearly has the ability, he only lacks the confidence.

The first episode is fairly light and is sort of a catchup/intro episode for new fans. Natsume encounters a yokai who needs him to find her doll and one that likes acorns. So, being the nice kid that he is, Natsume helps out both yokai even if the one with the doll wasn’t particularly pleasant. Natsume helps out for the love of the game and he will always be there for assistance even if he is being used. That is of course the tricky part which Nyanko warns him about but Natsume just can’t let things be. If he can help out then that’s what he’ll do. There’s not as much of a sense of danger in this episode since Nyanko could realistically solo any of the villains but it’s still a wholesome episode overall.

Now it’s time for another emotional episode. A human gave a yokai his towel when it was raining hard so that she wouldn’t get sick and he left. 50 years have passed and she wants to see him but hasn’t been able to make contact. So she asks Natsume for help and he’s got nothing better to do so why not? Of course the old man is fairly old as you would expect and Natsume can’t exactly say that he was asked to search by a yokai so the guy’s granddaughter thinks he’s a weirdo. Still, Natsume gets the Yokai the closure that she needed. It’s another pretty wholesome episode and fun addition into the lineup. It reminds you how inconvenient it is to be a Yokai with how you’re immortal but can’t really talk to anyone except for very specific circumstances. That has to get old quick.

Next up is a 2 part adventure and this is one of the bigger ones since we have the return of Matoba the exorcist along with Natori. So Natsume’s bad luck prevails as he ends up losing a letter than Matoba sent him so the guy has to show up in person and threaten him for help. Natsume is forced to find a yokai who has infiltrated an exorcists meeting and is trying to murder everyone. If Natsume doesn’t help, his parents will be told the truth about how he can see yokai. Honestly Natsume needs to tell them already or this blackmail will keep on being effective but that time isn’t now. It’s a pretty solid 2 part adventure in part because the addition of Matoba always adds a certain level of danger.

If he finds out about the Book of Friends then he may very well kidnap Natsume or take the book by force. He has the resources and men to do the job. Nyanko is a great guardian in theory with his power levels but he wouldn’t be able to stop a whole army and Matoba knows it. That guy still makes for a really fun villain and I like seeing him around. Then we have Natori who always seems to play second fiddle but at least he’s more aware of what is going on than Natsume. I appreciate that he is always ready to help just in case Natsume needs any assistance. The main character doesn’t even realize that he has this protection in most instances.

After that we have an episode where Taki takes Natsume to her house as quite a few Yokai are around. She helped one out and now more are there and one is even leaving her messages at school. They seem nice enough but you never can tell with Yokai. It’s always fun to see Taki around though as she is easily the best out of the supporting characters at school. It’s a fairly low key episode after the last two with Matoba and is one of those episodes that remind you how a lot of Yokai aren’t actually dangerous. They’re all mysterious but a good number of them are reasonable.

The next episode gets back to the high stakes though. Natsume’s voice is sealed by a pair of Yokai and they are hunting him for some reason. Nyanko is much more powerful than they are but his reaction times are not always the best and he isn’t always on guard. So if Natsume lowers his guard then it’s all over. Fortunately his folks don’t really question the lack of a voice beyond just being a common cold so he got lucky there. I feel like it would be treated as a rather massive deal that your voice is completely gone if you ask me, but I suppose that’s just how it goes sometimes. It was good to see Nyanko step up when it counted though.

It’s back to wholesome times after that though. Natsume and friends head to Tanuma’s inn to relax and hang out. It turns out that a lady he knows there is a Yokai though. She asks Natsume to keep this as a secret and she will move on after the trip is over. She’s always been real kind though and he figures she should stay if she wants to. It’s one of those interesting cases of a Yokai being able to freely interact with humans so I’m guessing she has pretty strong abilities or it could be that the temple background amps her up. Either way it’s a pleasant story.

We get back to the important business after that with a prequel episode where we see how Natori and Matoba first met up. Matoba was as snobbish as ever here as he showed off his abilities but you could also see how he was glad to have someone to talk to. It was a really interesting episode and it’s why either one of these characters would make for a better main character than Natsume. This may seem a bit harsh but Natsume just doesn’t have the same level of backstory or intrigue to keep up with them. It’s definitely tough for Natori knowing that he will never be on Matoba’s level in terms of sheer ability but that’s where creativity comes into play.

After that is more of a standard episode. Natsume runs into a little mushroom yokai that has big dreams to serve a local yokai lord. He needs to get that guy’s attention and clear some tasks so Natsume helps him out. It’s nice of Natsume to help but you can see how this guy is completely out of his depth. The little yokai doesn’t have the size or stature to really do much and it’s not like you change species as you grow older. The lord turns out to be a nice character and isn’t a jerk or anything like that but even if he had completely rejected the mushroom yokai you’d have totally understood.

Now we have another prequel episode and this time it’s more details about how Toko and Shigeru adopted Natsume. We’ve been getting different bits and pieces of Natsume’s background in each of the season and it’s always fun to see more of it. Toko and Shigeru are also pretty solid characters. They may have roles that are fairly low key but they are always eager to help out. The episode is on the low key side but they make for good leads so it ends up being one of the stronger episodes.

After that we have an episode where Natsume gets sick so all of his yokai friends try to find the cure. It’s nice to see everyone banding together to help out like this. It shows how many real friends Natsume has made and he has sure come a long way from the days where he had no friends. It’s really nice to see although the episode itself could be a little boring at times. Episodes where the main character is sick rarely entertain me in any show as it’s just not a gimmick that works for very long. I get the emotion beat they were going for here though.

Then we get to the bonus episodes. The first one is a wholesome episode about a yokai couple who could make super sake cups that would last for one year. The drinks out of them would taste amazing but they are getting old and their powers are waning so they are having one last party. I guess you could say the episode is about their bond and how it stayed really strong. There isn’t a whole lot of story to the episode otherwise but it works well enough as a stand alone.

Finally we have an episode where Natsume is trapped in a hide and seek game. Whenever he falls asleep he falls inside the game and bad things may happen if he’s caught. It works as a fairly spooky episode although it’s still hard to feel too much danger since Natsume can still one punch just about any demon if he puts his mind to it. It ends up having a happy ending and all. It was a good episode and I’d probably put it around the middle of the pack. It did its job here.

That about wraps up the season here. As always it’s a fun show with a wide variety of different stories to tell. Each plot is different and the writer is creative with how many situations come up. At the end of the day it might not be the most exciting show but I can see how it’s viewed as a calming title. You could watch this at night for some wholesome entertainment before turning in. It means it’ll be hard for the show to shift gears into the next level but there’s nothing wrong with just being a good show. Not every show has to be great or amazing after all.

The technical elements may not be great but they’re not bad either. The opening is a little too slow and calm for me but of course this is a calm show with slow pacing. So it makes sense but I would still like a rock theme or something like that. The soundtrack isn’t particularly engaging but it works well enough. The animation is a little on the lackluster side and under most anime but it’s not terrible. The story helps the show out more than the technical elements and so long as the writing stays good this will always be a solid show. I can easily recommend it to anyone which is always a plus.

Overall, You could say that the show is a bit static in regards to all of the characters and the story as a whole but as long as they keep churning out seasons I will be here. At the end of the day I have no big issues with the show as a whole. Natsume and Nyanko are a fun enough duo. Hopefully we get some Reiko flashback episodes in the next season or at least more Matoba episodes since he’s always fun. The show definitely has the foundation to become a full fledged action show if it ever wants to do so but that’s probably more of a pipe dream. As long as you enjoy some fun story telling then I think you’ll enjoy this show. It’s probably best not to binge it and just enjoy a few episodes here and there until you get to the end.

Overall 6/10