Perhaps appropriately, given
that it is the only season to be titled as a continuation rather than being
given a number like a sequel, Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou is the only time a
season starts without an opening episode that repeats the exposition to explain
the premise...which is why I didn’t notice when I started watching season 4
that it wasn’t the beginning.
The second season is really
more of the same. It kicks off with an imitator of Nyanko-sensei, who
turns out to be a powerful youkai, and generally the series goes on exploring
Natsume’s situation and developing his relationships extremely slowly. We also
begin to have the theme of everyone else but Natsume wanting to choose a side –
abandoning humanity to spend time with the youkai like his grandmother Reiko,
or treating them like tools or animals like the exorcists.
There are even
humans who will use a youkai as bait to catch another. Natsume spends more time
with the famous actor Natori – including a hot springs
trip with him, a new level of homoeroticism. Otherwise, things are generally episodic
again – Natsume might buy a painting that turns out to be the object of
obsession of a kind-hearted spirit, or meet an old lady who met a mermaid in
her youth and fears she cursed another with immortality.
Though the cute fox boy is not
back in this season, he will return in the next. Instead, there’s a little dragon-boy
who hatches from an egg who is quite absurdly cute – especially as powerful demons
want to eat him – and another somewhat emo young spirit whose name was taken by
Reiko and tied to a tree.
There’s also a very interesting young boy called Kai
who is prickly but of course warms to Natsume – and in the two-part season
finale turns out to be more than he initially appears. His design seems almost
a nod to Mushishi, but grey/white hair and a fringe that covers one eye
isn’t exactly unique. It’s a little unconvincing how he departs to neatly round
off the story, but it was interesting to watch nonetheless.
As the series gets closer to
the present day, the animation marginally improves, but it’s never really what
one would call stunning. Still, Brain’s Base get the art style nicely, and a
slightly less bombastic style suits it.
The only thing I’m starting to
find unconvincing is that Natsume’s supposed spiritual power manifests
generally in one punch to the face whenever he’s in trouble, and that always
seems to sort out even the most terrifying threat – before, of course,
Nyanko-sensei intervenes.
I suspect that looking back, I’ll
consider season 2 the most underwhelming of the Natsume Yuujinchou
seasons, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless, and will happily continue
with season 3.
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