Quietly, without causing many ripples and
certainly without grabbing the attention of the Western anime scene, Natsume Yuujincho has become one of the most
important and successful animes of the decade. Last time I was in Animate,
Ikebukuro, the café was themed for the show. I probably see Nyanko-sensei
charms hanging from young people’s bags more than the mascots of any other show
– though it’s possible some were bought without actually knowing the character,
just as a cute cat. But the anime keeps getting renewed, almost to the point of
being a long-runner. The fifth season ended a few weeks back, and the sixth is already
announced for April. It’s also one of the very few shouji titles where there are
plenty of figurines available – usually it’s only the extremely homoerotic
shows like Free! and Kuroshitsuji that get figures.
I have no complaints. I really enjoy this
show. It was more of the same, with a few more kernels of information about the
wider society of exorcists and a bit of backstory for Natsume’s adoptive
parents, and some kind of season finale rather than a slow ‘Natsume gets sick
and the ayakashi contemplate how ephemeral human life is’ episode would have
been nice. I was also a little sad the whole season went by without an episode
with the Little Fox, the show’s most adorable character, but Natsume himself
had plenty of adorable moments.
Perhaps the cutest episode centred on a
little girl youkai searching for a man who was kind to her fifty years earlier,
another iteration of the show’s recurring theme of time seeming different for
beings who exist for millennia. There are also several funny and memorable youkai
this time, from a funny babyish giant bird to little rabbit-type spirits and a
funny stubborn mushroom with big dreams. One nice episode focuses on a youkai
trying to blend into normal human society, though of course it’s never quite
possible.
The pace remains slow and the show always
subtly celebrates a traditional, unhurried, community-based Japanese lifestyle,
which really helps give a feeling of softness and warmth to everything. Natsume
himself is certainly a feeble and unthreatening protagonist, but it’s hard to
dislike him. If anything, he makes people want to look after him.
Slow, soft, enjoyable but sometimes hilarious,
Natsume Yuujincho is a show I’ll
watch as long as they keep making it.
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