I have to say the highlight of the episode was seeing Nyanko’s Reiko disguise again. At least he mentioned how he can only really transform into those he ‘got a good look at.’ Of course you could argue that he will only transform into those that mattered to him. Even if his cover story was the truth it makes you wonder again about his connection to Reiko. If he was that close to her…I wonder what kind of past they had. It’s funny that the series has gone on this long, but we still haven’t gotten much regarding that connection. While last episode was pretty cheerful and funny, this one really was more serious and filled with danger.

It’s good to see Natori again. Had a feeling from the voice and appearance, but the episode eventually helped confirm that. Funny how Natsume seems to get himself involved in Natori’s jobs without even trying. This was another dangerous situation, but it also reflects Natori’s change since meeting Natsume. He’s not going around massacring youkai, but he’s sealing away the dangerous ones. I’ve liked the connection between Natsume and Natori since they have a lot of similarities. They can both see youkai at the same level and are deeply connected to this world. Of course this episode also showed how both have had to confront a difficult issue regarding normal human friends. I know Tanuma can kind of see something when he looks at youkai, but it’s mostly useless.

The youkai world is a dangerous one and people shouldn’t stick their noses into it if they can help it. Tanuma is just too vulnerable not being able to see them like Natsume can. Of course the same is true for Taki. With Taki’s past we already know just how dangerous youkai can be for those who aren’t prepared. It’s the vulnerability of normal people that caused Natori and Reiko to live isolated existences. Of course Natori is an actor, but how many people is he close to really? The answer is probably just Natsume since he can’t really trust other exorcists due to competition. It was a nice insight to learn that Natori gave up on getting close to people. Natsume’s personality and the fact that he could also see them helped Natori come out more. Reiko of course lived a very isolated existence as far as we know. She beat up youkai to take their names, but wasn’t really close to many of them. Humans treated her as a weirdo so she wasn’t close to them either. She had been close to Shigeru, but decided to pull away because it was dangerous. Even though Natsume is afraid, Natori is right that he can’t give it up. Those bonds and friendships support Natsume and are important for him. He needs those friendships so he can’t give them up because of risks. It’s easy to get on Natsume for freaking out all the time, but as we’ve seen he has good reason to.

That scene with Nyanko and Tanuma walking into that bloody room just reflect how dangerous the world is. How can Natsume easily talk about seeing things like that on occasion? Touko would have a heart attack if she ever found out while Tanuma and Taki would be pretty chilled by that information. Of course this is Nyanko’s world and he’s seen worse. After being around for that long I guess you don’t get shaken by scenes like that.

Do not piss off Nyanko-Reiko, not a good idea.

On a lighter note I have to say it was utterly hilarious to watch Natori and Nyanko talk to each other with those masks on. Of course Nyanko just picked a mask with his usual disguise’s face drawn on, while Natori literally had a bag on his head. They may not particularly like each other, but they both care about Natsume and will look out for him. A fun moment at the end was with Nyanko going into maniacal laugh mode to scare off all the youkai. It’d be easy to beat them up in a fight, but I’m sure Madara has pride considerations. Saving an exorcist openly isn’t something that he’d like to do if it can be helped.

The ending showed just how difficult things are for Tanuma and Natsume. Both of these guys aren’t good with others and struggle with how to handle friendships. But their friendship is clear as day and they both care about what happens to each other. It’s not going to be easy to find the right distance or when to step back, but its something they have to face.

This was a good conclusion to the last episode. It helps people see just why Natsume is so terrified and how he is walking on a difficult path. Even still, it is a path he has to walk so one can only hope for the best. Good to see Natori again along with Nyanko’s Reiko disguise. Another good episode for Natsume.
Score: A

• setsuken

  Finally caught up to this amazing series. Wow, we’re already at episode 7, which close to half way. It really feels like this season is fading away waaay too quickly.

  In contrast to last week’s extremely hilarious episode, we had some good old character moments and some deep issues on the friendship between Tanuma and Natsume.

  The thing I love about both Tanuma AND Natsume is that they’re such friggin AWESOMELY nice people. I mean, Tanuma wants to help Natsume, and then he’s ALSO concerned about how Natsume FEELS when he may put himself in danger.

  Likewise, with Natsume, the guy cares so darn much about his friend that he doesn’t want him to get any more involved than he needs to, and yet doesn’t want to be alone either or make Tanuma feel like he’s an outsider.

  The dynamic of these two extremely nice friends, who really do put the capital “F” in friendship, its just awesome.

  I really did smile when Natsume mentioned that he’d be seeing Tanuma in school tomorrow, to complain. A big difference from how distant he was in middle school to that red haired chick whose flashback we saw a few episodes back.

  All in all, great episode.

  From a series stand point, I honestly am digging all the exposition about the characters and even more of Natsume’s past.

  What I really want though? Is some Natsume Reiko story. I really am VERY curious to see how her story ended, and what her opinions were by the end of her life. Was she ever happy? Who was the man she ended up with, because Natsume obviously came from somewhere XD

  I think I’m really worried we’ll never get the answer to this, given that we’ve already reached 4 seasons, something very rare in the anime industry as a whole. ;_;

• FlareKnight

  This series really is going by too fast. Of course just reminds me how good it is and how I always want more. There is always more room to develop the characters. Natsume has so many good characters in it that if you give a few to each of them, then before you know it the series is over.

  A good point with Natsume and Tanuma. They really are just super nice people. I suppose you can say that for a few characters in the series. The Fujiwara couple are amazingly nice, Natsume’s normal friends, Taki, etc. Natsume has gotten himself surrounded by people who really care about him physically and how he feels. Tanuma helped reflect this pretty well in the episode. He cares about Natsume, wants to help him, but doesn’t want to make Natsume feel terrible because he’s involved. Natsume as well cares a ton about Tanuma.

  I’m with you when it comes to Reiko. One thing I always want to see more is stories about her. We know she died young, but that’s about it. The flashes have shown us how she did struggle. Didn’t feel close to the youkai and was rejected by people. She had the power to deal with youkai, but how did she feel in the end? I’d hate to find out that she never felt satisfied or happy. Can say she didn’t return the names because she was pretty absent minded about that sort of thing, but I do wonder.

  I have faith we will find out the answers eventually, though maybe naive about it. Can say because it’s already gotten 4 seasons it might be unlikely, but if it’s gotten 4 then why stop there? This clearly is a good series financially, so long as they take enough breaks to give the source material breathing room then it should be ok. Since I would hate to see the series truly end, lot of good memories.