Natsume's Book of Friends Season 7

Episode 5

It's refreshing to realize that even though Natsume's Book of Friends is seven seasons deep, there's still so much more we can learn about its characters—even the ones we've seen hundreds of times. This episode is all about Chobi, the humorously big-faced member of the Dog's Circle; for those who need a reminder, they're the group of yokai who are fiercely loyal to Natsume and rush like dogs to his side whenever he's in trouble, which is often! Many of these characters have received their own spotlight episodes, most notably the enormous horse-like Misuzu and the flirty Hinoe, who once crushed on Natsume's grandma. Chobi has long been rumored to be a powerful yokai, but has merely been a funny-faced enigma until now, when we are finally introduced to his hidden depths. “Chobi's Treasure” is a reminder of the many unrevealed secrets that Natsume's Book of Friends is still concealing.

For anyone who has recently played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the central fetch quest of this episode seems all too familiar: obtain a dragon scale from the sinuous, snakelike dragon that glitters through the sky. Though at first Natsume is content with simply witnessing this rare sight, ideally with Nyanko-sensei by his side, his objective shifts after the normally affable Chobi looks uncharacteristically glum as he mourns his broken shell comb. Perhaps this seems trivial, but it's easy to emphasize with Chobi about that frustrating feeling when it's finally time to replace something you've had for a long time. This connection between yokai and human troubles is illustrated through Tanuma, who recounts to Natsume a story about an inlaid wood and mother-of-pearl box he had in his childhood. We are treated to a cute image of a pouty-faced little Tanuma as he recalls his childish attempts to rescue the crumbling fragments, but which he ultimately couldn't have repaired alone.

This message of community and togetherness echoes in Natsume's own quest, in which his yokai friends are with him every step of the way. This culminates in a climactic scene where one yokai after another guides Natsume part of the way to the dragon scale. Even though Natsume, ever a good boy, insists on climbing the pine tree himself, Nyanko-sensei is up there with him. Natsume's precarious position is well-depicted with the shifting backdrop, indicating the tree's height and the swaying branch's fragility. Even when we can't see him, his friends' expressive faces illustrate the danger well. For a moment it seems as if the scale will fall out of Natsume's reach. There's no elaborate sakuga to speak of in this scene, but these subtle, effective animations convey the height and risk of Natsume's efforts.

In the end, what Natsume accomplishes is as trivial as returning a person's shed toenail clipping back to them—if toenail clippings weren't gross and were instead iridescent with gleaming light. But of course the comb that Chobi crafts from his own shed scale is stunning and works effectively. It was satisfying to get an answer to the question of why Chobi needed such an elaborate comb for his tiny mustache (because that's how he shifts into his dragon form), but once one question got answered it left me wondering about others, like if he can magic a scale into a comb, why can't he magic a broken comb into a whole comb? Perhaps, in order to preserve the joy and beauty of Natsume's supernatural world, some mysteries are better left unsolved.

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Natsume's Book of Friends Season 7 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about model kits at Gunpla 101. She spends her days teaching her two small Newtypes to bring peace to the space colonies.