Natsume Yūjin-Chō Go

Episode 10

This episode of Natsume Yūjin-Chō Go is emblematic of what I was talking about in my beginner guide to the Natsume Yūjin-Chō series. After four seasons, this show is expanding its world in a big way, sharing stories and answering questions about characters who were always in the background. Touko and Shigeru have always been two of my favorite characters for their unfailing love for Natsume, even if they don't always understand the strange world he inhabits. There are no yokai visibly present in this episode, which makes it a secular perspective on Natsume's story by a reliable narrator—Touko—who viewers like me already adore.

Touko and Shigeru already live such a quiet life. Before Natsume entered their home, things were downright lonely. Touko befriends a crow and even finds herself talking to it in public, much to her embarrassment. In a supermarket, she pauses shopping in order to talk to a little boy she doesn't know about the fish for sale. She doesn't have anyone else close to her except for her husband, and anyone who's been in love will relate to the way that when Touko goes on a trip, all she can think about is how much Shigeru would appreciate the sights and when she'll see him again. “I get lonely really easily these days,” she thinks. Even alone, Touko is a joy to spend time with. I love her pouts, her blushes, the time on the trip that she lets her hair down and looks years younger—there's more to her than I realized.

Meanwhile, Shigeru is grappling with somebody else's loneliness. When he attends a distant relative's funeral, he encounters Natsume for the first time—a solitary boy in dirty clothes who is clearly trying to ignore the relatives talking about him like he's an inconvenient object. Shigeru begins to prepare to take in the child in his own quiet way, hesitant even to answer Touko on what he thinks she should make for dinner, because he's so uncertain about discussing Natsume. If Shigeru himself is lonely, he doesn't express it this episode, but it's certainly one of Touko's biggest fears—that when she's on a trip, or if she died, he'd be completely alone. When Shigeru finally brings up his thoughts on adopting Natsume, Touko responds with tears of joy and relief.

My favorite part of the episode is actually a repeat of a scene we've watched before. There have already been several painful episodes about Natsume's life with his previous foster families, in which he not only had to deal with being unwanted by humans, but being mercilessly threatened by yokai as well. Now we see that pivotal moment of Natsume and Touko's first meeting from Touko's perspective, and it's powerful even without a supernatural component. Retreading an old scene can be filler or it can be illuminating, and this instance is the latter. Framed by Touko's kindness and loneliness, you can truly see that Natsume was destined to come live with the Fujiwaras in this moment.

If that didn't make you misty-eyed, there's the final scene with the yokai crow we can't see. The decision not to show it helps us see Natsume the way the Fujiwaras see him—a bit enigmatic, but no less lovable for it. I truly hope that Touko's acceptance of Natsume's account of something that isn't there is a set-up for his eventual confession to them about being able to see yokai. Even if they don't understand, this sweet episode has shown it won't matter at all.

Rating: A

Natsume Yūjin-Chō Go is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist