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Natsume Yūjin-Chō Roku
Episode 11

by Lauren Orsini,

How would you rate episode 11 of
Natsume Yūjin-Chō Roku (TV 6) ?
Community score: 4.6

Just like that, another season of Natsume Yūjin-Chō is over all too soon—and right when we were making some progress! Though the culmination of this two-part story didn't end in any way like I expected, it hit an emotional high note that was satisfying and sweet. The core themes of isolation and companionship in both the spiritual and secular world were out in full force this episode, with a few valuable plot-building discoveries thrown in for good measure.

natori was right to bring Natsume to the exorcist's mansion. Even though the exorcist is long gone, only Natsume still understands him as if they were talking together. Like Natsume, the exorcist has treasured relationships with humans and yokai alike, even though the latter have the potential to endanger the former. In the end, it's these ties of companionship that lead Natsume straight to the hidden room: the maple tree the exorcist planted for his granddaughter and the dragon familiars watching over the exorcist in his family portrait. When Natsume discovers one of the dragon familiars, he remains fiercely loyal to his deceased master. Nobody's getting inside this mysterious study under their watch. They'd rather die defending it than let anyone inside—and that's exactly what appears to happen.

This episode shows the difference between Natsume and the yokai exorcists. On one extreme, there's Nanase, who decides to just start burning the place down to attempt to call the dragons' bluff. In the middle, there's natori, who attempts to reason with the dragon familiar, telling him, “If you fear [the items in the study] will be misused, give them to us!” And on the other side there's Natsume, who simply accepts that he's not getting in there. Through six seasons of Natsume Yūjin-Chō, Natsume has dealt with so many stubborn, fickle, and childish yokai that he doesn't even attempt to find win-win situations anymore.

This brings me back to Natsume's revelation of the Book of Friends to natori. By the end of the episode, Natsume feels good about his decision to tell natori about it, and he's relieved they didn't get into “more of a fight about it.” But Nyanko-sensei isn't so sure. After all, natori sees yokai in a different light than Natsume does—as an exorcist, he has something to gain from working with them. Nyanko, whose intuition is usually correct, warns Natsume against natori's “shady-looking smile.” And indeed, natori's thoughts are veering toward destruction of the Book of Friends: “Something so dangerous… you should just burn it.” He thinks this despite the fact that Natsume and natori decided to collect half-burned artifacts from the study, and this means to me that natori is really looking out for Natsume, albeit in a misguided way. He doesn't want to acquire the Book of Friends for himself; he simply wants to protect Natsume from it. But if these past six seasons have taught us anything about Natsume, this boy would rather sacrifice himself, the way the dragon familiars did, than risk anything happening to his single strongest connection to his grandmother.

“No matter the fun we yokai thought we had, whenever there was a noise at the front door, he would fly to it.” The dragon familiar reflects on his master's lonely life—even when he was having a great time with his yokai friends, he still missed connecting with his own kind. The episode slips into a montage of Natsume's memories, as the times when yokai kept him from connecting with other people gradually give way to how he was able to bond with other humans—like natori, Taki, and Tanuma—because of yokai. It's a beautiful end note that shows just how far Natsume has come and how bittersweet the journey has been.

It's clear that the exorcist and Natsume both share that craving for connection—and that's not the only thing they have in common. If the dragon recalls correctly, a young man who reminds him of Natsume used to visit the mansion. Could that be Natsume's grandfather? It's a huge potential discovery to cap off the season with, confirming that once again, we're departing from Natsume's world all too soon again. Even after six seasons, there are still compelling reasons to keep tuning in, and a wealth of new additions to Natsume's story I didn't even know I was missing. You'll be missed, Natsume Yūjin-Chō Roku. "Natsume Yūjin-Chō Nana" can't come quickly enough!

Rating: A

Natsume Yūjin-Chō Roku is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist.


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