The more things change, the more they stay the same. Especially for a boy and his youkai guardian.
What They Say:
Episode #1: “Unchanging Form”
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
It’s been 4 years since the last season of Natsume’s Book of Friends. It’s very unusual for an anime series to take a break this long only to return with the same returning set of producers, voice actors, and all the people involved. Even rarer that a shoujo manga gets so many episodes adapted of it! The only real changes of note are a different director, Kotomi Deai, has stepped in, overseen by the original director Takahiro Omari. Animation studio Shuka has taken over from Brain’s Base. Everything else though remains comfortably the same, down to the music cues as we rejoin the cast to a very familiar oboe tune.
The episode opens with a gentle reintroduction to Takashi Natsume and his life. We see him falling asleep on his desk, conversing with his now sizable group of human friends, and being tracked down by youkai looking to get their names back. He still gets into the same sort of trouble with pushy youkai demanding Reiko return their names. Reiko being Natsume’s deceased grandmother, who he inherited the Book of Friends from. Still accompanying, and mooching, off of Natsume is the possessive Nyanko-sensei, aka Madara.
When a pot starts chasing Natsume down the episode kicks off in earnest. It turns out one troublesome youkai often leads to another, and that’s exactly what happens. Reiko once took a stolen doll back from a youkai, only for her to attempt to return it later. As usual, events of the distant past have an effect on the future as it then becomes Natsume’s problem to return the doll.
Natsume has other problems in this episode, once again involving questions of the past. He’s still trying to learn more about his family history. An innocent question to a former caretaker results in painful memories and tactless responses. While once Natsume would have buried his emotions, now his has human friends who know his unique circumstances to voice his concerns too.
I kept my eye on the animation, knowing that the show has switched directors and animation studios. For the most part, the show retains the same look. There are tiny differences in animation, but it’s hard to say if that’s just the effect of a four-year break and a new set of hands or a change in overall direction. Either way, it’s definitely the same show. (Sasada is still a member of Natsume’s core group, which is unique to the anime.) The color pallet and character designs retain the same look.
While the new opening theme is pretty good, the ending song is lovely, even if it is matched with some boring backgrounds.
In Summary:
This episode serves mostly as a subtle reintroduction to all things Natsume. We meet back up right where the story left off, with Natsume still trying to discover more about his grandmother while dodging pesky and dangerous youkai and helping the ones who need it. It’s a good enough reintroduction that newcomers to the franchise shouldn’t be too lost jumping in right here, though you should really go back and watch the previous seasons. Look carefully and you’ll notice the tiny changes in the animation, but otherwise there’s very little to give away that the show has had a four-year break. It’s a bit like seeing an old friend after a prolonged absence and discovering that they may have changed their address, but they’re still the same friend you know and love. This episode’s title couldn’t be more perfect.
Episode Grade: B
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
