Who can save the exorcists from a traitor in their midsts?
What They Say:
Episode #4: “Shadow Linked Chains”
An inexperienced exorcist tries and fails to completely seal a youkai near Natsume’s school. Natsume decides to take the pot the youkai is sealed into Natori, in hopes that it can be disposed of properly. While he’s there, he learns that there is an ongoing feud between exorcists lately and that one exorcist in particular is attacking his rivals. When Natsume gets home, he finds that Matoba, another exorcist who’s tried to take advantage of him in the past, wants his help dealing with just that particular problem…
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Natsume finds himself stuck in a car with the deliciously smug Matoba. There’s no vacation like a forced vacation, and I always wonder what excuse Natsume gave his adoptive family for the sudden trip.
They arrive at one of the Matoba family villas, which turns out to be the house of a dead branch of said family. Matoba explains how his organization works, the family history, and how everything is all about power. Mostly that power is brought to bear in keeping powerful youkai in what sounds like a phantasmal arms race. Natsume is unimpressed with the politics, even though the house is very impressive.
Matoba’s personal boundaries remain nonexistent in the face of the teenage boy. The sound direction in this show is very good, and Matoba’s conspiratorial whispering voice is both incredibly menacing and…. sorta sexy. (I don’t think it’s necessarily supposed to be sexy, but…) This isn’t one of those shows! Natsume agrees to help Matoba once he sees what the danger actually is, a youkai which possesses people with masks. Natsume can see what Matoba cannot, and he proves to be an invaluable ally in attempting to catch the rogue youkai.
So the hunt begins, with Natsume disguised as one of Matoba’s new shikigami servants. Besieged by curious and pushy exorcists and haughty youkai it proves a unique challenge to weed out the crowd. Eventually, Natsume finds the culprit, with a little help from an unseen supporter and Nyanko-sensei. In the end, Natsume gives very little to Matoba, and storms off in annoyance. We have a greater understanding of the Matoba clan and their diminishing returns, and the challenges facing the exorcist families.
The animation cleaned up from the previous episode, although I still feel like we’re not seeing the best this series could offer. The new music is great fun, though.
In Summary:
Natsume survives his time in an exorcist gathering without giving away his identity or becoming a victim of a powerful and vengeful youkai. We get some more insight into the Matoba clan and their position in the world of exorcists. Matoba may not be entirely antagonistic, but his methods and actions leave much to be desired. Most importantly, Natsume has at least one ally willing to keep him out of the way of the greedy hands of the Matoba clan. Hopefully one day Natsume will be able to trust that ally with the truth about the Book of Friends.
Episode Grade: B
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
