I have a mouth but I can’t scream?
What They Say:
Episode #6: “Soundless Valley”
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
This is as close as an episode of Natsume’s Book of Friends gets to a monster of the week story. Natsume happens across a youkai who met Reiko and wants its name back, some challenge has to be overcome, and Natsume returns the name. What sets each of these episodes apart are the relationship the youkai in question have with humans.
I can’t help but wonder why Natsume continues to take shortcuts through the woods either on his way home from school or when out running errands. Granted, he’s run into his fair share of trouble on the sidewalk, but at least when he’s out there he can blend in with the other humans. A group of hairy youkai attack Natsume for, what else, the book. Before anyone can come to his rescue they managed to almost steal his voice.
Natsume’s savior is a massive bird youkai who mistakes Natsume for Reiko. With his voice temporarily gone Natsume can’t correct the youkai, and can’t ask it for help getting out of the canyon where it took him. After a tense afternoon Nyanko-sensei tracks down his human and they head home, but Natsume still has no voice.
It’s fun to watch everyone, human and youkai, try to find the folk remedy to get Natsume’s voice back. It really does show how much Natsume’s youkai friends and adopted family care about him. In the end, the resolution comes to Natsume in a way which forces Nyanko-sensei to confront the pest youkai. It’s not particularly smooth, or elegant, but it works. For the first time this season we get to see Natsume return a name, and if it feels like it’s been ages, it’s because it has been.
The animation in this episode is as on point as the last, and it finally feels like the show is back into its groove. Hey, sometimes it takes awhile to slide back into things.
In Summary:
Natsume is in trouble again, and it’s not for lack of trying to stay out of it. Here we have the massive gulf between the greedy youkai who just want power and don’t think twice of harming humans and those who are simply looking for fun. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Natsume return a name in the book of friends, and I always wonder what will happen when the book runs empty of all names except for those who’ve let him keep theirs. The animation holds true for this episode, making it a solid entry for the season.
Episode Grade: B
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
