Creative Staff
Story/Art: Yuki Midorikawa
Translation/Adaptation: Lillian Olsen
What They Say
Intrigues abound in the world of professional exorcism, and Natsume wants nothing to do with it. But he has no choice when Matoba, head of a prominent exorcist clan, blackmails him into coming to an exorcist meeting. Is Natsume’s fate sealed when one of his special talents is exposed in front of Matoba?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Breaking away from the episodic short stories for a change, this volume of Natsume focuses on character development rather than a group of yokai-of-the-week stories. First, Natsume has to learn how to deal with Matoba. Then, in two side stories in this volume we get an idea of just how much Natsume has opened up to his friends over time.
The lead story has the dark exorcist Matoba extending an invitation to Natsume to join his little cooperative of exorcists. Natsume doesn’t like Matoba and doesn’t trust him, fearing that the man will discover his book of friends and use it to brutally control the yokai within. Despite his reservations, Natsume accompanies Matoba to a meeting undercover, and we find out a bit more about Matoba and his family history in the process. Amusingly, Natsume doesn’t even get a chance to read the invitation, which is snatched away and ends up in the hands of Natori.
Natori, who at first appeared to be the hard-liner about yokai relations and human interactions, has softened over the course of the series. Natsume has managed to change the actor’s approach to dealing with yokai and they get along far better now than they used to. He keeps out of the situation Natsume throws himself into for the duration of Natsume’s trip to the excorcist meeting, although you get the sense that if something went wrong he would’ve stepped in to stop it.
The last two stories in this volume focus on Natsume’s two school friends, Nishimura and Kitamoto. Both stories start with each boy meeting Natsume for the first time, and we see how Natsume appears to an average person. Our protagonist’s yokai trouble make Natsume appear to be suffering from mental illness, which makes his shunning at previous residences all more uncomfortable in retrospect. I can only hope the state of mental illness care in Japan isn’t reflected too accurately here, although I can’t say for sure the US is much better. The two chapters do show how much more comfortable Natsume is around people now as compared to when he first moved to town, and it’s nice to see his friends get some backstory of their own.
After watching the anime adaptation regularly, coming back to the manga’s artwork is a bit jarring. Midorikawa draws Natsume younger and more delicate looking than the anime adaptation. The ethereal, sketchy artwork is sparse and impressionistic compared to the bright colors the anime added. It also made me notice Natsume’s eyes again, which in the manga have narrow, slit pupils compared to the rest of the cast. I still don’t know if it’s artistic convention or has some sort of deeper meaning.
In Summary
It’s nice to have a volume exploring how Natsume interacts with others. I can almost feel the drain that the pressures of dealing with humans and yokai put on Natsume in this volume. Watching Natsume struggle from his point of view is vastly different than how others perceive him. However, I can’t help wanting to return to episodic, heartfelt moments with yokai again in the near future. Matoba is a truly unlikable character, unlike Natori, and I fear that he’s only going to compound a difficult situation for Natsume moreso as time goes on. Look at me, I’m worried about a manga character’s well being! Natsume does have that effect on people, and it continues to be the series strong point.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A –
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: December 4th, 2012
MSRP: $9.99
