Comments on: Natsume Yuujin-chou, Episode #13 (END) – ‘Curtain call’

By: jonah

jonah — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:48:16 +0000

Great series, indeed. I pulled a relief after knowing that there is a second season… (LOL Hoping it lasts forever)

Anyway, it ended pretty good showcasting all the characters in the last episode. ^.^

By: evaric

evaric — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:10:15 +0000

I really don’t see what Natsume’s problem with Sasada is. He was bitching about how he was all alone because everyone thought he was creepy for talking about things they couldn’t see… then along comes Sasada, who actually appreciates his ability. His human friends are limited to: his 2 classmates (whose names I’ve never bothered to remember) whom he doesn’t seem close to, Tanuma, whom he never hangs out with, and Natori, who was only around for 1 episode. With Sasada, he actually has a chance to get close to someone (and a female at that!) without worrying that she’ll think he’s weird. Yet he… consciously avoids her as much as possible? Come on, does the guy not have hormones?? He’s well past the age where girls still have cooties. Granted, she’s a little… enthusiastic, but that’s mainly because she’s interested in youkai and because he wouldn’t give her the time of day otherwise. Perhaps he just likes wallowing in self-pity because of his image that no one likes him, and to hang out with her would break that?

Though in actuality, the reason is because in the manga she moved away after the Shigure incident and she’s not supposed to be in the story anymore at all. Having the main character start something with a canonically non-existent character would cause them headaches in later episodes, so I guess she’s stuck being “the girl with cooties.” But I’ll be damned if they couldn’t have done a better job with her role.

Still though, looking forward to the next season and more reviews from you, Maipeisu!

By: evaric

evaric — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:35:37 +0000

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E5%BB%BA%E7%AF%89%E7%9F%A5%E8%AD%98-2008%E5%B9%B4-03%E6%9C%88%E5%8F%B7-%E9%9B%91%E8%AA%8C/dp/B0013FAXSU/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223379178&sr=8-17

Here ya go, the March 2008 issue of Knowledge of Construction (建築の知識). =)

By: ZaCloud

ZaCloud — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:30:54 +0000

Yay, thanks for all the ep reviews. I definitely loved this series; it was feel-good and gentle without being boring.

I actually wouldn’t blame Tanuma and Natsume for being clingy eventually since they’ve both probably been lonely as heck and need a heavy refuel of sympathy… But that’s my angsteriffic tendencies talking. This series never seems to dwell on such things, so it’s not likely. Just saying wouldn’t blame ‘em and I wouldn’t even consider it to be gay. ^_^;;

About Mr. Fabulous and the Secret Society… I’m figuring it has to do with when he wanted to recruit Natsume earlier. Maybe wanted to test him and see if he was worthy to join the group. It might be a gathering of exorcists, in which everyone searches for the spiritually-sensitive to increase their forces. So that could indeed allude to something big brewing on the horizon. I just hope maybe he’s presented them with a change of heart due to Natsume’s influence… and that he didn’t in fact just have mercy on the little Kitsune with an undercurrent of “Yes, run along little boy, enjoy tonight for you shall soon meet your end anyway.” Though I don’t think that’s TOO likely but… Who knoooows!? @_@

I look forward SO MUCH to the next season! ^_^

By: delphyne

delphyne — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:00:19 +0000

I was a bit disappointed with the last episode. I mean, it was cute but, I was hoping something big would happen….or at least something which will make viewers look forward to the next season…..

By: RedHobbit

RedHobbit — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:41:49 +0000

This was a good calming episode but it certainly didn’t feel like a finale, more like a halfway point. Some new questions were brought forward particularly with Natori. They finally picked up the “Tanuma is sensitive to spirits” plot thread again, but didn’t do to much with it. Here’s hoping for another season and more Reiko flashbacks.

By: ixbite

ixbite — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:50:26 +0000

I thought this episode was fun! But exactly what is the demon killer doing?? I was like “wtf? he’s got demon friends?” I paused at the scene for like 20 seconds to see if any of them were demons and I just don’t know. Some of them had the white cloth in front of their face (does that signify a demon?) and I just really don’t know. Either way, I can’t wait for season 2!

By: Sara

Sara — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:06:54 +0000

I thought Nyanko-sensei got plenty of screentime this episode, even though he wasn’t the central character, but a consistently more-or-less innocent bystander. It was hilarious how every character had a different insulting name for what they thought was just Takashi’s cat.

By: Omisyth

Omisyth — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:59:58 +0000

Tamaya!!! <— useless comment. Looking forward to the review.

By: Maipeisu

Maipeisu — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:19:37 +0000

@lelangir: Although we could discuss specific instances ad infinitum, my general impression throughout the series was that the purpose of these symmetrical elements was to create a kind of polarity through which different relationships could be explored. There was a short run of episodes (the ones that centered on female youkai with masks) that dealt almost exclusively with intimate relationships, and I noticed that with each progressive episode, the circumstances of these personal dynamics shifted slightly. By the last episode, many of the characters have changed in a significant way. Madara has accepted that he likes and cares for humans (Takashi in particular); Takashi has reconciled himself with both humans and youkai; Shuuichi has (apparently) released some of his hatred for youkai; Touko has broken through some personal barriers and is no longer afraid to express her feelings to Takashi; the list continues. As far as symmetry is concerned, none of these personal transformations could have occurred if some sort of exchange had not taken place. NYC has a great deal of veneration for the natural balance and harmony of the universe, so each character-to-character exchange necessitated an equivalent ‘trade’; if one character offered something of him or herself, the recipient had no choice but to return the gesture in some fashion, thereby maintaining the symmetrical flow of sentiments. Takashi was criticized repeatedly for being too soft and too kind, but in the end, it was his kindness and defenselessness that protected him from the forces that would have devoured him, rather than his strength. If I understand symmetry to be a central tenet of the series, then for Takashi to be reciprocated so generously was an inevitable outcome because he was giving and giving every step of the way. As an afterthought, I also suspect that the director has a certain affinity for symmetry that may have influenced how each of the episodes were constructed (you can take a look at the neatly centered ’shots’ and the general form of the short story plots.)

@Cherubium: Haha yes they did look like quite the happy family; very cute together. I guess it was time for Madara to take a back seat since he had an entire episode to himself not much earlier. I don’t know why I didn’t, but I was going to point out how quickly Takashi blew off his two pals now when he was hanging out with Kaname! An interesting point is how he found a better friend in Kaname than Shuuichi, despite Shuuichi’s being able to identify with Takashi’s extrasensory abilities better. Kaname, as a friend/love interest, is kind of like the ultimate compromise in terms of shared characteristics.

@bakaneko: Thank you VERY much! I guess that tells us something else about Touko’s husband. Is it a real book?

@Panther: I thought so too, the ending was quite nice. I kept expecting something evil to pop out of the bushes, but it was probably for the best that it ended on a gentle note.

@JHL: Sasada is a HUGE pest, so I’ve got to agree, I’d rather see Takashi and Kaname together than him and Sasada. The part where Nyanko screams “nooooooooo” had me laughing my ass off (because it was my sentiment exactly.)

By: Cherubium

Cherubium — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:59:00 +0000

@ JHL

So you got the vibes aswell, were you like me and had the inkling feeling that they were going to kiss or have flowers when they look at each at any moment. I actually rather have Tanuma and Nastume rather than Sasada cos she seemed very clingy/desperate, especially with kidnapping the cat just to get Nastume to come back and visit her.

By: JHL

JHL — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:27:56 +0000

Ooh a secret society. I’m really looking forward to that in Season 2. And more Nyanko sensei lulz!

And I was also getting some shounen-ai vibes from Tanuma and Natsume. Did you see the translator’s note at the end about Natsume Gay-shinchou? Haha. So funny. But then again the only human girl in Natsume’s life is Sasada, and she annoys me so bad. So I’d definitely go for Tanuma/Natsume over Sasada/Natsume any day!

By: Panther

Panther — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 06:59:49 +0000

Nyanko getting owned all over was seriously funny. Lovely way to end it too, now for next season.

By: bakaneko

bakaneko — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:37:47 +0000

The title means “knowledge of construction” as in construction of buildings and cities.

By: Cherubium

Cherubium — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:38:32 +0000

I don’t know why, but when I was watching the raw, the whole fox, Nastume and other guy who can see spirits seemed like happy family. >.> Shounen-ai vibes, but then again, we do have a fox which we don’t know the gender of so it could explain a lot about the atmosphere. Though it was cute to watch it.

The shouta creep this episode gave me ill tidings, for some reason when he went into the secret society, I’m thinking either mass killing or kidnapping our little fox.

Poor Nyako-sensei, getting thrown around all ep, but he seemed mellow out when he joined the happy family watching the fireworks.