Natsume Yujincho Go Episode 6 Review: Soundless Valley

Hello everyone! Did you have an interesting week? Well, regardless, I am sure your past couple of days have been filled with all the uproar about the US presidential elections! I have the right recipe for you to get your mind off of the political craziness and relax a bit with a hot cup of tea in your hand: the new episode of Natsume Yujincho! So let’s not waste time and get down to it!

I found this episode to be very nostalgic in a certain way. None of the episodes so far had Natsume return a name to a youkai. In previous seasons he would do that practically in every other, if not in every, episode. The one thing I love about this anime is that it introduces to us many different types of youkai, and in those youkai we can find aspects of ourselves. Of course, the whole story is wrapped in a supernatural mist, but then again, the allusions are pretty well done. The youkai also have feelings, just like humans, and they are, just like us, slaves of their emotions. I think this episode proved just that…

Plot

The beginning of the episode reminded me of the very first episode of Natsume Yujincho, back in the first season. Natsume was being chased away by the youkai, just like now. This time around, though, Natsume gets caught. The terrifying thing is that the youkai, as usual, are after Natsume’s Book of Friends, and they even take away Natsume’s voice so he can’t call for help. It is at this time that a weird-looking, bird-like youkai comes to help Natsume because it misinterpreting him for Reiko.

The youkai is a pretty funny, and keeps using the word チョウ (chou), which means super, a sort of modern slang. It is pretty amusing to see a youkai use it, and to see the way it acts around Natsume trying to cheer him up, or trying to find a medicine for him.

The rest of the episode is spent with Natsume trying to find a way of communicating with people, being laughed at by some of the friendly youkai, and trying to convince Nyanko-sensei not to go outside at night while he is this weak. All in all, the episode was pretty warm-hearted and filled with both brightness and bitter-sweetness…

Themes and Trivia

The main theme I could identify in this episode was Reiko’s feelings towards the youkai she met. After returning the youkai’s name, Natsume learns the story of how the two met. I still find it hard to understand what were Reiko’s feelings towards the youkai she encountered. She would usually make a promise to return, a promise to use the names she borrowed from the youkai, and most of the youkai would be waiting for ages and ages to have Reiko use their name. They would wait for a chance to meet Reiko again. But alas… that would never happen. I still wonder what were her thoughts, what she felt about the creatures she encountered. If she had any sort of connection with the youkai… But this is a different story, and I hope that we will someday learn much more about Reiko and her past.

As for this episode, the accent was on the fact that Reiko met a youkai who had been left alone in a place, where life used to be fun and lively. They end up playing a game and having fun. Reiko confesses that maybe she herself also likes lively surroundings. However, from the tone of her voice and from the look of her face you can see that she has never had a chance to experience such a thing. We already know that Reiko’s youth was spent very much like Takashi’s. But then again, I do wish that we get to know much more about Natsume Reiko.

Until Next Time!

That is it for this episode’s review. I think I talked a bit too much about my own feelings towards Natsume Yujincho, but I hope that you can forgive me for that! I hope that you enjoyed this episode, especially since it was very nostalgic. Make sure to leave some comments and express your opinion about the latest episode here on Manga.Tokyo! We are looking forward to hear your opinion!