(L) Natsume Yuujinchou / Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou

[zzeroparticle]

Well, the only thought that ran through my head when watching episode 6 was why can't more series be like this. There's a lot of emotion put forth even if it's somewhat subtle, but like the previous ones, they hit pretty much on all the main themes that this show is shooting for to begin with. I'm not going to go too much further since the discussion so far has covered that aspect rather well.

Judging from what's transpired so far, you definitely are seeing Natsume experience a lot of growth based on his interactions, and it's looking like this is helping him somewhat in dealing with people. He's already made more attempts to socialize with others, albeit slowly, but it's growing. And hopefully we'll see his social interactions with humans expand more and more as things go on.

And finally, there was that bit of foreshadowing with Nyanko-sensei during the festival scene. Will most definitely keep an eye on that bit of a development.

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by zzeroparticle

Well, the only thought that ran through my head when watching episode 6 was why can't more series be like this.

Because that isn't what the majority wants?
Actually, I am glad if we even get one or two series of this type every season but there is a need for a variety of genres rather than running the risk of being emotionally burnt out every week. This series does take a toll on you mentally, now imagine if we have 5 different series running at the same time like this

[Sorrow-K]

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

Because that isn't what the majority wants?
Actually, I am glad if we even get one or two series of this type every season but there is a need for a variety of genres rather than running the risk of being emotionally burnt out every week. This series does take a toll on you mentally, now imagine if we have 5 different series running at the same time like this

I guess one can take the philosophy that what makes a series like this special is that it's rare and unique.

[LiberLibri]

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

Because that isn't what the majority wants?

...And it is also because it is commercially risky. Midnight animes depend greatly upon the secondary fee of character goods like figures, but such type of audience who likes sensitive animes are not eager to collect those otaku merchandises. It means, producers must earn the cost mostly from the DVD sales. And it is also significant that such animes require more human resource of high quality; producers can neither deceive viewers' eyes with nudity and violence nor rely on easy CGs and cheap offshore-outsourcing.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

The question I'm left with is why a swallow spirit ends up appearing as a lovely young woman.

I thought the shape corresponds to her mental age. She ended her real life when she was an immature infant, and then she got some experience as a spirit, but most of her time was covered with deep water, being sunk into the lake, half asleep. She doesn't know how to cope with human beings (as seen in her first contact with Natusme). It is not unnatural for me her mentality is like teenagers of human. Anyway, Japanese folklore have several stories in which small birds take the form of young women (like Twilight Heron), so I found no incongruity in the choice of form. TinyRedLeaf's explanation is interesting, but I disagree for one point: unlike Nyanko Sensei, who has discretion in choosing the human shape and likes to take model of Reiko, the swallow spirit is not powerful at all. She cannot even make herself visible and tangible to human, which Sensei can. I think it is the only form she can take.

The next episode will be aired tonight!

[Xellos-_^]

Just watch Ep7 raw.

a anime only ep, not sure why the producers went with the anime only route when there is still a lot of material in the manga, but still it is a nice ep.

[Jehuty]

The way I see it with Tsubame - Natsume:

It wasn't that he loved her romantically - he loved her as a dear friend. Just like how Natsume didn't grow to hate spirits, she didn't grow hating humans. She wanted to be by someone who was kind to her, just like how he was thinking about the spirit that simply wanted to be by his side.

He couldn't fix the mistake he made when he pushed her away, so indirectly, Tsubame was fulfilling his wish / dream.

As for his becoming attached to Tsubame... Imagine all these similarities they share, plus she was very patient and likable. She was pleasing to be around with, too. It's simply hard to resist that, especially considering Natsume's loneliness, being the only person able to converse with spirits, it's no wonder he'd take more comfort with a spirit than a human. A human can't understand what it's like to see a spirit, but a spirit can understand seeing humans, if that makes sense.

It's cute how she approached him though. She was like a puppy following him around, quietly waiting until he accepted her. Also note how Natsume wishes he and Nyanko / Madara became attached to eachother. Precious friendships.

The reason Tsubame took a human shape is simply because, well -- how would you approach something that was differently shaped than you, but was very kind? You take their form, to be able to understand and communicate with them.

[vspirit]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Just watch Ep7 raw.

a anime only ep, not sure why the producers went with the anime only route when there is still a lot of material in the manga, but still it is a nice ep.

Huh? Are you sure? I haven't seen this week's episode yet but I could've sworn last week's preview had something along the lines of The Little Fox's Hat or something. The hat is new material (IIRR) but the kogitsune himself is actually from the manga. He's from one of the chapters in volume 4, I think, and is an entity Takashi met while on a school field trip. Maybe the anime changed things here and there but material-wise, it's still from the manga. Unless last week's preview was a hoax, that is.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

Instead of love, can't you see that as Natsume's first interaction with someone? This is probably the first time he's been that close to someone, even holding hands so he is going to have comments like that. & because he is still worried, it's comments that'll stay in his head.

I just think people are taking it the wrong way with this love idea.

I tend to agree. Natsume is (obviously) a very kind-hearted boy, but because of his strange "otherness" he's always been deprived of the contact and affection he craves in his life. I'm sure there was an element of schoolboy crush with Tsubame, but I really think it was more a combination of empathy - he has that in spades - and an emotional reaction to the unreserved affection she showed him that caused his reaction.

[Guardian Enzo]

What a wonderful, wonderful series this is. Elements of Mushishi, but where that series was analytical and somewhat emotionally distant, this one is unapologetically sentimental - more like Kamichu in that way. But again, where Kamichu was broad, bright and somewhat preachy in it's storytelling (except where the wonderful Shoukichi-centered eps were concerned) this one is subtle, muted in tone and leaves much to the viewer to resolve.

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by vspirit

Huh? Are you sure? I haven't seen this week's episode yet but I could've sworn last week's preview had something along the lines of The Little Fox's Hat or something. The hat is new material (IIRR) but the kogitsune himself is actually from the manga. He's from one of the chapters in volume 4, I think, and is an entity Takashi met while on a school field trip. Maybe the anime changed things here and there but material-wise, it's still from the manga. Unless last week's preview was a hoax, that is.

Well it was about a fox and her hat so the preview wasn't a fake.

ep 7

Spoiler:

I won't cry...seriously I won't...whaaaaaaaa...

Happiness, anger, joy, sorrow...just a few feelings I experienced when watching this episode. It is amazing...really amazing. The story revolving the fox girl was simple but touches on so many human emotions. As we go through the episode with her we begin to learn more about her form of loneliness. At first when she talked about how her mother would like the white hat that she picked up I would have never guessed that her mother was actually dead.

Alone with no one else the fox girl is in a naturally weak position from other youkais but when Natsume saved her she begins to think that maybe humans (or Natsume to be specific) aren't so bad afterall, well at least they don't hit her with a paper fan.

From there on the girl begins to become attached to Natsume and the scenes showing her gradual liking to him was sweet, really sweet, in fact I believe that I melted on a number of occasions.

She even tried to become his follower by presenting him her name but he wouldn't accept. I believe one reason why she was so intent on following Natsume later on was because she figured out that he was the same as her, both lonely in this big world. But what was heartbreaking is that she found out that Natsume isn't really lonely at all and it was just her feelings that she has been mistaken all along.

This is another case of "words cant express how I feel" because the end was that tearjerking. Sorrow I guess, but at the back of my mind I feel that this may have been the better than taking her in.
There is also a sense of frustration that *I* as a viewer can't do anything for the little girl. So many times I wanted to jump into the screen and just hug her. *sigh*

Last note...it just hit me how much alike Sasada and Ginko are...

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

Last note...it just hit me how much alike Sasada and Ginko are...[/spoiler]

Someone give Sasada a giant wooden box please.

[DragoonKain3]

Originally Posted by dkz

Last note...it just hit me how much alike Sasada and Ginko are...

I actually noticed this long before, but was hesitant to voice it since I'm biased for these type of characters (looks at sig heheheh) and thought that was colouring my vision. Methinks someone in Brain Base loves their meganekkos lol. I'm not complaining though... XD

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

I actually noticed this long before, but was hesitant to voice it since I'm biased for these type of characters (looks at sig heheheh) and thought that was colouring my vision. Methinks someone in Brain Base loves their meganekkos lol. I'm not complaining though... XD

Indeed

I had my suspicions before but a scene in ep 7 made it click. Sasada is more of a "what if" character for Ginko if she was less tsundere imo.

But based on looks, I can see you flipping tables over already

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

Methinks someone in Brain Base loves their meganekkos lol. I'm not complaining though... XD

All Sasada needs now is the eyepatch (points to sig).

[vspirit]

@Deathkillz & Xellos-_^

Spoiler for both Episode 7 and an as of yet unanimated manga chapter:

*blinks* It's a girl? Something in the manga gave me the impression that it was a boy instead...then again, maybe it has always been ambiguous and I just leaned towards the kid being a boy since he/she was being roughly bullied like one (I thought the bigger youkai might take it easy on the kid if he/she was a girl...I guess it's hard to say for sure in the manga).

And judging from your not-summary, it hasn't deviated from the manga version much, if at all. Well okay, the kid never had a hat in the manga but it's a minor change at best. So it isn't anime-only. It's the first tokubetsu-hen chapter from volume 4. It's nice but I like the second tokubetsu-hen chapter better. It's really touching and it reveals a lot about Takashi's rather bleak and lonely childhood. I think, as a kid, he has one of the most wounded eyes I've ever seen on a character in all the manga I've ever read...which I daresay, is quite a few. I cried from reading the manga alone, I felt so bad for the poor boy. He seemed to me like he was the very embodiment of a thoroughly kicked puppy.

By the end of it, however, I couldn't help but smile despite my sympathy for the boy since I'm glad with the way he turned out (his gaze as a teenager is very different from when he was a boy and it really shows in the manga--I like how it's gone from being lonely and wounded to peaceful, gentle and wise) and the good place he's somehow managed to end up in. Hopefully this one gets animated as well. Personally, I think it'd make an awesome last episode. =)

The third and last tokubetsu-hen is Nyanko-sensei-centric. So it'd be good if that were to get animated as well. =3

[LiberLibri]

At least the fox himself thinks he is male. He says to himself "男子たるもの [danshi taru mono / as a gentleman]..." twice in the episode.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by vspirit

@Deathkillz & Xellos-_^

Spoiler for both Episode 7 and an as of yet unanimated manga chapter:

*blinks* It's a girl? Something in the manga gave me the impression that it was a boy instead...then again, maybe it has always been ambiguous and I just leaned towards the kid being a boy since he/she was being roughly bullied like one (I thought the bigger youkai might take it easy on the kid if he/she was a girl...I guess it's hard to say for sure in the manga).

And judging from your not-summary, it hasn't deviated from the manga version much, if at all. Well okay, the kid never had a hat in the manga but it's a minor change at best. So it isn't anime-only. It's the first tokubetsu-hen chapter from volume 4. It's nice but I like the second tokubetsu-hen chapter better. It's really touching and it reveals a lot about Takashi's rather bleak and lonely childhood. I think, as a kid, he has one of the most wounded eyes I've ever seen on a character in all the manga I've ever read...which I daresay, is quite a few. I cried from reading the manga alone, I felt so bad for the poor boy. He seemed to me like he was the very embodiment of a thoroughly kicked puppy.

By the end of it, however, I couldn't help but smile despite my sympathy for the boy since I'm glad with the way he turned out (his gaze as a teenager is very different from when he was a boy and it really shows in the manga--I like how it's gone from being lonely and wounded to peaceful, gentle and wise) and the good place he's somehow managed to end up in. Hopefully this one gets animated as well. Personally, I think it'd make an awesome last episode. =)

The third and last tokubetsu-hen is Nyanko-sensei-centric. So it'd be good if that were to get animated as well. =3

which chpt was it form?

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by LiberLibri

At least the fox himself thinks he is male. He says to himself "男子たるもの [danshi taru mono / as a gentleman]..." twice in the episode.

"She" did say that indeed...once at around 1:57...

Not that it matters though, I can live with a trap (but I would prefer a she better ).

[vspirit]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

which chpt was it form?

The first tokubetsu-hen chapter from volume 4. As in, the first of three special extra chapters that are available at the end of volume 4, since this particular volume is only made out of three main chapters as opposed to the usual four or five. *highly recommends the second one but if you're a fan of Nyanko-sensei, the third one will delight you as well*

Volume 5 has the fourth tokubetsu-hen at the end of it, though since it has four chapters, there's only room for one special chapter. I think they had space for one in this volume because two of the chapters are actually one story, making each chapter shorter than a single chapter usually is. =)

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by vspirit

The first tokubetsu-hen chapter from volume 4. As in, the first of three special extra chapters that are available at the end of volume 4, since this particular volume is only made out of three main chapters as opposed to the usual four or five. *highly recommends the second one but if you're a fan of Nyanko-sensei, the third one will delight you as well*

Volume 5 has the fourth tokubetsu-hen at the end of it, though since it has four chapters, there's only room for one special chapter. I think they had space for one in this volume because two of the chapters are actually one story, making each chapter shorter than a single chapter usually is. =)

probably why i didn't see it, the chinese scanaltion site i went to only had the individual chps up and not the extras.