Natsume Yuujinchou San

this will probably forever be one of my favorite animes. the pacing is fast enough to where you dont get bored, but also dont get confused while learning to story/trope. it does feel very slice of life, with the main goal being pushed across every episode in the same fashion, just with new situations being thrown at them. i find all the main characters to be extremely like-able, even if they come off harsher when first introduced.

if youre looking for an anime with romance, this definitely isnt the right pick. it's nice to have a breather from all the slice of life's with constant romance ... being involved. the episodes individually arent very predictable, which really helps keep you engaged the whole ep.

overall, its very easy to rewatch while not getting tired of it. very unique and fun!!

This is the third season already, so if you're coming here from watching the first two you probably know what to expect. The status quo has pretty much been established by this point and it doesn't change much from this point on. That's not to say it isn't still good. Each episode still has a lot to love and a lot of heart, but don't expect much plot development for the overarching story.

That's not to say there is no development at all. I think we get to see Natsume grow closer to the friends he has already met, and establish a few new friendships going ... forward. I want to single out just a few episodes for this review because while I could talk about each and every episodic adventure I'd be here all day if I did.

The first episode I really liked was when Natsume meets someone from one of his old schools where he was bullied for being a "liar." His childhood was so messed up because of his ability to see youkai that he tries not to dwell on the past much. This episode drags the past back up to the surface when he runs into one of his old bullies and the guy sort of forces Natsume to reconnect with him. But when it turns out that this guy has been seeing a girl who turns out to be a youkai he realizes that Natsume may have been telling the truth all along. I think it's a great insight into how much Natsume has grown and it's really cool to see the once bully come around and actually start to be one of Natsume's friends.

The next one I really liked was when the fox-spirit from the first season comes back. This was one of my favorite youkai because who doesn't love fox lolis. Well it's gender is actually unclear, the English subtitles defaulted male pronouns while in Japanese pronouns are usually implied and gender-neutral, and spirits aren't usually assigned any gender but it looks like a little girl. Could be a trap, but I'm sticking with my first guess. Anyway it's the most adorable thing ever and I wish it was in more episodes because every time it's on screen it's fantastic.

Finally I liked the episode where Natsume has to search for the broken glass shards and actually starts to rely on his friends a little more. It shows how much he's come to trust others despite his completely untrusting nature due to his childhood. Tanuma in particular has really come to be someone Natsume can go to and confide in about things related to spirits and the supernatural and it's great to see he finally has friends. Heartwarming series with a lot of great characters 9/10

If you were to summarize Natsume Yuujinchou San in one word it would be boring. After the first couple of episodes you have basically watched them all as Natsume Yuujinchou San is repetitiveness in its purest form.

The story and characters themselves lack any kind of depth. When watching the show I wondered what this show actually had going for it. Action scenes with the youkai? No, even the worst action type anime can match it. Pathos heavy storytelling? No, none of the stories were emotional enough to actually make any impact. I can't think of a single redeeming factor for this show, it just ... screams mediocrity.

But I could ignore every single flaw with this series if it hadn't been for the protagonist being such a blockhead.

If you are unsure whether you'll like this snoozefest you can watch a 2-4 episodes and you've basically watched them all. If you're uninterested you saved yourself time to watch other shows.