Takashi Natsume and his spirit companion Madara, nicknamed "Nyanko," continue returning the names of spirits from the Book of Friends given by his late grandmother Reiko Natsume.
On his way back from school one day, Takashi encounters a lurking spirit named Monmonbou, who recalls memories of Takashi's grandmother after hearing his name. Takashi's natural curiosity leads him to explore a mysterious town where his grandmother used to live. Befriending her old acquaintance Yorie Tsumura and Yorie's son Mukuo, Takashi unveils more of his grandmother's past.
In the meantime, Nyanko detours for food and stumbles upon a suspicious "Spirit Seed," which miraculously sprouts into a fruit tree overnight. Giving in to temptation, Nyanko consumes the fruit, splitting him into three. Seeking a solution to Nyanko's predicament, Takashi and his friends lend a hand, unexpectedly uncovering more secrets the town holds in the process.
This movie is essentially a longer Natsume Yuujinchou episode, with all the same flair albeit improved art and animation. It has a little bit of everything from the series and every character makes an appearance. If you enjoy Natsume Yuujinchou, you'll enjoy the movie too. If by some chance you haven't seen the series yet, watch it before watching this movie.
I enjoyed it very much.
Now, where's my 7th season?
Because MAL is a butt and wants me to write a longer review, I just want to say that Nyanko-sensei is the most precious anime character to every exist. I want my very own Nyanko-sensei to hold
and snuggle. Hopefully he doesn't drink all my beer though.
Natsume yuujinchou never fails to amaze me, no matter how old I am or how I personally changed, I can never find myself unable to enjoy it, it is a work of art that continues to this day and I hope I can see more of it.
Whenever there is a movie made for an anime it usually has some random action and mainly flawed plot but thankfully this is not the case, this feels more like a longer episode of natsume rather than a movie, it is soothing, relaxing and it personally made me very happy considering I didn't like part 6 as much
as the rest.
The story is great and unique and the fact that this is a movie after 6 seasons with each season having 12/13 episodes with ovas for every season yet there is such a good idea like this still being presented for the first time makes me happy, I won't spoil anything but it sure was a very fun ride though I will say the fact that we got to know that not every human despised reiko was so heartwarming.
The art is phenomenal as well as the animation but it felt a bit lacky in that part but I know a 100% flawless animation is extremely difficult to obtain anyways so it wasn't a big problem or anything.
The OSTs/Ending song were great as ususal.
Overall a 10/10, it helped me forget about my other worries and was an incredibly fun ride.
Would recommend it even as a stand-alone movie and not part of a series.
Ah, it's nice to be back in the world of Natsume Yuujinchou. Legitimately, within the first few minutes of experiencing this lovely story, I just felt instantly relaxed and calm. I missed that feeling, so I'm glad I finally got to watch this movie.
Every time I review something from Natsume, I feel like all I do is gush about the same things over and over, but it really is such a great anime series that it's hard not to give it praise for the things it does really well. For example, the art style in this anime has always been really interesting to me.
I didn't really find it completely appealing at first since I'm so picky, but it's honestly the only art style this anime could ever have. The colors being dull yet colorful as they are, the character designs being simple and mundane, and the landscapes being expansive and entrancing are all reasons that this sort of art style works so well for a calming and magical anime such as Natsume.
The story in this film specifically was very interesting. The whole film felt like a long episode of Natsume, which was great because all the little stories we got in this film were connected. The only bit of narrative that we didn't really get this go around was a more in depth look at Natsume's past and his mindset at the time of some of his harder encounters with people. That was something I really enjoyed about the most recent seasons of Natsume, and I was hoping that this movie would really delve into it, though the story we got was still pure Natsume, and I loved that.
The one thing that I will always love above all else in this anime are the characters themselves. This story of the Book of Friends is able to open such a broad pathway for us, as viewers, to experience some really lovely narratives that-- while short-lived-- make us feel a multitude of emotions, almost as if we've spent a lifetime in them. This film was no different, and maybe even better since we got to spend a little more time here than we normally get to.
It's always been really difficult for me to talk about Natsume Yuujinchou because there's not a whole lot TO say as it speaks for itself. It's a series that'll make everybody feel at peace and happy, but it's still got a wealth of depth and things to teach the people that watch it. The world, the stories, the people-- it's all so unique when it comes to Natsume's Book of Friends, and it's not something you'd regret getting into at all. I'm really looking forward to spending more time in this world, should the opportunity arise, and I'm glad I've gotten to spend so much time there already. This is definitely my go-to anime for a rainy day.
I'm going to save you from reading the usual fuzz that you can read in every other review ever on Natsume Yuujinchou. I mean, it's Natsume. You already know what Natsume Yuujinchou is.
That brings me to the good thing about this movie, it doesn't do anything wrong. It's good because it's Natsume, and if you're thinking about watching this movie, chances are you've already watched the last SIX SEASONS (!!!) that precede it. By this point, you probably like Natsume and know what to expect. What you expect is exactly what you'll find in this movie: the good old usual Natsume Yuujinchou.
Describing it as
an arc you'd see from the show is perfectly accurate. That’s quite literally what it is, it's an arc in the form of a movie. It’s Natsume. If you're figuring out that Natsume isn't your type of thing after six seasons, I'd be concerned about the fact that you stuck around for so long lol
On the other hand, this movie isn't anything particularly special either, and other than presenting a new story, it certainly doesn't bring anything new to the table. There are some anime movies from other franchises that are utterly elevated from their parent series because of multiple aspects (ex: Haruhi), but I can’t say the same here. I’m not going to say this lack thereof is a detriment, it’s just the lack of something newer and special. Not to say that there’s anything wrong with that, though!