English Dub Review: Natsume’s Book of Friends “Shigure and the Girl”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Natsume’s secret is found out by Sasada, the class president, during a “trial of courage.” She asks for his help to find the spirit that lives in the abandoned school. Natsume denies the fact that he can see anything, but she won’t take no for an answer. Meanwhile, the spirit, Shigure, captures the rest of their schoolmates, in fury of the school being torn down.

Our Take:
The show has provided a few creepy images involving specific spirits. However, it offers a much lighter and relaxing touch to its tone to make the scenarios less scary, as seen in the previous episodes. Not that there’s anything wrong with it since we have enough frightening ghost stories for one day. This week’s episode sees the series proving this theory again, as Natsume is tasked to solve a haunting at an old school building.
The spirit haunting the old building is Shigure. Shigure is a one-eyed spirit that despises humans due to him being locked up by greedy people long ago. Unfortunately, his presence came at the wrong time, as Natsume and the students were attending a “trial of courage” hosted by the class president Jun Sasada (Marisa Duran). The students are tasked to reach the building’s second floor and write their names on the wall before it’s scheduled to be torn down. But, of course, Shigure spoils the trial by kidnapping the students one by one, leaving Natsume, Sasada, and Madara to find them and give Shigure back his name.
However, that’s not the only problem Natsume and Madara are facing. He also has to deal with Sasada, who believes Natsume can see the yokai after seeing him give water to a turtle-like spirit. Despite Natsume continuing to deny his secret, Sasada is still persistent in knowing whether he can see them or not. Although, she does prove to be a helpful ally for Natsume, as Sasada shared a connection with Shigure long ago. Sasada wanted to thank Shigure for helping her find her good luck charm, but Shigure kept himself hidden due to him being unworthy. After getting his name back and being inspired by Natsume’s kind words, Shigure got the courage to thank Sasada instead.
The interesting thing about Sasada is that she rarely appears in the manga after encountering Shigure. This was due to the character being transferred to another school from her stepfather’s job. However, she wound up being a recurring character in the anime version. If that’s the case, then I wouldn’t mind seeing Sasada again later on regarding her personality.
“Shigure and the Girl” attempts to provide a balance that combines its haunted-building trope with the light-hearted atmosphere and heartwarming themes, and it worked for the most part. It doesn’t have many moments that are effectively scary, including the cyclops spirit girl that Natsume and Nishimura encountered. But, in all fairness, it doesn’t appear to be the show’s intention. On a positive note, this is the episode where we see Madara’s disguise as a human girl for the first time, so that’s something. It’s far from the season’s best episode, but it’s enjoyable regardless.