English Dub Review: Natsume’s Book of Friends “Melting Into Spring”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
While fooling around in the snow, Natsume and Nyanko-sensei run into Gen, a forest guardian who lives inside a statue. Gen tries to take over Natsume’s body but instead takes over a snow rabbit that Natsume had made. Gen pleads with Natsume to help him find an evil spirit who destroyed Sui, his guardian partner, and Natsume agrees. But it seems Gen isn’t telling everything he knows.

Our Take:
We’ve only got through one episode of season two, and we’ve already finished with fall. I guess time flies when you’re helping out the spirits. But, of course, there’s still work to be done for Natsume, even during the snowy time of the year.
This week’s episode has Natsume and Madara helping a forest guardian named Gen, who attempts to possess Natsume. However, the yokai winds up possessing a snow rabbit Natsume made instead. I should admit that Natsume has been doing well in avoiding possession after the last couple of times it happened. Now stuck as an animal made of frozen water, Gen gives Natsume and Madara a task to find the spirit responsible for killing his partner Sui.
First off, I want to point out the worst thing that happened to this episode regarding the Crunchyroll website. Seconds after its intro, I immediately realized that it shows the visual for “Melting Into Spring”, yet it plays the audio from last week’s episode. It’s one thing that the website is very late in uploading the English dub episodes, but releasing an episode with the wrong audio is inexcusable, especially when there are tons of fans who are waiting a week for it to show up. So if you’re wondering why this review is a bit late, there’s your answer.
Fortunately, this irritating issue does very little to hinder my enjoyment of this wintery heartfelt adventure. Part of that is due to its animation, which continues to resemble stunning background illustrations in any season, especially winter. However, the main reason for it was Gen’s character arc.
The story does involve Natsume searching for the evil spirit that destroyed Sui’s statue. But it turns out that Sui is the evil spirit the whole time, as she’s possessed by sadness and anger, the same feelings that also clouded Gen for being away from her too long. Additionally, the villagers are actually responsible for destroying Sui’s statue, resulting in her losing her faith in humans. However, Gen eventually saves Sui by comforting her, and the two are finally at peace, knowing that not all humans are terrible.
“Melting Into Spring” offers another compelling and heartwarming story involving the yokai’s path to healing following an incident. Aside from the annoying issue involving Crunchyroll, this is another strong episode that highlights the show’s humor and compelling drama amid its supernatural scenarios. It’s also another episode that only takes place during a specific season, with spring already on the horizon for next week.