Well, that didn’t take long. With the long-awaited seventh season getting closer to its release next month, Crunchyroll finally had the common sense to release the sixth season of Natsume’s Book of Friends in its entirety. Considering the gap between its Japanese dub and the English dub, it’s surprising that the series took this long to utilize this release strategy. I’m not complaining, but the weekly releases for the English dub versions of previous seasons were beginning to get tedious. At this point, I feel like I didn’t have much else to say about Natsume’s Book of Friends in my previous season reviews. All I can say is that it’s a charming and tranquil anime made for beginners who have started getting into supernatural anime.
Unsurprisingly, my feelings towards the sixth season of Natsume’s Book of Friends are still the same. Much like season five, season six consists of eleven episodes centering on Natsume, Madara, and their human and yokai allies encountering and helping new types of spirits with the Book of Friends. Along the way, he learns more about his grandmother Reiko and her connections with this powerful book. While I wasn’t fond of the fifth season due to its tedious structures, I found some enjoyment from it, mainly due to its focus on the show’s supporting characters besides Natsume. Most episodes in season six played out the same way regarding the episodic narratives, but they usually compensate with the show’s drawing-like animation, charming tone, thoughtful themes, and likable characters. However, it also features a few episodes that recalled earlier seasons and helped elevate my interest in its overall “plot development”, including Reiko’s history.
One example is the sixth episode, “Nishimura and Kitamoto”, which depicts Natsume’s early friendship with his classmates, Atsushi and Satoru, and their family lives. This hearkened back to the two episodes of season five that gave viewers a better look at the show’s supporting cast and their perspectives on Natsume’s predicament, showcasing them as more than just one-noted background characters. As usual, this episode was one of the better episodes for its change of pace for the season’s structure, avoiding further repetition. The other example is the third episode, “Nitai-sama”, providing closure to Natsume’s friendship with his childhood friend, Shibata Kanumi, from the season three episode, “False Friend,” while confronting the possessed dolls. Finally, we have the final two episodes, “The Sealed Room” and “What Matters”, further developing Natsume’s friendship with Natori regarding keeping the Book of Friends from Natori. It also showcases what we could expect from season seven, including Natsume’s connection with Reiko and Natori’s concerns about Natsume using the Book of Friends.
If you enjoyed the previous seasons for what they were, you’ll likely feel the same way about season six of Natsume’s Book of Friends. While the season is familiar in their plots, the show continues to benefit from its presentation and uplifting spirit to maintain its longevity. It also offered a few episodes with enough variety and development to hold my interest in its concept. Was it enough to check out its seventh season? Probably, mainly because I enjoyed the series and how much longer it’ll maintain my interest. But I’ll find the answer when that time comes.