True to his word, Natsume has dutifully been returning names from the Book of Friends. Things are going normally, with Natsume getting attacked by Ayakashi sometimes but Nyanko managing to chase them off. However while trying to return the name of a Dew God, he runs into some trouble. In the book, two pages are stuck together so he can’t return the name since trying to tear them apart could result in the actual Ayakashi getting torn apart.
Natsume and Nyanko then come up with the brilliant idea to return both names at once. The only problem is that they don’t know the other demon. Luckily the Dew God does, though, which leads the trio on a search for a God of Shadows. During the search, Natsume meets the only person who still worships the Dew God. She’s an elderly woman who has been praying to him her whole life but according to Nyanko she doesn’t have long to live.
The trio manage to track down the Shadow God and after a short scuffle Natsume manages to return the names of both the Shadow and Dew God. There was a brief flashback featuring the lovely Reiko about how she met both of them, like the first episode. The ending was a bit bittersweet, since as Natsume goes to see the Dew God he’s starting to disappear because the only person who worshipped him has died. However, he’s content because now he feels like he can finally meet her. The episode then ends with Natsume leaving an offering at a random shrine.
This show is actually pretty good at tugging on the heartstrings. It’s not enough to make me bawl or anything, but it’s enough to actually be touching and leave a lasting impression on me. This episode seemed just as good as the last to me, so I’m taking that as a good sign that it’ll stay interesting. It definitely needed so more Reiko, though.
Natsume seems to already be changing a little bit. It might just be my imagination, but he seems a bit more energetic and less apathetic than the first episode. Maybe just having someone around who knows about spirits is enough to make him a little less lonely, even if that someone is a spirit. He’s still as pretty as ever, too~ It makes me want to draw him in dresses~
Something occured to me as I was watching this. The people Natsume lives with could see Nyanko, so apparently normal humans can see him, at least in his cat form. So that means that people can actually see him walking around with Natsume. I wonder if the people in the town think Natsume’s a fruitcake or something since he’s constantly taking a stroll with a cat…
