Natsume’s yokai adventures are always sure to tug at heartstrings, but who had their money on Reiko one-upping him? This week brought us an emotional tale of unrequited affection and missed connections, all while generating the purpose for this entire story—the origin of the Book of Friends. “Tell Me Your Name” was a tearjerker of an episode, eliciting powerful emotions through its gradual narrative and typically gentle visuals and music. This week gave the microphone to the yokai of the week, allowing him to control the narrative and close the loop that started with Reiko and ended with her grandson. Season 7 made us wait a long time for a Reiko episode, but it all paid off in the end.
I recognized Kenjirō Tsuda‘s voice from his typical roles as grizzled mentors like Nanami on Jujutsu Kaisen and Kishibe on Chainsaw Man. This week, his deep, gravelly voice lent an air of wisdom to the yokai of the week—Soranome, a yokai who just happens to be the very first to have his name written in the Book of Friends. Natsume has correctly intuited that Soranome wants his name back, but not for just any reason. What he’s really after is a chance to make amends with Reiko’s kin after witnessing a tragedy he couldn’t prevent. Soranome was witness to Reiko’s bittersweet chance at friendship with another human girl named Soko. It was an aching portrait of Reiko, a girl so young who had already been disappointed by other people so many times. Reiko gave Soko so many chances to keep herself from becoming involved with her. But Soko’s persistence eventually won her over, despite the specter of Reiko’s dangerous reputation hanging over their tenuous closeness. Reiko promises Soko that she’ll finally tell the other girl her name if Soko can beat her at a game—any game. She knows that her reputation precedes her, and indeed, Soko has even been warned to avoid a girl named Reiko. But until she shares her name with Soko, Reiko thinks she’s safe to enjoy these games.
Such dramatic irony when Soko finally learns Reiko’s name! When Soko fails to show for two more days due to illness, Reiko assumes she’s been jilted, just another rejection to add to the pile that her life has become. But after Reiko gives up, it’s Soko who waits for her again and again and again, accompanied by Soranome, who sees all but can’t change the outcome. Such dramatic irony! But what makes it bearable is Natsume himself. Natsume is the living embodiment of a happy ending still in store for the tragic figure his grandmother cut as a young girl. Because if Natsume exists, Reiko must have had a child, who in turn had a child. The mystery of Natsume’s grandfather is still up in the air (though I’ve voiced my suspicion that we’ve already met the guy), but surely Soranome can find solace in the existence of Reiko’s grandchild at all: proof that she finally found closeness with another person. And what of Soranome’s strange ability to hear inner thoughts, which didn’t work on Reiko? I saw it as a plot device to demonstrate just how much Reiko had closed off her heart. It must have made Reiko even more of an enigma to Soranome, who usually can read people right away. And yet, the way Reiko is always alone like Soranome himself, who frightens away the other yokai in order to preserve his solitude, makes them kindred spirits who understand one another through just their actions.
I would not have been surprised to learn that this episode of Natsume’s Book of Friends was the season finale—its narrative was that impactful. It was also the first time we saw a yokai’s name return animated this season. It’s a simple ceremony, but it has lost none of its impact over the years. Like the ephemeral field of blue flowers that thematically defines this episode, it’s the little things that add up and make this show so powerful.
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Natsume’s Book of Friends Season 7 is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.
Lauren writes about model kits at Gunpla 101. She spends her days teaching her two small Newtypes to bring peace to the space colonies.
