I recently rewatched Natsume Yuujinchou and I really want to talk about Natsume
While his acceptance and understanding of the things he sees is one of his biggest character developments…I really want to talk about his communication and social skills.
Ever since Natsume was little, he could see spirits. This, plus the fact he’s an orphan, immediately alienated him from other kids his age. He grew up being a “freak” and a “liar”. His guardians never kept him long because weird things would happen when he’s there and it’s even been stated in canon that he has been abused in the past.
Because of all of this he was never able to talk to people. He couldn’t communicate properly with others because they couldn’t understand each other. Natsume grew up keeping everything to himself and lying to everyone around him. He doesn’t know how to express himself. As a kid, it was his life long dream to be by himself and live all alone, far far from other humans.
When there was a family that finally asked him to come with them, he was overjoyed. Natsume wants to change and he actively tries to change himself. Once the Fujiwara couple come into the picture and he finally feels the warmth and love of an actual family he wants to change himself for the better. “Once you’ve loved and once you have been loved, you can not forget.” (literally a quote from episode 2 lol)
Natsume knows he has issues with talking to people but that doesn’t stop him from trying his best to overcome this.
It’s so amazing to watch Natsume break out of his shell and befriend so many people and youkai. He begins to gain confidence and even starts to be sarcastic and snarky with his friends in later chapters. He even learns to be a little selfish when it comes to the things he wants. Compared the how he was in the beginning of the series–that’s a huge improvement. Honestly, what I really love about him is that his character is nothing new. A boy who was ridiculed because he could do something supernatural is pretty cliche. However, instead of moping and being a lone wolf like most of those characters–Natsume actually makes an effort to get closer to the people he likes. He surrounds himself with people he enjoys being with and is kind towards everyone around him. Natsume finally knows what it’s like to have a place to call home and he wants to continue to live a life full of warmth.
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