Natsume’s Book of Friends Season 7 Episode 7 Review – The Cute Character Type

Welcome to Anime Rants. Today we’re continuing the episode reviews for season 7 of Natsume’s Book of Friends. In episode 7, we actually met a new character – and he’s very kawaii. Let’s recap this installment.

Episode 7: A Difficult Pair

Episode Rating: 7/10

Although you can start watching Natsume’s Book of Friends in any season, it’s best to learn the recurring characters and have a rough idea of how they are connected to Natsume. In episode 7, we see one of the rare recurring female characters in the series: Tohru Taki, a tall and beautiful girl who goes to Natsume’s school. She is an important friend for Natsume. Naturally, when he hears that she’s troubled, he wants to help.

After Natsume asks what is wrong, Taki explains that her brother is visiting home from university. (I call her Taki because Natsume calls her that, but her given name is Tohru). Taki loves her brother, but she feels they aren’t getting along. Lately, her brother won’t stay with her very long in the house, and he refuses to eat anything she makes for him inside. Nyanko-sensei suggests that Natsume go meet Taki’s brother and try to find out what’s going on. Natsume and Taki agree to give it a try.

On their way to Taki’s house, Natsume wonders what kind of “character” the brother will be. (His name is Isamu.) He is quite surprised when Isamu turns out to be a petite, clear-faced, and overall, strikingly pretty. It was funny when Natsume mentally described Isamu as “the cute-type character.” There are many Natsume fans who watch the show in order to ship Natsume with other male characters – for those fujoshis and fudanshis, it was probably a big deal to hear Natsume call another boy cute.

Isamu comes across as a bit curt and cold, but he isn’t rude. He goes inside to have tea, but wouldn’t eat the snacks that Taki brought him. Natsume then asks why Isamu came to visit. He didn’t fully explain until the next day, when he showed Natsume and Taki an old key. Isamu found it in an old book and can’t remember where he got it from. He came back to see what items in the old house the key might be able to unlock.

However, there’s an issue. Whenever he stays inside the house very long, Isamu starts feeling sick and has to leave again. That’s also why he won’t eat what Taki gives him. Natsume quickly realizes that a yokai is sticking to Isamu. Nyanko-sensei explained that there are barriers in Taki’s house against yokai, which is why Isamu feels sick when he stays there for long. Luckily, the effect can be mitigated if Isamu holds on to Nyanko-sensei, whose presence dispels the spiritual barriers.

Natsume, Isamu, and Taki search the house for something that can be unlocked by the mysterious key. After Natsume sees the yokai near Isamu, he speaks to it. The yokai gives him a hint, telling him to check the bookshelf with the phoenix on it. Once they are at the bookshelf, Taki says she remembers her late grandfather talking to Isamu in front of that shelf. Isamu then finally recalls the truth: there is a hidden compartment in the wall behind the shelf. He and his grandfather hid something in there many years ago.

Everyone works together to push the big bookshelf out of the way. Then Isamu unlocks the compartment behind it. Inside are a few smooth river stones with colorful flower designs painted on them. On the day before Tohru’s birth, Isamu and his grandfather collected the stones and planned to present them to the new baby when she was older. (Stones with flower designs are apparently good luck charms.) But with the chaos of raising Tohru and the sudden sickness of the grandfather, Isamu forgot it all.

Years later, in the present, he solemnly hands the decorated stones to his sister. Taki is very grateful. This moment was super sweet and emotional. Later on, Isamu thanked Natsume for his help. He also said, “Maybe I can leave my little sister to you,” an idea which made Natsume spit out his soda in surprise. Personally, this sort of thing annoys me, because it’s rooted in the logic that the brother has a say in the sister’s romantic and sexual life. That’s gross. However, other than that one line, I enjoyed this episode.