How much do you really know your friends? If one of your friendliest classmates was replaced by an imposter half the time you knew him, would you be able to tell the difference? If so, how would you react to the fact that there are multiple versions of your friend? If this sounds interesting at all, you might like the eighth episode of Natsume’s Book of Friends season 7. Let’s take a look at this slightly eerie installment.

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Episode 8: Natsume in the Moonlit Night

Episode Rating 8/10

The episode begins with a strange scene wherein Nishimura – Natsume’s goofy, boyish classmate – sees Natsume talking to a crow. Curiously, Nishimura approaches. The crow flies away, and “Natsume” quickly leaves. Nishimura finds a tiny finger from kind of doll on the ground. The crow must have dropped the finger. Nishimura picked it up. thinking it might belong to Natsume. He could return it soon.

That night, “Natsume” appeared at Nishimura’s window – on the second floor – and asked to come in. After Nishimura shows Natsume the doll finger, Natsume confirms that it’s something that belongs to him. He doesn’t explain anything, but asks Nishimura to hold on to the doll finger for now and keep it a secret.

Nishimura obliges because he wants to be better friends with Natsume, who is usually very quiet and reserved at school. But this version of Natsume seemed different. We’ll call him Moonlight Natsume, because he only appears at night after school. For several days, he came to visit Nishimura at night, often keeping him up, to check on the doll finger and spend time together. Moonlight Natsume was more expressive, confident, and mysterious than daytime Natsume.

The yokai in this episode seems to be a spirit that is mimicking Natsume’s appearance and using Nishimura for some goal of its own. We find out a bit later that it’s the spirit of a doll that lives inside an abandoned house. A crow stole the doll’s finger, so the doll assumed a human shape to try to get it back. After Nishimura picked up the finger, the doll spirit took the form of Nishimura’s friend, Natsume, to communicate with him effectively. In other words, this Natsume is an imposter and a yokai.

One night, Moonlight Natsume seemed especially happy. He was singing a beautiful but haunting tune while smiling. To Nishimura’s surprise, Moonlight Natsume asked if they could go on a walk together. Nishimura agrees and proceeds to have the time of his life on a midnight stroll with his friend. It seemed distinctly romantic as they walked, played, and reveled in the beauty of the full moon’s light.

Nishimura said later that this was a beautiful and fun nighttime adventure for him. I believe that the yokai was having fun, too. However, its main purpose was to lead Nishimura to the abandoned house where the main body of the doll lay waiting. The yokai had to wait for a full moon to do this because it wasn’t ordinarily strong enough to maintain its human shape very long.

Though Nishmiura was reluctant to enter the house, he followed the yokai and soon found the doll. He reattached the finger and set the doll upright on a chair, patting its head. At that moment, the doll moved because the spirit went back into it. Nishimura was so terrified he bolted away, tripped on the stairs, and passed out from shock. For what its worth, the doll wasn’t trying to hurt him. In fact, it saved him from falling further down the stairs.

When Nishimura wakes up, the real Natsume is with him. He and Nyanko-sensei have been worried about Nishimura’s strange behavior lately, so they investigated. After finding out that Nishimura was involved with a yokai, Natsume hurried to “save” his friend. However, any potential danger was already passed. The doll spirit was nowhere to be found. Nishimura chalked it all up to his active imagination, and Natsume doesn’t argue. Together, the two friends walk home.

Despite not understanding the true situation, Nishimura somehow realized that he would never again see the Moonlight Natsume. It made him a bit melancholy. All evidence points to the fact that Nishimura thought of Moonlight Natsume in a romantic way. That is now over. However, Nishimura is grateful to still have his loyal classmate and friend, the real Natsume.

I really enjoyed this episode. It made me think of themes like identity dissociation, mystery, and romance. Also, Moonlight Natsume was very cool in design. That’s all for today. Until next time, Sayonara!

~Thanks for reading~

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Click to see more about Natsume Season 7

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Written by 7Mononoke