Natsume’s Book of Friends has always treated the character Reiko in an interesting way. Reiko Natsume was the grandmother of our main character, Takashi Natsume. She was considered tomboyish, crude, and even dangerous to be around. In addition, she was both athletic and gifted with immense spiritual power. In episode 11 of Season 7, we learn more about Reiko and revisit the topic of why she’s such an outcast.

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Episode 11: Tell Me Your Name

Episode Rating: 8/10

Natsume meets a yokai named Soranome who looks like a fluffy haystack with skinny little legs and arms. He can occasionally hear the thoughts of other yokai and humans. The voice actor playing Soranome was Kenji Tsuda, a male seiyuu with a distinct voice that always delivers excellently, even in small roles. Soranome is the very first yokai who made the name deal with Reiko. He tells the story of his encounters with Reiko and another girl, Soko, who frequented the forest. Natsume listens intently.

Reiko wandered the forest in her free time, always gracefully dodging yokai and creatures who tried to scare her or grab her. One day, Reiko met Soko, a sickly girl who came to the forest for a quiet place to read. Reiko didn’t want to give Soko her name, so she proposed a game. The two girls would attempt some sort of challenge, and if Soko ever won, Reiko would reveal her name. However, Reiko kep winning over and over. This didn’t seem to discourage Soko, who came back day after day to spend more time with her mysterious new friend.

It’s worth noting that the friendship between the girls may have actually been attraction and infatuation. I’ve always wondered if Reiko was supposed to be a lesbian or some other flavor of LGBT+. It would explain why she’s such an outcast and why she doesn’t seem like a normal girl. She seems gender-nonconforming with her masculine ways of speaking and behaving. Anyway, you can’t ignore the possibility that Soko and Reiko “liked” each other. Even if it wasn’t romantic, that brief bond was an important experience in the lives of both girls.

Unfortunately, the friendship wasn’t meant to last. Soko had heard rumors about a dangerous girl named Reiko Natsume. When she finally won a game, Soko was surprised to hear that her friend was none other than Reiko. At that moment, some yokai began to act threatening, so Reiko told Soko to leave right away. The two girls never met again after that. Soko got sick and couldn’t come to meet Reiko for several days. By the time she returned to the forest, Reiko had given up and moved on.

Soranome had been watching the whole thing. He cried for the lost friendship between the girls. Almost as if to cheer him up, Reiko brought the yokai to her special hideout: an enormous field of bright blue flowers. (They look similar to morning glories.) She then asked if Soranome would play a game with her. If Reiko loses, she will do anything the yokai says. If she wins, however, the yokai will surrender his name and become her servant. Sure enough, Soranome lost the match and gave away his name. Thus, the Book of Friends was created.

Now that he’s heard the full story, Natsume returns Soranome’s name, setting him free. Due to his spiritual connection to his grandmother, Natsume also sees a dreamlike vision of the blue flower field. He saw how much Reiko wanted to be there with Soko. The beauty of the flowers and the sadness of the story nearly brought Natsume to tears. He is such an empathetic boy, and he also deeply appreciates natural beauty.

The episode ends here. On a final note, I just want to state that I love most shows and movies that use people’s names as important narrative themes. That’s part of why I love Urasawa’s Monster and Johan’s quest for a name. It’s also part of why I keep coming back to Natsume. The idea that you can give away your name in a spirit pact is fascinating. Anyway, this was an excellent episode with many pretty shots.

~Thanks for reading~

Written by 7Mononoke

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