As stated in previous posts, I like to watch anime series currently airing in Japan as soon as fansub groups subtitle and release episodes. On rare occasions, I let an awesome series slip through the cracks and return to it later by chance or recommendation. (Dennou Coil is the best example of this type of temporary oversight.)
The purpose of my preamble is to explain why it’s taken me this long to watch the second episode of Natsume Yuujinchou, which I did today. Here’s a short summary of the series as provided by Anime News Network:
Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him. Containing the names of these spirits, a binding contract was formed between the spirits and the owner of the book. Now, Natsume is determined to free the spirits and dissolve the contracts. With the help of a spirit cat, his days are filled trying to return the names to these spirits.
There are few subjects that hold my attention as powerfully as mythology and folklore, so chances were already good that I would watch and enjoy this series. Natsume Yuujinchou does not disappoint, basing its plot on themes found throughout Asian folklore. For example: Knowing a being’s true name gives a person power over that being. (On a side note, the same is true in Egyptian mythology, as explained in a myth where Isis tricks Re into revealing his secret name.)