Natsume Yūjin-Chō Roku

Episode 9

In the middle of the night, Natsume awakens to find a mask floating at his side. Tears ooze out of the mask's gaping eyeholes as it begs for help. It was around this moment of “What Flows” that I realized that this episode's plot would be straight-up horror in any other show but Natsume Yūjin-Chō Roku. Instead, it's another low-key, almost soothing installment of the chillest supernatural story around. Despite the things that go bump in the night, sweet interpersonal moments keep this show on message.

When it comes to creepy factor, this episode is on par with “Nitai-sama,” an earlier episode of this season that showed the furthest that Natsume Yūjin-Chō can veer toward horror. This time, the supernatural element is the only thing creepier than a possessed doll—a possessed mask that has the ability to attach itself to human faces. There's just something so disturbing about yokai that mimic human form but don't quite get there, instead landing in the uncanny valley. Adding to my apprehension is Natsume's sole awareness of what's happening—only he can see the fourth mask, and only he can see it covering faces. Like the single person in a horror film who's figured out what's happening (often making them the first to die), Natsume's role as the sole observer contributes to this scary movie vibe.

But my anxiety is quelled almost before it has a chance to spread because Natsume is not alone, and everyone, even the scary yokai, is on the same side. This episode takes place at a study camp in the mountains, and there are friendly faces everywhere. There was a time when Natsume was too scared to even tell his friends when something was wrong—now he'll even confide in Tanuma about the extent of what he can see. It's not only his friends, but Nyanko-sensei who's looking out for him too—though Natsume failing to notice the portly kitty smuggled in his school bag is about as unbelievable as Nyanko's excuse for coming: allegedly to visit a sake spring, which is never mentioned again. The quickness with which he gave up on this quest made it transparent that Nyanko-sensei was really there to keep a guardian eye on Natsume. (Nyanko-sensei's major contribution to this episode is a cuddly new “boar piglet” form. The black Nyanko lookalike from episode 14, “Stolen Book of Friends,” was so popular that you can buy merchandise of it; I assume there will now be brown-striped Nyanko merch, too.)

Natsume's own situation, in which his friends gather around him with concern, mirrors that of this episode's yokai—a mountain goddess and her four masked protectors. Ultimately, this takes the form of one of the show's most common recurring yokai stories: a yokai loses an item, so Natsume must recover it. As usual, the mechanics of the plot are made far more engaging thanks to the humanizing story of yokai loyalty and devotion behind it. A faceless, ghostly woman is only an object of terror before you realize her role as an entity capable and worthy of love. A mask possessing your friend's face is only horrifying up to the point that it apologizes. It's another endearing entry in a show that has always been less about the supernatural and more about what it means to be human.

Rating: A

Natsume Yūjin-Chō Roku is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist.