“all things with a form are fated to break, and memories of them may gradually fade and then one day disappear. even so, the experience helped me understand the kindness of others, and i was able to slowly change how i interact with people. that change is a small ripple that will expand further with time. i realised this is what makes the world spin.”i’ve always had a love for supernatural creatures and spirits, and things out of fairytales and folklore. i think this love came from yo-kai watch. that game series (and pokemon) defined my nintendo ds filled childhood. i adore the quirky and weird nature of ayakashi and yokai, and their, usually sad, outsider, sometimes feminist, stories attached to their existences. to me, they are a type of queerness, and has been formative in my own queerness.
natsume’s book of friends is like a more mature and intimate version of
yo-kai watch, exploring more complex themes, like loneliness and ostracism, generation trauma (and healing), found family, the ephemerality of human connection and relationships, the cycle of kindness and love, and, of course, queerness. in this series’ 7 seasons, 2 movies, countless ovas, of (mostly) self contained vignettes of the lives of people and ayakashi, that surround our main character’s life, has filled me with so much joy and comfort as a queer person, and helps me stay optimistic in the pursuit of being comfortable in my skin, and finding my own found family.
i think this movie’s (which is basically just a feature length episode) main theme is, change in relation to perspective. we are introduced early on to a forest spirit, who explains that, change holds special weight for humans because of the fleeting nature of human life. compared to ayakashi, who live on indefinitely, they can afford to change things on a whim, and live directionless existences. but as humans we can’t afford to hold grudges, and hatred on others, or live without purpose, because, in the words of sasada
“all things with a form are are fated to break, and memories of them may gradually fade and then one day disappear.” the center of this story is an ayakashi, called honokage who is cursed to wander the earth in the form of a human who alters the memories of people around him, unintentionally. memories where he exists, and memories where he doesn’t. but ultimately it doesn’t change anything.
change is used as a metaphor for perspective, because change makes people see things differently, and there’s so many ways it manifests in this movie. in the perspective of an old acquaintance about natsume’s grandma, to the ethically of honokage acting as her son, delaying her grief, to the lost of a support pillar (or support cat) in natsume’s life, and the altering of memories of the people around natsume. the realisation that the people in your life might not stay with you forever, puts things into perspective, in how we interact with people in our lives. to not hold grievances and grudges, to accept and cherish the people around us, without judgements and discrimination. and the understanding that people never really leave us if we remember them, and keep them in our hearts and memories
there’s so many more aspects of this show that i fail to put into words, and frame in a letterboxd review, but this series has my heart forever and will forever be an important part of my queerness.
