English Dub Review: Natsume’s Book of Friends “Chobi’s Treasure”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Chobi is depressed because his favorite comb broke.  Meanwhile, Natsume sees a white dragon in the sky…

Our Take:

Sometimes, the greatest treasure we gain is what we least expect. By the standards of this episode, that includes a wingless white dragon yokai flying across the town.  This magnificent creature is the topic of this week’s spiritual endeavor, where Natsume attempts to help one of his yokai allies, Chobihigue.  When Chobihigue’s prized possession, a seashell comb, broke, Natsume ventures to search for the dragon and retrieve one of its scales to construct it into a new comb.  Of course, the “Dog Pack Society” tagged along to assist Natsume with this task.  However, it’s far from an easy mission, as the dragon appears during molting season, meaning the gang has a strict time limit to find the creature and its beautiful scales.   

As usual, this seemed like another typical “assisting the yokai” plot we’ve come to expect from Natsume’s Book of Friends.  However, there are some occasions when its surprises assist in elevating the storylines.  “Chobi’s Treasure” happens to be one of those occasions, mainly towards the end.  It turns out that Chobihigue is actually the white dragon the whole time, and the comb was made out of one of its scales.  Given that Chobi has limited screen time in the show, this unexpected twist was a well-deserved opportunity to highlight the big-headed, mustached yokai. It delivered some much-needed character development to the narrative patterns and enhanced the show’s overall appeal with its visual beauty.