It was the only time in her entire life that Hanako - an ordinary woman, as invisible as most people - caught sight of the Dew God's lingering shadow. It was also the only exchange they ever shared.
One sentence. A youthful reflex. A coincidence that, somehow, proved enough.
Because the Dew God answered her that day, Hanako spent the rest of her life believing in him. And because someone answered him - because that single, human voice rose to meet his - he, in turn… ended up falling for a human.
Akira's fingers trembled, a chill racing up his forearm. Emotion surged like a tide, bringing with it that absurd urge to cry - not the loud kind, but the kind that packs itself into your throat and makes your chest ache.
So they had spoken.
Even if it was only once. Even if it was only that first time. Still… it had existed.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness…
The story of a small youkai and a common woman ended there - no spectacle, no reward, no miracle. Only what life tends to offer when it's being cruel: an ending.
Akira pulled out a tissue and blew his nose hard, as if he could force the feeling out of his body. For someone like him - someone whose tears came reluctantly - it was already a lot. A burning nose was enough to admit he'd taken a hit.
The ending theme, Natsu Yuuzora, began to play.
And it was as though his brain had decided to brand the scene into him by force: Hanako as a teenager, looking up, and the Dew God perched at the top of the tree - an exchange so small that it now felt too large to fit inside memory.
It was the kind of thing that clung.
And all at once, Akira understood why, the week before, everyone who'd watched both episode one of Natsume Yuujinchou and Akane no Sora spoke of Natsume with such conviction.
It was the aftertaste.
Akane no Sora was comfortable while it played, pleasant to follow - but once it ended, it slipped away like water: it quenched your thirst and vanished without leaving a mark. Natsume Yuujinchou, on the other hand, was like fruit liqueur. While you drink it, the sweetness is gentle, almost innocent. But afterward… afterward it hits with force, and the warmth catches you from the inside.
The more Akira replayed Hanako's life and that youkai's in his mind, the tighter his chest became, like something was lodged there and refused to go down.
"Who wrote this? What kind of monster comes up with a story like this - does he have no heart?" he burst out, tossing his phone onto the sofa beside him - only to snatch it back up in the same second. "Would it have killed him to change one detail and let the two of them meet at least one last time before they died?"
The indignation didn't last long, because honesty was stronger. He logged into NatsuYume, went straight to the rating page, and gave it a ten - without hesitating.
Then, with an almost pathetic humility, he started a thread on the forum:
"Does anyone have a phone recording of episode 1 of Natsume Yuujinchou? Can you send it to me? I'll pay."
Waiting for the BD was impossible. It wouldn't be out until next month. Akira knew exactly what he was doing: he'd hop on the "pirate" train now… and when the BD dropped, he'd buy the official release. That much, at least, he owed himself.
And that episode - "The Shrine of the Dew God" - he wanted to watch again, and again. One pass wasn't enough. There was too much tucked into the details, into the pauses, into the looks the direction never bothered to explain.
…
When episode two finished, NatsuYume truly detonated - especially in the comment sections for the four prefectures where the anime was airing. It felt like a collective blaze.
"I cried so hard. I didn't watch episode 1 and started straight from episode 2… nobody warned me this was that kind of anime!"
"If you missed episode 1, that's such a shame. The first one hits even harder."
"I think episode 2 is better. Hishigaki's loneliness in episode 1 hurts, sure - but the Dew God watching Hanako for decades, never getting to speak to her again… that crushed me. If I were him, I'd break. And yet he can still say, 'Humans are adorable.' That destroyed me."
"Hanako saw the Dew God once in her youth and believed in him for the rest of her life. And because of her, he gave up moving shrines… gave up that long youkai lifespan. It's sad, but it pierced the deepest part of my heart."
"This anime is unbelievably gentle. Natsume, the youkai… even Grandma Reiko in the memories is sharp-tongued but soft-hearted."
"How did I not watch episode 1 last week? Now I'm just more miserable. All I can do is wait for the BD…"
"This writer… Sora Kamakawa… it's insane. How does an eighteen-year-old write something like this?"
"No idea. Maybe… he's a genius."
"Talent is something you're forced to respect. And to think he's not just directing - he's also involved with the script and the music… I close my eyes and the ending theme is already echoing in my head."
"The BD and the CD only come out next month… torture."
"The worst part is this anime only airs on Tokushima TV. If it were on one of the big national networks… I'd love to see Natsume Yuujinchou become a nationwide hit. Even a strong regional network would be something - anything that would stop Akane no Sora from holding onto the number one spot this cour."
"Easy. At least with Natsume, I think Kantoku Sora Kamakawa is going to secure his footing in the industry for good. Who knows - maybe his next project will have a major broadcaster lining up to partner with him?"
"I hope tomorrow's ratings climb. And when the BD drops, I hope it sells like crazy. Then the Kantoku will have the motivation to do a second season."
"Second season? You're dreaming."
"Dreaming? Look at how thick that Book of Friends is. Do you really think thirteen episodes can return all those names? And stop being lazy - help promote it on the forum. If the ratings rise, that's already a win. I can't stand The Dragon King Next Door fans coming here to stir things up."
"Exactly. In Tokushima and the other prefectures, I don't know if Natsume can surpass Akane no Sora in the final ratings… but it can't lose to The Dragon King Next Door. It can't lose to Maki."
…
That night - October 13 - Sora's verified account jumped from six hundred thousand followers to 1.1 million.
The verified official account for Natsume Yuujinchou rose to 1.4 million.
In Yumi Noriko's comment section, almost everything turned into discussion about episode two. The anime's score climbed as well: 9.4.
And the topic for episode two pushed into the sitewide top fifteen trends on NatsuYume.
For an anime airing on a regional broadcaster like Tokushima TV… it was absurd.
Even the most oblivious fan outside the broadcast area finally caught on to what was happening: Natsume Yuujinchou had to be genuinely excellent. There was no other explanation for that level of attention and praise.
The next day, Akane no Sora's nationwide average ratings were released - nearly identical to the previous week, still hovering around 4.5%.
But Natsume Yuujinchou's episode two ratings… surged.
Across the average measured in the surrounding four prefectures, it climbed to 3.82%.
In a single week, it had jumped by almost half a percentage point.
Tokushima TV's upper management didn't know what to do with themselves.
Before, in that very same time slot, ratings used to sit around 2.7%. And now it was 3.8%?
And with the kind of momentum the internet was building, it was likely to rise again the following week.
The anime market had a nose for these things - and that nose was screaming.
The gap between episode one and episode two was already huge. And the autumn cour still had eleven weeks left.
That was when many people in the industry, looking back, remembered the public fight from months earlier - Sora Kamakawa, Yumi Noriko, and Maki trading barbs like it was war.
Back then, Sora's words had sounded like provocation… like a bluff meant to inflate his own work.
Now…
Now it didn't look like a bluff at all.
If anything, the idea that he'd been "just talking" was what suddenly felt absurd.
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