We’re still in youkai mode, where we’ve spent most of the season so far (though we get another detour next week). Apart from a couple of brief school scenes this was all the regular youkai cast, with the Dog Circle firmly in the spotlight. Episodes featuring them don’t tend to be too serious – they’re goofs, more or less. And the group was originally put together so Nyanko-sensei would have somebody to drink with anyway. But there were a couple of loftier moments here, and one genuine unexpected twist (which with this series don’t exactly grow on trees).

In the first place, Natsume is seeing a white dragon flying around the local mountains. That doesn’t exactly happen all the time in Natsume Yuujinchou either, and he’s rather taken with it. Nyanko-sensei has never heard of a local dragon and is keen to see it himself (good luck, supposedly) but it seems to only show itself whenever Natsume is by himself. On one of their search missions the pair of them run across Chobi, who seems rather down in the dumps. His treasured moustache comb, made from a giant seashell, has broken (and his youkai heart with it).

These wistful youkai stories tend to be marvels of simplicity generally speaking. But this one is about as unadorned Natsume as Natsume gets. It’s just light comedy and feels, start to finish. Natsume being the kind soul he is determined to try and help Cbobi out (Chobi has always been the most responsible and helpful of the Dog Circle, really). And Natsume (thanks to Tanuma-kun’s mother-of-pearl story) the inspiration to find Chobi a dragon scale out of which to make a new comb. But that’s easier said than done where chasing a dragon is concerned.

Eventually the rest of the Dog Circle wind up helping, and after much failure a scale is finally spotted in a tree high above a valley. It’s quite an adventure getting to it but Natsume insists on doing so himself, even if Nyanko-sensei can’t resist stepping it eventually. Scale retrieved Natsume gifts it to Chobi, who initially seems less than impressed. And with good reason, as it turns out – though once he magics it into a comb he changes his tune. Yeah, I definitely did not see that coming – Chobi being a white dragon was not on my bingo card. But I like a bit of unpredictability occasionally when a series is as comforting and reliable as this one, so no complaints from me.