Natsume's Book of Friends (Japanese: 夏目友人帳, Hepburn: Natsume Yūjin-chō) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Midorikawa. It started in Hakusensha's shōjo manga magazine LaLa DX in June 2003, where it ran until April 2008; it has been serialized in LaLa since July 2007. Its chapters have been collected in 31 tankōbon volumes as of September 2024. The manga is licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media, which released the first volume in January 2010.
| Natsume's Book of Friends | |
 First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Takashi Natsume and Madara | |
| 夏目友人帳 (Natsume Yūjin-chō) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Yuki Midorikawa |
| Published by | Hakusensha |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | |
| Demographic | Shōjo |
| Original run | June 10, 2003 – present |
| Volumes | 31 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Music by | Makoto Yoshimori |
| Studio |
|
| Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
| Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo) |
| Original run | July 8, 2008 – present |
| Episodes | 78 |
| Original video animation | |
| Directed by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Music by | Makoto Yoshimori |
| Studio | Brain's Base |
| Licensed by | Crunchyroll (1) |
| Released | December 15, 2013 – February 1, 2014 |
| Runtime | 22–23 minutes |
| Episodes | 2 |
| Original video animation | |
| Directed by |
|
| Music by | Makoto Yoshimori |
| Studio | Shuka |
| Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
| Released | March 22, 2017 – October 25, 2017 |
| Runtime | 22–23 minutes |
| Episodes | 4 |
| Original net animation | |
| Studio | Shuka |
| Released | April 21, 2021 |
| Runtime | 2 minutes |
| Anime films | |
The series follows Takashi Natsume, an orphan boy in his late teens who can perceive and combat yōkai. One day, Takashi finds a very old notebook called the "Book of Friends", left by his late maternal grandmother Reiko Natsume, an exorcist who possessed strong spiritual powers. The notebook was used to bind dozens of powerful demonic spirits, both good and evil, to follow Reiko's every whim and desire if called upon. Takashi resolves to give back all the names in notebook; in the process, he joins forces with another feline/wolf-like spirit called Madara (nicknamed "Nyanko-sensei"), who knew Reiko when she was alive. Madara takes the form of an overweight cat and intends to take back the notebook after Takashi dies. Until then, he agrees to protect Takashi from the nefarious spirits who want to harm him for being the grandson of Reiko.
The series has been adapted into a series drama CDs. An anime television series adaptation, produced by Brain's Base (seasons 1–4) and Shuka (seasons 5 onwards), have been broadcast on TV Tokyo in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2024. Two anime films, Natsume's Book of Friends the Movie and Natsume's Book of Friends: The Waking Rock and the Strange Visitor, were released in 2018 and 2021, respectively. The first four seasons of the anime were licensed by NIS America for a North American release in 2012 and released on home video in Japanese with English subtitles. The series has also been streamed by Crunchyroll, who produced an English dub in 2022.
By September 2023, the manga had over 16 million copies in circulation.
Story
For as long as he can remember, Takashi Natsume has had the rare spiritual ability to see and commune with yōkai and ayakashi, inheriting the powers from his late maternal exorcist grandmother Reiko Natsume. This ability resulted in his having a lonely childhood, because children his age considered him strange. He had also been passed from one paternal relative to another. Upon her death at a young adult age, Reiko bequeathed to her grandson her "Book of Friends"—a book containing the names of hundreds of spirits she had bullied into servitude.
The Book of Friends is considered a highly prized item in the supernatural world, and such demons and spirits—both good and malicious—hunt Takashi constantly because of it. Takashi spends his time dissolving the contracts that Reiko created and releasing the various spirits that come to him. Malicious spirits, on the other hand, try to kill him to obtain possession of the book, which is where Madara (called "Nyanko-sensei" by Takashi) comes in. Madara serves as Takashi's bodyguard and spiritual advisor of sorts, even though he is ostensibly motivated by his own desire to possess the book once Takashi dies. He later begins to become more attached to Takashi, with the latter forming a similar bond with Madara (despite the latter's attempts to deny it).
Takashi also finds a good friend in an exorcist named Shuuichi Natori, who is also one of the very few humans who is capable of perceiving and taking down spirits via certain banishing or sealing spells, but also finds a dangerous adversary in Seiji Matoba, who has plans for Takashi to join him and his nefarious clan of exorcists. Takashi is determined to release all of the names before the conniving Matoba clan or other malicious spirits attempt to use it for their own gain as he tries to learn whatever he can about his maternal grandmother and the strong spiritual connection they share.
Characters
Main characters
- Takashi Natsume (夏目 貴志, Natsume Takashi)
- Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya,[3] Ayumi Fujimura (young)[3] (Japanese); Adam Gibbs,[4] Paige Guillory (young)[5] (English)
- Takashi is a high school teenage boy. Like his late grandmother Reiko, Takashi can perceive and hear yōkai and ayakashi. He inherits Reiko's "Book of Friends", a powerful ledger of ayakashi names, which she collected by defeating them. Holding a yōkai's name grants control over them, making the book extremely dangerous. Due to his resemblance to Reiko, yōkai often confuse Takashi for her, some seeking revenge, others wanting their names back, or simply yearning for connection. Takashi chooses to return these names, learning more about Reiko and the spiritual bond they share. He is aided by the yōkai Madara, who wants the book upon Takashi's death. Orphaned young, Takashi grew up with distant relatives who found his ability to see yōkai odd. He eventually moves in with the kind Fujiwaras, hiding his powers to avoid burdening them. Despite his gentle demeanor, Takashi possesses immense spiritual power, able to purify yōkai with ease. His abilities attract the attention of exorcists, especially Seiji Matoba, who seeks to exploit Takashi's power as Reiko's only descendant.
- Takashi's spiritual energy is drained each time he releases a yōkai's name, and he often sees their memories, gaining deeper insight into Reiko's life. His powers make him a target for both yōkai and exorcists, though he remains determined to follow his own path, seeking understanding and peace with the spirit world.
- Madara (斑) / "Nyanko-sensei" (ニャンコ先生, "Master Kitty-Cat")
- Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue,[3] Sanae Kobayashi (as high school girl)[3] (Japanese); Christopher Wehkamp[4] (English)
- A mysterious inugami. Madara was sealed in a shrine until he was accidentally released by Takashi. Because Madara was trapped in a material form for so long, Madara ordinarily takes on the shape of a maneki-neko (lucky cat), leading Takashi to nickname him Nyanko-sensei. In this form, other people can see him, leading for Takashi having to ask his guardians if he could keep him as a pet. He is a powerful ayakashi,who protects Takashi from others and teaches him spells on occasion, in return for Takashi's promise to give him the Book of Friends when he dies, so Madara often complains when Takashi returns other yōkai's names, saying that at this rate there will be nothing left in the Book when Takashi dies. They often fight each other, which leads to Takashi punching Madara on the face and knocking him out. But as the story progresses, Madara takes a liking to Takashi. Despite his protests of not being a cat, he likes to play with cat toys. Nyanko's design is based on a lucky cat statue Midorikawa was given as a child.[6]
- Madara is implied to have had a close relationship with Reiko in both her teenage and young adult years til her premature death underneath a tree, which is implied to be one of the reasons he is content to be Takashi's yōkai companion until the end of his own fleeting human life.
- Reiko Natsume (夏目 レイコ, Natsume Reiko)
- Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi[3] (Japanese); Alexis Tipton[4] (English)
- Takashi's late maternal grandmother. A powerful spiritualist, she believed no human could ever understand her, so she turned to the invisible spirits for companionship, playing games with them. If they lost, she would make them give her their false names as proof of their loyalty to her. Reiko gathered said aliases in her Book of Friends, and commanded most spirits to follow her every whim, with the exception of Madara, whom she seemed to have been quite close with.
- Madara mentioned that she had sloppy table manners and was very forgetful most times. Reiko died when she was a young adult underneath a tree, so no one remembered her, which was what she had wanted. Her legacy and fame throughout the supernatural world still remains strong as her innate spiritual might was feared and greatly intriguing to both yōkai and exorcists alike, which is why they are so interested in her one-and-only grandchild who possesses the exact same high level of spiritual power she possessed.
Yowake High School
- Kaname Tanuma (田沼 要, Tanuma Kaname)
- Voiced by: Kazuma Horie[3] (Japanese); Tyson Rinehart[5] (English)
- An student that had recently moved into the area. He is sickly and quite susceptible to illnesses. Like Takashi, he is able to detect spirits, but to a lesser degree limited to seeing merely shadows and sensing slight presence of spirits. He wants to help Takashi in any way he can, but is afraid that he will just be a burden because of his weak ability. He became a close companion and even knew about Takashi's secret of seeing spirits and always helped him whenever he is in a tight spot.
- Touru Taki (多軌 透, Taki Tōru)
- Voiced by: Rina Satō[7] (Japanese); Megan Shipman[5] (English)
- A new girl at school who rarely talks because of a curse a spirit has placed on her, which Takashi later helps her to break. She is an onmyouji; she cannot see spirits without drawing a magic circle. Taki, like Tanuma, wants to help Takashi in any way possible. She has an older brother who is staying at university and flatly refuses to believe that yōkai even exist.
- Jun Sasada (笹田 純, Sasada Jun)
- Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro[3] (Japanese); Marisa Duran[5] (English)
- The class president of Takashi's homeroom. Sasada believes that Takashi can see, hear and battle spirits, although he repeatedly denies this to her. To Takashi's chagrin, she frequently tries to accompany him when he is on business involving spirits. She is a recurring character in the anime; in the manga, she is rarely seen after the encounter with Shigure due to transferring to another school from her stepfather's new job.
- Atsushi Kitamoto (北本 篤史, Kitamoto Atsushi) and Satoru Nishimura (西村 悟, Nishimura Satoru)
- Voiced by: Hisayoshi Suganuma[3] and Ryōhei Kimura[3] (Japanese); Mike Haimoto[4] and Matthew Elkins[4] (English)
- A classmates of Takashi. Kitamoto is a sensible and rational person, while Nishimura is funny and easy-going, with a slightly perverted side. Although Takashi initially rejects their overtures of friendship because of his fears of his ability being found out, he eventually becomes friends with them, although they still hang around more with each other than Takashi. Nishimura has a crush on Taki, but thinks that she and Takashi are going out.
Exorcists
- Shuuichi Natori (名取 周一, Natori Shūichi)
- Voiced by: Akira Ishida,[3] Fuyuka Oura (young)[3] (Japanese); Aaron Roberts[5] (English)
- A man who is also able to see spirits. He is a famous actor and exorcist and has a lizard birthmark that moves around on his body. He has the ability to manipulate paper dolls (Shikigami) and has three spirits under his command. Takashi tends to disapprove of his forceful exorcism methods. When Natori is first introduced, he hated spirits for his horrible childhood. But, after meeting Takashi, he gradually softens even though his ways are not much different. Over the course of meeting Takashi, Natori developed concern for his wellbeing, for he tends to be too softhearted and reckless when it involves fellow exorcists or spirits with malicious intent alike. However, he does acknowledge that Takashi may even be much more powerful than himself or even those strongest of the nefarious Matoba clan. He is later told about Reiko and her Book of Friends by Takashi, who thinks that such an old artifact as powerful as it is dangerous would be better off burned, but keeps its existence for Takashi's sake.
- Seiji Matoba (的場 静司, Matoba Seiji)
- Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe[8] (Japanese); Reagan Murdock[9] (English)
- The head of the Matoba clan. A coldhearted yet levelheaded young man, Seiji is a topmost-level exorcist who does not mind sacrificing innocent yōkai to reach his goals. Although he wants stronger yōkai to protect humans, he will not hesitate in hurting anyone who gets in his way. He is mostly seen armed with a bow and arrow, which he uses to eliminate yōkai. There is a scar on his right eye, covered by an eye patch with a certain protection spell on it, due to an ancestor offering his eye to a yōkai for assistance but ended up breaking his promise. This causes later heads of the clan to have their eye targeted by that yōkai, and the distrust from other clans. After his first encounter with Takashi, he immediately takes great interest in him, and even later asks him to join the Matoba clan since finding out he is the grandson of Reiko herself.
- Nanase (七瀬)
- Voiced by: Mika Doi,[10] Yoriko Nagata (young)[11] (Japanese); Laurie Steele[5] (English)
- An elder member of the Matoba clan who serves as the current head's secretary and assistant.
Recurring yōkai
- Hiiragi (柊)
- Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino[3] (Japanese); Jill Harris[5] (English)
- One-Eyed Middle Class Yōkai / "Chukyu A" (一つ目の中級妖怪, Hitotsume no Chūkyū Yōkai) and Ox-Faced Middle Class Yōkai / "Chukyu B" (牛顔の中級妖怪, Ushi-gao no Chūkyū Yōkai)
- Voiced by: Takashi Matsuyama[3] and Hiroshi Shimozaki[3] (Japanese); Brian Mathis[12] and Greg Dulcie[12] (English)
- Hinoe (ヒノエ)
- Voiced by: Akemi Okamura[3] (Japanese); Molly Searcy[5] (English)
- A powerful yōkai whose form is a blue-haired human woman. She was madly in love with Reiko. Being knowledgeable, she often acts as Takashi's mentor. Hinoe enjoys teasing Takashi and Madara; mostly the former because of his uncanny resemblance to Reiko.
- Misuzu (三篠)
- Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda[3] (Japanese); Chris Ryan[5] (English)
- A powerful horse yōkai with many followers. He acknowledges that Takashi is a worthy holder of the Book of Friends and offers himself as Takashi's bodyguard in place of Madara.
- Kappa (カッパ)
- Voiced by: Kyōko Chikiri[3] (Japanese); Danielle Yoshiko Phillips[12] (English)
- Little Fox (子狐, Kogitsune)
- Voiced by: Akiko Yajima[13] (Japanese); Kristen McGuire[14] (English)
- An orphaned fox yōkai whose form is a boy with fox ears and tail however humans only see him as an infant fox. He becomes friends with Takashi after being rescued from bullying yōkai.
- Chobihige (ちょびひげ)
- Voiced by: Chō[15] (Japanese); Barry Yandell[5] (English)
- A large-headed spirit with a small mustache and a pale green robe. He wears a comb that he had lost and is replaced by a dragon scale-encrusted comb Takashi had made for him. His true form is that of a dragon.
Other characters
- Tōko Fujiwara (藤原 塔子, Fujiwara Tōko) and Shigeru Fujiwara (藤原 滋, Fujiwara Shigeru)
- Voiced by: Miki Itō[3] and Eiji Itō[3] (Japanese); Jennifer AuBuchon[4] and Seth Magill[5] (English)
- A childless middle-aged couple and Takashi's current foster parents. Shigeru is a second cousin of Takashi's dead father, and as a boy once met Reiko without recognizing it was her. Both Tōko and Shigeru assure Takashi that they consider him a part of their family. They both worry often about him, wanting him to be as happy as possible, but Takashi goes to great lengths to hide his ability from them. Takashi slowly comes to understand that his keeping the Fujiwaras at a distance, including always addressing them formally, is preventing him from forming close human attachments. Despite this, he still fears being rejected because of his ever developing and increasing spiritual abilities.
- Katsumi Shibata (柴田 克己, Shibata Katsumi)
- Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya[16] (Japanese); Justin Briner[5] (English)
- A classmate of Takashi in elementary school. He used to bully Takashi and refused to believe in his spiritual abilities. After falling in love with a yōkai, and eventually realizing that she was indeed one thanks to Takashi, he apologizes to him and become friends.
Development
Midorikawa created Natsume's Book of Friends as an episodic serial for a manga magazine published every two months, so that each chapter was a story that could be read on its own.[17] As the result of earlier writing a ghost story that an editor made her revise to include more romance than she initially wanted,[18] Midorikawa specifically created Natsume's Book of Friends as a supernatural story with less romance,[19] containing supernatural elements that stir readers' imaginations the way stories about yōkai and local gods stirred hers while growing up in a rural area.[19] For the basic story, she wanted to write about a boy and his non-human teacher,[20] and include the incongruous element of the boy's grandmother in a school uniform.[21]
This was the first series Midorikawa wrote in which the protagonist was also the central character.[21] Midorikawa claimed that as a character, Takashi is almost as bad as herself at expressing his thoughts,[21] which caused her to use more interior monologue than she was comfortable with for a male character.[20]
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Yuki Midorikawa, Natsume's Book of Friends was first published in Hakusensha's shōjo manga magazine LaLa DX from June 10, 2003,[22][23] to April 10, 2008;[lower-alpha 2] it has been serialized in the monthly sister magazine LaLa since July 24, 2007.[26][27] The chapters have been collected in thirty-one tankōbon volumes.
The series is licensed in English in North America by Viz Media, with the first volume published in January 2010.[28]
Additionally, fanbook was published on January 5, 2009,[29] and a notebook reproduction of Natsume's Book of Friends was published on July 3, 2009.[30]
Volumes
Drama CDs
Natsume's Book of Friends has been adapted as a series of three drama CDs, which were distributed as extras with issues of LaLa.
- LaLa Treasure Drama CD (October 2007)
- LaLa Excellent Drama CD (November 2008)
- LaLa Double Premiere Drama CD (May 2009)
Anime
Natsume's Book of Friends has been adapted into an anime television series, directed by Takahiro Omori, and broadcast on TV Tokyo. Brain's Base animated the first four seasons, while Shuka has animated the fifth one onwards. The 13-episode first season was broadcast from July 8 to September 30, 2008;[91][lower-alpha 3] the second 13-episode season, Zoku Natsume Yūjin-chō (続 夏目友人帳, "Natsume's Book of Friends (Continuation)"), was broadcast from January 6 to March 31, 2009;[93][lower-alpha 4] the third 13-episode season, Natsume Yūjin-chō San (夏目友人帳 参), was broadcast from July 5 to September 27, 2011;[95][lower-alpha 5] the 13-episode fourth season, Natsume Yūjin-chō Shi (夏目友人帳 肆), was broadcast from January 3 to March 27, 2012;[97][lower-alpha 6] the fifth 11-episode season, Natsume Yūjin-Chō Go (夏目友人帳 伍), was broadcast from October 5 to December 21, 2016;[99][lower-alpha 7] the sixth 11-episode season, Natsume Yūjin-chō Roku (夏目友人帳 陸), was broadcast from April 12 to June 21, 2017;[101][lower-alpha 8] the seventh season, Natsume Yūjin-chō Shichi (夏目友人帳 漆), premiered on October 8, 2024.[103][lower-alpha 9]
In North America, the first four seasons were licensed by NIS America and released on home video in Japanese with English subtitles.[105][106][107][108] The seven seasons have been streamed by Crunchyroll.[109] An English dub by Crunchyroll premiered on July 24, 2022.[110]
Films
Natsume's Book of Friends the Movie: Ephemeral Bond was released in theaters on September 29, 2018.[111]
A second theatrical anime, titled Natsume's Book of Friends: The Waking Rock and the Strange Visitor, premiered on January 16, 2021.[112][113] The film is composed of two stories, "Ishi Okoshi" and "Ayashiki Raihōsha". The main staff and cast members from the previous film returned to reprise their roles with the addition of Hisako Kanemoto as a guest-star.[114][115]
Other
An original video animation (OVA) titled Itsuka Yuki no Hi ni (いつかゆきのひに) was released on February 5, 2014, with the staff and cast of the previous anime seasons returning. The BD/DVD consisted of two discs, the second containing a clip of the "Sound Theatre x Natsume Yuujinchou ~ Tsudoi Ongeki no Shou~" musical event which was held the previous year on September 28, 2013.[116]
Separate soundtrack albums for the two seasons were released in Japan by Sony Music on September 24, 2008 and March 18, 2009, respectively.[117][118] The series opening and closing theme songs were also released by Sony Music.[119][120][121][122] As singles, "Issei no Sei" reached a peak rank of 48th on the Oricon singles chart,[123] "Natsu Yūzora" reached 27th,[124] and "Ano Hi Time Machine" reached 38th.[125] "Aishiteru" was not released as a single, but instead included on an album called Uta no Hibi by Kourin (also known as Callin').[122]
Reception
Since the fifth volume of the series, the individual volumes have made the best-seller list for manga in Japan. Volume 5 was ranked at number 8 on the charts for the week of March 4–10, 2008;[126] Volume 6 was number 5 for the week of July 8–14, 2008;[127] Volume 13 has done the best so far of the volumes, staying on the chart for three consecutive weeks (number 2 for the week of January 2–8, 2012, number 4 for the week of January 9–15, 2012, then falling to number 19 the following week).[128][129][130] By February 2022, the manga has sold over 16 million copies.[131] By September 2023, the manga had over 17 million copies in circulation.[132]
Natsume's Book of Friends was one of twelve finalists for the first Manga Taishō award in 2008.[133]
Both the anime and the manga have been noted for their optimistic themes and presentation.[134]
Notes
References
External links
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