Natsume Yuujin Chou

NATSUME YUUJIN CHOU

(Natsume and the Book of Friends)

4 seasons of anime taken from the long-running manga of the same name. 

OVERVIEW - It would be easiest to describe this series as a "Slice of supernatural life" to be honest, as it follows an orphaned boy who can see and interact with Yokai or Ayakashi, often semi-correctly translated as "Demons" or "Spirits", as the term doesnt carry with it an inherently "evil" subcontext as it does in English. Set in modern times it starts shortly after the boy moves in with some distant relatives, and follows him as he encounters various yokai who often mistake him for his long passed on grandmother who had taken the names of every yokai she'd ever met and put them in a book. 

REVIEW - The basic story to this is quite a sad, lonely one. Following the life of Takashi Natsume, a boy who's parents died while he was young, he was passed from relative to relative because his powerful spirit energy allowed him to see yokai when no-one else could. Suffering bullying for being a "liar" and "attention seeker" from both the adults and children by the time the story starts in his high school years he has become withdrawn, distant and quiet, prefering to say nothing rather than let the bullying continue. 

Recently moved to the house of a "Distant relative" he is constantly chased by the local yokai who think he is his grandmother, who had lived in the area 50 years before. One day while being chased he broke the seal on a small shrine, releasing a powerful yokai known as Madera, who reveals some of his grandmother's history. Reiko Natsume was a terror for the local yokai, with massively powerful spirit energy, she had picked a fight with every yokai she had ever met, forcing them to hand over their names to her if they lost, and she always won. The names form a type of binding contract, and allow the person who owns the name to command and control the yokai. Reiko had bound the names into a book, called the "Book of Friends" and while many yokai simply wanted their names back, many want it for the power it gives them over others. Takashi had inherited the book without knowing really what it was and had never realised the trouble it could cause him.

Madera helps Takashi out, despite at first appearing in the form of a "lucky cat" he is in fact a very large wolf like spirit of quite some power. In exchange for getting the book once Takashi dies, Madera, going by the name of "Nyanko sensei" in his chubby cat form, agrees to protect Takashi from other spirits who would kill/hurt/eat him. Takashi takes it upon himself to try and return the names of any spirit who asks for it while struggling to keep the supernatural side of his life from causing problems for the people he's now living with, and the friends he slowly makes at school. 

The series introduces a small cast as time goes on, both human and yokai and also brings up the matter of others with similar talents to Takashi. On the human side Takashi becomes friends with a couple of guys, the female class rep and actually becomes quite popular with girls who think he is "cute". He also meets another boy his own age with a weak talent, who can "feel" the presence of yokai or sometimes see shadows, and a girl who knows of yokai due to her grandfathers research, and can see them inside special "Magic" circles she draws. On the professional side, Takashi befriends an exorcist who is also a famous actor and through him comes into contact with other exorcists, most of whom treat all yokai as slaves or beast to be hunted and killed, something Takashi finds abborant. 

Most Yokai are one-shot, monster of the week types, but outside of Madera/Nyanko sensei Takashi manages to befriend several yokai who often come to him for help, drinking in his room late at night and on whom he can rely if he needs help. The most notable are the comedy duo of a bull and cyclops, "moustache" with his giant head and soft, overly polite speach, Hinoe who appears as a beautiful women in a kimono but is powerful in her own right and Mizuzu, a massive bull-like yokai with many followers who declines having his name returned from the book of friends as he finds Takashi "interesting"

Takashi spends his time trying to have a normal teenage life, hanging out with friends, doing his homework and errands for the couple who he lives with now, always trying to prevent the supernatural from hurting or interfering with the lives of the normal people around him. He also will try and help almost any yokai who asks for it, which normally leads him into danger and trouble. Towards the later seasons he seems to have this more or less in balance, with his friends who know about yokai helping cover for him and his sometimes odd behaviour. While most of the "Small fry" as Nyanko sensei calls them, who come looking for the book for its power are dealt with by Nyanko, who has the power to banish other yokai with a powerful light from his forhead, Takashi has a tendancy to end up involved in larger, more dangerour situations that involve his actor/exorcist friend, which are often used to lead towards the "big finish" for each season. 

The matter of Reiko is one of much mystery. In four seasons all that is known about her is her great power, much more than Takashi who is able to put down powerful spirits with a single punch (often used for comedic effect with Nyanko sensei), that she never lost a fight and she picked them in various ways with every yokai she came across, even ones as powerful as "Kami" or "gods". That her life was very lonely as humans hated her for being "weird" much like we see Takashi going through, that she enjoyed playing pranks, had bad table manners and was forgetful and that she died young, barely remembered in the human world but a legend that still caused fear in the yokai world. So far nothing has been made of why the exorcists whom we see seem to hold her in the same regard as the yokai, why she put together the book of friends as she never once called on the names within or her final fate. We often see short sequences involving her when Takashi returns a name, or from yokai's memories of her that Takashi can see if they sleep in the same room as him. The manga is still ongoing so it is possible that some of the mystery around Reiko will be solved, but I feel it'll never really be told in full. 

The anime itself is drawn in a soft, pastel manner, giving a hazy, semi-dreamlike feel to the show itself, the yokai range from the soft, cute looking little monster to the terrifying monsterous shadows and often you can guess what type of yokai they're going to be by their look alone. There is a fair degree of humour, mostly at Nyanko sensei's expense as all he seems to do is eat and get drunk with the other yokai in the area, but its the bittersweet, touching moments that deal with Takashi's sadness, the yokai's stories and the attachtments built between Takashi and the yokai whom we normally dont see again that define the series. There are some scary moments, some heartbreaking moments and a lot of introspection and flashbacks, but the way its all put together turns the series into a gentle tale of life, acceptance and growing up. 

A nice way to spend a few hours, the anime has grown into quite a popular show and I would suspect a fifth season to appear sometime into 2013. 

SUMMARY -

Story -  Starting out in the first season with a "tale of the week" feel to its storytelling, it builds over the other three seasons into a long tale of Takashi's growing up, finding a place in his unique world of both humans and yokai and finally making friends and finding peace in his troubled life. There seems to be a subplot bubbling in the background that involves the exorcists and there may be more to the tale of his grandmother than has been revealed yet. While not a gripping story its very enjoyable, with characters really growing on you without you even realising it. Definately more a "slice of life" style to the story than a large, epic arc style. 8/10

 

Production - The two earlier seasons suffer a little from "sketchy" animation in places, with odd body distortions in humans (cant really complain about it in the yokai really!) and some odd animations in places, as well as far too many "practically identical" sequences with the returning of the names. This clears up in the later two seasons, with little to no such issues showing up in them. Voice casting is fairly good, though you can hear sometimes when the same voice actors play different parts. With little to no CG and 3D effects only used in tiny amounts in later episodes the pastel feel and hand drawn animation really increases the soft, gentle feel to the story itself. 7/10

 

Music - While each of the four seasons have their own begining/ending themes, the anime itself makes use of the same score and insert music across all four seasons, giving a nice continuity that many multi-season animes (and shows) lack. Very fitting to the rural, old-fashioned countryside setting the score is very well utilised, helping build emotion into the world the characters inhabit. While the themes themselves are not really that standout, they follow a "upbeat pop-y" feel for the start, with a more slow, melancholic ballad feel for the ending themes. For the first season, the opener "Issei no Sei" (Simultaneous Voice) is a little slower than others, but still suited for the show. Its closer, "Natsu Yūzora" (Summer Evening Sky) is a simple plucked guitar piece with a japanese folk style vocal, gentle, evocative and with quite a sad feeling to it. Season two's opener "Ano Hi Time Machine" (That Day's Time Machine) is more upbeat, with a strong brass presence and the obligatory pop-key-change. The ending theme "Aishiteru" (I Love You) is my favourite of the themes for the series, with emotive vocals and a building musical presence to its ballad style. Season three has "Boku ni Dekiru Koto" (I can do) for its opener, another pop-y upbeat piece that has a tinge of sadness to its melody in the chorus. It closes with "Kimi no Kakera" (Pieces of You) a piano and strings based sad ballad, with some seriously sad lyrics and an almost "Elton John" style. The fourth and so far last season has "Ima, Kono Toki" (Now, This Time) for its opening theme, having an "indie/pop" feel to it, but not really much of a powerful presence. The season ends with "Takaramono" (Treasure) another meloncholic ballad, with some pleasantly soft vocals and an "epic ballad" approach to its music, starting with piano and building in what sounds like a full orchestra and band. While its openers/endings are not really stand-out, they fit the series well and with its insert music being so well done, its high marks here 8/10

 

Accessability - Dealing with contemporary japanese teens and japanese folklore/mythology, there's a lot of concepts that a westerner would be unsure about unless they've encountered them before or is willing to research them. That said, the series can be enjoyed without these aspects taking too much attention away as its main focus is the personal, emotional journey of its lead character. 5/10

 

Overall Impression - This is one of those series you'll either enjoy and be moved by, or will write off as being "lame" and "girly" and miss the point of. Dealing with concepts of alienation, keeping the truth from others for their own good and acceptance of genuine goodwill at its core, the dressing of yokai and conflict are simply ways of creating fun and interest around the central concepts. Described by most as a "warm, gentle anime" its not wrong to suggest that if you're not touched or moved in the slightest across the 52 episodes so far made then its possible you're either watching the wrong anime or are in fact dead already. Emotive, filled with that sort of gentle strength thats hard to put into words, this is a great anime that needs to be seen. 9/10

Final Score - 37/50