Natsume Yuujinchou

Name: Natsume Yuujinchou
Rating: 8.7

Natsume's Book of Friends
夏目友人帳
The Natsume Book of Friends
Manabiya no Sumi
Natsu ni wa Tameiki wo Tsuku
Pakt der Yokai. Natsume's Book of Friends
Le Pacte des yôkai

Manga8.712240 votesPublishing

DramaSupernaturalIyashikeiShoujo

to add this manga to your library.

About this title

Synopsis

Takashi Natsume is a 15-year-old boy who wants nothing more but to live a normal life like everyone else. But to his dismay, like his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he possesses the ability to see "youkai," or spirits. Natsume eventually discovers that Reiko had bequeathed to him a book of contracts in which she had bound youkai—the "Book of Friends." However, without Reiko ever calling upon the spirits' names, they have been left in a confined state. Now, these spirits continuously pursue Natsume in the hopes of having their contracts dissolved for freedom. While there may be gentle, harmless spirits which come to Natsume for help, there are also malicious, hostile spirits that threaten him. This is where Madara steps in, a spirit disguised as a rotund cat. Commonly referred to as Nyanko-sensei by Natsume, Madara is a self-proclaimed bodyguard who has his own motives for accompanying Natsume. Natsume Yuujinchou is a supernatural slice-of-life series about a boy who struggles to live a normal life while balancing the spirit and human worlds and acquiring important life lessons along the way. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Publication notes

Natsume Yuujinchou was nominated for the first Manga Taishou Award in 2008. The series has been published in English as Natsume's Book of Friends by VIZ Media under the Shojo Beat imprint since January 5, 2010.

Published

Jun 10, 2003 to ?

Authors

Midorikawa, Yuki

External links

MyAnimeList page Official Site Wikipedia Wikipedia

MAL rank: #69
Members (MAL): 50,139
Favorites (MAL): 2,338

Related titles

Adaptation

Side Story

Natsume Yuujinchou

Spin-Off

Nyanko-sensei ga Iku!

Main characters

Takashi Natsume10376 fan favorites
External profile
Age: 15-16 Birthday: July 1 (Cancer) Height: 167 cm Blood Type: B Natsume Takashi is the main protagonist of the series who, like his deceased grandmother Natsume Reiko, has the ability to see ayakashi (spirits). He inherited the Book of Friends from her, a book of contracts binding ayakashi to servitude when they were defeated by Reiko. Due to Natsume's strong resemblance to his grandmother, he is often mistaken for her and is pursued by ayakashi who hate Reiko but yearn for the Book of Friends. To rid himself of these troubles, Natsume resolved to end the book by returning all the contracted names to their former owners. He is accompanied by the youkai Madara, nicknamed "Nyanko-sensei" (or simply "sensei"), promising him possession of the book once he dies. In return, the creature must serve as his bodyguard until then. Orphaned at an early age, Natsume was passed on from relative to relative. His ability to see and communicate with ayakashi isolated him from both family and friends throughout his childhood. He was labeled as a "liar" and "attention seeker" for trying to tell others about the ayakashi, and his attempts to run away from the youkai had them calling him insane. Natsume then became reclusive in order to try to lead a relatively "normal" life with people. Eventually, he was passed on to the Fujiwaras, a middle-aged couple from his father's side of the family. In contrast to the relatives before, they genuinely care for Natsume, and he loves them in return. He does not want to cause them any trouble, so the ayakashi problem remains secret. Natsume's incredibly strong spiritual power allows him to actually hit and hurt youkai. He develops friendships with youkai and exorcists alike, though the interest of many is to use him to their advantage. In the anime, Natsume is more cheery and good-natured, while in the manga, he is slightly more dismal and short-tempered, especially toward Nyanko-sensei. To return the names inscribed in the Book of Friends, Natsume must first picture the said ayakashi in his mind to learn of its name. The book then flips open to the page where the name is written, which he takes out and places in his mouth while breathing out. The spell which originally enslaved the spirits used Reiko's saliva and breath; as Reiko's grandson and one who bears a strong resemblance to Reiko, Natsume is able to use the spell as well. The cost of releasing each name, however, is that his energy is almost completely drained in the process.
Madara5171 fan favorites
External profile
Madara was sealed in a shrine until he was accidentally released by Natsume. Because Madara was trapped in a material form for so long, Madara ordinary takes on the shape of a maneki neko (lucky cat), leading Natsume to nickname him Nyanko-sensei. In this form, other people can see him, leading for Natsume having to ask his guardians if he could keep him as a pet. Madara is a powerful spirit, who protects Natsume from others and teaches him spells on occasion, in return for Natsume's promise to give him the Book of Friends when he dies. They often fight each other, which leads to Natsume punching Madara on the face and knocking him out. 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. In the anime, Natsume is more respectful to Madara.