Natsume Yuujinchou
Natsume's Book of Friends
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Natsume Yuujinchou

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: The Natsume Book of Friends, Manabiya no Sumi, Natsu ni wa Tameiki wo Tsuku
Japanese: 夏目友人帳
English: Natsume's Book of Friends
German: Pakt der Yokai. Natsume's Book of Friends
French: Le Pacte des yôkai
More titles

Information

Type: Manga
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
Status: Publishing
Published: Jun 10, 2003 to ?
Genres: Drama Drama, Supernatural Supernatural
Theme: Iyashikei Iyashikei
Demographic: Shoujo Shoujo
Serialization: LaLa
Authors: Midorikawa, Yuki (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.671 (scored by 1142111,421 users)
1 indicates a weighted score.
Ranked: #672
2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #387
Members: 45,737
Favorites: 2,249

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Resources

8.67
Ranked #67Popularity #387Members 45,737
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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]

Background

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.

Characters

Matoba, Seiji
Supporting
Kogitsune
Supporting
Taki, Tooru
Supporting
Hinoe
Supporting
Fujiwara, Touko
Supporting

Reviews

Aug 11, 2011
Preliminary (60/? eps)
Pleasantly spurred on by the recent reviews and attention this beautiful work has received, I thought I perhaps could toss my hat into the ring and speak a little about Natsume Yuujinchou. Stunning in it's simplicity, meaningful in it's message, this is a manga that I believe always could use a little more love.


At it's heart, Natsume Yuujinchou presents a rather simple story depicting the day to day life of Takashi Natsume, orphan and loner from a very young age. In almost every way, Natsume is a normal fifteen year old child, shy and somewhat cut off from the people around him. The one ...
Jul 17, 2011
Preliminary (Unknown/? eps)
Why is there no review?

I really enjoy the story of Natsume. It is, I guess, a supernatural slice of life. It has a gentle feel, and it manages to tweak on all the emotions - I laugh, I cry, I sigh, I feel angry, and through it all, I enjoy the story. There are underlying themes of loneliness, but ultimately, I feel that is about finding your place in the world.

Our protagonist, Natsume, can see spirits (yokai). This has been a bane in his life, as when he was young people thought he was a liar. This wasn't helped by the fact that he moved ...
Jun 16, 2020
Mixed Feelings
Preliminary (99/? eps)
Natsume Yuujinchou - the poor man's Mushishi.

On a paper, the concept looks good. Youkai are great source of inspiration for a story - their variations can lend to a distinct feel and even their most basic form appeal as something unusual to a western reader. Sadly, it's something you can keep milking only for so long if you don't improve the staleness of the story itself. Yes, the main weakness of Natsume Yuujinchou is that it's going on for way too damn long without much change of variety. Yes, it is episodical, but unlike the forementioned Mushishi that is still highly creative with it's variations ...

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Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Natsume Yuujinchou Chapter 98 Discussion
Kuma - Dec 31, 2019
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Oct 27, 10:21 AM
Poll: Natsume Yuujinchou Chapter 112 Discussion
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Jun 3, 7:06 PM
Poll: Natsume Yuujinchou Chapter 111 Discussion
Kuma - Dec 14, 2022
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Jun 2, 12:06 PM
Poll: Natsume Yuujinchou Chapter 108 Discussion
Kuma - Aug 11, 2022
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May 27, 9:03 PM
Poll: Natsume Yuujinchou Chapter 88 Discussion
Kuma - Aug 24, 2018
2 repliesby Merra_ »»
Apr 19, 7:50 AM