Original network Original run July 7, 2008 – June 21, 2017 Episodes 74 Directed by Takahiro Omori Written by Sadayuki Murai Music by Makoto Yoshimori Studio Brain's Base (OVA 1-2) Shuka (OVA 3-6) Released December 15, 2013 – October 25, 2017 Runtime 22 minutes (OVA 1) 23 minutes (OVA 2) Episodes 6 Film. Natsume's Book of Friends (: 夏目友人帳,: Natsume Yūjin-chō) is a Japanese series. It began serialization by in the in 2005, before switching to in 2008. The chapters have been collected in twenty-two. The series is about Natsume, an orphaned teenage boy who can see, who inherits from his grandmother the notebook she used to bind spirits under her control. Natsume's Book of Friends was a finalist for the first award in 2008. Natsume's Book of Friends has been adapted as a series of, as well as an television series produced by (seasons 1-4) and (seasons 5-6), which was broadcast on for 6 seasons in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017.
The manga is licensed for English-language release in North America by, which released the first volume in January 2010. The first four seasons of the anime have been licensed by for a North American release in 2012. A fifth season began airing on October 4, 2016.
A sixth season began airing on April 11, 2017. Will release in theaters on September 29, 2018. Contents. Story For as long as he can remember, Takashi Natsume has had the ability to see spirits, inheriting the power from his 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 relative to another. Upon her death, Reiko bequeathed to her grandson her Book of Friends, a book containing the names of spirits she had bullied into servitude.
The Book of Friends is considered a highly prized item in the spirit world, and spirits - both good and malicious - haunt Takashi constantly because of it. Whereas Reiko formed the contracts, however, Takashi spends his time dissolving the contracts and releasing the various spirits that come to him for help. Malicious spirits on the other hand try to kill him to obtain possession of the book.
Which is where Madara (called Nyanko-sensei by Natsume) comes in; Madara serves as Natsume's bodyguard and spiritual advisor of sorts, even though ostensibly he is motivated by his own desire to possess the Book of Friends. He later begins to become more attached to Takashi. Compat wireless 3.6.8 1 snpc tar bz2.
Characters Main characters Takashi Natsume ( 夏目 貴志, Natsume Takashi) Voiced by: Takashi Natsume, like his deceased grandmother Reiko, is able to see ayakashi/yokai (i.e., 'spirits'; the anime/manga often uses the two terms interchangeably). It is from Reiko that Takashi inherited the 'Book of Friends' - a ledger of names written by ayakashi after being bested by Reiko in some type of contest. Because possession of an ayakashi's name obliges it to heed the command of they who call it, the abuse potential of the Book of Friends is vast: and as such, is largely considered too powerful and forbidden to actually really exist. Because of Takashi's strong resemblance to Reiko (in appearance and spiritual 'feel' alike), yokai routinely mistake Natsume for his grandmother, often pursuing him intensely, under the mistaken presumption of shared history and understanding.
Accordingly, a regular part of Natsume's daily life is spent trying to cope with the idiosyncrasies, and discern the true intentions of such yokai: e.g., those who resent Reiko but covet the power of the Book of Friends; those who feel lonely and hurt that Reiko never calls upon them anymore; those who simply want their names returned to them; and pretty much anywhere or everywhere in between. Upon discovering the Book of Friends, Natsume - kindly but detached in demeanor, driven in equal parts by curiousness and conscientiousness - decided to take responsibility on his own terms, to return the names of the ayakashi to their owners himself: and in doing so, learn more about his grandmother and the connection they share.
He is aided in this by the formidable Madara (whom he calls 'Nyanko-sensei': a nod to both his usual cat-like appearance and his self-proclaimed job-title of 'bodyguard'), to whom he has promised the Book of Friends should he die. Natsume is an orphan. His parents died when he was a very young child, leaving him to be passed from relative to relative: in large part due to the 'odd' or 'creepy' behaviors one might expect from a young child able to see creatures no one else could see. Behind Natsume's perpetual distant smile hides a childhood spent in constant anxiety and shame: borne in equal parts of the ayakashi and the people who called him a liar and attention-seeker because of them. Natsume is eventually passed on to the Fujiwaras, a middle-aged couple on his father's side of the family.
He loves them, and does not want to cause them trouble, so he keeps this 'alternate landscape' problem to himself. He has incredibly strong spiritual power, allowing him to actually hit and hurt yokai. Natsume is described by Yuki Midorikawa as 'a boy who is trying to be a kind person.' Natsume returns the name inscribed in the Book of Friends by first picturing the ayakashi in his mind. The book flips to the page on which the name is written and Natsume takes the page and places it in his mouth and exhales.
Natsume is only able to do this because he is Reiko's blood relative. The cost of releasing the name, however, is that Natsume's energy is completely drained in the process. If an ayakashi becomes emotionally unstable, in the same space as a sleeping Natsume its dreams may flow into Natsume's.
On the other hand, most of the ayakashi let Natsume see their memories, so that he can understand them better. Natsume can also see their memories when he releases a yokai's name.
When Natsume is completely frustrated over a problem and falls asleep in class, he actually sleep-draws in his notebook about whatever is bothering him at the time. When he was being chased by a shadow he called 'Mary,' he started drawing it in his sleep, making his friends wonder if he was in love with a foreigner. His incredibly strong ability in spiritual magic and strength causes him to smell 'yummy' to man-eating yokai, as Madara puts it. Natsume's incredibly strong spiritual power and his keen senses leave him targeted by yokai and wanted by exorcists. At the beginning Natori wants him to join his exorcist clan, but later prefers him as a friend. Matoba, a powerful exorcist, also tries to recruit Natsume to the Matoba clan. Madara ( 斑) / 'Nyanko-' ( ニャンコ先生) Voiced by: A mysterious.
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 ordinarily takes on the shape of a (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. He is a powerful ayakashi, 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, so Madara often complains when Natsume returns other yokai's name, say that at this rate he will be nothing left in the Book when Natsume dies. They often fight each other, which leads to Natsume punching Madara on the face and knocking him out. But as the story progresses, Madara takes a liking to Natsume. 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. Many times in the manga, other characters call Madara a 'pig' because of his round shape as a maneki neko. This annoys him a lot. Madara is implied to have had a close relationship with Reiko, which is implied to be one of the reasons he is content to be Takashi Natsume's companion. Reiko Natsume ( 夏目 レイコ, Natsume Reiko) Voiced by: Natsume's grandmother, from whom he inherited the ability to see yokai. When Reiko was young, she was considered a freak by everyone else because of her ability.
Since she believed no human could ever understand her, she turned to the spirits for companionship. Reiko was extraordinarily powerful, and so she bullied spirits in to obeying her by playing games with them. If they lost, she would make them give her their names. Reiko gathered the names in to the Book of Friends, and commanded most spirits, excluding Madara. Madara mentions that she had sloppy table manners and was very forgetful. Reiko died when she was young, so no one remembered her. Supporting Kaname Tanuma ( 田沼 要, Tanuma Kaname) Voiced by: Another student that had recently moved into the area.
He is sickly and quite susceptible to illnesses. Like Natsume, 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 Natsume in any way he can, but is afraid that he will just be a burden because of his weak ability. Touru Taki ( 多軌 透, Taki Tōru) Voiced by: A new girl at school who rarely talks because of a curse a spirit has placed on her, which Natsume later helps her to break. She is an onmyouji; she cannot see spirits without drawing a magic circle.
Taki, like Tanuma, wants to help Natsume in any way possible. Jun Sasada ( 笹田 純, Sasada Jun) Voiced by: The of Natsume's homeroom. Sasada believes that Natsume can see spirits, although he repeatedly denies this to her.
To Natsume's chagrin, she frequently tries to accompany him when he is on business involving sprirts. 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 step-father's job.
Shuuichi Natori ( 名取 周一, Natori Shūichi) Voiced by: 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. Natsume tends to disapprove of his forceful exorcism methods.
When Natori is first introduced, he hated spirits for his horrible childhood. But, after meeting Natsume, he gradually softens even though his ways aren't much different. Over the course, Natori develop concern for Natsume's well-being for he tends to be reckless when it involves with spirits.
Hiiragi ( 柊) Voiced by: Seiji Matoba ( 的場 静司, Matoba Seiji) Voiced by: The head of the Matoba clan. A cold-hearted man, Seiji is an exorcist who doesn't mind sacrificing innocent youkai to reach his goals. Although he wants stronger youkai 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 youkai. There is a scar on his right eye, covered by an eyepatch with a spell on it, due to a past member of the Matoba clan offering his eye to a youkai for assistance but ended up breaking his promise. This causes later heads of the clan to have their eye targeted by that youkai, and the distrust from other clans.
After his first encounter with Natsume he takes great interest in him, and even later asks him to join the Matoba clan. Atsushi Kitamoto ( 北本 篤史, Kitamoto Atsushi) and Satoru Nishimura ( 西村 悟, Nishimura Satoru) Voiced by: and Classmates of Natsume. Kitamoto is a sensible and rational person, while Nishimura is funny and easy-going, with a slightly perverted side.
Although Natsume 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 Natsume. Nishimura has a crush on Taki, but thinks that she and Natsume are going out. Touko Fujiwara ( 藤原 塔子, Fujiwara Tōko) and Shigeru Fujiwara ( 藤原 滋, Fujiwara Shigeru) A childless middle-aged couple and Natsume's current foster parents. Shigeru is a second cousin of Natsume's dead father, and as a boy once met Reiko without recognizing it was her. Both Touko and Shigeru assure Natsume that they consider him a part of their family. They both worry often about him, wanting him to be as happy as possible. Despite this, Natsume goes to great lengths to hide his ability from them.
Slowly, Natsume comes to understand that his keeping the Fujiwaras at a distance, including always addressing them formally (see ), is preventing him from forming close human attachments. Despite this, he still fears being rejected because of his abilities. Hinoe ( ヒノエ) A powerful youkai whose form is a human woman. She is madly in love with Reiko Natsume.
Being knowledgeable, she often acts as Takashi Natsume's mentor. Hinoe enjoys teasing Natsume and Madara. Misuzu ( 三篠) A huge powerful horse youkai with many followers.
He acknowledges that Natsume Takashi is a worthy holder of the Book of Friends and offers himself as Natsume's bodyguard in place of the 'useless' Madara. Kogitsune ( 子狐, Little Fox) An orphaned fox youkai whose form is a boy with fox ears and tail however humans only see him as an infant fox. He becomes friends with Natsume after being rescued from bullying youkai.
Chukyuu (A and B) Chobihige ( ちょびひげ) Kappa Nanase ( 七瀬) Katsumi Shibata ( 柴田 克己, Shibata Katsumi) Development Midorikawa created Natsume's Book of Friends as an for a manga magazine published every two months, so that each chapter was a story that could be read on its own. As the result of earlier writing a that an editor made her revise to include more than she initially wanted, Midorikawa specifically created Natsume's Book of Friends as a story with less romance, containing supernatural elements that stir readers' imaginations the way stories about and stirred hers growing up in a rural area.
For the basic story, she wanted to write about a boy and his non-human teacher, and include the incongruous element of the boy's grandmother in a. This was the first series Midorikawa wrote in which the was also the central character.
Midorikawa claimed that as a character Natsume is almost as bad as herself at expressing his thoughts, which caused her to use more than she was comfortable with for a male character. Media Manga Natsume's Book of Friends is written and illustrated by Yuki Midorikawa and published in Japan. It began serialization in 2005 in the bimonthly (aimed at teenage girls) manga magazine; in 2008, serialization switched to the monthly sister magazine. The untitled chapters have been collected in twenty-one volumes. The series is licensed in English in North America by, with the first volume published in January 2010.
It is also licensed in French by, in South Korea by, in Taiwan by, and in Thailand. Main article: Natsume's Book of Friends has been adapted as an television series produced by, directed. It was broadcast on the network. Season 1 & 2 were released on five DVDs each. The series is streamed online by; episodes of the second season were available online on the day of broadcast.
Has licensed the series for retail release in North America. It is also licensed in Chinese. Season Name Total Episodes Air Date Opening Theme Ending Theme Season 1 Natsume Yūjin-chō Natsume's Book of Friends 13 7 July 2008 IIssei no Sei (一斉の声, 'Simultaneous Voice') By Shūhei Kita Natsu Yuuzora Sky (夏夕空, 'Summer Evening ') By. Season 2 Zoku Natsume Yūjin-chō Natsume's Book of Friends Continued 続 夏目友人帳 13 5 January 2009 Ano Hi Time Machine (あの日タイムマシン, 'That Day's Time Machine') By Aishiteru (愛してる, 'I Love You') By Kourin (pronounced as Callin'). Season 3 Natsume Yūjin-chō San Natsume's Book of Friends Three 夏目友人帳 参 13 5 July 2011 Boku ni Dekiru Koto (僕にできること, 'I Can Do') By HOW MERRY MARRY Kimi no Kakera (君ノカケラ?, 'Pieces of You') By featuring. Season 4 Natsume Yūjin-chō Shi Natsume;s Book of Friends Four 夏目友人帳 肆 13 2 January 2012 Ima, Kono Toki (今、このとき, 'Now, This Time') By Hiiragi Takaramono (たからもの, ' Treasure') By Season 5 Natsume Yūjin-Chō Go Natsume's Book of Friends Five 夏目友人帳 伍 11 4 October 2016 Takarabako (タカラバコ) By Sasanomaly Akane Sasu (茜さす) By.
Season 6 Natsume Yūjin-chō Roku Natsume's Book of Friends Six 夏目友人帳 陸 11 11 April 2017 Furōria (フローリア, 'Floria') By Kimi no Uta (きみのうた, 'Your Song') By. Main article: Others An 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. Separate soundtrack albums for the two seasons were released in Japan by on September 24, 2008 and March 18, 2009, respectively. The series opening and closing theme songs were also released by Sony Music. As singles, 'Issei no Sei' reached a peak rank of 48th on the singles chart, 'Natsu Yūzora' reached 27th, and 'Ano Hi Time Machine' reached 38th.
'Aishiteru' was not released as a single, but instead included on an album called Uta no Hibi by Kourin (Also known as Callin'). Reception Natsume's Book of Friends was one of twelve finalists for the first award in 2008. 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; Volume 6 was number 5 for the week of July 8–14, 2008; 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).
The anime has been popular not just in Japan, but also in the, the, and. References. Retrieved December 7, 2017. January 23, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2009. Retrieved 2011-12-30. March 20, 2016.
Retrieved March 20, 2016. August 23, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016. December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016. January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 25, 2018. Midorikawa, Yuki (January 2010) 2005. Natsume's Book of Friends, volume 1. San Francisco:.
Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 25, 2018. Midorikawa, Yuki (January 2010) 2005. Natsume's Book of Friends, volume 1.
San Francisco:. Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 25, 2018. Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 25, 2018. Behind The Voice Actors.
Retrieved June 25, 2018. Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 25, 2018. Midorikawa, Yuki (January 2010) 2005. Natsume's Book of Friends, volume 1. San Francisco:.
Midorikawa, Yuki (January 2010) 2005. Natsume's Book of Friends, volume 1. San Francisco:. ^ Midorikawa, Yuki (January 2010) 2005. Natsume's Book of Friends, volume 1. San Francisco:.
^ Midorikawa, Yuki (January 2010) 2005. Natsume's Book of Friends, volume 1. San Francisco:. ^ Midorikawa, Yuki (January 2010) 2005. Natsume's Book of Friends, volume 1.
San Francisco:. (in French). Retrieved June 19, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
(in French). Retrieved June 19, 2009. (in Korean). Retrieved October 11, 2010. (in Chinese). Retrieved June 20, 2009. Bongkoch Publishing.
Retrieved June 20, 2009. Natsume Yūjinchō 1 (in Japanese). Retrieved June 19, 2009. Natsume Yūjinchō 2 (in Japanese). Retrieved June 19, 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2010. Natsume Yūjinchō 3 (in Japanese).
Retrieved June 19, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
Natsume Yūjinchō 4 (in Japanese). Retrieved June 19, 2009.
Archived from on April 12, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2010. Natsume Yūjinchō 5 (in Japanese). Retrieved June 19, 2009. Archived from on February 5, 2013.
Retrieved May 1, 2011. Natsume Yūjinchō 6 (in Japanese).
Retrieved June 19, 2009. Archived from on February 5, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2011. Natsume Yūjinchō 7 (in Japanese). Retrieved June 19, 2009.
Retrieved May 1, 2011. Natsume Yūjinchō 8 (in Japanese).
Retrieved June 19, 2009. Archived from on July 9, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011. Natsume Yūjinchō 9 (in Japanese). Retrieved January 8, 2010.
Archived from on September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011. Natsume Yūjinchō 10 (in Japanese). Retrieved July 26, 2010. Archived from on October 2, 2011.
Retrieved September 29, 2011. Natsume Yūjinchō 11 (in Japanese).
Retrieved March 12, 2011. Natsume Yūjinchō 12 (in Japanese).
Retrieved July 12, 2011. Archived from on October 10, 2012.
Retrieved November 3, 2012. Natsume Yūjinchō 13 (in Japanese). Retrieved November 27, 2011.
Retrieved March 21, 2013. Natsume Yūjinchō 14 (in Japanese). Retrieved November 27, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2013. Natsume Yūjinchō 15 (in Japanese). Retrieved April 3, 2013.
Retrieved March 21, 2013. Natsume Yūjinchō 16 (in Japanese). Retrieved April 3, 2013.
Retrieved May 11, 2013. Natsume Yūjinchō 17 (in Japanese). Retrieved November 19, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014. Natsume Yūjinchō 18 (in Japanese). Retrieved November 19, 2014.
Retrieved June 21, 2015. Natsume Yūjinchō 19 (in Japanese). Retrieved September 30, 2015. Natsume Yūjinchō 20 (in Japanese).
Retrieved July 28, 2016. Natsume Yūjinchō 21 (in Japanese). Retrieved July 28, 2016. Natsume Yūjinchō 22 (in Japanese).
Retrieved September 5, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2018. Natsume Yūjinchō 23 (in Japanese). Retrieved August 11, 2018. (in Japanese).
Retrieved June 19, 2009. (in Japanese). Retrieved June 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-03. (in Japanese).
Archived from on March 30, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
January 1, 2009. Retrieved June 20, 2009. (in Japanese).
Retrieved June 20, 2009. (in Japanese). Archived from on May 31, 2009. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
August 23, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2016. March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2017. Anime News Network. September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
(in Japanese). Retrieved June 26, 2009.
(in Japanese). Retrieved June 26, 2009. (in Japanese). Retrieved June 26, 2009. (in Japanese).
Retrieved June 26, 2009. (in Japanese). Retrieved June 26, 2009. ^ (in Japanese). Retrieved June 26, 2009. (in Japanese).
Retrieved June 26, 2009. (in Japanese). Retrieved June 26, 2009.
(in Japanese). Retrieved June 26, 2009. March 15, 2008.
Retrieved May 3, 2009. July 18, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2009. January 11, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
January 18, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012. January 25, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to.
(in Japanese). (in Japanese). (manga) at 's encyclopedia.