Natsume's Book of Friends, Volume 1 (2024)

If I could, I'd give this book, and the rest of the series, a million stars. Having read at least five hundred different series of manga/manhwa of a rainbow of genres, I reach this conclusion: Natsume Yuujinchou is my favourite manga out there. Sure, the art's not mainstream, the author isn't too famous--this manga, in my opinion, is amazing (to me, at least). Warning: I say all of this most likely because this manga suits my personal tastes, so I don't know if others feel the same way. But every time I read this manga, I feel like I'm close to enlightenment. The atmosphere in Natsume Yuujinchou has such a sweet, soft, melancholic feel to it. The characters are full of depth and personality and emotion. The bonds between characters are gentle, kind, and courageous.

I could go on and on about this. If anything, this manga shifted my world, even if just by the slightest bit.

A gentle sort of supernatural crossed with slice-of life tale. I began, as usual, with the anime, and have followed it through all six currently extant 13-episode seasons. My local library had the e-manga, so I've just read Volume One for compare-and-contrast. As is not-uncommon, the anime follows the manga closely in the beginning; I don't know if it diverges later. If it does not, or if the manga doesn't have a lot of material not found in the anime, I'd say go with the anime, which is frequently visually lovely. (Though I suspect the manga artist's style may evolve with ensuing volumes -- the series appears to be up to 21 or so of them.)

Natsume, an orphan boy who can see yokai (invisible traditional Japanese monsters that come in an enormous variety, for good or ill, tiny to large, from nasty ones that will eat you up to protective mountain gods), and has had a troubled childhood therefore, ends up with a better foster family in a small rural Japanese town. There he inherits from his grandmother something called "The Book of Friends", which turns out to contain pages with the true names of a lot of yokai which she'd obtained in her youth, subjugating them. The yokai naturally want them back. Episodic, as he solves different yokai problems each chapter or so, with a gradually developing story arc as he finally starts to makes friends both human and other. There is also a very interesting if uneasy acquaintance with a charming exorcist, Natori: part mentor, part older friend, part maybe with conflicting goals and certainly with conflicting methods.

I'd be interested to know if there is much story material additionally or beyond the anime in the manga, to make it worth plowing through.

Ta, L.

I did not expect it to be this soft and tender. I was kind of hoping it would be like Hotarubi no Mori e, but as usual, I was wrong. Although, yea, I expected that when I saw a misleading clip while scrolling on facebook. But, never this way.

The story is about a boy named Natsume who's being chased by supernatural beings or yokai and ended up freeing a lot of them. They were previously trapped by his grandmother Reiko in her collection, Book of Friends. But the thing is, the book is getting thinner, not all yokai are friendly, and there's this cat who stands as his guardian for now, but really wants to eat him. I have to read further because this is interesting. And to think I got at least 29 more volumes to read... there's more to it than just that. And I'm beyond excited to unravel the story.

It's completely healing my trampled heart. It was such a nice break for the devastating outcomes of Culling Game (yes, I'm talking JJK!) This is so easy to read as well. I don't know if the series is just so engaging or if it is my desperate attempt to mend a broken heart. For whatever reason, though, I enjoyed this one a lot!

Also, the art style is gorgeous. I did not expect a lot because it was published 20 years ago. But damn! 🫶

Natsume can see and talk to yokai (spirits, essentially) that nobody else can see, which makes him seem odd. He isn't terribly surprised to discover that he's not the first person in his family to have this ability. His grandmother could do the same, and bullied the yokai around her by using her strong magical talents to trap their names in a book, the oddly named book of friends from the title. When Natsume discovers the book, he decides to free the spirits trapped in the book by giving their names back.

There's the basic setup, which sounded fairly interesting to me. The execution is even better. Midorikawa gives the yokai varied, intersting, and often sympathetic characterizations. The chapters are somewhat longer than I normally see in a manga (there's only four in this volume) which allows for the situations and guest characters to be given greater depth. The last story in this volume, about the spirit of a sparrow, is sweet and touching. Because Midorikawa wrote each chapter as though it could be the last, there's closure at the end of each story, while leaving Natsume's story open for more.

The art's great, too. The human characters aren't drawn too similarly, and the yokai designs have some good variation, while still looking like they all belong to the same world. I'm especially fond of Natsume's design, and how the way he's drawn subtly conveys his loneliness and exhaustion. (Releasing the names from the book of friends takes a lot of energy.)

I will absolutely be continuing in this series, and I think it has the potential to become a favorite of mine.

This was absolutely charming. There is no other way to describe it.

And that last story with the sparrow?

Beautiful. Absolutely stunning.

This is a quirky little story that tugs at your heartstrings one minute and will have you laughing the next. It reminds me a bit of Mushishi but with more laughs. It's episodic and follows Nastume as he tries to help yokai and return their names. Speaking of, the "Book of Friends" in the title? It's more of a "Book of Minions" put together by Natsume's grandmother, so I loved the irony in the name of this book.

You can tell a lot of thought was put into the different characters. Episodic manga don't always put that much into it's characters, but this one thrives on it.

Nyanko-sensei is a goofy spirit who's supposed to be "mean" but comes across as more of a... grumpy cat.

Nyanko-sensei's a smart ass, drinks a lot, acts as if he doesn't care (but I suspect he does and doesn't want to admit it). He's made a deal with Natsume to get the Book of Friends when the kid dies, but despite this and his snarky comments about not rescuing Nastume, he seems like he wants to help and not admit to his soft spot. He truly is a grumpy cat. I just love him because of it (that, and he's a chubby kitty, and I have a thing for chubby cats).

Then we have Natsume, the main character. Natsume's pretty typical of a main character. He genuinely wants to help the yokai he comes into contact with, whether it's by giving back their names or by helping them with other humans. He's been able to see yokai since he was a child and has trouble connecting with people because of it. He's a genuinely nice, goofy character. Have I seen his kind before? Definitely. Doesn't mean I like him any less.

I picked this book up because I'd gotten a little figure of Nyanko-sensei eating cake (as I said, I love chubby kitties) not really knowing what it was about. I'm glad I found this little gem of a manga, even if it was just because of the chubby cat (lol)

Updated@25/06/2024: An unimpressed 1 star, the lack of originality is its biggest flaw

I tried, I swear I have tried. But this story about 'a lonely boy who can see ghosts/yokai and befriending a powerful yokai in the form of a cat' seriously does not bring anything new to the table, and due to the manga-ka's unimpressing writing skill, the themes of friendship, loneliness, misplacement etc hardly ever ring true and touching.

I like the author's previous works but I refuse to read Natsume's Book of Friends any further because after I read the first three volumes, it became clear to me that Yuki Midorikawa ripped the main story concepts about Yokai (something similar to demons?) and relationships between characters off from my favorite manga-ka: Ichiko IMA, especially her "百鬼夜行抄" series (French translation: Le cortège des cent démons). (Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1..., https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...)

If Natsume's Book of Friends is a work of its own, I would have given it more stars, but sadly it isn't the case.

Let's do a rip-off check list here:

1. A boy who's the descendant of an outstandingly powerful psychic who can see/interact with Yokai? Check.

2. Despite his psychic power, the boy is afraid of Yokai and is unwilling to interact with them? Check.

3. Yokai from all sides keep bugging the boy because said boy happens to be the descendant of an outstandingly powerful psychic and those Yokai want different things from him, or want to take advantages from him? Check.

4. One certain Yokai who always follows the boy around and sometime even makes the effort to protect him, though his reason for doing so remains quite shadowy? Check.

5. The Yokai mentioned above happens to have a deep bond with the boy's grandfather/grandmother, the late powerful psychic? Check.

Okay, Ichiko IMA isn't so well known, her manga barely go with any English translation, but it doesn't mean people can rip off her ideas.

There isn't much to say about this book.
The art-style takes a bit getting used to in my mind, especially when regarding the Yokai, but for the most part its ok. Emotional ways only one of the stories is really gripping, the other ones not so much. But as it isn't incredibly good it isn't bad either. However, what is a bit annoying are too things:
1) The comments of the author at the side of some pages. But you could ignore them usually, as I did eventually.
2) At the start of pretty much every chapter we get told the basic premise of the main character. And that was annoying pretty quickly. After all this is one volume respectively even sperately you can count on readers remembering such things so what the hell?
All things considered this book could have been better (e.g. some more Yokai coming along and wanting the "book of friends" to control other Yokai) but it could have been worse as well.

LOVE!

Slow.

Repetitive.

Episodic.

And an indescribably beautiful masterpiece.

4.75/5

4 stars

This is a re-read. Since the library had the first 14 volumes on the shelf, I decided to take them home :) I do own a few volumes of the series, but they are scattered all over my bookshelves, so it was easier to just grab what was available at the library.

This is a cute volume of episodic stories, featuring Natsume, a teen who can see yokai. Natsume's grandmother also had strong supernatural powers, but she used hers to bully and terrorize the spirits she encountered. Collecting their names in her Book of Friends after beating them up, she gained control over them, and made them promise to come to her when she called. Since Reiko was more interested in collecting names than calling on the subdued spirits, they quickly began to resent her. Now, years after her death, they are chasing Natsume to get their names back.

Natsume is kind hearted, and he wants to make up for his grandmother's actions. With the help of a cat demon, who is more interested in eating Natsume and taking the powerful Book of Friends for himself, Natsume begins tracking down the spirits so he can right Reiko's wrongs. At times extremely touching, Natume's Book of Friends is a fun diversion.

3.5 stars

Beautiful and peaceful manga about a boy who can see yokai (ghosts).

Natsume lost his parents when he was a baby and he moved places a lot since then, living at different relatives’. Now he’s living at the place where his grandmother used to live and Natsume discovers that he owns the book of yokai’s names. By knowning the name you obtain power over the yokai. So Natsume decides to set them free and we follow an episodic story structure about him and his senses-bodyguard-cat yokai as they help fellow yokai. Sensei isn’t that big on helping, lets be real.

The manga has light exquisite art style. Several pages and panels blew my mind. I love the gentleness of the art.

The story itself is fun to read. I like the supernatural/paranormal stories. The themes of Natsume’s Book of Friends remind me of s2 of Mob Psycho (obviously Mob was published years after Natsume). I love that they share the thematic approaches. Both of them talk about being a good person, friendship and spirits, these two stories are vastly different yet so similar.

I’m not sure if I want to continue on consuming the story via manga or via anime adaptation. We’ll see.

Definitely recommend this manga about “a boy who tries to be a kind person” as the mangaka herself describes it.

I admit that I watched the animated version of this series before I read. At first, I was looking for a lighthearted series that gave a kind of post-reading warm feeling, and NY was the answer unexpected.

Midorikawa-sensei's simple artwork definitely works to build the right atmosphere. It's series that makes me sympathize with youkai (Japanese for evil spirit, to put it simply)--imagine that. Forget fierce, man-hunting youkai in Takahashi-sensei's Inuyasha or Tanabe-sensei's Kekkaishi. And more to that, I enjoy Natsume's short temper, be it Reiko's or Takashi's, in the manga more than in the anime. NY is just one shoujo manga that would just make you want to read and read.

there is smth very fundamentally good about this story. it's simple and sweet but it's so heartwarming. yes, it's sad sometimes, but it still leaves you with a warm feeling inside.
the author says at the end that this is "a story about a boy who is trying to be a good person" and i think there is no better way to describe it.

Slow and lacking charm, even with the cool concept, I couldn't connect with the characters and didn't understand why a yokai would help a human get rid of the book he so desperately wants. It doesn't make any sense to me.

3.5 stars
A manga about a boy who can see yokai (spirits and demons). Even though the book consists of calm stories mostly about kindness, I liked that they had this almost melancholic atmosphere.

The stories were episodic in nature, and I would've liked there to also be a longer storyline present. But out of the episodes my favourites were "The Dew God", which was about this spirit of a shrine who is only remembered by one person, and "Natsume vs. Human", because I thought that the two yokai following the protagonist around were absolutely hilarious.

The art style wasn't my favourite, I prefer more well-defined, darker linework. The "wispiness" worked with the subject matter of spirits, but I think there's also room for improvement in further volumes.

If a single manga volume gets me weepy once, and as close to full out ugly-crying as I ever get, another time, it has to get full marks. Under the surface of a rather simple tale where a boy is returning the captured names of yokai to them, is an undercurrent of melancholy, loss, and searching for connection.

Over the course of the story--which I've only seen in animated form beyond this, thus far--Natsume gathers up a found family of fellow humans and yokai, and comes to love and trust his adoptive parents. They trusted and loved him from the beginning, but Natsume was neglected and scorned by his relatives, and it will take some time before he feels entirely comfortable around them. I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point much later, he confesses he can see yokai, and Mr. and Mrs. Fujiwara either say they know, or are completely untroubled by it.

Absolutely a keeper. I'm looking forward to reading more of this manga. At 27 volumes to date, and still ongoing, there's plenty to enjoy!

I think Natsume is too tender therefore he often face danger. A cat is a second character of this manga. He has two faces, Madara and Nyanko-sensei. He is a good partner for Natsume because Nyanko-sensei can protect and stop Natsume.

I like that there is a lesson about humanity and friendship from each chapter ❤️

4.5⭐️
I love these characters so much.

Like Death Note via My Name is Earl: nonobnoxious melodrama. Natsume is cleaning up after his psycho grandmother, with an obviously Satanic familiar by his side. But it’s all relentlessly wholesome and pleasant, and the dangers are met with understanding and at most a punch in the mouth.

There’s also a Small Gods angle - spirits as parasite memeplexes - but even this gets given a good hard scrubbing, so that the small god is happy to fade with his last human follower.

Almost closed the book when the boy seals the stupidest deal with Kitty Satan: KS gets the terrible artefact… as soon as the boy dies.

Its cuteness and positivity is quite strange, almost edgy: there’s plenty of tragedy (the baby bird abandoned by its nest, Natsume being too spaced out to relate to any other humans) but it’s all smiling and defanged. I can’t decide if this is artful or artless. A slice of life artist trying to do horror.

Last chapter read: 112

Reading the manga doesn’t bring the same experience as watching the anime, but I’ll literally inhale any Natsuyuu content. An incredibly gentle, relaxing fantasy slice of life set in the quiet countryside with a huge focus on platonic love and discovering a sense of belonging. Most chapters/episodes are self-contained and the overarching plot of the series is literally just Natsume establishing wholesome relationships for the first time in his life and making you cry. 2000s shoujo was actually on another level.

This was my first time to read a manga series...and I have to say I loved it!!! Totally addicted...and will be reading more in the series!!!...it did take me a while to get used to reading in the Japanese style of a manga book. All in all...this first book...has led to an amazing experience!!!...on to the neit...

it's good just not for me

Source: I own this book.
Cost: £3 on Amazon

I loved this manga, the anime of Natsume Yuujinchou is my favourite anime next to Attack on Titan so reading the manga was the next step. I loved the drawing style and the little author's notes throughout each chapter. All in all a delightful read for my first physical manga and I really want the whole collection because the covers are just stunning.

2022 re-read updated review.

Original rating: 5 stars
Current rating: 4 stars

This was always the manga that I set as the standard for other mangas to hit. It was probably my first true manga experience, I had just picked it up because I loved the anime and therefore I enjoyed the manga too. I still think it's good, that should be noted. Do I think it is the be all and end all of manga now that I have read more of it? No definitely not. The story follows a young boy who was orphaned as a baby as he moves in with a distant relative for the umpteenth time in his life. He has been passed around relatives following his parents death as no one knows how to deal with him. He isn't disruptive or troublesome, but he sees things, and up until now, he never kept those things to himself. He sees spirits in the corners of rooms, in animals, on the street. These spirits are called Yokai, and as he moves to his new home, they only get stronger and stronger, and he finds himself in danger quickly. While running from a troublesome Yokai, he runs to a nearby shrine and accidentally breaks a Kennai, freeing a trapped spirit who wants something Natsume has. The Yokai have began mentioning the Book of Friends, a notebook he inherited from his grandmother that he thought were just doodles. Turns out, this book contains the names of Yokai, tying them indefinitely to the owner of the book. The trapped spirit whom Natsume freed also wants this book for his own gain but now owes Natsume, so he vows to protect Natsume from other Yokai until his death, and in death, Nyanko Sensei will inherit the book of friends. The first chapter shows Natsume coming to terms with his new role of releasing the Yokai from their contracts to the book and protecting them at one stage from a monk trying to cleanse the forest.

This book's art still holds up. It's beautiful, simplistic and easy to follow. I will say the sections where the author adds in their thoughts or little inserts into the story along the side really ruined my immersion in the book this time round. It scrunched up the story panels and I found myself getting a bit annoyed every time I saw one. I also feel like this is a manga that was deliberately written to be turned into an anime. Every chapter starts with a recap of Natsume's story and it's a little annoying. You can assume by chapter 4 of a book that I know who the main character is, you don't have to keep reminding me. That being said this story still hits in the feels and I will still be reading on.

Ah Natsume Yuujinchou... Beni bilenler bilir, tamam burada kimse bilmiyor, çok severim Natsume'yi ben... Önce anime serisiyle tanışmıştım. 8-10 ay kadar önce de manganın bu cildini, arşivime eklemiştim, fiziksel olarak diyorum. >.< ^^' Animenin 5.sezonu gelecekken dedim, ki baya da oldu öğreneli aslında, artık okuyayım şu cildi... Manga olarak da harikaydı.

Aslında çok nadiren burada mangalara puan veriyorum, verdiklerimde de tüm seriye binaen yapıyorum bunu, ama bu seride biraz farklı oldu. Yine de animeden dolayı nasıl bir tarzı olduğunu biliyorum sonuçta.

Konuya bir değineyim. Natsume diğer insanların göremediği, youkai denen varlıkları görebilen bir çocuktur, genelde zararsız olsa da onu psikolojik ve sosyal yönden çok etkilemiştir bu durum. İnsanlara güveni filan kalmamıştır. Bir gün yine böyle youkai'ler onu kovalarken büyükannesi Reiko'nun Arkadaşlık Kitabı'ndan haberdar olur. Reiko bu deftere youkai'lerin isimlerini yazarak onları kendine bağlı hale getirmiş. Bu seride Natsume'nin defterdeki isimleri sahiplerine dağıtırken bir yandan defteri isteyenlerle (Nyanko Sensei gibi kıh kıh *-*) veya youkai'lere yardım ederken kendisinin de değiştiği bir dizi olayı konu alıyor. (evet hiç iyi özetleyemedim) Midorikawa-san da öyle diyor zaten, kibarlaşmaya çalışan bir çocuğun hikayesi diye.

Bu seriyi tanımlayacak bir kelime düşünüyorum da... O kelime sanırım naif olurdu. Midorikawa-san'ın öyle bir anlatım ve duygu işleme şekli var ki... İnsan kayboluyor bu naiflik ve saflıkta. Karakterinden dolayı bir komedi-tatlı yönü de var serinin ama. (bkz: yine Nyanko Sensei ^^')

Şimdi elimde kuzey amerika kopyası varken baskıya da bir iki bir şey diyeyim hehe. Hana to Yume'nin klasik baskılarını uygulamıyor Viz ama bu seride hiç rahatsız olmadım, yazıların stili ve kapakta bir kağıt yırtılıyormuş gibi bir his veren hoş bir tasarım kullanmışlar. Ayrıca sensei kelimesini de çevirmemişler. :D :D

Belki favori seriniz olmayabilir ama özel bir yere sahip olabilecek kapasiteye sahip bir seridir, herkese tavsiye ederim.(Okursanız animenin ostlerini dinleyerek okumanızı öneririm.)Umarım diğer ciltleri de arşivleyip(!) okuyabilirim. ^^' MIDORİKAWA Yuki'ye böylesine hoş bir seri yazdığı için de ayrıca teşekkürler. >.< (Hazukashiiiyo~ :D)

I want to give a huge f*cking shout out to Teeny for recommending this series to me and giving me the extra push I needed to give this series a try after years of putting it on hold. Thank you, Teeny, for your glowing recommendation!

Now, you may be asking, "Jenny, you love manga centered around folklore! Why wait so long to give this a try?" Well, the answer is simple: this series is PRETTY DAMN LONG. As far as I know, the series is up to 24 volumes and is STILL going, and as someone who is currently following 40+ series (some of them long-running shounens), that's a big commit to tack on along with everything else. And yet, out of all the series that have caught my attention over the years, this is the one that constantly kept popping up as a potential series to start. Why? Because like a metaphorical person stated above, I love manga centered around folklore. Hell, I'll try just about any series a shot if it deals with folklore (mostly Japanese) because I've always found it fascinating. And holy f*ck, am I pissed that I put this on hold for as long as I did!

This is an impressive first volume that did a great job setting up the plot with beautiful artwork and a fun cast of characters. Natsume himself if a fun mix of lazy, easily annoyed, and caring/compassionate individual, and Nyanko-sensei. HOLY sh*t, Nyanko-sensei! I had heard he was a fun character, but I wasn't prepared for what I actually saw! I love how he's super upfront about not only wanting the Book of Friends, but wanting to eat Natsume too. I love his design, too! The cat statue he possesses is equal parts unassuming and kind of creepy, which matches his personality really well. The episodic nature of the story works to its benefit, giving enough details about the yokai world but focusing more on the individual stories of each yokai presented. The pacing was a little slow in the beginning, but it definitely picked up by the end. And damn, that final chapter fit me hard!

I could go on, but I'd be rambling at this point so I'll save my extra thoughts for later. Suffice to say, I'm in love with this series and am looking forward to reading more!

I’m going to be honest: I have never completed a manga before this one.

It’s shocking, I know. They’re such short reads, I should have been able to complete one by now. Somehow, however, I have never managed. Therefore, the fact I managed this one says volumes about how fun it is. It also means I’m not the kind of person to ask how it ranks in comparison to others out there.

The art was great. The story was fun. I was left wanting more. That’s what you’re looking for, right? My only problem was the way the details were retold at the start of every chapter, but it wasn’t enough to leave me disliking it.

All in all, I’d be happy to see where this is going.

Natsume, a teenage orphan who has been passed between extended family homes his whole life, can see things. Specifically, Yokai and ghosts. When he discovers a handwritten book made by his grandmother full of the names of Yokai she stole, he realizes that what he has is an uncomfortable inheritance. Knowing the names allows him to control the spirits, but instead Natsume decides to return the names and try to help some of these supernatural beings find peace. The more Yokai he meets, the more Natsume realizes they aren't so different from humans after all. A very charming beginning to a series I plan to keep reading!

First read in scanlation, then saw the fansubbed anime and now I'm willing to buy anything in a licensed version I can get. This is more episodic youkai-life than most of the series with youkai in them, it's also not as metaphysical as Mushishi, but I prefer it for the characters and the slow development and growth of the main character. However, a lot of the episodes are bitter-sweet, so if you're a person who is moved to tears by a story easily (like me) bring tissues and pace your reading.