Natsume Yūjin-chō is a Japanese anime television series based on the manga series Natsume's Book of Friends by Yuki Midorikawa. The first anime series was produced by Brain's Base under the direction of Takahiro Omori.[1] It was broadcast on the TV Tokyo network in two seasons of 13 episodes each, the first from July 7 to September 29, 2008 and the second, called Zoku Natsume Yūjin-chō (続 夏目友人帳?, Natsume's Book of Friends Continued), from January 5 to March 30, 2009. For the first season, the opening theme was "Issei no Sei" (一斉の声?, "Simultaneous Voice") by Shūhei Kita, and the ending theme was "Natsu Yūzora" (夏夕空?, "Summer Evening Sky") by Kousuke Atari.[2] For the second season, the opening theme was "Ano Hi Time Machine" (あの日タイムマシン?, "That Day's Time Machine") by Long Shot Party and the ending theme was "Aishiteru" (愛してる?, "I Love You") by Kourin (Also known as Callin').[3] Both seasons were released on five DVDs each.[4]
A third season, titled Natsume Yūjin-chō San (夏目友人帳 参?, Natsume's Book of Friends Three) began airing on July 5, 2011. The opening theme is "Boku ni Dekiru Koto" (僕にできること?, "I Can Do") by HOW MERRY MARRY and the ending theme is "Kimi no Kakera" (君ノカケラ?, "Pieces of You") by Kousuke Atari featuring Emiri Miyamoto.
Contents |
| No. | Title | Original airdate[5] |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "The Cat and The Book Of Friends" "Neko to Yūjinchō" (猫と友人帳) |
July 7, 2008 |
| Natsume discovers that the heirloom "Book of Friends" that his grandmother, Reiko, gave him possesses the names of the spirits she defeated and bound to her will. Assisted by a spirit in the form of a Maneki Neko (lucky cat figure), whom he calls Nyanko-Sensei (lit. "Master Little Meow"), Natsume decides to return all the names to their original owners. | ||
| 02 | "The Dew-God's Small Shrine" "Tsuyukami no Hokora" (露神の祠) |
July 14, 2008 |
| Natsume is visited by the village's local god who is currently fading because of the lack of devotees. | ||
| 03 | "The Mysterious Person At The Eight Fields" "Yatsuhara no Kaijin" (八ツ原の怪人) |
July 21, 2008 |
| Natsume is implored to help spirits who are currently being exorcised. He finds a kindred spirit in Tanuma, a boy who also senses spirits although he is not as powerful as Natsume. | ||
| 04 | "Shigure and The Girl" "Shigure to Shōjo" (時雨と少女) |
July 28, 2008 |
| Natsume's secret is found out by Sasada, the class president, during a "trial of courage." She asks for his help to find the spirit that lives in the abandoned school. Natsume denies the fact that he can see anything, but she won't take no for an answer. Meanwhile, the spirit, Shigure, captures the rest of their school mates, in fury of the school being torn down. | ||
| 05 | "Heart-Colored Ticket" "Kokoro-iro no Kippu" (心色の切符) |
August 4, 2008 |
| Natsume finds an old ticket in Reiko's belongings and decides to go to the abandoned train station to see why she kept it. There, he meets a slow-witted spirit named Santo, who was waiting for Reiko the entire time to go to Kiriganuma, and there to see and make up with his friend, Mikuri. But the trip isn't as easy as it first seems. | ||
| 06 | "Swallow At The Lake Bottom" "Kotei no Tsubame" (湖底のつばめ) |
August 11, 2008 |
| Natsume is possessed by a swallow spirit, who wishes to meet a human who once helped her. Natsume agrees to help her and the two grow attached. When Swallow finds the human, Natsume feels bad that she can't actually meet him, but when of he hears of a kimono that can turn a spirit into a human for a day, he looks for it. | ||
| 07 | "The Little Fox's Hat" "Kogitsune no Bōshi" (子狐のぼうし) |
August 18, 2008 |
| Natsume goes to a hot spring for a school trip, with an errand from Shigeru to pick up teacups from a nearby pottery. While there he meets and helps a little fox spirit, who quickly grows attached to him. | ||
| 08 | "Fleeting Light" "Hakanai Hikari" (儚い光) |
August 25, 2008 |
| Natsume meets a spirit who used to be friends with a man who could also see spirits, but one day lost this ability. | ||
| 09 | "Ayakashi Exorcism" "Ayakashi-barai" (あやかし祓い) |
September 1, 2008 |
| Natsume meets a popular actor named Natori Shuuichi who can also see spirits, and has a side job as an exorcist. | ||
| 10 | "Asagi's Koto" "Asagi no Koto" (アサギの琴) |
September 8, 2008 |
| Natsume is possessed by a sick koto player, whose friend wants her to be able to play one last time. | ||
| 11 | "Nyanko's Book Of Boredom" "Nyanko Tsurezure-chō" (ニャンコ徒然帳) |
September 15, 2008 |
| When Natsume finally has enough of Nyanko's behavior Nyanko leaves, wandering about by himself and causing trouble. | ||
| 12 | "Five-Day Mark" "Itsuka-jirushi" (五日印) |
September 22, 2008 |
| Natsume is cursed by an evil spirit which is sealed to a tree. Not wanting to trouble his adoptive family, he decided to run away from home. | ||
| 13 | "Autumn Banquet" "Aki no Yaen" (秋の夜宴) |
September 29, 2008 |
| Tanuma finds out that Nyanko-Sensei is a spirit. Tanuma and Natsume enjoy the autumn festival and previous acquaintances are seen again. | ||
| No. | Title | Original airdate[6] |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Stolen Book Of Friends" "Ubawareta Yūjinchō" (奪われた友人帳) |
January 5, 2009 |
| While outside during school Natsume is hit with a ball while reading. He goes to retrieve the ball and ends up breaking a Youkai's seal (much like he had with Nyanko-sensei). Later that night Natsume and Nyanko-sensei discover a look-a-like of Nyanko, only to have him steal the Book Of Friends! | ||
| 02 | "Melting Into Spring" "Haru ni Tokeru" (春に溶ける) |
January 12, 2009 |
| While fooling around in the snow, Natsume and Nyanko-sensei run into Gen, a forest guardian who lives inside a statue. Gen tries to take over Natsume's body, but instead takes over a snow rabbit that Natsume had made. Gen pleads Natsume to help him find an evil spirit who destroyed Sui, his guardian partner, and Natsume agrees. But it seems Gen isn't telling everything he knows... | ||
| 03 | "Youkai Exorcism Amid The Steaming Springs" "Yōkai Taiji Yukemuri-kō" (妖怪退治 湯けむり行) |
January 19, 2009 |
| Natori invites Natsume on a Hot Spring trip. But noises from the closet and a kimono-clad figure dangled from the ceiling make Natsume uneasy. Not wanting to trouble Natori because of his kind gesture to enjoy the Hot Spring with him, Natsume investigates the Hot Spring himself. During the night Natsume meets with the Youkai, where she comments that he is too soft, and attacks! | ||
| 04 | "A Chick Hatches" "Hina, Kaeru" (雛、孵る) |
January 26, 2009 |
| Natsume takes care of an abandoned egg from a nest, not considering it could be a Youkai. After it hatches, it turns out it is a rare baby spirit called Tatsumi, who thinks that Natsume is its parent. Natsume can't help but get attached to the little spirit even as Tatsumi grows tired and sick. But as Natsume takes care of Tatsumi, a mysterious spirit comes and wants to take away Tatsumi for his master... who wants to eat him! | ||
| 05 | "Tree Of Promise" "Yakusoku no Ki" (約束の樹) |
February 2nd, 2009 |
| Natsume encounters a spirit who was enslaved by his grandmother Reiko 50 years ago by writing his name on a torn page from the Book of Friends, and tying it to a tree in a forest. Can Natsume help locate the torn page? What was Reiko's intention of tying it to a tree? | ||
| 06 | "The Maiden's Circle" "Shōjo no Jin" (少女の陣) |
February 9th, 2009 |
| There is a new girl in school, Taki Tooru. With her appearance at the school, circles resembling crop circles begin to appear. As Natsume tries to find out more about the circles and Taki, he is visited by another Youkai. Only this time the Youkai isn't looking for his name, but for a snack. | ||
| 07 | "That Which You Must Not Call" "Yonde wa Naranu" (呼んではならぬ) |
February 16, 2009 |
| Natsume is dragged off into the cave of the evil spirit that is after Taki. He temporarily loses the ability to see youkai after being poisoned by the spirit. Will he be able to stop the youkai from eating Taki without his sight? | ||
| 08 | "Emotions Undying" "Fushi no Omoi" (不死の想い) |
February 23, 2009 |
| Natsume, Kitamoto and Nishimura take a trip to an old inn to spend some time doing their homework. Surrounding the inn there is a lake; in which is believed to live a mermaid. | ||
| 09 | "The Man Amidst The Rows Of Cherry Trees" "Sakura Namiki no Kare" (桜並木の彼) |
March 2, 2009 |
| From the day where a picture of a row of cherry trees in a desolate winter was obtained, every time Natsume wakes up, his rooms is covered in petals. Trying to solve the root of this activity, Natsume and Nyanko Sensei try and return the picture to Miya, a shadow figure who accompanies the picture. But why can't they return it to Miya...? | ||
| 10 | "Temporary Home" "Kariie" (仮家) |
March 9, 2009 |
| Strange things start happening at Natsume's home, like Toukou's plants get destroyed, and a strange Youkai starts wandering around his house. Natsume then learns more about Reiko and her life in this town. He also learns how to get rid of the Youkai who's wandering around the house. | ||
| 11 | "Assembly Of Conjurers" "Jujutsushi no Kai" (呪術師の会) |
March 16, 2009 |
| While out with Tōko-san, Natsume spots a hurt youkai. Quickly he chases after it but as he goes to help it, it is eaten by a much bigger youkai. Natori and Hiiragi appear right after the youkai escapes and they invite Natsume to the Assembly of Conjurers. Here Natsume can not distinguish between human and youkai and is hopeful of finding people who understand him. Though this may be what Natsume has always wanted; he is too soft-heartened to realize everyone's intent. | ||
| 12 | "The Young Boy In The Empty House" "Haioku no Shōnen" (廃屋の少年) |
March 23, 2009 |
| Natsume encounters a young boy named Kai sealed in a coffin in an abandoned house. Natsume sets Kai free and finds out that Kai is being stalked by a youkai. After a time, Natsume becomes the target of this youkai and stops the youkai's stalking with Nyanko-sensei's help. In the end Natori who turns out to be the stalker and who sealed Kai in the coffin, tells Natsume that Kai is a Youkai. | ||
| 13 | "Humans and Ayakashi" "Hito to Ayakashi" (人と妖) |
March 30, 2009 |
| Natori tells Natsume of a well near the mansion that holds a group of Oni. They are calling out to any Youkai. He also learns that Kai came down from the mountains to free the Oni. While looking for Kai, Natsume sets off one of Natori's traps in the mansion. Kai saves Natsume and heads off to kill Natori.Natsume follows him,to save Natori from getting killed. After he encounters him, he is forced to make an important decision. Which ones are more important to him? Humans or Youkai? | ||
| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "The Name of A Monster" "Ayashiki Mono no Na" (妖しきものの名) |
July 5, 2011[7] |
| Natsume meets an old shrine god, and is forced to help her return a mirror to a youkai said to bring disaster. As it turns out, the youkai in question turned out to be Reiko, Natsume's grandmother, who the shrine god mistook as a youkai. Reiko had lent her the mirror so the shrine god could save an old tree, but parted after Reiko learned she was a youkai. | ||
| 02 | "Ukihara Village" "Ukihara no Sato" (浮春の郷) |
July 12, 2011[8] |
| Tanuma's father leaves on a trip, yet a strange youkai invades his house, spreading miasma that make all the nearby youkai suffer. Natsume tracks down the youkai, and it is revealed he was once a resident in a youkai village. A portal opened for a short time during a human ceremony, where he took his sister to watch. However, they became trapped in the human world, and his sister died. After returning to the old temple where the ceremonies were held, the portal opens and he returns home. | ||
| 03 | "False Friend" "Itsuwari no Yūjin" (偽りの友人) |
July 19, 2011[8] |
| It's Shigeru's birthday and Touko has asked Natsume to buy some strawberry shortcakes to celebrate. However, Shibata, an old classmate of Natsume's, finds him and asks for his help. He remembered Natsume used to say weird things, so he wanted to know if a girl he's been seeing is real or not. When Natsume meets the girl, Murasaki, she seems perfectly normally. He reassures Shibata that she is real. But later Natsume finds out she's actually a youkai of a tree who plans to eat Shibata. Natsume tries to warn Shibata but he refuses to listen and calls Natsume a liar. Wanting to keep him safe, Natsume tries to talk Murasaki out of it, but to no avail. However, it is revealed she was originally planning to eat Shibata, but fell in love with him as they spent time together. Natsume passes a note from her to Shibata just in time for the two to spend her last moments together before fading. | ||
| 04 | "Young Days" "Osanaki Hibi ni" (幼き日々に) |
July 26, 2011[8] |
| The summer has arrived for Natsume and his friends in the school. After the exams, Natsume, Sasada, Nishimura and Kitamoto went to an art museum as outing. Upon his return to this house, Tohko san reminisced about her childhood days, which Natsume was envious about as he does not have a good childhood. The story then was told by a youkai on a tree that Natsume met when he was still young. The youkai found it bored that no human can see it, but it suddenly remembered about Natsume and how they met. It often scares young Natsume because Natsume can see it. Both of them parted ways in an awkward manner. The story then goes back to Natsume's point of view. After the trip to the art museum, Natsume made a trip to the tree to visit the youkai (detour). The youkai was glad that Natsume met some kind people as he is able to smile gently now. The episode ended with Natsume's thoughts, "If there is somebody that you wish to meet, then you are not alone anymore." | ||
| 05 | "The Thing That Lurks In The Storeroom" "Kura ni Hisomu Mono" (蔵にひそむもの) |
August 2, 2011[8] |
| Natsume and Tanuma take shelter under a roof from the rain. As it turns out, the house belongs to Taki, and they work together to clean her warehouse where her grandfather studied how to see youkai. Accidentally, Natsume undoes a seal that Taki's grandfather made to trap a dangerous kimono youkai, and they race around the house to find its limbs before the youkai does, for its power will be returned upon completing its body. Natsume and Taki try to get the resident youkai that watched her grandfather learn about youkai to help, but they refuse at first. It isn't until the kimono youkai tries to cut off Natsume's arm that they save him, allowing Madara to finish it. After Taki thanks them, they leave elsewhere. | ||
| 06 | "That Which Is Not Human" "Hito Naranu Mono" (人ならぬもの) |
August 9, 2011[8] |
| Natsume accidentally bump into a woman and realizes that the woman had blood covered her body. He then follows the mark that the woman left with blood and found a house. When he open the door, he was surprised by the scene of some ayakashi that was badly injured. When he checks one of it, someone suddenly grab his neck and trying to kill him until another ayakashi help him and run off. There's been someone who kill ayakashi for blood and with the help of Natori, Natsume search Matoba who he thought is the one behind all of this. When he meets Matoba for the second time, he is captured by him. | ||
| 07 | "Exorcist" "Haraiya" (祓い屋) |
August 16, 2011[9] |
| Natsume finds out who's been stealing the youkai blood: the exorcist Matoba Seiji. He investigates with the help of Natori, but is captured by Matoba's servant youkai. Matoba is willing to sacrifice any number of youkai for his own ambitions. He tells Natsume why he's gathering blood: to release the seal on a powerful youkai. Natsume learns that there are people who treat Youkai in a totally different way than he or even Natori. | ||
| 08 | "The Little Fox's Watch" "Kogitsune no Tokei" (子狐のとけい) |
August 23, 2011[9] |
| Natsume is invited to go to a pottery classroom with Shigeru. It's being held in an inn where he once stayed. When he goes there, he meets an old friend: the young fox child he once saved. | ||
| 09 | "Through The Fading Autumn Wind" "Akikaze Kitte" (秋風切って) |
August 30, 2011[9] |
| Without Sensei to protect him, Natsume has to remain constantly on guard. But the pressure of keeping secrets from his friends is causing Natsume to break. | ||
| 10 | "The Broken Mirror" "Wareta Kagami" (割れた鏡) |
September 6, 2011[9] |
| An event in the forest causes Tanuma to avoid Natsume the following days, which he becomes concerned about. Mirrors are mysteriously breaking around the school and one day Natsume catches Tanuma acting weirdly. It turns out that Tanuma has been possessed by a youkai looking for her mirror, which had been broken into pieces during a storm a few days before. Using him as a vessel until she reclaims her mirror, Natsume has no choice but to help her. A warning is given though, that there may be other youkai seeking the mirror too. | ||
| 11 | "What The Mirror Shows" "Utsusu Mono" (映すもの) |
September 13, 2011[10] |
| Tanuma is experiencing how Natsume lives every day. While Natsume and the youkai gain an understanding. | ||
| 12 | "A Place To Go Home To" "Kaeru Basho" (帰る場所) |
September 20, 2011[10] |
| When a dangerous youkai from Natsume's past finds his current home, he comes down with a fever and dreams about his life right before moving in with the Fujiwaras. | ||
| 13 | "Natsume's Book of Play" "Natsume Yūgi-chō" (夏目遊戯帳) |
September 27, 2011[10] |
| Natsume spends time playing games with youkai he has befriended. He remembers games he was left out of as a child. | ||
| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Natsume Captured" "Torawareta Natsume" (とらわれた夏目) |
January 2, 2012 |
| 02 | "The Eastern Forest" "Touhou no Mori" (東方の森) |
January 7, 2012 |