Author Yuki Midorikawa specifically wanted to capture the feeling she had as a child, hearing local folktales of the rural area where she grew up. Every story feels like it could have come straight from a traditional folk tale. The yokai aren't modernized or brought up to date with pop culture references. There is actually quite a bit of action, but it's wrapped so thoroughly into the stories that it never overwhelms the plot.Īnd if you like mythology and folklore (which I do), you'll probably enjoy this.

Reiko's past, the mysteries of the Matoba clan, and what exactly Natsume's future will hold are all intriguing - in a very large part because the people involved are all characters you know and can love or hate, like or be aggravated by. But before you know it, a number of mysteries and plot points have developed that you do want to know more about. I'd go so far as to call the pace elegant. However, the characters are carefully and thoroughly developed, and the plot is built solidly one step at a time. But I did want to see more of that lovely animation, and the soundtrack matches perfectly. I wasn't desperate to know what would happen next. The plot starts off like a series of short stories, one story per episode, so it wasn't precisely gripping. The first thing that appealed to me about Natsume Yuujinchou was the charm and beauty of the animation. Fortunately, an old friend of Reiko's is willing to act as Natsume's bodygaurd - in exchange for eventual possession of the book.Ī boy and his cat/fox/yokai/bodyguard thing. He's going to make friends with humans and yokai, and return as many names from the book as he can. However, Natsume has decided not to give up. A lot of yokai are out to get their appendages ('hands' doesn't always apply) on the book, and Natsume and his new life with the Fujiwaras are constantly in danger from them. Turns out, grandma Reiko had a habit of fighting and defeating practically every yokai she met, taking their names - which essentially put them under her control. His grandmother, who could also see yokai, lived there as a child and she left something behind - the Book of Friends. When the first volume begins, Natsume is living with the kindly Fujiwaras, way out in the country. But the truth is, most of these problems are caused by that fact that Natsume can see yokai and no one else can. He never stays in one place long - people think he's a problem child, a liar, a vandal and just plain creepy, so he always gets sent away to become someone else's problem before too long. Natsume Takashi is an orphan who has been passed around to more relatives than one could count. Weird creatures called yokai.' Every volume of Natsume Yuujinchou begins with some variation on this introduction, and it's essentially the basic plot. 'I've seen weird things since I was little.

Natsume yuujinchou ep list