We be bloggin'

It’s either your calming cup of tea or the most boring show you’ve ever seen. It paints gorgeous sceneries, touches on ancient mythologies, and crafts soothing and beautiful OSTs. The show is honestly one of my favorites, and it’s perfect for Hotsui Matsuri. Natsume Yuujinchou, or better known as Natsume’s Book of Friends is a slice-of-life anime/manga about an orphan boy who inherited a book that belonged to his grandmother that contained the names of yokai, thus binding them to her. When her grandson, Natsume, discovers the book, he decides that he’ll use the book to release the yokai she’d bound to it. During this endeavor, Natsume teams up with a cat/wolf yokai called Nyanko-Sensei (he has a legit name but no one uses it), and the manga is pretty much just about their daily life as they release yokai’s names. It’s definitely a my-cup-of-tea type of show, and while I’m a fan, Star is not. Which I totally get.

At his surface, Natsume may seem like a pretty boring character. Now I say that, but don’t get me wrong: I really love Natsume. But yeah–at first glance he’s a pretty quiet, polite, but often misunderstood boy. His ability to see yokai has essentially isolated him from the masses, making them believe that he’s crazy when he runs away from spirits or talks to them around other people. Despite the fact that others isolate him, Natsume seems to hold no real ill will towards others anymore–though he might have a little in his youth. He’s filled with anxiety and shame for who he is after being passed around from family member to family member. It’s only when he comes to his current family, the Fujiwara’s, that he is actually welcomed and loved despite his problems. The Fujiwara’s are patient and loving, truly accepting Natsume as their own child, and Natsume gets to know what it feels like to belong and have somewhere to call home. Natsume’s good-natured character really shines through when it comes to the Fujiwara’s, and around them you can definitely see more of his personality. As the series moves along, you’ll also get some of his wittiness and kindness from his interactions with side characters who become his friends, and of course with Nyanko-sensei and other yokai who he can understand inherently as they are all outcasts. I generally think that Natsume’s goodness is what makes you either love or hate him. For me, a kid from an otherwise verbally abusive background trying his best to be kind in a cruel world is a great main character, for others, his passiveness is likely very annoying. But that’s exactly what makes Natsume Yuujinchou such a cup-of-tea anime, you either love the premise — or you hate it.

I will also say that it’s not exactly action-filled, but it’s never trying to be. Whenever Natsume is chased or stalked by a yokai, there are not really any stakes involved. Like, you always know he’s going to be fine–and he rarely gets injured from his encounters, just a little tousled up sometimes. Nyanko-sensei pretty much always has his back, and even when an encounter does leave him down and out, Natsume makes quick recoveries. I do think the fact that there aren’t high stakes in this anime is what makes Natsume Yuujinchou such a peaceful show. You know you’re not going to get super stressed while watching it, and that is what most fans of it say. It’s a generically feel-good thing. But honestly, I can see how this is both an incredible strength for it and an undeniable weakness. The peacefulness becomes its strength as it makes Natsume a safe space for people–it’s a relief to watch something they know won’t be stressful, where things will work out, and not a lot of drama will happen. It can be very stabilizing for someone’s social/emotional health. On the other hand, it also means that there’s not a lot to the story. While perhaps intended as a show that could go on forever as Natsume releases yokai names, it can sometimes feel like nothing is happening in the plot. There’s nothing keeping you reading–nothing that makes you want to come back for more. You can read it at your own pace, pick it up and drop it at anytime–so yeah, I’m not sure if that’s a strength or a weakness. After all, what happens when people want something more from the story?

One truly amazing thing about Natsume Yuujinchou, and my personal favorite part, is the array of yokai we are introduced to. Folklore is the center of this story, so it’s only natural that the reader gets to know a vast array of different yokai, but I love how they don’t necessarily depict them as scary. Because honestly? It could be very easy to paint them as only monsters–make them as scary as their legends–make them demented and twisted. But Natsume handles yokai with care. Most of the time, even the most malicious yokai aren’t scary perse–and a lot of them have actually really touching stories or deep reasonings for who they are. A lot of them are also vastly misunderstood, which is something that Natsume can often find in common with them, and I think that also resonates with a lot of people who love and ready Natsume. After all, anime/manga lovers in general–especially outside of Japan–tend to feel misunderstood or isolated. At the height of Natsume’s popularity, it was still considered weird to even be into anime and manga, so I can see how it provided such comfort to its watchers/readers. It’s honestly part of what makes Natsume Yuujinchou beautiful.

I honestly could go on and on about this show/manga, but I feel like today is just not the day to do the deepest of dives into it. Maybe one day, maybe next Hotsui Matsuri, but for today I will simply say that Natsume Yuujinchou, love it or hate it, is a beautiful anime/manga that is certainly worth watching. If not for a sense of tranquility, then at least to learn about some yokai.

Stay weebtastic,

xoxo

Luna