![]() (Unless, of course, she's only in it for the whole yokai business.)Īnd then, there's Madara. Even his would-be girlfriend doesn't have much going for her. Sadly, most of his other friends are pretty dull, seemingly only there to show the audience that he does indeed lead a somewhat healthy human life. They are also possibly the only two who know about Natsume's powers, which allows him to let it all out once in a while. You might say they form the anchor of Natsume's human side whenever he needs a break from all the yokai shenanigans. While there are definitely some colorful personalities among them like Natori the exorcist and Kaname Tanuma, who has powers similar to Natsume, if vastly less effective at that. ![]() And there are also some who would just as well eat Natsume on the spot just because they were hungry. There are some real oddballs out there among the yokai, like the twoesome that made me suspect that the creator of Natsume's Book of Friends is a fan of Ren and Stimpy. A lot of the yokai also have animalistic traits on humanoid bodies, while others took on human forms after dying as an animal. You might actually argue that the yokai themselves make up most of the main cast of this series, and they come with a large variety of shapes, sizes and personality traits from the little male kitsume who wants to be strong so he can get by, to the guardian deity known as the "Dew God" who tied himself to a shrine so that human worship would give him powers. Added to that is the fact that the local yokai regularly mistakes him from Reiko, mostly due to their shared abilities and, apparently, that yokai generally don't consider the issue of gender all that important, even if most of them are clearly defined as being either male or female. It made me wonder, though if Reiko was so alone all through her life to her very premature death, how did she eventually end up marrying and siring a child who would end up becoming one of Natsume's parents? (The anime doesn't say which one, nor do we really get to meet any of them.) All we really know is that Reiko passed away young, and that Natsume would rather keep his abilities secret from his friends and the family he lives with. We also get glimpses into Reiko's past through various flashbacks scattered throughout the show, obviously meant to show how alike the two are. Which he probably could, if not for the fact that various yokai wants him badly - in fact, that's how the show start with a chase scene through the local woods - either so that he can return their name or so that they can take the Book of Friends from him. But despite all this, Natsume just want to live a normal life with his friends. The show does halfway set him up as a bit of a victim, partially through the memories of his grandmother, Reiko. Yet despite this, Natsume is actually a rather unassuming teenager, mostly normal when it comes to mannerisms and general behavior. It's the day-to-day events in the life of a young man who just happens to be able to see more than he is comfortable with. In a way, the synopsis is just about all the show has to offer, at least insofar that Natsume's Book of Friends doesn't really have any main overarcing story to its name. It took Natsume's Book of Friends one episode to shatter those perceptions completely and another one to grab my windpipe in a chokehold so fierce, tears were almost literally coming out of my eyes. ![]() And if not that, how big of a Gary Stu would our main character end up becoming. When I read the synopsis to Natsume's Book of Friends the first time, I admit I rolled my eyes and muttered "I can see dead people" before moving on to wondering just how close to shows like Bleach this would end up being. Which proved to be a bit of a problem, because the local yokai had already run into his grandmother, Reiko, who promptly defeated them all and put their names into the "Book of friends", an item now sought after by quite a few of them. ![]() Moving into the countryside for a fresh start, Natsume swore to keep his secret just that a secret. Natsume's Book of Friends season 1 SynopsisĪll through his life, Takashi Natsume has been able to see spirits and other supernatural beings, which only served to get him ostracized by everyone around him. This show is released in the US in a package together with season 2. The manga has been licensed by Viz and released under the moniker "Natsume's Book of Friends". Notes: Based on the manga by Yuki Midorikawa, serialized in LaLa. Related Series: Natsume's Book of Friends season 2-6 (sequels)Īlso Recommended: Shinigami no Ballad, Haibane Renmei, Fruits Basket. NATSUME YUUJINCHOU EP LIST SOFTWARELength: Television series, 13 episodes, 23 minutes minutes eachĭistributor: Currently licensed by Nippon Ichi Software America, but also still available and streaming on crunchyroll. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |