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The screenshot above is taken from the ED of Natsume Yuujinchou.  Isn’t it a wonderful image?  I feel that it captures the atmosphere of Natsume Yuujinchou very well -wistful, tender and peaceful.  Natsume, the main character, is seated there in the grass, and the events of this anime could be the memories drifting through his mind as the clouds pass gently overhead.

In Natsume Yuujinchou, Natsume is a young teenager who has been able to see spirits that no one else can since his birth.  He inherited this trait from his grandmother, who also possessed the ability, but he also inherits something else – the “Book of Friends”.  His grandmother had been collecting the names of various spirits and never returned them – so Natsume vows to do this instead.  The “Book of Friends” is a highly prized item, however, since it can be used to call any spirit to do your bidding, and thus Natsume gains plenty of unwanted attention from the other spirits.

A series with such a plot description could go anywhere.  It could become an action story with Natsume fighting off hordes of evil spirits bent on controlling the book.  It could be a fantasy epic where Natsume must travel to other dimensions to locate the spirits and return their names.  Natsume Yuujinchou is neither.  It shares more in common with gentle slice-of-life stories than it does with other supernatural anime.  It uses this concept of spirits who very few can see to tell individual touching stories about the lives of different spirits and the humans they encounter.  The common binding theme in many of the episodes is loneliness and companionship.  Rather than this commonality becoming repetitive, it was like looking at one beautiful statue from different angles.  Many of the stories are bittersweet, some heartwarming, some humorous, but they all have moments of great emotion which moved me very much, and they all manage to end on a beautiful note that leaves you reflecting as the ED washes over your ears.

Now that we’ve established that this is a lovely show, let’s go into the production.  The is well-suited to the show, giving it a very soft, dreamy look.  The character designs are great, particularly Nyanko-sensei – Natsume’s “master” who mantains that he only tags along with Natsume because he was promised him as food when another spirit gets him – yet helps Natsume a little bit more than one would expect under those circumstances.  Anyways, his little fat cat form is just too darn lovable – of course, when he transforms to his majestic fox form, that’s another story.  The music is again, very good.  I have already gushed about the ED, but the background music is a treat, filled with slight but not overt pentatonic overtones.  The piano in particularly used in several BGM pieces is wonderful to hear, it has a thick and pleasant tone.  Some nice melodies carried out on homely clarinets and other lead instruments as well.  Overall, it’s a great piece of work.

The voice acting choices were also superb.  The main one is the choice of Kamiya Hiroshi as Natsume.  I know of him through his portrayal of Takemoto on Honey and Clover, which I thought was brilliant.  Early on in Natsume Yuujincho it was a treat to hear the voice of Takemoto, but as the show when on, he wonderfully shaped Natsume’s personality and attitude through his voice and developed his own fine interpretation of the character.  I don’t know if another VA could have done such an excellent job.  The gentleness and mature-yet-youthful tone of his voice really adds a lot to the character of Natsume.  Bravo also to Inoue Kazuhiko for his grouchy portrayal of Nyanko-sensei – he hits all the right notes every time.

As you can tell, Natsume Yuujincho had quite an effect on me.  It isn’t the kind of series that grabs you by your shoulders and forces tears out of you, but the impact will come anyways when you sit back at the end of each episode and reflect on the fleeting poignant moments experienced minutes ago.  There are plenty of shows out there that walk around with an “I am dramatic” sign, which is why a series that can so effortlessly move you and make you emotional is all the more significant.  It isn’t trying to be a psychological drama, nor is it trying to be a fantasy epic.  It has its own formula which has struck the perfect chord for many, many of its viewers.  I am obviously one of them.

(Note: The series was continued with a second season ( and perhaps more, as of this posting ).  This review refers only to the first season.  I will be reviewing the second separately.