Natsume yûjinchô

This anime series is perhaps one of my favorites. It is beautifully animated. Light and airy feel and a delight to watch. It is not an action packed anime but one with an interesting storyline where you slowly learn to fall in love with the main character, because they are just an all around good person. There is some action in this series.

This story follows a boy who can see ghosts, and stumbles onto a book he inherits from his grandmother. Who also had the ability to see ghosts. This book has the names of all the ghosts his grandmother had 'claimed' and one by one the boy meets these spirits. Many who mistaken him for his grandmother. You watch and learn the story of each spirit and you also not only learn about the boys own story- but you learn about his grandmother through the spirits. One spirit - who claims himself to be 'godly' embodies the statue of a lucky cat - comes to life as a real cat with the abilities to transform to a larger being. He chooses to protect the boy, claiming he's only doing so to snatch the book of names. Through the series though- it comes to show that this cat may be choosing to protect the boy for other reasons. The relationship between the two is filled with comedic situations that are sure to make you smile, and other situations that may leave your heart a little warmed.

Though the boy is an orphan.. the family that he obtains in his life are those that choose to be his.

I love this series, but then, this kind of anime is my thing. Mushi-shi, Mo No No Ke, Paranoia Agent - definitely my fave themes. The show overall has a nice solid rating, but the episodes are ranked horribly! The five highest ranked episodes out of this entire series rate only 4 stars? Some are 2 stars?? What The?!? That makes no sense. The entire series would rate 3.5/10 stars if these episode rankings were true. Something doesn't tabulate here. IMDB Staff have any ideas?

I've started Mushishi right after finishing Natsume yûjinchô due to all the similarities and I notice that the latter is shoujo, the former seinen... they're distinct, yet parallel... while Natsume seeks out to grow and develop himself its 'masculine' counterpart seems to just serve as a caretaker, already wise...

Natsume is about feelings, essentially... he explores what might be, what was, what couldn't be... every episode can end in tragedy, but thanks to a Deus ex machina in the form of a chubby cat... who is really this most ferocious wolf, things are reconciled. Not realistic, but at least Natsume himself is indeed vulnerable, especially when alone... and loneliness seems to be a predominant subject in the series.

At times it can be sweet, others almost transcendental... visceral essentially, but also attempts to think things through; Natsume doesn't often act irrationally, although he seems to be perpetually optimistic.

This series, along with the aforementioned, may truly be the yin and yang of yōkai anime... and while the depths of the psyche can be perceived in both, Mushishi is generally darker... Natsume, being calmer, is not necessarily naïvely optimistic like, say, Aria can be... and generally has an episodic direction, and while there isn't much that is over-arching, there is ample time where all the ayakashi just decide to hang out...

Perhaps not ideal for those who like action and a faster pace. However despite being Simple and rather slow paced, for me at least, I cannot recommend this show enough , this show has so much heart. I recommend trying to see it through until a few episodes into season 2 if it feels too slow, the warmth and characters of this show more than make up for the slower pace. It is a personal favourite of mine and it's a shame it doesn't have more fans. It gets more exciting in later seasons and is also very sad at times. I've never felt as protective of an anime character as i do the main character of this one, even though it took me a while to warm up to, this show really captured my heart.

My daughter has learned Japanese and lived in the country for a while. So, it's not at all surprising that she's been trying to get me to watch anime with her....which I've done, off and on, for many years. In her latest efforts, she's been guiding me towards anime that I would enjoy...less fighting anime and more ones that show a lot about Japanese culture and folklore. The latest series we've begun watching is "Natsume Yûjinchô"...and I've really enjoyed the program.

Natsume is an odd teenager. He can see youkai (Japanese gods/spirits) and this ability was passed down to him from his grandmother. However, what he also inherited from her was a book with the names of all the youkai that she's captured and made her servants...and these spirits begin pestering Natsume to free them once and for all...which he does slowly through the course of the program. Along for the ride is his 'cat'...who is a youkai himself...and a cute and powerful one at that.

The best thing about the show is that it is NOT just another fighting or Pokemon-type show. I am NOT putting these down but tired of them because for many years this seemed to be all we got here in the States. But with Crunchyroll, you now have many other 'different' anime...ones that don't fit that style and which might appeal more to older folks. I am 55...and this sort of thing works for me.

The animation style is excellent, the main character very sweet and likable and each episode is unique and explores different youkai...and it's all very interesting and well worth seeing.