Rate me and I'll send ayakashi to your enemies! This review is based on the Ainex fansubs, and may be revised when the DVDs are out.
Quick Take: Natsume Yuujin-Chou (Natsume's Friend-book) is a supernatural dramedy, a gentle, sweet summer watch that is an impressive feat of storytelling. I smell awards. It reminds me strongly of another favorite series, Mushi-shi, and it's funny, dramatically moving and emotionally satisfying enough to make my top 5 for the year. The main theme is family and friendship, in all it's permutations, and almost all the episodes are full of emotional hooks and family values. Grab your hankie and watch with the kids, it's appropriate for all ages!
The series is based on the 2008 Taisho award-nominated manga of the same name by Yuki Midorikawa and covers about the 1/2 of the stories in the 4-vol manga. This leaves room for a second season, which has been announced for January 2009 and will be called Zoku Natsume Yūjin-Chō. It's a very warm, gentle, quite moving and impressive series, not just because of the animation (which is good but honestly not wowsers, though you may feel a goodness halo because of the story), but because of it's humanity; it's a great piece of storycraft that's been adapted well for TV. It deserves your kind attention, and I expect it to be well represented in end-of-year awards. That's not to day the animation is bad; it's to say that the
storyis that good.
Animation: This series boasts some of the nicest summer backgrounds I can recall. It's all 2-D, but it's good 2D, and the main problem is lack of in-betweens. It's got an abundance of static cels, which I assume are a stylist choice rather than a money issue (the staff and resources are huge in this series). Action is fairly limited (there are some fight scenes, but it's rare), but the director knows how to grab the heart as he reaches the eye; it plays like a small drama on a medium canvas. I was aware of cinematics (forced perspective, lens flare, blur, imitation of heat shimmers from hot asphalt in a long shot, etc), and director Takahiro Omori's (Koi Kaze, Hell Girl) style reminds me of Mushi-shi in theme and feel, and Koi Kaze in look. The color palette is pure summer, though the storyline takes you from late spring to early fall (the leaves are turning). It's very pretty on the screen, and the OP and ED montages are quite effective also. I'd rate the animation a 7.5, with points off for static cels, lack of inbetweens, and lacking oomph and gee-whiz. It's not in the animation top-tier like Seirei no Moribito (and yes, I know some of you don't like this number; just deal). It's likely the smallest egg in the clutch, because the rest of the series is awesome, including the art direction (the ayakashi are traditional cultural icons).
Sound:
The technicals are quite good, just missing perfection by not having true directional 5.1 soundstage in my fansubs (it may be there in the DVDs, though; if so, I'll re-rate this). The soundstage is moderately active (small rooms sound small, outdoors sound big) and the foley is good. 8 for technicals, though this could change with a good DVD.
Seiyuu do a very effective job in building emotional connection to the characters. In particular, I loved the banter between Nyanko-san (the cat) and Natsume, as it felt like kids in a family. There are repeat characters from school and home in the episodes, but we're usually introduced to a new ayakashi every episode. 9 for seiyuu.
Music: Background music, mostly acoustic and small group music, is very effective and mostly unobtrusive (clarinets, koto, piano, shamisen, etc). The ED is particularly moving, as "Natsu Yūzora (夏夕空)" by Kōsuke Atari is a lovely ballad of Japanese nature-poetry set to acoustic guitars; it's rare that I recommend an OP or ED, but I highly recommend this one, it moved me every time. 9 for music.
Globally, I would rate the sound a 9.
Story: Episodic but threaded; there are themes and character development threads that continue from episode to episode. It's largely effective, even though I usually don't prefer episodic series, and reminds me of xxxHolic in this respect.
If you're usually not one to like episodic series, I urge you to see this one, as it may change your mind as it did me. The reason is, each story is moving, and the cultural information is fascinating.
Natsume Takashi can see spirits, which he has long kept secret because it's creepy to others. His parents have passed away, and he's inherited a strange book that belonged to his late grandmother, Reiko, whom we see in frequent flashback. Living with non-relatives and attending high school, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him: the book (a youjin-chou, or "friend-book") has the names of spirits that Reiko defeated in her lonely life, and a binding contract was formed between the spirits and the owner of the book. Now, Natsume is determined to free the spirits and remove the contracts. With the help of a spirit cat Nyanko-san, his days are filled with high school, family life, and his secret: trying to return the names to these spirits.
Each episode is the story of an ayakashi, and the releasing of their name from the book. In the process, we learn what friendship and family means for Natsume, who is an orphan and alone, as he makes friends and is part of a family. The story and character are the best part about this series, as the episodes are well-crafted gems, and the growth of Natsume as a character is quite moving. 9.5 points, a number I rarely give for episodic series.
Character: There is a lot of banter that goes on between Natsume and his cat-guardian, voiced by Kazuhiko Inoue as Nyanko-san; he has the most challenging part in voicing his character, because it's slapstick at times and he avoids the temptation to be way over the top. The pairing of the cat-god with Natsume is charming, somewhat cute, and sometimes produced guffaws. Natsume has many other people in his life, as well as scary and funny ayakashi, and each story gives them some character development points too. Even the frightening ayakashi have good points. Natsume has a romantic interest, but the series never really veers into romance; I suspect this aspect will be developed in the second season, which will begin in January 2009. The characters are nicely drawn and have good amounts of backstory, mostly told in flashback. Everyone has full characters. Well done, deserving an 8.5, and just missing full points because Natsume does not have any normal highschooler issues, and because of the lack of an overarching character development thread and/or romance.
Value and Enjoyment: This series is highly deserving of collection in DVDs. I expect it will be an award-nominated series, and I suspect will be one you revisit; it will seep into your consciouness and you'll think about it all day. It feels comfortable on, and like an old friend, it's easy to be with. I'd rate value a 9, and enjoyment a 10, because I watched with awe and deep affection for the writers (!). And I don't often give 10s.
Conclusion: Grab it. Don't miss this series. Watch it and see if you agree, it's a weeper, a seeper, and a keeper. I expect it will be a fan favorite at end-of-year awards.
