Natsume's Book of Friends, Vol. 1 (Volume 1)

A fantastic manga with themes of spirits and gods. The main character Natsume is an orphan, who stumbles upon his Grandmother's old book. In it she wrote the names of fooled and bested spirits, the good, the bad and the ugly. Natsume decides to give these spirits their names back, because he's such a nice boy.Along the way he meets Madara, who looks like a lucky cat but turns out to be a demon spirit. Very much like Ryuk from Death Note, you sense he is keeping Natsume company, and helping him only until he can get his hands on the book. He wants the book for himself because it has the ability to control the spirits with their names bound within. Natsume, however, just wants to undo the damage his Grandmother caused and release the names, albeit at great personal risk.Volume 1 is a fine introduction to the plot and main characters. I think this is going to be a "spirit of the chapter" kind of manga. Meaning that, save for story arcs, we are going to consistently see a pattern of events involving the book. It's a tried and tested formula, and if it ain't broke then don't fix it. I'm more interested in the cat spirit, Nyanko-Sensei as he becomes known, Madara by any other name, but I'm hoping for some more characters and perhaps a little more gusto from Natsume as things progress. The artwork is beautiful, like pencil drawings. ^^

Natsume's Book of Friends is a fantastic series and is one that should be read by anyone who wants to read a seriously good series! The art is beautiful and compliments the story and concept very well. Natsume is one of the best Manga characters I have ever read about and you feel very attached to him throughout the series. The story is full of heartwarming and heartbreaking elements and you really feel for all of the characters involved, which is often rare in Manga but Yuki Midorikawa has perfected this and it works continuously. Natsume is one of my favourite Manga's, in fact pieces of Literature that I have ever read.

I love this manga for several reasons: It's more mature than a lot of manga out there, a bit quieter and less slapstick humour. It is also less fantastical than lots of paranormal stories out there, using mostly traditional japanese spirits, or spirits inspired by japanese lore.The story is about Natsume who has been able to see yokai (spirits/demons/"gods") since he was little, but because that has always gotten him labeled as a liar and a weirdo, he doesn't want anything to do with them. Because his parents died when he was little, and he kind of creeps people out with his stories about what he can see, he's been passed around between more or less distant relatives and so is kind of rootless. Things start to change though, when he moves in with a couple of distant relatives that lives in an area his long deceased grandmother used to live in, a girl whom he resembles greatly and who also had the ability to see yokai, and the area's yokai thinks he's her (because as they say in the story, yokai makes less differences between males and females).The story is about him largely coming to terms with what he can see, and finding that yokai isn't always bad, getting friends, and not to mention, finding out more about the grandmother he never knew.I recommend this manga heavily, and the anime is definitely very worth checking out as well.

Arrived 2 days early and in great condition. The book itself is amazing.

A wonderful story that is not only about the supernatural but also about coming of age and friendship. So far I've read the first two volumes and each chapter seems to work as a stand-alone story. I recommend taking your time reading it to fully appreciate each chapter as I have a feeling that the development of the overall plot will be slow (and hopefully worth it!!)

Several of my friends are into manga and so I have an extensive to-read list compiled, yet I found this on a whim instead. As Midorikawa mentions in the little asides throughout this book, it is an episodic manga. This made it a nice quick read to pick up on impulse, and not too much of an investment.As it is episodic, there is no singe plot to really summarise. The main gist is Takashi Natsume seeing strange creatures - yokai - that nobody else can. After inheriting his deceased grandmother's strange notebook, he discovers that she had the same ability. Due to being such an outcast amidst her village, though, she takes her frustrations out on the yokai. Natsume's Book of Friends - the book Takashi inherited - is basically a collection of contracts signed by various yokai pledging their 'devotion' to her. Owning this book gives Takashi complete power over them, and naturally many of the yokai are eager to take it. Instead, Takashi sets out to return the names of all the yokai. He is accompanied by one yokai who he accidentally freed from a shrine, Nyanko Sensei - who, after being trapped inside a ceramic cat, usually takes the form of a cat. Takashi likes to remind him of this frequently (and Sensei is definitely not amused).The episodes can each be read as a standalone, though they do connect in some ways. Takashi slowly begins to understand what he's doing, and the relationship between him and Nyanko Sensei develops somewhat. While most of Takashi's interactions are with yokai, there is one particular chapter in this novel where he meets another human who he can relate to. There is also a touching chapter - the final in the novel - where Takashi helps a yokai to meet the human that saved her in her past life.The art is lovely and the relationship between Sensei and Takashi is really amusing. There isn't a huge amount of character development or depth due to the episodic nature of the novel, but Takashi is likeable and kind. I would definitely recommend it for a quick/light read, and I may have a look for the rest of the series. 3.5 out of 5 stars.