Natsume Yuujin Chou, Episode 1 – The Fat Cat And The Book Of Enemies

What Is It With Me And Youkai Anime?

Every once in a blue moon, I’ll stumble across an anime that captures that fleeting mixture of wonder and lightness that you get when you gaze into the open sky from the top floor of a building, or listen to the silence of falling snow, or feel the caress of a gentle breeze beneath the midsummer stars.

Even some of the most brain-bludgeoning shows may manage to sneak in a few of these jewels, momentarily summoning all the delicacy and artistry that the Japanese storytelling tradition commands. More than the so-called ‘heavyweights’ of anime, it is these moments that have truly stolen my heart.

Anyone else feeling The Neverending Story vibes here?

The question here is, can a person’s interest rely indefinitely on such vagaries as mood and feel? Or is the feeling always destined to slip away before a series can make its mark? While it may be a bit early to tell whether or not Natsume Yuujinchou will ultimately prove itself a superior supernatural anime, I’ll at least say that I’m delighted by its airy ambiance and excited to escape into Natsume Takashi’s little corner of the world.

Yea, he’s probably running, like, ALL the time.

The Story

xxxHOLiC fans (such as myself) will be unable to overlook some obvious similarities in the first episode. For starters, just like Watanuki Kimihiro, protagonist Natsume Takashi has the ability to see youkai, and confides that he finds himself being harassed by them more frequently ever since he moved to his current home. Also similar is the way the story opens with Takashi being chased by a giant, one-eyed demon.

Hey look, its the Graeae’s long-lost fourth sister!

But Natsume is not an xxxHOLiC clone. I’m not sure it’s even fair to compare the two to one another. The semblances come to a screeching halt when Takashi is pinned against a tree by his pursuer, and rather than launching in to a helpless Kimihiro-style tirade, he opts for the oh-so-satisfying ‘kick the fucker in the eye’-approach to make his escape.

\m/ (Kimihiro, pay close attention.)

Takashi dashes toward the nearest shrine for protection. He accidentally breaks a rope keikai (barrier) surrounding a little wooden shack in a clearing. The shack suddenly trembles beneath a booming voice and explodes into splinters, revealing a fat Fortune Cat, who bounces out and gives Takashi a brief history of Natsume Reiko (his grandmother), the Ayakashi (youkai) and Takashi’s mysterious inheritance, the Yuujin-chou (the “Book of Friends”).

This “cat” is not to be taken lightly. The Fortune Cat appearance is just a disguise for Madara’s true form, kind of similar to Kero-chan in CCS. The real thing looks like a cross between Kohaku and Falkor.

The premise is simple: In the past, Takashi’s grandmother used her immense spiritual power to challenge the Ayakashi and claim their allegiances by having them write their names in a book. With Reiko deceased, hordes of Ayakashi are after the Yuujin-chou (the fat cat included) because they desire its power over the other youkai in the area.

Takashi refuses to surrender the book, deciding instead to personally return the names to every single youkai that Reiko confronted. As expected, fat cat Madara joins him and promises to protect him during his adventure.

He may look wimpy, but he packs a mean right hook.

What Makes Natsume Yuujin-chou Unique?

Natsume has a very different tone than other supernatural anime that I’ve seen. On one hand, it relies less on sharp oscillations between slapstick and seriousness, and presents a more convincing view of the world — one in which being accosted by demons is generally not a laughing matter, having extreme spiritual sensitivity is an open invitation for social stigma, and the danger of being hunted by demons cannot be taken lightly. But by the same token, Takashi’s encounters with youkai are not made out to be the harrowing collisions with the sinister that they could be. Ghosts are simply a commonplace occurrence in his lonely world.

“I see dead people!”

This is not to say that it carries itself solemnly and deliberately like, for instance, Mushishi does. Natsume has its laughs, yet they are too far and few in between for me to consider them a significant part of the first episode, if not the entire anime. Also, there is an advantage to the fact that it does not seem compelled to fill its downtime with idle chatter or comic relief—extra time is spent further establishing the story’s framework (instead of tacking on those annoying flashback dialogues) or slipping even more deeply into its exquisite atmosphere.

First Impressions

I can’t put my finger on it. There is something I like a lot about this episode that eludes description. It’s not the story, dialogue, character designs, or even the directing. These aspects are not lacking, but none of them alone can offer a satisfactory explanation as to why I was so engrossed in “The Cat And The Book Of Friends”.

I am strongly attracted to Natsume’s simplicity and lightheartedness. Knock on wood, I don’t expect this series to turn out to be the type to offroad into an angst-ditch and spin its wheels. Buckets of drama would ruin the experience. Another thing I like is the story’s sense of symmetry, especially the way Takashi sets out to finish the business that his grandmother started rather than trying to beef up the Yuujin-chou as might be expected of your typical, hot-blooded alpha male. And considering the way the story gives only a cursory explanation of the past, I am hoping that future episodes will devote most of their energy to moving the plot forward rather than lingering on Reiko’s legacy.

“Huh? Pause sign? Why no, that’s not a pause sign up there. I promise.”

In A Nutshell
Nastume Yuujin-chou has little to offer in the way of unique concepts, but has a captivating feel that is equally compelling. It may turn out to be a nice escape from the emo angst and labyrinthine backstories that we’re all so used to. Let’s hope the next episode is even better.

“The FMAness is definitely there, Impz. Check out the clap-action!”

Shokkeru’s Humble Opinions

Natsume Yuujin Chou will definitely be a show that a lot of people will skip over sadly. The character designs and artwork is very bland, the story is pretty standard, and the entire mood and atmosphere of the show seems a bit boring for most people. But what is it that attracts the few to shows like these? My guess would be just the overall feeling that the show gives to us. It has that light-heartedness that puts the viewers at ease while still maintaining a bit of mystery and action to keep us entertained and wanting more. Whatever it is, it seems to work and may possibly make this show one of the better shows this summer season.

I was a bit surprised to see that this show is set in modern times (as far as we can tell). From the preview page and what little I knew about the series, I totally thought it would be more fantasy like and set in the past or something. But I think it might leave room for a bit of slice-of-life if they feel like adding it in. Possibly with the main character interacting with his classmates or other people. It could prove interesting since he doesn’t get along with other people that well due to his abilities.

We can already tell that some of the “friends” contained in the book are possibly evil. They even told us that there are some who want to use the books for their own purpose. But based off what we saw this first episode, there may be more interesting creatures to be seen. The one-eyed spirit had a bit of an interesting past… certainly not what I expected at first by its behavior. I really like how it’s not all “Boo! I’m evil! Gimme the book!” sort of deal. Instead, we have an opportunity to see more interesting back stories behind each spirit we’ll possibly meet. That being said, I wonder what kind of story Madara has behind him.

Overall, I give Natsume a thumbs up in possibly being one of those hidden gems of the season. Here’s to hoping that sticks.