English Dub Review: Natsume’s Book of Friends “The Cat And The Book of Friends”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Natsume discovers that the heirloom “Book of Friends” that his grandmother, Reiko, gave him possesses the names of the spirits she defeated and bound to her will. Assisted by a cat whom Natsume addresses as Nyanko-Sensei (lit. Master Little Meow), Natsume aims to return all of the names to their rightful owners.

Our Take:

Believe it or not, Natsume’s Book of Friends has been around since 2008, more than fourteen years ago. But for some reason, it had yet to receive an English dub during its nine-year run. That all changed today. Five years after the conclusion of its sixth and final season, the series has finally gotten a dub outside of the original Japanese version, which should please those who aren’t into reading subtitles on the screen.

I have heard great responses from this yokai series regarding its stories, themes, and presentation. So it definitely looked like I might be in for something special. I mean, it did last for six seasons for a reason.

The concept of someone seeing spirits is nothing new for me, as I had experienced Mieruko-chan, another show about a teen with the ability to see ghosts, a while back. However, the difference between the two shows is their tone. Natsume’s Book of Friends (or Natsume Yujin-cho) has a more calming and genuinely soothing tone, although it does have the yokai action I’d expect from this type of genre. So I could say this is more or less of a beginner’s guide to the yokai genre.

The first episode did its job in introducing its concept as simplistic as possible. You have the main character, Takashi Natsume, who lives with his foster parents and is constantly pursued by the spirits who mistake him for his grandmother Reiko. After discovering the book’s ability and befriending a yokai cat named Madara, Natsume determines to free the spirits’ names and learn more about his grandmother, who died when she was young.

The first name he freed was Heisikaki, a lonely one-eyed spirit that Reiko befriended long ago. Reiko promised Heisikaki that she’d call her whenever she needed her. However, after months of waiting, Heisikaki became frustrated and vowed to find the book and destroy it. So that would explain why Heisikaki was chasing Natsume at the beginning of the episode.

The development between Natsume and Madara did feel a bit rushed at times. But the first episode did enough to get me hooked on Natsume’s quest to restore the spirits’ names. Regarding its decent voice cast and relaxing music, the episode represents the show’s light-hearted take on the genre that’ll likely get me engaged for the rest of the season.