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夏目友人帳 [Natsume Yūjinchō] #11
夏目友人帳 11 [Natsume Yūjinchō 11]
偶然立ち寄った多軌の家の蔵掃除を手伝う事になった夏目達。掃除中、蔵に封じられていた妖の封印が解けてしまい…!? メガヒットあやかし契約奇談11巻!
208 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2011
10 people are currently reading
257 people want to read
About the author
Yuki Midorikawa
66 books295 followersYuki Midorikawa (緑川ゆき, Midorikawa Yuki) is a Japanese mangaka (manga artist). Midorikawa is best known for drawing the manga series Natsume Yujin-cho ("Natsume's Book of Friends").
Yuki Midorikawa started writing manga when she was an elementary school girl. When she was a junior high school student, she sent her manga for the first time to "Hana to Yume", a semi-monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Hakusensha. Since then, she had kept drawing manga to become a mangaka.
Yuki Midorikawa started writing manga when she was an elementary school girl. When she was a junior high school student, she sent her manga for the first time to "Hana to Yume", a semi-monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Hakusensha. Since then, she had kept drawing manga to become a mangaka.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
June 6, 2025
Sometimes I feel like Midorikawa has slathered on the trauma of Natsume's past life too thickly. Orphaned as a child, shuffled between relatives who are at best indifferent to him, isolated from his peers because of his ability to see yokai. In the present day of the story, in his teens, he's having some trouble reconciling himself to finally finding friends and a happy home. Expecting the other shoe to drop any moment.
I feel like Natsume's been better able to come to grips with some things after visiting his parents' house one last time before it's sold. I thought Miyoko's character was well-handled, too. She feels resentment toward the cuckoo who invaded her familial nest when she was small, but knows deep down she was in the wrong to despise somebody who was both lonely and alone.
I walked past my childhood home (a rented house) a few years ago, but didn't get much out of seeing it again. It had been re-sided. It, and its yard, looked small. I had half-expected some satisfaction from walking past the condos that were built after the parish of my youth was torn down, since that parish's school had been the only source of anything resembling trauma that I had dealt with at that age (speaking of lonely kids). A halfhearted "good riddance, I guess" was all I was able to muster.
I liked the story about Taki's grandfather a lot, too, though I don't have as much to say about it. Taki, Tanuma, and Natsume work well together as a friendship trio. As somebody who is incapable of perceiving the supernatural, but remain very curious about what that might be like, I have some similiarities with Taki's grandpa. The yokai who hung around him, and perhaps recognized his yearning to see them, were very cute.
I feel like Natsume's been better able to come to grips with some things after visiting his parents' house one last time before it's sold. I thought Miyoko's character was well-handled, too. She feels resentment toward the cuckoo who invaded her familial nest when she was small, but knows deep down she was in the wrong to despise somebody who was both lonely and alone.
I walked past my childhood home (a rented house) a few years ago, but didn't get much out of seeing it again. It had been re-sided. It, and its yard, looked small. I had half-expected some satisfaction from walking past the condos that were built after the parish of my youth was torn down, since that parish's school had been the only source of anything resembling trauma that I had dealt with at that age (speaking of lonely kids). A halfhearted "good riddance, I guess" was all I was able to muster.
I liked the story about Taki's grandfather a lot, too, though I don't have as much to say about it. Taki, Tanuma, and Natsume work well together as a friendship trio. As somebody who is incapable of perceiving the supernatural, but remain very curious about what that might be like, I have some similiarities with Taki's grandpa. The yokai who hung around him, and perhaps recognized his yearning to see them, were very cute.
August 22, 2021
Another good installment of a fine series.
February 17, 2023
My favourite volume so far.
September 13, 2012
~4-4.5/5
[Also available at my blog.]
This book was just… so… it was just so good, okay?
I have said this before, and it’s possible I will say it again, but I love Natsume. I love him so much. He’s just so sweet and heartwarming and I just want to hug him and be his friend and I love him. The more I see him the more I love him. And this volume had pretty much everything I wanted it to have, all of the things I wanted to see.
In the first two chapters, Natsume and Tanuma help Taki clean out a storage room and accidentally free a dangerous yokai. Tanuma and Taki tag along as Natsume and Nyanko-Sensei work to capture it, trying to help as best they can. They have some troubles, and make some observations, but it works out in the end, and Natsume even gets a different look at his gift or curse of being able to see yokai.
Like I said before, I love seeing Natsume with his friends. He doesn’t have very many, those two boys from school that we’re seeing more of, and these two, and Mr. Natori, not including all of the yokai. He’s slowly growing in friends and in himself, and that’s really nice to see.
In the following three chapters, Natsume hangs out with the two boys from school (whose names still haven’t stuck with me, sorry; I’m still getting Taki and Tanuma’s down) and Tanuma. They decide to go up in the mountains to find a soda well/fountain/spring/thing. During this, Natsume starts thinking about his parents. He gets phone call from someone, telling him that his parents’ house is being sold, and so he starts thinking about them. Memories that he tried pushing away start coming up, and then he decides to go see the house before it’s gone. On the way, he has to go visit some relatives who have the key, bringing up memories of his stay with them, back when he was a ‘weird kid’ and tried being open about his gift.
This is the first time we’ve really gotten to see Natsume interacting with a family that took him in for a short while, and it was super upsetting. He gets all these memories of his stay, and hears them talking about him, and the daughter of the family is just kind of terrible to him, all the while trying to deal with a yokai that’s living in their house. I feel so bad for Natsume, whenever we see a scene like this, and I just want to give him a hug. But he dealt with it rather well this time, maturely, even while the daughter was being a jerk.
After that, he finally gets to the house, which is a tiny, beaten down place. He doesn’t remember as much as he’d have liked, except for one memory that has stuck with him, but he’s finally accepting what happened. He’s finally okay with thinking about it all, instead of pushing it away and trying to ignore it.
The volume ends with him thinking about his parents, finally getting to see the soda spring with his friends, and taking a picture with his aunt and uncle, even requesting to take another. It’s a very sweet, warm, nice ending.
It was really nice seeing Natsume struggling with what he wants and trying not to be a bother. Like when he loses a photo of his parents but doesn’t want to bother his friends with finding it, and when he wants to go look at the house but is afraid of what his aunt and uncle will think. I just love seeing him grow, seeing him realize that he has friends and they don’t mind when he has to go chasing yokai and they understand when something is important to him.
I love this series. Natsume is one of my favorite protagonists, and he is probably my favorite part of this series. If I didn’t like anything else about this series, and I do like just about everything, I would read this just for him. He just makes it that much better for me.
I hope to get the next one soon, but I know after that it might be a bit of a wait, because of how close we are to Japan, which sucks. So many series of VIZ’s have been catching up with Japan lately, and that is not cool; I do not like such long waits between volumes that I love.
[Also available at my blog.]
This book was just… so… it was just so good, okay?
I have said this before, and it’s possible I will say it again, but I love Natsume. I love him so much. He’s just so sweet and heartwarming and I just want to hug him and be his friend and I love him. The more I see him the more I love him. And this volume had pretty much everything I wanted it to have, all of the things I wanted to see.
In the first two chapters, Natsume and Tanuma help Taki clean out a storage room and accidentally free a dangerous yokai. Tanuma and Taki tag along as Natsume and Nyanko-Sensei work to capture it, trying to help as best they can. They have some troubles, and make some observations, but it works out in the end, and Natsume even gets a different look at his gift or curse of being able to see yokai.
Like I said before, I love seeing Natsume with his friends. He doesn’t have very many, those two boys from school that we’re seeing more of, and these two, and Mr. Natori, not including all of the yokai. He’s slowly growing in friends and in himself, and that’s really nice to see.
In the following three chapters, Natsume hangs out with the two boys from school (whose names still haven’t stuck with me, sorry; I’m still getting Taki and Tanuma’s down) and Tanuma. They decide to go up in the mountains to find a soda well/fountain/spring/thing. During this, Natsume starts thinking about his parents. He gets phone call from someone, telling him that his parents’ house is being sold, and so he starts thinking about them. Memories that he tried pushing away start coming up, and then he decides to go see the house before it’s gone. On the way, he has to go visit some relatives who have the key, bringing up memories of his stay with them, back when he was a ‘weird kid’ and tried being open about his gift.
This is the first time we’ve really gotten to see Natsume interacting with a family that took him in for a short while, and it was super upsetting. He gets all these memories of his stay, and hears them talking about him, and the daughter of the family is just kind of terrible to him, all the while trying to deal with a yokai that’s living in their house. I feel so bad for Natsume, whenever we see a scene like this, and I just want to give him a hug. But he dealt with it rather well this time, maturely, even while the daughter was being a jerk.
After that, he finally gets to the house, which is a tiny, beaten down place. He doesn’t remember as much as he’d have liked, except for one memory that has stuck with him, but he’s finally accepting what happened. He’s finally okay with thinking about it all, instead of pushing it away and trying to ignore it.
The volume ends with him thinking about his parents, finally getting to see the soda spring with his friends, and taking a picture with his aunt and uncle, even requesting to take another. It’s a very sweet, warm, nice ending.
It was really nice seeing Natsume struggling with what he wants and trying not to be a bother. Like when he loses a photo of his parents but doesn’t want to bother his friends with finding it, and when he wants to go look at the house but is afraid of what his aunt and uncle will think. I just love seeing him grow, seeing him realize that he has friends and they don’t mind when he has to go chasing yokai and they understand when something is important to him.
I love this series. Natsume is one of my favorite protagonists, and he is probably my favorite part of this series. If I didn’t like anything else about this series, and I do like just about everything, I would read this just for him. He just makes it that much better for me.
I hope to get the next one soon, but I know after that it might be a bit of a wait, because of how close we are to Japan, which sucks. So many series of VIZ’s have been catching up with Japan lately, and that is not cool; I do not like such long waits between volumes that I love.
February 24, 2013
This lay on my TBR pile for ages - not because I didn't want to read it, but because I needed a certain mindset to do so. There's a lovely episode of Taki, Tanuma and Takashi and the fact that love doesn't necessarily die just because the beloved person dies.
But most of the volume is taken up by the furthest retrospective we have had of Takashi's life so far, from the death of his father through various foster families to the childless couple he has found a home with. He needs to decide whether the last house that his father and him lived in can be sold.
Because Midorikawa excels at shades of grey, you totally get the girl in the flashback who is incredibly insecure in elementary school and doesn't want her kind father to spend any attention on a weird boy who jumps at shadows and who frankly scares her. She clearly sabotages his stay with her family.
So here's Takashi returning and getting almost the same reception but able to say goodbye to his childhood home and find some traces of the love his father bore him (he hardly remembers his mother who died long before).
This time the feeling was right, not to mention I had another two volumes lying by to recover and so I had a cathartic cry until my eyes were swollen.
But most of the volume is taken up by the furthest retrospective we have had of Takashi's life so far, from the death of his father through various foster families to the childless couple he has found a home with. He needs to decide whether the last house that his father and him lived in can be sold.
Because Midorikawa excels at shades of grey, you totally get the girl in the flashback who is incredibly insecure in elementary school and doesn't want her kind father to spend any attention on a weird boy who jumps at shadows and who frankly scares her. She clearly sabotages his stay with her family.
So here's Takashi returning and getting almost the same reception but able to say goodbye to his childhood home and find some traces of the love his father bore him (he hardly remembers his mother who died long before).
This time the feeling was right, not to mention I had another two volumes lying by to recover and so I had a cathartic cry until my eyes were swollen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2013
Two of the best stories so far, both scary and tender.
We learn more about both Natsume's and Taki's families.
We learn more about both Natsume's and Taki's families.
February 3, 2026
An especially poignant volume with story arcs that take us deeper into Natsume’s past. The deprivations of his childhood only make his current circumstances stand out stronger and underscore his intense desire to protect his family and friends.
Good stuff. I give it 5 grilled squid for Nyanko-sensei: 🦑🦑🦑🦑🦑
Good stuff. I give it 5 grilled squid for Nyanko-sensei: 🦑🦑🦑🦑🦑
January 9, 2021
My favorite volume thus far
June 26, 2022
Oh, man, this volume was a heart-tugger! I almost got teary seeing Natsume deal with painful memories from his childhood. He deserves the family and friends he's finally found a place with. 😊
February 15, 2015
(Since goodreads killed quite a long review from me just now, I am too tired to redo it and now you're stuck with the gist of it.)
In SHORT: Magical, personal and quietly brilliant.
In DETAIL:
Themes: Being different, loneliness, creatures from myth and legend, friendship and camaraderie and the meaning of family.
Setting: Rural Japan in all its loveliness! (When it comes to a time period I’d say, roughly the ‘here and now’.)
Atmosphere: At once magical and ordinary. The focus on interpersonal relationships in a world where a vast array of supernatural creatures are never far, is the key to making this story so wonderful. It is almost always less about the being’s strangeness and abilities, but rather its hopes and wishes.
Characters & Relationships: Every character is incredibly unique and loveable in their own way. What I adore the portrayal of the ayakashi is that Natsume always tries to understand the circumstances of a creature first and only if there is no other way will try to bind it or even kill it. Mostly the ayakashi are shown as having different values or being ignorant of human customs.
Plot: Natsume has to cope with his ability to see ayakashi and with the mysterious “Book of Friends” his grandmother left behind. Not to mention this erratic lucky-cat (that is actually something very different) called Nyanko-sensei. At first the chapters are rather episodic in a monster of the week style (but many really touching and never boring), but somewhere along the line more characters, supernatural and human, appear and as Natsume’s friends and acquaintances expand, the plot branches out.
Cover & Artwork: The artwork has a lovely light touch which adds to feeling of otherworldliness and gives it a sense of fragility.
May 5, 2012
i really noticed the brushwork in this volume, particularly the second story, where Natsume visits his childhood home and is able to sort through more of his past. i don't know that Midorikawa-sensei's art is getting better, because that would be hard, but her mix of delicacy and forcefulness serves this story especially well.
February 18, 2012
This manga is definitely not for everyone, but I continue to find the sketchy art style and wistful storytelling focused on friends, family and love to be endearing. I also love when the story focuses as much or more on the humans around Natsume than the yokai, which this issue does beautifully.
October 16, 2020
Another day, another heartbreaking yet heartwarming volume in this series.
What was great about this particular volume was Natsume being pushed to ask for help by his friends as well as seeing the effect Natsume's abilities had on other people. For the former, Natsume has gotten better at accepting help, but he's still struggling to ask for it. Going off of that, while he has good intentions about not asking, he doesn't grasp how upsetting it is to his friends when he tries to handle things on his own. It's pretty difficult for people like Natsume (and myself) to understand that refusing to ask for help is a trust issue with others and that bothers them more than possibly being inconvenienced with a favor. This is something can resonate with a lot of people and I'm glad it was the focal point for half of the volume.
For the latter, as hard as it was to watch Miyoko mistreat Natsume, it's also believable and you even come to sympathize with her to a degree. Make no mistake, she was out of line for yelling at him and hitting him, but it's important to remember that a) she can't see yokai so it appears to her that he's lying, b) she's constantly harassed by her classmates over something that's out of her control, and c) her family pays a lot of attention to Natsume, which makes her jealous. It's clear that she was a dealt an unfair hand in this situation and I feel it would be unrealistic to have her take it in stride and not harbor any resentment towards him. I'm glad Miyoko's story was included because getting different perspectives in a story like this keeps the narrative from putting one character up on a pedestal instead of exploring all possible perspectives tied to said character.
Anyway, this was a great volume that made me tear up several times. I'm amazed I've made it as far as I have, but I guess I'm a glutton for emotional punishment.
What was great about this particular volume was Natsume being pushed to ask for help by his friends as well as seeing the effect Natsume's abilities had on other people. For the former, Natsume has gotten better at accepting help, but he's still struggling to ask for it. Going off of that, while he has good intentions about not asking, he doesn't grasp how upsetting it is to his friends when he tries to handle things on his own. It's pretty difficult for people like Natsume (and myself) to understand that refusing to ask for help is a trust issue with others and that bothers them more than possibly being inconvenienced with a favor. This is something can resonate with a lot of people and I'm glad it was the focal point for half of the volume.
For the latter, as hard as it was to watch Miyoko mistreat Natsume, it's also believable and you even come to sympathize with her to a degree. Make no mistake, she was out of line for yelling at him and hitting him, but it's important to remember that a) she can't see yokai so it appears to her that he's lying, b) she's constantly harassed by her classmates over something that's out of her control, and c) her family pays a lot of attention to Natsume, which makes her jealous. It's clear that she was a dealt an unfair hand in this situation and I feel it would be unrealistic to have her take it in stride and not harbor any resentment towards him. I'm glad Miyoko's story was included because getting different perspectives in a story like this keeps the narrative from putting one character up on a pedestal instead of exploring all possible perspectives tied to said character.
Anyway, this was a great volume that made me tear up several times. I'm amazed I've made it as far as I have, but I guess I'm a glutton for emotional punishment.
August 20, 2017
In diesem Band findet Natsume im Haus seiner Freundin Taki Yokai, die eher spielerisch wohlgesinnt sind als auch einen, der seine Körperteile sucht und sich dann rächen will. Er will natürlich nicht, dass ihr etwas passiert und hilft diesen Yokai zu vertreiben. Gut fand ich, dass die zwei Freunde, die Natsumes Geheimnis kennen, nun schon erkennen was es für eine Last ist und das man darüber reden muss. Weiterhin haben wir eine Geschichte über Natsume früher, und wie schwach er sich noch an seine eltern erinnert. Traurig und mitfühlend wieder.
April 4, 2026
I pretty much despise how projecting Miyoko was towards Natsume, which was so unfair. I totally understand she doesn’t like her safe space (family bonding time) was interrupted by Natsume, but now she’s already of a teenager. Yet the same hatred and projection somehow still lingers.
But I truly felt along Natsume when he visited his old family home before it was sold. It must have meant so much to him despite him saying otherwise. It physically pained me seeing him crying on the floor. My baby….
But I truly felt along Natsume when he visited his old family home before it was sold. It must have meant so much to him despite him saying otherwise. It physically pained me seeing him crying on the floor. My baby….
October 21, 2019
Great volume! I love his friends who finally understand him and loved seeing some of his memories from the past. It is good to know it wasn't all bad a horrible. I love the drawings of the Yokai as well.
August 27, 2022
we get to see glimpses of Natsume as a younger child in this volume and it was actually quite sad. he’s had to deal with a lot. I’m so glad that he’s now with people that love him and care for him. the last couple of pages made me tear up.
April 30, 2024
There are eyes in my tears.....
So glad to finally discuss Natsume's parents; that was something I was wondering for a long time. I did like the one line about his grandma's family, and I hope her story is explored more in the future as well.
So glad to finally discuss Natsume's parents; that was something I was wondering for a long time. I did like the one line about his grandma's family, and I hope her story is explored more in the future as well.
June 4, 2024
This volume always drives home why Natsume is so special to the readers and followers of this series. It never fails to make me bawl no matter how many times I re-read it. Forever thankful to Midorikawa-sensei for her quiet and superb storytelling.
January 3, 2025
⭑*•̩̩͙⊱• the seventh season of this anime ended recently and I’ve been in a natsume drought. this manga/anime has such a special place in my heart and I love this reread I’ve been doing of this series!
June 22, 2017
This series just never fails to deliver. So beautiful and pure.
March 28, 2018
この巻泣かせた！
夏目の小さいころは超可愛い！かわいそうも。
小さい子供は他の人を気を付ける必要がないはずだ。でも夏目は何年でそなパターンで生きていた？大人だから当たり前ことかもしれないけど子供には辛いとおもう。
でも、よかったね夏目はもう自分の記憶を大切にした、もう無視しないからいい事になった。
夏目の小さいころは超可愛い！かわいそうも。
小さい子供は他の人を気を付ける必要がないはずだ。でも夏目は何年でそなパターンで生きていた？大人だから当たり前ことかもしれないけど子供には辛いとおもう。
でも、よかったね夏目はもう自分の記憶を大切にした、もう無視しないからいい事になった。
June 30, 2018
I had forgotten how much Natsume tends to hurt me.
October 5, 2018
Another really good one.
November 18, 2019
Natsume seemed so alone in this volume. It was good to see him ask for help and to face his past.
March 7, 2021
holy shoot why this manga gotta make me tear up so much huh
May 6, 2021
"Every day is precious. I can never forget."
OF COURSE THE VOLUME ABOUT FAMILY AND TRUSTING YOUR FRIENDS HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS.
OF COURSE THE VOLUME ABOUT FAMILY AND TRUSTING YOUR FRIENDS HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS.
September 11, 2021
This volume really brought the tears between the grandfather making friends with yokai's he cannot see and Natsume revisiting a family that took him in as a kid and revisiting his family home.
October 8, 2021
too sad 😭
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews