Natsume's Book of Friends, Vol. 12

夏目友人帳 [Natsume Yūjinchō] #12

by Yuki Midorikawa

Takashi Natsume has always been aware of the supernatural world, but after he inherits a magical book from his grandmother, the supernatural world is aware of him!

Takashi Natsume can see the spirits and demons that hide from the rest of humanity. He has always been set apart from other people because of his gift, drifting from relative to relative, never fitting in. Now he's a troubled high school student who has come to live in the small town where his grandmother grew up. And there he discovers that he has inherited more than just the Sight from the mysterious Reiko.

Natsume meets a kindhearted yokai who has found a ruined letter he desperately needs to read. There is another yokai who has power over paper who might be able to help him. But this yokai’s name is sealed in the Book of Friends… Will it be willing to help the grandson of the woman who bound it?!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Supernatural, Shojo, Comics, Young Adult, Graphic Novels

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2011

About the author

Yuki 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.

Reviews

[Rereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy FUCK, that last arc was DISTURBING. I keep forgetting that as heartwarming and fun this series can be, it's also not afraid to dive head first into creepy, spooky territory.

I really loved seeing Tanuma work so hard to save Natsume and learning about how much of a burden Natsume's refusal to confide to him about his troubles is. What I love about this series is that, to me, the core themes are learning to open and trust others, despite past experiences. But what makes shine is that Natsume's a sympathetic character, but isn't without fault. A lot of his problems could be solved by accepting help and opening up more to others, but instead he tries to shoulder the burden on his own, not realizing the impact it has on the people he loves. And yet, readers sympathize with Natsume and understand his struggles because we've spent so much time learning about his circumstances and upbringing. It's a balancing act, but is handled incredibly well and therefore makes for a great read.

It's amazing how I kind of want to take breaks between volumes so I can digest what I've read, but always end up jumping right into the next one. I truly love this series and can't wait to see what happens next.

[Mary Emma Sivils · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natsume just gives me all the warm fuzzies!
I especially enjoyed the 2-part story in this volume. Tanuma is my favorite of Natsume's (human) friends, so it was fun to see more with him!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series' first few volumes were unconnected short stories. As it grew more popular, to the point of getting an anime (with the accompanying merchandising), the publisher and/or author have become more confident about expanding the cast, telling longer stories, and moving relationships forward.

The story in the last half of this volume is a good example. Natsume had reasons to be reticent with Tanuma about his abilities. He wanted to protect him from the dangers of yokai; and he'd become too used to being disbelieved, or thought to be disruptive, a "bad kid." When Tanuma stumbles into a situation where he himself can see yokai rather than just nebulously sense them, he feels hurt that Natsume didn't tell him about his yokai sight.

Of course their misunderstanding of the other's motives is cleared up. :) I feel they've become closer now that they can understand the other's point of view a little better.It'll take a while before the emotionally battered Natsume can perceive those around him without the assumption that he'll be antagonized or left alone. This is all handled much more delicately than I'm expressing here, and that delicacy is one of its greatest strengths.

I've found that there's another reason to not read several volumes of this series at a time, besides it being a personal favorite that I want to savor rather than gobbling it all up at once. Unfortunately, that other reason is that the emotional beats of the stories start feeling rather predictable, and as a result they have less impact. I'll read v. 13, then take a break for a while.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my review of a previous volume I mentioned that my favourite stories are the ones featuring either Tanuma or Natori. This volume has a long (and absolutely) fantastic story featuring Tanuma, Natori and Natsume (and Nyanko-sensei, of course) and I kind of want to give it six stars. Or maybe seven.

I really loved it - it's another story about Natsume feeling that having friends - and having friends who know about yokai and get dragged into dangerous situations - means they could get hurt because of him. It's a familiar problem when it comes to his relationship with Tanuma, who *wants* to help him so desperately. And then you have Natori, who is older than them and pretty much has made his choices.

There is no simple answer to this problem, and I love the way it's dealt with here.

The only thing that saddens me right now is that I am almost caught up. At least I still have the anime to watch.

[yare · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ me thinks.

Sometimes this manga hits too close to home and I don't know if I'm okay with that ✌🏽😃

[Estara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story in this volume is another of those yokai in love with a human stories - I find them very bitter-sweet - this natsukashi (sp?) feeling of things that are lost. It isn't as emotional a wringer as the previous volume though - and there's a sort of closure if a wistful one.

Now, the next chapter definitely moved me to tears again. With Takashi coming across a strange yokai, a former artistan-crafted teacup that has been cracked and neglected but who has its own spirit, because the artisan crafted it with care (the idea that beloved belongings develop a soul of their own isn't new, but really well done here).

Midorikawa directs the action very soon to another yokai whom Takashi seems to trust too easily, an old grandmother former kami who needs his help with a tree near her neglected shrine. In a lovely juxtaposition we find out that Takashi's grandma was the one who previously helped the old lady - however she thought she had found a human friend (you may remember Reiko didn't have human friends that we know of) and was rather disappointed to realise the grandma was a kami.

Then there's just enough time to realise and Takashi is suddenly massively attacked (swiftly rescued by Madara) and the wound he takes doesn't even hurt all that much. And the reason for that you find out in the last two pages of the chapter - makes me cry (I am an easy crier out of identifying with characters: it's a reliable stress relief and by doing it when reading you have less of a chance of losing it in front of people when it really matters that you keep your calm - at least it does in my case).

Now the last three chapters show what happens when a well-meaning friend who knows the score, like Tanuma, but who has no powers to influence the Yokai world gets dragged into a dangerous situation to help Takashi - and Takashi (and exorcist Natori) have to save him repeatedly, because for all his well-meaningness he is just out-gunned. A difficult thing to realise for both Takashi and Tanuma. I really liked that Natori, who decided to cut all other ties when he was Takashi's age, STILL recommends trying to keep his friendships alive.
There's a lot we don't know about that exorcist world yet.

[Beck B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing Natsume come to terms with his loneliness and relationships hits hard. He doesn't want to get anyone he cares about involved in his situations. While he is unable to find a balance between the human and yokai world, he questions whether he should leave everyone he loves behind and cut ties with them in order to protect them but he realizes how much he needs them and is happiest when they are around. Watching him learn through more traumatic dark situations hurts but love seeing the growth.

[Khari · Rating 5 out of 5]

この巻最高だった！

先生が夏目に化けて最高だった！夏目がそんなクールな表情を見て感動した！

先生は偉そうな人から夏目の綺麗顔でその偉そうさを表情するのはステッキ。

先生はいつも人間に化けるは苦手というけど、上手じゃん。

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great volume! I love this series and love that he is making friends who can actually understand him. The Yokai are so neat and the experiences are awesome.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[aj · Rating 4 out of 5]

natsume and tanuma are so precious . . .

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Katie❄️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best parts was Sensei turning into Natsume.

[Angela Kocheshkova · Rating 5 out of 5]

natsume and tanuma are so shippable xD
still not my favourite ship in this series

[antito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natsume y tanuma lo sabemos, solo falta que lo confirmen

[S46354595 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow I missed marking this one as read. Or Goodreads glitched and put it back on my TBR. One or the other idk.

[Rici · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hier haben wir wieder mehrere Kurzgeschichten, die ganz gut zu Natsume passen. Zum Schluss allerdings ist Natsume in einem Glas gefangen, und Tanuma hilft ihm. Leider gerät dieser dadurch in Gefahr, was emotional unheimlich anstrengend und beängstigend für Natsume ist. Ich bin allerdings froh, dass er so einen guten Freund hat.

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the first part of the volume, a yokai tricks Natsume into letting him in - he wants Natsume to use the Book of Friends to summon a yokai named Karikami in order to restore a fragile old note. Natsume gradually learns that the yokai had once loved a human woman. The man she loved left without telling her and married someone else. To keep her from being hurt, the yokai pretended to be the man for a while. In the next part of the volume, Natsume meets an elderly former god who wants to return a mirror to a dangerous yokai who, it turns out, was actually Reiko, Natsume's grandmother. The volume ends with a story in which Natsume gets trapped in a jar by a yokai. Tanuma tries to save him and ends up in trouble, at risk of being eaten by yokai. He and Natori finally cross paths.

The first story was very bittersweet and part of an established pattern in this series, in which yokai have fond memories of humans they loved who have long since moved elsewhere or died. I couldn't help but wonder about the woman's part in this story, and what she thought about this strange event in her life.

The second story felt a little scattered - it was intertwined with a cup yokai and a dangerous yokai that could cause trouble for the Fujiwara household. Still, it was nice to see Reiko again, even though it was yet another bittersweet moment in her life. The poor girl thought she'd finally found a human friend, and it turned out it was yet another yokai. I wonder if the series will ever touch on how she died, and who the father of her child was? I hope he was one of the rare humans she could trust, but I worry that he wasn't.

The third story hurt my heart. There was Tanuma, trying to help Natsume but worried that he was just making things worse. And Natsume, worried about Tanuma getting caught up in his messes - he still can't help his knee-jerk desire to keep his supernatural troubles from his friends. Natori is what Natsume might have been, if things had gone a little differently, and he knows it. He's jaded, but hopeful that Natsume can have the kind of life and relationships that he felt he had to cut himself off from.

Not as good as the previous volume, but still quite good.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Judyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

~3.5-4/5
[Also available on my blog.]


I love Natsume, as I’ve said before. He’s just so sweet and I love watching him grow. This series is so… understated, but in such a sweet, calm, almost serene way. It’s so good, and yet after every volume, I usually don’t have very much to say.

A couple volumes ago (the last one? the one before that?), Natsume took a trip and there was a lot of information and growing up from his past experiences, and I loved it. One of the reasons that this series seems to go by so slow, seems to move forward slowly, is that there are so many one shot chapters, which are not usually my favorite. I guess because I want more about Natsume, and I want to see him getting closer to his friends and the people around him, not learn about new yokai all the time. That doesn’t mean that the one shot chapters are bad, or slow (in fact, I know that it’s some people’s favorite part), it’s just not one of my favorites.

The first two chapters were one shots, where we met two new yokai who Natsume helps. They were both sad and sweet, one about a yokai who falls in love with a human, and another where an older yokai threatens Natsume but really just wants some affection, but I don’t want to ruin too much of it.

The other three chapters were a storyline in which Natsume gets trapped in a bottle, and then taken to some God welcoming ceremony that’s really just a trap for everyone, yokai included. There’s also a scene where Nyanko-Sensei transforms to look like Nastume, which is just funny because he’s so much more harsh and blunt and rude, and it’s just hilarious seeing him act like that with Natsume’s face. We also get to see Tanuma, who is just kind of a delight in how sweet he is and how much he wants to be there for Natsume if he’d let him, as well as Natori (the professional exorcist), who gets to meet Tanuma for the first time.

This series tends to go rather slowly, but it’s easy to grow attached to the characters, and then it always turns out to be a surprising little delight, whether you know you’re going to like the volume or not.

I already have the next volume, and am now very ready to read it.

[machinaheart · Rating 5 out of 5]

(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.

[Sarah Maddaford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natsume proves yet again that he is different from his grandmother in this volume. Not only does he not want the names of the youkai, but he actually knows how to deal with humans most of the time despite his sight. He does also backslide with Tanuma though. Instead of sending Nyanko-sensei directly to Tanuma to ask for help, he tries to avoid getting him involved and almost gets eaten because of it.
The manga includes some violence including evidence of bullying, fights between youkai, Natsume and Nyanko-sensei, but the worst results seem to be cuts, bruises and talk about eating people (very rarely do people actually get eaten in the series). There isn't any cursing. Nyanko-sensei is a drunkard, who spends most of his time in a Lucky Cat form.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great volume installment in this supernatural manga series. This one delves with three separate tales in Natsume's yokai adventures. I liked finding out a bit more on Reiko's past, and how Natsume may have to make some tough decisions. The latter dealing more with on whether he will put more trust in his friends or push them away.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A yokai pretends to be a woman's lover to shield her from the truth about the fact that he died. An old yokai request that Natsume help her return a mirror to powerful yokai that turned out to be Reiko. Natsume gets trapped in a jar Nyanko helps him out in order to eat his dinner. Tanuma helps Natsume get out of the jar and he meets Natori.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic adventure with Tanuma saving Natsume!!! Nyanko-sensei's disguise of Natsume is legendary, haha! 5 stars!

4/11/17
Tanuma is really a great friend which Natsume treasured so much, that he couldn't let Tanuma get into any danger even though Tanuma insisted to butt his head into the youkai matter. Natsume has grown a lot!

[Lissibith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another lovely volume. This one looks a little more solidly at the uneasy relationship between Natsume and Tanuma where yokai are concerned. Only missed the 5-star because, after 12 books, the tales are beginning to get a little bit samey.

[scarlettraces · Rating 4 out of 5]

as beautifully done as ever. few manga-ka combine strength and delicacy of line as well as Midorikawa-sensei. i liked the story involving Tanuma and Natori the most, maybe because it gives other characters a chance to step up while Natsume is stuck in the jar.

[Miss Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What scarlettraces said! I like the Natsume-Tanuma friendship development, I like the little extra insight into Reiko, a half star off because yeah, the stories are getting to feel a wee bit repetitive. I still like the themes it returns to though! 4.5 stars

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

2013 rating: 4 stars.
2024 reread: 4.5 stars. This series is so good at glacialy slow character building and development, and this volume is the biggest cash-in yet of that build up as Natsume and Tanuma try to understand each other and how to interact

[Mir · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple great shorter stories, bittersweet in the way that is characteristic of Midorikawa, and a longer arc involving Natori and Tanuma. Some very funny throwaway dialog from various unnamed yokai. Excellent.