Natsume's Book of Friends: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

While most fifteen-year-old boys, in one way or another, harbor secrets that are related to girls, Takashi Natsume has a peculiar and terrifying secret involving youkai: for as long as he can remember, he has been constantly chased by these spirits. Natsume soon discovers that his deceased grandmother Reiko had passed on to him the Yuujinchou, or "Book of Friends," which contains the names of the spirits whom she brought under her control. Now in Natsume's possession, the book gives Reiko's grandson this power as well, which is why these enraged beings now haunt him in hopes of somehow attaining their freedom.

Without parents and a loving home, and constantly being hunted by hostile, merciless youkai, Natsume is looking for solace—a place where he belongs. However, his only companion is a self-proclaimed bodyguard named Madara. Fondly referred to as Nyanko-sensei, Madara is a mysterious, pint-sized feline spirit who has his own reasons for sticking with the boy.

Based on the critically acclaimed manga by Yuki Midorikawa, Natsume Yuujinchou is an unconventional and supernatural slice-of-life series that follows Natsume as he, with his infamous protector Madara, endeavors to free the spirits bound by his grandmother's contract.

Series details

• Title: Natsume's Book of Friends
• Format: Animation
• Language: Japanese
• Genres: Drama, Anime, Supernatural
• Premiere date: 2008-07-07
• Status in TVmaze: Running
• Network listed by TVmaze: TV Tokyo
• Network country: Japan
• Typical episode runtime: 26 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 7.1/10
• TVMaze ID: 12310
• IMDb ID: tt1352421
• TVDB ID: 82788

Cast and credited roles

• Hiroshi Kamiya — Takashi Natsume
• Kazuhiko Inoue — Madara
• Sanae Kobayashi — Reiko Natsume
• Kazuma Horie — Kaname Tanuma
• Rina Satou — Touru Taki
• Miyuki Sawashiro — Jun Sasada
• Akira Ishida — Shuuichi Natori
• Junichi Suwabe — Seiji Matoba
• Akiko Yajima — Kogitsune
• Takaya Kuroda — Misuzu
• Akemi Okamura — Hinoe
• Ryohei Kimura — Satoru Nishimura

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2008-07-07; final listed air date 2008-09-29; episode order: 13.
• Season 2: premiered 2009-01-05; final listed air date 2009-03-31; episode order: 13.
• Season 3: premiered 2011-07-05; final listed air date 2011-09-27; episode order: 13.
• Season 4: premiered 2012-01-03; final listed air date 2014-02-01; episode order: 13.
• Season 5: premiered 2016-10-04; final listed air date 2017-04-26; episode order: 11.
• Season 6: premiered 2017-04-11; final listed air date 2021-01-16; episode order: 11.
• Season 7: premiered 2024-10-07; final listed air date 2025-04-23.

Source and licence

Adapted from Natsume's Book of Friends on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.