Yokai Pact
| Yokai Pact | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original title | 夏 目 友人 帳 | |||
| transcription | Natsume Yūjinchō | |||
| genre | Fantasy, drama, shōjo | |||
| Manga | ||||
| country |
 Japan
|
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| author | Yuki Midorikawa | |||
| publishing company | Hakusensha | |||
| magazine | LaLa | |||
| First publication | October 5, 2005 - ... | |||
| expenditure | 21st | |||
| Anime television series | ||||
| title | Natsume Yūjinchō Zoku Natsume Yūjinchō Natsume Yūjinchō San Natsume Yūjinchō Shi Natsume Yūjinchō Go Natsume Yūjinchō Roku |
|||
| Original title | 夏 目 友人 帳 続 夏 目 友人 帳 夏 目 友人 帳 参 夏 目 友人 帳 肆 夏 目 友人 帳 伍 夏 目 友人 帳 陸 |
|||
| Country of production |
Japan
|
|||
| original language | Japanese | |||
| Year (s) | 2008-2017 | |||
| Studio |
Brain's Base (seasons 1-4) , Shuka (seasons 5-6) |
|||
| length | 23 minutes | |||
| Episodes | 74 + 2 + 2 in 6 seasons | |||
| Director | Takahiro Ōmori | |||
| music | Makoto Yoshimori | |||
| First broadcast | July 8, 2008 on TV Tokyo | |||
| Movie | ||||
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Pact of the Yokai ( Japanese 夏 目 友人 帳 , Natsume Yūjinchō , Eng. "Natsume's book of friends") is a manga series by the Japanese artist Yuki Midorikawa , which has been published in Japan since 2005. The work can be classified into the genre shōjo and drama and was adapted as an anime and radio play.
content
The boy Takashi Natsume ( 夏 目 貴志 ) is an orphan with the ability to see yōkai (ghosts and demons). He often shows behavior that is strange to others when he reacts to beings that are invisible to all others. It was only over time that he learned how unusual he is and became reserved and shy and remained lonely. It so happened that he was often given away by foster parents because of his behavior and he has no friends.
His grandmother Reiko, who also left him the “Book of Friends” after her death, had the same ability. This lists the spirits with whom Reiko has concluded contracts and who are of service to her. When pronouncing the name and imagining the shape of the spirit, it must follow every command. The book is therefore in great demand in the world of spirits, so that Takashi is now haunted by many spirits and demons. He soon meets Madara, a cat ghost. Takashi accidentally frees him and aims at the book himself. But since Takashi promises that he will inherit the book from him, Madara promises to protect him. Nevertheless, Madara repeatedly threatens to eat Takashi herself in order to get to the book.
After Madara clears up Takashi about his grandmother and the book, Takashi decides to return their names to the spirits. Many are happy about it and come to ask him for it. Others want the book to themselves or ask Takashi for advice and help, since they still know about his grandmother's power.
Creation and publication
After Hotarubi no Mori e from 2003, Pakt der Yokai is the second series by Yuki Midorikawa , which is dedicated to the topic of Yōkai . The author had felt the need for such a supernatural story long before and after Hotarubi she wanted to try the subject again in a different form, but now without the predominant romanticism in the older work and with a male protagonist. Midorikawa created the Yokai Pact with the help of two assistants.
The series contains self-contained stories against the backdrop that was established in the first chapter. The concept was also developed against the background that the Yokai Pact in Japan is first published in the bimonthly magazine LaLa . The series has appeared in the magazine of the Hakusensha publishing house since October 2005. The individual chapters will appear later in 20 anthologies so far.
The manga has been published by Egmont Manga in German since April 2014, with 17 volumes so far. The series is published in English by Viz Media , in French by Delcourt and in Chinese by Tong Li .
Adaptations
Anime
The anime series was produced in 2008 by Studio Brain's Base under the direction of Takahiro Ōmori . The character design was created by Akira Takata and the artistic direction was held by Yukihiro Shibutani. The first 13 episodes were broadcast for the first time from July 8 to September 30, 2008 shortly after midnight (and thus on the previous television day ) on TV Tokyo , and a few days later the broadcasting began on TV Aichi, TV Hokkaido, TV Osaka, TV Setouchi and TVQ Kyushu. Later followed a repetition at AT-X . A second season called Zoku Natsume Yūjinchō ( 続 夏 目 友人 帳 ) with another 13 episodes was broadcast from January 6 to March 31, 2009 by TV Tokyo. The third season of Natsume Yūjinchō San ( 夏 目 友人 帳 参 ) with 13 episodes was broadcast from July 5 to September 27, 2011 in Japan. The fourth season Natsume Yūjinchō Shi ( 夏 目 友人 帳 肆 ) followed from January 3 to March 27, 2012. The fifth season Natsume Yūjinchō Go ( 夏 目 友人 帳 伍 ) was broadcast from October 5, 2016 to December 21, 2016 . For the first time, Studio Shuka was a new studio. In addition, only 11 episodes of the season were broadcast instead of 13 as in the other seasons - however, the fourth and fifth Blu-ray / DVD of the season each had a special episode. The sixth season of the series, titled Natsume Yūjinchō Roku ( 夏 目 友人 帳 陸 ), aired from April 12, 2017 through June 21.
From the second season, the episodes were streamed on Crunchyroll with English subtitles one hour after they were first broadcast . The first season was streamed parallel to the second.
A DVD called Nyanko-sensei to Hajimete Otsukai ( ニ ャ ン コ 先生 と は じ め て の お つ か い ) was enclosed with the magazine Lala Issue 8-10 / 2013 and Lala DX Issue 9/2013 . On February 5, 2014, the OVA Natsume Yūjinchō: Itsuka Yuki no Hi ni ( 夏 目 友人 帳 い つ か ゆ き の ひ に ) was released on DVD and Blu-ray, which also contained Nyanko-sensei to Hajimete Otsukai . Both short films are 23 minutes long.
On September 29, 2018 the premiere of the film Gekijōban Natsume Yūjinchō: Utsusemi ni Musubu ( 劇場版 夏 目 友人 帳 ～ う つ せ せ み に 結 ～ ) was in Japanese cinemas. Wiesbaden-based publisher Peppermint Anime is showing the film under the name Natsume's Book of Friends the Movie: Tied to the Temporal World as part of the Akiba Pass Festival, which will take place from January 26 to February 10, 2019 in Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, Nuremberg, Pasching, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Vienna takes place.
synchronization
| role | Japanese speaker ( seiyū ) |
|---|---|
| Takashi Natsume | Hiroshi Kamiya |
| Nyanko-sensei / Madara | Kazuhiko Inoue |
| Shuichi Natori | Akira Ishida |
| Atsushi Kitamoto | Hisayoshi Suganuma |
| Kaname Tanuma | Kazuma Horie |
music
The music for the series was composed by Makoto Yoshimori. The opening credits of the individual seasons are Issei no Sei ( 一 斉 の 声 ) by Shūhei Kita, Ano Hi Time Machine by Long Shot Party, Boku ni Dekiru Koto ( 僕 に で き る こ と ) by How Merry Marry, Ima, Kono Toki. ( 今 、 こ の と き。 ) from Hiiragi or Takarabako ( タ カ ラ バ コ ) from Marii Sasano. Was used for the Broadcast Natsu Yūzora ( 夏夕空 ) of Kosuke Atari, Ai shiteru ( 愛してる ) of Kōrin, Kimi no Kakera feat. Emiri Miyamoto ( 君 ノ カ ケ ラ feat 宮本 笑 里 ) by Kōsuke Atari, Takaramono ( た か ら も の ) by Maria Kawano, and Akanesasu ( 茜 さ す ) by Aimer.
radio play
From October 2007 to March 2009, three radio play CDs on the manga were released in Japan. These were included in the LaLa magazine as extras .
reception
The series is a commercial success in Japan; Volume 18 sold over 420,000 times in Japan and Volume 19 sold over 460,000 times. Merchandising such as cushions, soft toys and key rings, which appeared primarily together with the anime series, is also enjoying continued popularity in Japan.
Despite the similarity of the concept to series such as Inu Yasha , Nura - Herr der Yokai or Kekkaishi , the Yokai Pact is not a copy of well-known ideas, but very independent, according to the German magazine Animania . This can be seen in the calm protagonist as well as in his concern not to use his power, but to give the demons their names back. Especially in the sophisticated characters of the demons with whom Takashi comes into contact, and their sometimes complex relationships with his grandmother, shows that it is a Shōjo series. The encounters are sometimes light-hearted and funny, sometimes exciting, scary or sad. The thin, hard pen drawings are combined with "picturesque backgrounds made of black-brushed block surfaces and dark grids", which are reminiscent of historical Japanese depictions of demons and traditional ink painting.
Web links
- Official website for the Manga at Hakusensha (Japanese)
- Anime Official Website (Japanese)
- Anime News Network about the manga and first anime series (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Comments by the author Yuki Midorikawa in Volume 1. Dt. Issued by Egmont Manga .
- ↑ Crunchyroll to Post Natsume Yūjin-Chō Anime on Monday. Anime News Network , accessed July 30, 2009 .
- ^ Robin Hirsch: "Natsume's Book of Friends": New promo video for the new film . In: Anime2You - your anime-news source . September 14, 2018 ( anime2you.de [accessed December 2, 2018]).
- ↑ Japanese Comic Ranking, September 22-28. Anime News Network , October 2, 2014, accessed April 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Japanese Comic Ranking, May 25-31. Anime News Network, June 3, 2015, accessed April 6, 2016 .
- ↑ a b AnimaniA 3/2014, p. 36f.