2016 fall | Episodes: 11 | Score: 8.6 (79180)
Updated every Wednesdays at 01:35 | Status: Finished Airing
Type: TV
Producers:TV Tokyo | Aniplex | Nihon Ad Systems | Hakusensha
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Synopsis
Blessed with eyes that are able to perceive the otherwise invisible youkai, Takashi Natsume hides his ability from his newfound family and friends to protect everyone's peaceful daily life. Nonetheless, Natsume never fails to show the same kindness to the benevolent youkai and happily returns their names by using the infamous Book of Friends he inherited from his late grandmother, Reiko. Meanwhile, the exorcist clan Matoba still wishes for Natsume to join their ranks due to his overwhelming gift. However, Natsume firmly rejects the clan's invitation since not all exorcists are as reasonable as his friend Shuuichi Natori, and many improperly and indiscriminately seal away every youkai in their way. Unsatisfied with Natsume's answer, Seiji Matoba blackmails Natsume into attending a grand gathering of powerful exorcist families. Natsume soon finds himself in the company of dangerous people and youkai alike. But even then, he continues to defy the exorcists' hard-handed methods and believes that peace between both worlds is possible. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Voice Actors
Inoue, Kazuhiko
Kamiya, Hiroshi
Fujimura, Ayumi
News
12/20/2016, 09:58 AM
Following the conclusion of the Fall 2016 anime Natsume Yuujiinchou Go on Tuesday, it was announced that a sixth season of the series will air in 2017. The official...
09/30/2016, 02:12 AM
In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of anime acquired for simulcast release during the Fall 2016 season. Anime series licensed for home video relea...
09/15/2016, 12:10 PM
In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of Fall 2016 titles with an accompanying promotional video (PV), TV ad (CM), or trailer. This post will be upda...
03/22/2016, 08:11 AM
The May 2016 issue of LaLa magazine, which will go on sale on March 24, has announced that Yuki Midorikawa's supernatural manga Natsume Yuujinchou will receive ...
Reviews
lamaraptor
Natsume Yuujinchou continues to be the feel good anime that leaves you crying. Doing reviews for a show like this is hard, because it's so episodic and after 5 seasons the overarching story hasn't changed much. The best I can do is try to analyze themes present in this season that I think were emphasized more than in others. We of course have more youkai of the week episodes, which even after all these seasons are still great. Natsume is found dealing not just with the consequences of his grandmother's actions, but the passage of time in general as he realizes how short human lives arewhen compared to youkai. We see some more of his grandmother's life and Natsume seems to want to learn more about her and why she did the things she did. There were a lot of flashback episodes in general showing us origin stories for various characters, but still nothing concrete on what happened with Reiko. It seems to be a mystery they are saving for the end of the story. We get some more episodes where Natsume is bonding with his new friends that know his youkai secret. Taki and Tanuma have become integral parts of his happy life. The Fujiwara's continue to be the most adorable family and even get their own spotlight episode. We see more of how Natsume values his life with them and the lengths he will go to to protect it. There is more lore with the Matoba clan of exorcists, not as much as I thought there would be but they did show up now and then. I think like the mysteries surrounding Reiko it's something that will drive the plot to being too serialized and they wanted to keep it going as long as possible. I'm fine with that because the youkai of the week episodes are still always really well done. Nothing seems stale even after this long. Natsume seems to have gotten to a point where he is comfortable and happy and even the conflicts he still occasionally faces with youkai seem much less scary than they once did. He had a group of friends both human and supernatural that have created such a strong support system for him, you'd barely recognize the boy he once was. I love watching his journey and overall this is just a show that leaves you with warm fuzzies inside... when it's not making you cry at the melancholy of life being too short. 9/10
yukihaneda
Natsume is such an adorable main character *cries* Also fujiwaras were so kind and its so nice and sweet of them to help natsume *cries x 100* This anime makes me teary eyed by every ending, and im so blessed to have found this gem i wish to get to see many many more seasons, im so happy with all the seasons until now *cries again* this anime is so wholesome *i really need emojis to express my gratitude now *heart eyes* This anime is just adorable amazing relaxing very creative and such a lowkey cute/relaxing themed animation which i just love. the story never gets boringand every episode is a new concept and its so so so amazing to have nyanko sensei lol, that little cat is so precious, natsume and nyanko are the best main characters from all of the anime that i have watched
BabyGirl06301
Alright, so the longer I watch this anime, the harder it is to review. Here's the thing about this anime: it grows on you. The things that I would've wanted to be changed before, I don't want them to be changed anymore. For example, the little, seemingly disconnected stories that fill every episode. I love that this anime can give you tension while still keeping the overall tone of the anime calming and tranquil. This season in particular also saw a couple episodes that were backstories for some of the secondary characters, which is something I didn't know I wanted until I saw it. Thedepth that it gives to the anime was unexpectedly wonderful. I will say, once again, that I'm still looking for this story to develop a bit of a bigger picture. I thought it was beginning to happen this season, but it hasn't gone anywhere yet. What I mean is I want to see Natsume become a part of a season-long story that allows him to learn more about the world of youkai and, possibly, the humans involved with them. Instead of Natsume fulfilling this role of someone that is antiquated with both youkai and humans separately, I want to see Natsume become a part of both worlds in a way that changes his relationships on both sides. To put it more simply, I want this story to start carrying some weight and consequence that it hasn't fully done thus far. Bits and pieces, sure, but I would love to see it go full throttle. The last thing I was happy to see/want to see more of was some background on Reiko. She was a big driving force behind the anime, especially in the beginning, but she never got fleshed out, and I'm glad I finally got to see some of that this season. Going forward, I'm excited to see how Natsume will entangle himself with the exorcists as well as how his relationships with his adoptive parents and friends will develop. I really hope this anime takes a dive to become a little more gritty and serious because I know it can do that and still be the lovely, heartwarming anime that it is.
pooprocks
The fifth season of Natsume Yuujinchou was a true pleasure to watch. In this season, we see Natsume's friendships develop and grow. We learn more about his troubled past and the backstory behind the Fujiwaras. Story: 9 One of my favorite aspects of Natsume Yuujinchou is how each episode stands alone. There is a distinct thought or feeling, a pearl that is revealed at the end of the episode as Natsume reflects upon what happens. He speaks directly to the audience. This is so powerful and so beautiful. And yet, there is a distinct thread that runs throughout the series. We see Takashi grow and mature.We see his friends follow him as well. But we also see Takashi's past as well. Overall, the story is cohesive and well-paced. Art: 9 The art is certainly beautiful, and the landscapes are quite scenic. There is definitely attention to details and the animation is good too. Sound:9 The soundtrack reinforces the key emotions of the show. Overall a pleasure, but not the best in the series. Character:10 The character development is truly outstanding. This is what keeps this series going season after season. We can all relate to the emotions and feelings that Natsume Takashi has. We admire Takashi's bravery and selflessness, and his genuine desire to help others, whether it be human, Ayakashi, or beast. He has a true heart of gold. Nyanko-Sensei, the bumbling buta-neko, is a true companion. He claims to only want the Book of Friends, but we see that he has sincere concern for Takashi. They have such a cute relationship. And of course, they always find a way for Nyanko-Sensei to be gone so that Natsume can fight some of his battles on his own. It's pretty well done. Taki and Tanuma are Natsume's somewhat spiritual friends. They're OK. Kitamoto is the cutest character, besides maybe Takashi. He needs more screen time. Enjoyment: 10 Definitely a pleasure to watch. Not so sad that it's a tear-jerker every episode, but it does taste a little bittersweet like a good dark chocolate.
GrayRealm
It is more of the same thing that was in previous seasons: A somewhat melancholic, calm slice of life kind of show that deals with supernatural elements. If you watched and liked previous seasons, you'll like this one as well. Detailed breakdown: Story: Story is on a melancholic side, and moves slowly, without haste, giving enough time to think about events/characters in the show. This anime does a good job being subtle and creating highly emotional scenes effortlessly. There's no overarching story here, while events probably happen in order, they're pretty much separate from each other, and are only connected by protagonist. The anime occasionally gets darker,but does not go overboard with it. Art: Same as before. Decent above average modern "realistic" (as in character proportions and all) anime. Youkai have unique designs and are interesting to look at. So, art is good. Sound: Complements the anime nicely, not much add to that. Characters: Characters are beleivable, and this anime does a good job portraying subtle reactions, or otherwordly behavior of youkai. Although it on occasion feels that it goes a bit oto far when natsume starts worrying about other people, otherwise all the characters are quite believable. Enjoymenet: Same as with previous seasons - it won't put you at the edge of your seat, but it is interesting to watch. Overall: Recommended, especially if you liked previous seasons.
Jack_Masurao
I love how each episode they show us the youkai's, natori, Touko and Shigeru's backstory very very heart warming. Some episode manage to make me touched with every single character they have and made me care for them like what happend to them after that? how are they doing now? is Natsume going to be straight or gay? Taki or someone? There is though some episode that is meh at certain part but they fixed quite quickly, the art is beautiful they always upgraded their art every single single season. The ending in this anime is one of my favorites Overall i'm going to rate this 9/10
SendPieSenpai
It's Natsume Yuujinchou. If you aren't following this series, you've either not tried it or slice of life anime is just not for you. That's okay if you don't like slower shows. Otherwise... Join us in the iyashikei world, where the world is good and pureness reigns and smiles are protected! Go! We'll see you at Roku! OVERALL - 9 Always happy for more Natsume Yuujinchou. Heartwarming. Fluffy. Pure. Activates the "I must protect this smile!" instinct. Feels. Feels that are sometimes happy. Feels that are sometimes REALLY KINDA HEARTBREAKING??? Iyashikei but with an undertone of constant melancholy that almost makes you have multiple existential crises butthen your heart is healed into a pure state? Aw yes! STORY - rounded down 9.5 Short stories. Always superb. Some used this season were more dynamic than I've ever seen Natsume Yuujinchou show us before---more than enough to make up for some of the more forgettable ones (sorry). ART/ANIMATION - 9 So we have moved from Brain's Base to Shuka. There's reason to be skeptical of this infant studio that tends to slack of halfway, but they poured a lot into consistantly making Natsume beaut-- I mean, Natsume Yuujinchou beautiful, haha. The softer colour palette and more pencil-like lines compliment the iyashikei feel. And it's hard to not melt a little bit (or, you know, a LOT) at the very gentle and fluid animation every time Natsume smiles. Good to know Shuka knows where to pour the most effort. SOUND/MUSIC - 8 Natsume Yuujinchou uses the same lovely OST every season with only some new tracks, so let's just talk about the OP/ED. Like the OP: makes me excited for more Natsume. Love the ED: reminds me of Zoku's ending which is my personal favourite. CHARACTERS - 9 It's season 5. You know who you love and who you disapprove of by now. (If you don't like Natsume himself within 1-3 episodes of the first season... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sorry, he's the MC and a boy of kindness & good intentions whose Shuka-animated smile I will always treasure.) ENJOYMENT - 10 It's season 5. Additional Ratings : SEIYUU - 10 (Kamiya Hiroshi. Jun'ichi Suwabe. The usual cast. The usual greatness) ; CINEMATOGRAPHY - 9