Natsume Yuujinchou

 

Everyone has their favorite yokai show. For a lot of people is InuYasha, a bunch of other people like Mushishi and there's also a fair number of xxxHolic fans. I myself am very fond of Gegege no Kitarou. Right now though, Natsume Yuujinchou is definitely my favorite yokai show and I think it's going to stay that way for a long time.

Long story short, Takashi Natsume can see yokais. He's the grandson of Reiko Natsume, a very powerful human who bound several yokais to her command by having their names written in a book. Takashi inherits this book and that causes a lot of problems for him. You see, a book that grants you commanding powers over a legion of demons and spirits is something a lot of yokais covet. One of these, to Takashi's luck, is Madara, a powerful creature that likes to walk around shaped as a fat and adorable cat. He calls himself Nyanko-sensei and end up serving as a much needed bodyguard for Takashi.

That's the setup. You sure have watched the story about a boy who can see spirits. Takashi Natsume is a different type of kid, however, which gives the show a very special atmosphere. Instead of using the book for going into some awesome run-of-the-mill adventure, he decides instead to liberate the bound creatures by giving back their names. Takashi Natsume is also the most compassive and kind mc to ever grace a supernatural drama show. I would even say he's a bodhisattva. Not only toward humans but toward the yokais themselves, many of which are hostile, some irredeemably so. There's a very tricky power struggle going on here, where Natsume's compassion can only be upheld by the power of Madara a lot of times.

It's very amusing to watch those Yokai scratching their heads in amazement by how nice and wholesome Natsume is. To the point that many of them end up liking him for it. He's such a kind, loving person that even those who are at first hostile or indifferent toward him are caught off-guard and can't help but end up respecting the guy, no matter how silly he may be. That's a major aspect of this show. Demons that end up aspiring to be something better by watching acts of compassion. It's Buddha enlightening hungry ghosts all over the place. Except Natsume is just trying to be a nice guy, he barely knows what he's doing half the time.

Of course, all the creatures in this show are equally interesting to follow around. A lot of them seem a little lost, like something about them has been dismantled and they lost their footing in the world. Characters like that have a great potential to be part of endearing, heartfelt tales, which is what this show is all about.