Natsume’s Book of Friends Vol. 2

Writer	Yuki Midorikawa
Illustrator	Yuki Midorikawa
Published in English	2010
Publisher	Viz Media
Demographic	Shōjo
Age rating	Teen

A Life Shaped by the Supernatural

Natsume’s Book of Friends Vol. 2 was first released as a tankōbon in 2006 and in English in 2010. It collects the chapters 5 through 8 of the shōjo manga series originally published in a magazine. Yuki Midorikawa served as both the author and the artist. The comics are in mystery and supernatural genre. Each chapter is an independent tale with some exposition for those who have not read the previous ones.
The first half of the book puts a focus on plot with yokai threat sparring the events. Takashi and other students visit a haunted house at night. This is followed by a comics where a dangerous creature marks the protagonist in order to eat him later. In the seventh chapter, Takashi has a challenging encounter with an unusual man. In the eighth chapter, he is constrained to help two yokai and gets into some inconvenient situations.
The manga explores family and kindness as its main themes. Troubled childhood of Takashi is occasionally featured, adding more meaning to the current events. A couple taking care of the protagonist finally offer him a positive experience of belonging to a family. Takashi contrasts with other characters caring about both people and yokai. He meets another person who can see the supernatural creatures but is aggressive towards them. The protagonist also wishes to change the attitude of a human-hating spirit. The eighth chapter has a slightly melancholic story of a former lute player who has started to fade away. The comics emphasise the feelings and difficult past of characters and get sentimental at times. Still, there is content in the manga that will engage the reader, in particular the 7th chapter has a layered story where the intentions of people and yokai and their interactions are complex.
The author skilfully creates mystery which makes the comics captivating. Moreover, the 5th and 6th chapters showcase great build-up of tension. The haunted house challenge puts the students in danger while they cannot understand what exactly is happening. In the next comics, the immobile yokai poses a severe threat for Takashi and a silent uncanny shadow feels menacing as it slowly approaches the home of the protagonist. On the contrary, in the comics where Takashi meets Natori, a man aware of the supernatural, the plot is driven by the conflict between the two characters.
As she continues to write in her distinct style, the author focuses on the psyche of the characters and often depicts dreams of the protagonist. Also, the artwork conveys powerfully the emotions through lighting, composition and clearly drawn face expressions. The manga benefits greatly from the aesthetic pictures that visualise the milieu in which the tales take place, including some interesting settings.
Natsume’s Book of Friends Vol. 2 continues the series, having the familiar qualities: an emphasis on the inner life of the characters and charming art. Compared to the first part, more work has been put into creating tense plots. This comic book is a great pick for heartfelt drama with some thrill of the fantasy genre.

Characters

Themes

Plot

Artwork

Content advisory

Erotic content: NONE

A character promises to bring “sexy reading material”. Madara says “Get away, you nympho!” to a female yokai.

Violence: SLIGHT

Yokai is eating another yokai, a hand and a foot are seen hanging out of their mouth. Yokai grasps Takashi with their hair and slams him on the table. Handfight between Takashi and yokai.

Profanity: NONE

Scary content: MODERATE

The students are at a haunted house at night and there is a spirit posing threat for them. Yokai stretches their neck in a creepy way. A yokai’s head appears from the ceiling (looks scary). A shadow is at the home gate of Takashi and gets closer to his room with every day.

Alcohol, drugs, and smoking: SLIGHT

One of the yokai is smoking most of the time she is present in the comics. Madara and another yokai have drunk something, presumably alcoholic.