Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 6

Yuki Midorikawa's finest series is full of heart, feelings and solid friendship alongside ghosts, spirits and adventures. Highly recommended, with no worries for parents about inappropriately violent content. One of only a few long manga series I've decided to continue collecting until the end. I also recommend another Yuki: Yuki Urushibara's Mushishi (Mu Shi Shi), also available on Amazon.

Natsume's Book of Friends Volume 6 contains chapters 20 to 22, special episodes 5 and 6 and a bonus manga one shot by Yuki Midorikawa, The Corner of the Schoolhouse!It is rated T for Teen due to fantasy violence.Natsume is a teenager who can see spirits or yokai as the japanese call them. His grandmother who could also see yokai passed down a strange book to him. Natsume found out that it contained the names of all the yokai his grandmother had fought and won against. He now has the power to control these yokai but having this book makes him a target. Luckily he has Nyanko Sensei! Nyanko Sensei is a yokai who acts as a bodyguard for Natsume in hopes that when Natsume dies, he will get the book. But Natsume wants to return the yokai names to their original owners.It tells you the story so far at the start of the book but if you are new to Natsume's Book of Freinds, you may want to read the previous volumes first as this volume has some returning characters in it.Chapters 20, 21 and 22 are all linked. This is the first time that a story from Natsume's Book of Friends has run for 3 chapters! I think it's great because it does a lot of extra things that a 1 chapter story arc can't do.Natsume saves a boy who was locked in a box in an old mansion, he then finds out that this boy can also see yokai! But it seems like he is being stalked by a yokai so like always, it's Natsume to the rescue! In this special 3 chapter arc, we see the return of Shuichi Natori and Tohru Taki. Natsume still doesn't know if he can trust Natori, the actor during the day, exorcist at night.The special episodes include Natsume Observation Log number 4 and Reiko's Nostalgia Log.In Natsume Observation Log number 4, we once again see the cute little fox who has a bit of an obsession with Natsume. This time he helps a yokai because the yokai said if he gives him 3 buckets of fish, he will turn the little fox into a human so he can see his beloved Natsume!Reiko's Nostalgia Log is a flashback about how Hinoe (the yokai first seen in volume 2, chapter 6) met Reiko (Natsume's grandmother)If you thought 3 chapters isn't enough for one volume, then you are right!This volume contains a bonus one shot manga by the author, Yuki Midorikawa. It has nothing to do with Natsume's Book of Friends.This story is called The Corner of the Schoolhouse.It's a 50 page romance manga about a student who has a crush on her stern looking teacher who never cracks a smile. Just like Natsume's Book of Friends, it is very heart-warming. The student, Kanako Noda, wasn't really fond of the teacher at first but then she saw him outside of school in a park. From then on she was determined to make him smile. She wanted to be closer to him than the other students. Very cute story, cliché but still one of the best one shots I have read for a while.

The continuing character development of Natsume Takashi, the lonely boy who can see Yokai, Japanese spirit being. Only Natsume is not so lonely anymore. In addition to Madara his guardian Neko Yokai, he is collecting friends thanks to his kind & compassionate nature. Looking forward to more stories in the series.

Natsume's Book of Friends is a fantastic series and is one that should be read by anyone who wants to read a seriously good series! The art is beautiful and compliments the story and concept very well. Natsume is one of the best Manga characters I have ever read about and you feel very attached to him throughout the series. The story is full of heartwarming and heartbreaking elements and you really feel for all of the characters involved, which is often rare in Manga but Yuki Midorikawa has perfected this and it works continuously. Natsume is one of my favourite Manga's, in fact pieces of Literature that I have ever read.

My daughter loved this book