Of Humming Lushness and Drifting White

Ah, it's been a while since I've inflicted my angst on this corner of cyberspace. But we move on to sunnier pastures today. If only for a mini-post. I hope.

Well, the only ongoing anime series I'm following at the moment is the second season of Natsume Yuujinchou ('Natsume's Book of Friends' 夏目有人帳). It's about a boy, Natsume, who has the ability to see spirits and demons, who inherits his grandmother's 'Book of Friends', which is a collection of names from various spirits and demons she obtained servitude from. He forms an arrangement with a demon/spirit, who usually assumes the form of a highly squishable fat fortune cat, known as Nyanko-sensei in this form. The series has a different story each episode, surrounding different spirits and how Natsume gets involved in their predicaments, desires, and relations.

While the first season was set in summer, the stories and the art all contributed to a feeling of mild sparseness. However, it concentrated a little more on meetings, and ended on a warm note.

In contrast, the second season is set in winter, and the first two episodes dealt with partings. The third episode was slightly more light-hearted, but had the shadow of Natsume's as yet murky past hanging over it.

I think the feel of the two seasons can be felt from the respective gorgeous soundtrack cover artwork.





Ah, I love the covers so! Especially the first one! It encapsulates my romanticised image of small-town/rural Japan. I actually got exceedingly excited to see a similar road, complete with markings on the tarmac yelling "STOP" when I was last in Japan.

The main draw for the series for me has got to be Nyanko-sensei, though! xD He's a grumpy old man and little kitty cat and more all rolled into one!





AND, his real form is incredibly cool!!



He's voiced by Inoue Kazuhiko, a veteran seiyuu who I like and respect very much. :]

Lastly, the ED (Ending Theme) for the first season is gorgeous. 'Natsu Yuuzora' ('Summer Evening Sky') by Atari Kousuke. He sings in a style called Shimauta (lit. 'island song'), which is the folk song of and island called Amami-Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture. I found out that he studied social anthropology in Ryuukyuu University (in Okinawa!!), which makes him triply cool! Haha.

Ok, so this post ended up being longer than I intended, and with a nice dose of pic-spammage. Haha. But yes, squishy talking cats with supernatural powers are made of win. xD