Natsume's Book of Friends - Recommendations

• TV (24 eps)
• 2005

Art college: cradle of romance, home of bittersweet moments. Takemoto is struggling to find his direction in life, while his roommates Morita and Mayama are moving confidently - or recklessly - towards their goals. Enter Hagu-chan, the childlike and beautiful prodigy whom everyone admires; and thus the love triangles begin. Together, the trio explore the pain of first love, the trials of romantic conflict, and our loyalty to those annoying people who happen to be our closest friends.

• TV (13 eps)
• 2010

Saitou Yakumo is a young man with a very special gift: he can see the souls of the dead and communicate with them. When the aloof student isn’t duping his fellow classmates out of their money with fake card tricks, he takes on paranormal cases that pique his interest. Making use of his unique abilities, logical mind and his contacts within the police, Yakumo strives to solve each supernatural case he takes on and bring those responsible to justice. But when the youthful detective becomes the target of a sinister duo can he get to the bottom of their scheme before he is dragged into a world of darkness and hatred?

• TV (13 eps)
• 2002

A young woman quietly falls to the earth, escorted by a solitary crow. This sort of dream, as many other before have dreamed, comes just before being reborn as a Haibane, a charcoal-winged angel. On the outskirts of the walled-in city lies Old Home, a haven for Haibane to study, live, and learn, while waiting for their chance to ascend to the heavens and escape the confines of their new world. Rakka is the newest inhabitant of Old Home who wants nothing more than to remember her past and discover the secrets of her kind. Together with Reki, Kuu and plenty of other new friends, Rakka will laugh, explore, and search for the meaning of their existence in the process.

• Movie (1 ep x 120 min)
• 2011

The last time Momo saw her father, they had a fight. Now all she has left to remember him by is an incomplete letter penned with the words "Dear Momo," but nothing more. Moving with her mother to the remote Japanese island of Shio, Momo soon discovers three Yokai living in her attic, a trio of mischievous spirit creatures that only she can see and who create mayhem in the tiny seaside community as she tries desperately to keep them hidden. But these funny monsters have a serious side and may hold the key to helping Momo discover what her father had been trying to tell her.

• TV (12 eps)
• 2013

Izumiko has lived a secluded, sheltered life in a mountain shrine since she was born. Having been raised to become the vessel of the Hime-gami, a mysterious force, the girl’s family has carefully planned and measured all aspects of her life - from the prestigious school she’s meant to attend to even her hair style. So when Izumiko is threatened by strange events, her father forces yet another obligation on her: Miyuki Sagara, a mountain monk descendant who’s fated to be her bodyguard. Unfortunately for the duo, neither is happy about the arrangement, especially Miyuki, who’s being exiled from his home city to guard a girl he considers to be useless. Can the two learn to find common ground in their search to understand the supernatural mysteries unfolding around them?

• TV (11 eps)
• 2013

When Yuugo Hachiken enrolled at Ezonoo, an agricultural high school, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. While his classmates revel in the barnyard chores and hard labor, eager to gain skills for their careers, Yuugo is challenged and sometimes downright horrified by the things he’s having to learn, whether he’s corralling stray cows, learning the shocking truth of where chicken eggs come from, or even getting comfortable with riding a horse! Alongside peers such as the lovely Aki, Yuugo will learn all he can about agriculture, making close friends in the process.

• TV (12 eps)
• 2014

Yato, the supposed God of Calamity, is so far down on the Shinto totem pole that he doesn't even have any followers or a shrine to call his own and has to do odd jobs to make ends meet. Worst of all, his aloof and somewhat goofy personality has just cost him his newest partner and best holy weapon. When the down-on-his-luck Yato is saved by an unfortunate soul called Hiyori, he's forced to take on a brand new job - to turn her back into a human and fix her supernatural out-of-body experiences! Can Yato, a Regalia-less, miserly minor god, even attempt such a tall order? And is there more to him than his ridiculousness lets on?

• TV (12 eps)
• 2018

Kashiwagi Sora is living a normal high school student life, when his "adventurer" father sends him a mummy from his travels in Egypt! Sora balks at the letter from his crazy dad ("I found a cool mummy, so I decided to leave it with you, son!") at first, but the mummy that emerges from inside the huge coffin is a mere 12 centimeters tall--small enough to fit in the palm of his hand... Not only that, it's shy, a crybaby, and most of all, heckin' cute. And so, Sora and ends up keeping the mummy, naming his new little buddy "Mii-kun." But living with a mummy might be easier said than done...!

• TV (12 eps)
• 2019

When Miyako Arata joins the Shinjuku Ward Office, he thinks he's gotten a normal civil servant job. But it turns out he's joined the Night Community Exchange Department, one of which operates secretly in each of Tokyo's twenty-three ward offices. Their job is to resolve occult issues concerning non-human beings. Accompanied by his senpai and department head Sakaki Kyoichi and the occult obsessed Himetsuka Seo, they work night after night, facing off with beings whose existence defies the laws of our world.

• Web (12 eps)
• 2020

Tao Yao is a spirit doctor with the ability to relieve supernatural beings of illnesses and ailments. But the price she requires for her services is high, and her reputation - coupled with her unpredictable nature - causes beings of the spirit realm to both fear and venerate her. Together with Mo Ya, a young monk, and Liugonzi, a snake demon, she travels through ancient China witnessing the joy and suffering experienced by those they encounter.