Natsume's Book of Friends (Light Novel) - Recommendations

• Vol: 4; Ch: 111
• 2017 - 2022

A rural town where youkai, people and gods live normal, everyday lives, mixed with a bit of warmth and occasional mystery. One summer, the twenty-year old cat Buchio suddenly evolves into a nekomata. Questioning the reason for his evolution, he sets out to learn more about transformation, together with the transforming kitsune Yuri. Muu-chan spies on the crow Tengu Jirou as he performs his Tengu duties, and begins to see Jirou in a new light. At that same time, rumors of a unfortunate Nue begin to spread...

• Vol: 2+; Ch: 24+
• 2017 - ?

Those who inhabit neither Heaven nor Earth, but a place called the Space Between.... A cute little guardian deity and the sewing Between-dweller who creates them have come to peer in on the human world?! It's a 200% soothing tale that will gently snuggle into the holes in people's hearts!

• Vol: 2+; Ch: 8+
• 2022 - ?

When a widower tries to move on in the countryside after his wife dies, his solitary life is interrupted by a furry friend. His wife's beloved pet cat has turned into a nekomata—a cat yokai. Now this friendly supernatural kitty is as tall as a human, has two tails, and can even talk! Together, they share a heartwarming slow life as they cook and eat tasty food surrounded by nature. Enjoy freshly baked bread, homemade jam, fluffy omelets, and seasonal vegetables with the members of this unusual and charming household!

• Vol: 1+
• 2021 - ?

Yusuke Komaki, a police officer, is assigned to a police box in Katsubushi-cho, a downtown shopping district in a seaside town, where a mysterious cat named Omochi, who speaks human language, has been living for a long time. "As long as you're willing to listen to the voice of the person you're talking to, you'll be able to get by." There are many legends about Omochi-san, being loved by the townspeople, and that if you touch her, your wish will come true, or if you give her a treat, something good will happen. But no one knows if it's true or not. They are surrounded not only by friendly townspeople but also by various spirits, "ayakashi." They get caught up in the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons ("Hyakki-Yagyou"), are returned the favor by a kappa, and are suddenly spirited away! A strange and gentle story that takes place at the intersection of people and non-human things.

• Vol: 1
• 2018

Mirai works at a local cat café which has recently taken in a large, abandoned cat... which, to her surprise, is actually a cat god who can speak!

• Vol: 3; Ch: 27
• 2013 - 2015

Shiramine Mana is sent to live with relatives in the mountain town of Sanaemachi after failing her high school entry exam. Accompanying her is her pet cat, Sasuke, who has just been revealed to be a bakeneko. But there is more to her having been sent to Sanaemachi then simply needing to study in peace and quiet.

• Vol: 1; Ch: 15
• 2006 - 2007

Karin, 11 years old, is abandoned by her father at her grandfather’s house, the monk of a small town in the Japanese countryside. Her grandfather asks Anzu, his jovial and helpful although rather capricious ghost cat, to look after her. The meeting of their strong characters causes sparks, at least at the beginning…

• Vol: 6; Ch: 36
• 2010 - 2013

When Midou Ginnosuke lost both parents at the age of ten, his grandmother decides to take him in. He goes to live with her and her pet cat, Anzu. Life was peaceful for a time and all was right with the world, until he wakes up one morning and discovers that the girl with cat ears lying beside him is none other than Anzu, who has transformed into a nekomata (two-tailed monster cat).

• Vol: 1+; Ch: 26+
• 2022 - ?

There is an old rumor about cats in the ancient capital of Kamakura—that if you go to the "Bakeneko Club" somewhere in Kamakura, you will find a cat that has disappeared. Today, too, people wander into the "Kamakura BAKEneko Club" where Maya and Gakuto work, relying on this rumor.

• Vol: 1
• 2014