Reviews
(3.91/5)Lovely
This was lovely! I did look up more words than I expected to (i.e. exorcise, purify, and temple and shrine-related words) but other than that it was a smooth reading experience. I adored the story and the art - it was moving, interesting, and relaxing. 10/10 would recommend.
I've currently read 3 Natsume Yuujinchou manga, and one novel, and I would say that Natsume Yuujinchou's difficulty really fluctuates. This is because it depends on what youkai is being introduced, as all the youkai talk slightly different.
The easiest volume was Vol. 8. I would say that this first book was probably the hardest, and Vol. 22 and うつせみに結ぶ being at about the same at slightly easier than Vol. 1.
Basically, if a chapter is human-focused, the chapter is pretty easy, while if it's youkai focus, the difficulty increases. Vol.1 is all Youkai focus, Vol.22 has parts that are both (same with the movie), and Vol.8 is mostly human-focused.
Words I didn't know: 210 words [Note: was read AFTER Vol.8 and vol.22] The furigana was kind of hard to read for some reason.
A lonely boy who sees yokai
夏目友人帳 is a series about a young man named 夏目貴志 (なつめ・たかし) who can see yokai; he's a lonely young man, surrounded by people who don't and can't understand what he sees day-to-day. He's been passed around by family his entire life, and he's determined with his current guardian to keep his yokai sight on the down low. This suddenly gets harder when yokai start to flock to him, asking for their names back, and 夏目 learns that his grandmother レイコ made a "book of friends" containing the names of lots of local yokai; if you have their name, you can order them however you want, and the yokai are tired of waiting for a girl who will no longer come to visit them.
This kicks off 夏目's quest to return all of the names to their proper owners, accompanied by a yokai trapped in a manekineko statue, ニャンコ先生 (who wouldn't mind eating 夏目 himself given the chance). Volume 1 was a slow, thoughtful volume: we're introduced to 夏目 and how lonely and separated he feels. He has no real friends, and his day-to-day life is constantly bothered by yokai of varying motivations. Despite this he still retains his kindness and willingness to help others.
The story appears to be episodic/slice-of-life so far; 夏目 and ニャンコ先生 are the only recurring characters of any substance, though there's still plenty of time for that to change. Furigana is given throughout the book, which is handy for the yokai, who tend to speak more formally/strangely than the human characters.