Key Takeaways
- Natsume's Book of Friends and Vanitas case study focuses on the importance of nomenclature in driving a story.
- Both series are deeply connected to the powerful books at the center of their stories and feature orphans with fantastical beings.
- The concept of real names, used in both series, drives the story forward as it explores the meaning and consequences of names.
Given that Natsume's Book of Friends It returned to broadcasting after 7 years and celebrated its 15th anniversary. Not to mention the fact that it will be part of a highly stacked fall 2024 anime season that will feature a number of new and returning Supernatural titles. For such a great title, the number of “members” recorded on the aggregation site MyAnimeList is relatively small; Natsume's Book of Friends It's a great title with a similar title and garnered quite a fan base when it aired in 2021.
Natsume's Book of Friends It is a title that can be seen as Vanitas Case Studybefore Vanitas Case Study; Or, much less sensationally, it's a show whose title you might think of as having some sort of spiritual connection. Whether direct inspiration or a spiritual predecessor/successor relationship. Here's why:
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Animation and blindness concept
The concept of real names follows the basic premise that everything has a name that expresses its essence. How was that incorporated into the animation?
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Some background information
Natsume's Book of Friends It is based on the manga of the same name by Yuki Midorikawa, and was serialized in Hakusensha's shoujo manga magazine LaLa DX from June 2003 to April 2008, and has been serialized in LaLa from July 2007 to the present. It has been organized into 31 volumes. Initially produced by Brain's Base, the anime has completed six seasons, the first of which ran for 13 episodes from July to September 2008, and the seventh season, produced by Shuka, begins this fall. It works.
It tells the story of an orphan named Takashi Natsume who discovers an old notebook belonging to his maternal grandmother, Natsume Reiko, an exorcist who binds powerful evil spirits. Ayakashi and Youkai Add them to the page by removing their names and making them submit to her will. Takashi decides to return all the names in the notebook, called the “Book of Friends”, and does so with the help of the cat/wolf spirit Madara, more affectionately known as Nyanko-sensei.
Vanitas No CarteIn English it is known as: Vanitas Case Studyis based on the manga by Jun Mochizuki, which has been serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Joker since December 2015. It was later collected into 11 volumes. The anime currently has one season divided into two parts, with the first season airing from July to September 2021 and the second season from January to April 2022.
It is set in a fictional 19th century Paris, combining steampunk aesthetics with vampire-like fantasy elements. Vanitas is a young man belonging to the Blue Moon Vampire clan and possesses the Book of Vanitas, a magic book that has the power to heal vampires whose True Names have been corrupted and become uncontrollably bloodthirsty through a phenomenon called 'True Names'. am. Malnomen may have been triggered by the influence of a mysterious being known only as “Charlatan”.
The Biggest Similarities Between Natsume's Book of Friends and Vanitas Case Study
The importance of nomenclature
As you probably already understand, the main connection between these titles lies in the way they use nomenclature. More specifically, the concept of blindness is the main driving force of the story. In the case of Mochizuki, Vanitas Case Study It was an attempt to pivot somewhere else. pandora heartBuilding on her previous success in comics, she draws something with compelling fight scenes and a focus on hidden identities as a thematic component.
Both protagonists are orphans with a deep connection to the book at the center of the story, which Vanitas inherited from the vampire who saved his life as a child. Both characters are accompanied by other characters representing the main fantastical elements of their respective worlds, with Madara often acting as an interface between Natsume and the Yokai world, and Vanitas with Noé Archiviste, who is part of their lineage. Can read the memories of individuals who drank blood. Naturally, these titles have different approaches. Vanitas Case Study There are more action scenes and fighting scenes than expected. Natsume's Book of FriendsIt has more of a sense of life. However, both titles explore the mysterious past of their protagonists by having the characters themselves explore the history of the mysterious characters that populate their universe.
Nomenclature is very important in both titles. Because the importance of names and our interactions with them are the main themes that drive the story forward. In either case, owning the name could spell disaster for the individual. It is the core of its being and a summary of its abilities and experiences. When Takashi Natsume invokes the power of Uin, it drains him of temporary spiritual energy, but it is also a very popular artifact in the yokai world, making him a target for all kinds of forces. I want to access the power of books. Like Vanitas, Takashi is able to use books because he is a direct descendant of his grandmother. In the Book of Vanitas, the titular character is also able to use it, as the Blue Moon Vampire's blood flows through his veins, granting him abilities beyond those of an ordinary human.
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Nomenclature: tie
What led Mochizuki to explore vampires in this way was her desire to portray Vanitas as a character who cures vampires' illnesses, but she did not think readers would be interested in a story where vampires go under the knife. Rather, she utilized the concept of blindness. It appears consistently in Japanese folklore and media, and its application has given it a more abstract quality that better connects with the theme of hidden identity prevalent in healing mentioned earlier. Vanitas Case Study. Natsume's Book of Friends Although the goal isn't to “heal” Yokai, there's likely a similar inspiration behind this mechanic. However, using a notebook to return a name and thus revert it to its actual state is very similar to Vanitas' goal.
Natsume's Book of Friends and Vanitas Case Study You can stream it on Crunchyroll.
