The most recent issue of Hakusensha’s Monthly LaLa magazine has announced that the upcoming 5th season of the anime adaptation of Yuki Midorikawa’s Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends) manga will start airing from October 4. In addition, the Opening and Ending theme songs were also revealed.
The 5th season of the anime, titled Natsume Yuujinchou Go, will start airing on Tuesday, October 4th on: TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TV Setouchi, TV Hokkaido, and TVQ Broadcasting Kyushu. Further information about the broadcast times will be revealed at a later date.
The Opening theme song of the anime will be Takarabako performed by Marii Sasano. The Ending theme will be Akane Sasu by Aimer.
The main cast of the anime includes:
- Hiroshi Kamiya (Koyomi Araragi in Bakemonogatari) voices Takashi Natsume
- Kazuhiko Inoue (Kakashi Hatake from Naruto) voiced the role of Madara
- Sanae Kobayashi (Lucy from Elfen Lied) as Reiko Natsume
- Akira Ishida (Kotaro Katsura in Gintama) playing the role of Shuuichi Natori
- Kazuma Horie (Seiji Yagiri in Durarara!!x2) voicing the role of Kaname Tanuma
- Rina Satou (Mikoto Misaka in Toaru Majutsu no Index) as Tooru Taki
- Ryouhei Kimura (Kodaka Hasegawa in Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai) voices Satoru Nishimura
- Hisayoshi Suganuma (Connor Kluff in Tegami Bachi) as Atsushi Kitamoto
The production staff of the previous seasons will return for Natsume Yuujinchou Go. They include:
- Chief Director:Takahiro Omori (Durarara!!, Natsume Yuujinchou)
- Director: Kotomi Deai (The Rolling☆Girls, Silver Spoon Season 2)
- Series Composer: Sadayuki Murai (Natsume Yuujinchou, Sidonia no Kishi)
- Anime Character Designer: Akira Takata (Natsume Yuujinchou, Haibane Renmei)
- Animation Studio: Shuka (Durarara!! ×2)
There will be a series of theme cafes hosted by Retail store Animate. The Natsume Yuujinchou collaborative cafe will be held at store locations later this year in various cities around Japan. They will be held at:
- Kyoto – October 1st – 30th
- Ikebukuro – November 1st – 30th, 2nd location November 3rd – 30th
- Shinjuku – November 1st – 30th
- Akihabara – October 12 –
Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends) is a supernatural slice of life manga written and illustrated by Yuki Midorikawa. The series began in 2005 in Hakusensha’s LaLa magazine, where it is published bi-monthly. To date a total of 19 volumes have been published. The series received an anime adaptation in 2008 from studio Brain’s Base (Durarara!!, Spice and Wolf) directed by Takahiro Omori (Durarara!!, Baccano!). The series was followed by three additional seasons: Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou in 2009, Natsume Yuujinchou San in 2011 and Natsume Yuujinchou Shi in 2012.
Here is the series synopsis from MAL:
While most fifteen-year-old boys, in one way or another, harbor secrets that are related to girls, Takashi Natsume has a peculiar and terrifying secret involving youkai: for as long as he can remember, he has been constantly chased by these spirits. Natsume soon discovers that his deceased grandmother Reiko had passed on to him the Yuujinchou, or “Book of Friends,” which contains the names of the spirits whom she brought under her control. Now in Natsume’s possession, the book gives Reiko’s grandson this power as well, which is why these enraged beings now haunt him in hopes of somehow attaining their freedom.
Without parents and a loving home, and constantly being hunted by hostile, merciless youkai, Natsume is looking for solace—a place where he belongs. However, his only companion is a self-proclaimed bodyguard named Madara. Fondly referred to as Nyanko-sensei, Madara is a mysterious, pint-sized feline spirit who has his own reasons for sticking with the boy.
Based on the critically acclaimed manga by Yuki Midorikawa, Natsume Yuujinchou is an unconventional and supernatural slice-of-life series that follows Natsume as he, with his infamous protector Madara, endeavors to free the spirits bound by his grandmother’s contract.
The 5th season of the Natsume Yuujinchou anime, Natsume Yuujinchou Go, will air on Tokyo MX from Tuesday, October 4th, during the Fall/Autumn 2016 anime season. Further information will be revealed soon.
You can visit the anime’s website here: http://www.natsume-anime.jp/
And follow the series’ Twitter: @NatsumeYujincho
“Natsume Yuujinchou Go”, “Natsume Yuujinchou”, “Natsume’s Book of Friends”, images, and all associated brands and titles © 2016 Yuki Midorikawa, Brain’s Base and the Natsume Yuujinchou Production Committee