Before the Vanitas case study, there was this

Key recommendations

• Natsume's Book of Friends and Vanitas' Case Study focus on the importance of nomenclature in driving the story.
• Both series feature orphans deeply connected to powerful books central to the story and accompanied by fantastical beings.
• The concept of true names used in both series propels the narrative forward, exploring the meaning and consequences of names.

given that Natsume's book of friends returns to television for the first time in 7 years and celebrates its 15th anniversary; not to mention that it will be part of the Fall 2024 anime season, which features a number of new and returning Supernatural titles. With a relatively small number of registered “members” on aggregate site MyAnimeList for such a great title, it makes perfect sense to reiterate what it does Natsume's book of friends such a great title using a similar title that gained quite a following when it aired in 2021.

Natsume's book of friends is a title that can be seen as Vanitas case studybefore Vanitas case study; or, even less sensationally, it is a show that can be thought of as titles with some kind of spiritual relationship; be it a direct inspiration or a predecessor/successor spiritual relationship. Here's why.

A quick look at both titles

Some background information

Natsume's book of friends is based on the manga of the same name created by Yuki Midorikawa and published in Hakusensha's shōjo manga magazine LaLa DX from June 2003 to April 2008 and serialized in LaLa from July 2007 to the present. It was collected in 31 volumes. The anime, originally produced by Brain's Base, has six completed seasons, the first of which ran for 13 episodes from July to September 2008, and the seventh season, produced by Shuka, will be released this fall.

It follows an orphan named Takashi Natsume who finds an old notebook that belonged to his maternal grandmother, Reiko Natsume, an exorcist who would bind powerful evil spirits. ayakashi and yōkai to its pages, taking their names, making them subject to her will. Takashi decides to return all the names in the notebook, titled “Book of Friends”, and does so with the help of the cat/wolf spirit Madara, more affectionately known as Nyanko-sensei.

Vanitas no Carteknown in English as Vanitas case studyis based on the manga created by Jun Mochizuki, serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Gangan Joker since December 2015. It has since been collected into 11 volumes. The anime currently has a season that has been split into two halves, with the first airing from July to September 2021, and the second from January to April 2022.

It is set in a fictional 19th century Paris, combining a steampunk aesthetic with fantasy elements such as vampires. Vanitas is a young man who is part of the Blue Moon vampire clan and holds the Book of Vanitas, a grimoire that has the power to heal vampires who have become uncontrollably bloodthirsty as a result of corrupting their True Names through a phenomenon called malnomen, possibly triggered by the influence of a mysterious entity known only as “The Charlatan”.

The biggest similarities between Natsume's Book of Friends and Vanitas' Case Study

The importance of nomenclature

As you may have already noticed, the major connection between these titles lies in the way they use nomenclature; more specifically, the concept of True Name as a major driving force in the story. For Mochizuki, Vanitas case study was an attempt to move away from Pandora Heartsher previous success in manga, and draw something with compelling fight scenes and an emphasis on hidden identities as a thematic component.

Both main characters are orphans who have a deep connection to the book that is central to the story, with Vanitas inheriting it from the vampire who saved his life as a child. Both characters are also accompanied by another character who is a representative of the main fantasy element of their respective worlds, with Madara often serving as an interface between Natsume and the yokai world, and Vanitas being accompanied by Noé Archiviste, who is part of -a bloodline. able to read the memories of the individuals whose blood they have consumed. Of course, these titles differ in their approach, with Vanitas case study having much more action and fight scenes than Natsume's book of friendswho has a better feeling of life; however, both titles explore the mysterious pasts of their protagonists through the character's own delving into the histories of the mystical characters that populate their universe.

Nomenclature is very important in both titles as meaning and interaction with names is the main theme that propels the story forward and in both cases having one's name can spell disaster for that individual as names act as the core of that existence and are the summation of abilities and his experiences. When Takashi Natsume summons the power of the Book of Friends, it comes at the price of temporary spiritual energy, but it's also a highly sought-after artifact in the yokai world, making him a target for all kinds of factions who want access to the book's power. Like Vanitas, Takashi can only use the book because he is a direct descendant of his grandmother; while in the case of the Vanitas Book, the titular character is also able to use it due to the Blue Moon Vampire blood coursing through his veins, giving him abilities beyond that of the average human.

An old concept

Nomenclature: The tie that binds

What inspired Mochizuki's exploration of vampires in this way was her desire to portray Vanitas as a character who cures vampires of their ailments, but she didn't think readers were interested in the kind of narrative where vampires go under the knife. Rather, she relied on the concept of true name; one that appears constantly in Japanese folklore and media, and applied it to give the aforementioned healing a more abstract quality that ties in better with the theme of hidden identity that is prevalent in Vanitas case study. Natsume's book of friends very likely has a similar inspiration behind this mechanic, although “healing” yokai is not the goal, but using the notebook to return their names and thus return them to their true state is very similar to Vanitas' goal.

Natsume's book of friends and Vanitas' case study are available to stream on Crunchyroll.