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I have been watching Natsume Yūjinchō (夏目友人帳) recently. I actually heard about this series via a Chinese BBS, where it is inevitably mentioned in the same breath as Hundred Ghosts.
Natsume Yūjinchō is the story of Natsume Takashi, who inherited the ability to see spirits from his grandmother, along with the a powerful book containing the named of all the spirits and demons who were defeated by his grandmother and agreed to serve her, the Natsume Yujincho of the title. Much like Ritsu, Takashi is a reluctant heir. He is constantly hounded by the spirits who are inevitably attacted by his aura and prone to confusing him with his grandmother. One day while escaping from yet another enamored spirit, Takashi accidentally broke the seal of a powerful demon Madara, who offered to become Takashi' teacher and protector, in exchange for the right to command the yūjinchō after Takashi's death. When not beating away demons from Takashi's side Madara takes the form of a very plump lucky cat. Much like Hundred Ghosts the series of composed of loosely connected stories about the demons and spirits that Natsume encounters as he tried to learn more about his grandmother and return the names of the spirits back to their original owner.
Unlike Hundred Ghosts, the plots are all very simple and straightforward. The charm of the series comes from its lovely watercolor renderings, and the colorful spirits and their stories. I particularly liked the demon who accidentally took up residence in an abandoned shrine, and ended up turning into the local dew god. And then there's the hapless spirit who was starving with the introduction of street lighting, since it can no longer sneak into people's homes along the shadows, wash their dishes and eat the scraps. Takashi does not have Ritsu's cool detachment, so the stories are unabashedly sentimental a the way that only Japanese can make them, yet never saccharine.
This is available as fansub in both Chinese and English, so take your pick.
Playlist for first and second season Chinese fansub on tudou.
Oops, I lost the link for the English sub, will post it when I find it.
Natsume Yūjinchō is the story of Natsume Takashi, who inherited the ability to see spirits from his grandmother, along with the a powerful book containing the named of all the spirits and demons who were defeated by his grandmother and agreed to serve her, the Natsume Yujincho of the title. Much like Ritsu, Takashi is a reluctant heir. He is constantly hounded by the spirits who are inevitably attacted by his aura and prone to confusing him with his grandmother. One day while escaping from yet another enamored spirit, Takashi accidentally broke the seal of a powerful demon Madara, who offered to become Takashi' teacher and protector, in exchange for the right to command the yūjinchō after Takashi's death. When not beating away demons from Takashi's side Madara takes the form of a very plump lucky cat. Much like Hundred Ghosts the series of composed of loosely connected stories about the demons and spirits that Natsume encounters as he tried to learn more about his grandmother and return the names of the spirits back to their original owner.
Unlike Hundred Ghosts, the plots are all very simple and straightforward. The charm of the series comes from its lovely watercolor renderings, and the colorful spirits and their stories. I particularly liked the demon who accidentally took up residence in an abandoned shrine, and ended up turning into the local dew god. And then there's the hapless spirit who was starving with the introduction of street lighting, since it can no longer sneak into people's homes along the shadows, wash their dishes and eat the scraps. Takashi does not have Ritsu's cool detachment, so the stories are unabashedly sentimental a the way that only Japanese can make them, yet never saccharine.
This is available as fansub in both Chinese and English, so take your pick.
Playlist for first and second season Chinese fansub on tudou.
Oops, I lost the link for the English sub, will post it when I find it.