From February 11 until February 28, 2022, Asakusa Hanayashiki, Japan’s oldest amusement park, will host a special Natsume’s Book of Friends event in collaboration with ATFES! The anime and game project has been held 18 times since 2017, and this is the second time in a row that it has been held at this historic location. 

Goods

Menu Bonus

The title of this year’s event is ‘Natsume’s Book of Friends Collaboration Event: Setsubun Festival.’ Popular characters from the best-selling manga series will make their first appearance as part of an ATFES event. Natsume’s Book of Friends is serialized in LaLa Magazine and has sold over 16 million copies in Japan.

The event will welcome guests with limited-edition goods, a puzzle-solving rally, and a character-inspired food and drink menu. Ticket information and other details will be announced at a later date. The main visual for the event is now on display above the entrance to the park.

©緑川ゆき・白泉社／「夏目友人帳」製作委員会

Japanese anime, manga, game, and seiyu merchandise brand armabianca opened orders for a new iPhone case inspired by the popular TV anime series Natsume’s Book of Friends on the online hobby store AMNIBUS on Monday (February 15)

Nyanko-sensei Glitter iPhone Case (2 Designs) | ¥3,500 Each (Before Tax)

The glittery case is a must-grab for fans of the series, featuring everyone’s favourite Nyanko-sensei surrounded by tasty illustrations of assorted fruits.

Compatible With: iPhone X/XS, iPhone 6/6s/7/8 Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 6/6s/7/8/SE

Enjoy the world of Natsume’s Book of Friends wherever you go with this exclusive new release.

©緑川ゆき・白泉社／「夏目友人帳」製作委員会

An official new website opened last week confirming the release of the new anime film Natsume’s Book of Friends: The Waking Rock and the Strange Visitor. It has now been revealed that the film will be released in Japan next spring.

Natsume’s Book of Friends is a manga series by Yuki Midorikawa. It has sold over 14 million copies. The new film will come two and a half years after the release of the first film, Natsume’s Book of Friends the Movie, which dropped in 2018.

A special live stream on the new will air on Aniplex’s official YouTube page here on September 26 at 12:00 (JST).

Natsume’s Book of Friends: The Waking Rock and the Strange Visitor teaser visual

Price: ¥1,500 (Ticket ¥1,000 + Bag ¥500)

Theatergoers who buy a ticket to the film in Japan will receive the following Nyanko-sensei eco bag. They can be bought as a set online here.

©Yuki Midorikawa・Hakusensha / Natsume’s Book of Friends Production Committee

The Animate Ikeubkuro Temporary Store has announced a special exhibition for Natsume’s Book of Friends which will open on July 10, 2020 and be free to enter.

Natsume’s Book of Friends

Natsume’s Book of Friends is a manga series by Yuki Midorikawa. It was first published in the shojo manga magazine LaLa DX in 2003 and began serialisation in 2005. It subsequently switched to LaLa in 2008 where it continues to be published. A 74-episode anime adaptation spread across six seasons aired between 2008 and 2017.

There are five illustrations of Nyanko-sensei and keywords scattered around the 2nd floor of Animate Ikebukuro Temporary Store. If you can find them all, you’ll receive a free folder as pictured above in the bottom right. The exhibition will also showcase illustrations drawn by Yuki Midorikawa, drafts, sined pictures, and more.

©Yuki Midorikawa/Hakusensha

Natsume’s Book of Friends The Movie: Tied to the Temporal World will be released on September 29, 2018. It was recently revealed that Japanese singer Uru would sing the movie’s main theme.

To celebrate the release of the movie, two themed cafes will open in Tokyo and Saitama as well as a character café booth at the Kyoto International Manga & Anime Fair 2018 (Kyomaf).

Tokyo: Autumn Picnic Set – ¥1,690 (Pre-Tax)

Tokyo: Triple Nyanko-Sensei’s Odango Style Tear & Share Bread – ¥1,390 (Pre-Tax)

To get fans in the mood for the upcoming movie the cafés will serve a variety of themed dishes tied to autumn as well as merchandise with an autumn-time theme.

Merchandise: Postcard Set – ¥600 (Pre-Tax)

Tokyo: Original Stickers (Booking Gift)

Those who book at the Tokyo café in advance will receive one of four randomly selected original stickers pictured above. There will also be five different coasters selected randomly and given to those who order from the menu.

Kyomaf: Nyanko-sensei Hot Egg Don – Price TBA

The menu items will differ at all three cafés, so enjoy a Natsume Book of Friends themed meal before seeing the movie.

Uru will release her new single remember on September 26. The song will serve as the main theme song for the upcoming anime movie Natsume’s Book of Friends The Movie: Tied to the Temporal World. A collaborative music video was uploaded to Uru’s official YouTube channel on August 27.

This marks the J-pop singer’s first release since her first album Monochrome dropped in December last year and her first single since Kiseki which was used as the main theme song for the Japanese drama series Konodori.

Watch the music video below.

The music video captures the beautiful world of Natsume’s Book of Friends and its characters and links up perfectly with the song. Its a recipe that’s sure to warm the hearts of those who watch it.

Uru’s Comments

“I have read the story of both the original manga and the movie. It’s a story about humans and spirits, but it’s rooted in the encounters and separations we experience in life and includes themes of isolation and loneliness, people’s gentleness and love. It’s a masterpiece that moves the heart. I want not just kids to watch it but adults too. And for that reason, I wanted the song to reflect that. I wrote the song for people to build on their experiences and feel warm inside after listening to it as it talks about how the heart moves during our encounters and separations in life, things which everyone has experienced at least once. I would be overjoyed if people can feel that when watching the movie.”

The music video is a special YouTube version and has different parts from the music video included in the limited pressing edition of the single which drops on September 26. Be sure to check out both videos.

Uru will release her new single remember on September 26. The artwork for the single has now been unveiled.

This marks the J-pop singer’s first release since her first album Monochrome dropped in December last year. It is also her 6th single to date will serve to decorate the set-list of her second concert.

The single will be used as the main theme song for the upcoming anime film Natsume’s Book of Friends The Movie: Tied to the Temporal World which is based on the manga and anime Natsume’s Book of Friends by Yuki Midorikawa.

remember will be released in two versions: a limited pressing anime edition and regular edition. The anime edition features original artwork of the popular characters of Natsume’s Book of Friends, including the cute Nyanko-sensei from the movie who can divide himself into three cats.

Shiori Iwakura, a photographer gaining attention on Instagram, was in charge of the single’s regular edition artwork. The photo evokes the feeling of the end of summer with a beautiful moment caught of the stretching horizon on an ordinary day. It reinforces the images brought to mind by the song even more.

Iwakura also took the most recent artist photo of Uru which was released the other day. It’s a nostalgic portrait that was taken during a photo session in Kagawa Prefecture.

Since her debut, Uru has sung about the workings of the heart like its gentleness and the joy felt in everyday life, as well as the transience of existence. remember covers a variety of feelings including encounters with special people―something that anyone must have experienced―and the sadness and loneliness when separated from them, and the memories of them that continue in your mind when parting from them, which is mixed with emotions like love and warmth, knowing that it isn’t goodbye.

The song shows that Uru has taken a big step forward as both a singer and songwriter.

The single also includes the songs Gomen ne., an upbeat song by Uru, as well as a new recording of her famous cover of Masayoshi Yamazaki’s One more time, One more chance which she uploaded to YouTube before her debut, and a cover of Freesia, the ending theme for Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.

The future is looking exciting for Uru as she goes on to grow and expand her musicianship.