"Natsume's Book of Friends" - full of love for the world from castaway

Introduction:

Mr. Midorikawa Yuki likes to carefully construct some short stories, with fresh and casual painting style and ethereal brushwork. He is good at conveying the joy, anger, sorrow and joy of the characters through scenes that are delicate, elegant, warm but also seem to be unintentionally melancholic. Therefore, some people commented that "the ethereal mood formed by Yu Midorikawa's pale and thin painting style" The shock, the transcendence of time and space, and the faint expressionless sadness are beyond words."

"Natsume's Book of Friends" is a collection of this series of short stories. His perspective takes us to witness stories about monsters that are either absurd, heartwarming, tearful, or hilarious... and are full of human philosophy.

In fact, if you really want to savor "Natsume" slowly, every episode is worth recalling, every story is thought-provoking, and every scenery is fascinating. Every sentence is worthy of careful consideration and consideration. Therefore, even if I write nearly ten thousand words eloquently, it is just the tip of the iceberg, expressing some superficial emotions from my own perspective.

But even so, I still hope to be able to truly record my thoughts with words that are still raw and thin. All I want is to be able to share with you what this kind and ordinary child has said about the world. It's just love...

Key-point1: In the name of love

Looking at the scenes of "Natsume's Book of Friends", you will have a feeling of opening a book that has been dusted for many years. The book of memories is average. Touching the old yellowed paper, we are attracted by pieces of colorful and warm memories and step into the protagonist's world. Smell the air mixed with the fragrance of earth, bathe in the quiet and gentle sunshine, and step through the gurgling stream, your irritable heart will gradually calm down.

The scenes in Natsume have a magical power that allows people to listen to every story that happens to this boy with a quiet and pious heart. Some people call this magic "healing". I For "Natsume", the more popular explanation should be "love".

For how many days and months we have accompanied Natsume, we have witnessed how many stories in the name of love, whether between people, between people and monsters, or between monsters and monsters. Express the simple and sincere love to the other party with your heart, openly or secretly.

The feeling was so deeply felt that when we were sitting on the horizontal chairs with the shadows stretched out under the setting sun, waiting for the bus, we would think of Santo’s persistence in waiting for Reiko to take him to see Miuri. ;

When the snow is fresh, we will childishly pinch two little snow rabbits, and then think with a smile, "Hey, Xuan, Cui, you can wait for the rainbow to appear together." ;

When we accidentally encounter that little bit of fluorescent light on a country road in midsummer, we will recall the invisible and silent love between Zhang Shi and Ying;

When school is over and we are walking on the road, we hope to see a handsome young man under the tree in front of us. He seems to be hugging someone again. Although we cannot see who is being hugged, we can see through the gaps in the leaves. With the mottled sunset seeping out of the sky, we felt such warm gratitude and blessings from the young man’s bright smile...

And when happily eating steaming meals with his family, we felt When friends laugh and make noise, we all seem to be able to reflect the same beauty of that world from the warmth and laughter around us.

This is the world of "Natsume", a world in the name of love. It seems to use a filter to filter out almost all the dust and haze, leaving only the most beautiful part of human nature, and then soothes every heart that feels exhausted after a day of worldly confusion and turmoil in the most tender way. Heart.

Friends who watched "Natsume" for the first time complained to me that its plot seemed a bit too bland and monotonous, and there was not much connection between it and the previous one. I don't deny this, because I felt the same way at first (I think some Natsume fans also felt the same way at first).

The plot of "Natsume" is indeed very simple. Most of it doesn't have many ups and downs. It just tells a short story blandly. It certainly cannot be compared with the ups and downs of those passionate adventure anime. .

However, if we want to look at the latter in terms of holding potato chips, drinks, shouting and clapping from time to time.

So if you want to experience the charm of the former, you have to sit quietly in the bedroom at the end of the day with a cup of hot tea or hot milk.

The story of "Natsume" requires us to calm down and listen to each episode. Only in this way can we understand why the boy in the story will lend a helping hand to the people and monsters around him again and again. , why do you recklessly express endless tenderness and kindness to them again and again, why do you still want to protect the people or monsters around you when you are so weak that you can't even protect yourself? Only in this way can we truly see clearly what the traumatized boy in the story is trying so hard to convey to us.

And when we slowly began to understand this feeling, we began to unexpectedly fall deeply into the smile of the young man and into those bizarre stories about monsters.

Only then did I realize that when the boy began to accept his world and convey his love to it, the world also began to give back its gentle gifts, and we were silently witnessing the unfolding of these stories. At the same time, I was actually assimilated by this love inadvertently...

Key-point2:

Comparison

The second point is that I The feeling I want to share with you is the word "contrast", because it is precisely with contrast that the world in "Natsume" becomes more profound and moving.

When I didn’t like this work very much, I accidentally caught a glimpse of the weird and terrifying monster that suddenly popped up on my roommate’s computer, which really made me feel unhappy. But looking back now, I realize that my friend smiled and said to me: "I don't think it's very scary. Well, I think the more weird monsters in "Natsume", the more cute they are. ." But it has a different meaning.

In "Natsume", except for a small number of beautiful monsters that appear in human form, most of the monsters are put together in a ridiculous and weird way (forgive me for saying this... ), but Mr. Midorikawa gives the richest emotions to these monsters, which may have big strange animal-like faces, one-eyed long necks, or are wrapped in black energy, let them tell the most touching stories, and give them I gave them beautiful names one by one.

Do you still remember the monster named Hisigaki who appeared in the first episode of Natsume? Presumably no matter who mentions this beautiful dream-like name, they will not associate it with a monster with long white hair and a one-eyed face that looks scary and funny.

But the opposite is true. The author gave such a character setting and let it tell a sad story about waiting, and we were also moved by it, but not just because It is the emotion of waiting persistently regardless of day or night, regardless of wind and rain. What's more, we saw it standing alone at the intersection holding a small lotus leaf under the pouring rain, but it refused to close its funny big eyes for a moment and murmured "Reiko, Reiko... "." I think if it were a weak and boneless woman holding an oil-paper umbrella and sighing, the effect might not be better than the former.

There are many such monsters in Natsume. Although they are very powerful, they have a simple and innocent heart. When you make an agreement, wait for it; when you make a promise, you must fulfill it; when you want it, go for it. Although they all have faces that look scary and weird to humans, they have a lot of things that many humans have long discarded behind their backs. With his calm and sincere feelings, this is the monster world under Mr. Midorikawa's "contrast", a parallel world without so much hypocrisy and pretense, real but illusory.

In addition to the contrast between monsters, the second point of contrast is most obvious in the protagonist Natsume Takashi.

Teacher Midorikawa places these comparisons in the trivial details of each story about this boy. Those silent details are like misty smoke, gathering in threads, slowly moving forward, leading us to see the protagonist clearly of everything.

So without exaggerated and pretentious performances and foreshadowing, we can feel for ourselves that Natsume's greatest tragedy is that when he opens the door of his old house and says "I'm back," the answer is only dust and emptiness that have accumulated for a long time. The biggest joy was when I opened the door of the Fujiwara family and said "I'm back", what greeted me was the warm smiles and embraces of Toko and Uncle Shi, as well as a large table of delicious dishes and a rogue bird that rushed towards me. The girl called "Natsu-chan" Sansan.

Furthermore, Mr. Midorikawa will constantly intersperse the collision between Natsume’s memories and reality in the plot, revealing the most heartbreaking past events in the warmest place, and making people’s heartache for that little boy time and time again Push to the top.

So whenever Natsume is mentioned, some people will think of the little boy who was ridiculed by children and rejected by relatives. In the heavy rain, under the cold and dark night, he staggered and ran, crying, looking for his real home. .

But the purpose of Teacher Midorikawa's doing this is obviously not to make people continue to feel sorry for that child.

Because when mentioning Natsume, more people will remember him as the one who always wore a smile that brightened the whole world, had a large group of human and monster friends, a home that was always full of care and protection, and a heartless girl. Lung's bodyguard teacher's boy.

One scene that impressed me deeply was when Natsume, who couldn’t ride a bike, faced a friend’s inquiry and said with a heart-wrenching helpless smile, “But you need someone to learn to ride a bike. Hold on behind the car."

This sentence must have hurt the hearts of many people at the time, but Mr. Midorikawa did not stop our emotions at heartache. Because he then gave such a warm and touching picture:

Under the quiet clear sky, on the hillside caressed by the intoxicating spring breeze. There was a group of running and laughing children pushing a bicycle, and there was also a handsome young man in the car who looked slightly nervous but unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth, and couldn't help the joy overflowing from his eyebrows. By the sparkling river, their laughter was so hearty and clear that even the sunshine was nostalgic for their smiles, setting them off for a long time and refusing to leave...

Such a comparison and comparison of life before and after One by one, the stories reappeared in the broken memories let us gradually understand the good intentions of Mr. Midorikawa.

Because we have experienced pain, we cherish the present more. Because we have seen Natsume’s helpless and desolate eyes under the rainy and dark clouds, we will better understand the preciousness of his bright smile under the gorgeous sunshine. . Teacher Yu Midorikawa leads us into the inner world of the characters in this way, allowing us to experience the protagonist's growth process from cocoon to butterfly, stormy rainbow, real and unforgettable.

In addition, there are many, many more, "When the world kisses me with pain, I return with songs." He is obviously such a slender and thin body, but he stubbornly wants to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the friend account. He is obviously full. Although he was physically traumatized, he still always wanted to protect the people around him... These contrasts carefully constructed by Mr. Midorikawa were like little fluorescent lights, gathering around the young man, slowly forming a halo, shining but not dazzling. It continues to attract friends around Natsume, and it also continues to attract us behind the screen.

Keypoint3:

Natsume Takashi & Natsume Reiko

In addition to recording strange stories about monsters, "Natsume's Book of Friends" is also a coming-of-age story. The protagonist Xia Mian is really like a lonely castaway sitting on a small boat, drifting in the sea. He has been weathered and displaced. Facing the vast world, he doesn't know where to go. He passes through countless harbors, but he doesn't know where to accept it. His stay.

During his childhood, this strange ability placed him in a different world than he wanted. Confused, panicked, and in pain, he desperately rejected and rejected his true self, trying hard to behave like the people around him.

But fate seemed to be mocking his powerlessness and weakness. Whenever he tried to step into the normal world he expected, he would always be pushed back hard by countless invisible hands. He fell into a terrifying quagmire and was bruised all over his body.

As kind as he is, he will never choose to resent others no matter how painful it is.

But one year, two years... As time went by, he got tired and tired, so he made a cocoon in the corner and shrank his true self inside, not wanting to know anything more. Humans or demons will no longer take the initiative to reveal their true feelings, not wanting to cause trouble to themselves, let alone to the people around them.

That’s it, until he came to Yayuan, came to the house of the gentle Aunt Tazi, unblocked the destined big fat cat, and got the book of friends that brought a turning point in fate, this trip Then it started.

The first encounter, the first true spiritual communication, made the barrier between Natsume and the monster disappear.

He discovered that the monsters also had such tender and gentle memories, and that the kind-hearted grandmother turned out to be not a person. He gradually began to be able to accept his world, which was not so calm, but at least he no longer resisted and rejected excessively. He said:

——"I still can't like monsters as before, but no matter whether it is good or bad, this is an encounter."

This is a growth.

Immediately afterwards, the book of friends, which had been sleeping for decades and was finally awakened by reincarnation, seemed to sing a spell in a low voice, recalling the dust-laden memories of each monster and bringing them to life. Gathered around again. And our Natsume-kun has caused more troubles for himself, and life has become "colorful" under this situation.

Returning names, listening to stories, occasionally helping some silly monsters solve small problems, and teasing each other with Mr. Cat. After getting along for a while, he began to feel that the monsters were not as bad as he remembered when he was a child. Bad, even during this period, with the existence of those "unharmonious factors", life seemed no longer so cold and monotonous, so he said:

- "I still live the same way. It’s a life full of troubles, and although I’m still not good at dealing with monsters, it might be good to discuss things with them occasionally.”

This is another form of growth.

Gradually, time passed quietly amidst the sound of constantly flipping through the friends’ account. Accompanied by Mr. Neko, Natsume traveled through the memories of countless monsters, like a time travel across a hundred years. In the world he once feared, he experienced the most sincere friendship, the most poignant love, and the longest lasting love. Waiting, the most touching promise.

The joys and sorrows, the joys and sorrows, the memory fragments of those monsters scattered in the darkness reappeared in Natsume's dreams again and again. And Natsume himself is like a dream?weaver, moving forward step by step, carefully picking up every fragment, and using all his strength to weave those broken dreams back together.

Is it because I really feel that love? That kind of thing that once experienced can never be forgotten once lit up life so warmly, so I will try my best to use my own. Use tenderness to fill those broken dreams, hoping to make them as beautiful as before.

The encounters come and go again and again, but the memories are indelible. Whether they are good or bad, they are all worth protecting and cherishing, because they are Piecing together his current self, he said:

- "I used to hate my ability to see monsters, but I also had so many encounters because of it. Now, I can finally Such a frank thought. My important friends, for me now, humans and monsters are equally irreplaceable."

This is a growth.

At the same time, it is worth mentioning the many unexpected friendships and family ties.

Spring will always give the warmest sunshine to those grasses that work hardest to break out of the ground. While Natsume was busy among a group of monsters, that precious gift had quietly arrived. Takko, Uncle Shi, Tanuma, Duolu, Kitamura... Whether they knew his secret or not, the love from friends and family warmed Natsume's heart so much.

Perhaps Natsume didn’t know how to express it at first, and would habitually hide her true thoughts, but around her friends, those beautiful days were so numerous that it made people dizzy.

Protection, understanding, belief, worry, consideration... Natsume felt this kindness, so she couldn't wait to get out of that cocoon, wanted to get close to that piece of sunshine, and wanted to regain her past. smile. Because I have encountered so much tenderness and know the power of tenderness, I want to be gentler myself.

So, how to repay this kindness?

If you don’t know, just pass it on. I really want others to experience the tenderness I feel.

So this young man began to convey his love to the world.

A warm smile at all times, a caring heart at all times, and a bright temperament at all times, these are what he feels from the people around him, so they are also what he wants. expressed and passed on.

Because you are loved, you have to work harder to love. This is the most shining and touching feeling in the hearts of young people. This is also one of the themes that "Natsume" wants to tell the audience the most.

Then about Reiko.

This beautiful, kind, stubborn and lonely woman stuns our eyes every time she appears. In the illusory dream, we followed her figure through the colorful memories, watched her light up the lonely heart of every monster with her bright and moving smile, and watched her set off every trip with her lonely and desolate back. Lost journey.

What kind of woman is this? It can make countless powerful monsters surrender, and it can also make those monsters who have treated you for hundreds of years remember that fleeting smile in their hearts.

It was a chance encounter, but the memory of that moment remains fresh forever.

What kind of past is hidden in the book of friends compiled through a life-long journey?

Natsume wants to understand, and we also want to understand.

Gradually, along the way, we see that Reiko has been looking for friendship and sowing friendship all her life, but she has failed to manage those friendships and let them blossom and sprout.

She keeps moving forward, never stopping, and behind every brief bright smile is the figure walking alone again. Because I have long been accustomed to being feared and hurt, it is so difficult to take that small step of sincerity. So every time she met, whether it was with a person or a demon, Reiko chose to forget. Then because of her loneliness, she embarked on a new journey and met again, but what she waited for was forgetting again...

"Now, if you are defeated, you must be my subordinate and write your name on this piece of paper. If I am defeated, it doesn't matter even if you eat me." Reiko always laughs Said.

Is he really a subordinate? So why not summon them? And why did you name that book the Book of Friends? You obviously hope to become friends. Whether you are a monster or a human, you have obviously had opportunities again and again, but you don't know why it is so difficult to express your feelings. What are you afraid of?

Traveling alone like this...

Until the end, she could only carefully seal this feeling in the book of friends.

When time mottles the years between fingers, fate calls back to the past.

The same breath, the same power, the same past, starting from the same starting point, a mysterious reincarnation began to draw a different trajectory.

"I don't want to bind you with a contract. We are not the relationship between the boss and his subordinates, right? There must be other connections, I think so." Natsume said firmly.

He deeply understood Reiko's thoughts and understood the value of those memories that had accumulated for decades. He wanted to fulfill Reiko's unfulfilled wish, so he also embarked on the journey and relived the journey. Those roads that have become somewhat heavy and sad after the passage of time and baptism of time, and then choose to take the initiative to embrace those encounters that Reiko has forgotten, use warmth and love to water those seeds of friendship, and finally let them truly blossom into gorgeous flowers.

Walking on this road that Natori had long given up on Monday and that Reiko wanted to take but failed to take, Natsume understood that in fact, what they hated from the beginning was not the world full of monsters, but the world full of monsters. I feel lonely and weird because I don't adapt to this world.

So if you want to embrace that dazzling and passionate emotion, you must first change yourself.

Accumulate the things you are not used to little by little and move forward. Even if it is a small step, we must move forward firmly step by step.

He will keep telling himself how happy he is, because he has met such kind people and learned about thoughtfulness, so he doesn’t want to escape, so he has to work harder to love others.

Those encounters should have formed a colorful rainbow in memory, and should have shone brightly because of their beauty. How sad it would be to miss them like this.

That feeling should be told to someone who understands. If you keep it in your heart, say nothing, and let it wither and become ruined, how lonely and sad it will be.

That journey should have been carried out with worthy people, those things should have been completed with people whom one trusts. If one is always alone because of cowardice, then what is the value of friends?

Don’t turn a gorgeous trip into a lonely wandering, and don’t turn a declaration of love into a statement of suffering.

This inner growth, after countless changes of rising stars, falling leaves and blooming flowers, finally allows us to see a grown-up and mature Natsume Takashi.

Just like the theme song of the fourth season is sung with joy and determination, whether it is a friend in the story or a friend outside the story, everyone believes in the one who can live strong and live in the present. Natsume, Natsume who can live his best life, Natsume who has experienced all kinds of hardships, will definitely, definitely gain the happiest future. And his hope that one day he can tell the people he cherishes his true feelings will eventually be conveyed in the warmest way.

Keypoint4:

Cat Teacher

In the previous long hundreds of years, Madara was like a witness of time, standing alone on the other side. A time and space watching the rapid passage of human time. No matter how the stars change, the flowers bloom and the leaves fall, and the sea changes, there is still no trace of change on my body.

During his almost stagnant time, the weak human beings disappeared so quickly. Many people even had no time to shine a little light in his eyes before they were lost in the darkness again. The so-called birth, old age, sickness and death are just reincarnations of one cycle after another, a fateful cycle that weak humans cannot change.

So even if it was Reiko, she once had a deep bond with him that could not be forgotten. After Madara heard about her departure, he just accepted the fact calmly without any major emotional fluctuations.

But Madara's originally quiet life was broken by the intrusion of a young man.

Dating back to the first season, Madara’s life as a bodyguard began with an agreement with Natsume. At that time, we can understand that the powerful and lonely monster that has been sealed for a long time had a whim with the one it despised. Humans play a contract game.

But later on, Madara may not even know when he turned this lonely game into an inseparable life.

If what changes Natsume's world is the joys and sorrows of the monsters in "The Book of Friends", then what changes Madara's world is Natsume's own bits and pieces.

For Madara, who has been at the top and has been a listener for hundreds of years, he is already used to this story between humans and monsters. In his eyes, the world is inherently ruthless. In a society where the jungle prevails, only the strong can survive and have the right to control their destiny. The weak only deserve to endure the suffering of fate, so there is no need for pity and tenderness, because this is the key to survival. law.

Therefore, as an elder, Madara always advises Natsume to look at the right and wrong and not bring trouble to himself.

Shouldn’t the most important thing for weak human beings be to protect themselves wisely? Madara would think so.

But the boy next to him never did this, and he challenged Madara's creed with practical actions time and time again.

Although you are obviously weak, you want to care for others...

Although you are obviously powerless, you desperately want to protect others...

Always try to Do something that is obviously impossible...

No matter how much suffering you endure, you will always smile and move forward...

This is how a young man does, he So did a lot of people around me.

Many of these are difficult to understand for Madara, who is filled with concepts of right and wrong and realism. So he wanted to explore, and he began to follow Natsume's footsteps and gradually moved from being a listener to human stories.

When the clock begins to tick, when the morning glow and the sunset begin to play and chase with their long tails countless times, when the gentle time of the day continues to fly from the blue sky to Madara and Natsume's hair When Zhong slipped away, Madara finally knew the answer. At this time, he also discovered that there was a powerful force that gradually delayed his time, allowing his cold and lonely heart that had been precipitated by long time to truly feel the gentle kindness of life.

Those casual caress, the warmth between words and deeds, and every bit of happiness. The beauty of humanity that has never been experienced before is like a cup of fine wine that has been stored in a cellar. It becomes more and more fragrant over time, making Madara unconsciously intoxicated and unable to extricate himself.

As the saying goes, once you have been loved and fell in love with someone else, you can no longer forget it.

It can be said that Madara was actually the most deeply healed by Natsume's tenderness, and he was also the monster who was most attached to that love. Even though he would still deny it forcefully and use his friends' accounts as a shield, his actual actions truly confirmed his change.

Whether it is helping Natsume fulfill the wishes of the monsters time and time again, starting to know how to be considerate and caring for others, or whether he is willing to sacrifice his own life to protect, or whether he is taking a challenge that he once did not dare to do. He helps Natsume, who is accustomed to hiding his true thoughts, to confess his feelings.

Peeling off the shell of realism, Madara himself began to do many things that he once scorned or did not dare to cross.

He cherished the years that had been delayed by the tenderness of the boy, cherished the daily chatter and laughter around him, and cherished the joy brought by that companionship.

I believe that even if one day the list of friends becomes empty, he will never be willing to leave that young man's shoulders.

Even if one day the boy turns into a rickety old man, he will always accompany him through the long streets with his funny short legs.

Even if one day he will watch the young man leave, he will never forget that there was once such a place that made him miss it so much and made him want to stay forever.

He will keep walking, passing on his love for the world with his memories as gorgeous and warm as fireworks and the mission he has been given invisibly.

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