Hikari

13

PG-13

Uchi no Shishou wa Shippo ga Nai

The beginning of the Taishou era spelled the end of the tanuki's tricks. These raccoon dogs, who are able to transform into human beings, used to love fooling humans until advanced technology rendered their endeavors futile. However, Mameda, a young tanuki girl, has not given up on this tradition, and—resolved to follow in her father's footsteps—travels to Osaka in hopes of duping people. As others in her village predicted, Mameda fails to deceive a single person, and she is even hunted down by an angry crowd. After finding refuge in a theater, she stumbles upon a rakugo performance given by a master of the art, Bunko Daikokutei. Fascinated by the vivid images created by the rakugoka's acting, Mameda becomes enamored with this style of storytelling and decides to become Bunko's apprentice! Despite her initial reluctance to take a disciple, Bunko begins to teach Mameda rakugo after witnessing the young tanuki's perseverance. Between undertaking a taiko apprenticeship, handling her work at the theater, and memorizing plays, Mameda needs to give her all if she ever plans to master the only art that still has a chance to fool people.

TV Fall 2022 6.73

25

R

Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro

Yako Katsuragi is an acclaimed high school detective, who, despite her young age, has solved many cases. In fact, there seems to be no case that she cannot solve, or any culprit that escapes justice. But within the walls of her detective agency lies the secret to her prolific crime-solving skills: the cases are actually solved by her assistant, Neuro Nougami. However, to call Neuro an ordinary man would be incorrect. In reality, he is a demon, who came to the human world in search of the ultimate mystery, having already solved every mystery in the demon world. With Yako as his proxy, he feasts on the negative energy released by humans when they commit crimes. Thus, he promises to help Yako solve the mystery of her father's death. But to do so, he must avoid drawing too much attention to himself, which is why Yako plays the role of the detective. As Yako desperately searches for the truth of her father's death, the unlikely duo continues to solve case after case in order to satisfy Neuro's ravenous appetite.

TV Fall 2007 7.58

13

PG-13

Natsume Yuujinchou

Due to an unusual ability to see strange creatures called youkai, Takashi Natsume has never fit in. Passed around from one foster home to another, he was left isolated and lonely. Over time, he has accepted that no one would ever believe him and has closed himself off to his current caretakers and classmates. When Natsume accidentally breaks an intangible barrier, he frees Madara—a mighty spirit in the form of a lucky cat. Madara notices that Natsume bears a remarkable resemblance to his late grandmother Reiko Natsume, an outcast girl who became known across the youkai world for creating the Book of Friends. It is now in Natsume's possession, along with its power to call upon the written names of the youkai Reiko had defeated. With no interest in its powers, Natsume decides to keep the book for the sake of his grandmother's memories and to protect it from scheming youkai. Therefore, he makes a deal with Madara: he will hand him the book once his time is up, and in turn, Madara will act as Natsume's unofficial bodyguard, nicknamed Nyanko-sensei. With his newfound goal of freeing those Reiko had sealed, Natsume's relationship with both youkai and humans slowly begins to improve.

TV Summer 2008 8.3

13

PG-13

Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou

As with its prequel, Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou is about Takashi Natsume, a boy who has had the ability to see youkai since he was young, and his bodyguard youkai Madara, nicknamed Nyanko-sensei. Natsume attempts to return names written in his "Book of Friends" (which he inherited from his grandmother Reiko) to youkai in his village. Throughout these adventures, he meets some youkai that are friendly, some that want to steal the Book, and some that want to kill him, as Natsume learns about himself and his relationship with these mysterious beings along the way.

TV Winter 2009 8.54

PG-13

13

8.57