Bushiroad Japan has recently announced that the Natsume’s Book of Friends manga series will be receiving its very first adaptation as a video game. As of the time of writing, no release date or official platforms have been revealed, but according to the recently opened official X (formerly Twitter) account, more information about the game will be disclosed on December 23rd at 1:00 AM JST.
The game is titled Natsume Yuujin-chou: Hazuki no Shirushi. Note that the term “hazuki” refers to the eighth month of the lunar calendar, which is said to originate from the “leaf-falling month” when autumn leaves begin to fall. Because there’s the hiragana づ, it can also be written as Hadzuki, but when pronounced, you’d say Hazuki.
The word “shirushi” uses the kanji that, on its own, is translated as “chronicle”. Therefore, a rough way to translate the name into English would be something like Natsume’s Book of Friends: Leaf-Falling Chronicles, though it is unknown on whether this game will even be coming west.
#夏目友人帳 初のゲーム🎮
『夏目友人帳 ～葉月の記～』公式アカウントです！ゲームの最新情報は本アカウントで発信していきますのでフォローしてお待ちください✨
12月23日(月) 25:00にゲームの新情報を発表しますのでお楽しみに🍃#葉月の記 pic.twitter.com/QfulblpjI0
— 夏目友人帳 ～葉月の記～ 公式 (@Natsume_haduki) December 16, 2024
Natsume’s Book of Friends follows the titular protagonist, Takashi Natsume, an orphan boy in his late teens who can perceive and combat youkai. One day, Takashi finds a very old notebook left by his late maternal grandmother Reiko Natsume, an exorcist who possessed strong spiritual powers.
The notebook was used to bind dozens of powerful demonic spirits, both good and evil, to follow Reiko’s every whim and desire if called upon. Takashi spends his time dissolving the contracts that Reiko created and releasing the various spirits that come to him, even if there are some that try to kill him. The series has seen multiple adaptations into various mediums, including films, drama CDs, and an anime. All of the anime’s seasons can be watched through Crunchyroll.
