I think it is imperative that, as Midorikawa herself said, Natsume is always a little bit dumb. He’s a deeply traumatized 15 year old who can’t tell the human world from the spirit world, his ability to gauge and deal with any situation has to be at least a bit off at all times, and often very off. And everyone, human and yokai, recognizes this fact almost immediately upon meeting him. But they also recognize that Natsume cares so much and is trying so hard at all times. Even though, especially though, he’s very bad at recognizing in himself that he cares so much and is trying so hard. He’s the epitome of “a little confused but he’s got the spirit”.
Tanuma, on the other hand, has to be smart enough to figure things out for himself because Natsume either can’t or won’t explain anything, either about the spirit world or his own physical, mental, and emotional state. Tanuma is secretly writing a yokai encyclopedia with every scrap of information he can glean. Tanuma is building the strongest emotional intelligence muscles ever because he realizes he needs to be Natsume’s emotional intelligence too. Whether as friends or romantically. He is fully dedicated to Being There For Natsume, and is memorizing all his microexpressions.
Great news, the 2026 prompts are up and ready for your perusal!
Day one: Hope / Loss
Day two: Time passing / New beginnings
Day three: Unknown / Familiar
Day four: Colour / Monochrome
Day five: Greetings / Goodbyes
Day six: Legends / Truths
Day seven: Ten years later
As a reminder, the week will be running a little later this year from Monday the 3rd of August to Sunday the 9th of August (Tokyo time).
Feel free to send us an ask or a message our discord server if you have any questions. You can interpret the prompts however you’d like – so have fun!
thinking about the new Nakamura-kun, specifically the moment where we get the briefest insight into Hirose’s POV
right before this clip, Hirose shows Nakamura the game they’re talking about. He’s trying to include Nakamura, to not ice him out or make him feel excluded. He invited him to study and then to lunch! He clearly wants Nakamura here and enjoys his company. But Nakamura doesn’t know about the things they’re talking about and so can’t contribute.
We’re in Nakamura’s head for 99% of the anime. We know that in this scene, he’s writing down notes about what Hirose likes (music, shows, video games) so he can check them out later. But Hirose doesn’t know that, and they just came from studying at the library. So to Hirose, it seems like Nakamura doesn’t actually want to be there; that he’s just being polite and is trying to continue studying with his notebook. And that’s why Hirose looks so sad and guilty in a shot that we the audience are privy to, but Nakamura doesn’t notice.
And we see how Hirose deals with that guilt and sadness—by not giving up! By paying attention! He thinks Nakamura is sitting in polite discomfort, trying to sneak in some studying, and he tries to make Nakamura more comfortable. He asks him about what music he likes, he notices when his drink is empty and offers to get him more. He even gets sulky when his other friends usurp his gallant offer by asking him to get more for them, too, because that offer was to Nakamura, thank you!
Then, when Nakamura helps him get the drinks, Hirose takes that opportunity to apologize for his perceived offense of “making” Nakamura tag along.
And we get a nice subtle parallel here to when Hirose almost did the exact thing he’s worried Nakamura is doing now—politely tagging along when Takeuchi tells him to join so as not to rock the boat or be a “spoilsport,” as Takeuchi calls him. Forcing himself to go. And now Hirose is concerned that he acted like Takeuchi and pressured Nakamura.
This is such interesting insight into Hirose, and really helps further establish—outside of Nakamura’s biased POV—that he’s a genuinely kind and considerate person (even if he does have a bit of a mischievous streak with that prank he pulled on Takeuchi) and that he’s genuinely interested in putting in effort in being friends (and maybe more) with Nakamura.
I really hope we get more insights like this outside of Nakamura’s POV because Nakamura, our precious adorable unreliable narrator, is wrapped up in his own anxieties and stuck in his own head, and assumes Hirose is perceiving him through the same Doom Gloom Awkward Weirdo lens he sees himself and his actions through. But Hirose doesn’t know his thoughts, his plans, his hopes, and Hirose has his own internal world that Nakamura can’t see into, either.
And we the audience got a tiny glimpse into Hirose’s internal world this episode.
I caught up and I just think that Nakamura’s love for octopus is obviously a metaphor for his queerness. And we see Hirose take an interest in octopuses multiple times so that could represent how he is open to the idea of liking guys. And the whole scene where he debates going with Takeuchi is signifying the tug between conforming with society (heterosexuality) or joining Nakamura as an outlier.
Nakamura offers Hirose a place to be his most genuine and honestly his happiest self. Therefore, it only makes sense we get an anime original ending where they end up together in this essay I will-
Not a summary, just something I think interesting.
Spoilers under cut.
Very interesting chapter cover image. Natori, Natsume, Matoba are both wearing masks, and Taruma is the only exception.
This is similar to many of the illustrations previously drawn in the afterword.
I didn't expect that the character introduction panel would actually be the character relationship diagram for this entire arc (for now).
It's that same phrase again: "the smell of lavender bath oil when taking a lavender bath LOL
Cool...
It's truly rare to see these four together in the same panel.
The four people and one cat arrived at Kashima's house. When they mentioned wanting to see the box, Natsume, Tanuma and Natori were surprised by the warm welcome they received. There was even a sign outside the room where the box was kept that read, "Hako-sama is over here →".
The expressions on everyone's faces after they found out the Kashima family had so openly displayed the box LOL
Natori was angry that the Kashima family had so casually displayed the box, but Motoba gently and tactfully advised Kashima to protect themselves from people they shouldn't trust, even praising them for their efforts in fulfilling their duty to guard the box, in exchange for information from her.
I don't know why, but I find this quite interesting.
Before leaving, Matoba extended an invitation to Natori, indicating that he might need his help in the future and also hoping that Natsume and Sensei would be present.
Tanuma could only silently watch Matoba's (and Nanase's) retreating figure.
In the past, Tanuma might have felt uneasy and powerless because he couldn't see the same scenery as Natsume or help him properly... But this time, I don't think he is like that. Maybe because he did manage to help out a little here, or Matoba's words about the responsibilities of a temple person had made Tanuma realize something?
The expressions on everyone's faces when Natsume questioned Natori LOL
Famiresu Iko last chapter in Comic Beam March 2026 (月刊コミックビーム 2026年3月号). It's available on book walker.
Disclaimer: I speak Japanese conversationally, standard Japanese. My Kansai-ben is terrible, and it has been a constant issue for me when reading Karaoke Iko / Famiresu Iko and the doujinshi because especially when they speak casually I'm not sure what they mean.
I'm only doing the chapter at the end of the magazine. I translated this manually it's not perfect by any means it's just in case someone wants to buy the chapter and get an idea of what they're saying.
Page 1
Panel 1:
"Who's this? This manly guy"
Panel 2:
"Aaa... It's the guy, you know...." "The second gen. So-and-so's kid."
Panel 3
"His skin's so smooth ain't it"
"Yah"
Panel 4
"there isn't anything around this kid huh" (??)
"There's nothing to watch today"
Page 2
Panel 1:
picon
Panel 3:
"Are you free tomorrow? I am in Osaka now."
"Welcome back :)
I'm free~
Meet up for dinner?
What do you want to eat?"
Panel 4:
...
Panel 5:
"Dinner is fine with me.
Somewhere delicious."
Page 3
Panel 1:
"Dad, I think the power in the bath is about to run out" (? Maybe hot water is running out?)
"I'll do it tomorrow" (? Fix it? Take a bath?)
Panel 2/Panel 3:
"Mum, I'm meeting up with a friend tomorrow night so I won't need dinner."
Panel 4:
"As is that so. Hm then what should I do tomorrow." (? Or what will you do?)
"I might be come back late, maybe. Probably"
"I'll definitely be coming home."
Panel 5:
"That's no good"
"I'm just going for dinner"
"Don't drink~"
"I won't."
Page 4
Panel 2:
"See you here at 7pm~"
Panel 3:
"It's sushi that doesn't go round..." (Kaiten sushi, revolving sushi, or Train sushi is generally cheap, someone like Satomi-kun probably never eats sushi that isn't train sushi)
Page 5
Panel 1:
"How long will you be staying."
Panel 2:
"I plan to go back after 3 days."
"[Because] The weekend is crowded."
Panel 3:
"Uh huh"
"You dad and mum must be happy right? That Satomi-kun came home."
Panel 4:
"Who knows. But yesterday we had Unagi [Eel]."
"Even tho we've never had anything like that at home before."
"Haha. Of course, that's them wanting to give you something good to eat."
Page 6
Panel 1:
"Excuse me"
"Here's the Hirame and Shimaaji" (fish)
Panel 2:
"..... It's shining."
Panel 2/Panel 3:
"hey ........"
Panel 3/Panel 4:
"Because of the Unagi I suddenly remembered but. A long time ago my dad"
Panel 4:
"he said the Hanshin Tigers won! and took out the whole family to eat Unagi don"
Panel 5:
"Thanks Dad
Dad's the best~
Everyone said that while eating"
"But one year later, just before he died from his terminal illness" (? 持病 is I think long standing illness?)
Panel 6: "Actually that was really Namazu." (freshwater catfish. Unagi is expensive, apparently this is prepared the same way as eel for unagi to make similar dish but cheaper.)
"Well, those were his dying words"
Panel 7:
"At that time, I don't really understand, but for the first time I looked at my dad"
Page 7
Panel 1:
"and thought this person is just so cute~~~" (愛くるしい adorable, charming, lovely, cute)
Panel 1/Panel 2:
"I was still young then but more than sadness, I was filled with feelings of how cute~" "Oh, go ahead and eat"
Panel 2:
"Ah, excuse me."
Panel 3:
"Itadakimasu."
Panel 4:
HE'S OVERCOME EMOTION AT THE TASTE SATOMI-KUN KAWAIII KAWAIIII KA! WA! II!! If I was Kyoji-san at this moment I would want to feed you the good shit forever.
Panel 5:
"....." "It's good?"
Panel 6:
"It's so, SO good."
Page 8
Panel 1:
"That's good."
"He's making a face like he's the one who made this."
Panel 2:
"What's your favourite sushi?"
Panel 3:
"Yum."
Panel 4:
"Sarada Gunkan" (That's some cheap train sushi. Lots of mayo. uses stuff like canned tuna or imitation crab stick...)
Panel 5:
"Do you even like sushi?"
"I love it."
Panel 6:
"Kyoji-san, what do you like?"
"Unagi?"
Page 9
Panel 1:
"Prawn." (Also generally kinda cheap. and not a fish! Do you even like sushi?)
Panel 4:
"Here is the Prawn tempura."
"With this, all the dishes have been served"
Panel 5:
"A fried one has arrived."
Page 10
Panel 2:
"....... Looks good."
Panel 5:
"Thanks for the meal."
Panel 6:
"It's gotten a bit late."
"Do you want a lift back?"
Page 11
Panel 1:
"Can we..."
Panel 2:
"go for a short walk?"
Panel 4:
"Do you come here often?"
Panel 5:
"not really..."
Page 12
Panel 1:
"It is a bit far from your house."
Panel 2:
"Sorry."
Panel 6:
"Kyoji-san, The other day...."
Page 13
Panel 1:
"You said you wouldn't quit the yakuza until the kumichou died, right."
Panel 2:
"oh... Yeah."
Panel 3:
"Honestly, at that moment. Really, honestly."
"I thought 'I hope the kumichou dies soon'."
Panel 4:
"Ha!"
"Sorry."
Panel 5:
"But wishing for a person to die, as a person that's messed up."
"And even if the kumichou died"
Page 14
Panel 1:
"I don't even know if Kyoji would come to my side." (The exact feeling here is hard for me to translate. Whether it's "I don't know" or 'We don't know". I think what he means is, "Even if the kumichou died, it's not like there's any guarantee that you'd be mine."
Panel 2:
"So you know... It's like that."
Panel 3:
"Like what."
"It's like, I can't wait."
Panel 4:
"I want Kyoji-san to erase my name from your arm."
Panel 5:
".... the tattoo?"
Page 15
Panel 1:
"While it's there like that, I feel like I can't break away from Kyoji."
Panel 2:
"If you erase that, I thought maybe we can finally stand at the start line"
Panel 3:
"as equals..." (I feel like Satomi-kun is saying, we could start again from the beginning, as equals.)
Panel 4:
"I understand."
Page 16
Panel 1:
"Please erase it with this."
Panel 2:
"What is this...."
Panel 3:
"Money?!"
Panel 4:
"Sorry for not changing it to notes, but here's 150 000 yen." (~1500 AUD/~1000 USD)
Panel 5:
"That"
Panel 6:
"Even without something like that, it would have been fine if you just asked normally! I can't accept something like this!"
"Please accept this."
Page 17
Panel 1:
"Even tho it's kinda like that for me to be saying this."
"like what"
"If you start paying debts to [doing money deals with] someone like me, it's the end." (Kyoji is saying, As a yakuza, I am in no position to give advice and I really shouldn't be saying this, but if you start doing things like money deals with someone like me it's over for you. Yeah well. It was over for me when I started reading Karaoke Iko.)
"Don't try to open it!"
Panel 2:
"It's packed too tight to open" (? I don't know what this means, like he can't open it but is it because the bag is too full or is it because the knit is too tight?)
"I. said. don't."
"Just take it home like that"
Panel 3:
"This..."
Panel 4/Panel 5:
"Ah"
Page 18
Panel 1:
"150 000----!!"
Panel 2:
"....."
Panel 3:
Yeah STRIP!! Take it all off Kyoji!!
Panel 4:
"Wait"
"What are you doing!"
Page 19
Panel 1:
"ha...."
Panel 2:
"Hahaha!"
"....."
Panel 3:
"What are you laughing at, a ton of it fell down!?"
"Hahaha"
"Money!"
"Hahaha!"
"Haha"
"shit, he's gone crazy this kid."
Panel 4:
"Haa...."
"What even is this"
Page 20
Panel 2:
"With this much, we can eat the after-meal dessert till our stomachs are full."
Panel 4:
"Famiresu Iko" (TITLE DROP. Let's go Family Restaurant.)
Page 21
Panel 1:
IT'S MORNING. SO THEY STAYED OUT ALLLLLLLLLL NIGHT. HMMMMMMMMM??? Go fanfic writers go. Go fan artists go!! Let's fill in this gap!!!
Panel 2:
"Thank you for the meal."
"You're welcome."
"And thank you for the sushi."
