The Tatami Galaxy
| Tatami Galaxy (Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Director | Masaaki Yuasa |
| Format | Anime (TV) |
| Made By | MadHouse Studios |
| # of Episodes | 11 |
Contents
Genre
Sum it up in a Sentence:
In a Groundhog Day-esque series of events, the main character learns about himself and his friends.
Main Description
The nameless main character finds himself in a loop, repeating the same events over and over, but each in a different way.
On his journey to find the perfect college life with great friends and great success, he seems to meet nothing but failure every time. The girl of his dreams, Akashi, seems disinterested and his closest friend, Ozu, seems like his worst enemy.
If You Liked This, You Might Like...
- Mind Game -- The modern classic by the same director, exploring similar themes of disconnectedness and overcoming your fears.
- Time of Eve -- Both are intelligently made, even if this one is less about comedy
- Katanagatari -- Both have out-of-the-norm art styles
- Kaiba -- Same director, same production company, similar themes.
Personal Opinions
Grashlok
First, the art style of the anime and its direction may not be for some. It's hard to describe other than just saying "artsy", which doesn't do it justice. The first episode, I felt, was especially off putting simply because of how fast many of the characters spoke and how fast the art in the anime was moving. It wasn't so much as overwhelming as it was just different.
While it might be Groundhog Day-esque, it isn't a copy of the movie by any means. Nor is it a play on the same day-to-day routine the film had.
The Tatami Galaxy is first and foremost a story about growing. Every character in this anime are as dynamic as ever. It really is a treat to see all the different characters in myriad situations that they may or may not have gotten themselves into the first time around. It is also one of the few college anime out there and, even if you've never been to college, it has something for you if you've ever looked to pave a new foundation for the rest of your life.
The drama is light and the anime is very feel-good leaving you satisfied. Overall, it's just a good watch. I would recommend it to anyone.
Grenadier
Really fucking good show with a debatably trying story-telling hook. Since the protag doesn't really remember the loops his growth as a character is incremental as the show goes on. But with a mercifully short episode count and extremely clever attention to detail coupled with an exciting or amusing new outcome almost every episode, it really worked well for me. The catharsis of the ending is also nearly on par with that of Mind Game, which is no faint praise.
House Louse
This might seem like a sitcom at first. There are running jokes, elements that repeat every episode, and a tightly interwoven cast of oddballs. The direction is as energetic as Looney Tunes and mixes stylised animation with some photographed backgrounds. It's got crossdressing, mistaken identities, and anime exaggeration.
That's partly true. But it's also an exploration of how to live and why, a condemnation of some ways people choose to live, sometimes a depressingly bleak chronicle of failure, and ultimately, a story of salvation. None of the characters are one-note jokes, but all are three-dimensional. It's a beautiful, humane series, and the ending is one of the most emotionally satisfying I've ever seen or read.
Chas McGill
Tatami Galaxy was one of the first shows that was recommended to me when I went to the recommendations thread on the forum and asked for something to convince me there was more to anime than suckling the children and manbaby demographics. The recommendation worked, and here I am, making a comment on ADTRW. First off, I love how Tatami Galaxy looks. Carefully chosen palettes, vibrant character designs, a lovely mixture of clean lines, chaotic detail, and photographic backgrounds. Second, I appreciate how literate it is. The main character's monologue is constant and verbose, so much so that I had to pause in order to both read what he's saying and take in the detail in the actual picture. He's a whiny dick, maybe more Ignatius Reilly than Holden Caulfield, but that's fine. The Groundhog Day dynamic means that each episode can tackle a different storyline while accommodating a series-long narrative. Recommended if you want something different.
Zorak
Really incredible ride that gets better with each watching.
