Alternative TitlesEnglish: The Tatami Galaxy Synonyms: Yojo-Han Shinwa Taikei, Yojou-Han Shinwa Taikei, Yojohan Shinwa Taikei Japanese: 四畳半神話大系
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 11
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 23, 2010 to Jul 2, 2010
Duration:
23 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.541 (scored by 10891 users)
Ranked: #732
Popularity: #614
Members: 29,196
Favorites: 1,155 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
No tags found |
SynopsisWhen a college dropout stops for a late night bite at a mysterious ramen stand, he crosses paths with a self-proclaimed deity of matrimony. This bizarre meeting sends the young man hurtling through a horrifying flashback to his not-so-glorious college days when the influence of a cruel new friend turned him from a hopeless romantic into a mischievous “black cupid.”
(Source: Funimation) |
Related AnimeSide story: Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei Specials
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
|
Yuasa, Masaaki
Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard |
|
Kimura, Eriko
Sound Director |
|
Yokoyama, Akitoshi
Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation |
|
Makihara, Ryoutarou
Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation, Animation Director, 2nd Key Animation |
Reviews
|
|
Detective
258 of 387 people found this review helpful
|
11 of 11 episodes seen
|
| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
I don't mean to get deep, and definitely not right off the bat, but it's pretty true that small events can change the course of your life, whether you're aware or not, and technically, that's what Yojou-han Shinwa Taikei (or the 4.5 Tatami Mat Galaxy) is all about. Sure it's also about pleasing your Johnny, hijacking blimps, engaging in prank wars, being ripped off by fortune tellers, joining the local power ranger squad, and eating cats and castella, but that's all trivial. Brought to you by the same guy who brought you Mind Game, Cat Soup, and Kaiba, Masaaki Yuasa, brings you what I would like to refer to as his best work yet.
Story: 9/10
A nameless protagonist, referred to as Watashi ('I') by himself, has just entered college, and the story more or less follows his many lives and many misfortunes. Each episode starts with Watashi pursuing something inane or stupid - like a "rose-colored campus life" or "raven-haired maidens" and in each episode his friend Ozu, manages to somehow screw everything up. I say friend in the lightest sense of the term, because Ozu isn't really anyone's friend. He's a backstabbing punk who just loves to terrorize people, and he always manages to infect Watashi in one way or another, usually ending up driving him away from his goal. Along Watashi's trip across the Tatami Galaxy you're introduced to many different people, and in each life, a different story unfolds. Each story is unrelated other than by starting the same way at first glance, but you'll start noticing some patterns, and eventually it brings you to one of the most impressive endings I have ever seen. If I were to tag a genre to this anime I'd first have to say it's a slice-of-life comedy, then mystery, but it's also a really great psychological anime. It's incredibly dialogue heavy, and the first three minutes of episode one has the most text I've ever seen in an anime. That being said it can be very easy to lose track of what is going on, but if you're on your feet then you shouldn't get lost too easily.
Art: 10/10
Yojou-han is brought to you by MadHouse, which is known for it's diverse art style and in this anime's case it is either defined as pretentious or glorious. I would like to call it the latter. It's non-traditional and is unlike any other anime in existence, seriously. It's like Mononoke when Mononoke was new, it can amaze people, or turn people the heck away. It's a very vibrant anime, and everything is so fluid - movement looks just splendid. For those faint of eyes, be wary, Yojou-han Shinwa Taikei may not be the anime for you.
Sound: 9/10
Well, there's a song about shapes in an early episode. That was like, totally freaking awesome. How many anime have songs about shapes? Unless Fullmetal Alchemist the Musical is coming out anytime soon, I think that's about a zero other than Yojou-han. The opening is amazing, and Asian Kung-Fu Generation does a great job (It's called "Maigo Inu to Ame no Beat"). I believe it's their first opening for a non-shonen show. The ending is amazingly well positioned (you'll see what I mean) and the first time you hear it I promise you'll get a small shiver. The singer is the same who sang the Arakawa Under the Bridge opening, Etsuko Yakushimaru. The voice acting for every character is of course, awesome as well. Watashi does most of the talking and I was considering favoriting his voice actor (Shintaro Asanuma) just because I liked to hear him talk. The background music is the only flaw sound-wise. There really isn't much to listen to, and even if their is, I probably didn't notice, because between following the dialogue and looking at the art, it's pretty hard to manage a third element.
Character: 10/10
I've already explained who Watashi is, but let me tell you a little more. Watashi likes shortcuts and doesn't like working, and almost can be seen as a lazy Ozu. Ozu is our antagonist most of the time. He's the downright rotten scoundrel who always leads our poor Watashi astray, and usually ends up profiting off of it. I called Watashi a "lazy Ozu" a moment ago because Watashi isn't an innocent little bird, he's just too lazy to put his efforts into anything other than his hobbies. Akashi, the somewhat romantic interest, is a girl who loathes moths and is bluntly cold to everyone around her. Kind of like Senjogahara (from Bakemonogatari), but easier to cope with. She's pretty funny herself, but all the characters are. We have the doll-fanatic Jougasaki, the drunk and elder Hanuki who likes to speak broken engrish, the Master Higuchi, who is an 8th year graduate who plans to travel the world, and multitudes of others (like Watashi's Johnny (see Eden of the East)). The character development is insanely good too. This anime is about Watashi's little foray of self realization, thusly he gets the most character development, but never have I seen it done so well.
Enjoyment: 10/10
An anime that can create a macrocosm within itself is an anime to be trifled with. It sets the stage with brilliant characters and visuals, brings hilarious moments throughout, and manages to deliver numerous meaningful messages. Is there a perfect world? Will I be happier with more money and women? Will I be happier doing what people say I should? Yeah. It's pretty damn complex. It's as thought provoking as Kaiba while bringing the comedy of Gintama. I think it's safe to leave it at that.
Overall: 10/10
No fanservice, no lolis, no moe, no ultra-violence, no regrets. It's intelligent without being snobby, it's stupid without being idiotic, and it's appealing without being inappropriate.
To sum it up, I think you should just try it out. It's only 11 episodes, and I think for the one season range of anime, this is one of the best out there.
Destiny is always dangling right in front of you, so why not reach out and grab this anime? read more
|
|
NonOtaku
24 of 38 people found this review helpful
|
11 of 11 episodes seen
|
| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
If there was ever a time to slow clap it out, this would be the precise time to.
This series really is why I love episodic series. The bad ones obviously suck beyond belief, but when shows like this one make optimal use of them they can really turn into something unique, and the short stories can allow for ideas that would normally not fit within a linear storyline. A lot of things have to be done right in order to get a good episodic series, though, but to me the key seems to be creativity, along with somehow finding a way to build-up: connecting the different episodes together. I believe that if these aren’t present, you’re just better off with a linear storyline in order to get the best out of your characters. But Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei has both of them.
A man is miserable. Despite all his dreams of a “Rose-Coloured Campus Life” filled with raven-haired maidens who dote on him, his social life is going nowhere. He has no girlfriend, his only good friend keeps getting him into trouble, and the circle he joined brings him no joy. So he tries again, and again, reliving his first two years of college life ad nauseum, making different decisions each time, having no recollection that he’s already done this all before. Will the man ever be satisfied with how his life turns out?
The character designs have a stylish comic book economy that give the impression the animators completed each frame in just a few strokes. The exception is Ozu, Watashi's friend who has a frightfully amphibious face: a head like a fish's, teeth like a shark's, and unnervingly dark lips set against a pale visage. Occasionally, in his wiliest moments, they give him a wagging fox tail. Other than that, most of the artistry occurs in the background details (fractal patterns in the trees and the scenery made of eerie black-and-white live-action photography), the framing of the shots, and the precision editing, which cement Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei's patchwork aesthetic beautifully.
They tend to merge real life shots and video in with the episodes when appropriate and it doesn't seem too out of place which is kinda hard to do so that's a plus. There were no crazy battles, no artsy flips or anything out of the ordinary. However what they did need to do was done well.
The music is borderline strong - the OP is a modern classic by AKFG - I rarely sit through the OP on anime, but I did throughout this series.
The ED was pretty fitting especially for the mood at the end of each episode and oddly seemed to also fit the animation sequence.
Overall the OST is just a decent compliment to the whole story but never takes on a life past background music, arguably what it's intended for and in which case would be perfect but sometimes you can't beat a crazy score overlaying a scene.
Wonderfully planned out, believable, and deep.
Watashi- The nameless protagonist of the story, he wants a rose coloured college life. Well, he must struggle and avoid Ozu's madness in order to attain this fleeting dream of his, all while trying not to waste his life in these pursuits of happiness.
Ozu- A mischievous little two-faced, backstabbing, prankster that always seems to torment and bring down our protagonist.
Akashi- The fated lover to our protagonist, however always at risk of falling to Ozu supposedly. Akashi's a cold and introspective character but at times shows subtle hints of appreciation or affection towards the protagonist.
Oh, and did I mention she has Mottephobia?
These are the central characters, we also get to see a ton of different sides of the characters, and the most important part is that we see Watashi develop in many different ways throughout each episode. The different side-characters all have their own parts to play in Watashi’s world and everything comes together wonderfully in the final episodes.
Overall, this series is one of the most underrated, under appreciated and unknown anime. It is a hidden gem unknown to people. You will rarely see an anime that is very funny but has a very deep meaning. If you are looking for a unique, non-mainstream, non-complex and very interesting story.
This really is an amazing work. It'll make you rethink life which is rare these days. Sure an Anime might awe you with an amazing character to the point you try to emulate their traits. But very few make you reconsider life from a new point of view. I highly suggest you watch it, because it really has it all!
So let us all gather around a 4.5 Tatami Room slurping on our delicious Neko Ramen. read more
Recommendations
|
|
Both are chalk full of despair.
Everything is happening very fast in these 2 series, main characters are similar
Both have over-analytic protagonists who often reads FAR too much into what he's doing, perceiving, thinking, and/or deciding. Both take things a little too easy for comfort as the circumstances are HARDLY.... easy. Both of their plots are similar in nature to recognize, yet are QUITE different from, not just each other, but from others in general. Both are a blast and a fun, fun ride.
And both have some strangely interesting art.
Tatami Galaxy doesn't just have humor, it mixes it cleverly, yet still noticeably with it's own masterpiece of a plot. The character cast is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than Zetsubou's. The main character is naive in nature, in contrast to Zetsubou's. The animation is also a touch higher too. Also(but this is fairly obvious), it's shorter and with no sequels.... as of yet.
Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei is a black comedy satire that pokes fun at almost anything and everything primarily because the main character in a mercilessly, yet hilarious light! The cast is, surprisingly, huger than many people would think. And while many of them have enough personality, they're often played for gags. And there's no overlying plot.
Both are dark comedies and both of the main characters are losers
same style and similar feel.
Both series presents an unique way of presenting their visuals and story to the viewers; surrealism
Furthermore, the main protagonist from both series often thinks too much and about subjects that are considered absurd and strange. Yet, at the same time it is funny and entertaining with the random gags.
Both series uses word play and has very humorous dialogues that are often exaggerated and over the line.
The two series also often make fun of modern culture and other references through the usage of its dialogues and word plays. It is parody at its finest and definitely something to take an eye on.
|
|
|
Tatami Galaxy is NHK on crack
Welcome to the NHK is far more depressing than Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei while the later adds a smidgen of bizzaro metaphysics to the later episodes. However they both revolve around a group of oddball people loafing around while helping the main character deal with the failures of his life, in their own way. Not always succesfully.
Both are based on a human-failure-type character to make up an interesting story and teach us life lessons (only highly-aware viewers can actually learn, though).
Both shows talk about a despairing life. Youjouhan Shinwa Taikei focuses on a college campus life while Welcome to the NHK focuses on a drop out and a high school girl. Welcome to the NHK differs by extrapolating psychological themes while Taikei focused on humor, but they all talk about the same thing: socializing is beneficial to life.
Both are episodic shows with protagonists who need to take charge of their lives and both get trippy in the process, though NHK is much darker.
The main reason why I believe these two to be similar, is the feeling that you get after completing the show, especially the last few episodes of it. As a college student myself these shows made me stop and think about where I am at this point of my life. It's actually pretty damn inspiring.
|
Opening Theme#1: "Maigo Inu to Ame no Beat (迷子犬と雨のビート)"by Asian Kung-Fu Generation (eps 1- 10)
#2: "Kamisama no Iutoori (神様のいうとおり)" by Juuji Ishiwatari & Yoshinori Sunahara + Etsuko Yakushimaru (ep 11)
Ending Theme#1: "Kamisama no Iutoori (神様のいうとおり)" by Juuji Ishiwatari & Yoshinori Sunahara + Etsuko Yakushimaru (eps 1 - 10)
#2: "Maigo Inu to Ame no Beat (迷子犬と雨のビート)"by Asian Kung-Fu Generation (ep 11)
Fansubbing Groups
Which fansubbers do you like the best? Click + to approve of their subs for this show. Click - if you don't think they did such a great job.
Related Clubs!~~tsubasalover's Friendships~~!, Masaaki Yuasa Fans, MadHouse, Mad Tea Party, Artsy, CNCFixins, Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei, Underrated Anime, Romance+, Simulcast Support Group, Jacob is Everyone, Unusual animation style, Animes & Mangás [Orkut], Avant Garde and Philosophical anime, Recommendation Club, The Rollback Club, Critics and Connoisseurs, Unusual is Better, billiards, Anime ExperienceDark Comedy, Maaya Sakamoto fanclub, SunLink@AnimeManga, Watch Anime Together Club Headquarters, The All-Over Otaku Club Okawari, Disciples Wanted, noitaminA, Overrated Shit see all
Recently Watched By|
1 hour ago |
2 hours ago |
1 hour ago |
3 hours ago |
3 hours ago | |
4 hours ago |
5 hours ago |
5 hours ago |
5 hours ago |
5 hours ago |
|
|
