Story: 10/10
Tatami Galaxy is a story about our protagonist, simply known as “Watashi,” entering college hopeful for the promising “rose-colored campus life” that awaits him. The story is refreshing in that it’s very unique and gives the watcher a sensation very different from other anime, and deviates significantly from the typical anime. It is episodic in the sense that each episode tells a different path that the main character takes to reach his “rose-colored campus life.” Each decision he makes is met with disaster, and the main character regrets his decisions, wanting to redo what he has done with his life. At the end of the episode, time spins backwards and the next episode he chooses a different path. He repeats this process over and over again, never reaching his paradise.
Each episode is unique in its own way. Watashi takes different paths by choosing different clubs ranging from the film circle “Misogi” ruled by its narcisstic leader to the secret society known publically as the “Lucky Cat Chinese Restaurant,” that is involved with underground activity such as robbing bikes. No episode failed to deliver a compelling and hilarious story. Viewers will laugh continuously as they ride the main character’s train of thought about the world around him, and they learn more about each character throughout the different episodes. Though each episode initially seems to not be intertwined with the others (leading to the show’s episodic feel), they are all brought together in the last few episodes when we piece together the different parts of the series to find its overall moral. Overall the story was singularly and elegantly presented, and the conclusion that weaves everything together, leaving the viewer in astonishment.
Characters: 9/10
The characters are another part of what make Tatami Galaxy a new experience. Many character has a peculiar trait that makes him or her fun and unique, and some characters are complex and are more than just a personification of just their personality. We see the world’s view in Watashi’s perspective and hear many of his rapid introspective monologues, often of which are amusingly sarcastic. It should also be noted that Watashi is a very real character, someone who many viewers can relate to and understand, which is quite a rarity in anime. Ozu is an enigmatic same-year college student and a friend of Watashi’s. He is a ubiquitously mischievous person who takes joy in causing mischief to other people everywhere. He is tied to Watashi by the “black string of fate” and happens to cause trouble in all of Watashi’s lives. He is hilarious yet mysterious, as there are many secrets about him that are not initially known. Akashi is an intelligent girl from the engineering department who Watashi has the most interest in. She is witty and sometimes cold, somewhat similar to Hitagi from Bakemonogatari, though not nearly as extreme. Many side characters also had their quirks that made them funny, and no characters were particularly poorly done, but I’ll let you find out more about them yourself.
Watashi’s development and his self-discovery through this series were outstanding, but unfortunately the others didn’t develop quite as much. Nevertheless, the characters were a strong point in the series, and part of what makes it so disparate.
Art: 9/10
The art is another part of what sets the Tatami Galaxy apart from other anime. It is very different and yet so apposite of the story it’s telling. It adds a psychological and surreal effect in the overall feeling of the anime. It uses colors that are generally bright and ignore conventional shading/lighting, which gives off the atmosphere’s levity. It wasn’t incredible by any means, but nonetheless it is still good. Overall, it is nicely and amazingly apt.
Sound: 9/10
The sound is top-notch and the OP/ED capture the mood of the show. The OP “Maigonu to Ame no Beat” is very catchy and nice to listen to. The mood and lyrics of the song captures the heart of the whole series and is very appropriate. The ED (which has stunning visuals) is more atmospheric and dark, nicely expressing the feeling the audience gets at the end of each episode. The OST’s, however, aren’t as great and don’t get much further than just being background music. The voice-acting is also well-done and the actors do well to convey the feelings of the characters. The incredible speed may be a little offsetting to starters, but it’s easy to get used to after a while.
Enjoyment: 10/10
Needless to say, I enjoyed every minute of this series. The different and yet deft form of storytelling, the extraordinary characters that never fail to amuse, and the beautiful audiovisuals converge to create this fantastic series. The Tatami Galaxy is a perfect example of "a diamond in a coal mine," and I highly recommend it to anyone that wants to watch something masterfully different. This is not an opportunity you want to miss.
“Opportunity is always dangling in front of you.” So, why not grab it?
