Moths are pitiful creatures. They are nocturnal, yet require light to navigate. They flutter their wings gracefully under moonlight, but sometimes that beautiful luminance seems so far and out of reach. And the night is cold and dark. They will flock instead to closer source of man-made light, even at the consequence of meeting their [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

I have this simple hypothesis on Watashi being the final Mochiguma that Akashi lost. Aside from that fact that he wore the white suit during the seventh episode when he rescued Akashi, I noticed that she didn’t have the white Mochiguma with her when they went to visit Ozu. It may just be an error [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

After the penultimate episode of The Tatami Galaxy turned pretty much everything we'd seen so far on its head to some degree, this final episode of the series takes that even further, even going as far as reversing its opening and ending credits.Anyhow, from there we see our protagonist continuing his seemingly endless journey through the 4.5 tatami rooms which now make up his existence, each one
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

I woke up at three in the morning in the hope of finding a subbed translation of the final episode. I was actually weighing for and against procurement of its raw: while I would know how it would end grossly, I wouldn’t understand what would occur in the first place and the element of surprise [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

(C)中村佑介/四畳半主義者の会/Fuji TV/FUNimation Phew~ What a ride. This was one of the most memorable anime I've ever seen. It's funny because to be honest, episode 3 and 4 didn't feel too great at the time but when I watched those episodes again, they were actuall..
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

“Nothing else is as boring to tell as a story of successful love.” And with that we reach the end of our story; and I reach the end of my first series. You may have noticed that I usually blog House of Five Leaves first, however I wanted a Maaya show to be the first [...] Related posts:The Tatami Galaxy 9 The Tatami Galaxy 2 The Tatami Galaxy 7
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Over a meaningful discussion of The Tatami Galaxy in 4chan, ahr re-introduced the cover image of the Tatami Galaxy’s novel to me. I was just thinking how fecund of meaning the picture was, and I think it suggests the reason why Watashi has to grasp the opportunity in front of him (which is to turn [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

The Masque of the Red Death was one of the earliest literary short stories I have ever read. I was in the fourth grade back then, enjoying reading primarily with Goosebumps, when my father exhorted me to read stories that were more literary because it would allow my English to progress and improve. I listened [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

God. Damn. That was a whole lot happening about real little. We have a Watashi here who is aware of the many dimensions that he exists in, and perhaps he is also aware of his problem. Watashi states right off the bat that there is no rose coloured campus life, which is exactly what Higuchi [...] Related posts:The Tatami Galaxy 2 The Tatami Galaxy 5 The Tatami Galaxy 8
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Summary: Watashi joins the Lucky Cat Chinese Restaurant secret society which controls all the shady serious business in the university but it is not a fortunate choice. He fails, as a member of the Library Police, at collecting an overdue copy of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea from Noguchi. He fails again, as [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

After seeing our protagonist finally receiving some hints as to his seemingly Groundhog Day-esque fate last episode (not that it helped him find his rose-tinted campus life), episode ten (and indeed the penultimate episode) of The Tatami Galaxy turns the entire world... no, the entire universe on its head.This time around, Watashi eschews all possibilities of social interaction, instead deciding
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

This episode was the cumulation, culmination, and fulmination of Watashi’s cowardice: while the previous episodes featured important circumstances that Watashi shied away from because of his indecision and fear, this was the apotheosis of his cowardice: upon the recognition of the reality that a rose-colored life can never be in this world, he refrained from [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

When Akashi had more airtime in the first two minutes than she has had in the last three episodes in this episode; I had a good feeling about this episode. I was right; this was a fantastic episode. All my complaints were brought to light with a Watashi that didn’t just complain about how he [...] Related posts:The Tatami Galaxy 2 The Tatami Galaxy 5 The Tatami Galaxy 7
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Summary: Watashi flees from Hanuki’s toilet; Keiko, I choose you! He had begun his two year correspondence with his elegant and refined correspondent after finding her name and address in a second hand book from Ozu. Tonight is the night she has demanded to meet or hitherto discontinue their exchange of letters. Instead of going [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Higuchi Seitarou is an anachronism. Dressed in a yukata, he introduced himself as a god of matchmaking the first time we (the viewers) saw him. Quite a few immediately deduced that he was of dubious scruples when he made a mistake in the repetition of his name: instead of Kamotaketsunominokami, he repeats it as Kamotaketsunominokamo. [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

After finishing its previous triangular story arc last episode, The Tatami Galaxy is once again free to reboot itself in whatever direction it desires, and within a minute of this latest instalment opening we see a money-obsessed Watashi stealing an entry to a birdman competition and getting a well-deserved slap from Akashi into the bargain.What on earth has brought about this change in
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

The more one is intimately connected with a series, the more information one can glean from it. Take Quarkboy, for example. He was the one who proposed the four-and-a-half mat hypothesis, but in light of the recent episodes it seems apocryphal at at times incoherent with the flux of the series. Leave it to him, [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

The previous incarnations of Watashi, while being mordantly cynical, were never really evil. All of them chased for the elusive rose-colored campus life, and all of them failed. As the incarnations evolved, however, they’ve slowly learnt that love is the answer: that was the purpose of the past three episodes, after all. Despite their indecision, [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Summary: This time Watashi chooses Kaori, charging out of Hanuki’s toilet back to his room and Point A. Aside from the English Conversation Circle, Watashi also joined the Hero Show Association. He wins Akashi’s gratitude after driving off a pair of accosting scumbags with the help of a child mob. Jougasaki then scouts him to be [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

I have not seen much of Masaaki Yuasa, but from what I have seen of his works he is not fond of shallow eclat: he does not mention or involve things and events in his plot if they are ultimately to be of no consequence. I have always perceived of him as an auteur [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta