"It doesn't matter which path you took, you'd keep ending up where you are now. At any rate, once I met you I put all my efforts into making you no good."
The Tatami Galaxy is an 11-episode anime produced by Madhouse, based on a novel by Morimi Tomihiko. It first aired in 2010. Funimation currently holds streaming rights to the TV series, but both it and the novel have yet to receive printed Stateside releases.
College is an important turning point in the lives of many a young individual, a time of self-discovery where ambitions are realized, but also a time for making memories to be cherished for years to come. At a university that may not be entirely ordinary, a purportedly ordinary young man is faced with the pivotal decision of which club to join. In pursuit of the fabled "rose-colored college life" he so covets, he struggles against the venomous influence of the enigmatic, demon-faced Ozu while utterly failing to confront his feelings for his frosty but charming underclassman Akashi. It soon becomes clear that all is not as it seems, as this man is given the chance to relive and repeat his college years, guided by an aloof self-proclaimed "god of matchmaking" and an old fortune teller woman. But despite being blessed with endless opportunities, this hopeful young soul seems cursed to end up unhappy no matter which club he chooses. What is it that's keeping him from living the rose-colored life he seeks, and is that life truly what he should be looking for? If he can't find an answer, he'll be left forever staring at the ceiling of his 4 1/2 tatami room.
I did my best to make the plot sound compelling, I really did, but it's still very hard to effectively advertise a show about a guy going to a bunch of eccentric clubs and ending up unhappy at every turn. The show's animation style is atypical to say the least, the characters talk a mile a minute, and there's not even a dub to make it easier on English speakers. Oh, and the story is essentially an extended metaphor to boot. Taking all that into consideration, the show seems to have raised a high barrier of entry with the word "arthouse" stamped across the front gate, so it's no wonder this show tends to fly under the radar. It's quite well-respected in a few circles, but at its heart it's still a very niche title, which makes its lack of a proper Stateside release (and consequently a dub) understandable, though no less unfortunate.
Normally when discussing animation the first name that comes to mind is that of the studio, but in this particular case the director's signature is far more prominent. Masaaki Yuasa is known for forsaking many of the elements traditionally associated with quality animation--detail, consistency, realism--in favor of more minimalistic, free-form style you'd normally only see in an independent film or web animation. The designs are minimalist but still expressive and distinctive. The color choices are bright and diverse but ignore the conventions of shading or lighting, mixed with several unmoving cloth and wallpaper patterns reminiscent of Gankutsuou and a few instances of monochromatic live action scenery. Now I get to talk about the studio: it may come as a surprise to some that this was animated by Madhouse. This certainly isn't their best work by normal technical standards--frame rates and fluidity are pretty modest--but the studio truly lives up to its name with this creation, managing to make these simple designs pop off the screen with passion and finesse. There are some occasional animation loops and the like here and there, but overall this can stand on par with SHAFT's best artistic efforts. Of course, when an anime's visual style is so prominent, it becomes absolutely crucial that its artistry fit the story it's telling. I'll address that question in a bit.
Musically, the show's track is primarily comprised of light orchestral pieces that manage to support its comedic and dramatic moments equally well. The music itself is nothing you haven't heard before, probably even in other anime, but it generally fits. The show has a habit of reusing some of its tonal motifs regularly whenever a certain situation pops up, but considering the story is built around a Groundhog Day loop I can write that off as part of the joke. It's never abused to the point of becoming a distraction, so overall I can say that this show is perfectly competent in its use of sound.
Voice acting is always important, but here especially it's absolutely crucial. Though there's no dub, I must tip my hat to the Japanese voice actors for carrying the difficult script so well. Of particular note are Shintaro Asanuma as our protagonist and Keiji Fujiwari as Higuchi, both of whom have lines that require them to speak a mile a minute and manage to deliver them without a hitch. I'm not sure if they had some sound editing to help them along, but good editing only does so much for lackluster performances and even when speaking at a normal pace they still sound quite good. The voice acting as a whole leans a bit toward the cartoonish side but it's never flat or dull. I think this show would benefit from a dub simply because of the amount of subtitles you'll have to read to get through it if you don't know Japanese, even though you'd probably much rather be taking in the show's quirky visuals. In my personal experience, I had to pause the video a few times just to keep up with all the subtitles. Still, that's not to disparage an excellent Japanese voice track. I just hope that if someone (Funimation?) does eventually dub it they'll do the series justice.
So for all the college students out there in both Japan and abroad who watch and enjoy anime, it's kind of sad and a little surprising how few anime there are that make the effort to address life at this juncture. In recent memory, the only other such series that spring to mind are Moyashimon (which is also unlicensed) and Honey and Clover. As a college student myself, I'll take representation where I can find it. I should probably clarify that The Tatami Galaxy is more about college as a life experience than as an educational institution. That the show chooses this angle, particularly in Japan where the culture leans so heavily on academic achievement (I'm basing this on hearsay, don't quote me on it), is actually quite refreshing, and it certainly becomes more of a boon than a burden, to say otherwise would be missing the point. It could be argued that this show is an achievement simply for its choice of subject matter and for the fresh ground it chooses to tread. But the show also stands out for its style of storytelling. What really holds The Tatami Galaxy together more than anything is the consistency with which it delivers its central metaphor.
First of all, unlike the infamous Endless Eight, the Groundhog Day loop here actually varies its timeline. Most of the recursions, particularly early on, feature similar chains of events aside from the club our protagonist chooses to join, and on the surface it might seem like pointless repetition, but there is an underlying arc that creeps up on the audience over the course of these loops. Each episode gives a different angle on the same events, and small, seemingly pointless details from one cycle can become pivotal plot points in another. To say that every detail in this story has a purpose isn't entirely accurate, at least not from a plot standpoint. Thematically, though, it gets its message across loud and clear as we're shown all the different opportunities that can be found just by slightly shifting our perspective. However, the way to happiness isn't through the missed opportunities of another lifetime; as an old fortuneteller reminds our protagonist every episode, the opportunity to find happiness is always dangling right in front of him. It's a simple message, but the execution is unforgettable, bordering on downright groundbreaking. In many ways, this show seems to deserve a full 10/10, but for all there is to praise here, The Tatami Galaxy has some fairly serious problems.
Getting back to the setting I mentioned earlier, one of the main draws of The Tatami Galaxy is the fact that it addresses college life. Naturally, it's going to ring particularly true to people who have gone to college or are going to college. As an audience, we're expected to sympathize with the characters for the juncture they're at in life, and it works for some people. Still, even though their backdrop makes this easier to overlook, it has to be said: these characters do not act like real people.That's not to say that they're flat, static or archetypal, they are none of these things... and now I need to clarify. Many of the key characters of The Tatami Galaxy have traits common among ordinary college students you may have met, but they tend to come across more as the sum of their traits than as actual, believable people. Hanuki and maybe Higuchi are the most human characters of the cast, but aside from them the motivations we're shown are either simplistic or alien, if not both. Some of them still get their share of development, but when the characters feel like they sprung into existence as college students with no prior life experience you know you're in trouble.
I could have forgiven all that. After all, we're seeing the world through our protagonist's warped perspective, of course he'd fixate on the superficial, but now I get to address the elephant in the room. The astute readers among you may have noticed that I have yet to refer to the protagonist by name. Well, that's because he doesn't have one. Throughout the series he's never once referred to by name (not even a nickname a la Kyon) and he's simply credited as Watashi (Japanese for "I" or "me"). The intent behind this is obvious: he's supposed to be the everyman we can all relate to. Unfortunately, the writing only half-succeeds at getting this across, and the end result is basically an assemblage of human desires and flaws, and feels more like a symbol of college students in general than any actual college student I've ever met. I'm not saying Watashi isn't likable; he can still be fun to watch, and from time to time you'll probably feel something for him, but sympathizing with a character based on his situation only goes so far.
I mentioned earlier that Watashi's perspective is warped, and boy did I mean it. The Tatami Galaxy is at its very best when it utilizes this trait to its full potential, i.e. when there's a discrepancy between what's said and what's shown, or when Watashi shuts up and gives the audience a chance to take in the situation with their own eyes and ears. But this series is based on a novel, specifically a first-person stream-of-consciousness novel. This works well enough early on in the series, when Watashi is stumbling through timelines, misinterpreting his own mistakes and shortcomings, etc. Nor does the use of repetition bother me especially; it's part of the theme, and the meanings of some of the lines he repeats will actually change depending on the context. Still, when a character says in twenty words what could have been communicated in five, it gets frustrating. Worse yet, it's not uncommon for Watashi to explain in intricate detail the conclusion we're expected to draw from the scenario presented. How someone so messed up in the head still manages to be so eloquent is beyond me. We know you're trapped in the "what-ifs" of your life, so shut up and do something about it.
This problem reaches its absolute worst in the last two episodes, specifically the first episode-and-a-half of the last two episodes, where Watashi is forced to confront the manifestation of all the college years he's wasted in all the different lives he's lived. This could have worked if he was more of a character and less of a symbol, but instead we get a mouthpiece spouting explanations for things we should already be able to piece together on our own. If that was all, the conclusion would just be heavy-handed, which wouldn't be so bad, but then Watashi goes on to explain the understanding he comes to about all the other characters and their motivations. Looking back at the nine episodes that preceded, I can understand how the setup is present for many of these character arcs, but having Watashi telegraph his conclusions at us does not wrap them up in a way that feels natural. This is lazy, manipulative storytelling that ignores one of the most basic narrative principles: show don't tell. To be fair, the latter half of the final episode is actually quite fitting, and it successfully ties up the story's central metaphor, but the story's humanity is lost in the process.
For those of you who argue that the story doesn't need a human side precisely because it's symbolic: saying it's okay to forsake that element because it's "a necessary sacrifice" is not only a pitiful excuse, but also completely untrue. It's not easy or common, but it is perfectly possible to merge metaphor and humanity. Revolutionary Girl Utena did it. FLCL did it. The presentation may be "avant-garde", the subject matter may be fresh ground, and to a certain extent I respect it for that, certainly enough to warrant a recommendation, but the lack of a human heart holds this series back from being the masterpiece it could have been. On a more subjective note, I have to wonder if Yuasa's artsy direction was really the best thing for this show. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but at a time when more and more people are going to college and it's becoming a more universal part of growing up, mightn't an earthier, more realistic art style have made the show more accessible to a wider audience? Just food for thought.
Despite all my gripes and frustrations, the series' merits as an allegory are still perfectly valid, and I commend it for that. The reason I emphasized the series' flaws so much in this review isn't that the show is bad, not by any stretch. The Tatami Galaxy is a thoroughly admirable creation that delivers spectacularly on the intellectual front, but never quite reaches for your heart the way it really should, and much like its protagonist it can get pretty far up its own ass. Still, the unique artistry and storytelling set this series apart, and it does have something to offer for anyone who's been to college. Next time I'll dive into the infamously hit-or-miss Pani Poni Dash. Keep it classy.
Final Grade: 8/10
Emotionally detached, but still a well-crafted story.
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