AnimeSuki Forums

Register Forum Rules FAQ Members List Social Groups Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   AnimeSuki Forum > Anime Discussion > Older Series

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 2010-07-03, 01:05   Link #301
gaguri
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
An extremely satisfying ending to undoubtedly one of the best series to come out recently.

My humble blog post on this show: Yojo-han Shinwa Taikei: Letting our inner moths out of Tatami Galaxy
__________________
gaguri is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-03, 02:04   Link #302
drobertbaker
Major Lurker
 
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: <clap> <clap> <clap> <clap> Deep in the Heart of Texas
When our hero is finally hitting up Akashi, the fortune teller is up in the clock tower on a scaffold behind the clock face with a clock that says 9 o'clock, feeding cats yet. Was all this her doing?

What's the significance of his underwear changing places with the Mochiguma? Especially as the Mochiguma previously appeared in so many other ways.

I always liked the ED (Kami-sama no Iu Toori, "God's Choice"). The lyrics are essentially a woman resenting the success of a love rival even though the singer is a good person. Finally I see that the geometry of the ED represents rooms opening into other rooms through blueprint doors.
__________________
no puran no aidia

Last edited by drobertbaker; 2010-07-03 at 02:17.
drobertbaker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-03, 02:19   Link #303
physics223
In the Tatami Galaxy ↓
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Quote:
Originally Posted by drobertbaker View Post
When our hero is finally hitting up Akashi, the fortune teller is up in the clock tower on a scaffold behind the clock face with a clock that says 9 o'clock, feeding cats yet. Was all this her doing?

What's the significance of his underwear changing places with the Mochiguma? Especially as the Mochiguma previously appeared so many other ways.

I always liked the ED (Kami-sama no Iu Toori, "God's Choice"). The lyrics are essentially a woman resenting the success of a love rival even though the singer is a good person. Finally I see that the geometry of the ED represents rooms opening into other rooms through blueprint doors.
I think it is especially in light of this discovery of mine (look at the second screenshot): at the point where Watashi first truly fell in love with Akashi ('In short, frankly, to put it plainly, honestly, saying it without any reservation, at that moment … I fell head over heels for her‘) she was there at the sale. At least, it eerily looks like the fortune teller.

I love the ED. I love the Z-80 remix even more.
physics223 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-03, 04:04   Link #304
Haak
Me, An Intellectual
 
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: UK
Age: 33
I have to admit, I've grown to absolutely love this anime. It's just so awesome. The ending was fantastic.
Haak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-03, 08:37   Link #305
physics223
In the Tatami Galaxy ↓
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
I know I've barraged you with updates on my thoughts regarding the series, but this is probably going to be one of my last posts on the matter. The series is done, there has been much closure and an excellent ending. I've also made some more connections compared to before.

I summed up my experience with the show and how I think it transformed me. It's a very good show.
physics223 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-03, 19:26   Link #306
vendredi
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Quote:
Perhaps I am being to scientific, but it really makes more sense just to chalk up the Quantum reference to be talking about many different universes arising from possible choices/measurements.
Oh certainly. I don't think the analogy is a literal one - just the whole allusion to the idea of quantum states in general.

Quote:
The biggest mystery: Why did the fortune teller's nose suddenly shrink by a foot? >_>
If I were to hazard a guess, the lengthy nose is always a hallmark of a witch; and since the beginning of the series Watashi has attributed a keen, if not magical insight into how the fortune teller knows his situation. In much the same way as Ozu, we now see the fortune teller's "real" face - an old woman who eavesdropped in on Akashi and Watashi's conversation at the book sale. She's no magical witch after all, she just was in the right place at the right time.

Quote:
The timeline of episodes 10-11 are the "true" timeline, the one where Watashi chose no circle at all and generally got to know no one at all.
I can't help but wonder if the wordplay is intentional on the part of the writers - seeing as clubs are often called "circles" in Japan. In order to break the circular repetition of time, Watashi has to avoid choosing a circle?

Quote:
Originally Posted by drobertbaker
When our hero is finally hitting up Akashi, the fortune teller is up in the clock tower on a scaffold behind the clock face with a clock that says 9 o'clock, feeding cats yet. Was all this her doing?

What's the significance of his underwear changing places with the Mochiguma? Especially as the Mochiguma previously appeared in so many other ways.

I always liked the ED (Kami-sama no Iu Toori, "God's Choice"). The lyrics are essentially a woman resenting the success of a love rival even though the singer is a good person. Finally I see that the geometry of the ED represents rooms opening into other rooms through blueprint doors.
On the cats - cats are rife throughout the entire show, including the paralleled Neko Ramen/Hanten restaurants. I'm not really sure I have a concrete theory on why the inclusion of so much cat imagery yet, but i do have the following tidbits
-Cats = lucky or unlucky
-have 9 lives
-used in the "Schrodinger's Cat" thought experiment.
Aside from that, I have very little to go on.

On the underwear - the segment gave me a bit of a fairy-tale Cinderalla-esque vibe, it provides an extra layer of humour that just adds on to the surreality of the entire scene ("Hey, i found your little keychain plushie in the wash." "Oy! I found a pair of boxers that day too!"). I'm not sure if the swap is meant to suggest anything more than that.

As for the ED - it's also interesting to note that the single lone room at the end of the song stays shut throughout the entire series. Then at the very last episode, where the ED occurs at the beginning, a door into the lone room opens. More on that in my blog post.

I've posted some other thoughts in regards to the animation as well on the Tatami Galaxy here. I've been consistently impressed at how absolutely nothing has been left to chance in regards to the style and choices made in animating certain sequence. Not a single frame is wasted and each cut very clearly visually communicates the same central theme. This is shown through even the smallest tidbits - like the selection of a 6 tatami room - 1 full tatami for each of the people in his life. In the three-women arc immediately before the "true" ending, Watashi's relationships consist of himself, three others, and only the half of Ozu. And in all the arcs prior Watashi ever really has a "half-mat" reserved for Ozu.

There are still a couple of lingering mysteries, such as when, why, and how did Higuchi pass himself off as a kami in the very first episode, but it hardly detracts from the ending of the show.

Last edited by vendredi; 2010-07-03 at 19:46.
vendredi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-03, 19:29   Link #307
Keiichi_chan
Star of Misfortune
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Nekomi City, Chiba Prefecture,Japan
Send a message via AIM to Keiichi_chan
best new series i've seen all year - probably in the last 2-3 years, actually!

totally satisfying and concise ending, too. was totally impressed. i don't think there was a single bad episode for its entire run.
Keiichi_chan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-03, 21:57   Link #308
Quarkboy
Translator, Producer
 
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Age: 44
Hey, that's a good point!

Cats have 9 lives. Old woman seems to really like cats.
Old woman charged Watashi exactly 9 times...
Perhaps Watashi had nine lives because... HE IS ACTUALLY A CAT!

That would also explain his fondness for Neko Ramen.

I AM A GENIUS.
__________________
Read Light Novels in English at J-Novel Club!
Translator, Producer, Japan Media Export Expert
Founder and Owner of J-Novel Club
Sam Pinansky
Quarkboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-03, 21:59   Link #309
physics223
In the Tatami Galaxy ↓
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quarkboy View Post
Hey, that's a good point!

Cats have 9 lives. Old woman seems to really like cats.
Old woman charged Watashi exactly 9 times...
Perhaps Watashi had nine lives because... HE IS ACTUALLY A CAT!

That would also explain his fondness for Neko Ramen.

I AM A GENIUS.
That got me thinking because Natsume Soseki wrote a novel titled 'I am a cat.' Anyway, YES YOU ARE GENIUS for subbing the show.
physics223 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-03, 22:13   Link #310
gaguri
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
LOL that really is genius. Well, more genius to Yuasa (or the author of the book) but great call. I too liked how watashi could see the charactes as they are later, as the 'witche's nose' disappeared, or Ozu no longer having a youkai face.

And this is something vendredi pointed out on this little image I put together from the opening credit,



about how he chose 6 tatami mats, because that will give him just enough space for akashi and himself. Well, there are also other characters too, but I still thought it was clever.
__________________
gaguri is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-03, 23:08   Link #311
vendredi
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Quote:
Originally Posted by gaguri
about how he chose 6 tatami mats, because that will give him just enough space for akashi and himself.
The image was a big help in cementing the theory. I think, however, the half-mat always references Ozu - it is not till the very end of the series that Watashi sees the "other half" of Ozu.
vendredi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-04, 04:45   Link #312
K3cT
Arcadia of My Youth
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Singapore
Send a message via MSN to K3cT
I think it has been a while since I've seen such a satisfying series in a whole. This is really great stuff, highly recommended.
K3cT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-04, 09:21   Link #313
Dop
Mmmm....
 
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Absolutely marvellous ending to a great series, surreal, thought-provoking, and in the end a wonderful sequence where Watashi finally seizes the opportunity that, as the fortune teller said, was in front of him all along.
A nice turnabout to the first episode which also featured a more demonic Ozu in drag on a bridge parapet, but now we see Ozu as more human a character.

Fantastic. Now if only Funimation would release it on DVD so I can get a better quality copy to own!

This show is something I can see myself showing people when I want them to realise that anime can be about more than just schoolgirls or giant robots.
Dop is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-04, 13:05   Link #314
Raiza Sunozaki
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Bloody brilliant. I have no complaints towards the ending of this show. I'll admit, I was surprised at first that for once, there was actually a continuation of the same timeline, though I suppose that only serves Yojou-han's purpose of never doing the same thing twice, always coming up with a new original idea for each episode.
I really enjoyed the fact that it took a slight twist of reality/possible insanity for Watashi to realize that the true way to enjoy life was to throw yourself at what's in front of you with all your passion. Ozu realized it, Akashi realized it, Higuchi realized it. I suppose even that idiot Jougasaki and the down-to-earth (when sober) Hanuki realized it as well.
While there were some strange parts of the final episode, like Watashi's stripping (though I figured it was metaphorically showing his rebirth), what I liked even more was how Watashi, as if thanking everyone for helping him in his other lives, tried his best to help them. It seems like he's the one who convinces Higuchi to bring Hanuki along on his journey, he says that he's going to help Jougasaki with his idiotic movies, and most importantly, he become the Ozu in his relationship with Ozu. He promises that he's going to help Ozu with his problems (which Ozu adamantly refuses, like Watashi did before), and the whole thing was topped off with him, possibly in Ozu's point of view, donning Ozu's stereotypical face.
A full circle, one of my favourite story mechanics. The story began with Watashi unwillingly being helped by Ozu, which caused him to view Ozu as a demon, and the story ends with Ozu unwillingly being helped by Watashi, causing Ozu to view him as a demon.
Certainly, this is one of my favourite anime.
Raiza Sunozaki is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-04, 20:42   Link #315
physics223
In the Tatami Galaxy ↓
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
I'm planning to write a post that addresses all the unresolved things in Tatami Galaxy. Feel free to posit questions about certain plot points or whatnot. I mean, I don't really have anything else to write about the new seasons, so it's better I try to promote my understanding (as well as others') on the show.

An FAQ on the Tatami Galaxy

I started with five questions, two of them made by Vendredi in this thread. I'm currently out of school with vertigo and flu, but I can write.

Last edited by physics223; 2010-07-05 at 01:03.
physics223 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-05, 14:56   Link #316
roriconfan
Banned
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Thessaloniki - Greece
Send a message via MSN to roriconfan
My review
Spoiler for review:
roriconfan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-05, 17:05   Link #317
physics223
In the Tatami Galaxy ↓
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
If one actually re-watched the showing knowing full well how it ends it seems so elementary that the villain of the series was the protagonist himself ...
physics223 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-06, 23:19   Link #318
Ansalem
Speaker
 
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
I'm a bit late to the party, but I thoroughly enjoyed this series.

The character design by Nakamura Yuusuke is of course superb. I've always been a fan of the Ajikan covers, so it was great to see that art animated.

The story was intriguing and with excellent execution: one of the few examples of a time-looping show that completely avoided being repetitive. In fact, most of the repeat moments served either to make the show more interconnected (parts incorporated from other time-lines that we never saw occur in the current episode) or simply added to the humor (such as the fortune teller's increasing fee). The protagonist's journey to find the answer culminated perfectly in the final episode and I love the roll final roll reversal between Ozu and the protagonist. A great addition to the noitaminA repertoire.
__________________
Ansalem is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-12, 10:30   Link #319
frubam
simp for Lyria
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: on the Grandcypher
Age: 40
Send a message via AIM to frubam
After watching the first 5 eps, I like the concept and story style, but there are just some elements I can't stand, like how Ozu always ends up screwing the protagonist up in some way(I like his char, but it still comes off annoying sometimes how his actions just messes up the prog). I also am getting tired of the "repeat" mechanic, maybe because it feels like nothing is really ever happening or moving forward.
frubam is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010-07-12, 10:39   Link #320
MeoTwister5
Komrades of Kitamura Kou
 
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Age: 39
No offense but every episode moves the story forward in ways not done the "usual" way, but you're going to have to pay attention and sometimes look for it.
MeoTwister5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
funimation, noitamina

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:10.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
We use Silk.