Please excuse me for an entire review while I gush about how much I love The Tatami Galaxy. Honestly, I haven't watched a show quite as thought provoking and artistically pleasing as The Tatami Galaxy since one of my absolute favorites of all time, the Monogatari Series. Not that the two are all that similar in content and story, but the aesthetic and abstract nature of its material is just so eerily similar that it's tough for me not to place them in the same general category in my mind. But comparing The Tatami Galaxy to Monogatari is not what I set out to do and so I'll get to the substance of this review.

The visuals of The Tatami Galaxy are one of the greatest strengths the show has. It has such a distinct style and timeless feel to it, that I couldn't help but be blown away, despite my first impressions being that of indifference. I would even go so far as to say I didn't feel as if I'd like it very much. Yet, here we are, and I'm raving about this show and how beautiful it is and how perfectly the aesthetic elevates the tales being so told to an entirely different level. I mean just take a look at this style:

:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/12454175/Tatami_Galaxy_20.png) The art-style so effortlessly gives off an abundance of personality and is so well animated throughout the entire show. There's not a single poorly animated episode or ugly episode and there's no lack of style throughout the entire run-time. Every character is unique and quirky, with their personality just oozing from them, almost bringing them to life before your eyes. When you can say that the art tells the story just about as well as the writing can, you know you've created something special.

Anyway, I think I've rambled enough about the art-style. The sound design in The Tatami Galaxy is also excellent. Forgive me for comparing it to Monogatari again, but it reminds me a little of Monogatari's somewhat minimalist and quirky soundtrack. I think The Tatami Galaxy is more minimalist than Monogatari, which is more on the quirky side. It's a hard sound to describe, but quirky is about the best I can do. They certainly share unique a unique combination of instruments to pull together something spectacular. Before I leave this section, I want to also share my love for both the opening and the ending, which are so fitting to the themes of The Tatami Galaxy, both musically and visually, and will both go down as two of my favorites.

Favorite Character: Ozu

I bet anyone who knows my preference for characters never saw this one coming and, yes, while I did adore Akashi and Hanuki, I have to tip my hat to Ozu. Ozu absolutely carries The Tatami Galaxy through some episodes and shines even in the episodes that he's not the focus of. He's just such a dominant character and endearing in his own devious way while he's on screen, spitting his truths and pushing Watashi towards his rose-colored campus life all while being the biggest troublemaker in the cast. The payoff to his story was incredibly satisfying too, with all his erratic behavior finally coming together and making sense, pushing me to feel a strong sympathy for his character. Usually, I don't like Ozu's character type in any kind of entertainment, but maybe this time we were connected by the black thread of fate.

The characters are half the reason to even watch The Tatami Galaxy in the first place. Throughout the show, we see each one grow and become more complete with every timeline. Their tics and their odd behavior start to come into focus and suddenly, you find yourself really relating to these characters, because they're real. They have real quirks, like regular people. They do strange things, like regular people. They've got their irrational motives, like regular people. It's just masterful writing and directing, showing the slow and steady growth of such characters, but none more so than that of the main character, Watashi.

We watch him begin as someone who wants to destroy others happiness and refuse to connect with anyone, even his reluctant connection with Ozu is a point of annoyance for him. Then with each passing branch of his college life, we watch him grow into someone who cares about his connection with people, falls in love with the girl who's always been a part of his college life no matter where he goes, and finally accepts Ozu has his friend.

The Tatami Galaxy is truly a story of growing up and accepting the circumstances around you, seizing the opportunities always dangling in front of your eyes. Its such an inspirational tale of ordinary people accepting the extraordinary opportunities given to them. I can see why some would dislike the structure of it though. The repetition could get a little boring to some who just want to see the development realized, but if you ask me, that's why That Tatami Galaxy only goes on for eleven episodes. It's purposefully short and that's even adding in the fact that the last two episodes are climactic episodes, where the repetition is essentially gone. Before I conclude, I'd like to point out how incredible the climactic two episodes were. The sequence of being stuck in the 4.5 tatami rooms and emerging to finally accept the opportunities before him were absolutely masterful and put such a conclusive stamp on a phenomenal story. The story of a man who finally learns to stop living in ideologies and what ifs and move forward, accepting what the present gives to him.