INTRODUCTION So after months and months of putting it off I finally sat down to watch The Tatami Time Machine Blues the muchanticipated sequel/spinoff anime of the 2010 anime The Tatami Galaxy. I dont know why I put it off really. The Tatami Galaxy is probably my favourite anime of alltime. Its an anime I hold very close to my heart especially as someone who struggled to initiate into university life and felt the same frustrations that the main character did. I think its sense of humour comedic timing and creativity are unparalleled to any anime Ive ever seen some episodes had me laughing all the way through. Perhaps I was subconsciously worried that a spinoff would change my view on the main series. 220https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExaDllaXhhZGdwa3V5YjR5ZDVwam53YTBrcXVlb3NlMjhseGQ3bGt5aSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/iDYWgZZE0E2ek/200.gif 220https://animesher.com/orig/1/184/1842/18425/animesher.comthetatamigalaxygif1842529.gif I love The Tatami Galaxy so much I even have it on DVD you dont how fucking hard it is to find an Australian copy of it I had to get it shipped from some random ass country town in New South Wales it was that elusive. BRIEF SYNOPSIS It follows the same cast of characters from the original anime Watashi Ozu Akashi Hanuki Master Higuchi and Jougasaki and Aijima I guess but who cares about him who after shooting an amateur movie for the film society discover unusual things happening around them. 220https://m.mediaamazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjM3YWJjYjktMDZjZS00NDRhLTlhOTktMzU5M2VjMWM1YzhjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODMyNTM0MjM.V1.jpg As the title suggests they suddenly uncover a time machine hidden in the closet of Watashis dormitory. The anime follows the characters experimenting with the time machine fixing the messedup timelines theyve caused and an encounter with a strange boy named Tamura. Prior knowledge of The Tatami Galaxy or The Night is Short Walk on Girl whilst handy for jokes that service fans is not required when watching this. In the first episode they introduce each character again for the uninitiated. THOUGHTS Its so nice to see the characters that Ive grown to love again especially in a setting that allows the characters to all be together. In The Tatami Galaxy you hardly ever get to see more than one or two characters interact with Watashi at one time due to how fastpaced that anime is and the main focus being on Watashis experience. The Tatami Time Machine Blues is slowerpaced and features a scenario which involves all of the characters so I really appreciated that aspect. The time travel element is interesting and entertaining but I cant help but feel that that concept couldve been utilised a bit better especially for such a zany and cleverlywritten franchise like The Tatami Galaxy. Anime like Haruhi Suzumiya were definitely more playful and successful with it. For a time travel show its slightly above average. Hell I think The Simpsons did time travel better with that toaster short haha. That utterly wild and unpredictable nature of that short is probably what this anime shouldve gone for. 220https://media.tenor.com/Vwn0Bw9jTMAAAAd/thesimpsonstreehouseofhorror.gif Which brings me to my next point: the direction. Contrary to what I initially thought when going into this anime it isnt actually directed by Masaaki Yuasa who directed The Tatami Galaxy. Instead its directed by Shingo Natsume who appears to have directed Madhouse anime like the 2019 version of Boogiepop Phantom and Sonny Boy. He also helped direct Ep. 6 of The Tatami Galaxy which is probably my favourite episode haha. To be frank I wasnt very impressed with his direction in this anime. Although can you blame him? Masaaki Yuasa is a genius He has this incredible ability to wring so much humour out of every scene through subtle yet effective stylistic choices. Natsume has identified the stylistic choices that Yuasa made but doesnt use them to full effect thus wasting some of the potential humour and direction that made The Tatami Galaxy so unique in the first place. He does reuse some of Yuasas visual gags but they dont land as well as they originally did although I was surprised that he didnt include the classic Masaaki Yuasa gulp animation. Lol that gag never gets old. 220https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblrlwrz0oPiuO1qeumowo1500.gif But who knows? Perhaps my enjoyment for the humour of The Tatami Galaxy has a lot to do with the fastpaced nature of it. As I mentioned before The Tatami Time Machine Blues is much slowerpaced so maybe the humour didnt click for me this time. However I do know some people who had an issue with the fastpaced nature of The Tatami Galaxy so if youre one of those people youll definitely appreciate this anime more Except for the OP and ED the anime also reuses the soundtrack from The Tatami Galaxy. I liked that it reminded me of how brilliant the soundtrack is theres a good video essay on YouTube explaining how well the soundtrack aids in the development of the characters. The soundtrack doesnt quite hit the same in The Tatami Time Machine Blues although there arent as many profound or introspective scenes in this anime to pair the soundtrack to. I was also expecting some actual blues music tracks as well haha but nope. Apart from the direction there are two small complaints I have with this anime although Ill have to get into spoilers. First Second CONCLUSION The Tatami Time Machine Blues isnt as profound or as crazy as its predecessor but I dont think its trying to be. Its a fun little side quest where you can spend more time with all of the characters. People who were put off by the sheer absurdity and rapid pacing of the original anime will probably like this one a lot more.