Synopsis
Spin-off of Tatami Galaxy.
Yojouhan Time Machine Blues takes place after the remote control to his boarding house’s only air conditioning unit is inadvertently destroyed by spilled cola. “I” devises a plan to return to yesterday in a time machine to recover the remote before it breaks. However, his friend Ozu can’t resist playing with past events, even when it means bringing the universe to the brink of destruction. Now “I” finds himself racing through time to avoid disaster.
(Source: Crunchyroll, edited)
Review
Not so long ago I decided to watch The Tatami Galaxy, it was an anime that I was planning to watch for a while now. So when I watched it, it quickly became one of my personal favorites and one of the little anime that I can wholeheartedly say that it’s a masterpiece. When I heard that it was receiving a spin-off, you bet I got excited. I’m very happy to say that it did not disappoint and that it is an easy contender for anime of the year.
The characters
Now of course this anime is meant for people who have already watched Tatami Galaxy, It’s not really a sequel, and it also doesn’t spoil anything major from The Tatami Galaxy, it’s mostly meant for those who really enjoyed Tatami and just want to see more fun moments with the memorable cast, if you loved the cast of Tatami, then i can assure you that you will not be disappointed with this one.
Yojouhan Time Machine Blues really feels like even though it’s been over 10 years from the original release of Tatami, even though Yuasa‘s direction was missing in this one they still managed to capture that same charm that made people really like the characters.
I really can continue praising the characters more and in all honesty. They are the main highlight of the show, since they are just as good as the original, had a great time with every single character, they all made me laugh and really if you want to watch something that has a fun and diverse cast then please give Tatami a go, they are not really “DEEP” characters, but really depth is not needed to make this a very memorable cast, they are all extremely unique. I really appreciated this spin-off because more memorable times with these characters was something that I definitely needed.
The story
I have always been of the idea that a story doesn’t have to be very detailed or very complex for it to be good. Sometimes stories are better when they are more straightforward and this definitely applies for Tatami Time Machine Blues. The story is extremely straightforward and easy to follow. But despite all of that it is still extremely unique and just fascinating.
It’s a story that had me smiling the whole time, and it works perfectly as a 6 episode series. Episodes are short making it easy to watch in one sitting. It’s not episodic like Tatami Galaxy was which to some certain extent I do miss the episodic aspects. But I also can appreciate how well paced it is and how it manages to make an extremely fun story with the 6 episodes that it’s presented in. It obviously pales in comparison to Tatami Galaxy’s story. But this doesn’t make it bad. It does feel like a side story but a one that is definitely appreciated.
The art
Tatami Galaxy’s aesthetic has always been easily recognized, it is unique and just very pleasing. It’s hard for someone to look at it and say that it is ugly, and the same applies for it. But with a bit of a shortcoming, the animation is still incredible. I would even say smoother than its predecessor, but ever since episode 1 came out.
I did notice something, it really didn’t have the same art direction as Tatami Galaxy, at a simple glance it might look identical but well since this one isn’t directed by Yuasa himself. It is very easy to notice that at times it is missing that feeling that it used to have, don’t get me wrong it is still amazing in this one.
Natsume Shingo did do a truly amazing job, he did his best to replicate Yuasa‘s art direction and overall he did one hell of a job. But it just missed the same playfulness that its predecessor had, it is playful and experimental here, but just not as much as Tatami Galaxy.
Sound
Well I really don’t know how much I can say in this section except. That it is just as good as Tatami Galaxy in the sound department. Both in the music and voice acting, the music really has the exact same style and there even is a lot of songs that are reused from Tatami Galaxy which is not a bad thing. But where music really excels is in the opening and in the ending, the opening is done by Asian Kung-Fu Generation a Japanese band that I’m pretty sure everyone knows.
The opening here is one of my favorite songs by them, take this with a grain of salt of course. Since I am a huge Tatami fan and well that just makes me like this song even more.
The ending is pretty great as well, its catchy and fits the tone of the series perfectly. Both the opening and ending were never skipped even once. Just because I enjoyed listening to them, so yeah great job with the new opening and ending.
Enjoyment
I had a blast watching this, every episode was a great time and not once did I feel bored. I do wish that maybe they would have made the episodes a bit longer. Since each one was about 18 minutes each, which is not bad considering that it’s a short story.
But a few more minutes per episode would have 100% been appreciated. Now I do have to state the obvious, I did not enjoy it as much as Tatami Galaxy. And I do believe that its predecessor is better in basically every way. It does everything that Tatami Galaxy did, just not quite as perfect as it. Yojouhan Time Machine Blues can be considered a “watered down Tatami Galaxy” which sounds bad but I don’t mean it in a bad way, but just basically saying it’s just a bit inferior.
Overall
There have been so much good anime this year. But so far as of writing this I would say that this has been my highlight. Yojouhan Time Machine Blues has been my favorite anime of 2022 so far. Sadly I don’t think that it really is for everyone. Its comedy is not for everyone and really its overall vibe is not something that everyone can enjoy.
It’s never really going to get as much attention as many shows that have come out this same year. But I feel like it does deserve more attention, now just a little quick thing I wanted to add. Tatami Galaxy was one of those shows that does fall into the category of “Stories that leave you with a meaningful message”. It was something that was necessary for its tone. Its one of the things that made me fall in love with it.
Its message did hit me and made me think about stuff. I don’t think Yojouhan Time Machine Blues really has a big impactful message like its predecessor did. But It’s still not devoid of its message. It has smaller messages that are still appreciated and that overall make the show better. It’s not as hard hitting as Tatami Galaxy, but it still was a damn good time.
