Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei


The Tatami Galaxy

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Yojo-Han Shinwa Taikei, Yojou-Han Shinwa Taikei, Yojohan Shinwa Taikei
Japanese: 四畳半神話大系
English: The Tatami Galaxy
German: Tatami Galaxy
Spanish: The Tatami Galaxy
French: The Tatami Galaxy
More titles

Information

Type: TV
Episodes: 11
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 23, 2010 to Jul 2, 2010
Premiered: Spring 2010
Broadcast: Fridays at 00:45 (JST)
Licensors: Funimation
Studios: Madhouse
Source: Novel
Genres: Award WinningAward Winning, ComedyComedy, MysteryMystery, RomanceRomance, SuspenseSuspense
Themes: Adult CastAdult Cast, PsychologicalPsychological, Time TravelTime Travel
Duration: 22 min. per ep.
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Statistics

Score: 8.551 (scored by 150507150,507 users)
1 indicates a weighted score.
Ranked: #1212
2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #512
Members: 470,592
Favorites: 18,698

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8.55
Ranked #121Popularity #512Members 470,592
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Episodes: /11

Synopsis

One autumn evening at a mysterious ramen stand behind the Shimogamo Shrine, a lonely third-year college student bumps into a man with an eggplant-shaped head who calls himself a god of matrimony. Meeting this man causes the student to reflect upon his past two years at college—two years bitterly spent trying to break up couples on campus with his only friend Ozu, a ghoulish-looking man seemingly set on making his life as miserable as possible. Resolving to make the most out of the rest of his college life, the student attempts to ask out the unsociable but kind-hearted underclassman Akashi, yet fails to follow through, prompting him to regret not living out his college life differently. As soon as this thought passes through his head, however, he is hurtled through time and space to the beginning of his years at college and given another chance to live his life.

Surreal, artistic, and mind-bending, Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei chronicles the misadventures of a young man on a journey to make friends, find love, and experience the rose-colored campus life he always dreamed of.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Background

Based on the novel by Tomihiko Morimi, published in December 2004.

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei won the grand prize for the animation category in the Japan Media Arts Festival on December 8, 2010.

Characters & Voice Actors

Hanuki, Ryouko

Supporting
Kaida, Yuuko
Japanese

Jougasaki, Masaki

Supporting
Suwabe, Junichi
Japanese

Kaori

Supporting
Asanuma, Shintaro
Japanese

Fortune Teller

Supporting
Mayama, Ako
Japanese

Aijima

Supporting
Satou, Setsuji
Japanese

Staff

Takeuchi, Fumie
Producer
Yuasa, Masaaki
Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard


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Opening Theme

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"Maigo Inu to Ame no Beat (迷子犬と雨のビート)" by Scenarioart (eps 1-)
1: "Maigo Inu to Ame no Beat (迷子犬と雨のビート)" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation (eps 1-10)
2: "Kamisama no Iutoori (神様のいうとおり)" by Juuji Ishiwatari & Yoshinori Sunahara + Etsuko Yakushimaru (eps 11)
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Ending Theme

"Lovemageddon (ラブマゲドン)" by Scenarioart
1: "Kamisama no Iutoori (神様のいうとおり)" by Juuji Ishiwatari & Yoshinori Sunahara + Etsuko Yakushimaru (eps 1-10)
2: "Maigo Inu to Ame no Beat (迷子犬と雨のビート)" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation (eps 11)




Reviews

Mar 16, 2025
The Tatami Galaxy is an anime that thrives on its unique narrative style, fast-paced dialogue, and deep existential themes. It follows an unnamed protagonist who repeatedly relives his university years, each time making different choices in search of the "ideal" college experience. Through this cycle, the story explores themes of regret, self-discovery, and the illusion of a perfect life.

One of the anime's strongest aspects is its storytelling. The narrative structure, where the protagonist experiences multiple alternate timelines, is executed brilliantly. Rather than feeling repetitive, each loop adds a new layer of depth, slowly revealing the underlying message of the series. The writing is sharp and ...
Apr 8, 2023
Mixed Feelings
InformativeInformative
Alarmingly in tune with my own experiences of life, The Tatami Galaxy feels like something I should be deeply moved by and passionately in favour of, and yet, I'm not. While the series admirably leans in to the ambition of it's premise through the fantastic visual style, inventive animation and unique methods of storytelling, these strong points are left hanging by the show's apparent lack of depth, and so the experience of watching it feels hollow come the conclusion.

What the Tatami Galaxy suffers from so greatly is how it only manages to explore it's ideas on the surface. From as early as the first 10 ...
Mar 11, 2025
**Through the years, this work has been repeatedly venerated as a masterpiece, its status seemingly unassailable.**

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (The Tatami Galaxy), an adaptation of Tomihiko Morimi’s novel by the inimitable Masaaki Yuasa, is less a conventional narrative and more a fevered meditation on the labyrinthine nature of choice, regret, and the illusory pursuit of an idealized existence. Within its kaleidoscopic structure, time does not adhere to the rigid linearity of cause and effect but instead loops back upon itself in an endless recursion—a purgatorial reel of youthful disillusionment where every path, no matter how meticulously selected, inexorably leads to some permutation of disappointment.

*Disclaimer: This is ...

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