User:ShujinkoP3/Tatami Galaxy

The Tatami Galaxy (四畳半神話大系) also known by its Japanese name Yojō-Han Shinwa Taikei, is a 2010 Japanese anime, based on a novel of the same name by Morimi Tomihiko published in 2008. The series is currently airing on Fuji TV's Noitamina Programming Block. Funimation Entertainment is streaming the show for free on its website concurrently with the series' showings in Japan as part of their mutual agreement with Fuji TV with regards to Noitamina distribution rights. The series is being directed by Masaaki Yuasa and produced by Madhouse Studios.

Plot
The story follows a 3rd year college student in Kyoto, Japan, who remains unnamed. Lamenting over his failure to get in a romantic relationship with the girls of the tennis club of his university, and with the encouragement of Ozu, a mischievous and unsociable student who claims to be in the same situation, he has spent the last few years of his college life concentrating his efforts on the foiling of their fellow student's romantic relations.

In spite of his behaviors and his past experiences, he has come to like a freshman female student at the same college named Akashi, but for the most part refuses to act on his feelings.

One night, at a ramen stall only he seems to know about behind Shimogamo Shrine, he meets a god of matchmaking who tells him that Akane will be bound to either him or Ozu, prompting him to finally begin to acknowledge and act upon the love he feels.

Title
The literal translation of the title, roughly "Four-and-a-half Tatami Mythological Chronicles", references a style of laying out tatami mats in a small, square Japanese room, wherein four full length rectangular mats are laid out, leaving one for a square half-mat. Presumably because of the cumbersomeness of the literal translation of the title, Funimation choose to use the shorter liberal translation of The Tatami Galaxy.

Visual Style
The series uses a combination of 3D graphics, 2D graphics, and heavily filtered live action film, and a variety of unorthodox color schemes, making for a unique visual style. Though this may be attributed to the fancies of director Masaaki Yuusa, who had worked on anime of such stylized natures before, the thought process behind the unique visuals can only be speculated on for now.

Music
The series uses the song 迷犬と雨ビート (Meiinu to Ame Beat), which may be vaguely translated as "The Lost Dog and the Rain Beat", by Asian Kung-Fu Generation as its opening theme and 神様のいうとおり (Kami-sama no Iu-toori), roughly, "Just as God Said" sung by Sunahara Yoshinori as its ending theme.

The series' soundtrack is composed by Michiru Oshima, and thus represents her latest work.

Broadcast
The show's first episode, "Tennis Circle 'Cupid' ", aired on April 22nd, 2010 in Japan and later the same day in America via Funimation's website. As the episode did not include a next episode preview, the next episode title is not known.