Anime Reviews #6: The Tatami Galaxy

Ever wanted to see a pseudo-sentimental comedy-and-drama hybrid show set in a vibrant and colourful world with a phenomenal plot?
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei a.k.a The Tatami Galaxy is one of the shows you might want to see, if not THE one fitting the aforementioned profiles.
Set in modern Japan, the show primarily details the relentless yet naive and hilariously juvenille efforts of a nameless protagonist to spend his college life with an all-time-romantic partner, after he ends up having a 'challenge' thrust at him through a "god" in a desolated ramen shop.
Each of the episodes highlight the many 'possibilities' of him having joined multiple "circles" in the college to find a "raven-haired maiden" of his fantasies. He and his youkai-faced friend/enemy both try to hit it off with multiple females, and always end up embarassing themselves at their repititive failures. To top it off, the protagonist has a female under classmen he's interested in, but always misses the "oppurtunity" to get in a relationship.
Think of the show as a non-playable visual novel in which almost every episode will present the protagonist with a typical "bad end", save for one.
There's one word that could be used to describe the show: Surrealism. Surreal from the start to the end.
 Due to the repitition in the episodes' plot, it tends to get slightly predictable and CAN give an incentive to drop it for a few. However, each of the 11 episodes are packed with some unadulterated humour; one way or the other, which keep 9/1O of the people hooked to see what becomes of the protagonist's quest to get his "rose-coloured campus life". That said, this is not an all-ages show. There are horrendously suggestive terms and scenes that your mainstream teenager should not bear witness to, making this not one of those "can-watch-in-front-of-family" shows.
..That's it for the first impression stuff. On to the review:
STORY[ 9.5/1O]:
This isn't even Tatami Galaxy's strongest point, and yet it shines majestically in it. For what it was made, TTG serves a top-notch plot with moderate progression[putting aside the fact that some minor parts are predictable], leaving no room for censures about lack of comedy. All the sentimental humour seems completely devoide of drama, but it gets there["when" will be a spoiler].
Lastly,the engimatic plot keeps its promise with a satisfying, NOT rushed ending.
ANIMATION[ 1O/1O]:
THIS is Tatami Galaxy's strongest point. Not that the unique-ly surreal visuals can not be putting off for some. It's the CGI that makes it superior. Mediocre-ly rendered 3D graphics merged with 2D chopping, colourful visuals.
In full 6O frames per second. Even though more than a good half of them are black-and-white.
The characters' expressions' changes are, at times, gradual and at others, drastic. We still have the weird gestures typical of comedy shows in this one, though. Not that it's bad at all; it's characteristic after all.
OST[ 8/1O]:
A sentimental humour and drama hybrid just wouldn't be "sentimental" without some equally stunning OST. It blends in perfectly with the environment, and a slow one playing just before the opening sequences adds to the excitement of the viewer. That said, TTG's terribly short on tracks. The ones it does have are amazing, but it could've used a wider catalogue. Any noticable change in the BGM occurs just around the last 3 episodes.
That said, the opening and the ending songs are the prime of TTG.
VERDICT[ 9/1O]:
All the aforementioned aspects make Tatami Galaxy look, feel, and sound unique, special, and engaging.
Albeit the perverse aspects are still there. Of course, nothin's perfect. For what it was meant, however, the show delivers pure awesomeness.
All the aspects that speak in favour of TTG can actually be putting off for some others. Nevertheless, to each his own.
In the end, if you're looking for something unique and NOT infamous, TTG's not a bad choice at all.

Anime(Movie) Reviews # 5: Persona 3 The Movie: Spring Of Birth

Soooooo I took the time out of hectic schedule (I'll just assume 24 pending games make for a "hectic" routine) to give this a try. Even though I was skeptic about this doing any good even remotely close to the game. And I couldn't have gone more wrong.
Persona 3's first movie highlights the events of 1/3rd of the entire story( with respect to the game) within a flimsy total of 1 hour and 38 minutes, and it doesn't cease to surprise in regards to ANYTHING; the animations, the skills, the battle stances, all were VERY beautifully executed. The only possible objection I could see coming was that the protagonist was made to look like too much of a satirical badass who didn't give two shits about anything unless he heard the word "DIE" (I won't be going too much into this as I risk spoiling some minor plot points).
With that said, let's take a look at the aspects in which Persona 3's movie shone:
ANIMATION( 8/10):Now, let me get this clear: Here, I'm referring to how the battles, and the environmental destruction were carried out with fluidity and NOT as to how the characters looked( and if you must know, the team this time around didn't really do a great job at correctly capturing their facial features as in the game. Just compare the game Yukari and the movie Yukari and you'll realize in an instant. Not that it was bad at all though).
So here's the gist of it: EXCELLENT.
The evoker's (apparent) explosions, the personas' awakenings, the Agi, Bufu, and Zio skills, and not to mention the characters' fighting stances AND moves; Just.Pure.Excellence.
As one whose played an finished the game, I'll state that the the animations were flawless. Flawless, as in, if you're willing to look past the meek Persona physical attacks. While the magical skills the movie refers to as "Fire, Ice" etc WERE portrayed very well, the physical attacks (notably Orpheus' 'Bash'; it kinda looked like an explosion at one time, and a chop at the other). So there's the 8/10 for this one, IMO.
STORY(7/10):

I know this is kind of a low score considering this is Persona we're talking about here, but do keep in mind this is ONLY in reference to THIS movie specifically, and not to the entire catalog of P3 movies(which isn't even complete yet). So yes, bluntly giving it a 9.5/10 just because the story catches up to greatness a LOT faster later on would be unfair, biased, and quite senseless.
I don't have much to say about this, really. It's all too complicated. There's less action than you'd expect from a Shounnen-Seinen hybrid( I hope I didn't confuse my demographics), and more noir-ish themes.

Nothing suggestive( unlike the game). Nothing even MILDLY suggestive.
There IS a point where you encounter a half-stripped Priestess Arcana shadow, but....that's it.
Though I'd personally advise against going into this with the mindset that it's going to pack a lot of mindless action and no proper plot; it's the exact opposite. Those who're familiar with the franchise might know where I'm coming from. The movie will run this by you again if you're still skeptical about something.
MUSIC(9.5/10):This is where this movie OVERkills every single show in regards to western vocal BGMs that astoundingly played during the battles and/or the school events. Now, I HATE it when an anime/movie incorporates the same OST in it as was used in the source. And I'd be talking about how bad it was to totally use the game's OST for the movie( which'd actually make it seem even LESS original), were it not for some extra tracks that WERE included in exclusively for the movie. And they're not bad at all.
The opening's the extended version of 'Burn My Dread!' from the original Persona 3 on the PS2, and you'd be compelled to listen it to the end. I'll bet Igor's entire Persona haven for this. Haven't googled the name of the ending song yet.
VERDICT(8/10):Well, I did say "excellence" above, but the score might speak against it now.
Anyways, the only thing you'd possibly want to know about right now is that there ARE a lot of discrepancies between the movie and the game( can't go into them for spoiler's sake). And in case you're thinking those'd break the show; no. Hell no. They're MORE epic than the game's. You heard me right; the order of events in the movie are better than how it followed in the game. And you probably won't even get the differences unless you're paying your undivided attention to the movie( provided you aren't awestruck by the opening).
All in all, this was worth a watch. This was VERY worth a watch. Then again, I wouldn't recommend this to those who aren't even remotely familiar to the franchise. You might go in with the mindset that it'd pack a lot of action and come out disappointed. But that wouldn't mean the show's any less great.
I'm anxiously awaiting P3's second movie. Excuse me while I see if I can get Persona 3's battle theme to play in Persona 4 Golden on my Vita now.