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四畳半神話大系
4
1
Finished
Dec 2004
8.0/10
Average Review Score
0%
Recommend It
1
Reviews Worldwide
Note: I received an advanced review copy in exchange for... like $15? Somebody sold it to me lol. I watched the anime adaptation of The Tatami Galaxy about two months ago (finishing it a few days before I started the light novel). It quickly became one of my favorite anime, and I was surprised to find that it was based on a light novel, rather than being an original series. This is to say that the novel had a lot to live up to, and it was... good. Ultimately, I think most of the changes made from the novel to the anime was in the anime's favor,with the exception that I think Ozu being represented less saliently like a yokai in this novel makes it easier to sympathize with him and understand his relationship with Watashi. (He is definitely still described as a yokai, so maybe this speaks more to my deficiencies in visualizing things as a reader than anything). While I thought the translation was very good overall, I did find some of the translation choices questionable. For example, while I imagine the term "black-haired maiden" probably is as valid a choice as "raven-haired maiden", fans of the anime would be used to the latter, and it is more evocative, so why use the former? I also question some of the glossary choices. Early on, there is a reference to "geta clogs", but in their glossary definition they are said to "closely resemble flip-flops", while the definition for Tengu mentions "Geta associated with tengu can be thought of as single-toothed platform sandals". While none of these are incorrect, it's weird to me to refer to them in-text as "geta clogs" rather than just geta, when a definition is provided (and it is further strange to me that it they are described inconsistently). Overall, I enjoyed this novel, and I can see that most of the pieces were in place that made the anime so good, but ultimately I really would recommend just watching the anime over reading this (assuming you can read subtitles pretty quickly!).
College is full of opportunities to leave one's comfort zone. One third year student is constantly fantasizing about how his life might differ had he joined various campus circles—chasing, with mixed results, an idealistic rose-colored campus life where romance, friendships, and purpose fuse into a perfect university experience... at least until bad luck, questionable decisions, and dubious relationships enter the mix! (Source: Funimation)