The Tatami Time Machine Blues (Japanese: 四畳半タイムマシンブルース) is a Japanese anime miniseries. It is based on the light novel of the same name by Tomihiko Morimi, itself, a sequel to The Tatami Galaxy. It also loosely adapts the stage play and subsequent film adaptation, Summer Time Machine Blues, by Makoto Ueda. It premiered on Disney+ in Japan October 12, 2022, and on Hulu in the US on November 9, 2022.
Synopsis[]
After spilling soda on the remote that controls the AC on the hottest day of the summer, a group friends find a time machine to go back and prevent the remote from getting ruined.
Cast[]
- Shintarō Asanuma as "I"/"Me"/Watashi
- Hiroyuki Yoshino as Ozu
- Maaya Sakamoto as Akashi
- Kazuya Nakai as Seitarō Higuchi
- Junichi Suwabe as Masaki Jōgasaki
- Yuko Kaida as Ryōko Hanuki
- Setsuji Satō as Aijima
- Chikara Honda as Tamura
Episodes[]
| No. | Title | Director | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Episode 1 | Shingo Natsume | October 12, 2022 (Japan) November 9, 2022 (US) |
| The protagonist, simply named "I" or "Watashi", arrives to find his friends, or acquaintances, Ozu, Akashi, Seitarō Higuchi, Masaki Jōgasaki, and Ryōko Hanuki waiting around his small 4.5 tatami room. The room itself is unique in that the apartment complex it is located in, Shimogami Yusuiso, is the only one with a working AC. When Ozu insists that Watashi offered them a "naked dance", he accidentally knocks Hanuki's Coca-Cola bottle and spills it over the AC remote, effectively making the AC useless. Akashi attempts to get the remote fixed, but finds no luck. Watashi becomes concerned when Akashi tells Ozu that she promised to go to a cultural event with someone, making it very awkward for him. The day before, Akashi had everyone take part in a film project for her club that, while odd, seemed to be successful for her. Watashi was the only person to have full faith in the project, despite him acknowledging its flaws. He feels that he is unable to ask her out properly however. While going over the footage, Watashi and Akashi notice that Ozu seems to appear twice as if he had a twin. At that moment, Jōgasaki finds what appears to be a time machine in the apartment's closet. Higuchi convinces Ozu to use it and he successfully travels back in time, explaining the two Ozus in the footage. | |||
| 02 | Episode 2 | Shingo Natsume | October 12, 2022 (Japan) November 9, 2022 (US) |
| The group try to figure out how the time machine ended up there and begin to question the pros and cons of using it. Watashi comes up with the idea that they can use it to go back and prevent the AC remote from getting destroyed. They agree and play rock-papers-scissors to use it, settling on Ozu, Higuchi, and Hanuki to use it. Fellow student Aijima arrives and is baffled that they have a real working time machine. He then reveals things that happened the other day, that the others do not recall. A shabby looking student named Tamura appears and accidentally reveals that he is the owner of the time machine. 25 years in the future, he and his fellow students built it and he was the test subject. He reveals that Higuchi still lives in Shimogami Yusuiso, that their public bath gets turned into a convenience store, and that his parents attended and met here. Jōgasaki points out that if he is not careful, he could erase himself from existence, frightening him. The time machine returns, but without their friends, only a note from Higuchi asking that they join them. | |||
| 03 | Episode 3 | Shingo Natsume | October 12, 2022 (Japan) November 9, 2022 (US) |
| Watashi and Akashi use the time machine to travel back to the day of the shoot. They realize that many of the odd inconsistencies were the result of their time travel shenanigans, such as Hanuki's constant pestering during the shoot, the building's restroom door being jammed, and Higuchi's missing shampoo bottle. Watashi and Akashi also realize that the AC remote is not there and must be with the others. They manage to grab Hanuki before getting Ozu and Higuchi at the bathhouse, of which Hanuki being there is also revealed to have been a time travel event. Ozu, in his typical pestering ways, decides to chase after Past Watashi who is following Past Akashi to the book fair. Present Watashi and Ozu end up getting into a fight when Ozu realizes that Watashi never made a move on Akashi like he initially thought (Ozu assumed that Akashi was going to the festival with Watashi). They reunite with Akashi who sent Higuchi and Hanuki back to the present, but the time machine has not returned yet, leaving the three stranded in the past. | |||
| 04 | Episode 4 | Shingo Natsume | October 12, 2022 (Japan) November 9, 2022 (US) |
| Hanuki is revealed to have taken the remote with her to the present. Realizing that "not" having the remote destroyed could lead to the universe collapsing, they panic. Hanuki, Higuchi, Jōgasaki, and Tamura return as Hanuki wrapped the remote in cellophane. They decide to let things play out and Jōgasaki takes the remote, however Higuchi accidentally sends him 99 years in the past when Shimogami Yusuiso was swamp land and realize that he was the Kappa Lord of legend from an old tale. Jōgasaki returns, but left the remote in the swamp. Tamura travels to the future and gives them his remote, revealing that the AC is still there, but that the building is about to undergo renovation. Putting together what is about to happen, Akashi tells Watashi to stay in the past so that he can ask her to the festival (it was him all along), while the others return to the present. Sure enough, Watashi asks Past Akashi who gladly accepts. His suspicious behavior leads to him promising the "naked dance". He hides in the closet as his past self arrives and the events play out, revealing everything that happened. | |||
| 05 | Episode 5 | Shingo Natsume | October 12, 2022 (Japan) November 9, 2022 (US) |
| Watashi is forced to stay within the closet for practically the whole day over, witnessing all the events that occurred. His friends catch up to him and he explains what happened. With everything having caught up, Tamura returns to his time. The group later realize that the remote is still technically lost. This is quickly resolved when the local dog, Ketcha, digs up the lost remote which still works after 99 years. The remote being destroyed and fixed via time travel was successful. The group plans to head out with Watashi going back for Aijima's glasses. He runs into Tamura, who came back to get his backpack, and finds a trinket from his "mother", revealed to be Akashi. He reveals that "Tamura" is not his real name and refuses to divulge who his father is before leaving. Watashi joins his friends and he and Akashi agree that their time travel adventure was most likely predetermined by fate. Watashi narrates that he will not divulge his further relationship with Akashi so as to not bore the listener, implying that he is, in fact, Tamura's father. | |||
| 06 | Episode 6 | Shingo Natsume | October 12, 2022 (Japan) November 9, 2022 (US) |
| Taking place long before the first episode, Watashi starts his freshman year in college by choosing to join the Railway club, a club dedicated to monitoring and theorizing over a fictional railway. It is here that Watashi meets Ozu for the first time and immediately is put off by his demeanor. Ozu begins to infer ideas into the club members and slowly everyone turns on each other until they split apart, leaving Watashi and Ozu as its only members. The club ultimately comes back together, but without Ozu and Watashi, the latter due to collateral. Watashi meets and falls in love with Akashi the following Winter and they become friends. Akashi and Ozu are "disciples" of Higuchi and are in the film club together. When Akashi gets a bad review on one of her films, Watashi and Ozu help her come up with a new film; the one that they are making at the beginning of the show. Watashi tells the viewer that they know what happens next, but that Ozu could never have predicted it. The episode then rewinds to the beginning of the semester, just like in The Tatami Galaxy. | |||
Trivia[]
- The plot of the series, as well as the light novel this is based on, was inspired by the unrelated Makoto Ueda play and film Summer Time Machine Blues, which was released in 2005.
- In Japan, the first five episodes were compiled into a feature film. The sixth episode serves as a standalone prequel episode that was not included.
- Just like its predecessor, this is only available in Japanese due to the fact that the protagonist speaks at an incredibly fast speed, making it difficult to do a faithful English dub. It's spiritual installment, Night Is Short, Walk On Girl, was dubbed in English however.
- All three installments are, as of May 2025, available on separate streaming services. While The Tatami Time Machine Blues is on Disney+/Hulu, The Tatami Galaxy is available on Crunchyroll, and Night Is Short, Walk On Girl is available on Max.
Video[]
Yojouhan Time Machine Blues(Tatami Time Machine Blues)-Trailer
External links[]
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