My fiancé gifted this sequel to “The Tatami Galaxy” to me for Christmas, which encouraged me to finish reading the prequel. Shorter in length, but still containing great value, it was easy to start and follow along the story since I was already familiar with all of the characters. The story is told in the perspective of our protagonist and his group of friends and colleagues, who all come across an actual working Time Machine. A rollercoaster from start to finish, this tale is meticulously written. Before this one, I had never read a book or watched a movie based on the concept of time travel that didn’t confuse me or made me have to backtrack many a time. Again, while making the reader invested in the lives of the students being portrayed, Morimi paints a beautiful vivid picture of Fate.

I remember saying out loud, “It took 92 pages for this book to get interesting!” It took me probably about a month to finish this book in its entirety, as it initially starts off slow, and you wonder what the reasons were for certain sentences that repeated. After starting the second part ‘Tatami and the Masochistic Proxy-Proxy War’, I laughed at my past self and prior exclamation about the book’s level of interesting. Having taken interest in and purchasing this literary masterpiece as it was highlighted at the local bookstore of the neighborhood where I grew up, I soon came to the realization that, at 17% completion of the book, this story was more than just about two boys caught in a love triangle. This story revealed page after page why certain points were made in the previous parts. The Tatami Galaxy is a true work of art, although taking a while to capture my focus and contain me in its grips, allowing the reader to explore the regrets, no-cares, and what-ifs of the world. It very beautifully paints the picture of Fate, and how the actions of the protagonist- and each of the other characters- are the pilots of their destiny.