TENCHIIII!!!!

Yeah, you knew this one was coming.
Let's get to it...


Tenchi Muyo Ryo-Ohki

The series-

A.K.A "the original OVA".

This is the one that started it all off.
Tenchi, Ryoko, Ayeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, and Washu all get introduced, they fight Kagato, happily ever after.

Then...the second batch of episodes gives background stuff, and sets up the 3rd "season".
Frankly, they shoulda stopped with Kagato.

Those first 6 episodes are a masterpiece of the medium.

The history-

From here...

Okay, this actually started in 1992, but this is when the Tenchi movie, "Tenchi Muyo In Love", came out, then came to cable, on Sci-Fi Channel's "saturday anime", lineup, and thus, when my awareness of the series started.
Then, via the internet, I found out more, and used Movies Unlimited, and websites to gradually aquire the whole series in VHS.
I've since switched over to DVD, of course.
DVD was easier, thank goodness for box sets.

Aaanyway, on to my experience with the movie, it had everything I liked run through a blender.
Lightsabers, time travel, paradoxes, superheroes, punk rock girls, monster battles, explosions, humor, it's like the Japanese peered into my head.
So, naturally, I was an instant fanboy, and needed more.
Ayep, Tenchi fandom, expanding to an all purpose anime fandom, was another layer of alternative geek culture that got me through the 90's.


Tenchi Muyo Ryo-Ohki (season 3)

The series-

A.K.A "the 3rd OVA".

A bit of a letdown.
Especially after that long fucking wait...

So, Ryoko (teal tressed lass in the very first pic) was really the star of this series, especially in the spinoff stuff, but here, they take away her strength (not physically, but as a character) and make her a clown, and push her into the background.
Both her, and Ayeka, in favor of shoving Noike down our throats, who, we do get to like, but...dammit, it's got the the stink of 70's sitcom "retooling", all over it.

And....what a letdown all the "big secrets", setup in OVA 2 were.

More retooling, new characters are ret-conned in as the answer to everything, and then they take over.
So, it essentially turns into a whole other show.
It's like Masaki Kajishima wanted to assert himself as head-honcho by well...pulling a Lucas.
A retro-Lucas, but still....

And....it's really all  a setup for Tenchi GXP....
In fact, it's one long infomercial for it, come to think of it...

The history-

They dragged out the wait for this...fuck, almost as long as for Star Wars prequels.
I think the prequels were done when this sumbitch finally graced Amazon.
Anyway, gotta say....it's almost as bad a letdown as Prequels.
Almost.
In terms of fuckup to the universe, yeah, but....it didn't suck.
What was there actually entertained.
Unlike Jar-Jar's "funny", antics.


Tenchi Muyo: GXP

The series-

The "sequel", to all 3 Tenchi OVAs.

Tells the story of Tenchi's Tenchi-looking neighbor who has almost the same shit happen to him, and ends up with an alien-girl harem that he never works up the nerve to fuck.

Like Tenchi.

And, as mentioned, the baton pass started in Tenchi OVA 3, so, this thing totally takes over.

BUT, because it's SO much like first-generation Tenchi, it's still good.

So, ya can't really complain.
Except that you're financially roped into this if you want the questions of the 3rd OVA answered....

The history-

Took forever to reach the states, so I followed along with meticulous message board reviews as they were released in Japan, and leaked out to fan-subbers.
Had actually largely  forgotten the review spoilers by the time it came out sate-side officially, that's how fucking long it took.


Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari

The series-

A.K.A "Saint Knight's Tale".

Stumbled onto the existence of this preparing for this review.

So...this is set 15 years after GXP, and the main character is the younger half-brother of Tenchi.

Um, well, here's the opening....




Ehh....I dunno, the style reminds me a lot of that "Bleach", type stuff that I'm not into....
And those bio-organic robot suits smack pretty damned hard of Evengelion.
Come on, you can't pull one over on this anime fanboy.

Well, there's fan-service titty....

The history-

N/A


Tenchi Universe

The series-

A.K.A. "Tenchi Muyo TV".

So, this is a "reboot", we get a watered down rushed introduction of all the girls up to Washu, then, the addition of Kiyone (headband wearing dame next to Tenchi n the above pic) , then the whole thing veers off on a completely different tangent than the OVA.

This all came out in the giant gap between OVA 1-2, and 3.

And yes, this in my book was "The Ryoko show".

Ryoko's nothing to sneeze at as a superheroine, flight, super strength, phasing, teleportation to places she's been, energy blasts, spontaneous creation of lightsabers, regeneration, and all off of a dimensional magic power source.
So...yeah, she could totally kill Superman.
That's a Robot Chicken I'd like to see....

Anyway, the animation is weaker, and the storyline a little lighter than the OVA...but, there's more of it, so it equals out.

And, I always thought this had the best theme of the lot....





Tenchi The Movie:
Tenchi Muyo In Love

The film/history-

My entry point into this series.
Set in Tenchi Universe continuity.

See the history chunk in the OVA review.


Tenchi The Movie 2: 
The Daughter Of Darkness

The film-

Set in a pocket universe that's an alternate continuation of the first 12 OVA episodes.

Um....pretty fuckin' dark.

Kids die, there's forced hypnotic incest, yeah...it's no fuckin' Carebears movie....

The history-

Got this via UPS right when we got hit with a stupid ice storm.
Watched it in two rounds keeping the gas generator going.
Fuckin' Maine.


Tenchi Forever

The film-

Set in Tenchi Universe continuity again, and the sequel to TMIL.

Yeah, as far as I'm concerned, fuck the 3rd OVA, this is how the series ends.

Ryoko finally reels in Tenchi, and we're done, happy music, credits, the end.

The history-

2 shows, 3 movies, and still no 3rd OVA.
I needn't have waited.
Wish I could go back and tell myself.


Tenchi In Tokyo

The series-

A.K.A "Shin Tenchi Muyo", A.K.A "Shit Tenchi", to disgruntled fans.

Set in its very own bubble continuity so it can't rape anything.

Yeah....collecting this was an ordeal...

Animation is jaw-droppingly sub-par.....the characters are portrayed all wrong, the humor is stupid, the music is some weird saxophone mess out of a goofy late-70's Godzilla, y'know, one of the comedy ones with "Minyah".
The crappy music just loops and loops, there's no variety in the composition, it's...just a fuckin' mess.

The history-

I had the last volume of this shit to watch after the art and beauty that was Tenchi Forever.
That was a glum moment.


Spaceship Agga Ruter

The series-

The Hentai (porno) series Masaki Kajishima did before Tenchi.

Very strong resemblance.
Actually, I think it's funnier than Tenchi now that I've seen the thing.

And, it's a creative porno, the fucking serves the plot.
I've been looking for something like this.
Bravo, well done, Mister Kajishima, well done.
Good show, old bean.

The history-

I'd always heard about it in whispers and giggles in Otaku circles.
Finally saw it last year.
There, seen that.


And...that's all of that....damned good little show....it was crazy popular in its day, up there with Evangelion, and Cowboy Bebop...now...it's a bitch to find, and costs a fortune...WTF??

In overall quality...it's no Bebop....but...it fucking destroys Inuyasha and Naruto.

Yeah, anime people will be able to conceptualize that....

Up next....I dunno....