Tenchi Muyo: (Movie #1)

Tenchi Muyo in Love

CARL's TAKE: <<<Three and a half stars>>>

Summary - Long ago, the monarch of Jurai teamed up with the Galaxy Police in a great battle to seal away a powerful evil force known as Kain. Kain finally escapes from his prison and annihilates Galaxy Police headquarters, then seeks out the head of Jurai. Not being bound to any particular timeline, he goes into the past to kill Tenchi's mother, Atchika. Washu is able to prevent Tenchi from being erased from time, but it will only help for a short while. The gang has to rush to the past to stop the murder from taking place. But as luck has it they land right in the middle of his parents' budding romance.

Impression - a love story with enough action to keep its head above water.

Review - From the beginning it's clear that Tenchi in Love was written with some of the good stuff that went into the Tenchi OVA (though the universe seems to be a mix of the OVA and the TV series). It has heart. It shows an aspect of the Tenchi universe that was intentionally left ambiguous in the series - and weaves it into an overall plot that through most of the movie is pretty compelling. Though the story gets a little sidetracked with his parents' love story, the development in this area becomes important later on.
I admit, my feelings of this movie are colored a little by my appreciation of the OVA's plot and my attachment to the characters (not to mention I'm a sucker for cute anime romances that actually go somewhere). But this title has enough substance to work for someone who isn't at all interested in Atchika or Nobuyuki.

VERDICT: a must-see for fans, but won't make a whole lot of sense to someone who hasn't seen any Tenchi.

MIKE'S TAKE: <<< >>>

BEN'S TAKE: <<< >>>