Tenchi Muyo!

OVA

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

Summary - The original anime incarnation of Tenchi, this series was probably made as teasers for the manga series. Tenchi Misaki is an average school boy who spends the summers at his grandfather's temple in the mountains. On one such trip he desides to break a long-standing temple rule by pulling a sacred sword out of its shrine. Now a multi-thousand year old demon, Ryoko, is loose - but no worries. She, just like the two alien princesses, galaxy police officer, and wacky mad scientist that eventually show up and take residence in his home, falls madly in love with humble Tenchi. The story takes snapshots from the development of the manga as Tenchi learns of his special lineage, Ryoko gets kidnapped by the all-powerful Kagato, and the goddess Lady Tokimi turns her eyes towards 'quiet' little Earth.

Impression - very entertaining, certainly the best of the Tenchi franchise.

Review - Tenchi can best be described as a geek empowerment piece like Love Hina, Dual!, El Hazard, etc. The main hero is one of the guys who prefers to just live in the background and is really too shy/noble to get anywhere with a girl. This is all shattered by every man's dream: to live in a small house with a horde of beautiful girls who are all hot for him in one way or another. The running gag is that Tenchi is too indevisive to just choose one and send the rest on their way. (In the OVA and early Tenchi TV he seems to favor Ayeka because of his lineage. But the movies favor Ryoko. Still, the farthest he ever goes is holding hands or sharing a quiet moment.)

VERDICT: If you want to get a taste of the fan-favorite Tenchi franchise, this is the first and best title you should look at. It's even entertaining (albeit short) by itself.

Sub vs. Dub - I like the sub voice of Tenchi but the original japanese actors for Mihoshi painted her too blonde and Ryoko too slutty. In the end I guess they even out. Just be wary - nothing was too taboo for Tenchi, and thus the original subtitled material is the least likely to be edited or watered-down. It's anyone's guess with a dubbed version.

SPECIAL NOTE - Tenchi OVA was aired in a heavily edited form on Cartoon Network, but what they didn't show was the final episode: Mihoshi's Space Adventure. This is probably because it can be construed as a special and doesn't really add anything to the story. It does, however, introduce two very prominent aspects to the Tenchi franchise: Mihoshi's partner Kiyone, who isn't in the OVA until this point but remains a character in every future Tenchi incarnation, and little Sasami as the fictional shoujo-manga superhero Pretty Sammy, which eventually became its own television series.

MIKE'S TAKE: <<< >>>

BEN'S TAKE: <<< >>>