Tenchi TV (Tenchi Universe)

TV Series

CARL's TAKE: <<<Two and a half out of Four Stars>>>

Summary - A television series spawned from the successful OVA, this Tenchi piece recasts the same characters in similar but different roles (Pioneer, the company that made it, does this a lot). Mihoshi abandons her partner Kiyone to chase at-large space pirate Ryoko to Earth, where they both drag poor bystander Tenchi into their fight. Ayeka and Sasami arrive shortly after, as does Kiyone when she realizes Mihoshi is still alive. And this time it's mad scientist Washu who is a demon sealed at the family temple.

The plot is a little sketchy at first, but turns into a trip across the galaxy to get to Jurai and stop a recast Kagato, who has taken control of the planet's government and declared Tenchi and the princesses outlaws. But they fill the time in the middle of the journey with plenty of pit-stops gone awry.

Impression - the re-casting can be kinda fun after seeing the OVA, but it has nowheres near the depth or appeal of its predecessor.

Review - For the first few episodes as the story gets established OVA fans would have been bored by backtracking, so to keep it interesting Pioneer mixed things up. But not really for the better - the heart of the OVA is rarely relived in this series, and most of the situations and dialogue feel contrived. There is some hope for the plot at certain times, and it does have strong points despite its cliches, but for the most part it seemed willing to just ride out the popularity it's big name brought. Perhaps if it had expanded its main story arc and thrown in some variety it could have been better, but it's a moot point now anyway.

VERDICT: a light comedy, if you liked the OVA this'll probably be worth looking into, but if the characters grated on you be warned they are unchanged in this series.

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