Deep in rural Japan, Tenchi Masaki is a high school
student with an uncertain destiny. Said
destiny comes calling when Tenchi accidentally awakens an ancient demon from
her slumber. This kicks off a series of
events that sees Tenchi battling monsters from history and from beyond the
stars themselves. Joining him are a slew
of beautiful maidens, each with amazing abilities and all vying for the most
important treasure in the universe: Tenchi’s heart. Never has one young man ever been so
lucky…here’s hoping Tenchi lives long enough to choose while girl becomes his
bride.
Every once in a while, I like to look at a complete (ish)
franchise over the course of a single year.
In 2017 it was Full Metal Panic.
In 2019 it was Slayers.
This
year, 2022…well I guess I’m looking at 2 franchises since im also doing Fullmetal
Alchemist.
Right here and now though,
we’re delving into the series that was probably many Anime fans first
introduction to the Harem genre: where one young man gets to live out the
ultimate fantasy of being the object of several girls affections…whether it
costs him his life or not.
Intergalactic
beauties and space battles and villains of unimaginable power…and the one guy
unlucky enough to be in the middle of it all.
Welcome, Dear Readers, to Tenchi Muyo!
Oh Tenchi, what a lucky, loveable guy.
He’s just a high school student with some
kind of secret destiny ahead of him and now he’s been thrust into a spectacular
adventure that’s literally out of this world.
Well ok, I take some of that back.
Most of the beginning of this series takes place on Earth but even the
quieter moments of the premiere feel pretty damn epic.
Maybe it’s because the OVA animation here is
off the charts.
Maybe it’s because the
splinters of action we get are fun, bombastic and a little different in little
ways.
Maybe it’s because the cast is
actually pretty likeable even if their own roles vary.
The point is, if youre starting off in Anime
and coming into Tenchi Muyo after watching Dragon Ball Z or Naruto, you’re in
for a new kind of experience.
The premiere of Tenchi Muyo does have some fun and
creative action but it’s the characters who are the main focus.
The third episode alone only has one
flashback action sequence while everything else is everyone chilling out around
Tenchi’s house while trying to figure out the mystery of what’s happened to
Ayeka’s half brother (and bethrohed…ew?) Yosho.
It’s all about the atmosphere and Tenchi Muyo can be both exciting and
surprisingly chill.
Not to mention,
there’s plenty of comedy gold to be mined from Tenchi himself trying to keep
his head above water while Ryoko and Ayeka vie for his affections with
disastrous and explosive results.
The
best part, while it might hurt the pacing a little bit with some of these
approaches, Tenchi Muyo is always fascinating and hardly boring.
When the action does kick in, it’s a lot of
fun.
Tenchi and Ryoko’s first showdown
in Tenchi’s school is a perfect mix of humor and lightsaber-esque sword play
while Ryoko and Ayeka’s showdowns in space show off some of the spectacular
possibilities we might get with grander spaceship battles down the line.
Now, onto our cast.
Tenchi is our everyman, the kid who doesn’t know how lucky he is but
just wants a quiet life. And while he’s a likeable enough lead, admit it,
you’re just here for the ladies.
Ryoko
is easily the best of the bunch: gorgeous, schememing and full of
mischief.
This space pirate who looks
good for over 700+ years is the girl you don’t take home to mother but would
love to hang around any other time.
By
contrast, Ayeka’s stuffiness is pretty grating at first.
When she softens and actually expresses her
inner fears and concerns to Tenchi, while also being friendly to the series
mascot, Ayeka becomes much more tolerable.
Plus, her verbal and physical throwdowns with Ryoko are the stuff of
legends for a reason.
Sasami is the only
one of the main cast thus far who’s…well kind of just there if im honest.
She’s giggling and happy and always wants
everyone to hang out and feel the same.
But Sasami’s role feels very small compared to everyone else.
Even the bumbling Mihoshi feels like she has
more of a role and she’s mostly played for laughs: the hottie with a body but
very little brain power.
Then there’s
our aforementioned loveable little mascot: The Cabbit (Cat/Rabbit hybrid) Ryo-Ohki.
One look at this little critter and you’ll
want one of your own and damn you if you make it cry, the tiny wittle guy
All in all, Tenchi Muyo has a great set of opening
episodes that carefully balance flashy spectacle and quieter but likeable character
moments.
Tenchi feels more than up to
the task of carrying his show and is backed by a great squad of awesome femme
fatales.
And with a powerful space
pirate bearing down on Earth, Anime’s most loveable bachelor might need all the
help he can get.
Welcome to the Gundam
Anime Corner Tenchi Masaki, hope you survive the experience.
See ya Friday for more Tenchi Muyo!
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