Kagato, an infamous space criminal, has come to Earth
seeking a secret Jurian power source long hidden there. Turns out, poor Tenchi is in possession of
that power and now has to fend off a villain who has the power to destroy
planets and even turn Ryoko against them.
Totally outmatched and underpowered, Tenchi and friends must use every
trick up their sleeve, and a brand new ally, to stop Kagato’s reign of terror
before he threatens to destroy the entire universe. The time for Tenchi to step forward and
accept his destiny has come.
With the bulk of the main cast introduced last time,
Tenchi returned to kick things into high gear with its sophomore set of episodes.
For the most part, the wacky harem hijinks
took a backseat to a much more serious story that saw the “death” and return of
our main hero, a pretty snazzy dressed villain and all the Star Wars imagery
you could handle.
It was a change of
pace but it was still awesome, cause Tenchi is awesome and I’m glad I’m along
for the ride.
Kagato, the glasses sporting megalomaniac.
I guess we could call him the Emperor
Palpatine in this Star Wars analogy.
But
I guess he might as well be Darth Vader considering there are much bigger fish
coming in the second half of what we’re covering (guess I should have specified
that in the Premiere but I will in time).
Kagato was every bit as terrifying and chilling as any major boss should
be.
His confidence and persona were cool
as ice and you had the very bad feeling that he could eliminate every single
member of Team Tenchi with very little effort.
But Kagato would have to put in some effort when Katsuhito, aka Tenchi’s
Grandfather, got to pick up the sword that originally belonged to him and kick
Kagato’s ass in a lightsaber duel (ok theyre not lightsabers but seriously,
look at them and tell me that’s not what you’re thinking).
This came with the revelation that Katsuhito
is actually a very much alive Yosho, lending legit credibility to Tenchi’s
untapped potential.
Funny enough, we
didn’t linger on that plot point for very long, which is weird considering
Ayeka has desperately wanted to find her half brother in order to marry him
(again, ew).
The bulk of the Kagato two parter took place in space and
threw a major wrench into the plot by seemingly killing off Tenchi at the end
of the first half.
This shook everyone
up but arguably Ryoko the most.
We
learned quite a bit about Ryoko’s genuine affection for Tenchi, having watched
him from afar as a spirit ever since he was born, watching him grow and being a
distant support during his most trying times.
Ryoko might be a trouble prone agent of chaos but she has a big heart
and she was gonna avenge Tenchi no matter what.
Everyone was onboard with the “Justice for Tenchi” plan actually and
everyone went into battle with purpose and style with Ryoko, Ayeka and Mihoshi
all getting some sexy skin tight battlesuits (more so Ryoko and Mihoshi
actually).
But no, Tenchi wasn’t dead,
more like saved at the last minute by another character ill talk about in a
second.
And he got Kagato good, engaging
in his little Jurian Super Saiyan transformation to kick his ass six ways to
Sunday like a proper heir to intergalactic power bad ass.
The Kagato encounter also brought us a new cast member
who is vying for Tenchi for very different reasons from the rest.
Washu is awesome, probably my second most
favorite girl of the cast after Ryoko, who she created btw.
Her big hair, cute outfits, wacky attitude
and intelligence make her one of the most unique of the bunch and her mad
scientist ways lead to some of Tenchi Muyo’s most risqué moments (how the hell
did this get edited to the point where it could ever air on Toonami?)
With Ryoko and Ayeka as the main rivals for
Tenchi’s affections, Washu as genius mad scientist and Mihoshi as ditzy space
cop, where does that leave poor Sasami?
Last week she was the odd girl out and this time still is…though I get
the feeling the second half (aka OVA 2) is gonna rectify that.
Sasami is shown to have some connection to an
ancient Jurian battleship, Tsunami, and I guess a level of precognition?
Last time she foresaw the arrival of Kagato
and now she’s seen Tenchi being taken away by a large force headed by someone
called “Tokimi”?
Let me be clear, I
don’t mind Sasami at all, I think she’s fine…she just doesn’t have as defined a
character type as everyone else does imho.
After Kagato was dealt with, an extended Episode 7 saw
things more or less getting back to normal in the House of Tenchi.
And while watching Ryoko and Ayeka go head to
head for Tenchi’s heart, using Earth Manga as their research tools, Episode 7
felt like 45 minutes of pure filler that didn’t do much to explore recent
revelations or advance the plot any further.
I might not have minded so much if it wasn’t 45 minutes long.
Most of the episodes best moments didn’t
arrive until close to the end when Ryoko and Ayeka had a late night duel and
Sasami had her vision/nightmare that sent her crying to Tenchi’s room for a
sleepover with him, Washu and Ryo-Ohki.
Besides
that, it was just “here’s a sort of normal day as far as normal days go in the
Tenchi Household” kind of episode.
No
additional focus on Katsuhito/Yosho or Tenchi’s newfound super powers, aka the
Light Hawk Wings, or what lies ahead for Team Tenchi.
It has its moments of fun and I did laugh…but
ultimately the episode felt a little pointless and way too long.
Well, with one big bad out of the way, what is next for
Tenchi and his harem of lovely space ladies?
We’ll talk about that more on Friday as well as clearing up a few
details about these reviews on Monday when the second half of Tenchi Muyo gets
going right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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