I will write summaries as I upload episodes. So it may be
a while before I finish. That is of course, unless someone volunteers to
help.
Tenchi Muyo is broken into three distinctly different story
lines (the movies just add to the stories and fit at the ends of any of the
series). These are Tenchi Muyo OVA, Tenchi Universe, and Tenchi in Tokyo. There
are not that many episodes in any of the series. However, every series is
completely different with only characters being the common ground.
Tenchi Muyo OVA
Part 1
Tenchi Muyo OVA Part 2
*Coming Soon*
Tenchi Muyo OVA Specials
*Coming Soon*
This was the beginning of the Tenchi saga that was set on VHS and
later DVD. It is based largely on the Tenchi Muyo Manga series in Japan and is
thus Japanese by nature. It was thirteen episodes long plus the Night before the
Carnival, the Mihoshi Special, and a mini episode following the finale. The
first part deals with mainly with the fateful meeting of the characters and
Tenchi's battle against Kagato. The second part centers mainly around Washu and
the conflict between Tenchi and his friends and Dr. Clay. The Specials served to
tie the two parts together (The Night Before the Carnival), introduce Kiyone and
Pretty Sammy (yes, I'm sorry but Kiyone was only found in the Mihoshi Special
but her popularity won her a major role in Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo),
and finally served to tie together a few of the loose ends that remained after
the series finale (Here Comes Jurai 2, a mini episode found after Episode 13).
Tenchi
Universe *Coming Soon*
This series was commonly known as Tenchi TV when it was first introduced. In
this story Tenchi is a lot weaker than in the OVA. Ryoko's gems are not placed
in Tenchi's sword hilt but are only seen worn by Ryoko as jewelry. This is the
series were Kiyone had her major role. Unfortunately for her see was still
Mihoshi's partner. This series begins similar to the OVA except that Ryoko and
Mihoshi crash into earth on the first episode. However, after about the first
four episodes the series changes dramatically. This change ultimately leads
Tenchi and his friends into space and finally to the planet Jurai. The conflict
in this series comes from Kagato who has ascend to the throne of Jurai disguised
as Prince Yosho, who has only been missing for a few decades in stead of
centuries. I do believe that in this series the characters all have normal life
spans (i.e. Ryoko is not over 2000, Washu is not over 20000, and Ayeka, Sasami,
and Katsuhito are not over 700). All in all, it has a very good story and the
animation is of good quality.
Tenchi in Tokyo *?Coming Soon,
Maybe?*
In my own personal opinion, this is the black sheep of the Tenchi series. I,
honestly, did not like the animation and the way in which the characters were
shown to harass Tenchi (OK, I know they harass him in every other series but it
was portrayed in the wrong way in my eyes). I did watch the series and parts of
it were humorous but parts, like episode 3 where a broken cell phone turns into
a giant purple monster, I found a total turnoff. I thought the series was aimed
at 5-7 year old children rather than the other two which were aimed at older
audiences (no one can tell me that Episode 4 of the OVA was aimed at anything
besides an older audience). I think that really my only problem is that I like
anime series with more of a story with a deeper meaning. Some people even
believe that Tenchi falls in love with Sakuya but she is merely a shadow of Yugi
the villain in the series who seeks to draw Tenchi away from the other girls so
she can conquer Tokyo. However, some may enjoy this series but I did not. Please
don't accept my opinion as yours (it really pisses me off when people do that),
go watch a few episodes then form your own opinion. **Added February 3,
2001** I have recently began comparing Cartoon Network to my VHS taps and
DVD. The difference is unbelievable. My opinion of Tenchi in Tokyo
was based on the Cartoon Network episodes so I have decided to buy a DVD and
watch, but that will have to wait until after I finish buying Tenchi Universe.
