released 01 jun 07 / last mod 01 jun 07 / greg goebel / public domain
* The original TENCHI-MUYO anime video series featured a pleasant Japanese lad named Tenchi Masaki who, unknown to himself, is a member of the royal family of the powerful planet of Jurai. He becomes aware of this when he runs into a succession of alien femmes -- space pirate Ryoko, space princess Ayeka and her little sister Sasami, ditzy blonde Galaxy Police officer Mihoshi, and mad scientist Washu. The story involved Tenchi trying to deal with the advances of the women and the attacks of galactic rivals.
The original TENCHI-MUYO anime series faded out in a set of loose ends, and it was followed mostly by series that revised the basic scenario, such as the TENCHI UNIVERSE series for younger anime fans and the undistinguished TENCHI IN TOKYO series. The story returned to its original concept in the recent TENCHI-MUYO GXP, though it didn't focus on the main characters of the series.
Now TENCHI-MUYO RYOH-OKI (TMRO), a brief series of seven episodes on three DVDs, has been introduced, apparently to tie up loose ends of the original series. It summarizes the main events of the original series, then introduces a number of new characters, such as powerful Warrior Z, Mihoshi's insanely jealous brother Misao, a beautiful little girl who is an alter-ego of master villain Kagato, and another femme in Tenchi's life named Noike. It also gives some background on Tenchi's late mother, reveals the real nature of Washu, and gives the mysterious Goddess Tokimi from the original series a more substantial role.
I say TMRO apparently was made to tie up loose ends -- but in fact it doesn't. The reality is that this is one of the most totally incoherent anime videos ever made. Following the plot logic is almost impossible, the dialogue has a tendency to descend into sheer gibberish, and there are gaps in story logic and continuity that a tank could be driven through. TMRO ends up producing loose ends, not tying them up.
The odd thing is that TMRO is actually watchable -- the characters are interesting, and it's got plenty of fun details. This is not to say that it's any good, it's not, just to say that given how badly written TMRO is, the fact that it can be watched at all is astounding. Although TMRO ends inconclusively, it does give an impression that this is the end of the series -- and if this is all the more that can be done with it, it's about time.
