Tenchi Muyou!

Title:Tenchi Muyou!
Tenchi Muyo! TV Series
Tenchi Universe
天地無用!
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , ,
Notables: AMANO Yuri
Animation - AIC Spirits
KIKUCHI Masami
ORIKASA Ai
R1 License - FUNimation
WAKAMOTO Norio
YOKOYAMA Chisa
While drunk, Ryouko, a space pirate and wanted criminal, is shot down above the Earth by Galaxy Police Detective Mihoshi. Tenchi, a teenage boy, sees Ryouko crash and runs to the crash site. He greets Ryouko as she gains consciousness just in time for Mihoshi to show up in a hard suit. By the end of the episode both Mihoshi and Ryouko are stranded and living at Tenchi's house.
[26 TV episodes, animation by AIC, R1 by Geneon]
[edit] The ↗Tenchi Muyou! franchise (original and still ongoing):

"↗Kajishima original canon" stories: Note: The GXP anime series is trumped by the novels from series creator KAJISHIMA Masaki. The canon GXP novels confirm that "Dual!" is set billions of years ago and why some of the characters are reincarnated in OVA 5. The "Paradise Wars" novels are included in the canon, which are also referenced in Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA 5.

"↗Hasegawa canon" stories: Note: The full Hasegawa spinoff continuity is captured in novel form.

"↗Negishi canon" stories: Non-canon Tenchi remake: Magical Girl Pretty Sammy (spin-off): Sasami (spin-off): Ai Tenchi Muyo (spin-off):
Episode Details 
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 8 6 8 7 7 7 Ggultra2764 [series:36#1552]
It's been years since I last seen Tenchi Universe on Toonami. Being in the mood to see some more Tenchi, I chose to get the complete set of this series on DVD for some long due nostalgia. Granted the Tenchi OAVs are far more better. Characters have greater development and the world of the series is much more complex. But, the greater emphasis on comedy was worthwhile with Tenchi Universe and this is obvious with the change in many of the character personalities and backgrounds. Washu's more egotistical and plays mad scientist. Mihoshi's the cliched "dumb blonde" and much more of a clutz. The usual Ryoko-Ayeka bickering is back. It's more funny thanks to the fact the two had a past together in this adaptation of Tenchi, especially as Ryoko is much more mischievious here.

However, the simplified plotting of this series works against it. Without the eventual buildup of the OAVs, the Ryoko-Tenchi-Ayeka love triangle lacks credibility in this series. The main villian wasn't as intriguing as folks like Kagato and Dr. Clay of the OAVs and the finale felt quite cliched and just didn't click with me.

In terms of artwork, character designs and scenery looked quite polished and smooth. But, the animation was a bit lackluster. The music features a good number of tracks that are either reused or remixed from the OAV series. There are some new music tracks that were decent. But, I never caught onto the OP and ED music tracks.

Tenchi Universe's greater use of comedy may not be for those who strongly support the OAV continuity. But if you wanted more humor from the series, this series should fit the bill for you though its plotting can't match up to the OAV.

Last updated Thursday, January 08 2009. Created Thursday, January 08 2009.
Rent Stretch [series:36#628]
First of all, I must admit I started off with a bit of a grudge against this series. I first saw the superb Tenchi Muyo OVAs on Cartoon Network, and for some reason they also ran the first episode of Tenchi Universe, which seemed pretty good as well. I couldn't get enough of TM!, so I pleaded for the entire Tenchi Universe series as a Christmas present. My parents paid the premium price for dubbed VHS tapes (at the time, I had never heard of concepts such as "localization"), which pretty much meant this would be the only gift I got for the holiday. To my horror, Tenchi Universe was distinctly inferior to the OVAs. I watched it to within two volumes of the end (my parents hadn't been able to find the final volume anyway), then lost interest and shelved the tapes for at least a year. It took a while for my prejudice against the series (and my dread of watching it again) to wear off, but recently I finally have started over from the beginning (and I found the missing volume at Amazon.com). To my surprise, it's really not all bad! I guess the problem was that I started watching it the first time with extremely high expectations, and felt cheated when it didn't completely match the quality of the OVAs. Whereas the OVAs had a near perfectly balanced plot, with little or no time wasted, Tenchi Universe both greatly simplifies the story and yet lengthens it fourfold. This is done by shovelling in all sorts of filler nonsense which have little or nothing to do with the main plotline--perhaps this is the most glaring difference between this series and the OVAs. It takes so long for a key element of the plot (the link between Tenchi's family on Earth and the Juraiian Royal family) to appear, that I initially thought it had been discarded altogether. I see now that if I had hung on long enough to watch that last gift volume, it would have become clear that it wasn't so. Watching a version which was both dubbed and censored for American TV ("Toonami") certainly didn't help. Finally watching the long lost final volume in another form made that clear. Don't make the same mistakes as I did, people! I doubt if the improvement in quality that might be attained by watching this in subtitled form would be enough to make me want to watch it all over, though. This is just a guess, but watching it from the start in subtitled form might leave you with a distinctly better impression of the show than I came away with. Tenchi Universe is for those who either haven't yet seen the OVAs ("watch"), or love them so much that they are prepared to accept a serious step down in quality in order to get more of Tenchi and the gang ("rent").

Last updated Saturday, July 17 2004. Created Friday, June 25 2004.
Buy 10 10 10 10 10 10 Luna [series:36#986]
three words:
TENCHI RULES YOU!

Last updated Wednesday, September 24 2003. Created Wednesday, September 24 2003.
Buy dhrachth [series:36#962]
Best of the Tenchi's overall.
The characters and dialogue aren't written quite as well as in the OAV, though they're close, but the plot is actually resolved and the story is finished.

Last updated Thursday, September 11 2003. Created Thursday, September 11 2003.
Buy 8 8 8 8 7 8 AstroNerdBoy [series:36#436]
One a series such as Tenchi Muyo! becomes popular, it is only natural that the people who paid for said series would want to milk it for every yen it is worth. As such, enter Tenchi Universe

This series is a remake of the original 6-episode OAV and has been stretched into 24 episodes for TV viewing. In addition, most characters have been modified to one degree or other. Ryoko is no longer the sealed demon in the cave -- Washu is. Also gone is the deeper underlying story of the original OAV.

Let me say that while I enjoy this series, Tenchi Muyo OAV beats this hands down. This series still has merit though even if it isn't as good. I found the bickering between Ayeka and Ryoko funnier in this series simply because they had a history going back to their childhood. However, the love-triangle between Ayeka, Ryoko, and Tenchi was not as convincing, especially in the begining.

Bottom line: Tenchi fans should know that while this isn't as good as the original, it is pretty good as a seperate stand-alone series. Plus, those of us who are Ryoko fans can't get enough of her! ;-)

Last updated Sunday, December 12 2004. Created Sunday, March 09 2003.
Avoid 8 8 5 6 7 6 Sesen Kelader [series:36#471]
To simply say, It's STUPID, STUPID, and STUPID. The TV series is plainly stupid!!!! However the Movie and OVA are pretty good.
In the TV series, from the beginning to the end, it's full of stupidity. I can't like any of the characters. There are seriously lots of pointless jokes, and at las the jokes become the central idea of the TV series, and the original central idea is just sadly buried in the GRAVE OF IDIOTIC JOKES.
OVA and the Movies are better becauase they express the original central idea without being buried by jokes. That's why I favor them more.

Last updated Saturday, January 04 2003. Created Saturday, January 04 2003.
Buy 8 7 7 8 9 8 Cenit [series:36#45]
Well, this was the first Tenchi Muyo series that I saw (and actually saw the second one at the same time so I got really confused) it is not the best one, nor the worst one, it falls in that weird mid-point, so it's good enough for watching but you don't have to kill yourself for it.

Last updated Thursday, May 30 2002. Created Thursday, May 30 2002.
Buy 7 8 9 9 9 9 RedSilver [series:36#288]
The Tenchi seires is the funnest anima show I have ever seen.
Thow some of the later episodes form Tenchi Uniceres were not as fun most of the seires was great. I can't help but smile when Mihoshi and Kiyone start to fight over Tenchi.
Tenchi has to be the luckest guy. I mean come on, he has 6 super hot girls who love him living in his house. And better yet when he is off to school "Tenchi in Tokio" he meet another hot girl friend. Then Mihoshi and Kiyone have someone new to fight with.
I find it all very funny and give it two thumbs up.
by RedSilver

Last updated Thursday, March 28 2002. Created Thursday, March 28 2002.
Buy Atsumi_Yamaki [series:36#259]
This is my fav of the Tenchi Series Why? Because the animation is better than the other 2 the story is the best of all too read up

Last updated Friday, January 11 2002. Created Friday, January 11 2002.
Rent 6 6 7 6 7 Courtney [series:36#80]
Ah Tenchi, how many ways can they find to tell youre tale?
I found just as much to like about TENCHI UNIVERSE as I did not to, in all honesty. The banter between the characters was not unlike that of the OVA and the fact that an actual plot existed helped to separate it from its predecessor. My favorite part of the series was Kiyone, because I love her so much for being the hardest working woman in TENCHI UNIVERSE (Despite the emotional handicap that is Mihoshi!). All the characters seemed to be in their prime which made it always interesting to watch.
Still, at times I thought the plot was simply moving too slow through its 22-something episode run, as I couldnt help but feel that the same story was being told at times or it was just taking unnecessarily long for them to reach Jurai. The pace was obnoxious, but the characters do make it bearable. Fun for die-hard otaku and those unfamiliar fans, I recommend highly.

Last updated Monday, November 19 2001. Created Monday, November 19 2001.
Watch 9 8 10 10 5 5 Johan Gustafsson [series:36#195]
I had so high expactations from this series but, sorry to say, it doesn

Last updated Tuesday, July 03 2001. Created Tuesday, July 03 2001.
Buy 9 9 8 10 10 Kaitou Juliet [series:36#137]

I'd say I like the Tenchi Muyo OAV's and TV series about equally, for different reasons. The OAV's had the most complexity in the world and character relationships; the TV series has sweep and storytelling. It tells roughly the same story as the first 6 episodes of the OAV's, but in much greater detail, and with new characters and enough plot twists that those who have seen the OAV's won't be bored. There are also some wonderful side trips, like the "Time and Space Adventures," in which we get to see various characters' ideal worlds.

The music is up and down. I never developed much enthusiasm for the opening and closing themes, but the background music is very effective. I especially like the haunting, wordless vocal which is used several times in the climactic episodes.



Last updated Wednesday, August 07 2002. Created Tuesday, April 03 2001.
Buy 8 9 9 8 8 8 X [series:36#157]
Definitely more complete than the OAV and the animation is great considering it is a TV series. The characters are still pretty much the same but in a different story line. There were a lot more characters added (go Kiyone!!!) which was an added plus. It was still humorous and pleasant to watch as the OAV.
The story line was good and it actually led up to something. The only downfall were some of the voices. Ayeka was fine (considering she is a prissy, spoiled princess the voice seemed suitable), but Noboyuki, Azaka and Kamidake were just plain horrible. But it shouldn't be a big problem. Otherwise a fun series to watch and very exciting from beginning to end (which I thought was one of the best endings to a TV series).

Last updated Monday, March 19 2001. Created Monday, March 19 2001.
Buy 8 8 9 8 9 Black Panther [series:36#142]
Tenshi is a great and beloved character...maybe a little to loved! The story Tenshi Universe jumps right into the life of Tenshi Muyo, and you find yourself completely enthralled after just a few episodes. It was a lot of fun to watch, and kept me asking for more. My favorite part however, was watching the character's progression with every challenge or trial that came in their path. I would definitely rate this as a buy. Just as a side note, there were small portions of nudity, but that does not change my opinion of this anime. I would not say it is for children, but more for teenagers and adults. I hope you enjoy this anime as much as I did.

Last updated Wednesday, January 02 2002. Created Friday, March 02 2001.
Buy 8 8 9 7 7 7 Lickylick [series:36#133]
I enjoyed this series quite a bit. I have only seen it on the Cartoon Network (please shoot several of the dub actors, especially Ayeka's) and I was still recovering from what I like to call "What-do-you-mean-the-series-ends-at-episode-13-while-finally-entering-into-the-major-plot-syndrome" that I had experienced with Tenchi Muyo.
The characters are a bit unrealistic personality wise. But they are still incredibly lovable (oh, I love Ryoko and Kiyone soooo much). Being a complete fanboy, I rejoiced at the airing of the swimsuit contest episode (soooo hooooot!). The story was a bit contrived, but heck, it's Tenchi so who cares.
The music was decent. Period.
Still not as good as what I've seen of Tenchi Muyo (I pray that it is completed soon, especially since Tenchi will finally choose one of the women). It is a good series and the best complete Tenchi series that I have seen, na no da.

Last updated Saturday, February 10 2001. Created Saturday, February 10 2001.
Buy 9 8 9 10 8 Midnighter [series:36#94]
This is far and away the best Tenchi series. Definately one of the funniest animes ever made with delightful writing and jokes that actually work (gasp!) in the English translation.
Tenchi Universe is based on the Shinto creation myth, with the characters all playing the parts of various Kami (spirits). Washu and Jurai's King represent Izanami (the fire spirit) and Izanagi respectively, Yosho represents Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, and Tenchi plays the part of Ninigi. The fact that Tenchi is a sort of update on old traditional beleifs with a weird Sci-Fi twist makes it one of the most entertaining and unique animes out there.
The episodes manage to be self contained yet all part of the larger plot, a difficult feat to accomplish, and it is the strength of the writing that makes Universe the best Tenchi show. The characters stay consistant but grow and develop, something the Tenchi OAVs struggled with.
The chemistry between all the characters is un-rivaled anywhere, and the viewer finds themself being drawn deeper into the insanity that is the Tenchi-verse. I love the character designs and the animation is better than alot of people give it credit for. I loved the music. Normally I don't really like synth music, but whoever wrote the scores for this series was a musical genius. I also liked Tenchi Universe because it featured more Kiyone, one of the best characters in the Tenchi-verse!
In short, Tenchi Universe is nearly flawless and no anime fan should be without it. Tenchi Universe is a buy because of overall quality.

Last updated Monday, December 10 2001. Created Monday, December 04 2000.
Buy 8 8 9 8 9 CatWoman [series:36#65]
This is a great series! I liked it a lot! It does have a little nudity and a few bad wards, but it's focuse is on more for teens and above then it is kids! It is my fav. Tenchi series! It is a perfect mix of comedy and drama. If you want something that you can watch at any time and in any mood!

Last updated Monday, August 21 2000. Created Thursday, July 27 2000.
Buy 9 10 10 10 10 0 The Coyote [series:36#64]
Okay there are only two things I find even a little bit wrong with this series (Which is one of my favorite anime) there are two scene's in this series that have some nudity (something that if you read my profile you'll see that I'm adverse to) Other than that this is a perfect series both hilarious and touching right from the time that Ryoko (Ryoko is my faviorte character bar none She IS my desk top) and Mihoshi enter all the way to the dramatic and heart wrenching end This is a must bye. If you liked the Tenchi OAV series but found it to be a little heavy on the nudity then this is perfect for you. The character chemistry is unmatched. The humor keeps you rolling and the storyline keeps you on the edge of you seat. An absolute masterpiece.

Last updated Thursday, April 25 2002. Created Friday, July 21 2000.
Rent Jenn-chan [series:36#31]
I honestly did not like this part of the Tenchi saga. 26 episodes of slapstick mixed with a mildly interesting plot and bad dubbing. Someone please shoot Ayeka's voice actress NOW! Being that this is just a re-telling of how Tenchi met all his alien companions, it won't hurt you a bit if you pass this up. However, if you are a true Tenchi fan, by all means check it out.

Last updated Tuesday, April 25 2000. Created Tuesday, April 25 2000.

Other Sites
NameURL
IMDB http://us.imdb.com/Title?%22Tenchi+Universe%22+(1995)
AIC http://www.anime-int.com/e/
Tencho Muyo! Another Universe http://tigercow.fateback.com/index.html
A great fansite about ALL of the Tenchi series and movies. Updated often.

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