Introduction:
After the astounding success
of the first Original Animated Video (OAV) series, and a well received one off episode (with a bit more skin on display). It was natural for the creators of Tenchi Muyo to dive back into the well
and get a second series of animated adventures out there. Did stick to the
formula or strike out in a new direction?
Summary:
Tenchi (Matt Miller) is
still trying to deal with all the hot alien girls living in his home. Ryoko
(Petrea Burchard) is constantly picking fights with Princess Ayeka (Jennifer
Darling). Detective Mihoshi (Ellen Gerstell) is still kind, friendly and
clueless. But the biggest changes are coming for the other three girls.
Princess Sasami (Sherry
Lynn) may be a cute as a button, but she holds within her the massive power of
Tsunami. Just who or what Tsunami is and she wants with Tenchi is another
matter all together. Then there’s one of Washu’s (Kate T. Voigt) old university
buddies, Dr. Clay (Wess Mann). He’s found Washu and has the perfect plan to get
his revenge on her. Poor little Ryo-Oki just isn’t content being a cute Cabbit
all the time. She wants to help around the house and make Tenchi smile. A
little trip to Washu’s lab may make her wish come true.
Even if our gang manages to
survive all these adventures, there is still a small problem. Ayeka and Sasami
have been missed. And the royal family of planet Jurai is on the way to find
out just what is going on at the Tenchi home. More laughs and space opera
adventures are on the way with this second series of Tenchi Muyo.
Good Points:
- The English voice cast is now fully comfortable with their roles and is obviously having a great time.
- Visual design remains top notch and inventive
- Contains some of the funniest scenes in the entire OAV series
Bad Points:
- You’ll feel a serious case of rehash with these stories
- Dr. Clay never feels like a real threat
- Hope you like Washu, because she becomes the star of the show
Overall:
There is a whole lot of
familiarity going on here. This goes for the plot, the music the types of jokes
and the character arcs. When the series tries to throw in a twist, it doesn’t
work out so well. But each episode contains some very funny moments, or some
cool animated action. It is entertaining in the end, but feels like a missed
opportunity to really explore the world they set up in the first series.
Scores
(out of 5)
Visuals: 4
Sound: 3
Acting: 4
Script: 2
Music: 3
Direction: 2
Entertainment: 3
Total: 3
In Depth Review
Ah, the dreaded sequel
conundrum. People want more of the show they liked. Producers are eager to
comply. But what do you do? Keep it too familiar and it feels like a tired
retread. Change too much and you lose the elements people liked in the first
place. Try to walk down the middle and you could end up with a muddled product.
Muddled Is a good way to
describe the second series of the Tenchi
Muyo OAV series. Much like the second series of El Hazard a few years later, it just doesn’t carry the original
story threads forward in any meaningful way. Most of the new stories or super
light and fluffy, or just a rehash with a new coat of paint. We do get some back-story
for Washu and Sasami, which is nice. But by the end of the series, our little
group is pretty much where they started at the beginning of this set of
episodes.
Luckily the visuals and
sound have remained very good. In audio department, it’s not a big surprise.
They are using the Skywalker Sound archives, so you get to hear familiar noises
from Indiana Jones and Star Wars in
here. But for me, one of the great appeals of the Tenchi Muyo franchise is the interesting design. We get to see more
of planet Jurai and their culture. The tree-based technology is very organic
and beautiful. Dr. Clay presents us with a new set of technology based on his
swooping designs. Because he is a representative of the mysterious Lady Tokimi
(Jennifer Darling in a duel role!), there is a lot of rounded and very female
design for his devices, including his robot Zero (Petra Burchard in a duel
role!).
The other area that seems
improved is the voice acting. All our leads are fully into their characters and
are having a good time with them. Voigt actually gets to do the most work in
this series, since many of the episodes focus on her relationship with Dr.
Clay, her motherhood and her amazing scientific abilities. She does a very good
job balancing the jovial and silly moments with the drop dead serious moments.
Washu is a lot of contradictions, but Voigt makes them all sound very natural
in one person.
As I mentioned above, there
is some double duty going on in this series. This is partly by design, and
partly because it was cheaper than hiring different voice actors. In the case
of Lady Tokimi, Darling slows down her speech and lowers her voice an octave or
two, adding a bit of mystery to the strange being. Still Darling’s vocal style
is distinctive and you recognize her after a couple lines. Luckily Tokimi
doesn’t say much in the series. The rest of the doubling has to do with actual
variants on current characters. Burchard plays Ryoko and the robot Zero. This
works great, because Zero captures Ryoko and then masquerades as her. Burchard
does a great job with both roles, keeping them just different enough that we
know which is the real Ryoko. Miller gets to play Tenchi as well as his
grandfather when he was younger. It’s a solid performance, with Miller able to
drop the frantic confusion that Tenchi often has. But my favorite is Sherry
Lynn when she voices Tsunami. It takes a while, but you can tell it’s the same
voice actress and that is fine, because Tsunami is an aspect of the future
Sasami (it all makes sense when you see it). But the cut little squeak is gone
and replaced by the voice of a woman. The change is dramatic and effective.
The musical score keeps in the same area as the previous
series. Most of it is performed electronically, but it builds tension and
supports the laughs when it needs to. The biggest change are the opening and
ending credits. The end credits are typical stuff. But the opening credits
features the song “Pioneer” sung with amazing verve and enthusiasm in both
English and Japanese. This became the theme song of the series for a lot of
folks - partially because it was so darn catchy, but also because the animation
was owned by the company Pioneer. The irony wasn’t lost on anyone.
The downside comes with the
script and execution of the stories for Tenchi
Muyo Series 2. The series opens with one of the most infamous “jump the
shark” moments in any television show. To make things more wacky… now Tenchi
and the girls have to take care of a baby! Hi-jinks ensue! Actually boredom
ensues, because we have all seen these endless clichés before. None of the
girls are actually good at taking care of the baby – except for Sasami (who is
a child) and Washu (who looks like a child). The humor in this episode falls
very flat, with the exception of when Mihoshi tries to take a bath with the
baby and you hear her trying to explain to the baby why lunch is not being
served, if you catch my drift. We do get some insight on Washu’s previous life
and how she had a child somewhere in her past. But this also starts the trend
of Washu taking over the plot from the rest of the characters in the series.
Up next is the episode where
we find out more about Sasami and her connection to the super powerful woman
Tsunami. This episode takes place at the hot springs featured in the previous
series, but instead of turning this into one of the more fan service focused
episodes, this focuses on the mystery of a ghost at the resort. The whole thing
falls flat, with slow pacing, badly placed comedy, and no lead up to the
revelation of Sasami/Tsunami. This could have been the perfect place to develop
the relationship between the sisters Ayeka and Sasami, but instead Washu acts
as Sasami’s mentor. For what is touted as such an important plot point, the
episode really feels lackluster.
Episode three fares a little
better. It’s a pure comedy episode where Ryo-Oki feels frustrated at not being
able to help around the house. In addition she’s also got a bit of a crush on
Tenchi (who doesn’t at this point?), so she wishes she could be a full sized
girl. A strange alien creature in Washu’s lab picks up on this and attempts to
help. It’s a cute and harmless episode in itself, again focusing a lot on Washu
and her science as well as her relationship with the girls. The end result is
that now Ryo Oki has a “girl type” form she can shift into, rendering her even
cuter than before, or kinda creepy if the new form doesn’t appeal to you.
Some conflict finally
appears in the next two episodes, with the arrival of Dr. Clay and his desire
to be avenged. You see Washu (AGAIN!) made him look like an idiot in the
distant past and now he wants to destroy her, or something like that. The thing
is, Clay comes up with an over convoluted plan to execute this revenge. Not
only that but he is tasked by the goddess-like being Lady Tokimi to find out
about Tenchi’s mysterious power. Clay captures Ryoko, and then sends his robot
Zero to impersonate her and kill Tenchi, thereby also destroying Washu’s plans.
Since Zero assimilated all
of Ryoko’s feelings now she is crushing on Tenchi. But since she doesn’t have
all of Ryoko’s baggage, she tries to express her feelings in a completely naive
way. This whole dynamic works really well actually, forcing Tenchi to examine
his feelings for Ryoko, as well as dealing with the robot zero actually
becoming a fully conscious organism.
The final confrontation with
Dr. Clay is a rehash of the final battle against Kagato from Series 1. But it
lacks the tension, because Dr. Clay is too bumbling and comedic to be taken
seriously. He and Washu have some very funny banter, and the resolution of Zero
and Ryoko is satisfying, but in the end this conflict just feels limp.
Tenchi Muyo series
2 does end with a funny episode. Since the royal princesses of Jurai have been
missing for a while, the King and his consorts arrive to find the girls. Nearly
the entire episode is played for laughs, as the king of Jurai attempts to command
his steadfast daughters. The girls’ mother comes across like a complete
emotional rollercoaster who will hug you one minute and threaten to destroy you
the next. Then there’s the whole scene with Tenchi’s grandfather and his
mother! It’s basically an info-dump exposition scene meant to build up for the
third series (which didn’t arrive for nearly a decade). It slows down the
comedic momentum of the episode and goes on way too long with too much cryptic
dialogue. The episode climaxes with a dual between Tenchi and one of Ayeka’s
suitors from Jurai. It is all very silly, but an entertaining way to end the
series. Well almost, after the end credits there’s a strange storyboard like sequence
which acts as an epilogue to Dr. Clay’s fate, and gives us some almost nude
Ryoko fan service.
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