Tenchi Muyo: Daughter of Darkness (1997)

Introduction:

The Tenchi Muyo series was certainly the king of anime in the 1990s. So it goes without saying that after a successful television series and first movie, there would be another movie. But this film seems to follow the original OAV series, and instead of looking at Tenchi’s past, looks to his future – as a father!

Summary:

As Tenchi (Matthew K. Miller) is heading home one summer afternoon, he comes across a pretty girl sitting on the shrine steps. She smiles warmly and calls him “Daddy”. Her name is Mayuka (Julie Maddalena) and while she knows that Tenchi is her father, she has no clear memories of her past. This is all very odd, since she doesn’t look that much younger than him. Of course this puts Ryoko (Petrea Burchard) on her guard, convinced that this girl is a threat to Tenchi. Washu (K.T. Vogt) starts doing some research on Mayuka’s DNA to find out more, especially when Mayuka displays the same powers as Tenchi.

But mostly everyone in the house befriends the lost girl, especially Sasami (Sherry Lynn) and Ayeka (Jennifer Darling). But evil is lurking in the background as a mysterious figure called Yuzuha (Barbara Goodson) watches and waits. She’s got a few tricks in store for Tenchi and the girls. All she has to do is let this Daughter of Darkness trap him.

Good Points:

• All the characters seem to be their less intense OAV versions
• Mayuka is a likable character
• Ko Otani provides a really good musical score 

Bad Points:

• Yuzuha’s motivations and plan aren’t well developed
• Some confusion on what continuity this takes place in
• Reduced scope compared to the previous film

Overall:

For me this is one of the most entertaining of the Tenchi Muyo incarnations. The characters seem like friends, all dealing with the bizarre revelation of Tenchi’s daughter. Miyuka is so sweet (if a little weird) that you really worry about her fate, and place in Yuzuha’s plan. If only the script was polished a bit this could have been the best of the movies. As it stands, it’s a bit confused, but still very entertaining.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 4

Sound: 4

Acting: 4

Script: 3

Music: 4

Direction: 3

Entertainment: 3

Total:  3

In Depth Review

Tenchi is about to meet... his daughter?

In the interest of full disclosure I should say this was my first exposure to the whole Tenchi franchise. I picked up this DVD on a whim. It was one of the few anime DVDs available at Tower Records, and I was just getting back into Japanese animation. I had heard about Tenchi, but hadn’t had a chance to see any of it. The OAV series and television series would not come to DVD for many years. This was the first bit of Tenchi to come out on a shiny disc in Region 1.

What I’m saying, is that Daughter of Darkness holds a lot of nostalgia for me. Every time I watch it, I’m taken back in time to a lot of good memories. That is one of the reasons why it gets regular play at Christmas time, and why I still count it as one of my favorite incarnations of the franchise.

That said, I’m going to do my best to be level headed in this review. As a whole, this is entertaining, but kind of a mess all the way around.

The Startica festival on planet Jurai.

From an animation point of view, things look pretty typical of the OAV continuity, looking a lot like the animation style from the later half of Series 1. Some of the epic scope from Tenchi Muyo in Love is missing here. No huge space battles or massive destruction. One of the most elaborate sequences is the star festival on planet Jurai called Startica. The flashbacks on Jurai give us a little bit more of a peek at this world and their tree based technology. Sadly, most of the footage is reused several times in the film.

More time and design was spent on Yuzuha’s dimension of darkness. It’s filled with bizarre tunnels, deranged toys and moist and sticky television monitors (call David Cronenberg!). It plays a large part in the finale sequence and the animators get to have some fun with scale in it. Yuzuha’s obsession with Startica and Christmas fuel her final attack and so you get scenes with a huge Christmas tree, killer gift ribbon and a teddy bear the size of King Kong.

The English voice acting in Daughter of Darkness is pretty solid all the way around. The cast has Tenchi and the girls down cold, and they perform all their roles with skill. New to the cast is Wendee Lee playing Kiyone. Lee was a veteran of anime voice acting, so I’m sure this was an easy fit for her.

Yuzuha has a wicked plan that just doesn't add up.

The two new roles, Mayuka and Yuzuha are played very well. Maddalena brings an innocence and exuberance to Mayuka. It’s critical that she come across as both naïve and yet mysterious. Maddalena manages both. Her curiosity about the world around her as well belief that Tenchi is her father are conveyed with sincerity. Contrast this to when Yuzuha controls her and we can almost hear the demon speaking through her. It’s a very good performance and key to the whole movie working as well as it does.

Goodson’s performance as Yuzuha is just as effective. I love the maniacal glee at the mischief she is creating. In flashbacks, she is sympathetic, until we learn more about her. But it is her seething rage at Tenchi’s grandfather that becomes the key here. The final scenes of the movie are driven by this rage. It’s an interesting character with some twisted morals, and Goodson is really great in the part.

Ko Otani’s musical score is probably my favorite of the three films (and probably my favorite of the franchise). He creates three themes for the film. One based on Yuzhua and her dark world. One based on the innocence of Mayuka (and seems very connected to Yuzuha’s theme). Finally there is the theme for Christmas/Startica. All three themes are woven into each other, given different variations and conclude in a satisfactory way. Mayuka’s theme get the most airtime, with several variations throughout her story as she arrives innocence and ends up twisted by Yuzuha in the finale. The score is heavy on electronics, but Otani uses them well, creating a wonderful atmosphere, as well some excellent driving action when needed. The end theme, Manatsu no Eve is based off the Christmas/Startica theme is performed by Mariko Nagi and is a nice pop piece.

Ayeka doesn't think Mihoshi or Ryoko have a clue.

There are few things that really appeal to me about Daughter of Darkness. One is the entire summer atmosphere of the whole movie. The cast is dressed in summer clothing and doing things around the house that are typical of the season. The animation and action combine to create a real sense of time, and a feeling of carefree summer days. No one is going to school. They’re doing some chores, but then hanging out eating watermelon, watching fireworks and trying to stay cool. This is well contrasted to the Christmas flashbacks. Here everyone is bundled up, there are decorations all over the house and the whole cast is celebrating. It’s no wonder that Mayuka wants to stay with the gang and have fun all day long.

Ayeka opens up to Ryoko about her fears.

In sharp contrast to Tenchi Muyo in Love, the cast here seems to be enjoying each other’s company. Ayeka and Ryoko aren’t constantly fighting. In fact the two rivals have a great scene together, as they talk about the possibility of Tenchi not picking either of them as a girlfriend. Darling as Ayeka and Burchard as Ryoko both get to show off some acting chops here, letting the girls take things a notch down. It is this fellowship, as well as the fact that Mihoshi isn’t a drooling moron that leads me to believe this is supposed to fall in the OAV continuity. But more on that in a minute. It was nice to see all the characters behaving like a family. Sure Ayeka and Ryoko aren’t going to ever be friends, but here we see that they at least respect each other.

Daughter of Darkness also drops a lot of the stupid comedic moments that plagued Tenchi Universe and even Series 2 of the OAV. Humor comes out of situations naturally, not because of some gag the writers tried to force into the plot. Instead of going for full-blown laughs, the movie focuses on the group dynamic once Mayuka is introduced, and how each character reacts and changes because of it. It’s really more character-centric than the plot heavy previous film.

Ryoko has had enough of Mayuka.

But this second movie is far from perfect. As I mentioned, no one really knows what continuity this event happens. While it seems to fit the OAV timeline, and shares the one hour running time, as well as the watercolor images during the end titles, a few things don’t add up. First Kiyone did not appear in the OAV series at all. My guess is that she was popular after her appearance in Tenchi Universe (gotta admit she’s one of the best parts of that show), so they figured they couldn’t have a movie without her. The other element is Tenchi’s energy weapon. In the OAV this was known as the Light Hawk Wings, a kind of triple bladed thing he used against Kagato. But in Tenchi Universe it became the Light Hawk Sword, and that is what the whole cast refers to it as in this film. It looks much more like the blade in the television series. It’s a bit confusing, but only for folks who have been following Tenchi closely.

More annoying are all the odd little elements that just don’t add up from a script point of view. Most of this revolves around Yuzuha’s plot. We know she hates Tenchi’s grandfather, Yosho. But instead of focusing her attack on Yosho, she focuses it on Tenchi. She never says why, but it’s implied that Tenchi looks so much like Yosho that it makes her hate transfer to him.

Father and daughter about to disappear.

So Yuzuha creates Mayuka to go to the Tenchi household and … um… do stuff? Obviously Ryoko becomes jealous of Mayuka almost immediately, and Washu and Yosho attempt to figure out more about her. But the few times Yuzuha takes control of Mayuka it’s to have the girl grope, kiss and lick a stupefied Tenchi. Um, yeah kinda gross if that really is his daughter. Each time this happens, a dimensional doorway opens. But usually another cast member comes in and sees the whole unpleasant scene and it stops.

Two things could be going on here – but again nothing is explained. I’m guessing Yuzuha wants to pull Tenchi into her dark dimension to mess with. I’m also assuming that her love/hate of Yosho makes her love/hate Tenchi. So she actually possesses Mayuka to exercise her desires on Tenchi while he is in a trance. This is supported by the fact that each time Mayuka does the forbidden dance with Tenchi her eyes are a different color and she speaks more like Yuzuha.

Happy Christmas memories

But it still feels sloppy. The kissing, groping and licking aren’t necessary to open the dimensional door because Mayuka doesn’t need to kiss Sasami to open the door and abduct her. I don’t want to think it, but maybe the writers were just pervs and wanted to see Mayuka get it on with Tenchi.

Part of the issue with Daughter of Darkness is the really short running time of an hour. It must have been tough to cram in all the needed exposition, as well as all the great character moments they did come up with. The movie flies by a little too briskly, and if they had another 20 minutes or half an hour, all these odd little script moments could be resolved. Or maybe not, hard to say really. For what it is, you get some solid entertainment and a few great character moments for just about everyone in the cast. Yes, nostalgia plays a big part in my enjoyment here, but still it’s my favorite of the Tenchi films. One more Tenchi film was released in 1999: Tenchi Forever.

Nostalgia Nugget: Tenchi Muyo – A Legacy

Tenchi's usual suspects

I reviewed several incarnations of the Tenchi Muyo franchise for this blog, and I still haven’t reviewed (or seen) everything. Obviously Tenchi was a pretty big hit at the time. Pioneer and AIC studios were making a mint off the series and continued to milk it (and still do). But what is most interesting is the impact the whole franchise had on anime during and after the 1990s.

One word you could never use to describe the Tenchi Muyo series is innovative. The story and the style had been done before. In most aspects, the creators simply took a bunch of existing tropes and situations and molded them into a new incarnation. It was the success of this combination that caused a ripple effect for a couple decades. It appears that only in the past couple years that anime started to veer away from the impact of Tenchi and the gals.

One of the obvious influences on the series was Star Wars. Our protagonist is a young hero whose dull life is turned upside down by intergalactic events. Tenchi is a chosen one. He has a wise old grandfather figure that teaches him how to use his Jurai powers, and to wield some kind of glowing weapon. There’s a princess with a feisty attitude to rescue. There’s a roguish space pirate. There is a villain with a connection to the grandfather’s past. There’s spaceship battles, energy weapon fights and even severed hands. Let’s not even get into all the sound effects and visual similarities to George Lucas’ original trilogy.

Tenchi and Star Wars go together
like chocolate and peanut butter

So right there, you’ve got something to grab the target male audience looking for an anime version of Star Wars. The next big change was to put a whole bunch of hot girls in key roles. Now Tenchi Muyo wasn’t the first to create the whole “harem” type anime – where one bland guy is surrounded by hot girls that are fixated on him. But the creators might have been the first to strategically pick the girls to fit just about any type the viewers might like. The other element is that all the girls have very distinct personalities. In the OAV version they are all pretty likable too.

The key to this is that Tenchi himself doesn’t have much a personality. He’s a good guy, brave, a bit naïve, but other than that he doesn’t have much else going for him. It’s easy for a viewer to put himself in Tenchi’s place. Contrast this to the follow-up series, El Hazard. In that series the lead, Mokoto, starts out very similar to Tenchi. He’s a good guy, a bit oblivious and one with a kind heart. But once he meets his one true love, Ifurita, we see a real fire in the guy. He’s does some pretty brave and selfless things for her, and Mokoto actually seems to grow through the series. Tenchi is always safe, unassuming Tenchi.

So perhaps the secret to the success of the series comes from combining Star Wars with the harem style show. This seems to be the formula that other anime companies grabbed onto because Tenchi Muyo spawned a whole slew of harem style shows. Many started off using the basic sci-fi tropes adding a dash of humor to the adventures. But it quickly spread to fantasy, romance, comedy and basically every kind of genre within anime you can imagine. Most of them featured a bland unassuming lead. Most include two especially catty members of the “harem” – one being bold and the other being proper. The progression became endless in the 90s and 00s. Hell I even reviewed a comedy harem show for DVD Verdict back in 2010, so the Tenchi inspiration is far from dead. But the blatant borrowing from this series became more than a little tired.

McFarlane's Ryoko figure

See the Tenchi Muyo franchise was very very popular. Now, some have attributed this to marketing in Japan, where Pioneer and AIC ramped up the advertising and merchandising for the show before it even hit the air. But the show was a huge hit with the anime community in North America. When I got back into anime fandom in the early 90s, Tenchi was already well liked and talked about constantly. There was even a bit of a rivalry between fans of Tenchi Muyo and the martial arts comedy Ranma ½.

Even before Tenchi hit the airwaves on Cartoon Network as part of their Toonami block, there was merchandising for the series. There was all kinds of Ryo Oki plushies to find, not to mention art books, key chains and soundtracks. There was even an anime inspired collectable card game (a huge industry in the 1990s) that featured characters and events from the Tenchi Muyo franchise.  After the show hit Toonami the merchandising increased to include action figures of all sizes. Including some highly detailed ones from Todd McFarlane.

Chibi versions of the Tenchi Universe cast

The Tenchi franchise was one of the few anime series of the 1990s to actually have merchandise in mainstream stores like Suncoast and Sam Goody. Most of the times, fans had to find specialty shops to pick up their favorite anime goodies. But I found my nifty Ryoko figure at Suncoast. Hey, I may not be a huge Ryoko fan, but the figure looked cool and I hoped that they’d get around to a sweet Ayeka figure. Sadly, only Ryoko and Tenchi were ever produced.

The release of the series on VHS and DVD were huge events. Both Tenchi in Love and Daughter of Darkness were some of the earliest releases on DVD from Pioneer. They came in a normal CD sized jewel case cocooned by a keepcase sized cardboard sleeve. Because the OAV and television series had not been released, Daughter of Darkness came with a Tenchi Encyclopedia that provided information about all the characters from the franchise up to that film and clips from the series.

Top: OAV Box set unflolded
Bottom: Pioneer's odd jewel case for their
early DVD releases

I remember how excited the anime community was about the box set with both OAV series on it. The whole thing was remastered in THX for picture and sound. On top of that it included an updated version of the Tenchi Encyclopedia and came in a really nifty looking fold out set. Sadly, fans found plenty to complain about, especially the missing Mihoshi Special episode. A bizarre episode of the franchise that introduced the character of Kiyone, but is not considered “cannon” by the kingdom of Jurai or some such nonsense.

The other aspect that the Tenchi Muyo franchise affected was animation style. Prior to the popularity explosion of the series, character design in anime took many forms. The “big eyes small mouth” style was one of many. In fact animators like Leiji Matsumoto and Hayao Miyazaki had very distinctive looks to their characters. It wasn’t uncommon to watch three different series and see three different styles of characters.

Post-Tenchi the AIC look took over. I’m sure the more simplistic character design was one of the major factors for this, but it had the unfortunate side effect of making all anime series appear to be the same from a character design point of view. It became so prevalent that when a new take on character design was attempted (such as giving noses to the characters in Vision of Escaflowne) viewers found the changes “ugly”.

The original release of the OAV series. Note
the THX remaster logo. That got anime fans
really excited back in the 1990s.

Some animators resisted this trend. Director Satoshi Kon always used more realistic character design in all his projects. It works wonderfully with the surreal imagery he crafted and grounds the viewer with the more realistic looking characters. No one is going to tell Miyzaki to mess with his character design. But for other productions unique character designs from the manga are lost.

This is one legacy that seems to have become entrenched in anime. Current shows all very much conform to that AIC style. Every once in a while something like Eden of the East comes along and does something a bit different, but even those changes are slight. Tenchi Muyo certainly made its mark on anime style.

The irony is, the Tenchi Muyo franchise is pure entertaining fun, but it’s nowhere near the pinnacle of animated storytelling that other series and films of the 1990s were. It lacks the thematic depth and emotional chaos of Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was never as funny as Ranma ½. It lacked the visual cool of Cowboy Bebop. Even it’s sister show El Hazard trumped it with a better story, better characters and a poignant ending. My revisit of the bulk of the franchise has revealed a decidedly average show.

Ryoko Oki plushes were all the
rage at anime conventions.

Not to say the show was horrible. It's not at all. But you'd think that something with this kind of legacy would have something innovative or artistic about it. Yes it's a fun show, and yes it's entertaining most of the time. But how can that account for the massive popularity in 1990s? I think the answer is easy enough, Tenchi Muyo hit at the perfect time, with the perfect combination of ingredients. In all forms of media there are examples of this kind of thing. Something strikes, influences countless artists and rakes in tons of money. Then a couple decade later folks look back and say… well it was good, not great. Describes Tenchi Muyo to a T. 

Anime Juke Box - Tenchi Muyo Opening Credits - Tenchi Muyo

Here is the opening theme music to the OAV Series Tenchi Muyo from 1992. Like it's sister series El Hazard this opening credits theme is purely instrumental and performed using syths and samples. This is a real rarity when it comes to OAV and television series in anime. You usually get some kind of J-pop song to start things off with. But I really like the atmosphere this sets up. May not be super close to some of the wacky comedy in the series, but it does capture the mystery and wonder elements of the show.

Oddly, whenever I think of the Tenchi Muyo series, this is the theme that pops in my head.

Tenchi Universe (1995)

Introduction:

For some folks, if you want to see the best in the Tenchi Muyo franchise, then look no further than the first television incarnation of the series. It’s got it all, tons of alien girls, explosions, starship battles, catfights, not-quite lightsabers and of course Tenchi, who is just as bland as ever.

Summary:

This might sound a little familiar. Tenchi Masaki (Matt Miller) is just a normal high school kid, who happens to live near his grandfather’s Shinto shrine. One day while heading to school he runs into a hot blue haired girl who falls from the sky. Her name is Ryoko (Petrea Burchard) and she brings a whole mess of trouble with her. Before you know it, a ditzy blonde galaxy police officer, Mihoshi (Ellen Gerstell) is chasing her down. Then the purple haired crown princess of planet Jurai, Ayeka (Jennifer Darling) and her little sister Sasami (Sherry Lynn) arrive as well. Turns out the intergalactic mad scientist Washu (Kate T. Voigt) was hidden away in a cave (don’t ask), and is freed. Then Mihoshi’s long suffering partner Kiyone (Sherry Lynn again) arrives to round out the cast.

After an incredibly silly adventure through time and space (thanks to one of Washu’s wacky inventions) the group finds themselves hurtling through the cosmos as intergalactic fugitives. Turns out the new Emperor of Jurai may be the infamous Kagato (Michael Scott Ryan). His goal is to remove anyone with the blood of Jurai from his path. This includes Ayeka, Sasami, Tenchi’s grandfather and of course Tenchi himself!

Good Points:

• The expansion of the interstellar kingdom of Jurai is interesting
• Kiyone is a great addition to the cast
• Some of the multiple episode storylines are fun

Bad Points:

• The cat fighting between Ayeka and Ryoko is mind numbing
• Mihoshi is worthless in just about every way
• The humor starts to feel really stale all too quickly

Overall:

For me this series just doesn’t hold up. Poor pacing in the storytelling and weak execution of humor really makes this series drag on and on. Mihoshi is the main source of my pain, with nearly every plot point or story line involving her making things hurt more. There are some fun moments here. The second half is much better than the first but as a whole this series just fell flat.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 4

Sound: 3

Acting: 4

Script: 2

Music: 3

Direction: 2

Entertainment: 2

Total:  2

In Depth Review

Ryo Oki the Cabbit signals the commercial break.

When it comes to the Tenchi Muyo series, there are those who prefer the OAV series, and those who think Tenchi Universe is the king. Obviously I’m a fan of the first OAV series (and choose to skip the second series when I can). But it’s hard to deny the fact that Tenchi’s most popular incarnation tends to be this first television series (a second series called Tenchi in Tokyo is usually on the bottom of most anime fans ranking of the franchise). Two of the three films followed this continuity, and most of the merchandise I’ve seen for Tenchi usually points toward this story line.

Visually the animation in Tenchi Universe is about what you’d expect from an anime of the period. It gets a little sloppy here and there. Crowd scenes lack detail, and there’s some reuse of animation. But for the most part it is solid. The character design is virtually the same as the OAV. Some scenes, like Ryo-Oki’s transformation from Cabbit to spaceship are taken right from the OAV.

Princess Ayeka attempts to make a deal with Ryoko.

The second half of the series features the cast fleeing across the universe, and so we get to see a bit of a shake up in the design. Some of it is interesting, mostly the Galaxy Police headquarters and the new fleet ships from Jurai. Other planets are less interesting, ending up being typical anime tropes: the space port looks like a Japanese mall, the “resort” planet is one giant beach, and so on.

The sound is also taken right from OAV. That means you’ve got the same raiding from Skywalker sound here as before. It works well enough. The music is also lifted right from the OAV, with some new material by composer Nagaoka Sikou. It’s good stuff, but very similar to his work on El Hazard.

As usual the opening and ending songs are a bit of fun. The opening song really takes the cake being pure fun 90s style J-pop. It’s called “Tenchi Muyo” and performed by the group Sonia. But the English version performed by Kit Thomas is just as addictive and is amazingly similar sounding in style. The end themes are light affairs. The show would alternate between the two and while they are pleasant enough neither makes much of an impression.

The acting in Tenchi Universe is still excellent. By this point the English voice cast well secure in their roles. Since the story is basically a rehash of the initial series, there wasn’t much new ground. All that was needed was for the gals to go a bit more extreme in the acting. Both Darling as Ayeka and Burchard as Ryoko get to shout and rant and rave quite a bit more in this series. The side effect is that Darling becomes more shrill and has been known to cause ear bleeding. Burchard can bellow with the best of them. When these two get going, well let’s just say it’s been known to drive some folks away from the show.

One of my favorite new voices is Sherry Lynn’s performance as Kiyone. I never knew until this review that Lynn was doing both Sasami and Kiyone – two characters that are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Sasami is cute as a button and her voice matches. Kiyone is a tough and dedicated Galaxy police officer, and Lynn changes her voice to match. She helps build Kiyone’s ass kicking personality, making her my favorite character in the series.

Tenchi, bland in any incarnation.

Sadly, as awesome as Kiyone is, the script just keeps failing to deliver for her and just about everyone else. Since this is basically a retelling of the first OAV series, there are few surprises in the story. Sure little things like, how Mihioshi arrives, or who Kagato turns out to be are slightly different. But the overall story is the same. Tenchi meets girls. Girls cause trouble. Kagato threatens everyone. Tenchi faces Kagato and wins. Everyone is happy ever after - fighting over Tenchi. The big issue here is the poor balance of plot and comedy. Yes, the OAV series had its lighter moments, and the second series was mostly played for laughs. But things just go to the extremes here.

There are whole episodes in Tenchi Universe dedicated to filler. Nearly all these filler episodes contain a fun moment or two, but mostly they consist of the following: Ryoko and Ayeka bicker, Mihoshi does something really stupid, Kiyone rues her lot in life, Washu laughs like a loony and shows an invention, Sasami and Ryo-Oki are cute, Tenchi is exasperated, Ryoko and Ayeka come to blows and things explode. This kind of thing plagues the first half of the series. The writers attempt to shake things up a bit with a bounty hunter named Nagi (Julia DeMita) pursuing Ryoko and making things complicated. But in the end she has a heart of gold, so no real threat there.

Sasami gets to play Sailor Moon in her alternate reality.

The first half does end with a fun three part story where one of Washu’s inventions sends the gang into their own ideal parallel worlds. While parts of it do drag a bit, some of it is very funny. I love Kiyone’s perfect world without Mihoshi (don’t blame her at all there). Sasami’s perfect world where she is a super hero like Sailor Moon is a blast. This storyline also gives Mihoshi and Ryoko a bit more to do than normal. Ryoko actually has a poignant moment in her world that plays out well. Washu fans will be disappointed; she ends up sitting around trying to fix her machine throughout the episodes.

The second half Tenchi Universe starts off well, with Jurai forces arriving on Earth to arrest Ayeka and Sasami for treason. Ryoko’s reaction to this is priceless. This type of comedy, built off the situations and not falling into pure catfights is what the writers should have gone for. Yes, Ryoko and Ayeka are rivals for Tenchi. Yes they are opposites, and don’t like each other. But unlike the OAVs, neither one gains respect for the other. The endless bickering and fighting end up dragging whole episodes down. This can’t help but affect the series as a whole.

Kagato is just as evil in this incarnation.

A few episodes are spent getting the heroes into space and escaping from the Galaxy police. Those work well enough, but the middle portion of the second half, as the characters wander around, falls on tired formula. One of the worst offenders is the “we have no money and can’t eat or power the ship” storylines. This occurs in at least three episodes in this series and was a staple of space travel anime in the 1990s (it was a running gag in Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star and wore out it’s welcome just as quick there). Anyone looking for fan service will enjoy the episode where the gals enter a bathing suit contest on the resort world. But most of the time, these episodes are pointless and dull. One exception was a nice episode where Sasami meets a ghost on an abandoned ship. The story has a nice resonance and gives Sasami a bit more of a personality.

Things pick up a great deal when the crew reaches the checkpoint around the borders of Jurai controlled space. Tension is raised from that episode forward. Revelations about Tenchi’s past build on the story and Kagato finally takes some action himself, instead of letting the galaxy police or Jurai military do all the work. These final five episodes are some of the best in Tenchi Universe and make you realize how entertaining the series could have been if it had toned down the humor and built a solid storyline from the beginning (kind of reminded me of George Lucas’ approach to the prequels of Star Wars actually).

The other huge benefit with the second half is that there is a full-blown antagonist actually creating conflict. Including Kagato in the story and having him actually attempting to thwart our heroes makes you realize how empty the first half feels. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy fun encounters and more humor based shows. But even something like Ranma ½ knew that including some kind of antagonist was key to helping the characters grow and create some momentum in the plot.

Kiyone is just as annoyed by Mihoshi as I am.

I already mentioned how old the cat fighting gets, but my other huge problem with this series is how they used Mihoshi. In the OAV series, she was blonde, a bit dense but still aware of what she needed to do as a Galaxy police officer. Yes she was a klutz, but she could pilot her ship well enough, and still managed to get her cases completed. But this version of Mihoshi is beyond dumb: she’s rock stupid. 

There is no way in hell this woman would be in any position of law enforcement, no matter how incompetent they were. Yes, I understand it’s supposed to be funny, but it is so against any common sense, I can’t laugh at it. If the character was a ditzy actress or something like that I’d be able to deal with Mihoshi. But the fact that she’s supposed to be an officer and the fact that she is teamed with Kiyone is just poor story construction. The writers basically create Kiyone as a foil to Mihoshi, but she is actually a much more interesting character. Mihoshi is just painful in this series, and her constant screw-ups that move the plot of the episodes forward feel like a really bad writer’s crutch. The worst thing of all, as dumb as she is here, she’s even worse in Tenchi in Tokyo. Yeah I didn’t think it was possible either.

Ryoko is the queen of this series.

The writing combined with some really poor pacing within the episodes keeps me from enjoying this series too much. In some ways, I can see why folks enjoy Tenchi Universe, more than the OAV. The world is expanded beyond what the OAV eventually did. The second half has a momentum that the OAV series never really got right. Some of the stories are pretty solid and entertaining. Some of the humorous episodes really work, like the festival episode or the time and space adventure series. But I think this might come down to the issue of which one you were exposed to first. I started with the OAV series and the Daughter of Darkness movie. That version of the characters seems the truest to me. Folks who started with this series or the movie Tenchi in Love often complain how flat the OAV characters are.

And there is one more thing to consider. If you like Ryoko, than you’ll enjoy Tenchi Universe more. The creators obviously liked her. She gets all the good lines, all the real good character moments and it is heavily implied that Tenchi connects with her over all the other girls. Tenchi Forever even further cements this fact. I’ve always been partial to Ayeka (gotta love purple haired anime girls who aren’t afraid to kick ass), and she comes across as a complete harridan in this series. For me, Kiyone is the best part, and even she is underutilized. When I first started this look back at the Tenchi franchise, I was hoping to find that this series aged well, and was really the backbone of the Tenchi Muyo collection. But it was really about as weak as I remembered it. Sad but true.

Anime Juke Box- Tenchi Muyo (J) - Tenchi Universe

Here's the peppy opening theme song to the Tenchi Universe series. This the the Japanese version of the song, and it's a typical example of 1990s style J-pop. Honestly the English version that Pioneer created for the English dub is just as fun, and sounds so much like the original it's scary. While not all J-pop transformations were as successful as this one, I do miss the days when the dubbing studios gave some some fun English versions of these songs.

Tenchi Forever (1999)

Introduction:

As the 1990s closed Pioneer and AIC decided to conclude the Tenchi franchise. The previous television series Tenchi in Tokyo hadn’t been the hit they expected, and the previous film Daughter of Darkness wasn’t what fans had expected. So they figured it was time to retire the franchise with a final film, one that would wrap up all the lose ends of the television series Tenchi Universe and bring the decade to a close on a high note. Did they succeed?

Summary:

One day as Tenchi (Matt Miller) is walking down the stairs from the family shrine he hears a strange voice. He walks into the forest and encounters a huge camellia tree. Before you can say “Don’t touch it” Tenchi touches it and disappears.

Six months later Ayeka (Jennifer Darling) and Ryoko (Petrea Burchard) are searching Tokyo for Tenchi. Sasami (Sherry Lynn) has returned to planet Jurai to find out some key information. Mihoshi (Rebecca Forstadt) and Kyone (Wendee Lee) head to the science academy to tap into the vast knowledge there so Washu (Kate T. Vogt) can use it to find Tenchi. Meanwhile Tenchi’s grandfather, Katsuhito (Bob Pappenbrook) has a secret that may tie to Tenchi’s fate. The entire time Tenchi finds himself living with a lovely young woman named Haruna (Debi Derrberry) who is completely dedicated to him. As happy as he is, he begins to feel that something is wrong. Can the gals find their lost love before they lose Tenchi Forever?

Good Points:

• The shift in animation to make the characters older is effective
• Tenchi’s relationship with Haruna is an interesting twist
• Ryoko and Ayeka get some great scenes together 

Bad Points:

• Didn’t we just see this movie… twice before?
• Most of the other characters outside the love triangle are useless
• This is a very poor conclusion to a series and franchise 

Overall:

Judged as a film, this in an entertaining entry in the Tenchi franchise. But looking at it as the conclusion to the Tenchi legacy, it is pathetic. The story and visuals are directly borrowings from the previous two films and Tenchi in Tokyo. Nothing is resolved for the characters. Nothing is concluded in any satisfactory way. This is just another adventure for Tenchi and the gals. Should have been so much more than just OK.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 4

Sound: 3

Acting: 3

Script: 2

Music: 3

Direction: 2

Entertainment: 2

Total:  2

In Depth Review

Tenchi. Puzzled by his updated character design?

Obviously there are two ways to judge Tenchi Forever (or Tenchi in Love 2 as it was known in Japan), as a stand-alone adventure, or as the finale for a franchise that dominated Japanese anime throughout the 1990s. Let’ look at it as a straight film adventure for our characters.

One of the most interesting aspects of this film is the change in animation style. At the end of the ‘90s animation company AIC was going through a bit of a switch up in their style. Part of this was related to the way computer animation and coloring was affecting the industry, and the result was a simpler design that ended up becoming the standard for the anime industry for the next decade and beyond. Tenchi Forever was one of the first times this was showcased, and it added a bit of a refreshing twist to the old character designs. Everyone looks a bit more mature here, giving us the feel that this story takes place a few years after the events of Tenchi in Love.

Haruna and Tenchi share breakfast in her world.

When Tenchi is pulled into Haruna’s alternate world, he looks a lot older, his little ponytail from the series turning into a full-fledged mane of hair. Even his clothing and the surrounding environment look a lot more realistic and current than most previous incarnations of the series. I also liked how Haruna’s world had a golden hue to it, making everything seem almost nostalgic. This is contracted to the real world, where blues are harsh and the colors more vivid. In addition to the costume changes for Tenchi, Ayeka and Ryoko are dressed a lot differently for their search in Tokyo.

Finally there is Haruna, who looks a lot more normal than any of the other girls in Tenchi’s harem. She has a sweet demeanor, and even wears a bow in her hair (reminding me strongly of Aeris from Final Fantasy 7). But there is a sadness and desperation in her face (and excellent vocal performance by Derryberry) that makes her an interesting character.

Tenchi sporting some serious hair in Haruna's reality.

Since most of Tenchi Forever occurs in real world settings (even the alternate world is based in reality) there is nothing really crazy in the animation or sound. The scope of Tenchi in Love or the creativity of Daughter of Darkness is missing here. But grounding the look and feel of the worlds in reality fits the story.

Mirroring this is the music used in the film. Most of it is typical drama scoring, using piano. There is also an odd bit of traditional French flair with an accordion used for scenes in Haruna’s alternate world. Tsuneoyoshi Saito’s score is a little nondescript, but it works fine in context. The end credits feature a nice pop theme performed by Anri called “Love Song ga Kikoeru”.

Ayeka outshines Ryoko as a waitress.

Once again the voice actors do an excellent job. For nearly all of them, this was the last time they would play the characters, and it was great to hear them give it one final go. The only cast member not returning was Ellen Gerstell who had voiced Mihoshi until Daughter of Darkness. But Forstadt does a fine job playing one of the dumbest characters in anime history. The best performances are provided by Miller as Tenchi and Derryberry as Haruna, who get some juicy scenes together. Miller hadn’t had a chance to really play this side of Tenchi before and he does it well. Derryberry had been providing the meows and chirps for Ryo Oki for years, and finally got to perform an actual character. She knocks it out of the park. Both Burchard as Ryoko and Darling as Ayeka get to expand on the touching scene from Daughter of Darkness and move the characters past the petty fighting that plagued Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Love. Of all the characters in the film, these two seem to actually grow and change, and the performances are key to this.

Ryoko is going to stand for any alternate realities!

Tenchi Forever does have some pacing issues. The story seems to meander at times, with scenes that don’t really move the plot forward. Most of these revolve around the girls attempting to find Tenchi. While Ryoko and Ayeka both have some excellent character moments together, the rest of the cast is pretty much providing filler scenes just so they can be in the film. In a way they all provide vital information to finding and getting Tenchi back, but it all feels like a shallow attempt by the writers to work them all in. Tenchi Forever also flashes back to scenes we just saw multiple times, something that is annoying, but also happened in the previous films.

Where the film works best is in providing Tenchi with a real woman to contrast with the rest of the harem. Haruna appears to be the best thing Tenchi could hope for in a relationship. She loves him. She supports his decision to pursue a career in art (and his schooling). She isn’t overbearing, bitchy, rock stupid, egotistical or under twelve. It is impossible for Tenchi not to like her. The only thing that keeps him from truly delving into this world is the fact that he has memories of his past life that keep coming back. Well, there’s also the little hitch of Haruna using his Jurai power to keep this world from collapsing. Much like a succubus, she is draining him to keep him happy and to fulfill her selfish wish.

Haruna, a sweet, sad antagonist.

Make no mistake about it, Haruana is the villain. Her motivations are all selfish. She is attempting to create the life she was denied, and use Tenchi to do it. Yes, she cares about him, but only so that she can life out this fantasy with him. It’s a very interesting dynamic, one that could have made an excellent stand-alone story if it didn’t have so much baggage tied to it. If Tenchi Forever didn’t have to be part of the Tenchi franchise (and therefore have to cram moments for all the main characters into it) or if it hadn’t been the finale event for the franchise - it could have been one of the best of the films. Once again, the potential for making a really great film is nearly in sight and completely missed.

Looking at it in the light of 1999, as the last delving into the Tenchi story, this is pathetic. The plot is exactly the same as the one used in Tenchi in Tokyo and Daughter of Darkness. A mysterious being pulls Tenchi into an alternate world and the girls have to save his sorry butt. It pulls from the second movie with the villain having a connection to Tenchi’s grandfather. It pulls from the first movie having the girls harness energy from points around Tokyo. And it uses Washu like an exposition dump, and nothing more.

The final image of the series? Not quite.

The whole thing is so familiar (and even more so if you watch the previous two films anywhere near this one). It would be funny if it wasn’t supposed to be the climax of the story. And that was the real kicker back in 1999. We kept hearing how Tenchi was going to choose a girl. Tenchi was going to go all the way with a girl. Tenchi Forever was going to wrap it all up. Well, Tenchi doesn’t pick a girl (unless you count Haruna). Tenchi does get it on with Haruna, but you could argue that it was all a dream. And while there are plenty of hints that Ryoko is the girl who is Tenchi will end up with, the creators don’t have the balls to commit to the idea. I guess they didn’t want to offend all those folks who were hoping for a Mihoshi/Tenchi hook-up.

These days, we know that Tenchi didn’t end in 1999. AIC couldn’t keep the font dry long and soon Tenchi Muyo: GXP hit television screens in 2002, with two other OAV series following it. With all that baggage gone, Tenchi Forever doesn’t look quite so bad. It’s got some good moments for Ryoko and Ayeka. It’s a nice final hurrah for the English voice cast from the 90s, and it entertains for most of its running time. For me, it just feels like a missed opportunity, and sometimes that stings more than having a regular old stinker.