Episode 18: Broken hearts, days of separation
- of the Shin Tenchi Muyo! series -
I understood the general thrust of this episode, but there's a lot of details which I missed; that's what happens when the synopsizer doesn't understand the language of the show he's synopsizing. Corrections and insights are welcome.
Kiyone madly presses the "Fire" button. She and Mihoshi are in their ship, and they are trying to apprehend this Space Cowboy. I don't know what he's done, but he wears a cowboy hat and his name is "Bento Cougar" or something like that. Kiyone wants to catch this guy, because then the Galaxy Police will notice them and they'll get a promotion! And that would be so great! And she'd be very happy! So she continues blasting at the Cougar, who fires back, but Mihoshi catches him in a tractor beam, and she's actually doing a good job of keeping him in the tractor beam. He tries to fire back, but a well-aimed barrage disables Cougar's ship. So Cougar gives up, and Kiyone and Mihoshi are happy. So happy that Mihoshi lets go of the controls, and everyone falls to earth.
Back in the Tenchi house, Sasami is cooking fish in a bucket, while Ryou-oh-ki watches. (I don't really get this. She's indoors, and there's this bucket, and a wire grill over with fish, and some coal(?) in the bucket, and Sasami is fanning it. I guess they aren't worried about carbon monoxide building up. Maybe it's not charcoal.) Mihoshi is back in her street clothes, drying her hair. Kiyone comes up in her street clothes and starts yelling at her, and Mihoshi apologies for something. Sasami sees this, and she starts being concerned about them. Or maybe Washuu -- Washuu's just been sitting in her room working on something since Ryouko left. Or maybe she's worried about the fish.
Well, what about Ryouko? She's in outer space, in the Bank of the Milky Way, local branch. (At least, that's what I'm reading the caption as.) She's turned pirate again, dressed in the same outfit she wore before she met Tenchi. Inside the ship, Ryouko finished up bashing guards, and then sits on the console, next to Hotsuma, as he hacks at a computer terminal.
They talk for a little while. I gather that Hotsuma is the brains of this operation -- he's the one that knows where everything is. Ryouko isn't blindly following him, of course. While they talk, Hotsuma at one point puts his hand on her shoulder. Ryouko frowns, and brushes it off.
Anyway, Hotsuma turns the security off, and they proceed through the ship.
"After you, Princess," he says, bowing.
"Don't call me Princess," replies Ryouko.
They go down this elevator, and Ryouko asks more about what they're doing, or something like that, and apparently Hotsuma forgot to check for atmosphere because as they descend, Ryouko starts acting like a drowning seal. (This is all very comical.) Anyway, they continue down, and they reach another hallway, and they're still talking, and somehow the Galaxy Police is mentioned, and Ryouko doesn't like that. She shakes Hotsuma by the shirt for a while, and then they continue on. (Hotsuma seems to smirk a little when she goes off ahead of him.)
They fly through some security beams, and they come to another computer terminal. Ryouko cracks it open and sticks her hand down it and tries to get past its security. But it just spits out more and more insulting messages and Ryouko gets angrier and angrier until the computer says "game over" and Ryouko gets fed about and is about to blast it...
...when she suddenly realizes maybe that's not the best thing to do, especially with Hotsuma watching. So Hotsuma comes in and gets past it in about 3 seconds.
Is there some sort of moment her betwixt Hotuma and Ryouko? It kind of looks like it. Hotsuma says something like "Well, let's go. Ryouko." and Ryouko seems kind of, well, appreciative?
Yuugi, who has been watching, delivers a solioquy in some strange language which Randall does not understand just before the commercial break.
Hotsuma and Ryouko have delved further into the ship and they're talking about something. They come to another door with a computer station. Some hologram guy appears and gives a little speech, stops, resets, and gives it again. (He's got a hiragana "ho" on his head. It just reminded me of the holograms in RED DRAWF with "H" on their heads.) Ryouko kind of beats him up, but stops when she realizes she's getting out of control. It seems to work though -- the hologram guy goes off on this long speech, and the doors open.
So now their in the center of the bank, or ship, or whatever. And there's a really cool thing there. Hotsuma explains it's a "micro black hole," which is where the Milky Way Bank stores its money. Obviously, they have to steal it.
Then robots come out blasting! Hotsuma pushes Ryouko to the ground, out of the path of a blast, and covers her body with his. He's hit in the arm!
The robots advance menancingly.
Hotsuma, who's injured, and Ryouko talk. I guess Hotsuma is going to do something dangerous. Well, it seems like that, because Ryouko watches him with concern and perhaps admiration. Anyway, Hotsuma goes off to work the computers with the "micro black hole" in an effort to open it up and grab it (well, in its container).
And Ryouko watches, as the robots advance menancingly.... (The robots advance menancingly very well, but strangely, they do not actually get any closer.)
And then Ryouko gets into a battle frenzy and starts taking down the robots.
Hotsuma does whatever it is he was supposed to do, and gets the micro black hole, and summons his ship, which crashes through the ship. The micro black hole goes outside the ship, and Ryouko and Hotsuma get in it.
The Galaxy Police start attacking the ship! Shots are exchanged. A shot manages to detach the micro black hole from the pirates' ship. "Sh--!" exclaims Hotsuma. "The micro black hole!" It floats away, and the pirates warp out of there.
So Hotsuma and Ryouko are safe on their ship, for the moment, without the micro black hole. But they did manage to get some money, and Hotsuma gives a sack of it to Ryouko. The money is Jurian, though. Ayeka's smiling face graces the bills. (It's a funny picture. Ayeka has a really big smile that spreads almost beyond her face, and she's holding up her hands with her fingers in some cute Japanese position.) Ryouko is enraged at the very sight of this, and she throws down the bag on the floor, stomps on it a couple of times, and then sits down on it.
Hotsuma laughs.
There's a little mood change, as Ryouko speaks wistfully to Hotsuma. Hotsuma answers in kind, and he sits down next to her. It's just the two of them, watching the stars warp past the ship. Hotsuma puts his hand on Ryouko's shoulder, and this time, she doesn't frown, and she doesn't push his hand away....
Back in the Tenchi house, Kiyone has achieved a great success! She explains it to the Tenchi household. (Well, the remaining members, anyway. Washuu is still in her room.) Kiyone and Mihoshi have gotten a promotion! Mihoshi is smiling. Nobuyuki is smiling. Ayeka is surprised and a little concerned. Sasami is happy for Kiyone and Mihoshi. Tenchi's grandfather is drinking tea.
Kiyone goes on to explain that they're now going to by stationed at the local Galaxy Police station, and they leave immediately! Mihoshi didn't know this. She didn't know they'd have to leave the house, and she gets really panicked and starts shaking Kiyone. Nobuyuki is also shocked. Ayeka is surprised and concerned, just like she was before. Sasami is downcast. Tenchi's grandfather says something in a serious tone.
No one is in Tenchi's apartment. There's a picture of him and Sakuya there, though. Sakuya is leaning against Tenchi, quite happy, and Tenchi is looking at her a little warily. Someone is calling, and the answering machine picks it up. It's Kiyone, saying goodbye, basically. I guess she's telling him the details. Tenchi is out walking with Sakuya in the evening. She's holding onto his arm, quite happy, and she smiles at him. He's a little wary at first, be he quickly gets used to the idea and smiles himself.
Kiyone and Mihoshi fly away. Kiyone is saluting -- she's incredibly happy. Mihoshi's face is pressed against the window and she's sobbing -- she's incredibly sad.
It's dinner time at the Tenchi house, but no one feels like eating (with the exception of Nobuyuki.) Ryou-oh-ki is picking at her carrot, depressed. Ayeka is sad. Nobuyuki thinks the food is really good and is gobbling it up. Tenchi's grandfather is dour. Sasami is sad. Ayeka is trembling. She puts down her bowl. "Why?" she asks. "Why is this happening? Why is everyone leaving? Why?"
"Sister...?" Sasami turns to Ayeka concerned.
Tenchi's grandfather says something serious.
The sound of Nobuyuki's chopsticks scraping against the bowl is the only sound echoing through a strangely quiet house that's not been this empty in a long time....
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Since September 21, 1998