Mix "Melrose Place" and Outer-Space...
Tenchi is a typical teenage boy, fascinated by his
frandfather's stories of the demons and monsters which inhabit
the land around their country home, but mainly focused on school
and keeping up a house for himself and a disorganized bachelor
father. But life is about to turn very atypical for Tenchi, when
he finds his granfather's stories have substance and legends can
come to life. Of course, legends - and even demons - aren't alway
what you think they'll be, especially when they have a crush on
you.
Tenchi Muyo is Pioneer's most successful series. It is one of the
only anime titles that is based on neight a manga magazine or an
existing storyline, but is completely original...and how! Tenchi
Muyo has inspired a popular television series in Japan. Upon its
U.S. release it picked up ICON and SPJA awards for "Best OAV
Series," "Best Premiere Science Fiction Anime" and
"Best Non-Human Character" (for Ryo-Ohki, the cuddliest
battleship in the galaxy).
Just one episode will show you why Flux Magazine called Tenchi
Muyo!, "...one of the most clever and side-splittingly
hilarious series available today."
"Tenchi Muyo!, No Need For Tenchi": 13 episodes on 10
Volumes:
Volume 1
"Ryoko Resurrected"
Young Tenchi is just a normal, albeit somewhat serious, lad growing up in the Japanese countryside (his family no doubt having moved there to spare him the periodic monster and/or giant robot-based destructions so common to Japanese urban living...the poor saps). He is fascinated by his grandfather's tales of monsters and ancient demons which inhabited the countryside around their home. Until of course, the inevitable happens and Tenchi stumbles upon that certain cave which holds the 3,000 year old mummified form of one of those demons, and a female one at that must then officially make her the girl your grandpa warned you about. And with good cause, because in Tenchitown, "mummified" don't necessarily mean "dead". In the process of trying to remove a jewel-encrusted sword-hilt from the mummy's grasp, Tenchi awakens the merely hibernating figure, who turns out to be not a demon at all, but an infamous alien thief. A female alien thief. A teenage female alien thief. And aside from carrying laser blasters and flying around in giant spaceships, alien teen-age girls are apparently just like their Earthling counterparts. So by the end of the episode, the wakened mummy, named Ryoko, has managed to destroy most of Tenchi's home town and claim the Tenchster himself as her own personal stud-muffin. Tenchi's dad, in a truly spectacular display of boobness, is oblivious to the young ladyÕs destructive capabilities and thrilled his awkward progency has finally managed to get a date. Ignoring his sonÕs protestations, Dad invites the charming young lass to stay for awhile, and the stage is set for adventure...and Ayeka!
Volume 2
"Here Comes Ayeka!"
Princess Ayeka has sailed far through the galaxy from her home planet of Jurai in search for her long lost brother/fiance, who had disappeared thousands of years before during a fierce battle with the infernal space-pirate known as Ryoko. As she passes through a fairly insignificant system, she is surprised to detect strange readings from the third planet, readings which indicate the presence of...Ryoko! Grimly determined to blot the spectre of Ryoko from her memory and the universe, Ayeka descends to Earth in general, and Tenchi's house in particular. Despite a valiant effort by Ryoko in her oddly mewling battleship, Ryo-Ohki, Ayeka imprisons both Tenchi and Ryoko aboard her exotic, plant-based space-cruiser. Ayeka is shocked by the sword Tenchi carries, which matches the one carried by her missing brother. She is even more surprised that Tenchi is able to use the sword, an ability limited supposedly to the heir to the Jurai throne. All of Ayeka's questions become moot however, when her little sister Sasami, in a mischievous moment, sets Tenchi and Ryoko free. Ayeka sees Ryoko flirting with Tenchi, and the teenaged girl factor sets in again. Both Ayeka and Ryoko spend most of the rest of the episode destroying about a zillion dollars in space hardware and gushing over the reluctant and spasmodic Tenchi. Ultimately, the girls destroy both their spaceships and end up stranding themselves on Earth. Of course, the prospect of three girls in the house has TenchiÕs dad three times as excited, and Tenchi three times as worried!
Volume 3
"Hello, Ryo-Ohki!"
Ayeka and Sasami find themselves without transport back to their mother planet withtheir spaceship destroyed from the battle with Ryoko. Ayeka sinks deeper into depression over the loss of her spaceship and her Earthwrecked status. Sasami is giddy over a whole new planet to play in. Ryoko, meanwhile concentrates on replacing her own wrecked spaceship, Ryo-Ohki. And you'll flip when you see how she does it. The infant Ryo-Ohki turns out to be the cuddliest battleship in the universe!
Volume 4
"Mihoshi Falls To The Land Of The Stars"
The girls start to get used to life on Earth. When fall begins
to set in, Tenchi, his father and grandfather take their annual
vacation at a hot spring resort. Ryoko is pleased with the
opportunity to get naked with Tenchi around. She both flirts
shamelessly and mercilessly teases Ayeka over her own shyness.
Finally, Ryoko pushes one too many of Ayeka's buttons. The two
square off in a battle in which Ryoko ultimately uses her deadly
as "the demon caller". With her diminished powers
however, she quickly loses control of the water beast she has
summoned. Berserk, the demon destroys the resort and nearly kills
them all before they are rescued by the unexpected intrusion of
GALAXY POLICE WOMAN MIHOSHI!
Mihoshi, a detective with mallet-sharp skills, and the niece of
the Galaxy Police Chief, has been given as her jurisdiction the
safest, dullest, most out-of-the-way system available, a place
where nothing, nothing happens. To wit...Earth. That however, was
before Tenchi activated the royal sword of Jurai. Now, the
sword's presence is drawing the universe's most nefarious
criminal, the pirate Kagato, to Earth and to Tenchi. Mihoshi has
been given orders...to stay as far as possible and in no event
investigate this situation. And so, in the process of trying to
investigate the situation, she inadvertantly created a black hole
in Earth's atmosphere which in the nick of time sucked Ryoko's
runaway demon into another dimension (Yay) along with Mihoshi's
spaceship (Oy).
The tally now rests at four, with more on the way...including
Kagato.
Volume 5
"Kagato Attacks!"
Kagato makes a dramatic appearance at Tenchi's home. He has
come for the key to one of the universeÕs most destructive
forces, the royal sword of Jurai, the sword Tenchi now carries.
Tenchi, unsure of himself and the use of the sword, attempts a
stand against Kagato but is quickly cast aside. After toying
briefly with Mihoshi and Ryoko, whom he calls his
"creation", Kagato prepares to take the sword and
destroy them all.
Who is in actuality Lord Yoshi, long lost brother of Ayeka and
heir to the throne of Jurai. Thousands of years before, he had
pursued Ryoko to Earth, defeating her and binding her within the
cave where Tenchi eventually found her. In the process however,
he had destroyed his spacecraft and found himself stranded on
Earth. Eventually he married an Earthling, and his daughter
became Tenchi's mother. Despite the long lifespan of Juraians,
the effect of EarthÕs environment has aged Yoshi somewhat, and
now he is unable to fulfill his eons-old engagement to Ayeka. His
fighting abilities are undiminished however, and he engages in a
titanic struggle with Kagato. Yoshi is on the verge of defeating
the criminal, when Kagato exercises his control over Ryoko, first
sending her in a mindless attack against Yosho as a diversion and
then fleeing to his own orbiting space battleship...taking Ryoko
with him.
Tenchi, Ayeka and Mihoshi storm Kagato's battleship in Ryo-Ohki.
But after a valiant struggle, they are overwhelmed by the immense
power of Kagato's craft. Ryo-Ohki is destroyed, with Tenchi.
Volume 6
"Mihoshi's Special!"
After losing Tenchi, the girls storm Kagato's spaceship. But
Ayeka falls into a trap and into Kagato's hands! In the meantime,
Ryoko and Mihoshi find themselves confined in a different dimension
where they meet Washu, a scientific genius. To their suprise, she
reveals herself as Ryoko's creator. Just as the destruction ray fired
at Earth is about to reach its destination, tenchi is resurrected and
reappears! The final battle is on!
Volume 7
"The Night Before the Carnival"
The Kagato incident is over, but Tenchi is at no loss for trouble
with five beautiful girls and Ryo-Ohki around him. Ryoki and Ayeka's
war for Tenchi's love, Washu's organic experiment on Tenchi, and the
case of the disappearing carrots caused by a divided and multiplied
Ryo-Ohki...An assortment of troubles, everything from small to large!
This is the sequel to the first OAV series.
Volume 8&9
Volume 8
"Hello! Baby"
Yet another dependent joins the Tenchi family - ti's a baby! Tenchi's
aunt arrives with her grandson one day asking Tenchi and company to take
care of the baby for awhile. None of them has any experience in child care,
of course. Ryoko and Ayeka display their typical competitive spirits trying
to impress Tenchi. Mihoshi remains her usual good-natured, goofy self.
Everyone works hard to take care of the baby the best she/he can, but the
result is...well, you'll see. And this baby incident causes Washu to reveal
some of her suprising past...The first edpisode of the second series.
Volume 9
"Sasami & Tsunami"
One nice autumn day, Tenchi & company return to the hot spring resort.
The innkeeper greets them happily - finally she has helping hands to repair
her damaged buildings and do the cooking and laundry! Then, a ghost is sighted.
What is this mysterious white shadow wandering about the inn?!?!? In the middle
of the commotion, Sasami feels lost and lonely. Years ago, back on Planet Jurai,
when the Royal Palace was attacked by Ryoko, something happened to awaken
Tsunami, and the hidden incident is troubling Sasmi deeply now...
Volume 10&11
Volume 10
"I Love Tenchi"
One clear day with springtime just around the corner, Tenchi happens to
hurt Ryo-Ohki's feelings. It was because of some misunderstanding which
eventually gets rectified, but Ryo-Ohki cannot quite back to her normal
cheerful self. Then, "The Mass"(meaning the element of all things), a strange
space creature kept in Washu's lab as a subject of her ever-troublesome
experiments, comes into play to make things even worse. Ryo-Ohki's fervent
desire to help Tenchi is picked up by The Mass, which causes the situation
to head in an unexpected direction...Will Ryo-Ohki's wish come true?
Volume 11
"The Advent of the Goddess"
Driven by the will of Queen Tokimi, Dr. Clay, a super-genius scientist,
heads for Earth to capture Washu. Tokimi, a high level dimensional life form,
wishes to meet Washu in person. The evil hands of Dr. Clay reach for Tenchi
and company who carry on with their daily lives, unaware of the danger. His
assassin is Zero, an artifical life form who assumes Ryoko's appearrance.
How would the Masaki family deal with this clone or Ryoko...?
Volume 12&13
Volume 12
"Zero Ryoko"
Zero, disguised as Ryoko, finally tries to assassinate Tenchi. She fails to
accomplish her task because Ryoko's feelings for Tenchi hidden in her heart do
not allow her to hurt him. Her true identity exposed, Zero returns to Dr. Clay
with Ryoko as her hostage. Tenchi and company fly out into outer space to recover
Ryoko. Will the Goddess of Victory smile at them? As Washu faces Clay, the two
genius scientists clash. What is the true intention of Tokimi, the mysterious
queen? And the imperial powr hidden in Tenchi...?
Volume 13
"Here Comes Jurai"
The three vistors from Planet Jurai arrive at Masaki residence without
warning - Azusa, the emperor of Jurai and the father of Ayeka and Sasami,
Misaki, their mother, and Funaho, Yosho's mother. They have come to take Ayeka
back to Planet Jurai and to check on the Masaki family which is full of
universal top secrets. endless mystery of Washu, capture of Ryoko, the sworn
enemy of Planet Jurai, the true intention of Yosho. With everyone's intentions
entangled and intertwined, the story is suddenly on the move again!