Introduction
The Tenchi Universe is a comedy/space-opera, released as an anime television series in Japan around the mid 1990's. The 26 episodes were dubbed for English and were issued on 8 VHS tapes between 1996 and 1998. The television shows are by no means the first or last incarnation of this series, so before proceeding with my review of The Tenchi Universe, it may be prudent to provide a brief synopsis of the various versions, and the order of their release.
The Tenchi Succession
Tenchi Muyo originated as a six-episode OAV 1 series, created by Kajishima Masaki. The series proved so successful that a second OAV series was made, plus special episodes focusing on specific characters. The OAVs gave rise to the 26 episode television series collectively dubbed The Tenchi Universe, which follows a plot line quite different from the OAV series, although many of the characters are the same.
Next came a full length film titled Tenchi in Love, a second TV series called Tenchi in Tokyo, and two more full length films: Daughter of Darkness and Tenchi Forever. All of this, in addition to manga 2, cd's, toys, etc.
The 8 VHS tapes of the first television series can be distinguished from the various other versions quite easily, as they are all headed with the title The Tenchi Universe.
Huh? Not Another Tenchi Web-page!
Tenchi's popularity is such that there are literally hundreds of web-sites/pages/galleries devoted to the various series; the Anime Web Turnpike alone features a listing of well over 300 URL's in its Tenchi Muyo directory. This being the case, one might wonder why still another page about Tenchi Muyo might be necessary. Well, perhaps it's not; still, most of the pages I've seen are fan-sites aimed at other Tenchi fans. This page is a review intended for interested readers unfamiliar with the series.
Translating the Titles
In Japanese, the word tenchi means "heaven and earth", and muyo means "uneeded". Together, the title Tenchi Muyo is usually translated "No Need for Tenchi". The titles of each of the 26 episodes are tagged with muyo as well; for instance, the first episode is named "No Need for Discussions", while the last is called "No Need for a Conclusion". A Japanese pun is embedded in the title, for the single word tenchimuyo means "this side up", an apt instruction to poor Tenchi Masaki, who has trouble keeping his equilibrium!
Series Overview
Tenchi Masaki is an ordinary young student, living in rural Japan with his father and grandfather. On his way home from school one day he witnesses a pair of strange flying objects descend from the sky, trailing smoke, to crash explosively in the nearby hills. He investigates the nearest landing site and finds, lying unconscious among the debris, a pretty young woman who smells strongly of alcohol. He manages to revive her, whereupon she begs his protection from the evil space-pirate who is pursuing her. From this point onward Tenchi's commonplace life becomes increasingly hectic and surreal, as one beautiful girl-from-space after another shipwrecks on his doorstep and takes up residence with his family.
Two of these young ladies, Ryoko and Aeka, conceive a romantic interest in Tenchi, and spend much of their time competing for his affections. This is not the dream scenario for Tenchi that one might assume, for Ryoko and Aeka have very strong-minded personalities, and possess strange mystical powers which they are not shy about using against each other. These clashes frequently have a way of spilling over onto hapless bystanders, particularly Tenchi.
The series is divided into three parts. The first ten episodes were released on three VHS tapes subtitled Tenchi Muyo on Earth and, as advertised, all take place in or near Tenchi's home. The main characters are all introduced and developed in these episodes, which seem to be formatted more or less as a sitcom. The next three episodes are collected on a single VHS tape subtitled Time and Space Adventures, and take place on ideal alternate worlds conceived by the various characters (except for Tenchi, who doesn't seem to get much choice about anything).
From this point, the series becomes an actual serial, with a plot line advancing toward a climax. Aeka is a princess, and heir to the throne of the planet Jurai. During her absence the throne is usurped by a mysterious interloper, who sends Jurai's navy to arrest her. Tenchi and the whole gang quickly become embroiled in Aeka's troubles. The following nine episodes, which were released on three VHS tapes subtitled Tenchi Muyo in Space, deal with the various situations the group encounters as they travel toward Jurai.
The final VHS tape, subtitled The Last Battle, contains three episodes that bring the series to its climactic conclusion, and a fourth episode that wraps everything up with a where are they now-type synopsis, narrated by Tenchi.
The Main Characters, in (Approximate) Order of Appearance
It is not possible to sketch the characters without giving away one or two of the plot elements of the earlier episodes, but I'll try to keep that sort of thing to a minimum. Click on the title of the table to go to the top of the Cast of Characters page, or click on a portrait to go directly to that character's description.
| The Cast of The Tenchi Universe | |||
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| Tenchi | Ryoko | Nobuyuki | Katsuhito |
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| Mihoshi | Aeka | Azaka & Kamidake | Sasami |
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| Ryo-ohki | Washu | Kiyone | Nagi & Ken-ohki |
Critique
I've appreciated this series primarily as a comedy, but have also enjoyed it as a fantasy-adventure as well. The humor is mostly broad and slapstick (like Bugs Bunny), though there is the occasional sly wink to the audience (also like Bugs Bunny), and some occasional innocent sexual humor (not at all like Bugs Bunny). The plots of the individual episodes vary considerably in complexity, but each is well written and fun to watch. While some of the characters are a bit stereotyped, they are always used in interesting and sometimes surprising ways. The story-line that leads to the series climax is somewhat well-used, but is skilfully developed and executed. The occasional emotional moments are well-timed and are not overdone. All in all, I have no exception to take with any part of the series.
The original series was written in Japanese, of course, and starred Japanese voice actors. American voice actors were hired for the dubbed versions, and it seems to me that the producers took some care to assure that the dubbing was done seamlessly, and matched the characters' personalities. The characters of Nobuyuki and Katsuhito were both spoken by a single actor in the original Japanese version, and the producers did the same on the dubbed version, hiring an actor capable of performing both roles in different voices.
The cultural matrix for the settings, both on earth and in space, is Japan. One of the jobs of the translators, therefore, was to communicate Japanese concepts into English. It seemed to me that this was done with care and restraint, though I am in no wise an expert on Japanese culture, and I'm sure some of the subtleties went right over my head. For the most part, the translators left the everyday concepts of Japanese life pretty much alone. The monetary exchange unit on Earth was still the yen. Menus items in restaurants remained Japanese: teriyaki, "north country noodles", etc. On the other hand, in connection with Jurai, English terms such as "knights" and "chivalry" were used, and I strongly suspect that these were translations of Japanese words like "samurai" and "bushido". If this is the case, I would have preferred that the translators left the terms alone, though it was a tough call to make, and I can't really fault them for choosing as they did. No translation can ever be perfect.
Of the various incarnations of Tenchi Muyo, I have seen only The Tenchi Universe television series so far, and I feel inclined to leave it that way. For this reason, I can't really tell you anything about the other versions from my own experience. From what I have seen written on various websites, consensus is divided on the issue as to whether the OAVs or the first television series is the better production. There seems to be, however, a near unanimity of opinion that the second TV series, Tenchi in Tokyo, is distinctly inferior in terms of artwork and writing.
Down and Out in Dinetah: Personal Notes
Last summer I spent several weeks away from home, performing environmental consulting services at the remote village of T'iis'ts'oz'i, Dinetah 3. The nearest lodgings were located in Gallup, requiring a daily commute of roughly 140 miles. At home my wife and I don't watch much television, so we don't subscribe to a cable service. Consequently, when I check into a motel I tend to take advantage of the novelty of having dozens of channels at my fingertips.
What I principally find, as I strobe through flickering images of vapid sitcoms, "Walker, Texas Ranger" reruns (the principal insight of the show's writers being "be good or we'll hit you"), bowling tournaments, music videos, and infomercials, is exactly how little I'm missing by having only 6 channels instead of 60. Even so, that little remote control holds a certain compulsive fascination, and I frequently waste upwards of an hour punching buttons like a rat in a Skinner-box, usually with less reward.
Not that there aren't occasional nuggets among the slag. As I ticked through the stations I caught a glimpse of a beautifully rendered drawing of sunlight shining through a tori-gate in a rural setting. Well, I'm a sucker for that kind of thing - comes of being an eccentric geek, as my sister can confirm. I turned back a couple of channels and found myself on the Cartoon Network, watching the beginning of the first episode of The Tenchi Universe. Recognizing that this was an anime feature, and having recently gained some interest in the genre (see my review of Vampire Princess Miyu), I paused long enough to get hooked.
After that, I watched the series with fair regularity. It aired at 6:30 pm local time, so I wasn't always back to the hotel in time to watch each episode from its beginning, and sometimes I missed it altogether. I caught it when I could, however, and in case you hadn't already noticed, I found the shows amusing and enjoyable.
A couple of months later I was in a mall in Albuquerque, and noticed a whole section devoted to anime in a video store. Out of curiosity I checked for the Tenchi titles, and there they were. I bought the first two tapes in The Tenchi Universe on the spot, and before another month had passed, I had collected all eight VHS tapes in the series. Which brings us to the present, where I recommend them to you without reservation.
Tim Eagen
December, 2000
2"Manga" is a generic term for a graphic novel, or "comic book", in Japan, and is distinguished from "anime", which is the term for an animated feature.
3That is, Crownpoint, New Mexico, on the eastern Navajo Indian Reservation.
