Tenchi Muyô!

The original series that launched 3 spin-offs and 3 movies, Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki is by far the pick of the bunch. Although the series spans several genres it is more of a comedy at heart with its light hearted tone. This series perfectly encapsulates the whole Tenchi universe. Its art and animation is lush and gorgeous and the plot (or plots) is (are) relatively solid although the writers lose it occasionally after the first 6 episodes. Thrill-seekers may bemoan the absence of heart-stopping moments in the action scenes but the series' true strength lies in its characters.

The characters are compelling and genuinely appealing with deep and well-developed personalities. Even the pipe organ-playing(!) villain is cool! The character interactions are seldom boring, often being very funny and sometimes touching as well. One drawback is that is unfinished. The plot kinda meandered towards the end but then a ton of new plot threads were introduced which weren't resolved making the series seem incomplete.

Hopefully we'll see more of this series (which has been hinted) in the future but for I heartedly recommend this series to anyone. Simply put, it is simply brilliant.

"Tenchi Muyo" is one of the best anime OAVs-original animated videos-to debut in the 90s, and like any successful show, has spawned a legion of copycats. The show deals with young Tenchi Misaki, a high school boy who does chores and trains under his grandfather, a Shinto priest. Against his Grandfather's will, young Tenchi opens a sacred shrine. This sets of a chain reaction of events that make Tenchi the host to a group of alien women-Ryoko, feisty space pirate; Ayeka and Sasami, princesses from the planet Jurai; Mihohshi, a ditzy space cop, Washu, a genius and Ryoko's mother; and also Ry-Oh-oki, a cat/rabbit creature which can transform into a spaceship or a young girl. Of course, there's a reason why all these girls arrive, and this forms an interesting subplot. The animation and sound is top-notch-the last being obvious, since this series is partially funded by Pioneer.

This along with Tenchi in Tokyo and the original OVA make an unforgettable emotional sensation. This method of anime was later generated, copied, and perfected into finest anime like bebop etc.

But as a classic this series will remain the sweetest gem ever, which ending soundtrack always brings smile to my face, warmth in my heart, and tear of happy memories

The Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA is perhaps the best of the Tenchi Muyo! series. The animation is beautiful and the overall plots are good as well. Just one problem: They left the plot open! Other than that, this is a great anime. Anyone can like this series. Even my mom who despises anime absolutely loves Tenchi Muyo! It just has wonderful characters and the english seiyuu are great and fitting the character which is so hard to find in dubbed anime. This is a great series.

Amazing. Tenchi Muyo! is quite simply, one of the best anime out there (in my opinion, THE best). Why is this? It's certainly not because of the plot, which is full of holes (try to figure out the characters ages will lead you down a path to madness), it is currently incomplete (although the third OAV is on the way!), and there are certainly a lot of other flaws that I could pick out, but this is the kind of story in which you get so wrapped up in, you don't even notice any of the problems. It's the characters that really make this show. There is a surprising amount of depth here once you get past the terminally light tone of the show. The fact is, however, Tenchi Muyo! is incredibly touching.

Basically the plot is about 17-year-old Tenchi Masaki, a young man with hidden powers who suddenly finds himself surrounded by beautiful women from all over the universe who are all in love with him! There's Ayeka, the reserved dignified Juraian princess (and her younger sister Sasami, Mihoshi the clutzy Galaxy Space Officer, Little Washu, the genius scientist, and of course Ryoko, the demon space pirate who is released from a 700 year imprisonment by Tenchi which starts the whole saga rolling. One of the shows virtues is that Tenchi never even tries to decide, and the group becomes like a family with a common interest... The character of Ryoko is what really meant the difference to me, a 2000-year-old demon who is somewhat vicious and violent, but is truly humanized in her love for Tenchi. I couldn't help but root for her, and the scene in episode 5 where she remembers watching Tenchi grow up is truly touching. I won't really go into any plot cause that's not really the point. You get into this show because its light, funny, and touching.

I can't recommend it enough.