Tenchi Muyô!

I used to not understand anime at all. After sitting through another anime tv show, I grew to like it, enjoy it, and now love it. And "Tenchi Muyo" is, aside from "Slayers", my favorite anime television.

First of all, there are so many different characters with which to fall in love with. From the sexy space pirate Ryoko, to the precious space princesses Ayeka and Sasami, to the vapid Mihoshi (and her companion Kiyone, who I haven't seen yet since I'm only on the OVA series) to the cute scientific genius Washu. And it all revolves around Tenchi.

Secondly, it has a wonderful music score. From the rousing opening theme, to the little background music throughout (especially Ayeka's theme), to the ending credit music, it is well conducted, especially for an anime, where music is usually conducted by cheesemakers.

Finally, the plots are well done. Aside from the difference between Tenchi Universe and the OVA series, the plots are well-sculpted, well developed, and have a proper blend of action and humor. The biggest problem with anime today is it's lack of humor, which Tenchi Muyo will simply not allow.

I thank the nameless station which has actually begun to air this wonderful series. And as for you "Tenchi Muyo", all we can do is bow, oh great respected one.

I really liked Tenchi Muyo! TV (aka Tenchi Universe). The plot was really good and the characters were kept true to their counterparts in the OVA. One thing I didn't like is that there were a few characters that were basically ignored throughout the series only receiving one or two episodes to their name (namely Washu). The animation isn't as good as the OVA but it is definitely better than Shin Tenchi TV. This is a quality anime as well. I'd recommend this to anyone who even mentioned anime around me.

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.

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.

With its active imagination and bright coulors , its easy to see why tenchi muyo is a firm favourite to many fans of Japanese animation . However , just because the adventures of tenchi and co are appreciated by many , that doesn't make it the best series you'll see. This isn't to say that tenchi muyo is bad , but it is to say that there are a lot of things wrong with it. Wrong things such as it being unoriginal : tenchi muyo borrows .. in fact , no STEALS ideas from star wars , urusei yatsura and sailor moon just to name a few. Another one of the shows negative factors is that it constantly moves from being sci-fi to a slapstick comedy to a romantic drama to an action drama , all very quickly , making the show feel uneven . Oh , and speaking of uneven , tenchi muyo doesn't keep the same pace throughout , resulting in a show that can be heart stopping and exciting some times , and just plain boring the next. And while we are on the subject of the shows bad points , ive got to say that the thinly veiled sexism that creeps up in the show is something that we could have done with out.

Wow . With all these bad points , it sounds like I hate tenchi muyo , doesn't it ? Well I don't , I think its very solid and its good qualities are very strong . One good quality is that from a visual stand point , tenchi muyo looks great - the animators and character designers manage to strike a good balance between cuteness and complex realism . Another strong point is that when the show is funny , it can get really funny , just like how it can get damn exciting when it puts its action gloves on , suggesting that being a straight action comedy would have definitely been the best way forward for tenchi muyo. But above everything the best thing about tenchi is easily its characters , something that any tenchi fan can agree with me on. From the destructive but sensitive Ryoko , to the eccentric Washu , the characters are developed and used well enough for you to care for them when any thing happens to them. And having characters that you can get behind and feel for is important in any story , anime or otherwise.

So in conclusion , it must be said that tenchi muyo has a lot flaws but still comes out as an intelligent and entertaining show that's definitely way above average . But if it focused entirely on action and comedy (its best assets) whilst still paying attention to character and plot then we'd be looking at a classic.

Knowledge gives this : 3(and a half ) out of 5