By
Adam Arnold (www.adamarnold.net)
The
Internet is a buzz with speculation. Speculation about just what is about to
transpire as one of anime’s most beloved series--Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki--finally
gets the long-awaited conclusion it deserves in 2005. While the title
translates to “no need for Tenchi,” Tenchi Masaki is a young man who has a
harem of space girls who do nothing but want him. It is the same formula
that Love Hina made popular years later only with elements of Project
A-Ko and Star Wars thrown in with hilarious results.
Ever
since the series premiered on Cartoon Network back in July 2000, Tenchi’s
popularity has only skyrocketed. With a multitude of DVDs on store shelves
ranging from Pioneer’s release of Tenchi-Muyo! Ryo-Ohki, Tenchi
Universe and Tenchi In Tokyo to FUNimation’s recent Tenchi Muyo!
GXP, the multitude of titles available is almost too much for the
uninitiated. To make matters worse, only a few of the series even connect with
one another.
But
fear not! Anime Insider has braved the turbulent sea of stars and blown
a whole mess of space pirates out of the skies to bring you the be-all guide to
everything Tenchi under the sun! So strap those thinking caps on, it’s
going to be a bumpy ride.
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 1, Episodes 1-4 (1992, Pioneer)
Tenchi Misaki was once an ordinary high school student until one day he
unwittingly releases the demon Ryoko from her 700-year imprisonment and she
goes on a rampage blowing up Tenchi’s school! Soon after Princess Ayeka of the
planet Jurai arrives on Earth in a quest to find her long lost bother, Yosho,
and instead finds Ryoko--the very person responsible for his disappearance!
After some major interstellar hijinks, Ryoko, Ayeka and Ayeka’s little
sister, Sasami all become stranded on Earth and soon welcome the always
loveable cabbit/ship, Ryo-Ohki and bubble-headed Galaxy Police officer, Mihoshi
into their growing household. Unbeknownst to anyone though, a deadly criminal
is headed their way.
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Soundtrack Volume 1, 65:45 min./20 tracks (1992,
unlicensed)
An OVA soundtrack that contains BGM from the first three episodes and a
side-story radio drama set between episodes 2 and 3 about a trip to an onsen
(hot spring).
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 1, Episodes 5-6 (1993, Pioneer)
The murderous criminal Kagato descends upon the Earth and seizes Ryoko
and drags her into space claiming to be her rightful creator. Tenchi and the
remaining girls board Ryo-Ohki and blast off into space in hot pursuit.
Unfortunately, even the defensive power of the Light Hawk Wings is no match for
a single well-placed blast from the Soja, Kagato’s battleship. Ryo-Ohki is
ripped apart and Tenchi is left drifting near lifeless in space.
Back on Earth, Sasami senses Tenchi’s essence slipping away and the
sleeping goddess within her, Tsunami, awakens and appears before Tenchi and
merges with him. Meanwhile aboard the Soja, Mihoshi has released a young girl,
named Washu, who claims to not only be the greatest scientific genius in the
universe, but also the creator of Ryo-Ohki, the Soja and she is Ryoko’s mother.
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Soundtrack Volume 2, 55:58 min./25 tracks
(1993, unlicensed)
A soundtrack containing music for the half of the first OVA and
featuring five character songs sung by the various Tenchi seiyuu.
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 1, Episode 7 (1993, Pioneer)