Tenchi Muyo! Episode Four: Mihoshi Falls to the Land of Stars

 

Episode Four of Tenchi Muyo! is probably the single most famous episode of the entire franchise.

I am not even joking. This episode is remembered for several reasons, but more specifically that this is THE episode. The hot springs episode. This is another episode that inspired a TV Tropes page titled “Digital Bikinis.” Let us read its entry:

“Tenchi Muyo! became the Trope Namer when it was aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami, pioneering the technique to avoid cutting the many plot-critical scenes set in hot springs or baths. The best part is seeing the bathing suits painted on characters wearing tightly wrapped towels around them. These days, the digital bikini isn't used as much to cover nudity in anime series. They mostly use Censor Steam, digitally remove offending body parts, or cut/shorten scenes of nudity.”

Yes, this episode caused a bit of an upset when it aired on Toonami. You see, the network had a problem: this episode is WAY too important to cut outright and there is not enough material in the episode to take out the “bikini bits.” Thus, this was the easiest way to solve the problem.

This episode is going to introduce us to A LOT of key things to understanding this franchise and will start putting us on track to finish out Monomyth narrative. I am going to do something a little different for some of the screencaps today, but I really do need to hammer in a point about it:

Ryoko’s nudity is used to further her character, not to sexualize her. 

What do I mean by that? Let’s dive into today’s episode and make sense of it!

Unlike the other episodes that open up on a scene that can be traced back to Earth in some capacity, this episode opens up in the vastness of space. We see a bunch of smaller ships fighting a larger ship.

Villain with a larger ship than the good guys trying to protect freedom in the galaxy? Add it to the list!

Who is coordinating this attack? Why it’s Mr. Spock!

R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy. 

The ships do not stand a chance and are all instantly vaporized by the giant ship. In a similar way to the Star Destroyers of Star Wars, the size of the ships shows dominance and power. This is not some drawn out space battle, but rather a man swatting a fly away. These ships mean nothing to the individual flying that craft.  

“The odds of successfully surviving an attack on an Imperial Star Destroyer are approximately...”

We cut to an oddly shaped yet beautifully drawn spacecraft. 

The letters “G” and “P” are prominent on a flag in a Lion Man’s Office.

 

“A thousand years ago, Taur and his fierce warriors conquered Awahu Island. But then, they were cursed by an ancient kahuna. The curse said that when the Makahanu Comet passes and bathes Taur and his warriors in its golden dust, it would turn him and his warriors into ferocious beasts.And they would pass the curse onto everyone they meet. But Taur and his Lion Men were driven back and forced to hide in a secret cave. The volcanic eruption sealed the cave for over a thousand years…”

Taur the Lion Man (that’s his name now until someone tells me otherwise) receives a phone call from “The Marshall” who shares with him some bad news.

“Kagato is back.”

Taur the Lion Man is amazed to hear that the “most wanted criminal” has returned and has caused some kind of massacre, which we witnessed earlier in the episode, and that his target path showed that he may be headed to the Solar System. Taur the Lion Man’s man servant, who refers to him as “Commander” so now he is Commander Taur the Lion Man, gives him some coffee. Commander Taur the Lion Man asks a simple question:

 “By the way, who is on patrol over the non-interference preserve of the Solar System?”

When he hears that it is one “Detective First Class Mihoshi,” Commander Taur the Lion Man nearly has a heart attack.

“Mihoshi! No way! We don’t have a budget large enough to spend any more money on her!”

He then acknowledges a large stack of papers on his desk, all of which are bills generated by this woman. The man servant tells Commander Taur the Lion Man that this attack may be a way to rid the “G.P.” of all of Mihoshi’s problems and the bills that she causes.

Before we move on, I have to say Commander Taur the Lion Man’s voice sounds really familiar. Where have I…

You’ve got to be shitting me.

Yes, our walking Mega Man reference is actually voiced by Dan Butler, who you may recall being the voice of Mr. Simmons on Hey Arnold! The two shows were the only voice acting he ever did, so wow. What an odd vocal resume.

We then cut to the planet Saturn and see a NEW spaceship floating by it. Makes you wonder how NASA or any other space program missed these things flying around out there.

 

Oh, I suppose it is time to throw up my usual CHALLENGER APPROACHING warning:

A blonde woman is inside the ship watching what I can only imagine is Space Terrance and Phillip.

“Say Terrance, what did the Juraian priest say to the Ryuten gynecologist?”

Suddenly, the blonde woman gets an emergency call, which causes her to spill hot tea all over herself. Just from this action and the state of her room, we can tell that she is a klutz. 

 

 “What a mess!”

What an understatement.

Cammander Taur the Lion Man’s man servant has contacted the woman, who we can now confirm is the Mihoshi of legend, and is appalled by how she presented herself.

While Mihoshi cleans herself up, the man servant tells the First Class Detective that Kagato is headed her way. Her orders are thus: if she sees Kagato: call in the “special investigation unit” and they will take the case off of her hands. So what does Mihoshi say on the matter?

  “I am going to prove myself by capturing Kagato!”

The man servant…well just look!

“That’s not what I said! You’re the Marshall’s Granddaughter! I’ll be in big trouble if anything happens to you!”

“I’m a Galaxy Police officer! Danger is my business! Don’t worry about my Grandfather!”

Well, now we know what the “G.P.” stands for! So Spock didn’t actually work for the Federation or the Rebel Alliance, but rather the Galaxy Police! In addition, that blonde guy who told us about Kagato is actually Mihoshi’s Grandfather! Interesting developments...wait, wasn't the man servant implying that it would be a good thing to see Mihoshi "get rid of?" I...actually, he's probably playing both sides. 

Well played man servant.

Cutting off the transmission, Mihoshi sits down and activates something called “Yukinojo.”

ROB the Robot?

Our boy Yukinojo is tasked to inform Mihoshi about Kagato so you know what that means?

EXPOSITION TIME!

“The space pirate Kagato, also known as a destroyer of historical ruins. A nefarious fellow, 5000 years old. He ravages the cultural assets in various parts of the galaxy controlling a huge battleship called Soja. Number of relics destroyed so far are 3,326. Number of cultural artifacts stolen is numerous. This is not a time to be impressed!”

Mihoshi is starting to get bored of all of this exposition so she begins to play with her little poof ball on her tush that turns into a rubix cube like device. Yukinojo, ever the comically serious, does not realize this and prattles on for our benefit.

 “In Space Calendar Year 5901, he broke into the museum of historical relics on the planet Alpha. In the same year, 2000 civilians including high ranking government officials disappeared from a spot called The Mystery Zone on the planet Beta. In Space Calendar Year 5903, he destroyed city ruins on the planet Ruda (?). In Space Calendar Year 5912, he kidnapped a girl from the Royal Space Academy on the planet Todain (?). In Space Calendar Year 5923, he destroyed the palace on the Planet Jurai. Oh! Oh! Excuse me! This was done by a different pirate called Ryoko. In Space Calendar…”

“You got all that?”

Holy crap that was a lot of things to decipher. Now at least two of the things mentioned in that list will be very important. One of them is reminding us about Ryoko’s crimes, but the other will remain a mystery for now.  

What is great about our little mystery is that the expositional dialogue is not the focus of the scene. Throughout all of that, Mihoshi is playing around with her little cube device. As she turns it, shit keeps happening in the ship, from making things appear out of nowhere to opening up random drawers. Unfortunately, it does not materialize a cup of coffee, much to Mihoshi’s disappointment. 

 It does, however, materialize a pack of cigarettes. Does Mihoshi smoke?

Yukinojo tries to get her attention yet again, and Mihoshi mutters a soft “Enough already.” I’ve never noticed that before. Mihoshi is voiced by Ellen Gerstell, who you may remember as Princess Daphne from Dragon’s Lair or Rapture from Jem and the Holograms. Like Sherry Lynn and Jennifer Darling, she ALSO appeared in Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland as a Candy Kid Page. Gerstell, unlike most of the main cast, only stays on for the first two OVAs, Universe, and apparently an episode of the English dub of Pretty Sammy. 

As the show goes on Gerstell makes Mihoshi sound more and more…ditzy…which reflects the Flanderization of her character. However, in these initial episodes she strikes a great balance of ditz, innocent, and determined. This is my preferred voice style for Mihoshi for reasons that will be explained in the next episode. She is not a complete idiot, she is just overworked and takes out her stress in the form of childish behavior. I am a lot like Mihoshi in that respect.

Still, if any of my students were as bored as Mihoshi is here, I would clearly not be doing my job well.

She tries to start her ship again, but it is unresponsive. She gives it a quick kick…

 

 

Even in space that works.

…and says probably the most remembered Mihoshi line from anyone who grew up with the Toonami promos:

 “I’m just going to cruise around and see what I can find.”

We then head back to Earth where we see a new house! Nobuyuki has driven the girls to an inn. Sasami is rather excited to be here and Nobuyuki goes to meet the innkeeper: Aunt May Parker.

“Welcome to my inn Nobuyuki!”

Huh, they do give his name this early. Alright then.

She asks him if all of the girls are Tenchi’s girlfriends and he gives a rather apt response:

“Well sort of…I…please bear with us…”

Jay Hooper’s voice is ALMOST there, but he is still adjusting to his new Ernie-like voice. Meanwhile, Tenchi is doing the grunt work and is tasked to carry in the luggage of three alien women, which begs the question of where Ryoko obtained clothes, especially since the last two episodes she had on new outfits.

 "Oh man, why do girls have so much luggage?"

…Whiny Tenchi?

As Tenchi is carrying the luggage, Ryoko teleports on top of the suitcase he is carrying. Tenchi begins to scold her and warn her to be on her best behavior as this is apparently a yearly tradition for the Masaki men. Ryoko, however, is rather smart and picks up on something right away:

“Why are you only saying this to ME? Something must have happened between you and that woman!”

I’d like to point out that it appears that Ryoko has a tail in this scene. According to AstroBoyNerd’s website, this tail is apparently an accessory that connects to her clothes but moves with her emotions. Again, WHERE DID RYOKO GET THESE CLOTHES?

Ryoko accuses Tenchi of flirting with Ayeka, which he denies. Then Ryoko makes a claim that took me off guard for a moment:

“See, you are thinking of something kinky right now, aren’t you?”

Wow. See this? This is only the tip of the iceberg of what needed to be cut to air on Toonami, which replaced the term with “silly.” 

Our resident space pirate starts to fly around, which startles Tenchi. He does not want the old innkeeper to see anything that would…you know the drill in these type of shows. Statute of Secrecy, Prime Directive, Secret Identity…the usual. Ryoko gets pissed and tells Tenchi to flirt with Ayeka. As a reminder to Tenchi about how “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” Ryoko telepathically hurls all of the bags back at Tenchi.

Ryoko don’t shiv.

“What does she want from me?”

She wants you Tenchi. 

Speaking of wants, we cut to the infamous “peeping” scene of the show. Yes, Nobuyuki’s proudest and most sexist moment. You see, this inn is actually home to a hot spring. There are two baths divided by a wall: one for men and the other for women. Nobuyuki, our residential manly man, has taken it upon himself to teach his son in the traditional art of peeping. Let us learn from this wise and experienced man:

“Tenchi…we are here at the hot springs…and there are young ladies up there in the women’s bath. It would be really rude NOT to peak!”

“The hostess will kill us if she finds out.”

“I’m not afraid of her at all.”

“So…what’s the deal with the towel Dad?”

“Numbskull, what do you think? This is the traditional attire for...peeping!” 

Tenchi, you should be honored to have learned from such a master. Even Master Roshi could learn a thing from him.

“Hurry up son! We don’t want to miss anything!”

You have to admire his enthusiasm. He is clearly having a ball with this (both Nobuyuki and his voice actor). Tenchi, of course, does not want to intrude on three alien women who have either kidnapped him or tried to kill him in the course of a month.

Nobuyuki stares over the rock wall, eager to make a fool of himself in front of his son. You can barely see it, but his eyes say everything.

“Hi there! And what are you doing up here?”

Poor Nobuyuki. 

Ryoko, completely naked I might add, is excited to see Tenchi and invites him over to their side of the bath. 

Just to show you what this looked like on Toonami, courtesy of Tenchiforum’s Facebook page. They were a big help for this recap.

Tenchi, ever the paragon of respect, does not feel comfortable with the request. However, Ryoko is rather forceful.

Exit, stage right even!

Tenchi is plunged into the female bath head first and Ryoko tries to make our hero calm, reminding him that he saw her naked (or up close if we talk about the Toonami version) in the cave. Finally Sasami and Ayeka come out. Sasami is excited, Tenchi tries to leave, and Ayeka…

She runs back inside, claiming she will bathe later. However, the choice is out of her hands as Ryoko phases through the wall, grabs Ayeka and forces her through it.

 

“What’s with this shy routine anyway? I mean, you were pretty aggressive in that mountain cave, weren’t you?”

All of this was cut out of Toonami by the way. It cuts straight from Ayeka noticing Tenchi to right here.

Ayeka asks how Ryoko knew that and Ryoko told us she looked in Ryo-Ohki’s memory. Add that to the list of powers we discover Ryoko has in this episode. As Ayeka tries to have a moment with Tenchi, which I cannot screen cap due to Ryoko, Ryoko snatches off Ayeka’s towel. It goes about as well as you would expect.

Here is the Toonami screencap. 

Tenchi, as you can imagine, suffered a trademark Anime nosebleed. This is not lost on Sasami.

 

“Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah…I’m fine…thank you Sasami…”

“’Cause you look really pale…and your nose is bleeding…”

“You’re a naughty boy, aren’t you Tenchi!”

Not only did an edited version of this scene make it on Toonami (that called Tenchi a “bad boy”), but THE UNEDITED VERSION WAS USED AS A PROMO! 

Tenchi tries to play it off, blaming the hot water. Sasami stares into his soul with those innocent pink eyes of hers (and yellow eyes of Ryo-Ohki). Even Tenchi cannot bring himself to lie to the voice of Sherry Lynn.

ALL GLORY TO THE SHERRY LYNN

By the way, even though Toonami edited out the initial “naughty” comment, TENCHI STILL APOLOGIZES FOR BEING “NAUGHTY!” 

As this is going on, Ayeka and Ryoko engage in their third verbal fight this episode. Needless to say, our hero wants to see what is going on. Ryoko chides her for not wanting to show off her naked body (or “bathing suit”). Ayeka will have none of that.

 “You see there, that is what I’m talking about! You’re insensitive!”

We get some really good character driven dialogue that actually justifies the setting like I have alluded to earlier. Ryoko comments that no matter what, if Tenchi chooses Ayeka he will have to see her naked body sooner or later. Toonami edited the line to say that “You were going to show it off anyway.” 

WOW.

 Ayeka counters by calling Ryoko an exobitionist, WHICH MADE IT TO TOONAMI. Speaking of Toonami, let us compare the following exchange in the original to the edited version:

Original: “Oh, it’s only natural to take a bath naked.”

Edited : “Oh, so you take a bath with your clothes on, huh?

 “Of course, with so little to offer, I can understand why you would want to cover it up!”

THIS LINE FOLLOWS BOTH VERSIONS. HOW DID THIS AIR ON TOONAMI?!

“Show it off (Little Princess/ If you can) I dare you!”

That…I never realized Ryoko’s taunt until just now. Thank you Toonami. You make Tenchi Muyo make more sense to me.

 

Oh shit. It’s on. 

 

These girls don’t shiv.

 “I’ve had about enough of this. I think that you think that I’m harmless. If that’s what you think you are wrong.”

Showing that the kiddie gloves are officially off, Ayeka summons some logs that surround Ryoko. But what do they do?

“They form the magical force field that held your spaceship captive before. You won’t get any help from Tenchi this time?”

“You are just a spoiled princess. Is that the best you can do?”

This episode…the Ayeka/ Ryoko counter is going to be very high, isn’t it? 

The little wooden logs try to capture Ryoko, but she effortlessly teleports away. She lands on a rock and is called a “demon” by Ayeka.

 

“Now it’s my turn to show you something little girl! It’s the reason why I’m called ‘Ryoko, the devil caller.’”

Ryoko summons some evil spirits from the ground and they form a giant monster. However, since Ryoko does not have all of her gems, she is unable to control the beast.

You don’t fuck with The Jesus.

Since Ryoko has failed spectacularly, she calls upon Tenchi to clean up her mess. She yells to him to get the sword. However, all of this excitement has not gone unnoticed. Yukinojo (remember him?) tries to alert Mihoshi of the anomalies occurring on Earth. Mihoshi, not having any idea what is going on, comments about how fast the ship is going. Regardless of the situation, it shows us that Mihoshi really DOES take her job seriously as she is concerned that this level of speed is probably not permissible in this sector. Of course, Yukinojo has something to say on the subject:

 

“Mihoshi that is EXACTLY what I am trying to tell you. The ship is falling toward the energy pocket! We are out of control!”

“Oh, that’s not so good, huh?”

We cut back to the girls, and look! They are clothed! I can use the HQ version consistently again!

 
They run past Aunt May, who questions if these loud, rude girls are worthy of Tenchi’s affection and immediately sees The Jesus.

 

“Deliver us…from EVILLLLLL!”

“AMEN SISTER!”

Tenchi is then thrust into the situation, which we can consider to be the start of his TRIALS. You see, Tenchi has been slacking on his Monomyth journey. If we were to assume that his quest is to master the sword, he has not really done anything. Last episode can really be considered a smaller variation of REJECTING THE CALL, but it doesn’t work that way as he had already started the journey. This episode, though, he knows he has to at least attempt to get his sword working. He must protect his new ALLIES. So Tenchi, how are you holding up?

“Why isn’t it working?! Just when I need it the most.”

“YOU ARE FAILING!”

Obi-Wan…I mean Ayeka tells Luke...err Tenchi to use the Forc…remember his training!

 

“Let go Luke…”

Tenchi cuts off the hand of The Jesus…

So The Jesus is a Wampa? 

…but unlike The Empire Strikes Back, the arm grows back. But suddenly, the sky turns black!

 

“The Ceremony of the Bat has begun again! As the sun shines black you and I will summon the spirit Barbatos to open this impenetrable box of ancient secrets!”

Ryoko immediately recognizes this danger as a spaceship and goes to grab Tenchi as the ship enters from a rift in space. The rift sucks up both Tenchi and the ghost. 

Don’t cross the streams!

Oh come on guys! It was so easy!

Ryoko flies up to save Tenchi from certain death while Ayeka calls his name below. However, a most unexpected turn of events takes place: 

Yes, Mihoshi appeared out of nowhere and found herself in Tenchi’s arms. Plus, it appears that Tenchi is checking her out. However, once the rift disappeared, Tenchi forgot the most important rule of the Road Runner cartoons:

Sasami goes to check on Tenchi, but a hand, which we can assume based on where Ayeka is positioned belongs to Ryoko, picks up an odd bracelet Mihoshi was wearing. What happened to Mihoshi you ask?

 

Ryoko’s eyes narrow as she examines the bracelet and Mihoshi. We know Ryoko is a wanted space pirate so it is obvious that she does not like Galaxy Police Officers on sight. Mihoshi regains consciousness and we now can see the damage that has been caused to Aunt May’s house.

Guess Peter is going to need to request an advance from J.J. Good luck with that Parker.

“Oh my God! I’ve come in contact with the local people!”

 

Thankfully for our blonde detective here, she did not accidentally engage in First Contact with the human race, but she does not quite pick up on who her saviors actually are. However, Ryoko brings up the fact that she works for the Galaxy Police and returns her bracelet to her. This disturbs Mihoshi greatly.

 

You see apparently very few people know how to fix those bracelets. Oh shit, Ryoko’s past has been found out. She knows that she is a space pir….

“…are you a jeweler?”

Oh Mihoshi. I’m going to miss this semi-competent version of you, who is only ditzy half of the time.

Sasami informs Mihoshi that Ryoko is actually a space pirate, and instead of looking concerned, she looks rather confused. Ryoko, on the other hand, is probably questioning her credentials now.

“Jack Crawford sent a trainee to me?”

Her bracelet then picks up another ruthless criminal: Ryo-Ohki. When she finally realizes who the heinous criminal actually is, we get my favorite Mihoshi line ever:

 

“Could you…please not eat my gun?”

She faints again, Tenchi comes to, and Aunt May comes in dragging Nobuyuki looking pissed.

Hey, wasn’t Mihoshi literally unconscious a second ago?

In a typical Tenchi episode, this would be the end and I would start my review. But this is the beginning of a very important series of events in the Tenchi universe.

We cut to that night, where Sasami is having a nightmare. It will not be the last time she does this in the OVA.

 Let's break down the dream: 

We see Sasami standing at the base of a Juraian Tree…

Suddenly, a very familiar spaceship appears from the sky…

Flashes of green and purple swirl together as a deeply modulated laugh is heard…

Sasami starts to ask where a tsunami (?) is? 

A shadowy green man makes a green lightsaber (add it) and swings it down…

“Where are you Tsunami? Please help me?”

Sasami screams as we see this man more clearly in front of a blood red background.

So…Tsunami is a person? Okay. Odd that this person would be named after a natural event, but why not. Sasami hears Ryo-Ohki growl angrily at the sky. She goes outside to see what is wrong and is shocked by what she sees: 

That outline is awfully familiar. Apparently it is familiar to Ryoko too, as she is also staring at it intently.

We then see a gloved hand that is not connected to the sleeve beneath it illuminating rocks with a green flame.

I called this “the black flame projection” in my Harry Potter/ Tenchi Muyo crossover fanfiction: Harry Potter and The Visitors from the Stars. What? I needed a writing outlet before I started this.

So where is this hand located anyway?

Oh shit, this figure is in Ryoko’s cave! Who is this guy?

We finally get a good look at our mystery man. He has grey hair, a green cape, a purple outfit, and tiny glasses. I love this design, especially the glasses. They make him look so well cultured. He then disappears away into flames…

…and transports himself into a room with an incredibly impressive pipe organ that I am sure will never play my favorite bit of Tenchi Muyo! music. 

 

“The heir of the Royal Family of the planet Jurai, Prince Yosho, and the Princesses…well Ryoko it looks like you have finally collected what I desire…”

We then end on that spaceship we saw earlier heading to Earth while the mystery man, who we can all guess is this Kagato person, laughs.

Wow…just…

Shit just got real indeed Robin. What is Kagato’s connection to Ryoko? How did he know where Ryoko was? Why does he want the Jurai royal family? Where the hell is Yosho? Who the hell is Tsunami? We will get all of these questions in the next two episodes, so don’t stop reading now dear readers. Tenchi is in trouble.

REVIEW:

How the hell am I supposed to review this episode?

I mean seriously, there are so many things happening in this episode that it is hard to process.

“It’s so dense…”

Okay, so I guess I need to break this down even more than usual here, so let’s talk about the main plot lines that have formed:

THE GP

Mihoshi is basically introduced so we can have a link to Kagato before he appears in the episode. Kagato becomes a bit of a Chekov’s Gun purely because he is brought up in the beginning and not mentioned again until the ending. As such, Commander Taur the Lion Man and his man servant are not exactly characters, but props to let us know about the evils of Kagato and the reputation of Mihoshi. Yukinojo functions in a similar way, but is mainly to explain how Mihoshi can survive on her missions and, more specifically, to let the audience know what the hell is going on. 

Of all the storylines, this is simultaneously the most important but also the weakest. Mihoshi just…appears on Earth and just HAPPENS to have been close enough to be drawn into this dimensional rift that just HAPPENS to have occurred when Ryoko summoned The Jesus. I much prefer her entrance in Universe, which I will not spoil for you, but it actually makes sense and shows us that Mihoshi can be portrayed as a competent cop. 

I will say this: Mihoshi is a better character in this early OVA episodes then she will become later on. You can see why she is kept on as a detective in the Galaxy Police: she has a thirst for solving cases and, as we will see in Episode Six, she does actually cherry pick useful information given to her by Yukinojo. Hence, Mihoshi can be declared semi-competent.

AYEKA AND RYOKO

As I have stated before, this episode is used as a way to further develop the characters of Ayeka and Ryoko as well as their relationship together. Ryoko is naked because she is confident and full of herself. She has nothing to lose and everything to gain. She is fully accepting of the woman that she is in that moment and, since she has been here for 700 years, is accepting of this planet. Ayeka, however, is shy and prudish. This is a holdover from her royal background where everything must be prim and proper. She has only just gotten used to the situation on Earth and, as such, is not ready to allow herself to let go and become fully comfortable on this alien world.

Still not convinced? Once Ryoko stops being confident in her abilities aka losing control of The Jesus, she puts back on her clothes. She remembered her own limitations that were forcibly imposed on her by the planet Jurai and Yosho. This shows us that there has to be more to Ryoko than what she is letting on.

RYOKO’S POWERS

So what ARE Ryoko’s powers anyway? Are they clearly defined? Throughout the course of four episodes, this woman has:

1)      Survived for 700 years imprisoned in a shrine

2)      Flown

3)      Generated internal energy blasts

4)      Generated an internal energy sword

5)      Survived nearly inhuman conditions

6)      Teleported

7)      Phased through solid matter

8)      Shrunk a house

9)      Telepathically controlled Ryo-Ohki

10)   Examined the animal’s memories

11)   Summoned a demon

12)   Controlled a tail accessory that she could not possibly have obtained on Earth nor was it imprisoned with her

I know for a fact she will have at least three more powers before the OVA is over with, but this is insane. She is ridiculously over powered and this is only with the use of ONE of her gems. Now, we will discuss the gems more in detail as we go on with our review of the OVA, but this is insane. I believe the later shows tone her down a bit, so I will be interested in seeing how her powers are portrayed from this episode forward.

TENCHI

Tenchi is still coming to terms with all of this. The hot springs themselves are symbolic of the two worlds that he is trying to master. The men’s bath is the Ordinary World, with his lecherous father and no trouble that can’t easily be dealt with. The women’s bath is the Dark World. The second Tenchi CROSSES THE THRESHOLD, shit starts to happen. 

He is forced to utilize his sword once more and we see that he has been training himself to use it. His trials have begun, but we can see that he has a long way to go. He does, however, possess courage to fight The Jesus one on one. His morality is very clearly defined, even if his body is telling him otherwise.

Namely that he is surrounded by hot, alien women.

SASAMI

Okay, we have no idea what the hell is going on here. Is Sasami prophetic? How did she have this dream? What does it mean? Why was she at a giant tree? And who is this “Tsunami” person? Though we cannot answer it, it is our first indication that there is more to Sasami than just being the “heart” of the household. 

KAGATO

This really is an extension of the GP section, but he warrants his own section. 

We do not know this man for longer than a minute onscreen, but we are TOLD a lot about him. He is interested in priceless ruins and artifacts, which makes him a well cultured villain. The pipe organ seals the deal, as if there is any way to show that you have a villain, it is through a damn pipe organ.

The visuals tell us that he is a threat on an enormous scale. He decimated the GP without doing anything, he is 5,000 years old, and he has enough power to transport himself from space to Ryoko’s cave under Pride Rock. He seems to be the only one who knows what is going in in this show, so his only quote serves as a vague cliffhanger for the following episode as well as a means for us to be afraid of him. We fear for our characters.

Up until this point, there was no clear cut villain or motivation for the characters to rally behind. They were all just existing purely because of Tenchi. The show could be left there and function as a romantic action comedy. The next episode will change all of that, at least for OVA 1. Once Kagato is introduced, there is no going back.

TOONAMI

Holy shit Toonami.

I have to applaud you Toonami; you have balls. You put this episode on the air and kept everything nearly the exact same. Hell, you called things out more than the uncut version every now and then. You managed to keep the spirit of these characters in tact while still drawing a digital bikini on them. Even the bikinis work in the above context. Ryoko’s is a two piece, so she shows off more skin. Ayeka, ever the prude, is a one piece that allows her to keep herself hidden. I have no idea how much thought was put into that, but damn, genius. The only causality was our poor Nobuyuki, but what could they have done to keep that on the air?

“This is the traditional attire for…pranking.”

Now, I was researching this episode and came across a very interesting interview that took place back in 2002, while Tenchi was still on the air on Toonami. Anime News Network interviewed Jason DeMarco, who was a writer and producer for the programing block, to discuss the editing process that was utilized for several of its shows, Tenchi included. This very episode was the subject of a question. Here is the entire interview, but I'd like to highlight the important questions:

3. How did the idea of using "digital bikinis" on nude characters develop? The normal procedure up to this point was to crop the image or simply cut the scene entirely.

This was actually my idea (a dubious honor). Being a big fan of Tenchi, I wanted to preserve scenes we would otherwise have to cut out of the series. I also felt that cutting out all of the nudity would leave us with a story that is total gobbledygook. This involved painting on bikinis, painting out blood, re-editing for time (hated that), and having new voice over read. That required gathering all of the actors who hadn't worked on that show in quite a while, going through every single script, and then making necessary changes. At the time, CN was willing to fund the endeavor so we decided to try to do it right. It worked well I think, so after Tenchi we were able to expand our horizons a bit and get shows like Outlaw Star.

5. Tenchi Muyo! had several instances of characters receiving digital bikinis even though they weren't nude (i.e. Mihoshi and Kiyone had digitally applied straps under their towels even though Aeka and Washuu didn't). What was the reason for this?

Well, as you know the majority of our audience is boys 9-14, but we still have a great deal of children 6-11 watching every day. This being the case, even implied nudity- i.e., two ladies talking to one another with nothing but towels on- has to be toned down. It may seem silly to you, but the parents of younger children really demand this sort of thing.

See guys? Toonami cared from the beginning. THAT is why the programing block is well remembered even today. Why else would Steve Blum practically do the role of TOM for free because he loved his experience as the host? Toonami, you’ve done well.

OVERALL

This is the most infamous episode of Tenchi ever, but it serves its purpose. We have a continuation of our plot, we are introduced to the next “Tenchi Girl,” Ayeka and Ryoko’s rivalry over Tenchi FINALLY starts, we learn more about Sasami, we see Tenchi move along on his journey, and we are finally introduced with a villain. This episode works far more than I expected it to, and it is a credit I can say that about what can be considered a “fan service” episode.

Animation: It is a tough call here. Generally, there is a lot of nice things to look at. The Jesus is animated beautifully. However, I am not sure if it is up to the same standards as the previous episode: 19/20

Main Characters: Ayeka and Ryoko are given their chance to bare their claws for the first time. This episode shows them as a legitimate threat to each other and not necessarily as comedy relief. Each action had a purpose to move the story forward or to further their own character: 20/20

Supporting Characters: Nobuyuki and Commander Taur the Lion Man: 19/20

Music: The best track here is Kagato’s theme. We will hear a lot more of it. The rest of the music is good, but not the best Tenchi has to offer: 18/20

Story: I have to take points off for the clumsy introduction of Mihoshi to the group and how little the GP does, but overall it is very tight. As I said, everything serves a purpose and makes us want to watch the next episode: 18/20

Overall Tenchi Rating: 94!

Star Wars References: 4!

Monomyth Progress: Trials!

Ayeka and Ryoko Verbal Sparring: 6-7 instances! Wow!

There is a reason why this is the most memorable Tenchi episode. As of this episode, everything is starting to fall together. We have most of our heroines, we have a clear cut villain, our plot is progressing, and the classic roles have started to form. Join us next episode when all of that is taken apart in “Kagato Attacks!”