Here’s the thing about OVA 2: it’s different.
When people think of the OVA series, they lump the first
thirteen episodes together. I am one of those people and, honestly, I never
realized just how different the two halves were until I started this blog. However,
I do have to admit that I have been wrong about something:
OVA 2 DOES have an overarching story.
One of my biggest complaints has been that the stories feel
like filler. They are only barely scratching the surface of what these
characters can do. I still stand by those feelings, but stepping back, I
realize that all three of these episodes link to the next two episodes in a
minor way.
The first episode, “Hello Baby!”, was our first big Washu
show and we learned a lot about her backstory. “Sasami and Tsunami” explained
to us more about the mysterious being known as Tsunami. She was only seen in
one episode, but was talked about a lot. We still do not know a lot about her,
but we understand her connection to Sasami. Finally, “I Love Tenchi!” showed us
the lengths that Washu could go to play God in the laboratory. And we have it
right there:
Tsunami and Washu are our common link. All of this was set
up by a very odd sight that we witnessed back in Episode Seven:
This one.
Now, I did not bring it up at the time, but look at this
woman, who if you recall was named Tokimi. You can see the vague outline of two
women. One resembles Tsunami, the other Washu. What does this mean?
Read on, and we may find out.
Our episode begins with a shot from the Men in Black movie: a galaxy in a marble.
We see the ship from the previous episode, however, since
the budget was probably all blown on that intense clothes folding scene, the
hair and dress are static this time around.
“Capture field: normal. 250 parsecs to target point.”
Yes, robotic female voice, but can the ship make the Kessel
Run in twelve parsecs?
Our perception shifts to that of an unseen man stroking a
vase with some odd marking on it.
“Carrying the whole galaxy. Marvelous is the power of her
majesty. What fantastic power.”
Since we have yet to see this dude’s face, I’m going to call
him Doctor Claw for now. So Doctor Claw, M.A.D. Cat, and presumably EV-9D9, leave
the woman ship on a smaller, less detailed ship.
Available in your
local toyshop by Kenner!
The ship then cuts to lightspeed:
…am I bringing back
the Star Wars count?
The ship cuts out in a field of debris.
Please tell me I am
bringing back the Star Wars count.
“There seems to have been combat again.”
So this is our deep voiced bad guy? Okay. I mean, I guess he
KIND of looks like Doctor Claw.
"I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME GADGET! NEXT TIME!"
In this debris, we see a giant tree, a planet resembling
Earth, and water dumping out into the blackness of space.
What?
Then Doctor Claw and EV-9D9 exit their ship and teleport
onto a…I really don’t know what the hell this is.
You know something, I like that they don’t explain this to
us. It is setting up that we are about to see something that is beyond out
comprehension. It shows us a lived in world, kind of like a certain little
space movie from the 70’s.
Screw it, I’ll bring back the Star Wars count!
So we see where these two people are going to:
Grant Morrison’s mind.
The circle thing is floating over the water and flies above
a giant ass space whale.
"There be WHALES here!"
“Are you sure about this Doctor? Our mission has not been
completed yet.”
I know EV-9D9. Killing Inspector Gadget is tough work. But
M.A.D. has many resources, just you see.
“No need to bother. I don’t need to do it personally. Leave
it to the machines. That will be fine.”
Then, in typical Life Day fashion, they fly directly into
the sun.
The Star Wars Holiday Special counts damn it!
After the title, Frank Welker and Richard Marquand are in a
grand hall with a red orb floating above them. Clay bows down and addresses it.
“What is thy bidding my master?”
“I have felt a great disturbance in the Force.”
Yes, the orb speaks…and then slowly turns into Obi-Wan Kenobi if he were from Hyrule.
“I understand that your mission has not been completed yet
Doctor Clay.”
No, it’s Doctor Claw.
“Well…no…but I have come to make an extremely important
report today…D3 sir.”
D3? That’s this dude’s name?
Doctor Clay’s report is that he has found out that D3 is
looking for some person of importance. This disturbs the Force Ghost, but never
the less gives away that he is right. Then Clay says something that brings us
right back to Episode Seven:
“I demand an interview with Lady Tokimi!”
As mentioned above, Tokimi was the woman who Sasami saw in
her dream. This is getting interesting.
“Lady Tokimi is…right here.”
“Huh?”
Claw/ Clay looks around to find the woman, but can’t see
her. D3 continues on:
“However, there is no guarantee that the certain person YOU
know is the one our Lady is looking for, is there?”
This causes Clay to shit his pants.
“Tha…that is exactly why I need to see Lady Tokimi! To confirm!”
“Confirmation can be given by ME!”
However, the synth music from when Optimus Prime passes on
the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus and Hot Rod catches it plays to
signify that D3 is getting instructions, presumably from Tokimi herself.
“Yes, my lady. As you will. You…may make your report to Lady
Tokimi.”
Clay looks around for her again, which causes D3 to get
slightly annoyed.
“You don’t seem to realize yet. Very well…you may see her
with your own eyes.”
Are we talking about Tokimi or the Force?
“Lady Tokimi will descend and reveal herself.”
Then this happens:
This is typically where I put Krusty the Clown, but look at
Doctor Clay:
He is our audience surrogate here. If HE is confused as hell
by this, then we shouldn’t feel bad that we have no idea what is going on.
EV-9D9 mentions something about a dimension reaction, but then we finally see
her:
For the second time!
We also get a good Clay face…
Basil Karlo or Matt
Hagan?
Subtly, the images of PROBABLYWashu and PROBABLYTSUNAMI
appear behind Tokimi. Again, foreshadowing and subtle justification for all of
the slice of life episodes.
Then Clay begins to grovel even more than he was.
“Oh…oh…oh…Lady Tokimi, you do me too much honor by seeing me
in person like this!”
Am I supposed to be intimidated by this? This design is not
scary or interesting like Kagato. I understand that he is in the presence of a
goddess, but I feel bad for this guy. Mister Magoo as Scrooge is scarier than
this!
“I bring you news!”
“About Washu, Clay? Very well, I will leave it all to you.
Succeed and I may grant your wish: that you may have ruling rights over one
entire galaxy.”
“Wha…wha…what?”
This reminds me of the scene in G.I. Joe Resolute when Cobra Commander is speaking to his troops:
“Work with me, and I
will give you the world in less than 24 hours. Work against me and I will GUT
you like a fish!”
It is worth pointing out that Tokimi is voiced by Jennifer
Darling in her third role in the OVA. She barely disguises her voice, but an
echo effect was added to it in order to make it more unnatural.
“It is Lady Tokimi’s wish to meet with Lady Washu in
person…but be sure NOT to hurt her.”
“Yes sir…thank you sir!”
Later on, we see Clay humming to himself.
“Soon an ENTIRE galaxy will be mine!”
After visioning himself as a ruler a little more, he looks
over to EV-9D9 and shows concern about her/it.
“What’s your problem?”
We see that it is shaking down to its core.
“I…am…scared!”
“You can’t be! You’re not supposed to have such emotions so
don’t! Maybe your memory has not been completely erased from the last
assignment.”
I like that this shows that Clay and this robot have been
working for Tokimi and D3 for some time. What they have been doing? We have no
idea, but it gives us a sense of this long standing partnership.
“It is erased completely sir. However, I can’t help myself
from shaking all over just looking at Lady Tokimi.”
Damn, not only was EV-9D9 given Shadowplay AND Empurata, but
the Funcionist Council of Cybertron took away its/her hands too!
See Whirl? It’s not as
bad as it seems.
“Well it’s certainly wasn’t your first time witnessing a
high level dimensional lifeform.”
“With anyone else, I can make logical computation of their
existence, but Lady Tokimi…Lady Tokimi is…”
“What ABOUT Lady Tokimi?”
“Her very existence is impossible, even though she was
present right there in front of us. And yet, no such information is found
anywhere in the databank.”
Huh, I guess that solves the mystery of who the woman on the
ship is supposed to resemble.
Okay, so this establishes Tokimi as a literal goddess,
presumably the goddess from the title of the episode. She exists on a
dimensional field beyond our own, which establishes to us that there are
lifeforms beyond the other goddess we know about: Tsunami. The question is: if
EV-9D9 were to lay eyes upon Tsunami, would she react the exact same way?
Clay dismisses his robot’s claims immediately:
“Nonsense! The absolutely COMPLETE ring of theoretical
system is established here in the databank! Absolutely EVERYTHING is known
here…even though we are not able to comprehend it all. For the moment, you have
better not investigate the moment any further.”
“…I understand.”
I feel bad for this robot. It conveys a lot of emotion in
very little time.
“You must concentrate on the task at hand! I have a lot for
you to do from now on!”
This extended opening has been six minutes long. In six
minutes, we have had no comedy, no hijinks, and no padding. Everything that has
appeared on screen has a purpose and serves to prepare us for the upcoming
episode.
The hell man, this shit is great! You wait until Episode ELEVEN
to do this?! I love it! What is next?
Oh boy, the Masaki household! I wonder how this plot will
interrupt in the Masaki’s everyday life? What mundane topic is being tackled
now?
*Again, I would like to point out that it does not bother me
if mundane topics are covered, since it fleshes out the world these characters
live. I DO have a problem if there is no substance to go along with it.*
Ah Sasami cooking! I
should have known! And look! Mihoshi is helping out! Ata girl!
As the two ladies cook, we see that Ryo-Ohki, now in her
child form, is trying to steal carrots behind their backs.
“I’m so smart! SMRT!”
“RYO-OHKI! YOU GOT
SOME ‘SPLAINING TO DO!”
Also, what the hell is Mihoshi wearing? It looks like some
kind of Puritan garb…but bright yellow…
Now that the important cooking scene is over, we cut to the
ever important shot of Ryoko getting drunk.
I have no problem with
this.
“AHHHH! This is the life!”
She starts to head home, but stops and smiles.
“What is it that you want?”
What are you talking about? There is nobody…
DAMN!
This is our first indication in…well this entire OVA…that
Ryoko is a badass space warrior. She might be lounging around changing diapers
and cutting potatoes, but she still has her fighting skills.
“Ryoko.”
“That’s my name.”
However, before she has a chance to actually SHOW OFF her
fighting skills, she is tangled up in some silly putty.
Or carbonite?
“Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.”
That is a fantastic line reading by this robot’s actress.
Who is it? I’ll tell you shortly.
“HEY! You! Let me go NOW!”
And then…
New powers because the
plot demands it? It IS just like OVA 1!
Headshot!
“Hahahaha serves you right!”
However, Ryoko stops laughing almost immediately.
“Oh.”
“You…you hurt me! It’s cruel for you to have made a scar on
a woman’s face!”
Damn, I used my Clayface joke too soon!
“…looks like me! Is that my clone?”
And sounds like you too! Ladies and gentlemen, EV-9D9’s
voice actress is none other than Petrea Burchard in her second role for OVA 2,
and third all around I believe, counting Kiyone.
“I’m going to borrow your body and memory.”
Suddenly, the giant ass spaceship appears from seemingly the
ground and flies overhead.
Did ANYBODY notice the
giant spaceship? Washu? The locals? That girl from the car? ANYBODY?
“Look at this! Even Washu won’t be able to tell the
difference.”
Okay, so how does Clay know that Ryoko is Washu’s daughter?
And how does he know they are on Earth. I don’t like to schill out fanfictions
a lot, but one of the better ones out there is Dragonwiles’ No Need for All of Tenchi’s Adventures, which
tries to reconcile all of the first two OVAs, the manga, and Universe all as one coherent story. In
his version of this, Clay finds it out by getting his hands on Mihoshi’s report
about Kagato. It is a simple, genius way to answer this plot hole as well as to
set up the Galaxy Police’s story in Universe.
But alas, we focus on what is presented to us, and as such,
we have no idea how Clay managed this.
However, the duplication process was not completely
successful…
It seems that the robot cannot duplicate Ryoko’s
gem…interesting. However, this freaks Clay out.
“What?! What is the meaning of this?! There isn’t anything
that can’t be duplicated by the power endowed to me by Lady Tokimi! It is
inconceivable!”
“And there is no answer found in Ryoko’s memory either
Doctor.”
So this establishes that Tokimi’s power, a power above even
that which the robot can comprehend, is not enough to copy Ryoko’s gem, meaning
that it is probably the most powerful thing in this dimension. This is heavy.
Oh speaking of, Clay’s voice actor is Wesely Mann, a
character actor who you might recall from a memorable moment in Back to the Future Part II:
Thus, a star was born.
“Washu will detect me if I stay longer. If we cannot
duplicate the jewel, we have no choice but to take hers! We will deal with the
others after we capture Washu!”
HOW HAS SHE NOT DETECTED YOU ALREADY?! YOU ARE A GIANT SHIP
IN THE MIDDLE OF RURAL JAPAN!
Gem: Acquired. Status:
Truly Outrageous!
Realizing that there may be a golden opportunity here, Clay
revises his plans on the spot:
“I was going to dispose of her on the spot…but she may be
worth taking time to study.”
As such, she gets phased into Clay’s ship. She has one final
cry before she is forcibly removed from the episode:
“Tenchi!”
“My Tenchi-Sense is
tingling!”
“What’s wrong with you Tenchi?”
Oh joy, Tenchi is hooked back up in that machine in Washu’s
lab. So THIS is why Clay wasn’t detected: she was too busy with Tenchi!
“I…I thought I heard someone call me!”
“As if millions of
voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.”
“You’re hearing things.”
Typical Washu. Breaking the Fourth Wall only when you feel
like it.
“By the way, you have any luck?”
“No, believe me I have tried several times since the combat
with Kagato but…”
When did THAT happen? Was it between gardening the fields
and folding your shirts?
“You mean you couldn’t generate Light Hawk Wings again?!”
I’m…I’m actually laughing at this. Such a pivotal moment has
been reduced to a clip show. The last time it was even brought up was all the
way back in Episode Seven.
“It was probably…just an accident…I guess…or created by
Tsunami’s power…”
That is a very logical guess, except Kagato specifically
mentioned that Tsunami’s power was completely cut off from the Soja. Washu,
being someone who pays attention, knows this to be true.
“I don’t think so Tenchi! Those Wings were definitely
created by you! Now listen up: you were completely blocked from any outside
power, including Tsunami’s, at that time, and your body was…”
But before we can get to the interesting expostional
dialogue, the mundane subplot from earlier cuts in:
“Tenchi!”
I could make so many
jokes here, but my conscious won’t allow me to.
“…Tenchi…Washu…its meal time…”
This is funny. Why? Because there isn’t an implied rape
going on!
To show that Tenchi is happy about this development, all of
his lightbulbs glow at once.
“Great! I’m starving!”
“…so I don’t get to
don my nurse outfit today? Phooey!”
“Whelp! Probably it’s all mental! Normally you don’t need
things like Light Hawk Wings in your daily life!”
Then Tenchi asks the most important question of all:
“Um…trivial question, but did I really need to take my
clothes off?”
“Heheheheh no!”
“I am a victim of male
objectivity!”
As they come out of the subspace lab, Ayeka rushes over to
Tenchi to make sure he is okay:
“Tenchi, are you alright? You don’t seem to be hurt, but…”
“Whadya say?”
“Oh, no nothing!”
I don’t know how I feel that everyone acknowledges the fact
that Washu is practically an attempted rapist in this house yet lets her do as
she pleases. It is an odd dynamic, I have to say.
“Hey, where’s Ryoko?”
“Ryoko went out a while ago to get some sake. But she should
be back any minute now!”
“She probably drank it all on the way and fell asleep...as
usual.”
You are only half right Ayeka.
Sasami is worried about the food getting cold, but Washu
throws her daughter to the wolves.
“Don’t bother waiting for her: let’s just eat! Give her the
leftovers and she won’t know the difference!”
Attempted rape aside, I love Washu. She is a funny character
and gets a lot of great lines. Vogt, for her part, is perfectly cast and just
nails it in her delivery.
Tenchi ignores her and goes out to look for her.
Mother of the year.
We then she something flying through the woods at a fast
pace.
“She can really move!
She’s got an attitude! She’s the fastest thing alive!”
She peers in and sees her target:
Washu and the
embodiment of Tsunami…if only Tokimi knew…
However, before she could kidnap Washu, an unexpected
element comes into play.
“Oh Ryoko! What are you doing here? You are keeping everyone
waiting you know!”
The sight of Tenchi causes “Ryoko’s” skin to turn beat red.
“…what…what’s happening?”
“Why is my heart beating to fast all of a sudden? My facial
capillary vessels are open all the way…Tenchi Masaki…I’ve known him since I’ve
duplicated the data, but I had no idea about this kind of reaction!”
Oh boy. She’s got it bad. I mean, I have no idea why all of these girls find Tenchi attractive, but boy does she have it BAD.
Tenchi goes from this:
To this:
In a matter of seconds.
“…Ryoko? Uh…”
Another great Tenchi face!
She walks over to give Tenchi the sake, but trips and falls
on her face.
“Playitcoolplayitcoolplayitcool”
“Oh Tenchi! I went to buy it so we can drink it together!”
Tenchi’s facial expressions are killing me this episode!
“It’s like…indirectly kissing!”
…
“What the hell was
that?”
This kind of reaction gets the expected emotional responses:
Confused…
…Emotional…
…and Furious.
“Okay, I’m your rival
and even I know that this is wrong!”
Just look at this face:
This. Is. HILLARIOUS.
Tenchi goes inside and “Ryoko” snaps out of it.
“What is it about that boy?! What’s this surge of emotion
that’s flared up in me?”
“Can I borrow a
feeling? Can you lend me your jar of love?”
“Hurting hearts need
some healing! Take my hand with your glove of love!”
This is the face of
every Mother who has ever opened up the door on their kid without them knowing
it.
And this is the
reaction she would naturally follow up with!
Later on that night, we see that Ayeka has been hooked up to
a new, wacky device that Washu made:
Space Furby!
“Wow! What’s this?”
“You! Don’t touch that!”
It appears that this thing has been designed to examine the
vitals of each housemate. Let us look at the kind of tests Washu has Ayeka do:
“What’s this all about?!”
“I’m just checking your lifeform data from the time you came
to live in this house. You know, scientific stuff. Be a good girl and sit still
for me!”
Then Washu does this:
“Bad touch!”
“Responsive girl, are we? Worthy of a Princess of Planet
Jurai!”
“MISS WASHU!”
“Hey! Just kidding! Just kidding!”
As all of this is going on, “Ryoko” is observing from
Ryoko’s usual spot:
“So, that’s Washu: the genius scientist even my doctor can’t
compete with.”
Oh? So this explains that Clay and Washu have had some kind
of rivalry in the past…like Kagato…and Yakage…
“Hey! Next! Ryoko dear!”
“Why should I bother with such a thing?”
“I like to watch sleep
sometimes…and by sometimes I mean often!”
Now it is “Ryoko’s” turn to go under the Space Furby.
However…something is wrong…
“Huh!”
“What’s this?”
“Craaaaaaaaaaap.”
“Just as I suspected…”
“What is it you suspected?”
“I suspected…your breasts are sagging!”
“SAGGING?!?!?!”
Come on, you didn’t expect “Ryoko” to have been found out
already now did you? Of course, this Mother-Daughter moment has been killed by
Mihoshi and Ryo-Ohki playing with Space Furby.
“Here we go again!”
“Stop it you bubble head! I told you not to play with that!”
“Ouchies!”
Seriously, who designs Mihoshi's outfits?
Even later in the night, “Ryoko” is reporting to Clay
outside:
“Zero…capture Washu!”
…wait, her name is Zero? I’ve been calling her EV-9D9. I’m
so confused.
The next day, Tenchi tries to esca…leave the house but is
followed by Washu.
“Oh Tenchi pleaaaaase! It’ll just be a minute, only to
examine you a little bit!”
Right. “Examine.”
“But I have to go to the fields now!”
Again, do you get paid? How do you live Tenchi?
“You promised you would be my guinea pig, didn’t you!”
Lynn may be the MVP of the show, but Vogt is be the MVP of this season.
“Now THERE’S a conversation I don’t recall.”
“Oh Tenchi, darling! Please?”
“Uh…maybe later…when I come back…I’ve got to go…okay?”
“…he didn’t say ‘no’…”
“Oh, you mean thing!”
Wasting no time at all, “Ryoko” jumps down from out of
nowhere to capture Washu while she is off guard.
What’s up with her
eyes?
“Little Washu!”
“Do you know where my gloves are?”
“Oh? How’d they get here?”
“I knew it was you Washu!”
…this joke is starting to get a smidge predictable.
“Oh…by the way, what are you doing here?”
“…hello?”
“Oh well.”
If you haven’t figured it out, this is how the rest of the
episode will play out: “Ryoko” will try to capture Washu, Tenchi walks in,
“Ryoko” blushes, comedy!
Even Clay understands the potential repetitive nature of
this set up:
“Damn Washu! You won’t fall into our hands very easily!
Funny…she called that boy her ‘guinea pig’…”
Okay, so skipping around that exact same joke, Mihoshi’s
watch starts beeping.
“I have a job?”
Mihoshi then starts playing with her hair.
“I’ve got an emergency call so I guess I’m going to be out
for a while!”
So Mihoshi keeps her control cube in her hair? That’s
amusing. I wonder what her emergency call is though…
“Shouldn’t take too long! I’ll be back by dinner time!”
Mihoshi, that is like saying that you just got out of the
academy or that you are two days to retirement.
Our detective then teleports to her ship…which is
underwater…which means…
“Ahhh I’m wet!”
“MIHOSHI! Where have you been all this time?! I’ve been
sending signals to you regularly since yesterday!”
Yukinojo! Where have YOU been? Well…besides at the bottom of
the lake I suppose…
“An extremely important message was received from
headquarters!”
Roll the film Yukinojo!
“Uh…it’s me…”
YAY! THE MAN SERVANT!
“This is probably news that you have heard already. The new
Galaxy Police battle ship, Shunga, was robbed by someone unknown! Now, we have
a report that the battleship was detected in the area that you are in now. If
anything happens Mihoshi, you contact headquarters immediately! You got that?
Contact headquarters! Simply contact headquarters, nothing more!”
While all of this is being said, Mihoshi is more concerned
about getting her uniform dry:
As such…
“Roger, First Class Detective Mihoshi is on the way to
investigate!”
With that, Yukinojo flies out of the dimensional tunnel
Washu developed and they leave for space…but not before I showcase some
juvenile imagery.
“Huhuhuh he said ‘but.’”
Meanwhile, “Ryoko” is still trying to capture Washu…
“Little Washu! Dinner’s ready!”
“So late already? And what do you want Little Ryoko?”
“Uh…I thought you might want my help with something!”
“Alright, then you can put this and this and this data in
for me! Thanks Ryoko!”
Do. Something. Else!
Look, it’s funny. I get that and I am enjoying it. But this joke is starting to
wear out its welcome. Let’s see some progress in the main story.
And you know what, the story delivers. “Ryoko” has been
acting awfully nice around the house and it is noticed. She decides to explore
Ryoko’s memories and ends up at Pride Rock, where we rewatch the clip from
Episode Five of all the times that Ryoko creepily watched over Tenchi and
Kiyone.
Normally I’d call this padding, but the episode is actually
a little longer than the others, so I’m not holding it against it.
However, when she is done, she is confronted by Washu
herself!
“Wha…wha…what do you want now?”
“Won’t you take a bath with me?”
“Come on, let’s go!”
Well, THAT wasn’t how I expected that conversation to turn
out.
In the bath, “Ryoko”
muses that this is the perfect time to capture Washu, but she is tricked into
letting Washu wash her back, by saying it will impress Tenchi. Again, I could
use Toonami screencaps, but I’m just going to find perfect moments without
nudity…like this!
Do you see what is wrong here? “Ryoko” is covering her
breasts. Now, normally that wouldn’t be an issue, but as we have discussed
numerous times, Ryoko exposing her naked body is a sign of her confidence. This
should be a major tip off that this isn’t Ryoko.
However, there is an even bigger one beyond that:
That’s the symbol that was on Clay’s vase! And clearly Washu
is familiar with it.
“He was complaining that you haven’t cleaned the toilet yet
today!”
Naturally, this leads to “Ryoko” cleaning the toilet, which
is funny as hell to watch.
Now, I said that Washu was playing a long game. How does
doing chores play into that? Well…
“Wow! What a surprise!”
“You mean you actually volunteered to clean the toilet?”
“What?! But I thought it WAS my turn!”
“No…you are in charge of cleaning the yard. I believe that
it’s WASHU’S job to clean the toilet today.”
“But…I’m impressed Ryoko.”
“Worth it!”
We cut to a few minutes later when “Ryoko” is sweeping
outside. Though she is annoyed with Washu, she finds herself pleased that
Tenchi is happy with her. This does not go unnoticed, as Clay tries several
times to get “Ryoko” to respond.
“Zero? Zero?”
“ZERO!”
“Huh? Doctor!”
“Ryoko” flies up into space and is immediately chewed out by
Clay.
“What do you think you are doing?! You have a mission! You
are supposed to be capturing Washu!”
“I’m sorry Doctor Clay.”
“I have been watching you and I see that boy called Tenchi
is distracting you from doing your job.”
“Oh! No! Not really Doctor!”
“Zero!”
Then this happens:
“Paragraph four of subsection 80 of section 19, or 19 (80) 4 of the Tyrest Accord: Thought Warfare.”
“You got it?”
“…yes sir.”
Well, what did he say?! We need to know!
After a quick drink with Ryo-Ohki and a flashback on the
past 24 hours, “Ryoko” flies up and stares intently at Tenchi’s window.
“I like to watch you
sleep sometimes…and by sometimes I mean often…”
Hey, if this show can get away with reusing stuff from
earlier in the episode, I can reuse Steven
Universe references!
“If that boy is in your way…then you must obey me: eliminate
him!”
She’s not going to do it…
“AHHHHH!!!!!!!”
Oh my god. She killed Tenchi!
“You bastards!”
“Ryoko’s” scream is literally heard everywhere. From the
Masaki house…
…to Japan…
…to space…
…to the edge of the GALAXY…
...to Cybertron...
...to a galaxy far, far, away...
"I sense something Lord Vader...it feels like...an emotional conflict..."
…and finally to Doctor Clay, who in typical villain fashion,
laughs evilly.
“Mwhahahahaha!”
“Ryoko” crying here is interesting as it is supposed to
mimic the ending of Episode Five, where Tenchi is “killed” by Kagato. That
episode was the first time Ryoko cried (minus her torture by Ayeka). It was a
genuine showing of her emotions. Here we have Zero, the emotional opposite of
Ryoko, who embraces the emotions that Ryoko hides away. We know that Zero is
practically Ryoko at this point, so we can feel the anguish that she is going
through as she has to choose between her programming or her emotions.
It really works and allows you to look past the obvious
rehash of an ending.
REVIEW
This is a step up from the previous episodes without a
doubt.
We expand upon the world that the characters live in, we see
a plot progress that actually has a lasting impact on the series, and we are
introduced to a conflict that still requires resolution. This is great stuff.
Of course there is one thing looming over this: it’s a rehash.
This will become more apparent in the next episode, but Clay
is just a Kagato clone without the finesse. He is a bland villain. However, he
does have a clear and stated motivation: he wants to rule a galaxy. I am fine
with this. It is nowhere near as deep as the OTHER rehash of the Kagato
conflict, the Yakage conflict, but that is forgivable as Kajishima had no
involvement with the manga.
However, it does just show that Kajishima couldn’t follow up
with a better scenario for the characters. He has a specific story in mind:
Tokimi seeking out Washu and/or Tsunami. This is the story that he sets up OVA
2 around. My problem with that is that the story is focused around the person
who appeared the least in OVA 1. As such, large chunks of OVA 2 were required
to be devoted to fleshing out Washu. This is fine, as minus the rape undertones
I find her hilarious, but it takes away from the others.
In this episode, Ayeka, Mihoshi, Sasami, Tenchi, and even
Washu are props. You know who gets the focus? “Ryoko.” Not RYOKO, but “Ryoko.”
The conflict of Zero/ “Ryoko” is what drives this episode.
It makes us as an audience wonder just how Ryoko feels for Tenchi if “Ryoko”
reacts so strongly around him. It says a lot for Ryoko to be able to be so
self-controlled around the man she loves while Zero is unable to do a simple
thing like talk around Tenchi.
Tokimi is another factor to consider. What exactly is she?
Why does she have shadows of Washu and Tsunami around her? What is D3? Why does
Zero react the way she/it does? How did Clay get in Tokimi’s service?
I mentioned earlier about Dragonwiles’ No Need for All of Tenchi’s Adventures and I love the way it tied Clay to Tokimi: he based his
scientific career around the theory of contacting multidimensional beings,
which contributed to him being kicked out of the Academy. As Washu was a member
of the Academy at the same time, it brings things full circle that she would be
aware of his work.
Again, fanfiction and theoretical speculation aside, there
is still a lot that we will learn about Clay, Washu, and Tokimi. As such, I can
only grade based on the material in THIS episode:
Animation: The designs of Tokimi’s realm were great, but
points have to be docked for the reduced animation on Clay’s ship. The fact
that it flowed like a dress last episode was a great bit of design and it is
sorely missed here: 16/20
Main Characters: Clay and Zero are given a lot of focus and,
though Clay is weaker than Kagato, in this episode he comes across as a
credible threat. He is smart and keeps his wits about him. However, his
dealings with D3 show us that he is not as smart as he believes himself to be.
Zero, however, is great. The look in her eyes when she is forced to kill Tenchi
says it all. You really feel for this robotic duplicate of Ryoko. Though the
comedic bits got old, it was only because it was a bit overdone. They were
funny. The other main character in this episode was Washu, who was only seen
from an outsider’s perspective. I wish there was more for her to do, but I
understand why her focus was limited, but prominent: 17/20
Supporting Characters: Again, everybody was a prop. They
were there to fill the background. One may argue that Tenchi was there to
bounce off Zero, the person to consider is Mihoshi. She is given her own story
again. Though it is with limited focus, it always pleases me to see her go out
there and do her job 15/20
Music: This was the strongest episode of OVA 2 yet, even
with “Daycare” to compete with. The music for Tokimi was incredibly fitting and
otherworldly. It is the music at the end, when Zero kills Tenchi, is a great
musical representation of her conflict, and I am surprised it wasn’t included
on the OVA Background Music CD that I own: 19/20
Story: This is the buildup of all of Kajishima’s setting up
about Washu and the story set up in Episode Seven. It delivered. Was it
perfect? No, but it raised the stakes and shook up the core cast enough to
overlook the similarities to the end of Episode Five. But most importantly it
made me want to keep watching to find out what will happen to my favorite
characters: 18/20
Overall Tenchi
Rating: 85!
Ayeka and Ryoko Verbal Sparring: 1…kinda? I’m not sure if
this episode even counts.
Star Wars
References: 8-9!
Yeah that theme at the end is somewhat notorious for possibly being lost media. But somebody on youtube did try to reconstruct it the best they could. We just call it "Zero Ryoko's theme" I suppose. There's actually two, a fast and a slow version.
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