Tenchi Muyo! Episode Five: Kagato Attacks!

The next two episodes are, as far as I can remember, my favorite episodes of Tenchi Muyo! and, honestly, the entirety of Tenchi canon. What is it about these episodes that make them my favorite? Is it the action? The villain? The conflict? The music? I honestly cannot say. All I know is that I have never looked at these two episodes with the critical eye I have been using for the previous four episodes.

I will do my best to be as unbiased as I can be. 

 

Our episode begins with Tenchi pulling out carrots from the ground.

This episode establishes just what it is that Tenchi does, presumably for some kind of living when he is with his Grandfather: he is a farmer. 

Just like Luke Skywalker!

I’m just warning you now: I’m going to talk about Star Wars A LOT in this one folks.

Here is where it gets tricky. Tenchi notices that someone is eating all of his carrots. He goes over to his bin and pulls out the most likely suspect:

“Don’t be so greedy. Thanks to you we’ve had to turn all of our fields into carrot fields, you know.”

So this establishes that Ryo-Ohki had to have been born AT LEAST 2 months ago. Now let us assume that Ryoko destroyed Tenchi’s school in early September and lowball on the time it takes carrots to develop. Let’s do some math, shall we:

September of Early 1990’s: Tenchi is attacked by Ryoko. That SAME night he and his father are abducted by Ayeka and Sasami. Their ships crash into Katsuhito’s lake.

One Week Later (Still September): Ryo-Ohki is reborn and Ayeka rejoins the house. Tenchi and Ayeka have an intimate moment in the shed and discover that Funaho is alive.

Two weeks later (Early October): Mihoshi falls from the heavens. We know this as Ryoko is making comments about the shed incident. Unless she is truly hung up on that, it could not have been that long before this episode occurred. 

Two weeks later (Early November): This episode, purely based on the time it takes carrots to develop. 

Now a quick glance at AstroBoyNerd’s website shows a timeline (fan created so not canon) that does not line up with my findings. That claims that TWO months occurred between the last episode and this one. This would line things up with the weather that we will encounter shortly, but think about it:

What would Kagato be doing for two months? I can barely imaging him waiting two weeks, but that is the only logical time it can happen.

The only possible explanation I can think of is that the ending of the last episode took place later than the actual episode itself. That might actually make sense, as Yukinojo did not pick up the Soja on his system. Even still, the posited timeline thinks that two months took place between Ryo-Ohki’s rebirth and Mihoshi’s arrival with another two months from then to now. Again, why would Ryoko hold onto THAT particular topic for TWO MONTHS? Surely something else would have come up in that time for her to get angry about.

What I am trying to say is that this OVA timeline is incredibly confusing. 

As Tenchi is telling Ryo-Ohki off, it starts to snow. Tenchi does not mind the snow at all.

I can think of one version of Tenchi who is not the biggest fan of it.

Ryo-Ohki, however, is not having any of it. Her face can only be described as pure, unadulterated, nightmare fuel.

“SWEAR TO ME!”

Ryo-Ohki runs away toward the house, where we see…what the hell is that?

Oh come on!

Seriously, a floating hot springs. In the middle of a lake. You have got to be shitting me. Apparently Ryoko created this thing. How did she do it? I have no freaking idea. I guess this is one of Ryoko’s undefined powers. Is there anything she can’t do?

This guy. Yeah. I went there.

So I am not even going to get into the logistics of this thing. I am just going to accept that it exists and move on. 

Inside of the floating onsen, we see Ryoko and several bottles of an unknown drink. We know it today as sake. When we were 10 and watching this on Toonami, we knew it as tea. Yet again Ryoko is in her birthday suit, so I will have to use Toonami again at some points. She is also piss drunk…on “tea.”

“Now this is what I call heaven on Earth.”

She is soon joined by Ayeka, who tries to leave but Ryoko requests that the two share a drink. Ryoko is rather impressed by the way Ayeka can down a saucer of “tea.” However, Ayeka makes something VERY clear:

“I haven’t quite forgiven you for that incident the other day.”

Okay, so this adds credibility to the theory that the ending from the previous episode happened a bit later than the episode itself. Oh, I should mention that this is where the Toonami edit begins. But then Ryoko says something that destroys AstroBoyNerd’s timeline and makes mine add up a bit more:

“Yeah but it’s only been two months since you two met. I on the other hand have known him since he was ‘this’ tiny.’”

AstroBoyNerd places this episode in February, meaning that five months had passed since Episode Two. Now, this dialogue is the same in the Sub on Hulu too, so unless there is some evidence pointing otherwise, that brings our time frame officially to two months.

But wait! In my quest to figure out the OVA timeline, I have missed a vital piece of information: Ryoko has known Tenchi since he was a child! How is this possible? Simple: astral projection!

Add it to the list of Ryoko’s powers.

It becomes apparent that Tenchi has spent a lot of time near Pride Rock in his youth. His mother often took him there…and here is my biggest problem with this episode. It has nothing to do with the episode but the English translation: they call Tenchi’s mom his “Grandma.” 

On Jurai, being someone’s Mother and Grandmother probably makes sense.

Did nobody realize that? How did that slip by the translators? Could it be the mass confusion between this woman, Kiyone Masaki, and the Universe counterpart, Achika Masaki? I have no idea, but bad form dub translators. 

We then see that Ryoko was there when Tenchi’s Mother died, which shows an emotional side to her that we have previously never seen.

She has watched this boy grow into a man, which is charming yet creepy at the same time. She's been there at the terrible times, like when his Mother/ Grandmother died...
 

...to the fun times, like literally seeing the kid pee in front of her.

 This clearly didn’t make it to Toonami.

However, by the time he is an older teenager, Ryoko is now sad that the innocence is lost and that Tenchi is more focused on other things. 

Now none of this explains the level of aggression shown to the boy in the first episode. I understand that it can be explained that she was “playing around with him,” but she LITERALLY TRIED TO KILL HIM WITH A SWORD!

Remember this?

“I always hoped Tenchi and I would play together…but now he treats me like some kind of monster or something…so of course I tease him sometimes...”

YOU. TRIED. TO. KILL. HIM.

She is drunkenly pleading her case to Ayeka who…holy shit. Ayeka is piss drunk.

“Yes but darling, you were a mummy! Maybe Tenchi doesn’t want to play with a monster.”

Ryoko is not too happy about the moment she was trying to share being turned into an insult. Ayeka, on the other hand, thinks she knows the root of all Ryoko’s problems:

“You are over a thousand years old and its annoying to be seduced by an old lady.”

Pot calling the kettle black Ayeka? How old are you again?

Aww look, you made the drunken space pirate demon cry!

And couldn’t you guess who strolls in at this very moment?

“Excuse me, am I disturbing you?”

Mihoshi, though clearly unwelcomed, invites herself to share her own feelings about Tenchi to the group. However, Ayeka and Ryoko set a precedent for how to approach this topic so…

Look at all of that “tea!” 

“When I heard that it was Tenchi who saved me when I was just about to be sucked into a black hole…when I heard that I thought he might just be my destiny!”

Ryoko and Ayeka are positively thrilled at this new development.

But before anyone else can say anything about their love for Tenchi, Sasami busts in to kick the drunks out of the bath.

Sasami don’t shiv.

However, just when you think this is going to become another comedic episode, Kagato appears in a green light like he is Glinda the Good Witch of the North.

“Well I finally found you…Ryoko!”

Ryoko immediately shakes off her drinks (another power of hers), but Mihoshi and Ayeka are a bit taken back by this sudden invasion of privacy.

“AHHH! YOU PERVERT!”

That’s a lot of Kame Soap.

Wait, back it up a second. We see Ryoko jump out of the water…

…and off screen she changes into her battle uniform.

HOW MANY POWERS DOES THIS WOMAN HAVE?!

Ryoko tries to escape, but finds herself unable to do so and is electrocuted by Kagato.

“Father, please…help me!”

Kagato grabs Ryoko, destroys the top of the onsen, and Tenchi hops in to figure out what is happening. Of course, being who he is, decides not to ogle his toweled housemates.

Good man Tenchi.

“This one is a real one…the infamous brutal criminal…Kagato!”

Thank you Mihoshi for reminding those who have not seen the previous episode!

Mihoshi and the crew get clothes on and head to Funaho. Our detective pulls out her gun and aims it at the tree, demanding Kagato to reveal himself.

Mihoshi don’t shiv.

Our villain finally comes out of the shadows and brings Ryoko along with him. He apologizes about barging in on their bath time, but claims that Ryoko belongs to him. Finally, he sets his sight on Ayeka and Sasami.

“Princess Sasami…Princess Ayeka…don’t you think its best that we talk someplace private, someplace where there is no one to bother us?”

Mihoshi forces the two Juraians behind her and warns Kagato that she will shoot him if he does not leave the planet. Kagato, however, knows exactly who our Detective Sergeant is.

“Oh my, oh my. You really frighten me. You see, I’ve heard much of your heroic episodes in the past. Now? I hear you’re overworked and your performance stinks.”

So now we as an audience can interpret that Mihoshi was an ace detective before, fitting of her rank of “First Class,” but something happened that caused her to become clumsy and overworked. Mihoshi must realize this as our girl snaps and shoots him!

“Two shots to the head. If you ask me, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”

However, Kagato just laughs it off. 

Mihoshi immediately runs out of energy and her weapon has become useless. Kagato, still not wanting to fight, tells them that all he wants is to take them all to his ship.

“A very pleasant place...a place where we can get to know one another.”

Michael Scott Ryan is Kagato’s voice actor and he is PERFECT. This guy knows not to go overly theatrical with his delivery. He can be hammy, but he is really whispering nearly every line. He can deliver a line rather quickly or draw it out if he needed to. It is so slimy and oily…it’s perfect. Ryan MADE this character memorable with his voice. On the surface, Kagato is a very generic villain, but there are touches here and there that elevate him above others. Well done sir. Well done.

Tenchi decides to take a stand against our villain and confronts him with the sword. Kagato is apparently familiar with the sword and is curious why Tenchi would have it.

“So you have the sword…but that’s the King’s property. Wave it around and you’re going to hurt yourself young man.”

Tenchi has no idea what Kagato is talking about. Kagato, annoyed that he would wield something without understanding its true power, decides to blow him away. Hmmm…

Hey, did you notice the Hidden Mickey in the left corner there? It’s like Kershner knew the franchise would be sold to Disney after he died.

Ryoko swoops in to save Tenchi, which intrigues Kagato to no end. Since Ryoko is wearing a gem, apparently Kagato can manipulate it. Thus, Ryoko is vulnerable to be placed under mind control…

“These aren’t the droids we are looking for.”

Hey, remember back in Episode Two when I told you that youwould regret laughing at the Pinocchio joke? Bet you are feeling mighty terrible now. Regardless, Kagato is suddenly fascinated with Tenchi and decides to let him know the truth about the weapon he holds:

“It’s said that sword holds the greatest energy in the universe. The sword will only release that energy when held by a suitable owner. My question is are you a suitable owner?”

While all of this is happening, Tenchi is getting choked by Ryoko. Using the small air that he is allowed, he would rather beg for her life than answer his question. I would like to say that his choking face is hilarious.

Seeing that Tenchi and Ryoko are in danger, it is now Ryo-Ohki’s turn to leap into action as she bites Kagato’s hand in defiance!

Ryo-Ohki don’t shiv!

As Kagato swats away our beloved mascot, Tenchi uses this opening as a way of attacking Kagato. He jumps high in the air and slices Kagato’s face. Amazingly, he cuts his face! Kagato is now officially pissed.

And look! Unlike Ayeka his blood is green!

Kagato decides that if Tenchi is good enough to hit him, he is worthy enough of a test. He heals himself and attacks Tenchi…who is not faring well.

“You have controlled your fear. Now, release your anger! Only your hatred can destroy me!”

And just because The Empire Strikes Back parallels are just too perfect right now…

“You are beaten! It is useless to resist! Don’t let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did!”

Aw screw it, I'm talking about The Empire Strikes Back.

This whole fight is incredibly similar to the climax of The Empire Strikes Back for several reasons. We have the first fight between our hero and the villain. This is a big establishing moment for Kagato as a credible threat. In addition, it humanizes Tenchi. We as an audience want to see him succeed, but if there is no tension, we will have no connection to the scene or to the characters. The tension is mounting with every blow. 

You see, this whole fight is not memorable because of the choreography. Every strike has a purpose. Tenchi is awkward and is barely holding his own. His determination to save his friends is all that is keeping him in the fight. On the other hand, Kagato is both intrigued and bored. He just wishes to get the sword, Ryoko, the Princesses, and then move on with him plan, whatever that may be. However, this is a rare opportunity to test the perceived power of the Jurai Royal Family. He is excited to be doing a field test of its power, but that quickly fades away once he realizes his opponent is not worth his time at all. What it IS memorable for is establishing how far Tenchi must go in order to win. The same can be said about the Cloud City confrontation in The Empire Strikes Back.

In The Empire Strikes Back, the duel between Luke and Vader is multipurpose as well. Luke is cocky and wants to save his friends. However, he also wants to avenge his father and Obi-Wan. Vader, on the other hand, FINALLY has his son in front of him. He has orders to bring Luke to the Emperor, but his main motivation is to test Luke. He wants to see his power.

In this fight, Luke gives it everything he has. As such, he is using both hands on his lightsaber. Vader, on the other hand, is toying with him. He only uses one hand and is rather loose with it. When we reach the second part of the fight, Vader decided to actually put effort in his abilities. Luke at this point is immediately outclassed. Vader signals this by wielding his weapon with two hands, just as he did with his fight with Obi-Wan in the original Star Wars. Luke barely keeps up at this point, culminating with him getting sucked out the window.

When he recovers, he is still determined to fight. Vader sneaks up on him from the shadows, but he is brutally pushing him back. The way Irving Kershner sets up the shot is important. Vader is towering over Luke, which shows just how little of a chance Luke actually has. 

When Luke manages to get a lucky strike in, Vader has enough with the games and cuts off his son’s hand, ending the duel and signaling Luke’s defeat. 

Both Tenchi and Luke get a lucky shot into their opponents that only make their resolves stronger. The villains outclass our heroes despite them both undergoing training. Both Tenchi and Luke lose their first duel and are left completely at the mercy of their opponents until someone manages to cut in and save them. With Luke, Leia and Lando manage to save him from the weather vane under Cloud City. 

But what about Tenchi?

“Are you playing with something that doesn’t belong to you?”

Yes, Grandpa Masaki managed to summon the sword from his fallen Grandson before Kagato could take it from him. But what does this mean?

“THERE YOU ARE! The First Crown Prince of Jurai’s Royal Family! I wonder…can you share the secrets of the universe, can you share that treasure?”

The First…wait…what?

“Pleasure? Well I do know of a really comfortable hot spring nearby?”

You mean the one everybody destroyed? 

Kagato shoots a green bolt of energy at him, but Katsuhito merely moves his head slightly to the left.

I’m only saying this once: Katsuhito don’t shiv.

“The greatest energy in the universe? There’s no such thing. And if there were, it couldn’t be controlled by humans.”

Not satisfied with his answer, Kagato attacks him some more and each strike Katsuhito counters with some kind of shield. As this is going on, Ayeka looks on in shock.

But his fun is over. With a deep breath, Katsuhito activates the sword…

…and cuts loose!

These screenshots don’t do the battle justice. You can easily find this fight alone on Youtube, but it is so well done. These two fighters are seemingly evenly matched. As you can see, Katsuhito may have actually won the sword fight…but Kagato is not a man of honor…

“…Ryoko!”

“Using a woman as a shield, cowarrrrd!”

Katsuhito tries to snap Ryoko out of it, but Kagato’s link through the gems is too strong. As such, even with it now 2 on 1, Katsuhito is skilled enough to do what needs to be done.

That’s twice now that this has happened….

We see immediately that Ryoko’s eyes change from green to white, showing that she is free from Kagato’s control at last.

With Ryoko out of the picture, Kagato tries to attack the old man again. Katsuhito throws the sword seemingly at Kagato…

“FOOLED YOU!”

…but it turns out it landed in Funaho.

Kagato is confused as assumes that Katsuhito gave up. He goes to grab the sword but is immediately shocked by its power.

“Not yours, eh?”

“…I see…then this boy is your successor…”

Look at that sweat. That is some quality animation right there.

The villain then knocks Ryoko out and floats her away. Finally, he goads Tenchi on as he vanishes from sight.

“I will take your precious Ryoko with me! Prove your skills, then come to us! I’ll be waiting for you!”

This is it. We finally have our ORDEAL: Tenchi must confront Kagato in space to get Ryoko back. It is rather fitting as this is the ultimate ORDEAL as it mirrors the first episode. In that episode, Tenchi accidentally freed Ryoko and came out on top. In this episode, Ryoko is kidnapped and Tenchi purposely must free her after losing. 

“It’s like poetry. It rhymes…”

Ayeka takes no time to announce what all of us probably figured out in “Hello Ryo-Ohki:”

“You’re my brother! You’re my brother Yosho, aren’t you?!”

Katsuhito reveals that, yes, he is indeed Yosho, Tenchi’s famed ancestor who left the Planet Jurai 700 years ago to escape incest under the cover of stopping a mass murder.

“Bilbo Baggins…you haven’t aged a day.”

Ayeka started to cry when she realizes that her brother has started to look his age. The hopes and desires that have been keeping her going have now been dashed and thrown away. This is a powerful moment for Ayeka. She is hurt, confused, and betrayed. Yosho decides to tell Ayeka the REAL reason why he never returned to the Planet Jurai:

“I was not going to tell you this, but if I had stayed on Planet Jurai, there would have been a conflict between you and me over succession to the throne. Ayeka…you see my mother was an Earthling…and I am too…or at least half of me.”

“But why should that matter? Our father made the law…that after him we should mix with blood of other planets!”

“It was a law that many Juraians didn’t like. In those days, there was tremendous prejudice. I…I could not bear it. So when we were attacked by Ryoko, I left to fight, never to return. Now this planet is my home. And this is where I wished to be buried. I have no intention of returning to Jurai.”

Ayeka is immediately concerned that not returning to Jurai will mean certain death for her brother. As all wise old mentors are of this genre, Yosho does not fear death, but rather welcomes it. He knows he will eventually die, and has made peace with that. All he is concerned with is enjoying his inevitable last days on the planet his mother was born on.

All of this raises several questions:

1) How did Kagato know that Katsuhito was Yosho?
2) If there was a way for Kagato to track his energy, how did Ayeka not know about it?
3) Did Ryoko know about Katsuhito's identity? Did she not notice the same guy living at the shrine for 700 years?
4) If Ryoko knew, why was she confused when Katsuhito deflected her punch in Episode Three?
5) If Ryoko knew, why didn't she tell Ayeka? Wouldn't she want to shatter her dreams and show that he is now an old man?

Again, as with Ryoko trying to kill Tenchi, I understand all of this is due to conflicting opinions about the storyline from Kajishima and Hayashi. However, these plot holes are still there to be discussed.

Meanwhile, Tenchi is shocked to hear this revelation and…

“Oh no. I’ve gone cross-eyed.”

Damn it animation! I’ve never noticed that before! You were doing so well! I…the last half of this episode has better make up for this. 

Alright, where were we?

“And you are Crown Prince of the Planet Jurai. You look surprised.”

“…but you never said a thing?”

“And if I had, what then? Would you have known what to do? Silly boy! Now is your time to craft the future!”

Katsuhito gets the best lines.

In the past two months, Tenchi has come to several realizations. He realized that the legends of his youth had basis in fact, that a female demon was hidden in his Grandfather’s shrine, that said demon blew up his school, that he could wield a lightsaber, that there were aliens in the universe, that he was distantly RELATED to an alien culture, and that he was now heir to an entire planet. That is a lot of stuff to take in for a person, let alone a high school student. Tenchi is taking this incredibly well.

Amazingly, so is Ayeka. She is not as broken up as one would image after seeing their fiancée grow old before their eyes. However, Yosho is a good man and tells Ayeka, jokingly of course, that they should get married right there and then.

REJECTED!

Actually, that says a lot about their relationship. If they were going to get married, shouldn’t age not matter? Yosho is still Yosho despite growing older. Ayeka could have at least thought about it for a second.

“All right, all right I am too old…but Tenchi is about the right age. He’s a very good Grandson…and you two are perfect together.”

Wait.

Yosho. Katsuhito. 

You planned all of this. All of this has been set up from the beginning. All of this has been your fault. YOU didn’t want to be the King of Jurai and marry your far younger half-sister, so you left into outer space the first chance you got. YOU left everyone on Jurai hanging for 700 years, so Ayeka would search for you. YOU had your daughter bring Tenchi to Pride Rock every chance she could so Ryoko could see Tenchi in her astral form and get attached to him. YOU deliberately told Tenchi stories to intrigue the poor boy about the cave so he would one day disobey your orders. YOU taught Tenchi swordplay in order to prepare to be a Juraian nobleman. YOU forced Tenchi to carry Ayeka back to the house so the two of them would bond and share a moment. YOU have tried to set up Tenchi with his GREAT AUNT!

This was all set up so Yosho could push all of his responsibilities and duties onto his Grandson. Holy shit.

“Yosho, you magnificent bastard! I read your book!”

Seriously, look at that face. He knows that he got away with everything. 

Even Mihoshi is touched by your deception.

As with the first episode, we can easily see the majority of a Monomyth cycle taking place. The above action of Kagato taking Ryoko is Tenchi’s CALL TO ADVENTURE. Ayeka, just now, is amazed that Tenchi wants to save Ryoko. She tries to offer him a REFUSAL OF THE CALL, but he refuses the REFUSAL. Yosho revealing his identity is Tenchi MEETING THE MENTOR for the first time.  If Tenchi takes the sword from the tree, he will officially be CROSSING THE THRESHOLD and taking his first step toward his journey to rescue Ryoko.

Can you tell I teach 8^th Grade English and I look for this stuff on my spare time? 

Tenchi is worried that he will not be able to use his sword. Yosho offers up this gem:

“With that kind of attitude, how do you expect to protect these women? You have a power that hasn’t been awaken yet. Trust yourself.”

Ayeka tries to stop Tenchi one final time, but Yosho puts her in her place.

“Ayeka! Listen now, for every man there comes a time they must fight.”

The music starts to build up as Tenchi walks up to Funaho, ready to accept his destiny. He removes the sword from the tree, and Yosho informs everyone that Tenchi is the true master of the Elder Wand…I mean the Master Key. Of course, this is juxtaposed to Tenchi struggling to control the weapon.

If that sword reignited right there Tenchi, you would be dead.

Yosho asks him is he is ready to risk his life, which Tenchi agrees to instantly. Mihoshi and Sasami immediately say they are going to help him, but Ayeka is not as sure.

This is going to be a turning point for her. Will she stay behind due to her animosity of Ryoko, or will she put all of that aside to be with her nephew who she loves?

Seriously, I’ve accepted the incest at this point, but don’t think I’m happy with it.

We then realize there is a major roadblock to all of this planning: there is no way of getting into space. Funaho has taken root in the ground, Mihoshi’s ship is in another dimension, Ryu-Oh is in the bottom of the ocean, and Ryo-Ohki is a cabbit now. How will they make it to the Soja now?

Holy crap! Ryo-Ohki just telekinetically levitated Ryu-Oh’s core unit out of the lake! But…what can…

Ryo-Ohki….MAXIMIZE!

So Ryo-Ohki is a reverse Maximal now…okay, why not? She absorbs Ryu-Oh into her core body. Sasami is mortified that her precious animal is now back to her weapon of death, while everyone else is incredibly confused.

“I guess…we can use that to travel in…huh?”

Tenchi, again you are taking this incredibly well. I have no idea what I would do if I saw a little furry creature shift its shape into a spiked mass like that. Color me impressed.

We cut back to Kagato and Ryoko. Amazingly, Kagato really does have a Wizard of Oz thing going on.

He appears like Glinda, but he really emulates the Wicked Witch of the West. Green is his most prominent color, he traps Ryoko in an hour glass (which was a very prominent item in her castle), and he is monitoring the hero’s progress as they make their way to his stronghold. I never picked up on that before.

Note that Sasami is not there. This will be important.

“It’s strange. They’re coming here to throw away their lives to save someone as defective as you.”

“I am not your machine anymore! I’m a human being!”

“Human being? When compared to the infinite will of the universe, human feelings amount to little more than dust. You know...your current form was chosen only because it was convenient. Your original form could have been anything I wanted. Like a stone. Shall I turn you into a stone? Will that make you happy?”

Wow. So here we have the definitive proof that Ryoko sacked Jurai under the control of Kagato, not because of her own free will. She was used. For years. Decades. Centuries. She was never allowed to experience anything resembling emotion. Her mere purpose was only to serve as an extension of Kagato’s will.

Kagato here is ruthless. Scott’s delivery could not make him sound less interested. Ryoko is NOTHING to him. Everything is beneath him. The way he delivers “Shall I turn you into a stone?” is chilling. He is talking down to Ryoko, making her feel worthless. It is as if she is in an abusive relationship with Kagato. He is in complete control.

How does Ryoko take this?

She cries.

Ryoko has consistently been portrayed as the strongest person on the show. She has proven to be terrifying, funny, and loving all at the same time.

This is the first time she has been portrayed as vulnerable. 

The closest comparison I can make is probably the most famous scene from One Piece. For those who do not know, One Piece is about a young man named Monkey D. Luffy. He wants to be the Pirate King. He assembles a group of people to form his own pirate crew, including the former pirate hunter Zoro, the cowardly sniper Usopp, the womanizing chef Sanji, and the thief turned navigator Nami. Early on, Nami abandons the crew and heads to her home village: Cocoyashi Village. It turns out that the village has been under pirate control since she was a child. What pirate, you might ask? This guy:

Meet Arlong, the head of the Fishman Pirates. He is ruthless, cunning, dangerous, strong, but also true to his word. After killing her mother in front of her, Nami pledges her loyalty to Arlong under one condition: that if she steals enough treasure, she can buy back her village from Arlong. He agrees and by this point in the story, Nami is just about to have enough. Of course, Arlong can’t have that. What does he do? He calls the Marines on her, who confiscate the money. When Nami confronts him about it, Arlong simply states that his word still holds true: if she pays him, he will give her the village. She just needs to start from scratch.

Nami, running away, cries her eyes out in the middle of the road. After unsuccessfully trying to get her villagers to stop trying to rebel, she looks at her arm, which was branded with Arlong’s Jolly Roger, and stabs it.

She keeps stabbing this tattoo, this reminder of her old life. It is powerful. What makes it more powerful is that Luffy sees her in this vulnerable state. She tries to force him to leave by insulting him, but finally she begs for his help.

Luffy then does the greatest thing in the entire series: he straight up walks to Arlong’s base of operations, punches his way into the compound, and punches him with all of his might. Why?

He made his navigator cry.

We have never seen this kid lose control like this. He has gotten mad before, but this is personal. It is the same with Tenchi. If Tenchi could see Ryoko acting this way, I have no doubt he would lose it too. This is why Tenchi is fighting for her despite him being completely out of his environment.

Going back to the actual episode, let’s see who’s leading the charge:

Oh my god.

You let MIHOSHI drive?! That just…Ayeka, what makes you think Mihoshi knows how to drive Ryo-Ohki?

“Ry-Ohki, attack! I command you!”

Uh, Ayeka, that’s not her name.

Mihoshi and Ayeka are both panicking about what to do. Suddenly, Mihoshi gets an idea!

“Well this one is different from all the others. Do you happen to know how it works?”

I stand corrected. Mihoshi potentially figured out somethings but has no idea how to progress. 

“I am the one who built the ship you are in. Every move you make you know I will see through it.”

This establishes Kagato as the creator of Ryo-Ohki…interesting development. But wait! What’s happening?

It seems that Ryo-Ohki’s crystals have started to act odd and turned a bright red color. But what does it mean?

“To life! To life! L’Chaim!”

Mihoshi, ever the genius, has pulled a bottle of liquor out of nowhere, and decided the best thing to do in this situation is get drunk.

“Well I say we get drunk, because I’m all out of ideas.”

This is amazing on two counts. One is that the Dogma quote is basically what was actually spoken on screen. The second is that IT ACTUALLY WORKS.

Seriously, because she is drunk Ryo-Ohki manages to dodge every single shot Kagato fires at her. Even he is impressed.

“Now that’s a very capable evasion! I wonder if it is due to the power of the boy’s sword.”

Tenchi asks Ayeka if there is anything they can do from her ship. He gets teleported into it, and we can see that, while it is mostly intact, there is some light damage.

Still no signs of Sasami’s space ferret.

Ayeka opens a line to Tenchi, where he is told to activate the Light Hawk Wings. What are the Light Hawk Wings?

“It’s the shield for that craft. Its original function is a defense system. However, you can use it to attack also…but, it isn’t meant for that purpose. We will be vulnerable.”

That sounds like throw away dialogue if I have ever heard it. I am sure this information will never come up again. I mean, even Tenchi could care less about how it works but rather to make it work.

“TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”

Finally, we see what Light Hawk Wings apparently are: three blades of light that can spin around like a fan to deflect enemy fire.

Tenchi uses the sword to expand the blades into a full shield. It is down to this. Kagato is charging the Soja to fire one final shot, Tenchi is weaponizing the Light Hawk Wings, and the girls are helpless to intervene.

Who will win? Well, given that this franchise’s name is Tenchi, I’m led to believe that…

Oh.

Wait. 

What?!

"Hahahahaha!"

As Kagato laughs, we cut back to Ryo-Ohki and we can see that Alderaan…I mean Ryu-Oh’s core has been decimated. The remains of trees float between the two ships. This is bad.

 "Tenchi?" 

 "Tenchi?"

“Tenchi?”

“Tenchi?”

“Tenchi?”

“Tenchi?”

“Tenchi?”

Ayeka stumbles back in shock and Jennifer Darling lets loose an amazing scream.

 "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

You can feel the pain that Darling inflects into the character. Ayeka has come a long way from ordering Tenchi to death. This is called “character development” folks.

She’s not the only one to react to this.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

Petrea Burchard yells at the top of her lungs as well. Ryoko channels her energy into a way to force the sand in the hour glass to the top and teleports herself into the debris. 

She can breathe in space too?

The great thing about this scene is that the music and most of the sound effects have been muted with the only sound we hear is Ryoko’s cries for Tenchi. Suddenly, we are given a startling sight.

Tenchi’s head band: covered in blood. Ryoko is destroyed.

Our proud warrior is once again driven to tears. This time it is not out of fear but out of sadness and anger. Burchard’s cries are heart wrenching. Then the crying stops and Ryoko gives us our final line of the episode:

 

“Kagato, you have stolen the one who is most precious to me…and I will make you pay.”

“YOU WILL PAY!”

REVIEW

This episode lived up to my expectations, but is not as good as I remembered it.

Now some things I knew I would have to talk about. Kagato is a bland villain. What is his motivation? To gain all the power in the universe. Okay, but why? What drives you? Is it purely for scientific purposes? Is it to conquer the galaxy? 

We never know these things. However, I still love him.

Every now and then it is great to have a villain who really just loves being evil for the sake of being evil. He adjusts his mini glasses, he apologizes for barging into a women’s bath, he owns a giant organ, but he will not hesitate to kill an old man, mind rape a woman, and attempt to kidnap a young child and her older sister. I think his memorability comes mainly from his voice. Both Michael Scott Ryan and his original voice, Norio Wakamoto, did a fantastic job with the part. Wakamoto is best known for his villainous roles, like Cell from Dragonball Z. He is a Japanese legend.

This is apparently a typical day in his life.

Both actors speak in a very light, disinterested manner that truly is sinister. You know he is evil. He does not hide it. But he is a SOPHISTICATED evil. I can respect that. If any other actor tried to do this role, they would probably try to go over the top, which just would not work…unless that actor was either Jeremy Irons or David Bowie. THAT would work perfectly.

The other issue that I knew would be weird was Ryoko’s 700 years in the cave. Why, if she watched Tenchi for all of his life, would she try to kill him? I know that all of this had to do with the creative differences between Kajishima and Hiyashi, but it is very hard to reconcile. In addition, did Ryoko watch the rest of Yosho’s family grow up there? Why did Yosho specifically choose Tenchi for this task and not Kiyone? This whole issue will become compounded later on when we get to OVA 3 with a character named Tennyo. 

Basically, this whole continuity is confusing when you really stop and think about it.

The highlight of this episode is, hands down, the fight between Yosho and Kagato. It was wonderfully choreographed and was the culmination of literally every episode that came before it. We have been teased with bits about Ryoko’s past, the mystery of Yosho, the gems, and Kagato’s past crimes. This was the moment we have been waiting for. 

We also see Ryoko’s character fleshed out more beyond strong, independent woman. I have to give major props to Kajishima and crew on this. You went dark. Does it lessen Ryoko’s character that all of the crimes she did could be justified that they were done under mind control? Yes, but she is still a dangerous woman with a dark side. No matter what, she still has semi-violent tendencies that will continue throughout the OVA. This episode merely humanized her and allowed her to become more relatable to the audiences. Ryoko is strong despite being used. That is something that resonates well with people. You care for her more now that you know there is more to her beyond being a flirt. She has a soft side who just wants acceptance, but on her terms.

On the other hand, this episode’s ending had to have been surprising. These episodes came out one at a time, released over several months. In the same way that The Empire Strikes Back left moviegoers hanging for two years about whether Han Solo would be rescued or if Darth Vader was really Luke’s father, months passed between this episode and the next one. Did Tenchi truly die? What will Ryoko and the girls do now? Who will stop Kagato? And who the hell is that Tsunami person we heard about last episode? It is a powerful cliffhanger that draws the viewers in.

Guess we will have to wait and see.

 Hey, did anyone realize that this the fifth episode, just like The Empire Strikes Back? 

Animation: There was a few issues here and there, but certain sequences made up for it. I still feel Episode Three had the best animation overall, but this is still fantastic. The two fights are well choreographed and bring up the score a lot: 18/20

Main Characters: I’ve spoken at length about Kagato and Ryoko. Tenchi, on the other hand, is given a little time to shine. He has come a long way since running away from Ryoko in Episode One. He has shown consistent character growth and we have grown to accept him as our main character. When he dies at the end, we are worried about him. Oh well, I guess it was a good run Tenchi: 18/20

Supporting Characters: Katsuhito brings the score up all by himself, but it was nice to see Mihoshi attempt to do something. Enjoy those moments now folks: 19/20

Music: Kagato’s various themes are great, but the highlight is “Ryoko in Danger.” This is the track that plays right when Kagato and Yosho are facing each other. It is great and one of the highlights of the first OVA. But the best musical moment is the absence of music at the end.  That alone earns this a: 20/20

Story: The general confusion about the time frame and Ryoko’s imprisonment forces the score to suffer slightly, but the Yosho plot has now been concluded and we are now fully invested in the plot. We are now all eager to see how this all ends…Oh I suppose I should dock points for Yosho’s plan to shift all of his responsibilities onto Tenchi, but I have to respect a dude that plans that far in advance: 17/20

Overall Tenchi Rating: 92!

Star Wars References: The entire episode…okay, at least 10!

Monomyth Progress: Death!

Ayeka and Ryoko Verbal Sparring: 1!

With Tenchi dead, it will be interesting to see how the story goes on. I know the title of the show literally translates as “No Need for Tenchi,” but I wasn’t expecting THAT to happen. Join us next time when we see…”We Need Tenchi.”

If you need him so much, why did you kill him?!