Tenchi Muyo! Episode Fourteen: Visitor From Afar

How often do you get to see something you loved growing up get revived?

...we really are spoiled, aren't we?

Okay, how often do we continue a story that was left on a cliffhanger for nearly a decade?

That narrows the gap a bit. I could throw crap like Shaman King, Simon Furman's Transformers Marvel run, or Larry Hama's G.I. Joe run, but I figure most of my audience would appreciate this more.

It's actually kind of funny that I am discussing this now. This past year, we legitimately have gotten a new Dragonball series and another canon movie after decades of nothing but video games and cross over appearances. Oh, and another anime I know is doing this too...for its second time.

That's right. We are getting OVA 4 bitches!

The question is this: is this a good thing?

OVA 3 is a mixed bag. It doesn't have the nostalgia factor that salvages OVA 2 in a lot of people's memories and it suffers by being a story that hinges around the Shin Tenchi Novels of the previous review. So, how did Tenchi fans feel when OVA 3 was first announced?

Ecstatic.

Prior to OVA 3, we got *shudder* GXP, a Tenchi spinoff that didn't have Tenchi in it...until it did. After a long period of time, the main cast actually appeared for an episode and if you listened to the Japanese version, every single cast member returned. There was much rejoicing.

The English fans had it worse.

The rights for the Tenchi franchise reverted from Geneon/ Pioneer to Funimation, which is best known for Dragonball Z. That dub is great. This dub...less so. Due to the fact they are based in Texas, only two of the classic American voice actors returned, and both of them were already replacements.

By this time Ellen Gertsell had retired and Jay Hooper vanished off the face of the Earth and had been replaced by Rebecca Forstadt and Bob Papenbrook after the dubbing of Universe and the first Tenchi movie.

Neither of them are better than their original voices in my opinion, but they work. Forstadt is a ditzier Mihoshi, which falls in line with how Mihoshi's character acts in both Tenchi in Tokyo and this OVA. Papenbrook, on the other hand, is actually a well-known name in the dubbing world. He does a great job with Katsuhito, but I'm not as fond of his Nobuyuki. There isn't that much of a difference in their voices.

I'm getting off topic.

Anyway, the new voices were poorly acted and Funimation got the message. Somehow, SOMEHOW, they managed to get back Miller, Lynn, Darling, Debbyberry, and Vogt for their iconic roles. Mind you, half of those actors were not doing voice over work AT ALL. There was much rejoicing.

Did you notice what was wrong yet?

They couldn't get back Burchard.

You see, Ms. Burchard enjoyed her retirement from the acting world. She was content with working on her writing career (shameless plug here!) and declined the offer to come back, in recent times, she has shown more of a willing to interact with fans and even did a Think You Know Anime narration for Tenchi Muyo. I still stand by my statement that Burchard's voice is so unique and her acting is so great that she could have made a full career out of it.

So what did Funimation do? They hired the stand in from GXP: Mona Marshall.

Mona Marshall is a wonderful voice actress who has a lengthy career in both American and Japanese animation. Some people might remember her as Izzy from Digimon, but she is most well known as the woman who inherited the role of Shelia Brofloski on South Park after Mary Kay Bergmann died. She is a wonderful actress and that show alone showcases her versatility.

But as Ryoko...she's just not good. I'll explain more in the review section, but this is not just a case of "They Changed It, Now It Sucks." I have reasons for why I dislike this change.

However, fans were told by Funimation that Marshall had worked hard on getting her voice to match Burchard's and that a few fans couldn't even tell the difference so hopes were high. We were also excited as we were promised a resolution of the Tokimi story and that we would get the truth about Tenchi's Mother's death.

So, how did it turn out? Let's press on!

The episode begins with some voice over discussing “dimensional charges.” Then we see…

…I really have no idea.

So these ship things that we are told nothing about are destroyed seemingly by a dude with a yellow eye.

…okay. 

But then we are given our first clue where this is and who this guy really is:

It’s the guy! The guy with the Light Hawk Wings! And we are inside Grant Morrison’s Mind!

Remember at the beginning of Episode Eleven, where Clay noted there was combat around Tokimi’s place, THIS IS THAT COMBAT. I guess it was set up after all…nine years ago.

It’s like we never left.

The green haired, yellow eyed dude floats down for a while and lands at a most familiar landing pad. I wonder who this could be…

“Yes…very nicely done.”

“Just like always. I have few results…but…”

From behind our green haired friend we see our first familiar main cast member: Washu!

“There appear to be some interesting developments from Clay.”

Then the animation shifts jarringly to the footage from OVA 2, specifically footage of Washu and Sasami.

 “One of them is Washu. Who is the other?”

Oh D3 you silly little…thing. Have you no idea with whom you are dealing with? Thankfully, someone there IS knowledgeable in these matters: 

“Her name is…Tsunami.”

That’s not Jennifer Darling. I thought they brought back Jennifer Darling!

“Hmm…to think that someone like her would be caught on such a lowly dimension.”

Then, as per usual, something happens:

“What is that unusual energy reading?”

Tokimi, whose voice I know I have heard somewhere before, asks D3 if he believes that it is Washu or Tsunami. Of course, we know that it is Tenchi, specifically Tenchi from the end of Episode Twelve.

“There must be some mistake. It was as if he had matter conversion abilities but can only produce three Light Hawk Wings. He can’t be THAT powerful.”

If you haven’t figured out yet, we are witnessing the conversation at the end of Episode Twelve and Thirteen and a Half. As such, D3 is sent to deal with Clay and Tokimi gives her warning to the mystery man:

“I want him kept unharmed. Is that clear?”

Before D3 goes, however, he gives this man a warning:

“Your intentions betray you. Lady Tokimi can see what you are thinking.”

Then this happens:

“Perhaps…but I doubt she can stop me.”

Who is that blue haired woman? Is that Tsunami? No…I don’t see her head marks. I guess we will never know!

Back on Earth, we return to our favorite duo of comedy relief: 

“I hear this is called the rainy season.”

That must be some rain for you to have that much moss growing on you in such a short amount of time.

Ryoko, as usual, is asleep on the rafter and one thing that has always annoyed me is that her tail thing is now green.

“Great. More rain.”

OH NO! IT’S MONA MARSHALL! KILL IT!

No, this is not how this review is going to be. Besides, we are blessed with a return of a most gracious kind:

SHERRY LYNN!

Yes, we might have lost Burchard, but Lynn is still here, and it is if she hadn’t had years in between dubbing sessions at all. She just naturally reclaims her role and we should be thankful for it.

“Morning! I was wondering if you could do me a big favor and make sure Mihoshi is awake!”

Of course, Ryoko does not want to interrupt her pleasant sleep. Sasami, ever the genius, has an alternative request:

“Well…you could wake up Washu instead!”

“Exit: stage left even!”

We then see another familiar face (and hear another familiar voice): Jennifer Darling’s Ayeka!

“Sasami! She’s gotten quite good at handling Ryoko! Who would have thought it possible?”

Wait…is that…?

“It’s impressive, but I’m surprised that neither of them noticed that I was already sitting here.”

Vogt is back too! Now her voice seems to be a bit more tame and relaxed as of right now, but it makes sense. She hadn’t done any voice over work SINCE Tenchi Forever. Both Vogt and Miller have been away from the mic for years while the others, especially Lynn, have been steadily working on different projects. No, Vogt and Miller stuck to the stage, particularly in the form of directing.

But still, having the actors back in ANY capacity is a glorious thing.

We then see Sasami and Ryo-Ohki cook and holy crap. They got back freaking Debbi Derryberry! By this point, she had really made it big with Jimmy Neutron, so getting her back for some “Meows” is astounding. Funimation gets a lot of crap for the treatment of the Tenchi voice actors, but damn it, they tried.

The cooking stuff is kind of dull and unfunny, so let’s break uncharted grounds: visiting Mihoshi’s room!

It looks like every college dorm in America.

“Oh, good morning Ryoko! I guessed I must have dozed off for a little bit.”

Again, Forstadt is playing up Mihoshi’s ditzier side. This worked really well for Tenchi in Tokyo, but I’m not the biggest fan of it here. She does a fine job with the material, but I’m a Gerstell Mihoshi fan. Of course, the biggest problem has to do with Mihoshi herself: she is an idiot in this series. 

“The last thing I remember I was writing a letter to my family! It’s all a blur after that.”

Her family? As in the Grand Marshall? Interesting. Well, Mihoshi sends the letter and falls back asleep…prompting Ryoko to do her thing:

“Get your characterization back on track!”

However, once they leave, our green haired goon has snuck into the room…somehow.

“Let’s see. I think this could use a little editing.”

He claims that this is all a play and he is the director. With his meddling complete, it’s time to sit back and watch the magic happen. But who cares, Tenchi is here and…he’s on his way to visit Nobuyuki?

Wait…what?

Hold it, Nobuyuki doesn’t live with Tenchi anymore? When did this happen? Is this supposed to explain why he is never in any episodes anymore?

Again, show. Don’t tell.

On his way there, he walks by a building that is under construction. Why is this relevant again?

“Ugh, I’ve caused everyone a lot of trouble, haven’t I?”

Wait…this is Tenchi’s school?! From Episode One?!

Holy crap! We’ve come full circle! That is pretty cool. What ISN’T cool is that we will now have to sit through flashbacks to the first OVA…which involve reusing the same animation. As you can already tell by the screencaps, OVA 3 utilizes a more modern color and artistic pallet while OVA 1 and 2 are far more traditional. As such…it is jarring.

But what’s even more jarring is the redubbing. Yes, since Burchard isn’t here, we get to hear Marshall’s attempts to do the same lines of dialogue. And it is right here that I will get into my Marshall/ Burchard kick.

You can find this episode on Funimation’s Youtube page. This segment starts about nine minutes into the episode. Funimation ALSO has Episode One of the OVA available to stream as well. Compare and contrast yourself kids. The most important thing to note about Burchard’s take is the variety that she brings. She has the ability to shift her voice ever so slightly depending on her emotions. 

Marshall…does not. She sticks with a single, nasally voice that comes off more as a whine than what Burchard ever did. 

Burchard allowed for raw emotion to come out in her takes. There may be her yelling, but that yell could be playful, angry, tense, or as a whine. Marshall displays no variety in her vocal range while voicing Ryoko. It hurts the character’s performance.

Is it a big excuse? It might not seem it to some people, but it is. It is a big problem that takes away from one of the most beloved Toonami girls of all time.

Oh, as I went on my mini rant the rain stopped and Tenchi meets two old friends of his:

“Kamikura! Akida! How have you guys been? It’s good to see you!”

This is the first time that Tenchi has talked to a male who isn’t his relative or an alien since…the creature. As such, Tenchi is thrilled to get some male interaction…but they aren’t.

“TENCHI! Tell us the truth! Are you really living with a bunch of hottie foreign chicks?!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“He said there were all sorts of girls there. Girls with silver green hair, purple black hair, blonde hair, and even red hair! GIRLS EVERYWHERE IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES! WHY TENCHI?! WHY KEEPT THIS FROM YOUR FRIENDS?! WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A HORRIBLE THING TO US?!”

…oh dear god. Now I see why Tenchi stopped hanging out with people.  In fact, one of them starts writing down everything that Tenchi pulls out of his ass to get them to stop talking about it:

“WHAT?! This is my private life you know! GIVE ME THAT!”

“I ship you and Ayeka…incest turns me on!”

Tenchi tries to save face by saying that he lives with Yosho while the girls sleep in the main house. This prompts further exaggerated responses:

“GAHHH! I AM SO JEALOUS!”

“Calm down Kamikura! I heard Tenchi is really into older chicks anyway, right?”

A callback to Episode One that didn’t involve a flashback. I never would have guessed.

“Jabba, you’re a wonderful human being!”

It turns out all of this came about because Amaga…Amaga…

AMAGASKAI! THERE! I DID IT!

*Cough* Aaaaannnnnyyyway, Amagasaki the hideous beast man of legend has transferred schools. He went to the house to bid Tenchi farewell, but instead he witnessed one of several escapades that was going on at the house.

“...so that rabbit merged with the brown girl to make a furry girl? Holy crap, Tenchi has more fetishes than I do!”

“I’d do it.”

Enough of this crap, let’s move on to a (hopefully) better segment. Tenchi has made his way to the site of his old house. How do we know this? Why, a sign tells us so!

Exposition in sign form!

From there we get MORE REUSED FOOTAGE, specifically a brief recap of OVA 1…and the ever popular Nurse Washu scene. Now since Funimation did this from scratch, they used different translations of the various scenes. Sure, the same content is there, but they are a bit different. As such, the most creative (yet horrifying) line from that segment (“Let’s shake the dew off this lily”) is replaced with “You want to be put under!” and “You don’t want me to stop it!” 

Also, though they mention his name for a brief second, I am surprised they didn’t show more of  Kagato or even that Yosho is Ayeka’s half-brother. If you are going for a full recap, then go all the way!

“We’ve certainly been through an awful lot together.”

“I’ve been objectified, murdered people, and went to space a few times. Plus I think I met a dying girl’s ghost once! Good times!”

Tenchi is amazed at how much things have changed and for all its supposed faults, OVA 3 gets right into the greatest aspect of Tenchi: Nobuyuki. We get some comical flashbacks of the man showing where he would build the house, which I think is the first time the OVA has actually mentioned in the show itself that he is an architect. It was a big part of his character on Universe, but it wasn’t brought up at all in his three other appearances.

“I might actually have a role to play in this OVA!”

"You wish Daddy!"

"That's a good one dear."

Also, I can’t tell if young Tenchi is voiced by Lynn or Marshall. If you know, please leave a comment below to tell me or email me at ihavenoideabutreallywhocares@whycouldntwegetbackburchard.net

From here, we get an image of Kiyone’s funeral. There are a ton of people there who have…hey…in the front row…

Green hair? Where have I seen that before…?

Regardless, the one person we DON’T see is Tenchi. A young woman goes over to Katsuhito and Nobuyuki to let him know about this. Who is this woman?

I have no idea.

A search party is formed and THERE IS THAT GREEN HAIRED WOMAN AGAIN!

Those ears…could it be…nah…

“Crap. I’m a horrible Father. If I can’t find Tenchi, how will I ever film his sex life?”

The mystery girl is the only one who realizes where Tenchi went: Pride Rock. Lo and behold, there he is. Now look at this picture:

Notice how the snow is melted around him. This is a left over from a deleted scene from Episode Three where Ryoko, watching Tenchi cry, shields him from the snow in her astral form. Thank you AstroBoyNerd!

Tenchi snaps out of it and finally makes it to Nobuyuki’s office where he is greeted by…an older version of that mystery woman!

“Oh Tenchi! It’s so great to see you!”

“Hello there Rhea!”

Ah, now we know!

“And knowing is half the battle!”

Then we get the legend himself:

“Hey kids, it’s Nobuyuki!”

Rhea brings him tea just the way he likes it, which is a nice way of showing that this is not just some secretary but someone who has known Tenchi for a long time, again solidifying the theory that the young woman was her. She even asks about the girls!

“Tell them I’m sorry! You know, I had planned to come by sometime and to pay you all a visit!”

Ah, the old backtracking technique, where an author has to give some kind of vague explanation to show why, in this case, someone who was never around before is suddenly a main character. There was never a hint of Rhea in the original OVAs, not even OVA 2!

“You certainly had more than enough to do dealing with what happened to the school and the house…”

And the final element of backtracking: filling in plot holes! This is Kajishima handwaving why NOBODY found out about the truth of the Great Set Bridge being destroyed and how only the Masaki residence was destroyed. This would be fine but there is one major hiccup brought about by this episode: Amagasaki visited the house and saw Nobuyuki’s place IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AREA OF OKAYAMA! How did he not leak that to Kamikura and Akida, who were planning on writing a NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ON TENCHI’S LIFE! I think that would be a great news story. Got an explanation for that Rhea?

“Superboy Prime punching the walls of reality?”

Damn it. She’s got a point.

Rhea did mention that she had to give a formal report to the Imperial Palace of Japan, and we get to return to one of my favorite past times: taking a screencap of the image that is shown for one frame! So what is it this time?

Ah.

Rhea won’t explain WHY she had to do it, but claims that Katsuhito will tell him himself…which if I recall NEVER HAPPENS. I might be wrong, but I do not remember that at all. It has been years since I have seen OVA 3 and I sold off my DVD’s to buy a bookshelf.

So what is going on now?

“I think you might be even taller than I am!”

“I have a bad feeling about this!”

“Hold it! Where do you think you’re going?”

“Now be a good boy and stand still!”

*BOING*

…was the sound effects really necessary? That wasn't a joke. That was part of the episode! Plus someone got paid to DRAW THAT.

“Why do I get used and abused by everyone?”

This…is unsettling. Let’s switch to a Nobuyuki/ Tenchi road trip!

Tenchi complains that there is a lot that he doesn’t know about and Nobuyuki counters that there is a lot of things that he doesn’t even know about either.

“Say Tenchi, where the hell did I go all of the last OVA?”

The two men reminisce back to the days of Tenchi as a child and we learn that Rhea did all of the cooking for the Masaki household…which again, was NEVER MENTIONED AT ALL IN THE PREVIOUS EPISODES. How is it possible that a woman of that much importance was never seen AT ALL?!

During the bonding, Tenchi asks the question that apparently everyone wanted to know: how did Kiyone Masaki die?

“Fuuuuuuuuuccccckkkkkkkkk…”

“Crap, this is my big moment this episode. I can’t mess it up. I can’t mess it up!”

“I just mean…was she sick?”

“Please wait…just a little while longer, okay?”

“Nailed it!”

Since Nobuyuki is forced to leave us with a dangling plot thread, let’s see what the girls are up to?

“Ryo-Ohki!”

“Meow!”

“Ryo-Ohki!”

“Meow!”

Ugh.

“Where’s the rabbit?”

“Meow!”

“The cat?”

“Meow!”

DO SOMETHING!

It seems Sasami has prepared Tenchi ANOTHER box lunch when a problem has presented itself: RYO-OHKI HAS GONE MISSING!

But who cares, because MORE NOBUYUKI!

“Please let me do something in this episode! I have been patient!”

“I see then. Well, I guess it’s time we told Tenchi the truth, don’t you agree?”

“I guess we should.”

I mean, the guy is, what eighteen now? I think he is entitled to know how his mother died.  Regardless, Nobuyuki is really sad about all of this, but Yosho tries to encourage him.

“And I’ll bet she’s glad you are finally getting around to doing this.”

“We can only hope that she is.”

Then Nobuyuki does the one thing I never expected...

He cries.

Stay strong...stay strong...

I can't! UPSET NOBUYUKI MAKES ME CRY!

The two men leave the grave to get drunk, but not before Yosho leaves us with this vague comment:

“This will probably be quite the shock to Tenchi.”

Oho?

The girls, meanwhile, still have had no luck finding Ryo-Ohki. As such, it is time to call upon the person who should have been asked in the first place:
 

“You people. She’s a damn space ship. If she wanted to, she could just turn into it and fly back to the house, but no. I’ll get up off my ass and find her.”

“We love you Ryoko! You are the greatest Tenchi girl of them all!”

"..."

“I’m surrounded by idiots.”

A few minutes later…

“Thank the maker!”

I will give Marshall some credit, she shows off a different range for Ryoko here. He voice gets a little deeper and it is her best line reading yet. Kudos.

Everyone is happy that Ryoko has gone out to find her but they are still worried about her…until Washu calls them all out for being idiots. Seriously, why the hell would you worry about Ryo-Ohki?

“Ryo-Ohki is so young to be out lost and afraid.”

Washu, care to explain to Ayeka why that was a stupid feeling?

“What the hell? Did you all forget that she is a computer unit and can’t feel fear?!”

Thank you Washu.

“Any time binky boy!”

“You felt bad for her? That is so incredibly sweet! I can’t stand it!”

By now Ryoko has returned to the house with the cabbit in tow.However, she is completely dirty. Sasami offers to give her a bath, but Ryoko says she will take care of it.

Is this…character development?

On one hand, it is unfortunate that Ryoko is becoming more “domesticated” than “outgoing.” I far prefer that characterization for her, but really it makes sense. Tenchi is not going to want a space pirate for a bride. He will want someone who he can relate to. Of all the characters in this show, it is Ryoko who has underwent the longest change; though I argue that Ayeka’s character arc from OVA 1 was more rewarding.

To hammer the point of Ryoko becoming more…motherly I suppose, she eats with Ryoko and even sleeps with her, to Sasami’s dismay.

“Stop stepping on my toes woman.”

“Besides Sasami, you need to sleep with your sister once and a while too.”

“Are you coming on to me?”

The next day we are instantly reminded that this is the 90’s when we see Nobuyuki…doing something?!

“Since none of you care for me, I’m going to make my own friends. I’ve got my own doctor named Dr. Sbaitso and even a new girlfriend named Mavis Beacon.”

“This personal computer here is state of the art girls! Well…for Earthlings.”

But none of the eyes are on Nobuyuki, but rather Washu, who is taking all of this in intently.

“What…is she getting pleasure from this?”

“It’s like creating a baby!”

“Oh come off it! Why are you being so quiet Washu?! Usually by now you would have gone into a full blown lecture! I mean, what gives anyway?!”

“ARE YOU MAD WOMAN?!”

“Careful! Ryoko, do you want to spend the entire day listening to her speeches or something?!”

“Sorry, but it’s just not natural!”

I love that these characters are fully aware of what is expected in this house. It’s like they have become self-aware or something.

“Amazing. I am just fascinated as you construct this primitive networking unit!”

“…Dr. Sbaitso is my only friend…”

“But you know, no matter how primitive or advanced your technology is, some people can never get beyond their silly and petty differences.”

That was beautiful.

“Of course with some people it doesn’t matter either way.”

But then we get something that I never thought possible…something so mind blowing that it makes me regret worrying about OVA 3…ladies and gentlemen, we get an internal Nobuyuki monologue!

“Washu is the highest on the pecking order, but her natural enemy is the lowest, Mihoshi. It’s incredible! The power struggle of this house is a perfect loop!”

“That’s enough.”

Wait…don’t stop!

“What do you mean? Enough what?”

“Enough with the mental expositions…okay?”

“Sorry!”

That…is legitimately funny. Actually, this might be in my top ten Tenchi moments. Any time a character mocks exposition, it will always make me laugh. Add in the fact that it has my (technically, though this blog makes me reevaluate my choices every now and again) Tenchi girl and my favorite Tenchi character and you get a wonderful moment.

But before this joke can be dragged out and potentially ruined, the doorbell rings. Ryoko goes to get it (but not before calling Nobuyuki and Washu “nerds”, which is great)…but memories of Misaki (from Episode Thirteen!) come sweeping over her like a tsunami.

Get it?

“Oh no…I can’t take any more Batman jokes!”

“Uh…pardon me. Uh…you wouldn’t happen to be Misaki, would you?”

This goes on for a while until Sasami decides that the joke has run its course. And though it does not appear to be Misaki, the image has Ryoko scared shitless.

“That’s not true…it’s impossible!”

What’s impossible?

“Search your feelings! You know it to be true!”

What are you two talking about?

Meanwhile upstairs, the computer begins to flicker…even though it isn’t plugged in. Whoever could it be?

Arnim Zola?

"Seven days!"

Before Ryoko can inform us about what she saw, Sasami whisks Tenchi downstairs to greet his guest. So, who is it?

Wait..

What?!

It can’t be!

“…Mom?!”

“GOOD MORNING!”

 “You know, I’ve got the strangest feeling that something is about to happen.”

No, you can’t even do that! What the hell man?! You can’t just end an episode by REVEALING THAT TENCHI’S MOTHER IS ALIVE!

Review

So, this is OVA 3. What do I think about it? Well, honestly this episode seems right on par for a typical OVA 2 episode.

All of the main characters are there doing their thing and, for the most part, the plot is largely forgettable. Nobody is going to remember Ryo-Ohki getting lost in this episode, they are going to remember the Tenchi/ Nobuyuki moments or everything with Tokimi. This was a serviceable way to reintroduce our hero all these years later.

Are there problems? Yes. The episode’s plot is very thin and the flashbacks are very jarring. Could they really just not animate the old footage over again to match the current designs? I know it costs money and time, but it stands out.

The biggest issue is that this episode is only here to set things up. We see the Tokimi plot begin to unfold and we learn that this mysterious green haired guy is stirring up trouble against Tokimi’s wishes. We also know there is a blue haired woman out there that is his ace in the hole. Who is she? I have no idea. On the Earth, we are reminded about Tenchi’s Mother and we are now shown that there is a secret behind her death (or SUPPOSED death I guess). The important thing to note is that the girls are largely inconsequential to this plot beyond Washu and Sasami’s mere existence. They don’t do anything to further the story in this episode, which is a shame.

The other big problem is the new characters. We are introduced to three characters that have apparently been a part of Tenchi’s life but we have never been told about them. In the case of the two classmates, this is acceptable. Tenchi has a large class and we only see a few of his fellow students in the room:

As seen here.

It would have been nice to adopt their designs from any of these random people, but I can forgive that. The key link is the creat…Amagaski. Including him brings us back to Episode One and links everything together.

“It’s like poetry. It rhymes.”

The problem is that a brilliant idea like this is wasted as a one off gag. It would be great to see these two trying to spy on Tenchi’s life and getting into their own adventures. These guys have known Tenchi since he was a kid! Surely SOMETHING more could have been done with them.

The other character, Rhea, is far more problematic.

Her existence is just terrible. I wouldn’t mind her if she was just Nobuyuki’s secretary, but to make her an integral part of Tenchi’s childhood AND to make her a secret keeper to everything is ridiculous. I know there are things that happen in between episodes that we never see, but this would give someone for Nobuyuki to talk to as opposed to creating a reason for Nobuyuki’s disappearances.

So let us review our handy dandy checklist and see how we are doing:

1)     How can Tenchi create Light Hawk Wings?- No idea.

2)     What is Washu’s true origins?- No idea beyond what we already know.

3)     Is Washu aware that she is/was a Goddess?- No idea.

4)     What is Tokimi’s plan?- No idea. Everything that is happening is the green haired dude’s plan.

5)     How did Clay discover Tokimi?- No idea.

6)     Who is that mysterious guy with the five Light Hawk Wings?- A dude with green hair. Still no idea beyond that.

7)     Whatever happened to Airi?- No idea…but there that woman with the green hair in the flashbacks makes me wonder…

8)     Does the Kuramitsu family know about Washu’s placement in their family tree?- No idea.

9)     Will Nobuyuki get an increased role?- I put this here as a joke, but YES.

10) Was there anything special about Tenchi’s Mother’s death?- Well she seems to be alive. Interesting.

Now let us add some new questions:

           11) What is the green haired dude’s plan?

           12) What is going to happen with the Kuramitsu family?

           13) Is that green haired woman Airi?

           14) What kind of a role will Rhea play in this series?

           15) Who is the blue haired woman?

           16) Will we see Tenchi’s classmates again?

            17) Why is Tenchi’s Mother alive?

We can only wait and see what goes on from here.

Animation: I’m not a fan of the updated style, but I understand the need to work with the times. The exaggerated expressions were kind of annoying to me, but I can’t really fault it. The introduction was nice, but overall nothing really stuck out to me. It was just…bland: 16/20

Main Characters: The three main characters in this episode were Tenchi, Ryoko, and for some ungodly reason Nobuyuki. Tenchi’s emotions are explored as we see more of his past, which is a welcome change. We feel for him when he thinks about Kiyone and are excited for him at the end of the episode. The moments with him and Nobuyuki stand out as some of the most realistic things in this show. It is a natural bond. Nobuyuki did more than just act as comic relief. The man showed DEPTH. He is humorous but also harboring strong feelings both for his son and wife. I LOVE IT. Ryoko, as mentioned, had her own arc and it is a bit of a weak one, but one that I understand. We shall see if the gentler Ryoko will go anywhere: 19/20

Supporting Characters: The girls are all the same, save Mihoshi who seems to be at stupidest. It is depressing to see her as a stereotype. I don’t like Rhea all that much and the students are wasted. I can’t really say anything about Tokimi, D3, or the green haired dude since they were mainly set pieces. It seems like the green haired guy has his own plan so I’m interested to see just what it is: 15/20

Music: Meh. It’s forgettable. I liked the music that played for Tenchi’s flashback to Kiyone’s funeral: 12/20

Story: It was weak, but there were nice moments. It really was just an exposition episode mixed with cliffhanger moments to set up the remainder of the series: 15/20

Overall Tenchi Rating: 77!

Ayeka and Ryoko Verbal Sparring: 0!

Next time we will hopefully learn more about the return of Kiyone and cross some more things on our checklist. Join us soon for Episode Fifteen “Fiancée," but first, given the upcoming time of year, I think a Christmas treat is in order for you. Next time is our final dip into the Hasegawa canon (for now) and our first movie review: Tenchi the Movie 2: Daughter of Darkness!