Tenchi Muyo! Episode Six: We Need Tenchi!

So last episode met my expectations but did not exceed them like I hoped. It was great, but there was a lot of things that brought the experience down a bit.

I really hope this episode exceeds my expectations. It is my favorite episode of Tenchi in any given continuity. Why is it my favorite? I have no idea.

But I plan to find out.

So our episode begins a bit differently than the others:

Okay, I kid. But would it really feel that out of place after last episode?

We open up on the actual title of the show. Is it because this could have been the final episode of the OVA if it was not well received?

 The world may never know.

Once the title has dissolved, we find ourselves back in the debris field. Ryoko is getting out her final tears now rather than showing weakness in front of Ayeka.

Ryoko then teleports back into Ryo-Ohki and the viewers are reminded just how giant Soja is compared to our heroes.

“That’s no moon. It’s a space station.”

When Ryoko teleports on board, she is instantly confronted by Ayeka and Mihoshi about why she couldn’t escape before.

“I don’t believe this. Well now that you have escaped perhaps we can save Tenchi, since he came to save you!”

As you can see in the picture, Ryoko is incredibly sullen. Burchard delivers her next few lines in a scary monotone way that affects the viewers a lot.

“We must challenge Kagato. That is all we can do.”

Ayeka does not want to deal with Ryoko at all and would rather spend her time searching for Tenchi in the debris. Ryoko, however, beat her to the punch.

Then Ryoko does something that will blow your mind: she activates her earring.

Yes, her earring is another gem! Apparently it is there to counterbalance the other ones, but still! There is no way anyone would have imagined that AN ACCESSORY was another power source for Ryoko.

Ayeka, on the other hand, does not notice it as the striking reality of the situation hits home at last.

“Is…is he dead?”

Ryoko uses the power of the gem to add more red and black to her costume in what is supposed to be a visual representation of her new power.

Finally, she makes a very memorable boast:

“I will kill Kagato. I will KILL him…even if it kills me!”

Mihoshi and Ayeka silently agree to the pledge and Ryoko orders Ryo-Ohki to ram the Soja.

Following that we get some odd yet beautifully drawn images…

Now, I am unsure what exactly is going on, but I think the images are supposed to show us Ryo-Ohki breaching Soja’s interdimensional hull. I could be wrong. It is very vague.

But what about Sasami?

“No! Don’t die Tenchi! Please! Don’t die!”

How the hell does she know that?

As we can see, Sasami has been left behind on Earth but is now running to Funaho, Yosho’s ship. Why? Well…
 

“By the royal seal in my true name, please open the path to our ancestors: the space trees!”

“Heaven to ocean, ocean to Earth, Earth back to heaven...”

“…show me the path engraved by the light!”

And then Sasami turns into a stream of sparkling light!

“What the hell was that?”

So Sasami KNEW what was going on in space, lit up her tri-force with an incantation, transformed into light, and sent herself into a glowing light on Funaho?

What the hell man? What does that even mean? How can she do that? What is her “true name?” Can all Juraians do that? I…

Oh look, the girls have broken into the Soja.

Where the hell did Mihoshi get a bazooka and Ayeka get war paint?

Ryoko informs the girls that all of the passages in the ship will lead directly to Kagato. As they all run, each girl encounters some robotic henchmen as if this were a video game.

Are they Sigma from Mega Man X?

This is actually brilliant as we see how each of the girls deals with their opponents:

Ryoko flies and blasts them with her energy blasts, as she is the offensive one.

Ayeka creates shield and barriers to charge right through them, as she is always on the defensive.

And Mihoshi straight up shoots them with a bazooka while begging them to stay away from her. This shows that she has more power than she realizes but uses it in a comical way. It also establishes her as the only one who cannot fly.

Basically, all of this is enforcing their characterizations through their actions.

As fantastic as that is, we have come to my favorite moment in this entire franchise. It is very simple, but I love it so much.

Kagato, unconcerned about the challenge of fighting three of the most powerful women in the galaxy, is merely lounging on his throne. We see that he is pompous and egotistical in the same way we learn about the girls through their actions.

However, he decides to pass the time in a more entertaining manner. What does he do?

He plays the organ that has been in the background for the past two episodes. The song he plays is simply titled “Kagato’s Organ Recital.” It is my ringtone for most of the year, until I replace it with “Welcome Christmas” during November and December. It is chilling, haunting, and off-putting.

I love it so much. Listen to it while you read.

I love it so much. Also, let us take a moment to examine this shot of the throne room:

We are then reminded of the scale of the instrument, again showing us his ego, but also shows us that he is fond of cobras. That will be important.

But hold on! What is this?!

Bet you all forgot about Azaka and Kamidake didn’t you? They never left Ryu-Oh’s core, so they were with Tenchi when the explosion happened. Their purpose in this show is finally revealed: a deus ex machina designed to save Tenchi’s life!

That’s not all. The Master Key begins to act up like some kind of homing beacon. I wonder what it is doing.

Following that, we see seven streams of light open up next to our near dead hero. What does this mean?

We don’t have time to process that, as a random blue haired woman just appeared. Wait…blue hair? Is that Sasami?

No, it couldn’t be. She is way too old. Do I put up the Challenger Approaching sign? I’m gonna hold off on it for now, but maybe I will use it later in the episode.

The blue haired woman examines Tenchi and assimilates (?!) herself into his body? Wait…what?!

Then the light wraps around Tenchi like a cocoon.

How is this part of my favorite Tenchi moment? This does not make any sense! However, I’ve read enough Grant Morrison comics to understand that I need to keep watching and that it will all make sense in time.

Just like Final Crisis!

Okay, now that that has finished, where are we at with the girls?

So it seems that Ryoko has broken through the wall and made it to a dead end. She searches around for an entrance and, lo and behold, the walls opened themselves up to her!

“Welcome to Diagon Alley!”

Not content to let Ryoko do this alone, Ayeka has made her way to the fight as well. She seems just as eager as Ryoko.

“Well now, looks like an invitation.”

“Sure does. Let’s not be rude!”

Wait, what about Mihoshi? Aren’t you forgetting about…

Oh.

Mihoshi stumbles and hits her butt on the stone wall behind her.

However, remember Episode Four? Mihoshi’s fluffy thing is on her butt, which means that…

…it is actually her control cube!

It falls to the floor and sucks it and Mihoshi through the floor into a seemingly mirror version of the ship.

“Curioser and curioser.”

We cut back a bit and see that she is literally on the underside of the floor. It seems that Kagato designed a completely separate half of the ship in another dimension of some kind. Why would he do this? I have no idea. Still, Mihoshi got there, because of course she did.

By this point the music has returned to a darker reprise of the refrain. It sounds amazing as we reach the highlight of the sequence: the girls have made it to the throne room and are calmly walking to begin their fight. Plus we see that Mihoshi has made just as much progress as Ayeka and Ryoko.

“Kagato must be stopped…no matter the cost.”

This is that moment. The moment where your heroes are about to face death but do not shy away. This is the walk to Arlong Park. This is Harry Potter walking through the Dark Forrest. This is Optimus Prime plowing down every Decepticon in his way. This is you going down Victory Road with that kick ass music playing as you present your eight gym badges. This is Batman preparing to shoot Darkseid with the radon bullet.

“He might have been a wolf once, a dragon, or a tyrant. How many times in human history had this moment played out? The monster…and the man standing in his way?”

The music stops and Kagato walks over to greet the girls. We hear every single step. It builds the tension to an extreme level. Finally, he stops and takes a bow.

“Welcome to my chapel ladies! Enjoy the music?”

Ryoko tells Ayeka to stand back, but since this is Ayeka we are talking about she doesn’t listen. She tries to use her shield punch to attack Kagato as she calls him a “scumbag.” Unfortunately, it does not seem to do anything.

“Is that a term of affection or do you just not like me? You are quite powerful Princess, but this chapel’s force field counteracts all energy that attacks it. Now allow me to teach you some manners!”

Ayeka is swatted away, but Ryoko takes the opportunity to stab Kagato directly in the throat!

“Gotcha!”

Kagato’s body vanishes but Ryoko is concerned. She says that it is a “shadow.”

“Thank you Mario, but your Princess is in another castle!”

Apparently Kagato has the ability to create a second, weaker body to go out and do his bidding while the main body is hidden safely in the chapel. It’s either used for that or as an ability to create a distraction. Either way, it was used to distract Ryoko so Kagato can choke her.

“Does Wayne Brady have to choke a bitch?”

As he is choking her, Ryoko’s body starts to turn grey. Remember last episode when Kagato told Ryoko he could turn her to stone? This is the payoff.

“You look quite nice in grey!”
 

He’s making quips! I love it!

Ayeka’s unconscious form is lifted from the floor and Kagato pulls off his glove. We see yet again that Kagato does not seem to have actual hands. I assume they are invisible for some reason. He puts the invisible hand on Ayeka’s head and tells us his real reason for wanting Ayeka and Sasami in the first place:

“You will show me the secrets of Tsunami unit Princess Ayeka!”

Tsunami…again! So wait, I thought Tsunami was a person, not a “unit.” I’m so confused.

We now cut back to Mihoshi’s Adventures through the Looking Glass where we see she has set off some kind of sensor. The room is nearly identical to the throne room, except this has a giant crystal in the center instead of a throne.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

She looks around and is understandably concerned about the lack of anyone visible.

“Where did they go? Kagato might have them already and if he does, that means I’m all alone. Well…that’s okay because I’m a Galaxy Police person and I can handle it! I will just capture Kagato all myself and…and…”

It is good to see Mihoshi as the brave detective that she is supposed to be. She might have no idea what is going on, but damn it she is going to do what is right for her new friends. Unfortunately, she very quickly discovers she is not alone…

"COBRA LA LA LA LA LA LA!"
 

Remember how I told you about Kagato’s love of cobras? Well in this part of the ship, the cobras are not mere decorations but are rather another boss fight in the Tenchi Muyo! Kagato’s Revenge video game for the Sega CD.

Mihoshi reminds us that she has actual police training and manages to evade the cobras every chance she gets.

She is even powerful enough to kick them out of the way.

 "Falcon Kick!"

She is rather frazzled and is really just making all of this up as she goes along. She has the tools and is actually competent enough to use them to her advantage. However, it does not mean that she is not scared. Not at all, she is petrified.

It turns out that the Galaxy Police have a gloved weapon designed to freeze enemy opponents. Mihoshi switches to this tactic and freezes the cobras.

 “This is how I shall always remember you: surrounded by winter, forever young, forever beautiful.”

Mihoshi takes a moment to breathe and we as an audience manage to get a closer look into the crystal that has been seen in the background of this room. It appears that there is some kind of little girl inside of it.

“Solo thawt du mocky chalia.”

The snakes’ eyes begin to glow red. Mihoshi is understandably freaked out by this and begins to use the one weapon that she had been neglecting: her control cube!

Of course, it doesn’t do what she wanted, but it does the next best thing: it breaks the seal of the little girl! She manages to turn the cobras into stone (again with the stone motif!) and lets herself out of her prison.

“Okay take it easy, you’re safe now! Thanks for setting me free by the way! This is a dangerous place you are in you know.”

Oh yeah, I still had this lying around from the whole blue haired woman thing from before. I think it applies here though so…

So who is this pink haired girl? I have no idea, but she managed to summon Ryoko into that side of the ship and frees her of her stone body. She also mentions Mihoshi by name. HOW DOES SHE KNOW THESE THINGS?!

“Your body is sagging a bit…the determination of your muscle definitely affects your ability to fight. It also affects your visual/psychological tactics!”

 

“Okay you pipsqueak, whether my body is sagging or not is none of your business…

"...What are visual/psychological tactics anyway?”

“Your sex appeal of course!”

So she knows who Mihoshi and Ryoko are and knows enough about Ryoko to comment on whether her body is sagging? WHO ARE YOU MYSTERY GIRL?!

“What I think is that is no way to talk to your Mother Ryoko!”

What.

“That’s right! In fact, not only did I create you but I created Ryo-Ohki, I created the Soja, I’ve created so many things really! But I used my ova for you so I’m more like your mother than your creator!”

What.

“You must be that female student that was kidnapped by Kagato!”

Wait…female student? Where have I…?

“In Space CalendarYear 5912, he kidnapped a girl from the Royal Space Academy on the planetTodain (?).”

I TOLD you there was one other important piece of information in Yukinojo’s boring fact spouting. We now know who this kidnapped girl is: this unnamed pink haired girl! Please tell me that you tell us your name!

“A female student? No, I am Washu and I just happen to be the top scientific genius of the universe! I am cute! I have to admit I look a little young to be your Mom, don’t I Ryoko?”

Ladies and gentlemen: we have a name! Meet Professor Washu Hakubi of the Royal Space Academy!

“Baloney! I’ve been alone for over 2,000 years ever since I was born…ever since…I was born.”

So hold it. If we are to assume that Washu was kidnapped the same year Ryoko was born, and Ryoko attacked the Planet Jurai on Space Calendar Year 5923, then Ryoko was only eleven when she went out on the Juraian Massacre. Kagato, you monster. Ryoko was basically a child soldier. Was she artificially aged or something? But she's also over 2,000 years old...which means Washu and Kagato had to have had Ryoko around for 1,300 years before he made his move...unless Space Calendar Years are different from actual years...

I'm so confused.

Washu explains to us that the area that they are in is called “the reverse world.” Basically, the ship has a top and a bottom layer. You can only go one way: from up to down. This means that Washu and Mihoshi are trapped. Ryoko, however, demands to go back. Washu immediately calls her out for wanting to take revenge for Tenchi. Ryoko ignites her sword and demands to know how she knew about Tenchi.
 

It turns out that Washu has a telepathic link with Ryoko in the same way that Ryoko does to Ryo-Ohki. This makes sense, considering that both of them were invented by her. But Washu does more than just say that: she reveals Ryoko’s true feeling about Tenchi:

“You like him! You love him! You’ve never felt this way before and you’d do anything for him!”

But that’s not all!

“On top of all that, you want to do this and that with Tenchi, don’t you?”

Oh Ryoko, behave!

Ryoko demands her to stop and Washu tells her that she, and she alone is able to go back to the other side of the ship. Of course, she has a price for her actions.

“I wonder…could you please…do you think you could call me Mom?”

This is Ryoko’s reaction:

Mihoshi asks why Ryoko can go and they can’t. Washu explains that the Ryoko they saw was her astral form, last seen in the flashback in the previous episode, not her physical body. Mihoshi nods and then asks a very Mihoshi like question:

“Now where are we?”

This. This right here. This is the beginning of Mihoshi’s ditzification. Yes she was seen as crazy in her debut episode, but it was chalked up to her being overworked. This is the first true “blonde moment.” The closest thing that came before was her “jeweler” comment, but I’m even willing to chalk that up to the fact she was knocked out before. There isn’t an excuse for this outside of comedic timing at to set her up as Washu’s foil.

We then cut back to Ayeka…who is naked. And talking to Yosho. Young Yosho.

Thank god for a close up like this or else I would have to use the Toonami version again.

He then demands information about the Master Key and Tsunami, who is apparently the strongest power in the universe. When she sees through the deception, Yosho tries to absorb her.

That…is a scary face. Not as bad as that THING from the first episode, but just as bad.

Ayeka manages to use the power of Jurai to snap out of it and the illusion fades, showing us that Yosho was actually Kagato!

“And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling Princesses and your cabbit!”

Kagato goes to try a different method to extract the information out of her but is stopped by everyone’s favorite space pirate:

No.

Yes.

It seems that Ryoko and Kagato are prepped for a rematch…but then we cut to a glowing Tenchi?

Okaaaaaay.

Looking at the Monomyth progress, one of the steps is RESSURRECTION. What we are seeing here is our hero rejuvenating to save the others. How is he accomplishing this? Who is that blue haired woman?

“I am Tsunami, the ship of Jurai, and you are inside myself.”

Ohhhhhh, so that’s Tsunami! I think it is safe to say that this counts as MEETING WITH THE GODDESS, don’t you think?

Huhuhuh she said “inside.”

Tenchi is also confused by that comment, as Tsunami appears to be human. It seems we will finally get some kind of answer about what Tsunami is.

“The owner of this ship…is Sasami.”

Ah, so that’s what Sasami was doing before: she was entering her ship! By turning into light! And speaking a weird incantation! And merging into Funaho!

May I also say that Tsunami is voiced by our favorite voice actress, Sherry Lynn?

ALL GLORY TO SHERRY LYNN!

Tsunami explains that she is basically a human version of Ryo-Ohki, but tells Tenchi that the girls are fighting Kagato. Tenchi is surprised and begs to go there. Tsunami informs him that if he goes there, he will go there alone.

“If you choose to fight Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere.” 

But wait! Tsunami’s reflection…is that?

Does Sasami control the ship from underwater? That seems weird. Maybe that’s where her space ferret is.

By this point, Ryoko and Kagato are fighting with each other again and Washu is doing her best to explain the situation to Mihoshi, who is having a very hard time comprehending all of this.

“Where were you when they handed out the brains?”

But since this Mihoshi is not a complete idiot, she asks a very logical question: if Washu built the Soja and not Kagato, why isn’t there a way out. Washu laughs and boasts:

“And that it why it is so perfect!”

 This is the beginning of Washu’s pompous boasting about her inventions. Expect that a lot in the future. She is rather full of herself in every continuity.

We cut back AGAIN to Ryoko and Kagato fighting when suddenly Kagato is surrounded by wooden logs! Oh snap, is it Tenchi using the power of Tsunami?

Oh.

While all of this is going on Washu decides to lead a cheer.

“U. G. L. Y. You ain’t got no alibi! You ugly! Kagato is ugly!”

There is a trend in this episode: see a little of the fight between the girls and Kagato, cut back to Washu for a comedic moment. It is funny, but a little distracting. It just leaves Washu as a joke. However, the other girls have had several episodes to find their character. This is Washu’s only appearance in OVA 1.

Meanwhile, the trend continues as Ryoko gets thrown into a pillar. After coughing up some blood, she assimilates herself with a stone pillar, becomes a giant stone woman, and tries to crush Kagato.

“All I want to do, is see you turn into, a giant woman!”

This actually is interesting on three layers. First off, this is the third time Ryoko has either been threatened to turn into stone or has actually turned into stone. This is the only time that she did it of her own free will. I’m curious as to why this has been repeated over two episodes so many times. Second, remember all the way back in Episode Three when I said Ryoko was a sadist and a macrophile? Yeah, this backs up that theory. Finally, HOW MANY DAMN POWERS DOES THIS WOMAN HAVE?!

Regardless, Kagato manages to overpower her. Washu is confused, as Ryoko should have the upper hand here. The real reason why she hasn’t won is revealed:

She is holding back her energy so she doesn’t kill Ayeka.

Our little demon space pirate has come so far.

Washu uses Mihoshi’s cube to bring Ayeka to the “reversed world” so Ryoko can fight at full strength. Apparently, it is a one way trip. They can go from their side, but once there, they are trapped.

You got all that?

Kagato finally realizes what is going on. He tells us that Washu has been trapped for 5,000 years (which AGAIN contradicts Ryoko's age...come on!). As he is talking, Ryoko walks into a trap and all of the energy from the gems gets absorbed into the Soja. He then declares that he is going to do a scientific experiment: blow up Earth.

“You prefer another target? A military target? Then name the system!”

Kagato is doing this to spite Ayeka, who is mortified that Yosho and Sasami are going to die (poor Nobuyuki). The Soja fires with all of its might and hits the Earth dead on…or so it seems.

“You may fire when ready.”

Kagato is amazed at the power but gets so surprised that something deflected his blasts that his eyes go from yellow to white!

But what is deflecting the blast? Ayeka, can you explain it to us?

“The ten Wings of the Light Hawk. The Royal Family’s most powerful ship: Tsunami.”

This information does not please Kagato who decides it is best to choke Ryoko out so he can absorb all of her power at once. But just as he’s choking her, and she starts to cry, we see a blue blade appear from the sky!

Again? Is this like a once an episode thing?

We then get a reaction shot from everybody to build up hype. Well I know one person who appears out of nowhere to stop criminals in their tracks.

“Batman!”

“Turn around Kagato. It’s all over!”

God I wish.

“Are you real?”

“I’m no ghost!”

Our hero has returned! Tenchi is back among the land of the living and he’s here to tell Kagato how much he doesn’t shiv.

“You can never escape me. Bullets don’t harm me. Nothing harms me. But I know pain. I know pain. Sometimes I share it.”

Of course, that moment is ruined because Tenchi’s leg is still stuck in subspace or whatever (it's a Japanese joke). Needless to say, nobody is amused.

However, a savior appears in the form of Azaka and Kamidake…who are immediately taken care of just as Tenchi frees his leg. Kagato sums it up perfectly:

“What a comical pair you two are.”

With Tenchi ready to go, he ignites his sword…

…and cuts loose!

Now unlike his Grandfather, Tenchi is not doing so hot. Kagato manages to catch the blade midair and disignites it immediately. Kagato has the upper hand here:

“Now young Skywalker…you will die!”

Kagato proceeds to break Tenchi down blow by blow. Tenchi is no match for his power. However, we have reached THE quote of the episode. It is the foundation by which Tenchi’s character is defined:

“If only you had left these women behind, you could have remained alive.”

“I would rather die…than forsake any one of them.”

Tenchi is determination personified. He values the lives of his friends above his own. That is why he has to win. However, that is going to be hard for him since Kagato now has everything he wanted: all of the gems and the power of Tsunami in his grasp. He also gets a wicked new hairstyle.

“POWER! UNLIMITED POWER!”

Washu decides that there is only one thing left to do: pray really hard.

This is hilarious for so many reasons that I am not going to get into, besides the fact that Washu’s voice actress literally is just making up gibberish.

Oh snap, I never brought up Washu’s voice actress.

Kate T. Vogt is probably the most inconsistent actress save Jay Hooper on the show, but she is another memorable addition. She tries to give Washu a whiny Canadian/ Midwestern drawl that you can really never pick out, but it works for the joke that she is the oldest character on the show, yet the youngest looking save Sasami. Vogt really didn’t do that many other voices, but this one is a good one.

However, she thinks Washu is the sexiest girl…that’s a bit disturbing. 

Tsunami gets pulled toward Soja like a certain other ship helmed by a Princess in a galaxy far, far away…

“There will be no escape for the Princess this time!”

Our hero feels defeated and is about to give up when he remembers the final teachings of Tsunami:

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

No, sorry, let’s try that again.

“You have to trust in your own power.”

My, how cryptic. However, Tenchi seems to know what to do. Tenchi throws away the Master Key and is prepared to take on Kagato alone.

“You failed, Your Highness!”

This is a terrible idea. Tenchi has no way of knowing what will happen if he throws that sword away. Kagato even remarks on this and blasts Tenchi to dust. He turns his sight back on Ryoko and sees something in the corner of his eye. It started in low…then it started to glow.

Amazingly, Tenchi seems to have created his own set of Light Hawk Wings!

“I am a Jedi, like my father before me!”

Tenchi stretches his arms out and gains a new costume from the Light Hawk Wings and is able to turn one of them into a sword. As Tenchi is doing this, Kagato can only stare in shock that this boy has managed to generate these objects from his very core and not from Tsunami.

Even Washu is impressed.

“The transformation of objects! The Wings of the Light Hawk!”

Kagato is in full on rage mode right now. He blasts Tenchi with everything he has in the hopes of breaking through his shields.

“If you will not be turned to the Dark Side, then you will be destroyed!”

Tenchi deflects it using an arm shield.

“All those who oppose his might shield shall yield!”

After a distraction of crystals, we have reached the terminal moment: Kagato vs. Tenchi. One strike each. Who will cut who?

It seems that Kagato won out here. Tenchi is cut…but manages to use the Light Hawk Wings to keep the cut from actually touching his skin.

“Pain don’t hurt.”

As for Kagato…well…

“Tenchi…same name as the Master Key. Well done Tsunami. Tenchi can’t be copied. Splendid plan!”

“You’ve won boy.”

Tenchi did it! He killed Kagato and saved the girls! The day is saved! I mean, one could argue that this final fight was a bit anti-climactic, but this is more about the act of Tenchi beating Kagato for the sake of the girls and less about spectacle. He is not a warrior by nature, he is a defender. Think of the fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader in the original Star Wars. It was one of the most important, emotional fights, but it was basically an old guy and a robot swinging a sword around.

All of this has been watched religiously by Washu, who knows exactly what she needs to do now:

“I want to make him mine!”

Get in line Washu. Everybody in this damn show does.

By this point, both dimensions are now aligned and all of the girls are eager to see Tenchi, which is technically his ULTIMATE BOON. Ryoko tries her hardest to get to be the first one to hug him, but she ends up being last. She is even beat by Sasami.

How she got there, I have no idea.  

Washu introduces herself to Tenchi and asks him to be her guinea pig, but there is one thing nobody counted on:

“I guess the spaceship was cut in half also.”

And with that, the Death Star has been destroyed and we are treated to a Triumph of the Wills inspired ending, complete with John Williams fanfare.

Do I hear “Yub Nub?”

After the ceremony, that I assure you was fantastic, we return to a peaceful day at the Masaki residence. A paperboy tries to do his job, but is trolled by Azaka and Kamidake, who have found their new home as lawn ornaments.

Once he leaves, we see various explosions. Tenchi might have RETURNED HOME and became the MASTER OF TWO WORLDS, but it is doubtful he will ever get peace. Our story concludes with Azaka and Kamidake commenting on the peacefulness of the day.

“It’s going to be another fine day on Planet Earth.”

The End

Tenchi Masaki will return in “The Night Before The Carnival.”

Review

This is big guys. I actually finished the entire first OVA.

This was a long stretch, but I think it was worth it. I managed to look at all of these episodes closely and critically. There are flaws to be sure, but in the end this is the classic story of a boy having an adventure. In the beginning, he chose adventure, at the end, adventure chose him.

But how does this episode rate with the others?

I enjoyed it, but it is not perfect.

I loved the fighting, I loved everything with Kagato, but there are just a few things that really bring down the episode a bit. These are:

The pacing of the Washu scenes: I love Washu. She may be my favorite “Tenchi girl,” but she doesn’t really have much to do in this episode. They keep cutting back to her every time the fight between Ryoko and Kagato gets good. After a while it gets jarring. This is most apparent during the “Where were you when they handed out the brains?” portion.

Sasami: I know this is purposely not explained, but why the hell does she turn into solid light?  I’m sure there is some Hayashi/ Kajishima story behind it, but it is odd. I also feel the concept of Tsunami would be confusing to new viewers. She is described differently in this episode by Ayeka, Kagato, and even Tsunami herself. I mean, I get it, but it is confusing.

Ryoko’s powers: This isn’t going to be a criticism for this episode, but for the OVA as a whole. In literally two episodes, Ryoko gained over three new powers. Sooner or later she is going to turn into Superman and be a literal flying brick. This gets toned back a bit in Universe, but it is still annoying nevertheless.

Ryoko's Age: I'm...I still have no idea what the timeline of her birth/ Washu's capture is. I don't think I ever will.

In the end, we now have here a completed story. Tenchi saved the day and he completed his Hero’s Journey. This means the Monomyth counter will be retired for a bit. It served its purpose well. I felt that this was a great conclusion to the story and would have been a fine send off for the characters.

However, fate had other plans for the Tenchi franchise…

Animation: Majority of it was great. The shots of Ayeka destroying the Soja before the Organ Recital were amazing. However, there was a few flubs, like Kagato’s eyes, but they were not too detracting: 18/20

Main Characters: These girls don’t shiv: 20/20

Supporting Characters: Washu was not given a lot to do at all. I hope we get to see more of her. Maybe she needs to become the main focus of every episode for a while. Who knows what will happen in the future. As for Sasami, she is there to further bring the Tsunami mystery to the forefront and to get one final hug at the end: 18/20

Music: Kagato’s Organ Recital: 20/20

Story: I have to take a point off for the Tsunami stuff mentioned above, but I thought it was tight. Everything built up to this point and it really felt like an event. You were cheering when Tenchi finally mastered the Master Key: 19/20

Overall Tenchi Rating: 95!

Star Wars References: 11!

Monomyth Progress: Master of Two Worlds!

Ayeka and Ryoko Verbal Sparring: 2!

Join me next time as I take a look at a very special episodeof Tenchi called “The Night Beforethe Carnival!”