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by Eric "Scanner" Luce
One of the problems with a number of anime shows that have come out
recently is that they have gone too far in one way or another. The
SHIN TENCHI MUYO! TV series is yet another in the long set of
spinoffs in the
TENCHI universe. One of the things that made the original
TENCHI OVAs so good was that they were different in a number of
aspects. That originality, unfortunately, seems to have long since fled.
The first episode of the new TV series starts out with an interesting
enough beginning. After a couple of thugs destroy a shrine in Tokyo, a
mysterious being floating above Tokyo takes advantage of the ruined
shrine as well as other kami-laden places across all of Tokyo. She
summons from them various spirits and demons then giggles with mirth
declaring that she has won this round.
We then return to the Masaki household. We start with Ryo-oh-ki
greeting the morning sun, followed by Aeka reciting a poem she made in
honor of the new day (dealing entirely with Tenchi). Washuu shows up
with a new dimensional gateway toy of hers. Then, Sasami begins
summoning everyone with a loud gong for breakfast. Ryouko complains
of not feeling well after drinking some of Washuu's experimental
sake. We have a brief interlude in the kitchen where Tenchi's
grandfather praises Sasami's cooking and declares, much to Aeka's
dismay, that Sasami would be a good bride for Tenchi. After breakfast,
Mihoshi and Kiyone return from their latest assignment.



A Ryo-oh-ki Robo? They're kidding, right? |
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Tenchi gathers everyone for a picture. They end up
using his camera after they discover one of the nasty side effects of
Washuu's camera. They wonder, though, why Tenchi wants a picture of
everyone, for it is not anyone's birthday. Tenchi breaks the news that
he is leaving for two years because he is going to school in Tokyo. Part of
the reason is so he can train in the tradition necessary for
him to take up his grandfather's duties at the Masaki shrine. We are
treated to the expected super-tearful farewells from all the girls
(except Ryouko who is sleeping off her stupor still.)
Tenchi and his grandfather leave for Tokyo the next day. We are shown
a bunch of clips alternating between Tenchi and his grandfather
finding their way through Tokyo and the as yet unintroduced girl who
we find out later is named Kumashiro Sakuya.
When Tenchi and his grandfather head to the temple where Tenchi is
going to train, they cross paths with Sakuya. As a favor, Tenchi
and his grandfather agree to perform a purifying ceremony. Back at
home, Sasami is in a serious slump and has no energy to cook. Tenchi's
father spies the extra cup-ramen that Mihoshi and Kiyone have brought
with them which he finds out they are selling for ¥500 each. He
loses out though to Washuu and Ryouko who are faster at buying them up.
As Tenchi goes to sleep, the picture he had taken previously with
everyone back at home changes. The right eye on everyone in the
picture glows, and the scene changes in to a series of crystals arrayed
in front of our mysterious being. She continues her laughing, saying
only "Masaki Tenchi," as she gazes at the crystals in front of her.
The next day at the purification ceremony, where Tenchi is helping his
grandfather, they are rudely interrupted. We see the mysterious
crystal girl staring at a crystal which gathers four small balls.
Four spirits rise out of the ground vowing to destroy Tenchi and his
grandfather. The grandfather's attempt at banishing the spirits has no
effect, however. Back at home, Ryouko is incensed that Tenchi left
before she was able to say goodbye. Ryouko makes Washuu open her new
dimensional gate so that Ryouko can say goodbye to Tenchi. Of course,
with this chance in front of them, all the girls want to go.
Back at the failed purification ceremony, Ryouko, Aeka, and the rest
show up. When they ask how Tenchi is doing, he explains that things are
not going so well since they are being attacked by a bunch of
monsters. The gang make ready mincemeat of the monsters, and viewers get to
see Ryo-oh-ki uses a new form: that of a giant Ryoohki-robo with Sasami
as the pilot. The monsters, banished, revert to the
spiritual objects from which they were summoned. Everyone, including
Ryouko, gets to bid farewell to Tenchi again, and they travel back
through Washuu's gateway.
The next day at school Tenchi introduces himself to his new class.
His home room teacher has an uncanny resemblance to Fujisawa-sensei of
EL HAZARD fame. Here we meet Kumashiro Sakuya who sits next to
Tenchi and immediately expresses a strong interest in him. We see our
mysterious crystal girl's effects and hear her chortling evilly as the
episode closes.
A number of things happen here and there in the first episode that are
cute, but neither they nor the basic plot hold up the possible
story. Sure, we all have a fondness for our favorite characters and
the first TENCHI TV series also started off rather weak. Perhaps this
series will improve drastically over time. So far, though, after three
episodes it stills seems rather lacking. There has been very little
build up of the plot or what any of the new characters' motivations are.
These three episodes seem to spend most of the episode dealing with
two things: the relationship developing between Sakuya and Tenchi and
this mysterious being with the clock or crystal who spends her time
summoning various spirits to cause problems for Tenchi in one way or
another. There is a definite indication that somehow the relationship
between Tenchi and Sakuya is of particular interest to our mysterious
crystal girl.
The story seems to suffer from a number of things: the low quality of
the animation is rather painful. Usually, the first episode of a series
at least gets better attention. The direction is also extremely
weak. The old overused TENCHI cliches are not even somewhat dressed
up. Same old, same old again. The original plot elements are scattered
and weak. Perhaps this is an attempt to build up mystery and tension
to some big ending later on. That may be, but the talent used to make
this series could probably have been a lot better invested in a
shorter series that dealt more with the story at hand.
It all comes down to "Is it worth it?" Fans who must have everything
in the TENCHI universe, will probably justify it somehow, and
who knows, it may actually build up to be a good story. However, some of
us wish they would stop playing around and just get on with some good stories.
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SHIN TENCHI MUYO! TV Series
Copyright © 1997 AIC /
Pioneer LDC
1st LD volume - PILA-7078, 25 July 1997, 30 min CAV, ¥1980
2nd LD volume - PILA-7076, 25 Aug 1997, 60 min CAV, ¥5500
Vol 2 comes with a special box for holding the entire set |
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