Tenchi Muyo - OVA DVD Boxed Set

In the first adventure (episodes 1-7), Tenchi inadvertently wakes a mummified demon who was imprisoned at the Masaki family shrine 700 years ago--none other than space pirate extraordinaire Ryoko. The problems she causes are dwarfed by the arrival of Jurai princesses Ayeka and Sasami, bubble-brained Galactic Police Agent Miyoshi--and interstellar criminal Kagato. Assuming the role (and costume) of the Crown Prince of Jurai, Tenchi defeats the evil Kagato with a magic sword that resembles the lightsabers in Star Wars.

Unexpected arrivals keep the Masaki household in chaos in the later, shorter adventures (episodes 8-13), including a baby cousin of Tenchi's, a shape-shifting robot who impersonates Ryoko, and the Emperor and Empress of Jurai. The writers occasionally lose track of the plot, especially in episode 13, "Here Comes Jurai," but Tenchi has never been noted for its logic. In all the episodes, the filmmakers manage to balance interplanetary threats, teenage romance, and broad comedy with their usual aplomb.

The Tenchi Encyclopedia (powered by Wasshu OS) offers short biographies of the main characters with clips and stills, pencil tests, digital comics, Japanese commercials, and full credits for the series. A must-have for Tenchi fans. --Charles Solomon

Description
The classic Tenchi Muyo OVA series collected in a two disc, bilingual, THX approved Box Set! The re-mastered film transfers and re-mixed 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound for the Japanese tracks are included with the original 2.0 Dolby Digital tracks for Japanese and English languages. This box set contains a bonus third disc - the new, improved, Tenchi Muyo Encyclopedia (Ver.3.0) that contains detailed information about every Tenchi incarnation: The OVA series, the movies, Tenchi Universe, and Tenchi in Tokyo. Also included in the encyclopedia are production materials from various Tenchi Muyo projects - even materials from the third Tenchi Muyo feature film that will be released in Japan in the Spring of 1999! All packaged in a premium three disc DVD case with a printed, plastic slip case! • Remastered film transfer to D-1 • 3 Dolby Digital Soundtracks! • 5.1 Re-mixed Japanese • 2.0 Original Japanese • 2.0 English Language • Contains the Tenchi Muyo Encyclopedia Ver. 3.0 • First 3,000 boxes contain a 24ct. Gold Foil printed plastic collector's card! • 420 minutes of Tenchi Muyo! (OVA Vol. 1-13, plus specials)

Suffice it to say that this anime has so won over my heart that, in a time when I'm trying to stay conservative financially, I have already bought the special edition OVA set and all three of the Tenchi movies and am committed to buying all of the TV series episodes to boot (for those like me who didn't know, OVA stands for "original video animation", and means it was a straight to video production).

You will feel the same after watching this series as you did when you finished reading the Lord of the Rings for the first time -- you are entranced by the world...you will miss the characters like you do real people, because they are so expressive and genuine, and you'll want to go back and visit them.

Tips:

1. You definitely want to watch with the original Japanese voice track. I have watched with both English and Japanese and though the English translation was faithful to the meaning, the emotion of the characters isn't communicated like it is in the Japanese...also, the voice casting was just RIGHT. Can't really explain it in words...

2. Watch on a high quality home theater system...this thing will stress every part of the system, every disk has very high quality soundtracks and incredible colors (both the wild and the mild -- beautiful soft cherry blossoms in the foreground with a neon orange slashing death duel in the background...).

3. There is some mild nudity in this series - parts are not appropriate for kids (or at least they'll be somewhat confused) which is a real shame because some of the characters (Ryo-ohki, Sasami, and Misaki) are soooo perfect for the little ones.

Now if I could only figure out who is more alluring...Ryoko or Washu?


Tenchi Muyo OVA DVD: An Anime Fan's Dream Come True   December 29, 1999
JJ Parks (Bethel, CT (United States of America))
64 out of 67 found this review helpful

It is impossible to put fully into words what Pioneer has done with this unbelievable (and totally complete) box set. Basically, they have taken an all-time favorite anime .. given it a digital remastering, along with Dolby 5.1 Japanese tracks (subtitled wonderfully I might add), along with a great job on the English dubbing, all 13 OVA Episodes, an interactive encyclopedia for Tenchi Fanatics and an unbeatable price. The animation is beautiful in the DVD format and extremely clear, which brings vibrant new life into this anime classic. Pretty much I would recommend this to any anime fan who hasn't seen the series yet (you really have no idea what you're missing out on!) or any Tenchi fan who would like to see this series in its ideal format. If you are new to the anime DVD scene like I am, make sure you put this set on your list of "to buy" collections ^_^ You won't be disapointed!


See Tenchi as it was intended! Not for kids!   January 31, 2002
Joshua Dull (St. Marys, Ohio USA)
25 out of 26 found this review helpful

This DVD set collects the excellent 1st and 2nd TENCHI MUYO! OAVs.

For those who watched TENCHI on Caroon Network you may not want to buy this. This collects the series in it's original, unedited form. Nudity, risque talk, naughty touch, and lots of Saki pop up throughout. Not to mention Nurse Washu in it's entirety. Which alone is worth the price of this set.

For those left, this is one of the best anime series of all time. The animation is top-quality. The best seen anywhere. The characters are funny and they do actually have depth and progress as the series plays out. Something practically unheard of in American animation.

While a comedy their are serious and dramtic moments.

This is the story of Tenchi, a curious teenage boy, who one summer sneaks into a cave against his grandfathers wishes. What happenes next is a chain of events involving a mummified space pirate, a loney princess, a clutzy space officer, and a thousand year old genius in a child's body living with and longing after Tenchi.

Their's lots of secrets to be learned about all the characters.
Not all the secrets. This series ends with room for a 3rd OAV which should be coming out this year.

So if you love anime, space adventures, love-triangles, and sexual humor this series is for you.


The best place to start with the Tenchi saga.   March 14, 2001
Serdar S. Yegulalp (Huntington, NY United States)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful

This was the first and most basic of the Tenchi creations, an OVA that introduced all the main character, set up their relationships with each other, and left us convulsing in a twisted heap on the floor. Okay -- there are actually a lot of people who don't find this the funniest of anime, but I confess that "Tenchi Muyo!" (which either reads "No Need for Tenchi!" or "This End Up!" depending on how you choose to read it) breaks me up. In the time since its creation, it's become a staple, not only because of the staggering number of spinoffs it's spawned, but because it serves as a textbook example of how anime often manages to be utterly absurd and sublimely insightful at the same time. Slapstick gags and balls-to-the-wall fighting share elbow room with fairly involved relationships in this series.

The plot is actually somewhat superfluous, since most of the story is about the way different characters with strikingly different goals rub elbows when forced to share close quarters. It's also a deliberate melange of influences: the family sword is straight out of "Star Wars," the guardians are reminiscent of the monolith in "2001," and so on. Yet nothing in the story screams "RIPOFF!" -- it all manages to be its own supremely oddball animal.

What plot there is isn't actually all that complicated; it just gets more Byzantine later on. Young Masaki Tenchi accidentally unleashes a "demon" from the family shrine, Ryoko -- a demon which turns out to be a space pirate who's spent the last 700-odd years in suspended animation. From there on out, things just snowball like crazy as a whole horde of characters who either want something from Ryoko, something from Tenchi, or something from both of them descend on Tenchi's household.

For any serious anime buff, this is probably a must, and proof that a "roots" lesson in anime need not always be solemn.