Tenchi Muyo!: Ryo Ohki
(OVA parts 1, 2 and 3)

Okay. Well, the first thing I must get straight is that the OVA is the 'original' incarnation of Tenchi Muyo, put into play by the show creator and as such is seen by some fans as the only true source of Tenchi Muyo material. Each to their own, I guess :) However, the OVA is (currently) broken down into three seperate parts, with a fourth rumoured to be on the way. There is also a lot of non-show manga and other bits and pieces which connect up in some way to the OVA timeline. The Ova has some fabulous character backgrounds and the links between Sasami and Tsunami and Washu and Ryoko are brilliantly thought out. Sometimes, there is a risk that too much information and not enough plot is being thrown at the viewer, however, and there is something of a predisposition towards hyper-powerful characters (such as Tokimi, Kagato, Tsunami, even Tenchi and Ryoko to some extent).

THE OVA: PART ONE

The beginning of the beginning. How else to explain it but the start of all of the madness that is Tenchi Muyo!. Tenchi - a young boy with nothing much else to do with his day - manages to get hold of the keys to a secret cave behind his Grandfather's shinto shrine, accidentally releasing a demon who decides she's going to come and live with him, now she's free from the spell that kept her prisoner. Of course, the demon is not actually a demon at all, but a space pirate called Ryoko, the creation of a slightly insane scientific genius. And Tenchi's problems don't just stop there - soon he has Juraian Royalty descending on him demanding to know just who he is and why he happens to have custody of a very rare and special Juraian artefact - Sword Tenchi, also known as the Master Key. Tenchi's sword is the secret to Tsunami, the power behind Jurai's strength and the most potent force in the universe - but he has a fair bit of it himself to offer, also. The OVA part one introduces us to Tenchi and his family, Ryoko, Ayeka, Sasami, Washu, Ryo Ohki, RyuOh, Azaka and Kamadake and Mihoshi, and features a showdown with the legendary villain Kagato.

RATING: 8.5/10

THE OVA: PART TWO

Part Two of the OVA clicks on to the first part in some respects, although it's an entirely different set of enemies and troubles ready and waiting for Tenchi and his 'harem' of girls this time around. A mysterious woman called Tokimi sends an old foe of Washu's to capture her, using his shape-shifting droid Zero, but things become complicated when Zero adopts Ryoko's form and finds she's also adopted Ryoko's affections for Tenchi alongside it! We also find out more about Washu and her past, as well as more fighting between Ayeka and Ryoko and the secret of Tsunami's true identity - locked up in Sasami's memories. I must admit I remain confused about one thing,however - the special episode at the end of this part brings the Royal Family of Jurai to visit the Earth and Ayeka and Sasami. But in the start of the original OVA part, Ayeka was in stasis/suspended animation for the journey. I'm not quite sure what that means in terms of time delay, but I'm sure there's something missing there! (Or maybe it's like Lady Tokimi - it's impossible but it's right there!)

Rating: 8/10. (I'd give it a 9 but I don't like D3 or Lady Tokimi).

THE OVA: PART THREE

I'm really not a fan of the OVA part three. This will probably generate hate mail from a few people, but I like to see a correlation between series, and I just don't feel it with this and OVA 1 and 2. In some ways I almost feel it links in better with the Galaxy Police Transporter series, simply because it drags Seto and Airi into the plot - characters which did not even exist in the original OVA parts. I'm also going to point out that, although this series is involved with and does have the backing of Kajishima, there are some very important credits tacked onto the opening of this series. Those words are "BASED ON." That usually implies changes/inaccuracies/poetic licence. And that's what we got, pretty much.

Perhaps - and this is speculation on my part - the OVA 3 has been generated from the manga/the SHIN novels and from the success of previous series rather than being the flagship that the other series were. It has to be remembered that some of the things in the SHIN novels contradict OVA 1 so it's not beyond imagination that things have been altered as time goes on. Writing happens that way, sometimes.

Either way, there are some very weak plot devices being pulled into play in this series to introduce new characters into the story. Airi, Tennyo and Seto are info-dumped into existance, and then there is Noike. Where do I even begin with her?

This is where the story falls down again, unfortunately, for aside from the fact the indiscreet Mihoshi never mentions her apparent 'partner' before she shows up, Noike is one of those dreaded things usually associated with fanfiction - a MarySue. She shows up and can apparently cook, clean, garden, control all the members of the household and is the adoptive daughter of a Princess, as well as being a really great Galaxy Police officer. She lived in an orphanage where she helped and provided for the other children. She offers to teach Ryoko and Ayeka to drive and puts herself out selflessly to do this chore or that chore, always thinking of those around her. She's also a trained nurse - well, whaddya know? Her inclusion relegates other characters to a more backseat role. In short, OVA3 spends a lot of time - I should say, wastes a lot of time - bothering about Noike and her background/introduction/role in the series.

Anyone who's seen OVA 1 and 2 should know that it did not NEED an addition such as Noike to make the plot move forward in any direction. The logical explanation would be that Noike was introduced simply as a means to shut up the Kiyone-fans who want their girl pulled into the series. (Probably this also explains the convenient use of the surname MAKIBI for Mihoshi's brother's fiancee). Of course, once you intro a new character, she has to have a past, a purpose and a personality. Well, Noike rather seems to be missing the last of the three, since everything she does seems dependant either on her mary-sue compulsions or the possession/involvement of some other force. Her past is explained in episode 20 - yes, more wasted screen time info-dumping unecessary information on us - and her purpose...seems to change with each episode. First she's a fiancee for Tenchi. Then she's a spy for Seto. Then she's the one who Z is using to spy on Tenchi and co. Then she's harbouring Kagato's female form within her midst. And by the end of it, she's decided to fall in love with Tenchi, too. Is all that really necessary? Did we need her at all? Does she add anything to the plot? Not really. The series would have been a lot better if it had focused on Ayeka, Ryoko, Washu, Mihoshi and Sasami and left all the newbies well alone. They're fine in the SHIN novels and the weirdness that is the GXP series. But OVA3 is a blatant intro for GXP at times, even including a time-travelling Noike and Fuku (geez, didn't I tell you she can do *everything* that girl?) intervening in Mihoshi's mail to make sure that Tenchi and Noike still get to meet. Seina (the star of the GXP series) is even mentioned by name, and other random GXP stalwarts such as Minami and Mitoto Kuramitsu are given cameo roles in the final episode.

A lot of new concepts are introduced in the OVA 3 as well - things like Tenchi's sister Tennyo (funny we never heard of her before, isn't it?) and the first apparent idea that this whole Jurai thing has spread beyond the confines of just the Masaki home. It ties in very well with the Galaxy Police series, as I said - probably because they are of an age, made by the same company and with the same animation. We're also introduced to the girlfriend Tenchi's father has apparently had involved in their lives for a long time - although we've never seen or heard about her before - and Ryo Ohki suddenly no longer needs to transform into the ship to control it - a direct contradiction with what happens in OVA1 when Ryo Ohki DOES transform into a spaceship. Plus there's a long and completely unecessary explanation of rare royal Sake from Washu, just like Noboyuki gives us an equally long and unecessary run down of the female hierarchy - none of which seems to be important or based on anything gone before.

As for the Chousin thing, without episode 20 to explain how the heck they got from Kyoko-fune to Tenchi and his Light Hawk Wings out in space, it's all a bit muddled. The whole episode is a bit random and - ironically - badly explained. Whilst Washu, Tokimi and Tsunami spew out a lot of random and irrelevant data about their past, what happens to Z is not entirely clear, what his point is is totally beyond me and how the heck Sasami managed to transform into Tsunami when she doesn't even know the full nature of her connection is kind of a mystery. There is also no explanation of how Tenchi and company really got back to the Earth after the encounter, or why, if Tokimi and company didn't want to follow that timeline, they allowed it to exist the second time around. I will admit that Tokimi makes a very cute Chibi-Tokimi and I quite like the idea of her butting her nose in from time to time at the end of the series. Washu's relationship with Ryoko also improves in cohesion as the series goes on - it's more amusing, anyway - but there seems to be a singular amount of acceptance going on for the most part. A lot of weird crap is happening and Tenchi really doesn't seem all that surprised. I realise he's had a lot of weird crap to deal with already, but this kinda goes beyond all of that. (And I will admit I found myself a little sad when the Chousin spoke to Tenchi and company, explaining their existances. Somehow it took something away from the Washu and the Sasami that we've come to love, to see them as almighty beings who already know/have all the answers.) (And since when did Sasami turn one of her hairties into a weapon? Leeetle bit too much Pretty Sammy karma there, I think!!)

There are odd moments of humour. Noike's ship Kyoko has an amusing personality and Ryoko riding a broomstick like a witch had me actually laughing. As a series on it's own, it might even hold water. But as a continuation it seems a bit hap-hazard and slapdash...much is expected of the viewer to assume, assimilate and understand, and even more information is pushed upon them when it's not necessary. Basically, it has some good ideas, but it's not very well thought out and the relationship between the Chousin is frustrating and under-developed.