Tenchi Universe
(TV Series: Episodes 1-26)

I'll hold up my hands and admit it right from the off -I'm a huge fan of Tenchi Universe. Whereas the OVA creates some damn good character back stories for the main stars, sometimes I feel it skirts very close to the edge of data-dumping on viewers, rather than getting the plot moving at any kind of speed. Whilst Universe lacks some of those character background moments, the interaction and plot movement is much quicker and more coherent at times - and the chemistry of the characters when in close contact with one another is much stronger than it seems to be in the OVA (where you just get a chemistry and suddenly super powered beings are being thrown at you again...or, you know, magically appearing sisters and MarySue fiancees. Ahem. Yes.) Tenchi Universe was the original television series and it went back to basics, retelling the tale of how the characters all met with a slightly different slant. The bottom line is, though, the characters are pretty much as they are in the OVA, just without the heavy backstories (what I mean is, OVA things aren't actually stated in the Universe storyline, but if they were to be, they would not upset the balance of the Universe plot any by their inclusion.

For someone who's a bit geeky about character interaction and the deeper meaning behind images, conversation and interaction, this series is a gem :) No Ryoko pun intended :)

To summarise, Tenchi is an ordinary school boy living a long way from his school, up by the mountain shrine which his grandfather is priest over. One day, while walking back from school, he sees what seems to be a shooting star, but is actually Ryo Ohki crashing to earth, pursued by Mihoshi of the Galaxy Police. A hectic few hours later, Tenchi finds he has a rogue pirate and a galaxy police officer playing houseguest, and before he knows it, he's added a mad scientist, two Juraian princesses and a second Galaxy Police officer to his collection. The main addition to this series is Kiyone, Mihoshi's long suffering police partner, and I've always felt it's a shame she didn't exist in the Ova-verse, because she's a great (if sometimes deserving of a slap) character and she does a lot for group chemistry. Unfortunately, sometimes it's to the detriment of Mihoshi's character, as she comes over a lot more bumbling than in the OVA - which you'd think wasn't possible, but I assure you...it is).

After adventures with several of Washu's strange inventions and many spats between Ayeka and Ryoko over Tenchi (notably, they are the only real combatants for his affections in this series, although Sasami sometimes hints that she might be interested, if she was older), they end up chasing across space in an attempt to discover what's going on on the planet Jurai. Ayeka and Sasami have been declared traitors and outlaws by the new Emperor Yosho - but Yosho, as it turns out, is nowhere near the planet Jurai. He doesn't reveal his true identity until near the end of the series, but somehow he does so in a much more meaningful way than he does in the OVA. And of course, the series climax is another fierce battle between Tenchi and Kagato.

From an emotive point of view, however, Tenchi Universe is much stronger on the imagery, with it's music (Dimension of Love, Forevermore, to name but two) and the tilt of the series basically pushes Tenchi with Ryoko at the conclusion. (I often wonder if the reason some folk don't like Universe is because they're not Ryoko fans...though honestly, it was Universe that really made me so attached to her, so how anyone couldn't want them together after seeing her near sacrifice is beyond me).

That's not to say Tenchi Universe is perfect. There are a few odd moments - Jurai's royal family seems a bit confused, with a vacant throne and a who-the-heck-are-Ayeka-and-Sasami's-parents-then moment. And there's also the little issue of Ayeka calling Ryoko a 700 year old mummy and referring to her being trapped in a cave...which, of course, belongs in the OVA and not in the Universe world.

But hey, nothing is perfect. Overall, for a series that focuses on people rather than stupendous magical powers, Universe is it. :)

Rating: 9.5/10 (well, like I said, nothing is perfect!)