Forum - View topicREVIEW: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki season 4
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Ggultra2764
 Subscriber Posts: 3979 Location: New York state. |
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As far as continuity goes, I'd at least say the 4th OVA series for Tenchi's worth at least a watch since it covers things that bridge the gap between the third OVA series and War on Geminar. However, much of the series largely has a number of characters from the anime and supplementary materials for the series gathering together for infodump discussions, especially toward the second half of it when they dabble more into stuff regarding War on Geminar. Only seen it once and really in no rush to rewatch it again, at least compared to the first three OVA seasons.
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AJ (LordNikon)
 Posts: 518 Location: Kyoto |
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Sorry if rambling sound strange. It is 4am my time right now.
I love Tenchi OAV, but season 4 and current season 5 OAV is terrible. Past two OVA is all tell and no show. It is all exposition, and is as interesting as sitting around a bar bullsh!tting, except bar at least people are more rowdy. Series 4 and 5 are just swan songs to connect remaining dots, but it is so boring. As Tenchi fan, it is nice to have new serials, but so boring! |
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pachy_boy
Posts: 1341 |
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This was a nicer review than I would've tried giving it. Coming from a long-time Tenchi fan, and also someone who likes War on Geminar, in too many ways Season 4 just wasn't worth much. For all the complaints that Season 3 received and the issues that I even have with it, it at least told a storyline where stuff happened with some eye-opening revelations.
Each episode in Season 4 was nothing but talking, talking, and more talking. And for a season that had such a predominantly female cast, said female cast only ever talked about one of two things through the span of all 4 episodes--how great Tenchi is and how great they can make his brother (the Beichdel test certainly doesn't even try to apply here). And speaking of Tenchi himself--even fans have their criticisms of him from previous seasons, but he still had agency and was a warrior who rose to protect his unorthodox family. Here in season 4, he contributed nothing and was almost literally just air. You could delete him from every frame in the series for all the difference it made in him existing, including the conversation scene with Minaho in which she did all the talking anyway. When I heard young Kenshi would be featured in this storyline, one of the things I was looking forward to was Tenchi interacting with him--them being brothers and all that. Heck, I would've taken at the very least a simple acknowledgement or "hello" between the two for one scene, but we don't even get that much. Literally the only thing I found personally interesting was that Ryoko and Ayeka seemed evidently done with giving in to their jealousies over Tenchi and fighting over him (without giving up their romantic feelings and the future they want with him), and they shared a change-of-pace moment where they spoke to each other as casual friends, something I hadn't seen since Tenchi Forever. That was actually nice, in my opinion. But other than that, I seriously don't feel anyone, not even Tenchi fans, are missing anything if they don't watch this, not even as a lead-in to War on Geminar. When all was said and done, I didn't even feel like I needed this for that--I could appreciate WOG on its own and fill in the blanks/connections myself based on the first 3 OVA seasons. I have not yet checked out the first 2 episodes of Season 5, but even with just Season 4, I can't help but wonder the what-could-have-beens if Hiroki Hayashi had stayed on-board as director before Kajishima wrested complete control from him after Season 1. I'm seriously curious of the direction it would've gone--it certainly would've at least had direction, which is more than what I would say with what Kajishima is doing with his own series, in which it's like he stopped trying to keep it interesting. I'm not remotely exaggerating when I say I gain more fulfillment from the Tenchi in Tokyo series than I do the Kajishima continuity, and am more likely to recommend the former over the latter. |
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Cardcaptor Takato
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Covnam
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I'm a huge (I guess I should say now old school) Tenchi fan (still one of my favorite series all these years later), but after checking out the first episode when it came out I wasn't too enticed to continue with this 4th OVA. I think I'll binge it with the 5th season once that's finished, but the fact that so much relies on novels that we don't have doesn't make it too appealing.
You know, I would be totally up for another Universe reboot Tenchi series. |
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Fluwm
 Posts: 1061 |
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Man this continuity is messy. Have they ever resolved the love triangle/quadrangle/pen tangle/tangle? Thinking back on Tenchi it feels weird that so much of its premise would built on will-they-or-won't-they stuff when today, so much of the self-insert anime/LN scene is filled with consummated polygamy.
And also: Kiyone is Tenchi's mom? When did that happen? How? |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18507 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Not the Kiyone you're probably thinking of. Kiyone Makibi is the brunette who is Mihoshi's long-suffering GXP partner in pretty much all of the Tenchi content not in the same timeline as the OVAs, while the silver-hair Kiyone Masaki is Tenchi's mom in the OVA timeline. Making things even more complicated is that Tennyo, Tenchi's elder sister, is nearly a dead ringer for Kiyone Masaki. |
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pachy_boy
Posts: 1341 |
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Totally agree!
Only in the AU TV series (Universe and Tokyo) are they the traditional love triangles, and it would've stayed that way in the OVA continuity if Hiroki Hayashi had continued being the showrunner after the 1st season. As for who did Tenchi ever ultimately choose, the answer is there in the Tenchi Forever/Tenchi in Love 2 movie (part of the Universe continuity). But in Kajishima's OVA continuity, the guy clearly cared less about that and just resolved to have Tenchi marry everyone in the future, thus rendering the rivalry completely meaningless. |
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Zeino
Posts: 1098 |
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Tenchi Muyo! should have been left behind in the 90s when it was still ahead of the curve on other harem series. That the new OVAs are bad should honestly come as no real surprise. That is what happens when you let something go on way past it's natural expatriation date.
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nDroae
 Posts: 382 |
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If you don't care anymore about endgame spoilers, just scroll to the bottom of Tenchi's wiki page. spoiler[And probably roll your eyes.]
 https://tenchi.fandom.com/wiki/Tenchi_Masaki
Universe was my first anime. When I was 12 I thought it was the best, when I was 22 I changed my mind to OVA 1, and now at 32 I've changed my mind again to GXP, after seeing it a second time this year. Some franchises I just like better in their dumbest forms. One of the most fun anime I've ever seen, and one of very few that's given me post-completion withdrawal (this time, not the first time). When OVA 4 started coming out, I approached it with the assumption that it would be "meant mainly as a treat for fans of the written works," with relatively little to offer anime-only viewers like myself. Even so, I really turned against it by the end. I don't like War on Geminar (kind of sad since it was the first anime series I ever watched while it was coming out in Japan), so that connection doesn't appeal to me. I rewatched OVA 4 last month and found it more watchable than I remembered, partly because I had a better handle on who the characters were. OVA 5 is partly a GXP sequel, and even though it's also mostly dry conversations, I'm having a great time with it.
Take a gawk at what the OVA 5 episode 2 thread on MAL looks like (don't worry, it's illegible) - my posts trying to research what's going on in the show, and its connections to Dual Parallel Trouble Adventure and books I haven't read, and replies from a helpful book reader answering my questions. 
We actually got into how a certain large array of harem waifus in the story may be better understood by arranging them into a multiplication table. Rather than current Tenchi anime itself, I'd say my enjoyment of it is The Thing That Should Not Be. (But I'm glad to have it.) I'm looking forward to future OVA 5 episodes more than virtually anything else coming out of Japan this year. |
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Cardcaptor Takato
Posts: 5246 |
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The situation with Tenchi always makes me think of like George Lucas in the Star Wars prequels or JK Rowling with Fantastic Beasts where the quality of a franchise seems to suffer when the creator is given too much control over it and the creator ends up getting bogged down by all the minute details than on the broader themes that initially made their work a success. Even though I'm continually frustrated by the new stuff, I'll still likely keep watching new Tenchi as long as they keep making more because I feel like I've committed too much time and money on this franchise to get it out now and also out of nostalgia for the characters. Watching new Tenchi still always feels like revisiting an old friend.
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Lann
 Posts: 274 |
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For all intensive purposes, the drama of TM!R finished after OVA3. Everything after this is literally just going to be political storylines to sort out how everyone can peacefully coexist in the Tenchi household, including the GXP gang.
The problem with the canon franchise is its name. It implies its about Tenchi, when its actually focused on particular characters at a time. It should have been titled "Light Hawk Wings: _" (the _ represents the character in focus for the series, literally Kazuki, Tenchi, Azusa, Yosho, Washu, Seina, Kenshin and Shou). And for what its worth, OVA 5 episode 2 is really good, but dont expect too much plot. How can there be an action orientated plot when all the characters in one household are the most OP beings in existence? As for the timeline, its as follows: 1. Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure 2. Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA's 1 and 2 3. True Tenchi Muyo! (3 light novels) 4. Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 3 5. True Tenchi Muyo! GXP (ongoing light novels. 17 volumes long at this point) 6. Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA's 4 and 5 7. Paradise War (3 light novels) 8. Tenchi Muyo! War on Geminar |
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nDroae
Posts: 382 |
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Maaan, "Light Hawk Wings Densetsu" or whatever would have been so much better a name! Though it must be pointed out that the title "No Need for Tenchi" ironically became quite literal, with the backseat role he and his harem have most of the time these days.
Re: Cardcaptor Takato... Yep. Every time someone cries to the heavens, "But WHY is it like this?" It's pretty convenient how short and simple the answer is: Masaki Kajishima. Masaki Kajishima. Kajishima step in time, Kajishima step in time, never need a reason never need a rhyme, Kajishima step in time. |
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Covnam
Posts: 3853 |
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Pretty much all (or just literally all) of Kajishima's works have harem endings, so you'd expect the Tenchi OVA continuity to be the same (just look at GXP).
Thanks for the link. Last time I was there, there was only info about spoiler[his son] and not spoiler[his daughters]. What's the deal with all of them spoiler[marrying Seina's kids?] 
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Kicksville
 Posts: 1261 |
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AIC has been in a very weird place for a while now, certainly far from the glory days of Bubblegum Crisis and, well, Tenchi Muyo. I guess we'll see if that Megazone 23 crowdfunding stuff they did a few years back will result in anything.
Which is all to say, I'm wondering if it's something of a miracle that OVA 4 and 5 exist at all, and if the way they are has anything to do with AIC's current state. |
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