Tenchi Muyo!
Encyclopedia
, is a Japanese anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

, light novel
Light novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...

, and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series created by Masaki Kajishima
Masaki Kajishima
Masaki Kajishima , is a Japanese anime artist who works for AIC in a freelance capacity. He is best known for his work on Tenchi Muyo! and Dual! but has had a hand in creating several other anime...

 and Hiroki Hayashi.

The generally accepted translation of the title is No Need for Tenchi or Useless Tenchi, though at the time of its appearance it was also translated variably as No Heaven and Earth and This Way Up due to the original title's pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...

 nature and multiple meanings.

The original series began with a six episode OVA called released in Japan on September 25, 1992. The series was released by Pioneer LDC in the United Kingdom on 1994. As its popularity grew, it spurred a seventh episode titled Tenchi Muyo! Special: The Night Before the Carnival (also known as the Tenchi Special) and a stand-alone Mihoshi Special. The second OVA series was directed by Kenichi Yatani and released on 1994, featuring episodes 8–13. The third OVA series was also directed by Kenichi Yatani was released on 2003, featuring episodes 14-19 followed by a special twentieth episode.

A twenty-six episode TV anime series called was released on 1995 retelling and expanding upon the original six-episode story, documenting in an alternate timeline the adventures of the cast as well as changing the back stories of some characters. is another alternate version, chronicling Tenchi Masaki's move to Tokyo.

Additionally, there are spin-off series (such as Magical Girl Pretty Sammy
Magical Girl Pretty Sammy
is an anime based on the magically transformed version of the Sasami character from the various Tenchi Muyo! series. The Pretty Sammy OVAs have been dubbed into English by Pioneer USA , while the television series is only available subtitled...

), as well as adapted into manga. The franchise has also spawned soundtrack CDs and other merchandise released both in Japan and in the United States.

Media

The series as a whole, due to being rebooted several times and adapted into different media, is known for having several different continuities.
The three main anime continuities being
  • Tenchi Muyo!: Ryo-Ohki The original OVA series which lasted for 20 episodes. Followed in-continuity by Tenchi Muyo! GXP
  • Tenchi Universe A 26 episode remake for television of the first 6 episode story arc in Tenchi Muyo!: Ryo-Ohki. Included in this timeline are the Tenchi movies.
  • Tenchi in Tokyo A reboot of the franchise set in a different timeline to both Ryo-Ohki and Universe.


Aside from the three main timelines there also exist several spin-offs and adaptation both in anime and manga form.

OVA

The first OVA was titled Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki and was created by Masaki Kajishima
Masaki Kajishima
Masaki Kajishima , is a Japanese anime artist who works for AIC in a freelance capacity. He is best known for his work on Tenchi Muyo! and Dual! but has had a hand in creating several other anime...

. the Tenchi Muyo! GXP: Galaxy Police Transporter
Tenchi Muyo! GXP
is a Japanese anime series created by AIC and broadcast on NTV from April 3, 2002 to September 25, 2002. It is the fourth installment of the Tenchi Muyo! line of series, succeeding Tenchi in Tokyo, localized in North America by Funimation.-Plot:...

series and associated novels, and the novels Shin Tenchi Muyo! Jurai, Shin Tenchi Muyo! Yosho, and Shin Tenchi Muyo! Washu. There are also a number of dōjinshi
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...

 by and interviews with Kajishima, as well as a companion book, 101 Questions and Answers of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Oh-Ki. A special OVA episode was created by Naoko Hasegawa titled Tenchi Muyo! Mihoshi Special
Tenchi Muyo! Mihoshi Special
is a special episode of the Tenchi Muyo! OAV series.The special features the anime debut of Kiyone Makibi and Sasami's alter-ego, Pretty Sammy .-Synopsis:As usual, Mihoshi Kuramitsu was asleep on the deck of the house when everyone else is a special episode of the Tenchi Muyo! OAV series.The...


TV series

An anime TV series titled created by Hiroshi Negishi.

, was a 1997 TV series that ran for 26 episodes. It borrowed characters and some plot devices from the original Tenchi Muyo series. It centered on Tenchi's high school and being a priest in Tokyo.

Films

An anime film titled Tenchi the Movie: Tenchi Muyo in Love created by Hiroshi Negishi is a continuation of the Tenchi Universe TV series. A film titled Tenchi the Movie 2: The Daughter of Darkness was created by Naoko Hasegawa. A third film titled Tenchi Forever! The Movie
Tenchi Forever! The Movie
Tenchi Forever!, known in Japan as , is a 1999 Japanese anime film based upon the popular Tenchi Muyo! series, and was directed by Hiroshi Negishi...

is the sequel to Tenchi Muyo in Love and was adapted into a manga titled Tenchi Muyo! In Love 2: Eternal Memory.

Manga

The Tenchi manga consists of two series written by Hitoshi Okuda: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-oh-ki and Shin Tenchi Muyo! (which has no connection to the aforementioned Shin Tenchi Muyo TV series). They have been released in English as No Need for Tenchi and The All-New Tenchi Muyo!. It is based on OVA series 1 and 2. Since the manga originally began in Japan before the release of OVA 2, the OVA 2 elements are not introduced immediately at the beginning.

Other

A radio drama called Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki Manatsu no Carnival was created by Maoko Hasegawa.

Spin-offs

The first Tenchi spinoff is the Pretty Sammy, the Magical Girl series, a magical girl
Magical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...

 series where Sasami is the lead character. The first use of Pretty Sammy was in the Tenchi Muyo! Sound File, a Japanese-only music video release. The same animation was used in the ending of the Mihoshi Special. In 1995, a three episode Pretty Sammy OVA series began, where Sasami, who is known as Sasami Kawai, magically becomes Pretty Sammy. The second Pretty Sammy is a TV series, which came out in 1996. This series is in a separate continuity from the OVA series. Pretty Sammy also appears in the Mihoshi Special and in an alternate reality sequence in the Tenchi Universe series.

The second is Tenchi Muyo! GXP
Tenchi Muyo! GXP
is a Japanese anime series created by AIC and broadcast on NTV from April 3, 2002 to September 25, 2002. It is the fourth installment of the Tenchi Muyo! line of series, succeeding Tenchi in Tokyo, localized in North America by Funimation.-Plot:...

, which was released in Japan in 2001. The series takes place during the Kajishima version of the OVA continuity, and is set a year after the events of the third OVA series (despite being released first chronologically). The main character of this twenty-six episode TV series is Seina Yamada
Seina Yamada
is a fictional character in the Tenchi Muyo! series and serves as the main character of Tenchi Muyo! GXP, a television spinoff from the original OVAs.-Unlucky boy:...

, a friend of Tenchi Masaki who accidentally joined the Galaxy Police. Many characters from Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki make appearances in this series, including the use of Seiryo as a major character and a full-fledged Tenchi Muyo! crossover in episode 17.

Sasami: Magical Girl Club, shown in Japan in 2006, is the third spin-off with Sasami (known here as Sasami Iwakura), as the main character.

Other versions of Tenchi Muyo! are also available as graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...

s, video games and radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...

s.

The series Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure
Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure
is a fourteen episode series created in 1999 by Masaki Kajishima and produced by AIC, both well-known for the Tenchi Muyo! franchise. It is licensed in the US by Pioneer LDC, later known as Geneon...

is related to the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki universe, due to the blatant use of the "Lighthawk Wings" associated with the Jurai dynasty in Tenchi Muyo. Mecha Zinv from Dual! appear in Tenchi Muyo! GXP
Tenchi Muyo! GXP
is a Japanese anime series created by AIC and broadcast on NTV from April 3, 2002 to September 25, 2002. It is the fourth installment of the Tenchi Muyo! line of series, succeeding Tenchi in Tokyo, localized in North America by Funimation.-Plot:...

, Kiyone, Ramia
Ramia
is a fictional character who is a major villain in the Pretty Sammy series. In both OVA and TV series, she is a Queen candidate for the throne of the magical realm of Juraihelm but is passed over in favor of Tsunami. Ramia, who has an arrogant personality, is jealous of Tsunami and attempts to...

, and Misao appear in a brief easter egg cameo in the series' OVA special ("Final Frontier", also known as episode 14), and there is much speculation concerning the ancient civilization that the character "D" is from. Kajishima has hinted that Dual! does, in fact, relate to Tenchi Muyo!. The creator of both Dual! and Tenchi Muyo!, Masaki Kajishima, confirmed that Dual! is in fact an alternate version of the Tenchi Muyo! universe. All of the Tenchi series put together would bring 98 episodes.

The most recent Tenchi spin-off series is a Japanese anime called Saint Knight's Tale
Saint Knight's Tale
is an OVA anime series that is a spin-off of the Tenchi Muyo! series created by Masaki Kajishima. Produced by AIC Spirits and BeSTACK, the series aired thirteen episodes on pay-per-view network Animax between March 20, 2009 and March 19, 2010. It chronicles the story of a young boy named Kenshi...

(also known as "Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari"). It follows the tale of Tenchi's half-brother Kenshi Masaki as he finds himself in a foreign world that uses humanoid machines to fight their wars.

Guardians of Order
Guardians of Order
Guardians of Order was a Canadian company founded in 1996 by Mark C. MacKinnon in Guelph, Ontario. The company's business output consisted of role-playing games . Their first game is the anime inspired Big Eyes, Small Mouth. In 2006 Guardians of Order ceased operations due to overwhelming...

 published an English-language role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

 based on OVA episodes 1-13.

Key characters

In the series' main continuities, Tenchi Masaki
Tenchi Masaki
is the main protagonist of the Tenchi Muyo! series. Tenchi's name means 'Heaven and Earth'. It is the same as 'Tenchi' in the Shinto Kojiki which contains some of Japan's oldest myths and legends.-Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki:...

 is the main character who was living a peaceful life in the countryside with his father Nobuyuki and his grandfather Katsuhito, until he gets involved (by a series of circumstances) with a group of alien girls, including the space pirate Ryoko
Ryoko (Tenchi Muyo!)
is a key character in the various Tenchi Muyo! anime series by AIC. While details of her character differ between the various series, Ryoko is typically shown as an attractive, semi-reformed powerful space pirate who is madly in love with the series main character, Tenchi Masaki...

, the Juraian princesses Ayeka and her little sister Sasami, the legendary scientist Washu
Washu Hakubi
, the self-proclaimed greatest scientific genius in the universe, is a fictional character in the anime and manga Tenchi Muyo!. Her character differs depending on the continuity, though she sometimes displays a number of innate powers which she rarely uses, preferring to solve problems with reason...

, and Mihoshi and Kiyone, officers of the space police. All the girls start to live in Tenchi's house and are a constant source of trouble for him, especially when they compete for his affection. Despite this, he maintains a good relationship with each one. Also living with them is Ryo-Ohki
Ryo-Ohki
, is a fictional character in the Japanese anime series Tenchi Muyo! and its spinoffs. Ryo-Ohki's appearance is similar to a cross between a cat and a rabbit, and for this reason Ryo-Ohki is commonly referred to as a cabbit...

, Ryoko's spaceship who can assume the form of a little creature who looks like a hybrid of cat and rabbit, later confirmed by Sasami to be exactly that. Later, Tenchi discovers that his grandfather's true identity is Yosho, a noble from the royal family of Jurai. Together, the cast usually gets themselves involved in a series of adventures throughout the galaxy.

External links

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