I do feel that “Tenchi Muyo!” fans may enjoy these short four-minute episodes of “Ai Tenchi Muyo!”, especially those who want to see more harem and consistent action and comedy scenes. If so, then it’s a series worth checking out!
Image courtesy of © 2018 Funimation. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Ai Tenchi Muyo! – The Complete Series
DURATION: Episodes 1-50 (200 Minutes)
BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 16×9, English and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Funimation
RATED: TV 14
Release Date: July 10, 2018
Directed by Hiroshi Negishi
Series Composition by Hiroshi Negishi, Junpei Yoshihara
Music by Yoshihisa Hirano
Original Creator: Masaki Kajishima
Character Design by Masami Inomata, Suzuhito Yasuda
Art Director: Satoru Hirayanagi
Anime Production: AIC
Featuring the following voice talent:
Masami Kikuchi/Matthew K. Miller as Tenchi Masaki
Nao TÅyama/Julie Maddalena as Momo Kawanagare
YÅ Taichi/Cindy Robinson as Beni KinojÅ
Ai Fukada/Lauren Post as TÅri Fueyama
Ai Orikasa/Petrea Burchard as RyÅko
Ayako Kawasumi/Melora Marshall as Ukan Kurihara
Azusa Satou/Brianne Brozey as Yuki Fuka
Chisa Yokoyama/Sherry Lynn as Sasami
Haruhi Nanao/Cherami Leigh as Aeka
Kana YÅ«ki/Mona Marshall as Hachiko
M.A.O/Dorothy Elias-Fahn as Hana Saryū
Rui Tanabe/Stephanie Sheh as Rui Aoi
Yūko Kobayashi/Karen Strassman as Washū
Yuko Mizutani/Rebecca Forstadt as Mihoshi
Mikako Komatsu/Elizabeth Maxwell as Sanae KÅzuki
Misao Kobayashi/Greg Dulcie as Shigaraki
Thanks to Washu, the universe has been thrown into chaos and it’s up to Tenchi to clean up the mess. But to do so he’s going undercover as a teacher—at an all-girl’s school! What awaits him beyond the attention of cute girls at this not-so-ordinary school? And will he be able to balance timelines and trouble that come with this latest adventure? Join the harem and the fun in this series of shorts!
“Tenchi Muyo!” is an anime series which began with an OVA series in 1992.
Since that series, we saw a continuation with the storyline for “Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki”, sidestory/spin-off OVA’s and then a 1995 retelling of the series called “Tenchi Universe” (in which three films: “Tenchi the Movie: Tenchi Muyo in Love”, “Tenchi the Movie 2: The Daughter o Darkness”, “Tenchi Forever! The Movie” was released as a continuation of the series), followed by its first alternate storyline titled “Tenchi in Tokyo” in 1997.
In 2014, AIC produced a sixth installment of the “Tenchi Muyo!” franchise titled “Ai Tenchi Muyo!” in sponsorship by the city of Takahashi, Okayama to promote tourism for the city.
Also, the series was to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the franchise and is a revival project.
The film is directed by Hiroshi Negishi, who directed “Tenchi Universe and the first and third animated films.
Unlike previous installments of “Tenchi Muyo!”, there is a total of 60 episodes (50 episodes + 10 recap episodes) and each episode is only four-minutes long.
For this revival and anniversary project, many of the original voice actors returned with the exception of the voice actress who played Ayeka, who is now voiced by Haruhi Nanao.
In this series, Washu’s experience has caused chaos once again and to solve it, Tenchi Masaki must go undercover as a student teacher at an all-girls school.
Unfortunately, due to the crazy things that happen at his school, he has a reputation of being a perverted teacher. But the more the students and faculty get to know him, they start to see how he generally cares about people.
Will Tenchi be able to save the world?
VIDEO:
“Ai Tenchi Muyo!” is presented in 1080p High Definition. The animation is vibrant and colorful. But as expected with many animated TV shows, there is a hint of softness. For the most part, character designs are done well and background art is also well-done.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Ai Tenchi Muyo!” is presented with a English and Japanese Dolby True HD 2.0. Dialogue and music are crystal clear for the series. Both Japanese and English soundtracks were well-acted.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Ai Tenchi Muyo!” comes with no special features. Even the recap episodes are not included.
EXTRAS
“Ai Tenchi Muyo!” comes with a Blu-ray slipcover, the Blu-ray and DVD for the series, plus a Funimation Digital HD code.
I grew up with the original “Tenchi Muyo!” OVA series and while it was a harem anime series, it was a series that carried a lot of action but also drama. The characters were well-developed, storyline was cohesive and entertaining and then the series would grow outward due to its popularity.
To be truthful, I have not been all that happy with the alternate storylines nor the storyline and character deviations and felt that this popular franchise has been diluted with unnecessary, weak storylines.
With “Ai Tenchi Muyo!”, the series is now 50-episodes long, with each episode lasting four minutes each.
While that’s easy to follow, the creators upped the harem count this time around including so many female characters.
While I do enjoy a harem anime series once in awhile, “Ai Tenchi Muyo!” is a series that has its good parts and its bad.
First the bad. The bad part is that because there are too many female characters, eight new ones on top of the original female cast.
Not only are a few characters from the original series not in this anime series, those who are must share screentime with the other ladies that their roles are significantly decreased in order to allow Tenchi time with each of the female characters.
I understand where this anime was going to by growing it’s female cast and trying to create the ultimate harem for Tenchi but I can’t help but feel that the ’90s “Tenchi Muyo!” which was primarily about storytelling with wonderful animation that supported it, has become a rush job to try and bring out anything Tenchi related.
Sure, “Bleach”, “Naruto” and even the “Dragon Ball” series have a plethora of characters, but they were able to utilize the full length of an episode to develop characters and make them appeal to the viewer. While 50 episodes long for “Ai Tenchi Muyo!”, the episodes are short.
While some episodes transition well to the next episode, sometimes with a few other episodes, it made me feel as I was missing something important. And pacing was another issue with this series.
But now the good, this run’s counter to what I was saying about too many characters, it looked as if the “Tenchi Muyo” series was growing stale with its limited characters. Thus the different alternate storylines and the constant bickering between Ayeka and Ryoko, this time with newer characters, it brings new energy to the anime series.
Another plus is that each character brings something new and that includes humor and action. In fact, as Ryoko was seen as the most powerful, this time we have Beni Kinojo, a bodyguard of the high school science club with the superhuman strength of an ogre and is not sure why she’s in their timeline. She knows she’s different and is tormented by the fact that by misusing her strength, she can hurt people she cares about.
Of course, there are numerous characters that are entertaining and fun and I do like the lighthearted style of the series and with it being only four minutes, you can watch the anime series at your own leisure from beginning to end, because the episodes are too short.
But overall, I did enjoy “Ai Tenchi Muyo!”, but I couldn’t help but feel there was loss opportunity, especially when it came to better ways of developing the characters.
Overall, I do feel that “Tenchi Muyo!” fans may enjoy these short four-minute episodes of “Ai Tenchi Muyo!”, especially those who want to see more harem and consistent action and comedy scenes.
If so, then it’s a series worth checking out!
