Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Review

Hi guys! Due to my little goof up, I went back to my library to look for a show that I've had for a bit. After looking through, I found a series that's perfect to review today. So, for your viewing pleasure, here's a review of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki.

Aired in Japan on September 25, 2003, and ended on September 14, 2005, then was released by Funimation in that year, Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki is a spinoff of the original Tenchi Muyo series. Taking place after the events of the original series, we find that the life of the Masaki Gang is back to normal, or so they think. A mysterious guest arrives at the house, and at first Tench believes it's his mother come back to life, but in reality it's his sister, who looks a lot like his mom. She's come back to earth to inform him that he is to be married to a woman chosen by the Jurai family. As usual, the girls of the house react in their normal manner (yelling, whining, and complaining), while Tenchi himself reacts in his standard indifferent attitude. He goes about his day in the fields, where he unknowingly spots his bride. The story then go for the standard Tenchi points: humor, sci-fi, political intrigue, hints of fanservice, etc. I can't really say the rest of the story, but I will say that things occur that you may not expect, as well as things you will expect.

To start off the positives, Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki stays within the original Tenchi world. No Tenchi Universe, or Tenchi in Tokyo. This show stays with the original characters, as well as the original story. So side shows, no characters from other series. This shows stays within the confines of the original series, while developing it's own story and feel. To take a quote from DVDTalk.com:


"It's Tenchi at it's core, and that's definitely a good thing."


This also leads into the second positive. Many of the voice actors who worked on the original Tenchi Muyo have returned to reprise their roles. The original voice actors for Tenchi, his father & grandfather, Ayeka, Washu, and Sasami have come back, while the voices for Ryoko, Mihoshi, and Ryo-Ohki have new voice actors. The new voices actors do a good job with the characters they play, especially Ryoko. I don't know if it's just my hearing going out, but I swore on numerous occasions that Ryoko sounds like Stan's mom from South Park! If anyone's had this same experience, let me know in the comments.

Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki's third positive is the visuals. Despite being made in 2003, the show almost looks as if it was made in the middle of last decade, or the late part of last decade. The show has come a long way from the original Tenchi Muyo: everything is so smooth, so streamlined, and so vibrant. The characters themselves have more of a lifelike look and feel to them than they ever had. It also doesn't hurt the fact that the girls this time around look even more cute, hot, and sexy.

The fourth positive of this series is the episode length. Despite being just 7 episodes (more on that later), each episode runs in at 22 to 24 minutes, and given how many episodes there are, you could watch this in one afternoon if you're a dedicated anime fan. For more reasonable fans (of which I am one...sometimes), 1 or 2 days will be about the standard amount of time to watch this show.

This show's fifth positive is the extras. Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki comes with a bunch of extras, including:


*Character Profiles
*The Real Tenchi Tour
*Japanese TV Spots
*Lovely Cookin' Music Video
*'Himitsu Nabe' Tenchi Muyo! Special (40 minute live action special, 30 minute radio drama)
*Trailers


A good collection of extra, if I do say so myself.

Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki's final positives are it's availability & pricing. Although it came out in 2005 on individual DVDs and a set (minus the 7th episode), it more recently came out in 2009 & last year as a full set. Over on Amazon, you can find the older and newer releases with some frequency (more so with the newer release, less so with the older releases). I bought my copy (the 2009 version) back at Conneticon 2010 for I believe 20 dollars. Copies of the 2009 release range from 19 to 30 dollars, so my wallet didn't get a scratch. As for last year's release, pricing is even more relaxed, ranging from 11 to 13 dollars. There's not many used copies, so don't both unless you're strapped for cash.

Like a lot of shows I review that are good, they always come with a few blemishes. Luckily, Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki only has 2 dark spots on it's image.

In the Tenchi series, there's always been a lot of episodes. Even the spinoffs have had their fair share of episode sizes (GXP has a whopping 26 episode length). Compared to everything else, Ryo-Ohki seems a bit small, and that's not just the amount of episodes. The story (which, in all honesty, is quite good for a Tenchi series) seems to be missing things. Now, given the fact that they were wrapping up this story of Tenchi, I'll let it pass, but hardcore fans may blow a fuse on something.

I give Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki a 8 out of 10, but more hardcore fans will give it a 7 to 8 out of 10. It stays within the original Tenchi series, most of the original voice actors are back, the visuals are spectacular, the 7 episodes make for a quick but enjoyable viewing, there's plenty of extras, and the pricing & availability are decent, but there's only 7 episodes, and the story sees to be missing...something.

Until next time, stay Otaku!