×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
NEWS: AIC Teases about Project with Tenchi Creator Kajishima


Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Tortoiseshell Tabby Girl



Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 153
PostPosted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 2:09 am Reply with quote
Woohoo! This news makes me a very happy Tenchi fan! It makes the future of the Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari anime much more concrete. I wish that the little pictures on the web site didn't fly by so quickly, though. I'd love to have a better look at them.

I'm surprised by people who didn't like the seriousness in the 3rd OVA. There was seriousness in the first two, after all. It wasn't just silliness. I actually love both parts, the humor and the drama, of Tenchi. And I just love the fact that Tenchi is some kind of spoiler[god-like being]. So cool! Of course, the interesting thing for me is that when his future spoiler[self makes a brief appearance, it sounds and looks like he's going to be rather different in the future--much more loose. Possibly...a ladies man? Or should I say...ladies god? Laughing ]

I love the Tenchi OVAs and Dual and Tenchi Muyo! GXP, so I'm looking forward to watching the story of Tenchi's half-brother, Kenshi or Kenji. I also love Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo, even though they're not canon. The only thing that could make me happier than news about Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari would be news that the True Tenchi novels are being translated into English.

Mohawk52 wrote:
I also don't believe that if and when Tenchi ends, it will be as a harum. I still believe that was what GXP was for, to appease the harum loving fans.


When I first got into Tenchi, I also thought, like AstroNerdBoy, that Tenchi was going to choose only one girl, but, also like AstroNerdBoy, now I'm not so sure. After what I've seen and read, especially from AstroNerdBoy's Tenchi FAQ, I have some new thoughts about the matter. I don't think that Tenchi's "harem" will be like Seina's "harem," though; I don't think that Tenchi's going to get married to all of the girls at once. However, I am going to guess that Tenchi will be romantically involved with more than one of the girls. I don't know if he'll be romantically involved with all of them, but, as I said, based upon what I've seen and read, I don't think he's going to have a relationship with only one of them. spoiler[The children that have been shown in Masaki Kajishima's doujinshi include Tenchi's son, Ryoko's daughter, and Ryo-Ohki's daughter. Tenchi's son looks a bit like Washu or Ryoko to me, although I believe some would lean more towards Washu (while I personally hope he's Ryoko's son, although two god's having a son would be pretty cool). Ryoko's daughter looks a bit like Tenchi to me. Ryo-Ohki's daughter]--it's hard to say, she's in cabbit form Anime catgrin + sweatdrop. Now, it totally weirds me out that spoiler[Tenchi would have children with those three--I mean, his son would be Ryoko's half-brother if he is also Washu's son, Ryoko's daughter would be Washu's granddaughter and Tenchi's son's niece, as would Ryo-Ohki's daughter if both daughters are Tenchi's daughters]--but, looking at the relationships in Kajishima's stories, I'd say those would be very Kajishima-type relationships. Their family, as it is, is already pretty inter-related--Mihoshi is Washu's recent descendent, Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki are Washu's daughters, Sasami is fused with Tsunami so in a way she's now related to Washu as well and would be Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki's aunt, and Ayeka is indirectly related to Washu since she's Sasami's sister...actually, Washu seems to be an important corner pin herself. Considering her power and Ryoko's power in the future, I wonder who would produce a more powerful child spoiler[with the most powerful being in that universe, Tenchi?]

Okay, moving on a bit...I believe it was also stated that Tenchi and Noike would have a relationship. So, those are the four that I think Tenchi might possibly have relationships with. However, like I said earlier, when spoiler["God Tenchi" showed up in OVA 3], he seemed pretty different. In fact, I wouldn't put it past that future spoiler[Tenchi to have a relationship with lonely Misaki]. So far, Tenchi's been quite a lot younger than the women around him, but since he'sspoiler[ more powerful than them, it's possible that he might out-live them all, which is rather sad to think about. Who knows how long he'll live. ]

I'm hoping that Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari will do well. I want to keep getting the puzzle pieces that Kajishima keeps throwing out to fans. They're fun to piece together. Very epic. And I hope the female characters are just as interesting and intriguing as the one's in Tenchi. After all, I think that Kajishima's female characters are one of the reasons that Tenchi is one of the very few harem anime that I've seen. Well, that along with the fact that I also like his male protagonists and fascinating take on sci-fi, especially the shinto-inspired sci-fi elements.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 3:24 am Reply with quote
Tortoiseshell Tabby Girl wrote:

When I first got into Tenchi, I also thought, like AstroNerdBoy, that Tenchi was going to choose only one girl, but, also like AstroNerdBoy, now I'm not so sure. After what I've seen and read, especially from AstroNerdBoy's Tenchi FAQ, I have some new thoughts about the matter. I don't think that Tenchi's "harem" will be like Seina's "harem," though; I don't think that Tenchi's going to get married to all of the girls at once. However, I am going to guess that Tenchi will be romantically involved with more than one of the girls. I don't know if he'll be romantically involved with all of them, but, as I said, based upon what I've seen and read, I don't think he's going to have a relationship with only one of them. spoiler[The children that have been shown in Masaki Kajishima's doujinshi include Tenchi's son, Ryoko's daughter, and Ryo-Ohki's daughter. Tenchi's son looks a bit like Washu or Ryoko to me, although I believe some would lean more towards Washu (while I personally hope he's Ryoko's son, although two god's having a son would be pretty cool). Ryoko's daughter looks a bit like Tenchi to me. Ryo-Ohki's daughter]--it's hard to say, she's in cabbit form Anime catgrin + sweatdrop. Now, it totally weirds me out that spoiler[Tenchi would have children with those three--I mean, his son would be Ryoko's half-brother if he is also Washu's son, Ryoko's daughter would be Washu's granddaughter and Tenchi's son's niece, as would Ryo-Ohki's daughter if both daughters are Tenchi's daughters]--but, looking at the relationships in Kajishima's stories, I'd say those would be very Kajishima-type relationships. Their family, as it is, is already pretty inter-related--Mihoshi is Washu's recent descendent, Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki are Washu's daughters, Sasami is fused with Tsunami so in a way she's now related to Washu as well and would be Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki's aunt, and Ayeka is indirectly related to Washu since she's Sasami's sister...actually, Washu seems to be an important corner pin herself. Considering her power and Ryoko's power in the future, I wonder who would produce a more powerful child spoiler[with the most powerful being in that universe, Tenchi?]
I only have his first three novels, and the only hint I've even seen is that concept art he drew of Ryouko with Tenko, but that's all it was, a concept. I wouldn't be surprised if Tenchi had children by any of the harum that surounded him, as all Washu had to do was be finally successful at "shaking the dew from that lily" Laughing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Goodpenguin



Joined: 02 Jul 2007
Posts: 457
Location: Hunt Valley, MD
PostPosted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 10:52 am Reply with quote
Tortoiseshell Tabby Girl wrote:
I'm surprised by people who didn't like the seriousness in the 3rd OVA. There was seriousness in the first two, after all. It wasn't just silliness.


I'm not surprised that much of the modern Tenchi fanbase enjoys the 'serious drama' angle of the franchise, as that's the angle most modern fans appear to favor. I'm a Tenchi fan who remembers snapping up the laserdisc 'ultimate' set, followed a bit later by the (then new-fangled) DVD release and obsessively comparing picture quality side-by-side; speaking for the 'mood' around the series the bulk of it's popularity was not based on it's 'sci-fi drama' bona fides. Kajishima, as he'd showcase with other AIC projects, had a winning touch in blending good-hearted ecchi, action, and endearing characters. The original OVA's lose something with age, but very much stood out at the time. Humor and character interaction were the drivers of the series popularity, and the 'drama' quotient was a pretty typical 'Here's a 'serious' ending conflict/fight in an otherwise light-hearted show' maneuver that was typical of the time-period.

I respect that what remains of the Tenchi fanbase enjoys Kajishima's created 'world', but for me, as an old-school fan, his 'sci-fi' framework is Z-grade, light-weight material elevated at the expense of what originally made his first Tenchi forays successful. For a lot of early Tenchi fans, it was the character interaction that was king, the 'sci-fi' backdrop was just color to flesh out the action. In following years Kajishima has taken a path a lot of anime/maga creators seem to fall in with, convincing themselves their master story-crafters and winding up works, in hodge-podge fashion, for years. For me, Kajishima is a creator who had a knack for quirky character centered humor/action pieces (Tenchi, Dual) that somewhere along the line convinced himself that his underwhelming sci-fi/fantasy backdrop was the real drawl. As I said earlier I respect that modern Tenchi fans dig the 'serious sci-fi' angle, but as an old-school Tenchi fan reflecting on your statement, that aspect wasn't the big pull of the show.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
AstroNerdBoy



Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 413
Location: Denver, CO
PostPosted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 5:15 pm Reply with quote
Mohawk52 wrote:
Ah! But he goes on after that:
Quote:
T: Then, Tenchi Muyo! Ryohki the 3rd is base on the conflict between Tenchi and "Z", and the rest of the stories will be influenced by the purposes of Goddesses.

K: Also about how Tenchi is going to deal with all that.

T: I think the male fans are curious about Tenchi's "love life", you know what I mean (grin). In what situation that Tenchi have to choice is the most mystery and interesting part for us.

K: I agree. Personally, I want to end the story of the war between Goddesses and move the story to the romantic part too. I am interesting in "that "as well (laugh)
and he never did that with OVA 3. There was that "extra episode", but that was just superfluous filler IMHO and counts for nothing in moving the story forward. He calls it "Chapter two", but for all intense and purposes it will be a continuation of the OVA canon, therefore to the rest of us it will be the fourth OVA, don't you think? Wink As for making money for AIC, I doubt AIC relies on him for that with the great length of time between his productions. I think AIC has been trying to stay afloat by pandering to the moe/lolicom, fanservice otaku, but seeing no future in that, have dusted him off again to gain some decent credibility back.


Well, we already know that "war" was a mistranslation because there was no war. It was a competition between the three Choushin to see who could find the higher-level kami.

That said, I do know that K-sensei is interested in Tenchi's love life. After all, he did produce that one H-doujinshi showing Tenchi having some QT with Noike, which a teenaged Sasami spied on until Aeka gently shoo'd her away to allow Tenchi and Noike privacy. Razz I do not think that OVA 3 +1 is the "chapter 2" that K-sensei was talking about. I see it as an aftermath to OVA 3 and nothing more.

Still, considering that OVA 3 has fans that either hate it or like it with little in-between, I don't expect that a new TM!R series about Tenchi's love life will get the haters on board and while I would watch a new series, basically I see it being a series of filler -- day in the life showing how Tenchi deals with the girls still and how they all accept the harem outcome. Wink I've written before on how I think K-sensei will do a harem outcome because (1) all his other anime titles with an ending have a harem outcome and (2) all of his writings strongly indicate that there will be a harem ending, especially since he wrote that Tenchi and the girls move to Jurai after Sasami graduates from high school.

As to AIC, remember that AIC was partnered with Pioneer (Geneon). It has been reported that Pioneer nixed the idea of more canon stuff being released. However, when AIC and Geneon parted company, AIC got a new partner, canon Tenchi titles began to be produced, and people in the U.S. were shocked that Geneon USA didn't get GXP.

Tortoiseshell Tabby Girl wrote:
Woohoo! This news makes me a very happy Tenchi fan! It makes the future of the Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari anime much more concrete. I wish that the little pictures on the web site didn't fly by so quickly, though. I'd love to have a better look at them.


I have those images here.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address
Craeyst Raygal



Joined: 30 Apr 2002
Posts: 1383
Location: In the garage, beneath a 1970 MGB GT.
PostPosted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 9:34 pm Reply with quote
Goodpenguin, I'm one of those older Tenchi fans and I think the answer lies somewhere in-between, honestly.

The OAV's are one of the few series that offer so much to so many. Each individual episode gives something unique. Who can deny the "slice-of-life" goodness of Here Comes Baby? The bittersweet emotion of Zero Ryoko? The screwball alliance of Ryoko and Aeka in Night Before the Carnival?

What's more. There's such a rich universe for the Tenchi saga. Some of the things I loved about GXP and OAV3 were the "fleshing out" that Kajishima gave us about the universe. One of the things that really raised my eyebrows was the end of GXP which revealed the Renza empire from which Seto's handmaidens came. The prospect of a whole new galaxy filled with new races and new adventures for the cast (or future casts) is just too irresistible.

Saint Knight's Tale is something I've been hoping for, but then I enjoy every foray into Kajishima's universe. The only question I have now is who licenses it and how long do I have to wait? (and can we PLEASE get Petrea Burchard back if we need her?)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail AIM Address
Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 10:35 pm Reply with quote
Craeyst Raygal wrote:
(and can we PLEASE get Petrea Burchard back if we need her?)
All you have to do is ask her.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
AstroNerdBoy



Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 413
Location: Denver, CO
PostPosted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 1:43 pm Reply with quote
Craeyst Raygal wrote:
(and can we PLEASE get Petrea Burchard back if we need her?)


And what do you do if she says, "I'll only come back for $100 million"? Wink

She didn't come back in OVA 3 because she didn't want to, plain and simple. Had she truly wanted to play Ryoko again, she would have rejoined her fellow dub cast members.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address
Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 11:21 pm Reply with quote
AstroNerdBoy wrote:
Craeyst Raygal wrote:
(and can we PLEASE get Petrea Burchard back if we need her?)


And what do you do if she says, "I'll only come back for $100 million"? Wink

She didn't come back in OVA 3 because she didn't want to, plain and simple. Had she truly wanted to play Ryoko again, she would have rejoined her fellow dub cast members.
Not quite true. She didn't reprise her roll, because it conflicted with prior commitments, and FUNi had a dead line to keep. She did want to, but one can not be in two places, and all that. Wink
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 12:47 pm Reply with quote
The biggest problem with OVA 3 was all the goddamn talking and Tenchi barely being in it. So many pointless character introductions and two episodes dedicated to that awful story with Mihoshi's brother. Even the main villian, Z, was sort of dull. Then they crammed in the building up storyline in a single episode, leading to it being a mess of near-random images and nonsesense that made even less sense when it was explained. There was no sense of pacing whatsoever, so it felt disorienting and aggravating. A part of me wishes Kajishima would apologize to the fans and try again, as if it never happened.

It makes me wonder if he still has it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address My Anime My Manga
AstroNerdBoy



Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 413
Location: Denver, CO
PostPosted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 11:34 pm Reply with quote
Mohawk52 wrote:
AstroNerdBoy wrote:
Craeyst Raygal wrote:
(and can we PLEASE get Petrea Burchard back if we need her?)


And what do you do if she says, "I'll only come back for $100 million"? Wink

She didn't come back in OVA 3 because she didn't want to, plain and simple. Had she truly wanted to play Ryoko again, she would have rejoined her fellow dub cast members.
Not quite true. She didn't reprise her roll, because it conflicted with prior commitments, and FUNi had a dead line to keep. She did want to, but one can not be in two places, and all that. Wink


Ah. Now that is something I had not heard. All I have been hearing since FUNi licensed it was that it just didn't work out. That always suggested to me that she wanted more money than FUNi was willing to pay (and obviously more than they were paying the others).

penguintruth wrote:
The biggest problem with OVA 3 was all the goddamn talking and Tenchi barely being in it.


He was in it quite a bit.

Quote:
So many pointless character introductions and two episodes dedicated to that awful story with Mihoshi's brother.


Actually, there were very few new characters introduced here, Rea being the biggest (and she got a flash cameo in GXP). Even if you discount the novels and doujinshi, Seto, Airi, Noike, Misao, Mashisu, and more were introduced in GXP. Wink

Now, I do agree that with only six episodes for OVA 3, Kajishima didn't have a lot of time to waste and sadly, he wasted one episode that was mainly about preparing a family meal. Rolling Eyes In and of itself, its fine if you have plenty of episodes to work with.

Quote:
Then they crammed in the building up storyline in a single episode, leading to it being a mess of near-random images and nonsesense that made even less sense when it was explained.


I do agree that ramming everything into the final episode of OVA 3 was a huge mistake. Now, if you watched the dub, forget it. However, if you watched Mato's subs, he did a good job at trying to get things right. The explanations make more sense IF you are a Japanese Tenchi otaku. Why? Because you'll have read "101 Secrets," the three "Shin Tenchi Muyo!" novels, Kajishima-sensei's various interviews and website question & answer sessions, and K-sensei's doujinshi. Unfortunately, TM!R is made for Japanese fans, not American ones. As such, K-sensei cut a lot of corners (which is his normal style), only rather than spur interest as it did in the first two OVA's and Night Before Carnival, for many American fans, it is extremely frustrating.

I like OVA 3 despite its flaws but then I'm an American Tenchi otaku with above-average knowledge of the world that Kajishima created. That being the case, you are correct about the pacing. I don't know if you were watching this when it came out in Japan, but I know that with each new episode, I had three months to get annoyed between episodes (six between the 3rd and 4th OVA 3 episodes). The thing that still irritates me to no end is spoiler[the fight between the various girls and the Galaxy Army special force people. That was set up to be a good fight, ending on a cliff hanger with Ryoko bloodied up. However, the next episode came and what do we get? "Oh yeah, fight's over. Here's a flashback of Sasami's fight though. Why didn't I do a proper fight? Well, I don't have the time and frankly, I'm bored with Aeka or Ryoko fighting an enemy. Been there, done that. We've never seen Sasami fight, so I toss you that bone."

GAH! I couldn't believe it when I saw that. I was so angry at the time, I posted on all kinds of boards to vent. Laughing Obviously I've calmed down now. Wink ]


In the end, putting it together with the other stuff, I am able to watch it just fine. That kind of storytelling sucks, but in Japan, it sadly isn't all that uncommon for titles geared to otaku (ie: an anime based on a game may do things for fans of the game that leave people who've never played the game scratching their head).

Quote:
It makes me wonder if he still has it.


I think he has it still, its just that while he excels in creating a world (or universe in this case) along the lines of Tolkien, he fails at presentation. I think Kajishima needs someone who can stand up to him as he's a HUGE prima donna (which I've said for a long time). As such, after OVA 1, Hasegawa-sensei was out (she having written the final scripts for episodes 3 and 5) and Hayashi was out (the director and partner of Kajishima in their days working Bubblegum Crisis).

OVA 1 is no doubt the best of the lot. Hayashi-san no doubt played a role in that as he put some limits on what Kajishima could and couldn't do (of course, had it been up to Hayashi, Washu wouldn't have been introduced in OVA 1). Without anyone to say, "you know, what you are presenting here needs a lot of improvement," he meanders around, doing whatever he feels like and that results in OVA 3. I think had Hayashi been the director of OVA 3, Kajishima could have still told his story, but Hayashi could have kept him focused (though likely irritated) since they only had six episodes.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address
penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 11:54 pm Reply with quote
AstroNerdBoy, I appreciate and admire your vast insight It into the Tenchi canon, but a viewer shouldn't need to consult with supplementary material to understand the events in a program, especially in Tenchi Muyo. I don't remember needing supplementary material to appreciate the first two OVAs.

The third OVA stripped away the tension and apprehension in the air of the first two OVAs. Compare Tenchi and the gang's first encounter with Kagato in episode five with the happenings with Z in the twentieth episode. There's no great emotional impact in the latter example. There's no dark, haunting atmosphere. The hues are too bright. The music lacks the same appeal. It's soulless.

The first two OVAs could switch between comedy, romance, drama, action, and back to comedy masterfully. The third one? was a mess of talking. And I still say Tenchi barely registered as an element of the plot until the end. Not to mention all the direct contradictions and strange inconsistancies. It didn't feel like a new chapter of Tenchi, it felt like they were just doing "more Tenchi", like they were just adding a bunch of nonesense to cash in on the popularity of the programs previous.


Last edited by penguintruth on Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:12 am; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address My Anime My Manga
Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:00 am Reply with quote
AstroNerdBoy wrote:
In the end, putting it together with the other stuff, I am able to watch it just fine. That kind of storytelling sucks, but in Japan, it sadly isn't all that uncommon for titles geared to otaku (ie: an anime based on a game may do things for fans of the game that leave people who've never played the game scratching their head).
In this case it will be for those who have read all his doujinshi.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
AstroNerdBoy



Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 413
Location: Denver, CO
PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 3:40 am Reply with quote
penguintruth wrote:
AstroNerdBoy, I appreciate and admire your vast insight It into the Tenchi canon, but a viewer shouldn't need to consult with supplementary material to understand the events in a program, especially in Tenchi Muyo. I don't remember needing supplementary material to appreciate the first two OVAs.


That's because for the first two OVA's and Night Before Carnival, there wasn't much more. Sure, "101 Secrets" had been published after Night Before Carnival and you know why, right? Because the Japanese fans had so many questions regarding the first seven episodes which Kajishima apparently had no interest in placing into the anime (well, except for a few items to come "down the road" as it were). So he has a book written instead where he gives the answers to Japanese fan questions. Plus, with OVA 2 on the horizon, it helped keep the interest pot stirred because Kajishima didn't answer everything in that book. Instead, he promised more information on some subjects down the road (Tenchi's mother and Mihoshi as examples).

After OVA 2 was created, my understanding is that while it was very successful as OVA's go, Pioneer had decided that since it was proven that non-Kajishima Tenchi titles could be sold too, they would not agree to finance any more OVA's in favor of things like Tenchi Universe, Tenchi in Tokyo and Pretty Sammy. Those could be produced on the cheap and had higher profit margins. Because Kajishima didn't know if he'd ever get to finish his story, he continued his Tenchi story telling in other media. After AIC and Pioneer/Geneon spit, Kajishima got to finish his story (after proving he still had it with GXP).

As I said, as a means of storytelling, in the U.S., it is unheard of to have a story split over multiple media forms. However in Japan, that's not unheard of. I've seen a few anime titles where it is clear that in order to get the whole story, one needed to have played the game or have read the original novel/manga.

Quote:
The third OVA stripped away the tension and apprehension in the air of the first two OVAs. Compare Tenchi and the gang's first encounter with Kagato in episode five with the happenings with Z in the twentieth episode. There's no great emotional impact in the latter example. There's no dark, haunting atmosphere. The huges are too bright. The music lacks the same appeal. It's soulless.


Actually, the tension and apprehension aren't stripped away -- they begin to be built and then the episode ends. The next episode starts and "WHAM!" -- the tension and apprehension are yanked out from under us. I think Kajishima discovered the fun of doing that in OVA 2 with Zero-Ryoko's bed time encounter with Tenchi. I absolutely hate the way things transition between episodes 5 & 6 of OVA 2. That's Kajishima's first "Ha!Ha!" Nelson impersonation (from The Simpsons for those who don't know). He has a lot of those moments in OVA 3.

Musically speaking, I absolutely agree with you on it being soulless. None of the original music is used in OVA 3 and while I've never been able to find out for sure, I think there must be a copyright issue. After all, its much easier to keep using the same music you've used before and just add a few new pieces (or modify slightly the old) rather than go all-new as they did. The music in the first 13 episodes is good stuff. The music in the last seven is rubbish.

As an aside, you know what I've thought would have been an excellent choice of music when Nobuyuki goes to visit Kiyone's grave? YOKOYAMA Chisa (Sasami's and Tsunami's seiyuu) singing "Boku wa Motto Pioneer" as a ballad. That's how she starts the full version of the OP theme song of OVA 2 and it is beautiful.

Quote:
The first two OVAs could switch between comedy, romance, drama, action, and back to comedy masterfully. The third one? was a mess of talking. And I still say Tenchi barely registered as an element of the plot until the end.


What about the first episode? Tenchi returns to his school that Ryoko destroyed to see it being rebuilt, meeting two friends. Tenchi returns to the site of his house before Ryoko decided to remove it. Tenchi has a chat with his father. Tenchi comes home and finds a big surprise. In between that time, we get a B-story on Ryoko's growth as a character and how she treats Ryo-ohki. Anime smile

The second episode is all about Tenchi learning that he has more family than he thought (a sister and grandmother), with Katsuhito (Yosho) telling him the rest of the family secrets. Also, his arranged fiancee arrives.

The third episode has Tenchi get ill, but then he visits Noike's tree-ship where we get a much better look at the living quarters (more so than we did with Aeka's ship, which is why I think Kajishima did that scene at all). So there's less Tenchi, but he's still a part.

Now, the next two episodes are pretty Tenchi-light. Episode 4 is Misao planning to kill Tenchi and on Earth, a meal is being prepared before the attack begins. Episode 5 has the fight over and Tenchi isn't a player until after the ED credits when Z attacks.

Episode 6 is a Tenchi episode with his confrontation with Z, his time-traveling, and his learning the truth about the Choushin and possibly that he's something more than even he imagined (a kami). Finally, in OVA 3 +1, Tenchi learns about the truth about his mother and Tenchi's father gets married to Rea, so they can have Kenji to star in this new anime. Wink

Quote:
Not to mention all the direct contradictions and strange inconsistancies.


Well there, I have to disagree. I don't see contradictions nor inconsistencies with the story, and that's even including GXP into the mix. However, since you didn't cite any examples, I really can't comment further. Anime smile;

Quote:
It didn't feel like a new chapter of Tenchi, it felt like they were just doing "more Tenchi", like they were just adding a bunch of nonesense to cash in on the popularity of the programs previous.


Actually, ever since Mihoshi Special and Hasegawa-sensei's novels proved that Japanese Tenchi fans would buy anything Tenchi, AIC has been milking the Tenchi cow ever since to cash in on the popularity of the original OVA. *lol* Seriously, even though I like the latest non-canon spinoff Sasami: Magic Girl Club, AIC did it that way to cash in on the Tenchi brand (my opinion, but you won't convince me otherwise). However, as long as the brand is still hot in Japan (and it is because AIC wouldn't green light Seikishi unless OVA 3 sold well, which it did and well enough to have AIC also green light that seventh OVA episode), AIC will keep milking the Tenchi cow.


Kajishima has stated that he prefers stories like the one in Night Before Carnival. Indeed, many of his recent doujinshi would reflect that, where he weaves an unimportant slice-of-life tale about something going on in the Tenchi household (Washu having more fun with Ryoko, Airi and Tennyo having fun with Noike). I think he did a lot of that in OVA 3. I had no problem with the Ryo-ohki/Ryoko story because it is sweet and cute. But as you said, Mihoshi's brother is more of a problem, especially if you haven't at least watched GXP. Also, did we need half an episode showing Noike and Sasami cooking? No we need not but apparently, that's something Kajishima loves to do (heck, he even has Tenchi cooking in GXP).

Don't get me wrong, I can certainly understand why you don't like OVA 3. Very Happy

Mohawk52 wrote:
AstroNerdBoy wrote:
In the end, putting it together with the other stuff, I am able to watch it just fine. That kind of storytelling sucks, but in Japan, it sadly isn't all that uncommon for titles geared to otaku (ie: an anime based on a game may do things for fans of the game that leave people who've never played the game scratching their head).
In this case it will be for those who have read all his doujinshi.


AND his novels, "101 Secrets," the interviews he's done as well as the questions he answered on his old website (which BTW, I have those translated into English on the Tenchi Muyo! FAQ site). Anime smile;;;;; I know, nutty but that's why I do what I can to bring more of the hidden Japanese stuff to English fans.

You know Mohawk, with you here, this thread is reminding me of the good old days on the old AIC forums. Anime smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address
Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 3:53 am Reply with quote
AstroNerdBoy wrote:

You know Mohawk, with you here, this thread is reminding me of the good old days on the old AIC forums. Anime smile
I'm still a squeeky wheel at what's left of their English website. They just ignore me as usual. Laughing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
dangerwhat



Joined: 22 Jul 2007
Posts: 187
Location: Central Florida
PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:58 pm Reply with quote
AstroNerdBoy wrote:

Quote:
It makes me wonder if he still has it.


I think he has it still, its just that while he excels in creating a world (or universe in this case) along the lines of Tolkien, he fails at presentation.


I don't know that I'd go THAT far but I certainly agree anyhow. He's definitely consistent in the world he creates, its just the continuous stories that just don't work out well enough. Granted, I don't think there has been anything he's done that I've seen that I haven't liked but his work does let me down a little nowadays. Feels like its just not quite as good as it could or should be.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger ICQ Number
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Page 3 of 4

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group