The Edit List
Tenchi Muyou OVA Series 1 - ep. 4: Mihoshi Falls to the Land of Stars
by Kyle Pope,
This episode presented CN with a major problem. For a good portion of this episode Ryouko runs around naked. Not coyly and demurely naked mind you. Blatantly, obviously, wantonly, brazenly, "Hey Tenchi, get a good look at what you're missing!" -ly naked. Hormones and pheromones were flowing thick and fast and even the virtuous Tenchi was not completely unaffected. And, of course, not to give Ryouko all the glory, Aeka gives us a brief but tantalizing look at the competition for Tenchi's lascivious attentions. This will not be the only time in this series that the girls strip down for the fans but it's the episode where we get the best and longest look at them. I commend CN for coming up with an ingenious and minimally damaging way to air the episode and stay within the bounds of BS&P. Certainly dropping this episode would not have been an option as it introduces a major character and cutting out the offending scenes would have left gaping holes in the episode. I had to applaud the invention and creative use digital paint programs and adding the phrase "digital bikini" to the lexicon of anime fandom.
Tenchi Muyou: Mihoshi Falls to the Land of Stars
1. Scene of Whiterock getting incinerated during the space battle cut.
2. Ryouko's "I want to talk to you about something, Tenchi" changed to "But I want to talk about something, Tenchi dear". (I have no clue as to what this was supposed to accomplish.)
3. Ryouko's "You're thinking of something kinky right now" changed to "You're thinking of something silly right now".
4. Long cut. Scene of Nobuyuki teaching Tenchi how to peep into the women's bath cut.
5. Ryouko now wears a blue digital bikini. Also her nipples have been smoothed down on the profiles of her breasts.
6. Ryouko's "You saw me naked before" changed to "You saw me up close before".
7. Long cut. Scene of Aeka retreating back into the bath house only to have Ryouko pull her back out through the wall cut.
8. Aeka now wears a red digital one-piece bathing suit.
9. Sasami's "You're a naughty boy" changed to "You're a bad boy". (Oddly Tenchi subsequently apologizes for being "naughty". Go figure.)
10. Ryouko's "It's no big deal to show your naked body" changed to "It's no big deal to show your bathing suit".
11. Ryouko's "You were going to show him your naked body anyway" changed to "You were going to show it (her bathing suit) to him anyway".
12. Ryouko's "It's only natural to take a bath naked" changed to "So you take a bath with your clothes on, huh?"
13. Scene of Ryouko kicking her Water Demon cut.
14. Blood digitally removed when Water Demon hits Tenchi.
15. Scene of Tenchi's aunt dragging Nobuyuki by the ear cut.
This was the most anticipated and talked about episode when CN first announced it had acquired Tenchi Muyou. Remember that the digital bikini had yet to make its appearance in the consciousness of anime fandom so the question on everyone's mind was how CN would handle the copious nudity present in this episode. Needless to say chat rooms, bulletin boards and newsgroups lit up when the episode was aired and we all got our first look at the digital bikini. Interestingly, even though CN did their best to cut out all of the nudity as well as all references to it they did leave in Aeka calling Ryouko an exhibitionist, Ryouko commenting on Aeka's breast development and Tenchi admiring Mihoshi's assets. I guess you can't catch everything.
Kyle
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