Tenchi Muyo, What's the appeal?

Nyu said:
Maxon said:
Or how a seemingly weak boy does work for a relative and then leaves on a journey upon which he discovers he has a great power and only he can save the universe.
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Ah, i wasn't into star wars that much but i can see the similarities your getting at. But Tenchi was at school at the start, he only quit when all the girls turned up.

I wouldn't say the anime was deep on any level either, it's just not that kind of show. Tenchi's just one big melting pot of genres and you watch it for a good time, or atleast i do.

Not everybody loves Tenchi.
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I'm just astounded when I come across an anime that is immensely popular but seems to have nothing going for it at all. It's not just that I don't like it (I don't particularly like Cowboy Beebop but I get it), it's that I don't fathom why anyone would watch and give it a second thought.
 
Ark said:
I'm just astounded when I come across an anime that is immensely popular but seems to have nothing going for it at all. It's not just that I don't like it (I don't particularly like Cowboy Beebop but I get it), it's that I don't fathom why anyone would watch and give it a second thought.
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Same could be said about things like Big Brother or that %&*ing 'Umbrella' song. People are just weird.
 
hopeful_monster said:
For me appeal of Tenchi is in the pure brainlessness of it. after a bad day at work it allows me to switch the brain off and relax.
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You're saying that you watch it in order to get to sleep? Well why don't you just watch...... nah to be honest I don't even care anymore.

hopeful_monster said:
Same could be said about things like Big Brother or that %&*ing 'Umbrella' song.
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Yeah but I expect more skepticism from anime fans simply on the basis that they've turned to a non-western medium for entertainment which I'd assume means they aren't too satisfied with native television. Can't say I've heard of the Umbrella Song.
 
Ark said:
I'm just astounded when I come across an anime that is immensely popular but seems to have nothing going for it at all. It's not just that I don't like it (I don't particularly like Cowboy Beebop but I get it), it's that I don't fathom why anyone would watch and give it a second thought.
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No, in your eyes it may not have anything going for it but to others it may. Different strokes for different folks. Tenchi isn't deep nor does it try to be.

Shows like Tenchi require very little thought from the viewer. It's not like say Ergo Proxy where you have to peel away at the plot to get to the story. People watch Tenchi for the jokes, the fighting, the slapstick comedy etc and it works great like that, because thats what it's intended for.

But if your looking for something that isn't there then unfortunatley you'll end up being dissapointed.

Ark said:
Yeah but I expect more skepticism from anime fans simply on the basis that they've turned to a non-western medium for entertainment which I'd assume means they aren't too satisfied with native television
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I disagree with that train of thought.
 
Nyu said:
Before Tenchi booted the genre into the spotlight there were only a few series with harem as one of the core elements. Uraseu Yatsura in 1981 and Outlanders in 1985. It wasn't until Tenchi in 1992 that the harem genre was catapulted into one of the most popular genres to date. If it wasn't for the popularity of Tenchi you probably wouldn't have series such as Oh My Goddess! Love Hina etc.
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So it never started it, it spawned popularity.
 
Lupus Inu said:
Nyu said:
Before Tenchi booted the genre into the spotlight there were only a few series with harem as one of the core elements. Uraseu Yatsura in 1981 and Outlanders in 1985. It wasn't until Tenchi in 1992 that the harem genre was catapulted into one of the most popular genres to date. If it wasn't for the popularity of Tenchi you probably wouldn't have series such as Oh My Goddess! Love Hina etc.
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So it never started it, it spawned popularity.
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Bad wording on my part . But yes, without the commercial success the popularity of the genre wouldn't what it is today.
 
I think I may have a slight addition to peoples' taste in Tenchi.
As a fan of it when it came out, it was one of the most anticipated things to come to Western TV. Since I was new to anime when it was televised on CN, I found joy in watching this show because I've not been exposed to anything like it before.

I liked it then, and I still like it now (although I've not watched it for donkey's years.) That, with everything else mentioned, made the series blossom.

As for now, I hardly hear it's name mentioned. The hype has gone, and now that other series like Love Hina etc. have a more recent release they have their hype now. So we have fans more dedicated to those shows, and less dedicated to the older shows.

This is mainly speculation, as I have no harden proof. But I also believe that it's not just the fact he has girls after him (not the other way round) that the show's got quality. Shuffle! is similar as Rin isn't after a girl too, but it hasn't got as big a fanbase as Tenchi did.
I think it's because the show doesn't show a definate "soulmate" for Tenchi at any point of the series. Then you have Seina, who marries all the girls...
 
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Why do people like Eastenders or Big Brother? :eek:

Not everyone likes the same thing, which is good or things would get boring and all series would be the same. People that like one genre of anime won't necessarily like another and anyone that starts watching any of the Tenchi series for it's deep plot within plot conspiracy, or it's empasioned luvie-duvie romances, are watching it for the wrong reasons.

It may have popularized the whole harem genre but for me it isn't really a harem series, ( well ok it 'is' but it doesn't really feel like one, ) to me it's equivalent to watching a very long carry on film and lets face it, you don't watch those for their intelectual content. :p

It's light enterainment, the tenchi series were never meant to be deep and meaningful, they were meant to just be lighthearted bits of nonsense, meaning you can just sit back and watch it without having your brain flying off in a million directions while you try to work out the plot, most of it is right there in your face from the first episode.

Er, I have no idea where I was going to end up with this post, :? so i'll just post this... :p :D
 
Tasker said:
It's light enterainment, the tenchi series were never meant to be deep and meaningful, they were meant to just be lighthearted bits of nonsense, meaning you can just sit back and watch it without having your brain flying off in a million directions while you try to work out the plot, most of it is right there in your face from the first episode.
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Here, here! Even with Tenchi Universe, where we had a continuous plot to get to Jurai, we'd always have gimmicks and sidetracks to entertain the simple objective story.
 
WISE FWOM YOUR GWAVE

Terminally bored, I resorted to trawling through old threads when I happened upon this one, which was created a while before I signed up. With a wave of my spiked bat and an incantation of Pi-Piru-Piru-Piru-Pi-Piru-Pi, it was resurrected.

The first Tenchi OVA was one of the first anime I ever watched, and certainly my first exposure to what would later be referred to as the "harem" sub-genre of romantic comedy. It's been several years since I last watched it, hence I'm not certain that I would be quite as impressed with it today, but for a while it was one of my favourites.

Part of the reason, I guess, is that Tenchi was unique and fresh at the time - not only in the sense that it was one of the earliest harem shows, but in terms of what was available in the UK back when it was first released here. It strikes a perfect balance of comedy, action, adventure, and mystery; the interplay between the characters is enjoyable to watch; the design and music is excellent; and that it's only six episodes meant that it didn't outstay its welcome, or start repeating itself, as these kind of shows have a tendency to do. It has a lot of charm.

The second OVA series wasn't as good, though - it felt like a rehash - and I didn't bother with any of the TV incarnations, nor the third OVA. I'm happy to fondly remember those first six episodes and how much I enjoyed them all those years ago.
 
hey, I had that game, although I could never finish it :(
migh get an emulator to try ti out again sometime ...

Nyu said:
...If it wasn't for the popularity of Tenchi you probably wouldn't have series such as Oh My Goddess! ..
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Oh my goddess is from 88 while the first installment of the tenchi franchise is 92.

Tenchi is great, but Oh my godess is better in my opinion. Oh my goddess is closer to a family friendly harem series, if you know what I mean.
 
McIcy said:
Yes I love Tenchi Muyo
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me to! they finshed the OVA off i was abit MEH with the ending, though rewatching the first series of the ova i see were it comes from and the GXP Series...well ive stop watching that!
 
Otaku-san said:
yeah i heard the GXP series wasn't that great
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:evil: The blasphamy continues! GXP is, in my opinion, the BEST of all the Tenchi series/spinoffs. GXP is much funnier and has a generally better and more comprehendable story. Universe and the 3rd part of the main OVA were pretty good too if I remember. The main series and in tokyo were alright, but GXP takes it my a mile.

Note: GXP is the only Tenchi series I have actually bought to date and was one of the first series I got due to it being so great.
 
the thing is what i heard is that it has nothing to do with Tenchi, just a person that is almost a perfect clone of the guy. which i think is kinda of strange

if it was a show could tenchi wouldn't they at least have tenchi as the main character
 
True, it Tenchi only appears in one or two episodes near the end. The main character for this is his half-brother. The thing that makes him a better version of Tenchi though, is that he has essentially everything Tenchi has, but with added bad luck...hilarity ensues.
 
Mega, think you need to re-watch GXP :D

Seina, isn't related official at all to Tenchi, only Cousin in law since he's now married to Tenchi's Cousin Kiriko

They're just friends.

Tenchi's half brother is actually the main in the now rare to find Dual! Parallel, and the new series that's in production, Where as Tenchi is also considered a sister series to El Hazard
 
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still i would like to watch Tenchi again i've like only watched it twice now :p

the first was on the sci-fi channel, then when they aired it on CN. Nice move CN, they put a certified 15 anime where they had to edit a bunch of stuff from it to make it suitable
 
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