Customer Reviews

Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki - Here Comes the Bride! (Vol. 1)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Before I even get started, I'll address what was for me, and so I assume it was for many Tenchi fans, the anxiety over the replacement English dub for Ryoko. Mona Marshall replaces Petrea Burchard in this third OVA series. You'll know her as both the English dub voices of Kite in the .hack games and Nataku in X. Her voice here tries to capture Petrea's essence, but comes off as much younger. Of course, as a long time Tenchi fan, I miss Petrea as Ryoko, but I think Mona has done a fine job, certainly better in any event, than she did for the GXP series.

Most of the rest of the voice cast returned this time around, however they are all also ten years older, and a tuned ear can hear the minute differences. Sasami was dead on with the original though, however, Sherri Lynn hasn't been out of practice using it, as she has done the same voice for numerous other anime and games over the years (most notably MOMO in Xenosaga).

Now, the series as a whole is interesting. It's the same show, only some ten years later in coming. A lot more CG is used this time around, and most of it is very obvious and almost seems out of place. The story picks up where it left off, and for anyone who is either unfamiliar with it or can't remember it, being that it has been so long, the first episode has quite a few flashbacks to acquaint and re-aquaint the audience with the backstory and characters.

The first volume of OVA 3 deals with the arrival of Noike, an arranged fiance to Tenchi by everyone's favorite Devil Princess of Jurai, that you may remember from Tenchi GXP, Lady Seto. Yosho's wife Airi (also from GXP) arrives, as does an unexpected relative of Tenchi. Supposedly this new OVA series will deal more heavily with Washu, Tsunami, and the mysterious Tokimi. For fans who were hoping that Kiyone from the Universe and Tokyo series and movies would arrive, sorry, she isn't a part of the original OVA storyline and won't be appearing (her appearance in the Mihoshi special isn't part of the OVA timeline). However, Noike does a lot to fill that void for any lingering Kiyone fans out there (you'll just have to watch and see what I mean). And for anyone who is confused, in the proper timeline, Kiyone is the name of Tenchi's mother. It was changed for the first movie to Achika, to reduce confusion between herself and the other Kiyone.

In any event, I highly recommend this DVD for any old Tenchi fans, as well as the GXP series for anyone who is confused about all the new characters who appear on this disc.

...the more they change. At first it seems like Tenchi and the girls haven't changed at all. And they haven't really. But in the background events are moving to change everything. Lady Sato has sent Noike to Earth to be Tenchi's bride-to-be! And while Ryoko and Ayeka decide how to handle her Lady Tokimi is carrying out her own plot against Washu and Tsunami.
Of course there is lots of humor, dark hints - foreshadowing - of future events linked with Tenchi's future bride and way too many flashbacks.
The English dubbing kind of threw me off - some voices are the same (just older) and some voices are new. Ryoko's English voice upset me at first but by the third episode I didn't seem to notice.
With only three episodes and not much in the way of extras only a real Tenchi fan should bother to buy up the disc. Still, it does promise a new, fresh and interesting series of episodes - the Tenchi Muyo! universe is nothing if not interesting!

Now I am a Tenchi Fan in all forms. I have the original OVA's, Tenchi Universe, Tenchi in Tokyo, all 3 Theatrical movies, the Tenchi Muyo GXP series, and even the Pretty Sammy series just for completion purpouses. Oh yeah, that Mihoshi special too. I've watched them all, if not more than twice, and whether I liked one more than the other have re-watched them just to be knowledgeable about them. I originally saw my first Tenchi on Toonami:Cartoon Network, and was instantly hooked.

I will mark what is a spoiler so read past the lines of doom as your own risk.

----Spoiler----
The 1st episode on this volume starts out with a 10 more minutes than usual episode of flash backs, trying to recapture your Jeopoardy on what you remember of the original episodes. All the characters are revisited and given a moment for you to have that "Yay, good ol'e -Character name here-" moment. It ends with a special visitor at the end. In the 2nd episode she is introduced as Tenchi's sister, Tenyou, even though she looks uncannily like his own mother (although she admits to filling in for his mother on many occasions due to their alikeness). Tenchi's father reveals in a misconception that Tenchi's real mother's name is Kiyone (Okay guys, you really messed up here) over the heavily popular idea that her name is Achika based on one of the Tenchi Movies in which she played a large role. This is a bit of an issue considering that Kiyone was the name of Mihoshi's partner in all the other series casts, however the rumor is that they simply made her name Achika for the movie she was in to prevent confusion(Kiyone was in the movie as well). Kiyone is non-existant however in this series' timeline, so onward. After Tenchi clears up from crying thinking it was his mother for 5 minutes, Tenyou introduces a woman named Airi who happens to be Grandfather Yosho's wife. The bad news comes when Tenyou reveals that Ayeka's grandmother Lady Seto, the Devil Princess of Jurai, has arranged for Tenchi to marry Noike. Tenchi finds Noike by accident while doing the feilds and inturn she is invited to dinner where Tenchi evidently figures out she is to be his wife. Of course, a few of the cast is left unsettled by this (Can you guess who? :]), but they are left powerless to do anything to get rid of her because she is so incredibly polite/nice. She helps Tenchi in the feilds and even does his chores for him during a 3 day period in which Tenchi became unhealthy due to a stress factor from all the news he had recieved (Hey, if you had met your 80 year old sister, your Mistress of Galaxy Police Grandmother, and figured out you were to marry the adopted daughter under the order of the most powerful enitity in the galaxy, wouldn't you be surprised?) It is later discovered that Noike's intentions are a bit above and beyond just marrying Tenchi...
----End Spoiler, read on now!----

Here's how it looks. Tenchi Muyo is obviously the most popular of the Tenchi Series and releases, as it is the only series that skillfully combines a more serious vibe with the silly story and setting that we know as Tenchi Muyo, provides more interesting character development over the silly and somewhat bad introductions and stories of the cast in Tenchi in Tokyo, has not shown any conclusive signs whereas the TV series "Tenchi Universe" ended promptly after he defeated an enemy he defeated midway through the first few episodes of Tenchi Muyo OVA original (Prequel series to the item I'm reviewing), and pretty much a perfect example of an anime you watch that sets you apart from watching Trigun, or Pokemon (Tenchi In Tokyo provided a very joke and kid feel). It is the only series left frayed, and people have been waiting years for this to finally come out and this is the turn out...

Good god...what happened?! What you knew and loved out of the Tenchi cast, story progression, and good ol'e "just another wierd day" episodes is about to get rocked. I'll begin with the horrible lack of supportive story. These 3 episodes are buckets of unneeded plot twists that make you indcredibly uncomfortable and confused. New characters all over the map(Introduction of Tenchi's Sister, His Grandfather Yosho's wife, and his set fiancee by Ayeka's grandmother Lady Seto) make the current high profile characters (Such as Ryoko and Ayeka/Washu ect) seem somewhat unwanted. The addition of a wife to the humble grandpa Yosho we know, especially a wife that is full of immature antics of being offended over her position on the family tree is a very disconcerting new relative. It's like watching your favorite episode of Batman, and then Batman gets married to Sailor Moon. Tenyou is an okay character, but what bothers me in summation of the two is that both of them seem to flirt with Tenchi, even though they are closely related to him which in an essense might not seem SO bad considering Tenchi would be marrying family if he married Noike, but in the atmosphere that the Tenchi Muyo series has created that surpasses all the other Tenchi stories, it is just awkward. The character Noike is a super boobed out woman with long green hair(which she cuts short in the 3rd episode because it was "in the way of her chores")who is way too nice, and has such an annoying niceness to her that it seems like it is a disease, but this could be part of her plan, who knows. The animation is revamped, which no doubt is a positive thing, but inspite of all the negatives they succeed in only making it feel like you are watching digimon(not to mention, one of the new voices IS from one of the main characters of Digimon but I'll rant about that later). It's definetly cool to see a continuation of the series we all know and love, but before I conclude, allow to address the most stellar issue of this new edition...

Voice Acting. I can't exactly think of where to begin...I'll start the not as bad to the terrible.

Mihoshi: Over the voice actor that portrayed Mihoshi in the original OVA and the Tenchi Universe series that is by far my favorite, it is a huge misconcpetion when they say "All but Ryoko" have returned for the cast. The Mihoshi voice used is the actor that played in Tenchi and Tokyo and the 2nd movie. You got used to it, but compared to the muyo series, it didn't even stand. In muyo, she sounded gawky, clumsy, but they managed to do it while still giving her a sense of femininity and maturity. Now her voice (same one from the Tenchi in Tokyo series) is an incredibly annoying high pitched chirp that makes you want to completely dislike the character. She continuously talks, for instance when she is alone. She gives a constant play by play of what she needs to do like her brain is forcing her mouth to speak out everything she needs to do. Although most anime characters tend to brainstorm aloud when they are alone, she makes it seem like downright constant conversation with herself and it gets annoying pretty darn quick. Don't be fooled when you read that the original cast has come back besides only Ryoko. Adding to all of this, her voice acting is undoubtedly terrible, with tons of uneeded dialogue, and horrid expression of her feelings and what she is thinking. Mihoshi is far from her original.

Yosho/Noboyuki: Again, the Muyo and Universe voices > the Tenchi in Tokyo ones. Tenchi in Tokyo seemed like one big laughable joke, and using the voice cast that was not same to the Original Muyo, makes this seem like a joke. Not to mention the same guy does both of them and does a bad job differentiating between the two. There is a scene where the camera is placed well above both of their heads while they are in conversation, and it took a few minutes of matching what I think that character would say to them to figure out who was talking because they sounded exactly the same. Voice acting for them is par, but nothing astounding as what I'm about to reminisce on...

Ryoko: Okay, here's the big cheese. This is the all purpouse biggie reason that canned my final opinion on their choices in this extension of my favorite series. Petrea Burchard was replaced with Mona Marshall. Ever see Izzy in Digimon? Yeah, that voice. I must say I am absolutely shocked whenever I hear her speak now. It is just mind boggling to me how they made the connection between her voice, and Petrea's voice and thought "Oh, that's definetly our new Ryoko!" I'm shocked, dissappointed and absolutely disgusted with the new choice. I'm not saying the replacement is a bad voice actor. I'm just saying she is literally(from what I've heard thus far) INCAPABLE of reproducing what we know of Ryoko. The flash backs are utterly butchered because of the re-dub and make you want to watch the original over and over to cleanse your mind of the horrid new vocal pick. Here's a letter Petrea sent in response to a fan letter, reproduced with her permission...

"I appreciate your taking the time to write.

Indeed, it's no secret that I won't be returning as Ryoko.
I feel it would be unprofessional to reveal the details of
why and why not. We just weren't able to work it out. I loved playing the part and have enjoyed correspondence
with many fans over the years.

In my experience, most actors will give their all and do
their best, and I'm sure whoever plays Ryoko in the new OVA
will be no exception. I hope the fans will give her a
chance. Thanks so much for writing!

Sincerely,
Petrea Burchard"

The new voice is squeaky, unstable and downright annoying. It takes all of Ryoko's past personality placements away, and gives her a complete make over in to a truly inverse character. It sounds as though she is sick with a stuffed nose, and can't breath most of the time. Petrea offered a wonderful, alto, feminine feeling to Ryoko, one that made her character mature and indeed a "woman" but has now been blown to literally bits by this replacement. I can barely imagine a romantic scene between her and Tenchi or like if something fatal were to happen to Tenchi like when he was blown up in Tenchi Muyo before coming back to life, how this new talent would even come close to pulling of an eleagant drama to the clip that Petrea most certainly would. They've ruined Ryoko. They've obliterated her completely, I'll give Mona a few more episodes to shape up, and given there hasn't been any dramatic dialogue yet in these first 3 episodes, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt for now. But I adore a lot of the drama in Tenchi, and you know what I mean-those parts where you just KNOW you want to cry (don't lie :]) like when she apparently "dies" near the end of the universe series(although she comes back but it is made very clear as though she passed in the actual episode), or when Tenchi defeats the final nemesis in Tenchi Universe and the wonderful score of Tenchi's previous composers plays in the background while Ayeka cries on his shoulders. It is just those moments that all the silly slap-stick comedy only support, that make Tenchi the anime for me and many others. I can only cross my fingers, but I still see the worst to come. But who knows, she may turn around and blow me away.

The composition thus far seems weak. Unlike in Muyo where you had these little atmospheric tracks that played through your mind even when you weren't watching Tenchi, and wonderful drama-esque music that opens your eyes, we have little to no music at all, much worse when it does play it's these little annoying jingles. And as I said, I can barely imagine an emotional scene as of now with my current view on the new voice replacements.

All in all I am all but pleased with this new edition of the Tenchi Series, although I still recommend it for Tenchi fans, because it will complete your collection and god knows we all want to keep knowing what's gonna happen to this series and where it's gonna go. So if you are a Tenchi fan on the same level as I, then it is a must get, but not on the level of must get that it is an amazing addition to the powerful and wonderful Tenchi experience we had through the first OVA Tenchi Muyo's. Thanks for reading.

First, the new voice for Ryoko does sound much younger, but she fits in well after a couple episodes.

What threw me off was the fact that they had her re-dub a flashback: the fight Ryoko had with Tenchi, which burned down Tenchi's school in the first part of the OVA. Something in me was just missing her old voice then..

But, ah well, ten years *is* a long time.

All that aside this DVD drops us off right were the last left off, giving more background to Tenchi's family for the most part and sending Sasami skipping though the carrot field playing a singing game of "Where's the rabbit? Where's the kitty?" with little Ryoohki.

In many ways, it's like we as fans never left the well known world of Tenchi, where 'things sure are getting interesting'.

My only true let down is after all these years, we only get 3 episodes on this DVD. From the look of things, the next one is not even planned to come out for the better part of four months to the start of next year! Could someone be underestimating how strong the fandom is for more Tenchi?

Tenchi has probably been my all-time favorite anime series. When everything sort of stopped with episode 13 we were left out in the cold it seemed. Tenchi TV, Tenchi in Toyko and GXP are great series but they don't hold out against the first and best. With the release of "Here comes the Bride!" we we hopfully get a conclusion to the OAV series. Although I think that it will sort of end like Tenchi TV with no real choice by Tenchi, I still look forward to seeing what all is planned for this series.

It starts up well enough. We get more insight into the character Z, who is genuinely entertaining though seen extremely little. From there we get to see a rather unnecessary set of flashbacks of the series which might've been fine if the voicework had been done well. As it is, it only takes up episode space. Aside from that, however, the first episode is pretty good. Funny, though the girls have a disturbing lack of interaction with Tenchi. And at the end of the episode there's an emotional shocker which could really set up for something good.

From there it all goes downhill. New characters are introduced like mad, leaving all the main ones, aside from Tenchi, Washu and Ryo-ohki, in the background. This is made all the more annoying by a few things. All the new characters (aside from the one introduced at the end of the first episode) are overblown and annoying. To make it worse, they have this freakish and instant attraction to Tenchi not seen anwhere else in the series (despite many of their relations to him). One in particular, the third woman introduced, seems completely unnecessary to the series and makes little sense being there. The fourth, on the other hand, is annoyingly perfect. Like Sakuya except with a temper against Mihoshi. And worse, we get most of the third episode devoted to her. Then of course we hear about (but aren't introduced to) Seto, the devil princess of Jurai, who even the Emperor Azusa doesn't mess with and even Kagato avoided at all costs. :/ Considering the cast we've been introduced to and those two characters, that screams fanfiction to me more than OVA.

On the other hand the girls we know are glazed over. Washu and Ryo-ohki are best off, retaining ample screen time and the same personalities we know and love, though Washu seems more social than I remember. Sasami is not far behind, retaining her innocent playfulness and hard-working attitude whenever possible, though her relationship with Tsunami is never touched on in the least. Mihoshi and her antics are largely ignored, given background screen time every once and awhile and little more. Ayeka and Ryoko suffer most, though. As much screen time as they are given, it is largely as the two jealous girls arguing with each other (no fighting). With Ayeka it's easy to forget she's the first princess of the most powerful (politically) family in the universe, she gets so little time outside of jealousy and Ryoko arguments. For all that, however, Ryoko has it even worse. She starts off well enough in the first episode, but by the second it's like looking at a different character. For instance, in none of the three episode does she once give a hint of a flirt to Tenchi. Besides that, she's incredibly mild and cowardly in the face of intimidation. It's funny at first, with her fear toward Misaki, but it quickly gets out of hand, her backing down to the new characters as if they had any sort of authority or power over her (she's gotten hit and screamed at worse with Ayeka, Washu or Misaki more than these characters combined and she's still cowering away). The absolute worst for me, however (and this is a spoiler, so you've been warned) is how she just sort of accepts that Tenchi has a fiance because the devil princess arranged it. That goes against everything we've seen of Ryoko up to this point in any of the series.

The voice acting is alright. I only had a problem with Tenchi, whose voice is constantly breaking, and the last two additions to the cast, whose voices are as annoying and unreal as their personalities. Everyone else is good (aside from the shoddy flashback scenes) including Ryoko's new voice which, though different, makes a pretty good replica to the old one. I honestly had no problem with it aside from the flashbacks. The animation is alright as well. It's different from the OVA, for good and for bad. It's smoother, but also goes into the crazier anime tendencies as well.

Overall, this is failed potential. Very sad and disappointing. I'm hoping this will get resolved in later episodes, but I hold little hope.

And I watched the entire series. Sadly, I have no opinion on the new voice actress for Ryoko. I only watch the original Japanese with subtitles. I do remember the old voice actress however, and can't imagine her being replaced. I think I'll stick to the Japanese just for that, if nothing else.

I'm seeing a little conflict over the whole Kiyone thing. Yes, Kiyone was the name of Mihoshi's partner in the Mihoshi Special. Remember that no one had their true names except for Mihoshi! She probably knew that Tenchi's mother was named Kiyone, and used that name. But Kiyone was the name of Tenchi's mother long before the GXP version. And really, the OVAs are the only true canon anyway.

I really did enjoy this series, and again, I got a sneak peek at the end. I will say that if Tenchi chose someone, I can't tell who it is. I have not seen the special however (Ep 20), so there might be something there. The girls haven't really changed, except maybe Ryoko herself a little. It might be the result of her merging with Zero, or it could just be that she's maturing a little, but you get to see a slightly softer side to her. There's also quite a bit with Ryo-ohki as a child. This third OVA does give quite a bit more closure, which is what I'm glad for. I'd love to see a fourth ova, but I just don't see it happening. With this story revolving around the three goddesses of the universe, the spectacular ending leaves little storyline left to follow.

While the series is a lot of fun, there are indeed some questions left to be answered. As of yet, pasts and backgrounds are still a little incomplete if you don't plan on reading a little. With the big fan base in Japan, it seems like us in America will only get half the story.

I'm a HUGE TM! fan, I'm talkin' everything bit of merchandise ever made regarding this little anime saga, I own it. So naturally when the new OVA came out, I just had to have it, despite what some critics said about it...

Now, first off, I have to say that I was more than a bit unrattled when I heard that Petrea Burchard (sometimes credited as Celeste Burch) was no longer providing the voice of Ryoko, however I figured that I didn't mind as long as she didn't sound like the voice actress that did Ryoko's voice in GXP. Boy was I in for a shock...

Let's put it this way...Ryoko's beautifully sultry voice has been replaced by a nasally, whiny sub-par 'Giget'. I'd equate it almost like the voice actress who did Yuzuha in 'Daughter of Darkness', only a little more squeaky. It didn't do Ryoko's character justice at all, and truth be told, it took all the self-control I had to keep from jamming Q-tips in my ears. Long gone are the days of the wonderfully deep alto undercurrents Miss Burchard had provided, the kind that made men melt into their socks, instead I felt insulted that the creators would think that a fan like myself wouldn't notice such a drastic change. Let's face it, Ryoko's voice that we all know and love made her who she was, and it is truely sad to see (and hear) that she is gone (I won't even SPEAK of the voice overs for the flash backs!). Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the actress, I just feel she would have made a better voice over for a character on Pokemon rather than Ryoko from TM.
Everyone else seems pretty much the same, except Mihoshi sounds more like the bubbly blonde in Tenchi in Tokyo, and Washu doesn't really sound all that cheerful anymore. 'Tenchi' from time to time sounds like he's going through a growth spurt rather than the voice most of us are used to, but pretty much the same. Tokimi's voice actress is different, but didn't really phase me.

Ok, on to business...

The artistry isn't the same either. It seems more 'Tenchi in Tokyo' rather than the original OVA, but didn't take away all that much away from the experience. I think the special effects were just a tad over done; it just didn't seem right to have to use special effects on a moving truck, but that's just me I guess.

As for the series itself, it's pretty slow, as well as a bit confusing. The first episode deals with pretty much how it left off. We get a better look at 'Z', although his motives are still unclear. It's a bit confusing who exactly he works for...D or Lady Tokimi. Either way, he has compiled info regarding Tenchi and the girls and is sent on another mission: to keep an eye on Tenchi, but not to harm him. From that point, we go back to where things ended in episode 13 of the second OVA, only some flash backs thrown into the mix. Tenchi goes into the city to see his dad, and is met with a few of his schoolmates, who in turn inform him of Amagasaki's (the 'clown' from the first OVA episode) current situation. After meeting with Nobuyuki and his dad's secretary/friend (are they dating?), father and son return home in the mountains, all the while Tenchi asking about his late mother (his father however dodging the most painful of them). Later at home, it seems Ryoko has taken a more relaxed, motherly role in the way she treats Ryo-Ohki, and this seems to upset little Sasami a bit. Things seem to go on as usual, however it isn't long before Tenchi's world is turned upside down all over again as someone drops by for a visit.

The second episode deals with a few surprise relatives dropping by, all of which are female, and in the same token, all of them find Tenchi irresistably cute (who'd've thunk it?). Most of the group is flabbergasted (can you guess who) when it's discovered that Tenchi is betrothed to a young Jurian woman, a match made possible by Princess Aeka's grandmother. Needless to say this doesn't settle at all with Ryoko, eliciting a couple of comedic moments as the ex-pirate receives quite a punishment for calling one of Tenchi's 'long lost' relatives a "crusty old hag". Oh, what will happen to Tenchi this time?

In the third episode, Tenchi collapses from the stress (or so it seems) and it's up to his new fiance to take care of him (much to the displeasure of Aeka and Ryoko). While he rests, his chosen lady rallies everyone around to help out with the everyday chores, and she seems to prove that she can handle both Lady Aeka and Ryoko quite well, not to mention Mihoshi (we all know that Kiyone wasn't part of the original series, and she isn't in this either, but this woman's nature seems to fill that void a bit). As Tenchi recovers, Ryoko and Aeka (as well as Tenchi's grandfather) learn the truth behind this new fiance's motives. Deep in space though, a space ship is on it's way to Earth...it's mission: to rescue Mihoshi.

All in all it wasn't bad...not as exciting as the first or second OVA, but not bad. The quality is quite good, but I felt the writing was a little forced and lacking in some areas. Nothing too much to discourage me from watching it (but again, the voices...oh Goddess the voices!).

If you're a true Tenchi fan, this disk is a must have if only to continue the set. Other than that, it's really nothing to write home about (but that's just me).

As Tenchi fans already know, Ryoko's voice has changed hands from Ms. Petrea Burchard to Ms. Celeste Burch. As with many, I was shocked that very concerned that Ryoko's voice would change. But after reading a few reviews that spoke positively about Ms. Celeste Burch's performance, I felt a bit comforted and decided to purchase the DVD for myself.

...my dear God.

Perhaps it is just me, but Ryoko's new voice truly did provide ample amounts of offense to my ears. It is not that she did a "bad" job as a voice actor, but more that she did a "bad" job as a replacement for Ms. Petrea Burchard. This made it very difficult for me to watch the DVD and I literally had to force myself to deal with it.

Though that was the biggest issue for me, there were others. Tenchi's voice, for instance. Though the same voice actor was used for Tenchi, his voice did not sound the same and at times I would swear that it was someone else entirely. Tenchi's grunts sounded the same, but many of the dialog lines had me reaching for the volume control, turning it up so that I could verify that it was in fact the same Tenchi that I had grown to know.

Many people complain about the bad quality of the flash-backs in the DVD, but I say it fits the idea of a flash-back for the quality to be less than that of the original animation.

The story line... Well, I enjoyed that thoroughly, filled with new characters and surprises.

The actual dubbing is a bit so-so to me as well. Most people will not concern themselves with this part so it is of less importance. But for those who do take note of such things, you'll notice that some of the English translation does not fit with what the original Japanese characters were saying. On top of that, some of the English voice actors (for Tenchi in particular) had a bit of a tendency to rush their lines, leaving a very slight moment of awkward silence between lines.

I would have enjoyed this DVD 100 times more if Ms. Petrea Burchard had remained as Ryoko's voice. But alas, I found that I was robbed much of my enjoyment and now much prefer to watch the subtitled version of it instead. Cheers to you Ms. Petrea Burchard. Your performance has proved to be thus far, irreplaceable.

What can I say; it's well and truly been worth the wait!

From the age of about 17 when I first discovered Tenchi to naming my daughter after Kiyone at age 20, to having my heart sink a few years back when I discovered there was to be no more Tenchi. It could be said that Tenchi has been perhaps; my only obsession and in a way I matured along with Tenchi and the girls, to my now old age of 26. Even at 26 though, you still want a Light Hawk Sword though.

Can I take a moment to say that if you were introduced to Tenchi through Cartoon Network or Toonami / Boomerang etc. please go and buy the proper uncut and unedited version before buying OVA3.

Anyway, to my review! It's great to see Tenchi and the girls back in action, not forgetting our favourite Cabbit!

The original humour is still there, although perhaps slightly exaggerated in points (like `Tokyo'), but these are few and far between. One cute and humorous scene in particular, mentioned in an earlier review I think, with Sasami and Ryo-Ohki - "where's the kitten, where's the rabbit" was a great laugh indeed!

I think we really need to appreciate how many of the original voice cast we have back together for OVA3. I do have to admit that Ryoko just isn't the same. At first she's just too girly, or at least for the first two episodes. Ryoko's original voice had the necessary `power' and perhaps `huskiness' that was needed to portray, even define; the character. The new actor however (Mona Marshall) whom I believe is a fellow Brit, seems to settle into the roll by the third episode; and I have to admit to being quite impressed by the likeness at this point, I remember thinking `yeah, that's the Ryoko we all love!'. Whilst on the subject of voices, something just doesn't seem quite right with Mihoshi, although I know it's the same actor, something just doesn't sound right, she sounds like a stereotypical `squeaky' anime girl. It has been 10 years though; don't like to think what I'll sound like in ten years.

Although time wise OVA3 follows almost directly after OVA2, the characters, as a whole feel more mature with Ayeka and Ryoko seeming more settled down, less argumentative, whist Tenchi projects a confident composure. Sasami, accompanied as always by Ryo-Ohki, remain cute as ever. Mihoshi on the other hand doesn't do a lot, just sleeps as usual, but more so this time around. Reminds me of my ex-fiancé! ^_^ Through `Universe' and `Tokyo', even `Magical Project S', oh and the movies, I was use to having Kiyone around. Her presence is missed somewhat, but obviously she couldn't be there, as it's the follow on from the OVA, it's still a shame though. There is a twist with the name Kiyone and a relative of Tenchi's, I couldn't help think this was an unneeded complication, although apparently it was originally intended to be this way, it's too long to go into here and I don't want to spoil the story for you.

There are only three episodes on the DVD; although totalling 100 minutes, it isn't at all bad! The thing is, in usual Tenchi style, the first half of the series is used to set the background and story; plus have a laugh, so as you're approaching the end of ep3 and it's all about to `kick-off' it ends, leaving you screaming for Volume 2! I actually did scream. Can anyone confirm for definite to when we're getting Vol 2?

Extras on the disk include character profiles and trailers, but not original Jap trailers of OVA3, just general trailers. The DVD cover is double sided too, so if you're tired of looking at Ryoko, you can look at Ayeka and Sasami instead.

My favourite was always the original Tenchi series, followed by `Universe' although I was disappointed a bit by `Tokyo', it was ok in the end, although not much of an ending really was it. However, GXP caused me great mental pain after only two volumes, I just couldn't bring myself to pay about £30 per volume to import it to the UK! OVA3 is a necessity for any true Tenchi fan!! I am more than happy with OVA3 - Volume 1! If you haven't ordered yet, do so now!

It's just a shame this time it will be the end for sure...or will it?


* * NOTE - Although out of my price range, Tench fans may be interested in the Tenchi Muyo 10th Anniversary Limited Edition DVD.