Customer Reviews

Tenchi Universe - Volume 1 - On Earth I

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Tenchi Universe is a complete retelling of the OVA series, only with a few story changes, new twists, new adventures, and of course, new characters. The first new twist is the introduction of Ryoko and Mihoshi. Ryoko being found injured on the road under a tree by Tenchi, instead of in the cave as in the OVA series. Mihoshi appearing a lot sooner, trying to arrest Ryoko. At least the original characters haven't changed. Mihosho is still a ditzy, clumsy galazy police detective. Whose in the cave this time around? You'll just have to watch and find out. Charcter designs are the same as the OVA, but the animation is well ahead. Humour abounds, as does the action. You won't believe half the stuff that they get themselves into. A tremendous series.

The Tenchi saga retold, this series was made for broadcast television, and sadly, it shows. The animation is more limited than in the original OVAs, and the character coloring, while technically correct, seems too "Saturday Morning-ish". With 7 more volumes to go, the OAV is a much better investment.

However, this DVD does have its perks. The finger puppets included with the video are useless, but just the kind of kawaii(cute) extras otaku(fans) drool for. Also, like other Tenchi DVD's, this one contains lots of pencil sketches and the openings/endings sans credits. And if you're a Washu fan, take heart. She shows up by the 4th episode! ^_^

I'll rate that the DVD itself was pretty good (although it didn't have much in the way of special features). The color and sharpness are stunning; just as they should be on a good DVD, and the sound is a clear advancement from the VHS version of Tenchi Universe. However, fans of Tenchi Muyo looking for a story just as great as the "legendary" OAV aren't in for much when it comes to this Tenchi TV series. The stories are not nearly as in-depth as the OAV, and the characters are hardly developed. Many of the plotlines are toned-down, perhaps to suit a younger audience for easier understanding. However, the series is still worthwhile to see for any Tenchi fan. And for those of you who have seen Tenchi Muyo only on its Cartoon Network debut-- I HIGHLY recommend that you purchase Tenchi Muyo, both the TV and OAV series -- as they were originally meant to be; before all the dubbing and extreme editting.

I really like watching Tenchi Universe, so I bought this DVD at a local Suncoast Pictures Store. Its a bit pricy(I got it for $30), but still highly enjoyble! It's suggested 13 years of age and up rating is highly deservable, because Ryoko swears 3 times(4, actually, because if you turn on subtitles they make a mistake in Episode 3, because Ryoko says "Witch" and the subtitles say the bad word that ryhmes with witch), and they have sexual comments alot(they're funny for the people who get it). If you want to get into the Tenchi saga, I highly recommend this DVD because it contains the first four episodes, and in the extra features it has a charecter description and some video clips of the person as well. Pioneer doesn't bother to list the extra features, so I'll mention them here: Opening with no credits, closing with no credits, Charecter Description and something else(I can't remember what it was...), plus an option to view in english or japanese, with subtitles or no subtitles). All in all, I say get this DVD if you are a Tenchi fan, or an anime fan!

this has got to be the best tenchi serious out there... it's highly enjoyable...in my opinion much more enjoyable than the OAV series. it's suited for younger audiences so much more people can check this series out and see what the whole craze is all about. cartoon network killed tenchi universe on toonami, and it's time that fans should go and check out the series as it was meant to be seen. the characters have more depth and are able to be developed into much more than they ever could be in the OAVs. as the series progresses, true feelings and sincere moments are let out in the open and the romantic scenes are executed with such taste. although at the end of the series, tenchi seems to make it clear enough and "chooses" the female that has always been in his heart, it pisses me off a bit that it isn't made definate. but don't get me wrong, the ending is beautiful and one of the most truely touching endings in all of anime, and if u didn't already figure out halfway through the series that this particular woman was the one he loved all along... u're a bigger airhead than mihoshi... and the ending is only fitting and a cute match between the female and tenchi i have to say...kawaii all the way...

Tenchi Universe is 26 episodes, starting with the first four on this DVD. This DVD is important because it does bring in most of the major characters that will be starring within the series itself. We first meet Tenchi walking along in his school uniform. Seconds later there is a explosion as a spaceship crashes. He finds the blue haired Ryoko, who is drunk, and claims she is being chased by a space pirate. That's when the powered suit pops up and starts blasting. We later learn that this is Galaxy Police Detective Mihoshi and Ryoko is in fact the space pirate. Let me add that the powered armour suit looks VERY cool, but doesn't do well against wooden swords.
Things become calmer after Ryoko refuses to allow Mihoshi to arrest her. Mihosho sends off a SOS and soon Princess Ayeka arrives. She and Ryoko have bad blood between them, get into a space battle with their ships and both ships end up damaged which makes Mihoshi cry. But soon Princess Sasami shows up to save them all. And her ship is wrecked also. Mihoshi cries.
Now that they are all trapped on Earth, they all decide to help with the chores; Sasami cooks, Ayeka and Mihoshi do house work and Ryoko goofs off. After learning about the monster in the shrine, from Grandfather Katsuhito, the gang end up releasing Washu. Well, it's Ryoko's fault but let's not point fingers.
The first DVD is funny, allows us to get a good idea about the characters and really hooks you into the whole TV series.

Tenchi Universe is the best Tenchi TV series. It stars everyone from "Tenchi Muyo!" and it's longer and better.
Tenchi is a teenage boy that finds two women from outer space. One of them is a space pirate, the other is a member of the Galaxy Police, looking for the space pirate Ryoko.
This is a fun series and I never tire of watching it over and over and over and over and over again.

This was my first Tenchi movie I bought. I thought the four episodes were great after watching them. There were great and funny parts, too in the shows. My favorite was No Need For Monsters because it was funny, but Ryoko does some stuff that needs parental guidence for little kids. But not BAD stuff! I also love to look in the art section for a DVD extra, but I was a little dissapointed about the DVD extra for character descriptions. They make you read this little print summary of each person, but the video clip was ok.

If you've watched the OVA, you're not missing much here. Tenchi Universe simply doesn't live up to the standards of the OVA. This series is good, but it's nost fantastic.

What hurts it? The thing that harms it the most is the really bad characterizations. For instance, in this series Ryoko went into a life of crime by choice, losing a lot of her softer side, Aeka's a real witch at times, and Mihoshi's just plain dumb. Washu's devoid of any characterization whatsoever now.

What else hurts this? Plot. The plot is rather weak. Over half the series is filler. The "main plot" involving a coup on Jurai is not interesting at all, and ends up hitting a lot of cliches along the way. Only Ryoko and Aeka are after Tenchi this time around, so it's now a love triangle. But you'll keep asking yourself "why?" as the reasoning behind why they're after him is weak and not well thought out.

This is pretty much a dumbed down OVA series that's no more then a romantic comedy. It's entertaining, definitly, but it's just not excellent. When there's newer stuff out there like Cowboy Bebop available at a better price/content ratio then this rather dated series that isn't even that hot, it makes you wonder why it's worth picking up. The series itself would get four stars, but due to the lack of any discount for the series' datedness (I would just be upgrading older copies) it dropped the grade a bit more. Check out Bebop, Trigun, Blue Sub, or one of the other new series, or stick to the much better OVA.

This is different from Tenchi Muyo, but it is still good. There are better and worse things about this series. A good thing about this series is that it is alot longer then Tenchi Muyo. Unfortunatly I find that there are alot worse things about this series. The characters do not have as interesting backrounds, it is not as funny, and the plots in the episode's are not as good. I like this series mainly because it is a Tenchi series. All I did was just compare Tenchi Universe to Tenchi Muyo. You may here from alot of people that Tenchi Muyo is better. I agree, but you should still watch this series because it is not bad at all. I find that more people can enjoy this series because it is suited for a younger audience as well as for older viewers. All I can tell you about the DVD is that it has good quality.