Tenchi in Tokyo, Vol. 1: A New Start (1989)

Brand new Tenchi! New Home in Tokyo, at a new school, with a new love interest named Sakuya, with new studies in exorcisms, a new hidden enemy named Yugi, Washu's new dimensional doors, and Ryo-ohki's new Mecha-Rabbit transformation! Too many troubles, too many girls, too nice a guy... Same old Tenchi!!

Different does not equal bad...at least not to me!

Granted, there are things I don't care for in the "Tenchi in Tokyo" series. The backstory of how Tenchi and the girls came to live together is, in my opinion, the least interesting of the three Tenchi "realities" presented by the series. But I found this series intriguing for several reasons.

First...in this series, Tenchi seems more like a real boy in real life situations. Yes, he still lives in a house with a space pirate, space cops, a crazed genius, two alien princesses, etc., but being sent off to school in Tokyo is a very realistic situation for Tenchi to find himself in. He makes friends, he meets the popular yet enigmatic Sakuya, and the awkward beginnings of their relationship is very sweet and touching to watch. It's the first time we get to see Tenchi as a normal boy falling in love with a normal girl. Although we find out later that Sakuya isn't who she seems to be, the tender, tentative moments they share as their relationship grows are priceless.

The rest of the gang find themselves having to deal with more realistic situations as well...they find that it takes a lot of money to run such a large household, and they have to venture out to find jobs in order to buy food and pay bills. This, plus Yugi's efforts to break up the Masaki household with her intriguing band of "shadows" does give "Tenchi in Tokyo" a darker, harsher reality than the other two series, but that does not mean that there are no laughs to be had, and no shortage of touching moments. Relationships get strained and tested to their limits, but in this we get to see the real depth of feelings that the Tenchi gang has for one another. This is what makes it impossible for Yugi to defeat them, despite her efforts to divide and conquer. It's also what is able for them to "save" Yugi in true Tenchi style.

It's a very different story than we got used to in the two earlier Tenchi series, but for me, that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The animation isn't as good, true, but the story is solid and captivating as it explores the strengths and weaknesses of all the familiar, beloved Tenchi characters. March 28, 2007

Disgrace to Tenchi's name!!

To all those who are reading the reviews for this awful series, I'm hear to tell you they are all right!! I'm am an avid Tenchi fan and own the Tenchi Muyo OVA box set and the Tenchi Universe Box set and have watched both series over and over again there that good of Anime, but I couldn't believe what I got myself into when sat down and forced myself to watch this mess with Tenchi in the title. Now I thank God that watched Tenchi in Tokyo when it was on Cartoon Network long ago and not waste good money on it(breath of relief). I thought I was missing something back then when I watched it, but now that I'm older and still am watching Tenchi Muyo and Tenchi Universe, and see on amazon the rating it's getting, I can see I wasn't missing a thing and that I'm not the only one who hates it. BUT WHY IS IT SO BAD YOU ASK???!!!!! The artwork is horrible and turns the characters eyes into tiny lifeless pupils instead of the big, bright shining eyes they usually do. The characters are completely different including Princess Ayeka who I have to admit is character I've always loved and cared for, but all of sudden has turned in to a psychotic maniac from Hell. Even Tenchi is displayed differently where he is shown as a cold hearted person towards his friends and acts as if he doesn't want anything to do with them. I'll never be able to get that horrible Sakuya out of mind at how Tenchi wanted to be with her more than the other pretty ladies he knew, and the fact is there was never a moment in the entire series where I felt attached to her. In truth I did not feel for tenchi and the gang at all, unlike in Tenchi Muyo and Tenchi Universe where you just get so attached to the characters they almost become apart of you life. Tenchi in Tokyo had a very lame villain in the form of Yugi who is far from superior when matching the power of the villains in T.M. and T.U. The story and elements in Tenchi In Tokyo were also changed and re-altered and have no connection with the other two wonderful series. The music again was a very big minus as well for it made it look like some stupid O.C. program. For those of you who are starting out with Tenchi, skip Tenchi in Tokyo and go for Tenchi Muyo and Tenchi Universe for I don't even consider Tenchi in Tokyo a tenchi anything but another worthless anime. January 9, 2007

the Dream Unfulfilled

O-K! I had to force myself to watch this series in its entirety before writing this review. Now that I'm done, my opinion hasn't changed in the least. This series is completely inane! It has absolutely no redeeming qualities. If I had begun my Tenchi experience with this series, I would never have stuck around for the others. To those of you who did, well at least you are gifted with a bright side: The other series only gets better. So, don't give up on Tenchi just yet.
Even as a standalone feature and not compared to the other series, the art/animation is awful. The musical accompaniment is just as bad. What's with the Beverly Hill-Billy, ho-down, line-dancing music set to the closing credits and next episode previews? For goodness sake, the boy's a shrine-keeper in training and the future Earth Guardian, not the new heir apparent to the Dukes of Hazard franchise.
Character development? What character development? Princess Ayeka seems like she belongs in the Batman's ® Arkham Asylum. And Sakuya? "Plank" from Ed, Edd, and Eddie is more interesting. The villains (not including Yugi) have absolutely no depth whatsoever.
As far as the plot and storyline, well, at least they can get a new "reality" show out of it: When Good Plots Go Bad. This exercise in futility was so frustrating. Every time it looked like the story was going somewhere, absurdity and stupidity won the day.
Honestly, this series had great potential but, like so many other things, we'll never see it realized. What a disappointment! November 3, 2005

it's alright

Tenchi in Tokyo is a little weird compaired to (Tenchi Muyo & Tenchi Universe) the animation was not all that good it was darker and it look too cartoony like a little kids show and their was too much comedy. I'd say the japanese messed it up completely.

Tenchi thought living in the country was getting boring so he decided to move to the city named Tokyo, their he will be trained to be his grandfather's successor as a shrine master. The girls hate that Tenchi is moving so thanks to Washu's her invention, the interdimensional tunnel it can lead the girls right into Tenchi's room in Tokyo. Tenchi meets a girl named Sakuya who is in his class. October 22, 2005

The first DVD of the Tenchi In Tokyo TV series.

The first episode starts with us watching as something vandalizes a series of shrines in the city of Tokyo and we meet Yugi. Then we find ourselves at the Masaki household, where we learn that Tenchi is going to study for two years in Tokyo, so he can, one day, replace his grandfather as the shrine master. The girls are, of course, very upset, but Tenchi is very firm on the plan and leaves for Tokyo.
While it seems like Tenchi and the girls might be serparated, in truth they are not, as Washu has invented a Inter-Dimensional Tunnel which would allow the girls to visit Tenchi ALL the time.
That COULD be a problem for Tenchi's social life, as the girls are jealous and dangerous. So when he bumps into a cute classmate, Sakuya, he knows he is in deep trouble.
But the girls are not the only ones watching him. Yugi is watching and will try all she can to split up the group. This new life might not just be the end of the world for the alien girls, but maybe the end of the world FOR real!
While I gave this DVD only four points, I do enjoy the songs and I have a soft place in my heart for the third episode, "Long Distance Lunacy" which isn't just funny, but is also the first Tenchi cartoon I ever saw. June 20, 2004

More reviews at Amazon.com ...