Subsection 2: The Third Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA
What’s this about a Third Tenchi Muyo OVA series?
It is the long-awaited continuation of the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki series. It picks up where omake episode 13.5 from OAV 2 left off.
When did OVA 3 come out in Japan?
The first episode (sometimes called “episode 14”) came out on Sepember 18, 2003. The second episode came out December 21, 2003. The third was released March 27, 2004. The fourth came out September 15, 2004. The fifth episode came out on September 15, 2004, and the sixth and final episode came out March 16, 2005.
That said, Kajishima-sensei then announced (in his doujinshi Omatsuri Zenjitsu no Yoru GXP-ban 4) that there would be an OAV 3 special episode done. AIC later confirmed this and it was released in September of 2005. It went by the name OAV 3+1.
Why were the episodes released so slowly in Japan?
Generally, OAV’s are released on a “whenever” schedule. OAV 1 was released every month. OAV 2 was released every two months. Mahou Shoujo Pretty Sammy OAV was released over three years, one episode per year.
In Japan, the cost for a single TM!R episode on DVD is ¥4800 (~$45 several years ago when I first wrote this, ~$62 in October 2012, thanks to inflation and a falling dollar). As you can see, it is very expensive to purchase these OAV’s in Japan. So by spacing them out, it allows people to save money to purchase the next DVD/episode. Also, it allows the production staff time to make sure they get everything right.
When was OVA 3 first released in the U.S.?
FUNimation, who licensed OVA 3 as “Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki,” released the first DVD, which contained the first three episodes, on July 5, 2005. The second DVD was released on October 17, 2006, and contained the final three episodes for OVA 3, “The Real Tenchi Tour” extra, and the “Lovely Cooking” music video. The third DVD was released on November 28, 2006, and it contained OVA 3+1 as well as the Himitsu Nabe Tenchi Muyo! Special, a 40-minute chat between Fuku-chan’s seiyuu and Ryo-chan’s seiyuu about GXP and the OVA series, as well as a 30-minute radio drama, compete with slide show (non-canon).
Why was there a “massive” delay between the release of the first DVD and the next two on OVA 3’s initial U.S. run?
Well the answer will come from Adam Sheehan, who was the FUNimation Tenchi Brand Manager at the time (and who’s gone up the chain at FUNimation).
One of the biggest questions I’ve been getting since the street date announcement for Tenchi volume 2 & 3 is why is it so late? I can’t take that long to dub the episodes? Here is what happened in a nutshell:
The OVA3 contract was split in two parts, episodes 4-7 being in the second contract. The signing of the second contract was delayed for a good long time due to many different internal changes that we have been going through this past year. After that there were some more studio talks and working to get the original voice cast together for these next volumes.
After all the smoke cleared (a few weeks back) we had all our ducks in a row and are pushing forward. Thank you again to all the loyal Tenchi fans for your understanding and patience.
Wait! FUNimation? What about Pioneer/Geneon? Didn’t they do the other Tenchi series?
Yep, they sure did. Pioneer distributed all of the Tenchi titles prior to GXP in both Japan and the US. But Pioneer (who later became Geneon) and AIC parted company. Starting with GXP, VAP now distributes the new Tenchi titles in Japan. FUNimation got the license to GXP for the US distribution and now has the license for OAV 3, War on Geminar, and more.
Of course today, Geneon is no more in America, so FUNimation has all of the canon Tenchi series licensed to themselves now.
Regarding the dub voice actors…
While FUNimation didn’t get but one of the original VA’s back for GXP (episode 17), this time they got all of the original VA’s back save for Petrea Burchard, who the dub fans will know played Ryoko. Ms. Burchard has never stated the reasons why SHE chose not to return to do the voice of Ryoko, but this kind of thing is not unusual, especially when people decide they want to do something else.
So, FUNimation brought back Mona Marshall who played Ryoko in GXP. Her performance in GXP left many dub fans unhappy. Here’s what Adam, the former Tenchi Brand Manager for FUNimation, had this to say on the subject at the time:
To help ease any of you who were worried about her performance, she rocked. We worked with her on the voice until she nailed it. She is much, much better than she was in GXP. A lot of this is due to the fact that she has been doing voice work since the 1970’s and is an absolute pro. She even does voices for a lot of the female parts on South Park.
As an aside, I like to remind folks that had they been watching Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki in the Japanese with subtitles, they wouldn’t have experienced any changes in voices.
Who is the creative staff for OAV3?
Original concept and supervising editor: KAJISHIMA Kajishima
Director: Kenichi Yatagai
Script writer: Yosuke Kuroda
I know there’s a lot of other canon material that hasn’t made it into English (novels, doujinshi, interviews). Will I need to know this material to watch OAV 3?
Not as such. However, the more you know, the better off you will be. I would suggest watching GXP first (as the Japanese did) to become aware of certain characters who have important roles in OAV 3.
That said, there are certain things in the STM novels and doujinshi that would foreshadow the secret of a certain individual, but the last episode will still be a shocker! I wouldn’t read any further if you don’t want to be spoiled!
What’s the Third OAV going to be about?
This is a summary of what was revealed in the Kajishima-sensei interview: Much of the OAV is going to consist of the “Choushin Contest,” some sort of contest between Tsunami, Washu, and their sister, the mysterious Tokimi-sama. A new character named “Z” will be introduced. “Z” is a servant of Tokimi-sama’s and will have to fight Tenchi.
Wait! Choushin War is how it was translated in the interview. Why are you calling it Choushin Contest?
Because “Choushin War” was a mistranslation. The three Choushin were in a contest to find a kami (god) higher then themselves and they set about to find this in their own unique ways. Tenchi was what they were looking for. As such, there was never a war between the three sisters.
Tenchi is a kami?
Yep. That is why he was not only able to generate his own Light Hawk Wings, but do material conversions with them.
What about Z? Is he also a kami?
No. Z is an anomaly created by the Choushin’s attempt to find a higher being than themselves. As such, his power is his own and with the ability to generate five LHW’s, he is very powerful.
Is “Z” that guy dressed in black that appears in OVA 2 episode 6.5?
Yes. This is confirmed in OVA 3 episode 1.
Who is the woman behind Z in episode 14? What is her connection to Z?
That is Noike. Unlike previous reports, she is not the sister of Z. The rumor concerning her relation to Z was due to reliance upon leaked scripts. The context in the script was not clear and Japanese fans though it was Z that she was referring to. She is still apparently an agent of Tokimi’s and there are plenty of questions, given her time-traveling and connection to Naja as Kagato (click here for more info about Naja).
I’ve heard some people say that Ryoko, Aeka, and Mihoshi are mostly missing from OVA 3. Is this true?
Having seen OVA 3, I can tell you the girls get plenty of screen time. Ryoko gets some nice character development from the start. Ryoko’s and Aeka’s odd friendship gets stronger thanks to Noike. Unfortunately, episode 4 sets up the girls to be in a nifty fight, but episode 5 skips the fight except for a flashback to Sasami fighting Mashisu. That is rather frustrating to be sure.
It should be noted that Kajishima-sensei said in his AIC interview that the girls wouldn’t figure strongly during the part involving the Choushin Contest, primarily because the focus will have to be on Tsunami, Washu, Tokimi, Z, and Tenchi.
Are there going to be any other new characters in OAV3?
KAMIKI Noike Jurai — She is the adopted daughter of Seto-sama, Mihoshi’s former Galaxy Police partner, and Tenchi’s official fiancee. Her role will be a very important one.
KAMIKI Seto Jurai — Addressed as Seto-sama, she is the power behind the Juraian throne. She’s known as the Oni-hime and is not to be crossed. She’s the mother of Misaki, and the grandmother of Aeka and Sasami.
Airi Magma — Addressed as Airi-san, she is in charge of Galaxy Academy (not to be confused with the Galaxy Police Academy) and is the wife of Yosho. While she is the grandmother of Tenchi, she does NOT want to be called “obaasan” (grandma/grandmother) as Tenchi discovered. And you’d better not say anything about her age either as Ryoko painfully learned!
MASAKI Tennyo — This is Tenchi’s sister that he didn’t know about. She’s 80 years old (looking like 20) and looks exactly like their mother Kiyone. She was re-introduced to Tenchi when she came in her official capacity to announce the engagement of Tenchi and Noike. Before Kiyone’s death, Tennyo often babysat young Tenchi so that he wouldn’t know his mother was even gone.
MASAKI Rea — This is Nobuyuki’s current office assistant and his future wife. Her last name IS Masaki PRIOR to her getting married to Nobuyuki. The Kanji for her family name is the same as Kiriko’s (GXP), thus indicating that she’s from the Earth Masaki side of the family. Before Kiyone’s death, she taught the teenaged Rea how to cook. After her death, Rea would help to take care of Tenchi and prepare meals for him (and presumably Nobuyuki as well). At Kiyone’s funeral when young Tenchi disappeared, Rea was the one who figured Tenchi would be at Ryoko’s Cave. After the destruction of Tenchi’s high school, the destruction of the Seto Bridge, and the apparent destruction of Tenchi’s house, Rea went with Katsuhito (Yosho) to the Imperial Palace to help straighten things out since the press were beginning to tie Tenchi into all three events. Because of this, her age, and her association with Yosho, it is almost certain that she is an Galaxy Academy graduate and know the secrets of the Masaki household. It is also pretty certain that she’s from the world of Geminar, based on the information from Tenchi Muyo! War on Geminar.
Any other characters that are introduced will be added to future updates.
Is Kiyone the Galaxy Police detective going to be in the OAV series?
No. GXP Officer Kiyone Makibi is purely the creation of Hasegawa-sensei for her spin-off novels and later various other spin-off series. While GXP Officer Kiyone certainly has a loyal base, she was never part of the original OVA series and thus will never be in the series.
Well what about Noike? Isn’t she just a Kiyone copy?
It is fair to compare Noike from the Ryo-ohki Universe to Kiyone from the Tenchi Universe. Both were Mihoshi’s partner at Galaxy Police. Both end up living in the Masaki estate with Tenchi and the other girls. The comparisons stop there.
Noike is the adopted daughter of Seto-sama, the notorious “Oni-hime” (Demon Princess) and grandmother of Aeka and Sasami. Through an arrangement by Seto-sama, Noike is Tenchi’s official fiancée. I think it is safe to say that you won’t hear Noike complaining about how Mihoshi is killing her career. In fact, she is very able to handle Mihoshi as seen in OVA 3 episode 2.
As for Noike being a copy of Kiyone, I’ve heard this argument but I don’t think that is fair. Considering how Kajishima-sensei had the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki story fairly plotted out from the start, it is more likely that he had some sort of idea for Noike from the start (though she may not have been named then). By all the accounts I’ve read from the old AIC forums back in the day, Kajishima-sensei had the name Kiyone picked out for Tenchi’s mother, yet that was the name chosen anyway for the GXP Officer in Hasegawa-sensei’s novels. Supposedly, this caused Kajishima-sensei to be upset with Hasegawa-sensei since she had access to his materials and would have known the name Kajishima-sensei had chosen for Tenchi’s mother.
Regardless of how you feel, in the canon Ryo-ohki continuity, the name Kiyone belongs to Tenchi’s mother. GXP Officer Kiyone will continue to appear in the various non-canon spin-off titles and universes.
Didn’t Kajishima-sensei admit that Noike was based on Kiyone in the ’96 doujinshi where he introduced her?
True Sheol answers:
As I recall, the line was basically thus: “The character is NOIKE a GP detective and former partner of Mihoshi like Kiyone Makibi”. Some chose to interpret that line as meaning “Noike” was based upon Kiyone Makibi, but nowhere was the kanji “上”, which can mean “based upon.”
If Noike is Tenchi’s fiancée, how does this affect the other girls?
At present, it has caused Ryoko and Aeka to be very displeased about this. However, since Noike is Seto-sama’s adopted daughter, Aeka is having to hold her peace on the matter to a degree. Aeka knows how powerful Seto-sama is and once Ryoko hears that Seto is also known as Oni-hime, Ryoko remarks that even Kagato wouldn’t go against her. Noike has managed to stop both Aeka and Ryoko with acts of kindness. In OVA 3 episode 3, Noike went a step further by revealing her true purpose in being there to Ryoko and Aeka thus preventing any kind of mischief as they pulled off in OVA 3 episode 4.
Does Noike love Tenchi?
Her attraction to Tenchi is evident in OVA 3 episode 3 during the onsen scene on board Kyouko. However, since Tenchi was the one who rescued the Kagato-chan part of her from certain death, she does have a certain attraction for Tenchi if nothing else. Noike did address Tenchi as “oniichan” when she met him, which young girls do call older boys in Japan, even when they don’t actually know them, likely the result of Kagato-chan residing in her.
Considering that Noike arranged matters so that she could once again live with Tenchi and the girls, I think she does love Tenchi a great deal.
Additional: In the 2005 doujinshi Omatsuri Zenjitsu no Yoru – Omake, K-sensei confirms that Noike and Tenchi are intimate.
Why does Seto-sama get to choose Noike as Tenchi’s bride? Why does Tenchi go along with this?
On Jurai, Seto is known as a matchmaker. Arranged marriages are often done for political reasons (and Kajishima-sensei is no doubt drawing on the influence of arranged marriages from Japanese history as well as European history) and this marriage is no different. It furthers the ties between House Kamiki and House Masaki, and give Jurai some assurance that Tenchi won’t turn on them with his vast power.
As for Tenchi, there are any number of reasons he’d go along with this. Arranged marriages, while not common, still happen in modern-day Japan. It is more common to be done in the rural areas of Japan and among very traditional families in Japan. An industry of sorts has been created just for arranged marriages which is like unto a dating service (only with marriage in mind rather than dating). So a family can submit information and photos of their son/daughter/grandson/granddaughter to this agency where potential suitable matches are made and portfolios sent. An omiai (formal marriage interview) can then be set up before the parties decide to proceed with the marriage or not. As such, like a good Japanese boy, Tenchi submits to now having this fiancée.
Another thing people forget is that in OVA 3, Tenchi still doesn’t have romantic feelings for any of the girls as he sees them all as family.
Is there any connection between Noike, Seto, and Naja?
Yes. Noike is merged Kagato-chan, whom originated from the original clone of Naja (Kagato). Seto’s connection is unknown, but she might be one of masu-hybrids created by Naja and Washuu. You can read more about Naja here.
Do the Jurai Royal Family know of Yosho and Airi’s wedding? Also do they know of Kiyone and Minaho????
Yes, the High Royal Council (aka: the Supreme Council) obviously knows. However, it’s probably not generally known outside the Royal Family.
How come Misao looks so much like Mihoshi? Are they twins?
At present, there’s no information suggesting they are twins. Misao refers to Mihoshi as “oneesan” which is Japanese for older sister. As to why he looks like Mihoshi, Kajishima-sensei stated that he has a “sister complex,” and so has an unusual affection for his sister. Don’t worry, by the time of GXP, Misao looks like a man and is married.
I’m still not 100% clear on the Choushin’s Purpose. Can you explain?
Sure. The Choushin are high-level entities who created the 3rd-dimension and other dimensions as well. However, at some point they became aware of the possibility of a higher-level entity than themselves — a kami. As Zero couldn’t prove the existence of Tokimi-sama when she saw Tokimi, the Choushin couldn’t prove such an existence, nor could they create such a person. So for a very long time, they did things to try to see if this kami existed or not.
Eventually, the three sisters came upon a new plan of attack. Washu placed her Choushin powers and conscious into three gem-balls, then created an infant human body for herself in the 3rd dimension. She had no memories of anything prior to being left at the monastery and she then set out to learn everything that could be learned from scratch. With this approach, she hoped to find the kami.
Tsunami came to the 3rd dimension as well. Using her own existence, she attempted to create a new type of life — the Royal Trees on Jurai. However, with the man who would become the first Emperor of Jurai, Tsunami saw potential that a superior life form would be born from them. Thus, she swore to protect him and his descendants while she waited for the birth of Sasami (whom she was destined to merge with) and Tenchi, who is the kami they sought.
Tokimi followed the original plan and distorted the harmony they had created in the multi-verse (the multiple dimensions of the universe). She did this to cause anomalies from which she hoped the kami would emerge. Z was the result of her actions and Tokimi took him as he was the greatest potential she’d found.
The Choushin considered (past tense) Tenchi to be another potential (albeit the best one yet, due to his material conversion ability), but Tsunami and Washu decided that they cared more about Tenchi as a person than whether or not he was that superior hyper-dimensional being. That is why Tsunami interfered and Washu said that she wanted to leave it up to Tenchi. After Tenchi killed Z, it became apparent that Tenchi was indeed that being that the Choushin were looking for. That is why Tokimi became ecstatic and Noike began to cry happily.
However, as Tsunami and Washu stated, finding out should be fun and not rushed, therefore they will continue their lives on Earth with Tenchi. Whether Tokimi joins them or not remains to be seen.
True Sheol adds these thoughts:
Regarding Tokimi, she’s asked why she’s at Nobuyuki’s wedding and standing behind Youshou (like a prankster). Tokimi replies that it is a secret. Now, while I might not know the full details of the secret, we can deduce that Tokimi is now living with the family. The shrine area in front of the Shinto priest (thus behind Youshou for the wedding picture) is reserved for resident kami. In accordance with Shinto practices, only kami are allowed to reside within that sacred area of the shrine. Even the priest only goes into that area to clean it. Considering the room situation at the Masaki home, it’s just perfect for Tokimi. ^_^
Read what Kajishima-sensei said on the subject prior to the creation of OAV 3 by clicking here.
So, what was Tokimi-sama’s secret reason for being there?
It would appear that her purpose for being there was to help Rea with her Geminar plans, including the eventual birth of Rea’s son Kenshi. You can read more on the War on Geminar here.
OK, was that woman who prevented Tokimi-sama from taking Tenchi really Misaki, the mother of Sasami and Aeka?
Yes, she is. Tsunami even addressed her as “Okaasama”, which is the very respectful term for “mother.”
It is currently theorized that the Counteractor is the counterforce to the Choushin’s lower dimensional presence. Even while the Choushin are sealed, there has to be a counterbalance to their lower dimensional force.
True Sheol adds these thoughts:
The idea of a counterbalance is an interpretation based upon the term used and how Kajishima has merged physics with Shinto and Buddhist beliefs. For every action, the must be an equal and opposite reaction. So, the Choushin’s tampering must have resulted in a counteraction.
Kajishima explored this in Photon, with Ao and Un-Ao. When the emperor became the nexus of Ao energy, the counternexus had to form somewhere. It did so, centering on the boy called Photon.
Now, I could have misinterpreted this and Misaki could be the counter to Tenchi (Ying and Yang, dark and light, male and female), but when Tenchi-kami-sama manifested, Misaki returned to ‘normal’. So, it does not seem as if they are opposites. Also, Tokimi was aware of the existence of the “Counteractor”. If the Counteractor was the opposite of Tenchi, then it should have been equal to Tenchi, thus suitable for proving the Choushin’s theory in the first place. Incidentally, I saw no evidence of Misaki as being hyperdimensional, like the Choushin, so she might be strictly a lower-dimensional manifestation.
Just what in the world is up with Misaki being a Counteractor? Why just pull that mess out of the air?
Well, there’s still much discussion on the subject as we just don’t have a lot of information. This is from True Sheol:
Kajishima hinted at it in the Shin Tenchi Muyo novels, in Q&As, and in his doujinshi. Like Mihoshi’s condition, we only received hints. Many Japanese fans chose to interpret Misaki’s freakish power as some sort of mutation. I did not, but I didn’t have a really good explanation for it. Also, I personally thought that Kajishima’s statements concerning how the galaxy would learn the true terror of Misaki was going to be in reference to her getting drunk while piloting Karin-fune, much as a drunk Funaho wreaked havoc with Mizuho-fune* and Karin-fune* joined together. A few Japanese fans simply thought that she would simply go insane sometime in the future.
*fune=ship
And from Watotsu, this:
I should first point out that upon being repelled, Tokimi asks Z if he has found “that” (the Japanese word are). Even though she speaks in a pretty arrogant manner at times, it would be unusual to refer to a person as “that” in Japanese. Therefore, if she was talking about a person, I’m quite certain she’d have used some other word.
It rather seemed to me that Misaki wasn’t counteractor so much as she was infested with counteractor for some reason. Now, that could be because she’s already anomalous and as such a prime target for such infestation, but I don’t think the evidence that she “is” counteractor is very conclusive. Once Light-Tenchi cleans her up, she seems rather dazed and confused, as though she wasn’t quite herself during the incident.
In the first episode, where did all of the long-shaped white spaceships come from and why are they being destroyed?
They are some unidentified race who have discovered Tokimi-sama’s domain. Most likely, they have been impacted by Tokimi-sama’s experiments (such as her having Dr. Clay move an entire galaxy in episode 11) and have come to put an end to it (that’s just a theory). Regardless, if they get that far, then Tokimi-sama must test them to see if there is one among them with the power to survive. That’s how she found Z when his race attacked her realm and he alone survived, producing 5 LHWs.
After the battle, what was Z told to do or not to do concerning Tenchi, and why did he alter Mihoshi’s mail?
Z was warned not to touch Tenchi. I believe that Tokimi-sama recognized Tenchi’s true power. Plus, she knew her sisters were with Tenchi and Z might not survive a direct attack. What other motivation Tokimi-sama may have had is up for speculation.
So, Z decides to follow the letter of the law as laid down by Tokimi-sama, but not the spirit of the law. He modifies Mihoshi’s letter because the Choubimaru has the power to destroy a planet and thus would be able to take care of Tenchi if he’s not that powerful. Since Mihoshi’s brother Misao is obsessed with his older sister and is in charge of the Choubimaru combined with whatever he knew that had happened to Mihoshi in the past, Z knew that a modified letter would bring Misao to Earth quick.
Did Noike deliberately cause Tenchi’s sickness?
That’s still a matter for debate. If she did do in on purpose, I’m not sure if Noike was under Kagato-chan’s influence or Z’s. However, my personal speculation is that Tenchi was just exhausted.