Reply To: Discussion: Episodes 56-60

Thanks for posting!

And with that being said, you’re wrong in almost every single way due to a very simple lack of understanding the content in any way, shape, or form.

Before we even get started here, there are 2 fundamental truths that need to be understood, this is a an ADVERTISEMENT series, first and foremost. The second, is that this series consisted of 50, 4 MINUTE episodes. (60 if you include the recaps)

This means, that one can only put so much into a single “episode”

The Bad: At least partly due to the format, but something easily within the purvey of the director and production team to take care of, ask yourself: Aside form Momo and Beni, what do we know about these characters? Answer: Other than some general overbroad characteristics, nothing. No depth was given to the girls, even Momo and Beni. We’ve no idea why Beni was in trouble with Jurai, why they trusted her as being Momo’s protector, why they were going to Earth, etc. What’s the deal with Hachiko and swords? In short, the new girls don’t get the depth they deserved. We just get some stereotypical tropes in the form of some cute girls.

…But after the depth of GXP and OVA 3, despite the flaws, especially of OVA 3, this show is shallow in comparison. Say what you will about Kajishima, he fleshed out his universe. Negishi didn’t and it shows.

Just because something is explained, doesn’t mean it makes sense, and if something isn’t explained, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense.

GXP and OVA3 didn’t have depth, they had about as much depth as a puddle in Texas in the summer. You’re also comparing an OVA budgeted series in 2003 against a 4 minute short series that ran on TV in 2014 with a total planning time (according to Negishi) of 4 months, of course there is going to be a discrepancy there.

The characters who got depth were the characters who needed it, not every character needs a novel written about them, that’s what a background character is.

But even so, every character in the show who had a distinct name was given as much time as they needed to be established, the show establishes everyone of them in the best way they can. We also have to take into account that many of these characters were based on characters from the local Okayama legend of Momotaro, so many of their characteristics could be likened to their original base in the legend which is something us westerners just would not get.

The Bad: Ryoko so evenly matched against Beni, Aeka and Sasami being detained by the GP – the gals seemed a trifle underpowered, even by Universe standards. Sure, they kick the tushies of high school students, but the GP? fyeah1

More The Bad: Universe. The first dilution of the OVA cast and templates brought its weaknesses over to this show. Aeka able to take care of a human student, but not the GP? C’mon, man! Ryoko relatively weak, but especially compared to Beni, she of no background.

How does this dilute the OVA characters? This show is it’s own continuity

Ryoko NEVER looked weak to Beni, hell none of the original cast looked weak in this show, in comparison to their OVA3 selves (which you keep referring to on such a pedestal of “depth”) they were far and away superior.

The first thing that everyone wanted to see when Ai was announced, was “Where are the old girls?”, nobody gave a shit about the new girls, they had no reason to.

So now we ask ourselves, how do we endear these new characters to the audience? You make them stand toe to toe with the old girls without making the old girls look bad, so what did they do? EXACTLY that.

When Ryoko is shown in the Feudal era the first time, she completely dominates the feudal versions of the girls except for Momo, but instead of Ryoko looking weak, with a smile on her face she says “Oh, you think you can dance with me? The GREAT Space Pirate Ryoko?” Momo looked powerful and Ryoko still looked like a badass, who lost in that situation?

And the Beni comparison, the first time they arm wrestled, that was an important moment in establishing Beni, because not only did she stand toe to toe with Ryoko, but they were BOTH psyched out by the other’s power, why is this important? It’s important because Beni was shocked and didn’t look more powerful than Ryoko. Everybody is already looking for Ryoko to dominate, but by not having Beni be smug or dominating Ryoko. Beni looked strong, Ryoko still stayed strong, they tied, and everybody wins, because Ryoko didn’t lose.

Do you know how you DON’T introduce characters? By having someone like Airi’s first introduction in OVA3 completely dominate and slap Ryoko, making her powerless, or Noike completely squelching Ryoko and Ayeka fighting, neutering the power of both characters, how again is OVA3 and GXP more “deep” than Ai? If Kajishima doesn’t even know how to correctly establish any character?

Really More Bad: Washu and Mihoshi. Absent for waaay too much of the show, we get Mihoshi appearing back in time with a demonic Ryoko, seemingly as a tribute to the OVA origin, but we hardly ever see her until the end. Washu appears a bit more, but not much, and then, alas, in full blown Universe mad scientist mode. Given that Washu had some of the best screen time in OVA 3 of the original gal cast, it’s a shame to see her character stripped of wisdom, maturity and a degree of competence. Mihoshi is pretty much her Universe self, lacking that certain mystique, but she comes out far better.

AWOL: It appears that there can be only one, Kiyone, that is, in any of the Tenchi continuities. No Noboyuki, and Katsuhiko is also MIA. But especially, a few seconds of Ryo-Ohki eating carrots outside Washu’s lab door in the final episode does not excuse the horrific misuse of one of the best mascot characters of all time! rageblow1 dawohki1 wtfisthis1

So let me get this straight, it’s ok to not explain everything for Mihoshi in OVA3 and her have “mystique”, but none of the new girls are allowed to have that “mystique”? Now you’re just being hypocritical.

Also Mihoshi wasn’t actually a bumbling idiot in Ai, she was way more akin to her OVA1 self and even double crossed the family by not letting on what she was really doing and reporting back to Ukan, she was way more competent here then she’s been since 1999.

If Washu losing to Mihoshi is a loss of competence, then she wasn’t that competent to begin with, because throughout the OVA especially, Mihoshi finds a way to foil her.

And how was Ryo-Ohki “horridly misused” when she wasn’t used in the first place? Aside from the fact that the cast for Ai was already crowded, having Ryo-Ohki there made no sense, the same for Katsuhito and Nobuyuki.

If Ryo-Ohki had been around, she would have immediately alerted the GP through Ukan and everything would have failed, the whole point of the operation was stealth.

A lot of people also don’t seem to understand who the characters are at all anyway, some people have said “Well Tenchi WOULD have used the Lighthawk Wings to contain the girls” “Ayeka WOULD have stopped the GP” “Ryoko WOULDN’T have hit Tenchi”, All of which are COMPLETELY out of character for the character themselves.

Just because they can, doesn’t mean they would, When has Tenchi EVER hurt the girls or used his power as a way to control them? Why would Ayeka openly go against the Galaxy Police?

Why didn’t they? Because they wouldn’t, and they didn’t here.

Either way it was a wasted opportunity.

Obviously not, considering that after episode 50, the fan reaction in the East and the West has been majorly positive, and especially after Negishi let slip that In Love 3 was almost a thing, it’s almost like Tenchi has a second chance because of this show.