Discussion: Episodes 51-55

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Episode 51 is now subtitled and available![/url][/size]

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I am tangentially interested in the politics here. The United Nations seems aware of extraterrestrials to the point of having treaties with the GP. Considering Sasami has a neurolyzer, one wonders if there is/was an actual Men-in-Black-like organization that served as intermediary. Hmm… where have I heard that idea before? Then, one could go into the fun questions about the first contact. tuxedodouche

I am impressed that the GP have this sewn up as well as they do. They have plants as military officers on site, just like the Operative in TM!iL1. Might one of them get discovered much like he was? WANT1 The sciency bits seem pretty well set too, opposing frequencies and the like. I’m really digging this episode, and I’m waiting for it to fall horribly apart in the next two. iloveit1

That energy barrier idea reminds me of BBL Hatoful… What are you telling me, Negishi? wth2

I’m not 100% sure on it, but I feel as though the two animal-aliens seen aboard the GP ship could be throwbacks to the design/race of the Operator from Tenchi Muyo in Love! It’s not exact, but the hair and fur colors are extremely close to each other, as well as the general design of feline features. Figured it was worth a mention, since there’s been plenty of callbacks to the other shows and movies left and right.

Oh gee, a big ol super-ego filled governmental group that thinks it knows better than anyone else, shows up to take charge of the show, and think they can solve everything with essentially, a big ol Wave Bomb. Good concept on holo-paper. Guess what folks, won’t work. Certainly not the way that the GP envision it.

And it sure won’t capture Washu. Anyone worth a grain of salt as a fan. knows that Washu already knows, and has a counter. Like they’d capture her anyway, ’cause, unless I’ve missed everything entirely here, Washu isn’t even in the same dimension as the crew. Not even in the home dimension the Masaki’s live even. It’s called a subspace Lab, for a reason peeps.

And because Tenchi is essentially at ground zero, unless Washu or something else acts, I bet the bomb won’t be cozy to be within. An artificial singularity, focused on the school, likely won’t be fun to deal with, especially since the GP are using one to stop a singularity that hasn’t officially formed yet. More like, they’ll tear the original one open early, or do who knows what else to space-time. If Washu isn’t gonna act, Tenchi himself may have to. With nine episodes left, someone has to, against something of this magnitude.

And gee, nice of that soldier to nearly pop Tenchi in the back like that, for just going after some missing students. Someone give that solder a handbook on being a reservist already. wtfisthis1

And we’ve seen the GA act this aggressive before, I wonder if the GP is doing something below the belt with this all too now, since what with the treasure that ‘may’ be behind this bomb. Something has to dig it all up, one way or another. mmhmm1

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A dimension-oscillating bullet… That sounds familiar… qt1

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That’s right! It was one of the reasons Washu was kicked out of the SA in Universe. gendo1

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Episode 52 is now subtitled and available![/url][/size]

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Some fun with today’s episode title. The first two characters represent a heavenly demon, most often used to refer to the “Demon King of the Sky/Sixth Heaven”, a temptation spirit (Hello, Ryoko) who tried to trick those passing through into doing wrong. Oda Nobunaga, a samurai warlord from feudal times, used the name to refer to himself on the battlefield. Perhaps referring to Ukan and her prideful take of herself, now on a battlefield of her own. And/or even our GP leader above, raining down fire and brimstone from orbit. And to throw more fun into the mix, the phrasing is “Tenma”, which was the name of a Japanese satellite that was decommissioned in 1989. An obvious wink and nod to the Government’s MIB-style coverup for the dimension-oscillating bullet.

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“Talk of the recently-announced Tenchi series has created a clamor across the nation, even unto the highest echelons.”

And then today:

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Relax, honorable Mister President Obama-san sir, Washu’s got it under control.

I did enjoy today’s reveals very greatly. Ukan pulls a spiked energy saber and rips her clothes off to show GP SWAT armor underneath. No wonder she was playing with Tenchiken when she saw it so many episodes ago. She knew what it was! gendo1 One soldier also addressed her as captain (close enough to “commander” for Nil? Tenchismile ). How much combat do you think she’ll bring in the next few episodes? badass1 Ryoko also brought some hurt as well. Everything is ramping up, and I’m stoked. iloveit1

I am very interested in the GP commander’s little vendetta with Washu. What did she do to piss him off so? qt1 With Washu herself on the field, everything is likely to get more out of hand soon enough. fyeah1

And I thought it was sixty seconds, not sixty minutes, on the projectile. My bad. blush1

And now it feels like they are connecting AiTM with TU, more and more. I really now am having a hard time now seeing all this as a Tenchi Universe sequel series. The lack of either Kiyone though… Kiyofacepalm1

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Episode 53 is now subtitled and available![/url][/size]

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Loved seeing weaponized Kumo-kun show up again. Truly the most powerful tool in the Science Club’s arsenal.

However, this episode is building Washu up some more. She apparently destroyed an entire star system, and even the SA’s founder can’t monitor or control. Rumors float around the GP SWAT members about her, like a ghost story around a campfire. badass1

Tenchi also drops some bombs of his own. Momo and Beni are now aware of their extraterrestrial origin. They seem to be taking it rather well under the circumstances. blush1 This will likely affect some decision they make soon.

One does wonder why Ryoko does become incorporeal and phase down to the key. The first film does put a limit on her teleportation ability, that she has to have already been in a place to teleport there. However, I don’t recall her having a limitation on her phasing ability. Actually, has she used that power in this series? She has flown, teleported, and used energy weapons. Has she phased at all in Ai Tenchi? qt1

Also, Ukan’s weapon apparently is dual purpose. It was a solid blade-like implement yesterday, but today it has a flexible whip-like feature. That could give her an interesting fighting style when she is actually in combat. fyeah1

And, someone wanted to see Mihoshi in her new costume? I think this show is psychic. woooo1

Lastly, the probe the GP shot into the building looks familiar.

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The most likely reason I could think of is that the writers never found a purpose for them in the plot and they would otherwise be a waste of budget (much like Andy’s father in the Toy Story films) which in itself makes no sense; you’d think they’d at least TRY to put Ryo-ohki in the show! (Japan and their 3rd-world countries love freaky creatures, and would pay good money to have more of them!)

Also, these last weeks have sort of… crooked… my thoughts on Ukan:

From the beginning I thought she would end up becoming a Kagato-esque mastermind villain, but now I find she was a spy for the GP, but she still has tones of villainous tendencies. It’s like the writers knew we’d come to that sort of conclusion and decided to mess with our heads. I mean, I want to hate this character, like really want to, but I can’t find a good enough reason!

She’s messing with my head!! rageblow1

Then again, if the last year has taught me anything, it’s that just because you have a badge does not excuse you from being a homicidal monster “Hands up, don’t shoot” am I right?

It’s not meant to be Tenchi Muyo “Ryo-Ohki”…. it’s kind of a obvious smack against Kajishima without being verbalized.

lol

gendo1

And yeah, they are making Ryoko rather ‘neutered’ if they are not using her phasing abilities, for the sake of plot. Please writers, give us back the full bad arse Ryoko we all know and love/fear/cry/laugh at?

EDIT: Oh, uh….and does this mean if Ukan calls for it, the gang might have to fight Mihoshi down there? Mihoshi works for Ukan, unless I missed that whole report bit Mihoshi did for Ukan, that one episode. I mean, Mihoshi is Mihoshi, might get ugly. mmhmm1

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Episode 54 is now subtitled and available![/url][/size]

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Time’s running out, Momo is quickly fading from the picture. Miss Ukan’s starting to get a little power hungry, demanding two members of the Jurian Royal Family be restrained while she runs her little ground operation. Meanwhile, Washu’s plan is to harness the power of a black hole to counteract the Dimension-oscillating bullet’s travel and effects. She must have gotten the idea to have Goriki-kun knock it back using a baseball bat from Wisper’s Smash Bros addiction. kiyonesmile1

Tenchi and Ryoko are with Momo and Beni after the pink sword key. Momo starts fading out of time, just like Tenchi did in TMiL1, but Tenchi uses his sword to stabilize her. This is a use of the sword that has never been used to my knowledge. Mainly, the sword has been a weapon, and occasionally as a command totem for Juraian ships, namely Funaho and Ryu-Oh (OVA 1). However, stabilizing a dimensional event with Jurai energy is not without precedent. In TMiL2, Haruna was using Tenchi’s energy to maintain her illusionary world. One does wonder if this incarnation of Tenchi has had those experiences and learned from them. qt1

Another point of fact is that Ryoko can touch the pink sword. A well-established fact from OVA 1 was that she could not touch Tenchiken, nor could Kagato. In Universe, the issue never came up as the only ones to touch the sword were Yosho, Tenchi, Achika, and Ayeka. Also, Ryoko is quite flexible, isn’t she? blush1

Ayeka and Sasami confront Ukan, demanding that the GP cease its aggressions. However, Ukan orders them arrested. I don’t think Jurai will stand for their princesses being manhandled by GP goons. wtfisthis1

Washu, on the other hand, just attacks straight on. fyeah1 With the force of a black hole, Goriki-kun gets to be a badass. iloveit1 I wonder what the animators could be referencing. gendo1

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This episode also clearly confirms that Goriki-kun is capable of mass shifting, which explains why he was so large when first introduced and human-sized in later appearances. Tenchismile

What’s going to happen next? Will Momo survive? Will Ayeka’s demands be met? And, will sempai notice Kumo-kun? mmhmm1 Tune in tomorrow! kiyonesmile1

Although I did find it odd that when they knocked out that soldier so they could go after the missing girls no one else seemed to react in any way even though there were plenty of people around, until that other soldier eventually decided to aim his gun at them.

Here’s my 2 cents on the missing Kiyone/Ryo-Ohki debate:

I’m seeing a lot of assumptions on why Kajishima and Hasegawa might be the reasons for Ryo-Ohki and Kiyone’s absence, but that’s not typically how these kinds of rights usually work.

AIC is the rights holder to Tenchi, not any specific person. That should include all characters tied to the franchise as well. They respect and acknowledge Kajishima as the original creator, which I assume is why they pretty much let him do whatever he wants with “his continuity.” But they can also do whatever they want with their own IP, as we know based on all of the non-Kajishima-involved Tenchi ventures they’ve done.

I really doubt Hasegawa has any creative control over how characters she created for a non-original work are used by the IP holder of said work. At the end of the day, Kiyone is still a “Tenchi character.” Perhaps, because she wasn’t involved with ATM, they chose not to use Kiyone as a courtesy of some sort. But I have a hard time believing there was anything preventing them from doing so if they wanted to. I would assume they simply didn’t want any extraneous characters, so even though it would’ve been nice to see Kiyo and Ohki, they didn’t need to be there… so they weren’t. For a series with barely a 5-minute runtime, the cast is already crowded as it is.

However, as Hasegawa was involved with Universe on some level, it makes sense that Kiyone could appear there (for those following along, this is also the precise reason whyyou will never see Kiyone Makibi, i.e. the original Kiyone, in any series helmed by Kajishima).

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Episode 55 is now subtitled and available![/url][/size]

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Of course, Washu being detained isn’t going to bring an end to the gang’s mission. While everyone’s busy upstairs, Momo and Tenchi are using some serious Jurian power. In the final moments, it seems as though they’ve managed to activate the ship. Who knows what awaits them when they finally arrive on Toshika?

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Super Cut of episodes 51-55 is available now![/url][/size]

Just when the GP SWAT thinks this is a stand up fight, they find out… it’s a bug hunt. gendo1 I loved the entire scene with the Washu puppets. Talk about nightmare fuel! woooo1 Ukan seems to handle them well, and seems to be a dual-wielder as well. iloveit1

Washu, however, owns the GP. Just like Universe episode 25 and Pretty Sammy OVA episode 2, she infects the GP systems and gains control of the d.o. bullet. Goriki-kun is still in the fight! fyeah1

But then, the betrayal! Mihoshi cuffs Washu! wth2 Has anyone screwed Washu this bad? Mihoshi, why? sadface1

Momo’s apprehension about the pink sword key was interesting, and I am very curious where it will go. Will she revert to her child self, or become aware of her Juraian nature? Today did confirm that the key can indeed be used as a sword, just like Tenchi’s. When they had their blades out, I assume they were trying to contact the tree below. If so, they might have succeeded. WANT1

As a point of fact, Tenchi has stepped into a mentor role, a teacher, showing Momo how to use her key. I wonder if this might persist to the end of the series, or perhaps beyond? tuxedodouche

Also, what was the “sphere” in the tips of Tenchi and Momo’s blades? I don’t think that’s been there before this episode, and the angles of this episode certainly seemed to focus on them.

While Beni punching Ryoko caught several people’s eyes, it is interesting that Beni did that in the first place. Beni has become suddenly protective of Momo. Apparently, the flashbacks and Momo’s charisma might have won over the belligerent student. blush1

Notably, the pillar of light turns blue where Beni punches it. Is that because of Beni somehow, or some other reason? qt1

Now, the cliffhangers really start! (I’m fired, right? blush1 ) What happened to Momo and Tenchi? Where are Ayeka and Sasami? Why did the d.o. bullet split the Earth, or is it really the cause? gendo1 What about Goriki-kun and Kumo-kun?

Ryoko and Beni, you are our last hope. butts1

As to how the gals are making out…I was hoping this was a project largely independent of the existing continuities, given that for the most part Aeka, Sasami & Ryoko could’ve easily fit into either the OVA or the Universe continuities. Washu and Miho, however, blew it, being all too much their Universe versions.

Even with their Universe versions, however, I have problems with the notion that Aeka and Sasami would be that easily neutralized by the GP. 5 episodes left to see where it goes.

I.O.W. I wana finish this series with as clean a slate as possible, before commenting further. I wana enjoy the series remainder as such. mmhmm1

Let’s enjoy the end of the ride. Tenchismile

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While some have made fan speculations at a connection between Tenchiken and the Light Hawk Sword, could this be an official connection? WANT1

Fooly Cooly, Aliens, and the return of Washu’s puppets/mini-robots from Universe as… some equivalent to Facehuggers. Like, seriously. Can they cram any more nods to other series in there? I sure hope so.

DANG. Dat punch. Beni layin’ the smackdown on Ryoko.

Ayeka and Sasami try to lay down some Royal authori-tay, but don’t really get anywhere…

Washu ends up being captured by Mihoshi, whom she apparently forgot about. Now that’s irony if I’ve ever seen it. Although she didn’t try very hard to get away…

Now that I think about it, this is only the 2nd time we’ve seen Mihoshi in her new GP uniform. We sure didn’t get to see much of it.

So… Tenchi and Momo are touching swords and he says…

tenchiahhhhhh

“That’s right, keep it up just like that.”

Kiyofacepalm1

And I was wondering what’s up with those orb things on each sword, but I see Pii has already made his analysis and a thread for it.

She must have gotten the idea to have Goriki-kun knock it back using a baseball bat from Wisper’s Smash Bros addiction. kiyonesmile1

Library Computer Access/Retrieval System

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCARS

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/LCARS

http://lcarscom.net/databank.htm fan site for them

http://www.lcars.org.uk/Adges%20Welcome.htm another good one

http://www.lcarsmania.com/ Japanese fan site

this is late

in ep 54, Sasami and Ayeka go confront Ukan in Royal Juraian clothes as in Here Comes Jurai. But it is not just the ceremonial clothes they were wearing, they were also wearing the exact clothes they did in Here Comes Jurai. Sasami was wearing her pink carrot apron and Ayeka in her blue yellow pink and purple clothes.