wwwwhhhhoooo

My personal opinion (using universe as example, due to Kiyone being present): if she were present, we would still have people against her or for her, but perhaps to a lesser degree. First of all, (Ryoko forgive me) Tenchi’s attraction to her in Tokyo is apparent; it’s there, whether anybody likes it or not. However, I feel this was enhanced because the planet’s aligned so to speak: the familiar cast is portrayed right from the get go as being excessively selfish, needy, possessive, rude, etc. (for reasons we’ve already touched on). If we’re dealing with Universe/ova girls, this factor would lessen to considerable degree, and Tenchi would likely (imo) have a bit more neutral stance towards Sakuya (as he does with Ayeka and Ryoko, he just can’t seem to choose one…thus ‘Tenchi Solution’ especially if we’re dealing with ova realm).

Secondly (yet the primary reason behind my theory of her still retaining disdain from some and admiration from others) I don’t think she’s disliked because she’s ‘normal’ (though that may be a factor from some). It’s not because she can’t fly, or make force-fields, or is an alien/gp officer: it’s because she’s competition! Not to say that Kiyone/Tenchi pairing (obviously Universe Kiyone) wouldn’t be cute, but in reality in the series we just don’t see them really having a romantic interest in each other (even though they’re both shy/serious type, we see–in main series–no effort on Kiyone’s part, nor anything hinted at to suggest otherwise). Thus, hardcore Ryoko/Ayeka fans have no problem with Kiyone’s presence; same goes for Universe Mihoshi (she expresses romantic intent in ova, but she doesn’t really assert herself as competition, and the few times we do see it hinted at, it’s clear it ticks off Ryoko and Ayeka); same goes for Universe Washu (Washu is competition in ova, but…come on, it’s Washu! No one can hate her).

As we’re all aware, in Tenchi fandom in general, (perfectly paralleling the series) who is predominantly behind the most intensive debates on ‘who gets Tenchi?’ or getting in youtube comment spats or trolling elsewhere (if it occurs at all)? It’s either Ryoko or Ayeka fans! If Sakuya was ‘as is’ in Universe/ova, we would have a dynamic of a fighting threesome instead of the classic dueling duo, because unlike the rest of the cast, her desire for Tenchi seems almost as strong as –if not equal to–Ryoko’s or Ayeka’s, and if you’re ‘Team Ryoko’ or ‘Team Ayeka’ or ‘Team [not Sakuya]’ well, ‘we can’t have that now, can we?’

:fight: <-- picture that, but add in Sakuya 😆

As it is now, she (and similar figures like Haruna) is unfortunately a scapegoat, and bashing her has become common ground for Ryoko and Ayeka fans (the enemy of my enemy is my friend…cue ‘Night at the Carnival’ comparison) and it may likely remain this way, for some, for eternity; but with places like here where we can have intelligent, reasonable criticism and analyzing of characters such as this one, that may change someday.

Very cool! I’m not very familiar with Anthrax but I share others’ opinions that this song fits Ryoko quite well (I’d sooner picture her listening to thrash metal than something from, say Cyndi Lauper lol).

Good source material: clean clips, no subtitles (some ‘amateur’ mistakes I’ve seen that used to be more common with amv-making due to difficulty in finding source material) all around flows well.

Thank you for sharing! :Tenchismile: