Search - Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki : Final Confrontations v.3 w/Tin on DVD

Beware: Only 1 episode

Cybersquid | El Toro, CA United States | 12/30/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"As they say, Funimation definitely saw me coming.

This is a nice story and we enjoyed watching it. Then the disk ended after the 1 episode. :-( $25 for 25 minutes. A very steep price indeed. I didn't notice this when I ordered it. Who'd have guessed that the publisher would limit the disks to 3 episodes/disk, then sell the last disk with only 1? Obviously they COULD have put that last episode on one of the previous disks. Also, now that I look on Amazon's page, there is no running time that I can find. That's kind of tacky.

Regarding my rating, I'm somewhat torn. Combine the experiences of watching one of my favorite series with that of getting ripped off by the publisher. That averages to... a 2.

I will be thinking twice & thrice before buying more from Funimation. I can only assume that the company is having financial difficulties. Otherwise, why jeopardize future sales by
screwing your customer so thoroughly?"

Unfortunately, three stars to one of the best series because

Niko | 11/25/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"
Well, for being the first one to write a review of this OVA I will try to give an overview storyline of what is going on (without giving too much away) in this OVA but also I will try to make an overall judgment of the last three OVAs that came out and were supposed to give us the `true ending' of the Tenchi series that I love so much.

To begin with, this OVA starts were the second one stopped. Yet, instead of continuing the plot as it was in the spirit of the third episode in the second OVA, it returns in a sense to slapstick comedy and the so called harem anime. As Charles Solomon describes it above, what is basically going on is that Mihoshi gets married to Mashisu, were we will witness what will go on before a marriage ceremony with the addition of fun, etc. etc. The only interesting thing is on what will be introduced to us, and the revelations, about Tenchi's mother that will follow.


Overall critique of the last three OVAs:

For the ones who are unfamiliar with the Tenchi series, some things of what I will say may not make much sense to you (honestly, sorry guys). Well, to begin with, as most of you already know before these three OVAs came out, three Tenchi movies were done which provided us with a possible/alternative ending and which woman Tenchi finally chooses resulting to many disagreements in the net and among Tenchi fans. After a few years, these three OVAs came out `reassuring' us, the fans of the series, that this is how the story ends. Unfortunately, they fell short!

(Before you continue reading keep in mind that spoilers will be included here of the last three OVAs, therefore, do not read any further if you intend to watch them!)

Why am I saying this: To begin with, the OVAs did not make much character or relationship development among the main characters; the only exceptions were a couple of episodes in the first OVA and of course the best episode among these three OVAs and of all Tenchi series, which is the third one of the second OVA; and of course, the one that deals with Tenchi's mother.
Apart from it, in the battle were Tenchi confronts Z, his powers are not fully awaken, he seems lost in contrast to Z - who not only had fully awakened his powers but also knew things that Tenchi did not dream about. Moreover, the episode implied that Tenchi or Z, were the chosen ones but only one will be the `real thing'. Z had five `wings' while Tenchi only three. The episode also implied that Tenchi had the potential to create the four remaining ones. As for the story: Did the OVAs do something about this? No. Did the OVAs advance the relationships amongst the main characters? No. I hate to admit but the OVAs did create a great story base but they did not build on it.
[What do I mean with this: If for example you look at Samurai Jack, you will observe that although the series are more like episodes, but still it manages to keep the base story in tact and constantly advances it till season three (with a few exceptions of filler episodes). But the creators of Tenchi give sometimes the impression that they run out of ideas and do not know how to proceed with the story. The biggest exception was the third episode of the second OVA which was in two words: mind-blowing!]

Maybe there will be a continuation of the Tenchi series, something that is for the time being unknown, that will be based on these foundations and will make Tenchi to one of the best series ever. Yet, for now these three OVAs will disappoint most, if not all, Tenchi fans. Last but not least, the OVAs leave the story unfinished and leave an opening for a future continuation.


Buying it or not?
I have to be honest with you. If you have bought all Tenchi series, OVAs etc. so far, than buy it so that to complete your collection; if you have not done so yet, than at least rent it, because it is definitely worth a watch. In other words, it is up to you to decide if you would like to buy this OVA or not.

As for dub, if you prefer the dub version, and the music that accompanies these series, it is very well done and very good animated (in the spirit of the second OVA). Thumbs up!

As for the extras: Non credit opening / ending, art work, previews of other anime series etc.

Honestly,
I hope that I could help... ^_^
"

Canon Tenchi Comes To An End...For Now.

AstroNerdBoy | Denver, CO | 11/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For this 3rd volume of "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki" from FUNimation, the episode from "OAV 3 +1" (episode 20 starting from OAV 1) is shown. Here, elements have played out so that once again the group is faced with the Choubimaru crisis, only sans Z. Punishments are handed out and Jurai and the Kuramitsu family come to an arrangement to cover for the Choubimaru incident. Tenchi learns the shocking secrets of his mother's (Kiyone) death. Rea and Nobuyuki have a wedding to attend, which is also attending by Tokimi-sama for her own reasons. And finally, the mystery of the little girl and Noike is resolved.

I think fans of the canon Tenchi titles are going to be somewhat disappointed (and even somewhat shocked) at the explaination of Kiyone's passing. Having seen this episode a few times, I understand what Kajishima-sensei is attempting to say, but it also falls into his typical pattern of not giving it to the audience straight. Also, the script isn't written as well as it could be, so in one flashback one might think that young Tenchi is in the hospital bed when in fact it is Seina from "GXP" (though unnamed).

The script writing is also poor when Washu begins explaining Noike and the young girl that Tenchi rescued in episode 19 (and obviously again off camera in episode 20). So there is some confusion there, but subtitle translator Mato does his best to give it to us.

Finally, canon fans will note the political manuevers shown early in the episode. Combine that with the ending of "GXP" and you'll know another reason why Tenchi will never choose a single girl. Of further interest to canon fans will be Tokimi-sama's role in this episode, to include her keen interest in Nobuyuki and Rea's wedding.

As I mentioned, subtitle translator Mato did a good job dealing with such a difficult Japanese script. As usual for FUNimation titles, full use of honorifics are in the subtitles, which is very good to help fans see the character relationships. Even if you are a dub fan, I highly recommend watching this at least once in Japanese w/ subtitles in order to get the accurate story. ^_^

As to the extras, there are two which I believe both came from the "Nabe Special" which was released in Japan during the six-month span between episodes 16 & 17. The first special has the seiyuu of the two cabits in the canon speaking over a fake pot of nabe -- Kozakura Etsuko (Ryo-chan) & Kaneda Tomoko (Fuku). The two engage in various skits (a person coming to the library for Tenchi information, a high school class about Tenchi, and a Q&A in an office setting) where they provide information about both the "TM!R" and "GXP" series and the linkage between the two. As running of the "Tenchi Muyo! FAQ" website, it was cool seeing stuff I had already put out on the website further confirmed from this Japanese program. ^_^

The final extra is the "radio drama," which has some art (not done by Kajishima-sensei nor the art team from "OAV 3") slide-shows to illustrate the stories being told (think of the omake at the end of episode 13 on Geneon's release). While some of these are somewhat amusing, there's nothing here to give any canon information and so won't be re-watched by me. However, I am glad that FUNimation included them.

Bottom line: "OAV 3 +1" suffers from some of the same problems that "OAV 3" did, but is still worth having if you are a canon Tenchi fan. The extras are nice, especially the nabe one that provides actual information for those who haven't read my site. Now we wait for the next canon spinoff in a few years featuring Tenchi's half-brother ("Saint Knight's Tale")."

Memories...

Z. Simon | Poway, California United States | 08/24/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I was ready to give the whole series one star, but I'll give the people who worked on it the benefit of the doubt. They may have been bombarded by marketers and other behind the scenes tampering. Maybe this absurdly long-awaited return to the original OVA storyline was supposed to be a lot better than it was.

But it was rushed, unfocused, and all but devoid of any satisfying action or comedy. Do not even buy it used; rent it if you must.

This review comes too late for most of us (frankly, I tried to put the experience out of my mind), who fell in love with these characters years ago, and jumped at the chance to see them again. But by 'these characters' I don't mean the ones introduced here, who waste at least a third of this already too short 'wrap up'.

If I thought it would work, I'd have tried to gather everyone together for a mass returning of DVDs to the publisher, demanding not a refund, but a return to the drawing board.

After this debaccle, though, I'd almost hate to see the Masaki family subjected to any furhter indignity."