Ahh, A Plot Emerges...
Carl Malmstrom | Monument, CO USA | 01/22/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"As I rewatch the original Tenchi Muyo TV series - this time on DVD - I find myself liking it even more than I did the first time. Aside from being generally light and entertaining, the animation for the series is quite light and well done - almost direct-to-video (OAV) quality.For the fifth (of eight) discs in the series, Tenchi, his family and his friends find themselves suddenly (literally) pulcked from Earth and into space - and a plot. With the series now halfway over, the characters of Tenchi have left behind the character development, the light silliness and the few pieces of foreshadowing presented in discs one through four in favor of a political mystery on Ayeka and Sasami's homeworld, a a galactic game of cat-and-mouse and, oh yes, some serious silliness.While I enjoyed the four discs before this one, it was nice to actually feel that there is a driving plot and direction in the series. The mood in this disc does stay relatively light, but it foreshadows the increased drama of the future episodes.In terms of the quality of the DVD release itself, I am continually glad that Pioneer included the episodes uncut for the DVD release - with full openings and endings for each episode (something they did not do for the VHS release). The digital extras are minimal - line art and character data - but welcome in the sense that anything was given to a disc this late in the series is nice. The finger puppets that come with the early pressings of each disc are adorable and have become a point of curiousity for me as I work my way through the discs wondering who the next group of "super-deformed" Tenchi characters made into finger-puppet form will be.If you're working your way through the series, definitely get this disc. If you want to start watching Tenchi in its original form but find the earlier, plot-light episodes a bit too much to handle, this might be a better place to start again. Either way, it's a DVD worth getting."
Tenchi, 6 space babes and a cabbit... most wanted criminals!
Ryoko Masaki | Ohkayama, Japan | 02/17/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This movie/episodes are hilarious! It finally makes a plot for "Tenchi Universe" while making everybody laugh at the same time! Pretty amazing huh? Well... it all starts of with Ayeka being arrested by the planet Jurai and Ryoko, the most wanted criminal in the galaxy and poor Sasami... all captured by Jurai! How will they escape? Well, it has a great conclusion and is very exciting! I can't wait to see what happens next!"