Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Special: Episode 7 Review

Welcome back to our second installment of the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki series reviews, tonight we have episode 7 the special: "The Night Before the Carnival!" This is a special because it was not originally part of the OVA series but was put in as a bridge between OVAs 1 and 2.

"The Night Before the Carnival!"

It is a fine spring morning and we start off with seeing Azaka and Kamidake at the front gate where we left them last time. It has now been a few months since the confrontation with Kagato and it would appear that everything has returned to normal or as normal as it can be with five alien women and a cabbit living in a house with a teenage boy who they are all madly in love with.

Tenchi wakes up to an exhausted looking Ryoko which scares the crap out of him. After regaining his wits, and a trip to the bathroom, Tenchi locks Ryoko outside his room so he could change in peace. While changing Tenchi notices the ring he got that allows him to activate his Juraian battle armor, he tries to take it off but instead activates it. After Tenchi is in his armor a seed falls out out of a fold in the fabric, there is no mention of this seed until now or how he got it. He then walks out into the hall, after changing into earth clothes, where Ayeka and Ryoko were having a stare off of sorts. Tenchi then shows Ayeka the seed and she says it is from one of the royal trees, Tenchi then states that Tsunami said it was Ryu-Oh's seed and had given it to him to give to Ayeka (months after the fact he remembers, really?). So now Ayeka is estacticed and is then seen entering Tenchi's closet under the stairs, which we then learn is Washu's lab (you may be wondering how this is possible, especially when you see how big the lab is on the inside, well Washu placed her lab in sub-space actually and placed the entrance at the door of the closet, if you have more questions feel free to contact the page or leave a comment below). Ayeka asks Washu to build her a container to grow Ryu-Oh in, after refusing to do so unless Ayeka called her Little Washu and a little joking, Washu accepts and is seen beginning to work on the project.

Next we visit the Ryo-Ohki's fields where Tenchi works looking around at the vastly large field it is hard to believe that Tenchi does all the work himself. The scene quickly changes to Ryoko, Mihoshi, and Sasami in the living room. Ryoko becomes curious about what the other two are doing, it turns out they are reading comics for girls or shojo manga. Sasami tells Ryoko that they are a handbook for gaining the love of someone earth-style.

We now revisit or favorite little genius in her lab to find out what happened to our friend Tenchi. Unfortunately he has found himself in quite a little predicament; Washu has him strapped down with wires attached to him. It turns out that Washu is harmlessly taking data samples from Tenchi, she is doing this to find out more about his Light Hawk wings and material conversion ability. But there is one sample left, the "most important one" in fact.

You should probably be able to tell what sample she is talking about, but if not I'll tell you: sperm sample. In order to get this sample Washu decides to dress up as a nurse (this is kind of a fetish of hers that even appears in the other Tenchi Muyo! continuities). This is one of the more perverted scenes in this episode, Washu makes comments about Tenchi's dick and is even seen grabbing and jerking it (NOTE: there is no nudity in this scene don't worry). Washu's fun is cut short when Mihishi arrives, by accident, to get everyone for breakfast. When Mihoshi asks Washu what she is doing Washu replies "we're just playing doctor" (this is also said in the second special: episode 13.5 "Here Comes Jurai 2"). 

After breakfast, which everyone but Sasami missed, Ryoko has finished reading a stack of shojo manga and begins employ what she has learned on Tenchi. I will not go into details during this part, mainly because: 1. there is a lot of detail 2. I'm a lazy ass 3. I'm sure you guys don't like long reviews. If you know shojo manga you know the jest of what they do, if not you can go to our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anime-Central/231887816966996 to see photos with quotes in the descriptions that should give you an idea of what is going on. Well after witnessing the premature ending of Ryoko's attempts at wooing Tenchi earth-style, at the hands of Mihoshi of course, and the discovery of her nephew's library of shojo manga, Ayeka decides to join in on the fun and try to woo Tenchi herself (Nobuyuki is technically Ayeka's nephew in law since he married Yosho's, or Katsuhito's, daughter). 

After the girls' first attempt to woo our main character they decide to do some more "research", after a failed stalking attempt mind you, where the two employ new tactics that fail before they can even be used on Tenchi (how sad, and they tried so hard too). *sigh* Back to the shojo manga for answers it would seem, this time Ryoko shows Tenchi a page that says they are the perfect match, while Ayeka has one that says that the love that is found now is an eternal love.The two then continue to try and woo Tenchi until he states that the books they have been using are at least ten-years-old, bummer for them. But my favorite red head has arrived with one that is "hot off the press" and states that both Ryoko and Ayeka are the worst matches with Tenchi and that the true "perfect match" is no other than her. 

This ushers in plan B or really plan E for Ryoko and for Ayeka it would also be plan E. For Ryoko's plan E she has decide to work on Tenchi's grandfather, while Ayeka has decided to write a love letter for Tenchi from a school girl who wants to talk to him "after school" (the ironic part is that Tenchi actually dropped out of school when he meet the three original girls in the first two episodes, if you want to know a theory of why he decided to drop out please contact the page or leave a comment I will be more than happy to explain). After both of their plans failed, Ryoko's was stopped by Mihoshi again however Ayeka's was foiled by Ryo-Ohki eating all the carrots forcing Tenchi to go back to work in the fields forgetting about the letter, the two decide to make a pact where they will work together to get Mihoshi back to the GP for awhile and to seal Washu up in her lab for the night, this couldn't go wrong in any way. 

Well for Ryoko's part she used Kastuhito's phone to call the Masaki home as Mihoshi's supervisor to get her to leave earth and make her report, Ayeka was able to get Mihoshi to ask Washu to find her shuttle that entered sub-space when she crashed (Washu does this with ease as well as defeat the monster Ryoko created in episode 4 that was with the ship). Mihoshi then leaves and off scene Ryoko and Ayeka place a seal on Washu's door, Ryoko then ties up Ayeka to prevent her from stopping Ryoko from being (intimate) with Tenchi. During a fight between Ryoko and Ayeka, after she escapes, Sasami has a nightmare, the poor thing, and goes to sleep in Tenchi's room with him. It would also turn out that Washu was the first one in there and had already made plans with Tenchi to sleep there with him, you could imagine Ryoko's and Ayeka's expressions when they found this out, or you could look at the photos on facebook when I finish uploading them. The episode ends with Mihoshi crashing into the Masaki house and forcing everyone to sleep over in Washu's lab, also Ryu-Oh has sprouted and Ryo-Ohki is talking to it.

Like the first OVA I enjoyed the plot, and the "plot". I thought this served as a perfect transition into the second OVA and can't think of watching the OVAs without it here. I give this anime a 10/10 even though they could done more with elaborating as to why Washu was the first one in Tenchi's room and how she got passed the seal on her door or if she was already in Tenchi's room when that was done. I would have also wanted to know what they were doing before Sasami came in. Other than that it was a good piece that I enjoyed watching and reviewing.

NOTICE: I will be taking a break from Tenchi Muyo! and the next review will for Hellsing and then for Hellsing Ultimate. This will happen in a few weeks, be sure to follow the page on face through the link above to be on top of news and information. Thank you for joining me and see you soon.

Voice Actor Spotlight Update

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhSGMrvwibg

Check out a clip of an interview with one of the voice actors we have featured here by clicking the link above. There is also a link on the facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anime-Central/231887816966996?ref=hl) if this one does not work.

Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 1 Review

Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki is a 21 episode collection of OVAs including three episode specials. This will focus on the first six episodes of the series. Warning: in episode 4 and 5 there are brief scenes of nudity.

"Ryo-Ohki"

If you love heram and slapstick comedy then this anime is for you! This is my MOST favorite anime of ALL time!!! 

Tenchi Muyo! means "no need for Tenchi!" The anime is titled this because, even though Tenchi is the main character he is not needed to push the plot forwards, the girls do that enough. Only in the 3rd OVA and major fights is he important, his unimportance is shown more so in the manga series which I encourage you all to buy, it is a really good read and I might post pics on the Facebook page if guys want. Make sure to let me know.

Now it is time for my signature character profiling! But I will only write what one would be able to know from only episodes 1-6. This is because a LOT is revealed about the character's back stories and personalities as the series goes on. Note: the characters are listed in order in which we meet them with the exception of Tenchi's dad and grandfather.

Tenchi Masaki- A teenager that accidentally releases an alien space pirate (Ryoko), thereby drawing the attention of other space faring individuals (Ayeka and Sasami). His actions unintentionally cause the destruction of his school (at the hands of Ryoko) and the revelation that he himself is part of the powerful Juraian race, and a member of their royal family. In episode 6 it is revealed that he can create Light Hawk Wings (the power of the Jurai ships) himself without the aid of a royal tree (Tenchi has no Royal Tree but possesses both Yosho's sword key for tree Funaho and a bracelet to draw power from tree Tsunami [he also has a ring that allows him to activate his Jurain battle armor). When generating his own Light Hawk Wings, Tenchi can also perform energy-matter conversion which catches the eye of someone.

Ryoko Hakubi- A creation of the scientist Washu Hakubi (of her own egg and a substance called Masu [pronounced mass, we do not see this creature until episode 10]). Ryoko was a space pirate in the service of Kagato until she was sealed in a cave for 700 years (by Yosho), she is released by Tenchi in the first episode. She draws most of her powers from three mysterious gems and is partnered with her sister the cabbit-spaceship Ryo-Ohki. Ryoko has a deep love for Tenchi which was formed from watching him grow up in front of her cave. She also wants "to do this and that with Tenchi" - Washu Hakubi episode 6.

Ayeka Masaki Jurai- A princess of the Jurai Royal Family (the singal most powerful family in the galaxy, she is searching the galaxy for her half-brother Yosho with her sister Sasami when she detects Ryoko (whom Yosho had been pursuing prior to his disappearance) her tree-ship Ryu-Oh crashes on Earth during a confrontation with Ryoko (episode 2), where she reluctantly joins Tenchi and Ryoko at the newly relocated Masaki House. She a "pure" love for Tench, meaning she is not interested in sex but rather a traditional relationship.

Sasami Masaki Jurai- A princess of the Jurai Royal Family and as her and her sister's nomen suggest (fancy word for first last name) they are both related to Tenchi via Yosho, she tags along on her sister's search for Yosho. Sasami frequently cooks for the household and is paired with the tree-ship Tsunami (the original and most powerful tree-ship). She first sees Tenchi an older brother but starts to form a brother complex in OVA 2.

Mihoshi Kuramitsu- A member of the powerful Kuramitsu family of the Seniwa empire (not revealed until later) and a Detective of the Galaxy Police (which is also under Kuramitsu control [also not revealed until later]). Mihoshi is prone to clumsiness and can act ditsy, despite being highly intelligent. Mihoshi is distantly related to a very bright women (I wont tell you who :P) and through that lineage has the power of improbably good luck. She crashes on Earth while looking for Kagato (episode 4). She believes Tenchi to be her destiny since he rescued her from a sub-space hole. 

Washu Hakubi- Is ranked among the top scientists in the galaxy and is self-pronounced "Greatest Scientific Mind in Universe!" She was trapped by Kagato and later released by Mihoshi (episode 6). She states that Tenchi is cute and because she was connected to Ryoko she also has the same feelings for Tenchi as she does, though these don't start to appear yet. (Washu is my favorite character and is my favorite redhead. Now you might say I have a thing for lolicon and I would reply, "Only if it is Washu!")

Katsuhito Masaki- Is Tenchi's grandfather. His full true name is Yosho Masaki Jurai and he is half-brother to Ayeka and Sasami. He is half earthling and half Jurain like his mother, therefore so is Tenchi.

Nobuyuki Masaki- Is Tenchi's Father. He is only an earthling.

It all began when Tenchi opened the gate...

At the Masaki shrine where Tenchi's grandfather is the priest, there is a cave that by shrine laws no one is allowed to enter. One day Tench Masaki steals the keys to the gate locking the cave so that he could get a look inside. He unknowingly releases a "demon" who is really the notorious space pirate Ryoko from her 700 year imprisonment, who after following Tenchi to school destroys the entire building while blowing off steam on Tenchi. Later after Tenchi is able to cut off her right hand removing the last of the three gems that give her power (don't worry her hand regenerates), she disappears to never be seen again. Yeah right, see turns up taking a nap in Tenchi's bed waiting for him to come home with the master key, or sword Tenchi (the sword that kept Ryoko imprisoned which contains now all three gems in its hilt). This was the first episode which was titled "Ryoko Resurrected" very fitting don't you think?

At the beginning of episode two, titled "Here comes Ayeka" we met Ayeka, the first princess of Jurai. Blah blah blah, you know why she came to earth. She captures both Ryoko and Tenchi and questions Ryoko as to the whereabouts of her brother. "Half-brother you mean," - Ryoko Hakubi, "Thank you Ryoko," - Admin.  After Ayeka is ordered to bed by the Queen of Jurai (it is not known whether it is her mother or not [to be explained in OVA 2 review]) via an unnamed AI unite we meet the second princess of Jurai Sasami outside Tenchi's sell. She agrees to release Tenchi and bring him back to earth if he plays with her and steals her sister's headdress while she sleeps, yes it is still on her head while she sleeps which makes it a tad difficult to do. And of course Ayeka wakes up but while Tenchi is trying to get the sword from her hands not the headdress. This puts Tenchi in an awkward position, literally since he is kneeling over her in her bed. She kicks him out of the bed and orders Azaka and Kamidake to attack Tenchi, chasing him all the way to where Sasami is waiting and laughing at him. Eventually they reach Ryoko's cell and with a little help from Ryo-Ohki Tenchi and Ryoko manage to escape, but thats not the end of it, Ryoko uses Ryo-Ohki to push Ryu-Oh, Ayeka's ship, through earth's atmosphere and crash into the Great Seto Bridge. This causes both ships to crash into the pond by Tenchi's grandfather's shrine where the Masaki house is now located due to the crash of Ryoko's ship which held the house that had been shrunken. The episode ends with Ayeka's ship sinking into the pond beyond salvaging.

The third episode is called "Hello Ryo-Ohki!" and yeas this is the same Ryo-Ohki that is Ryoko's ship. It has been a week since the Masaki house relocation and apparently Ayeka has spend the entire time in her room without even saying thank you to the Masakis for letting her and Sasami stay there. Sasami was able to manipulate Ayeka into thinking that she had to go down stairs to thank the Masaskis (in later episodes in the second OVA and beginning of the third OVA she becomes quite skilled in "handling" the other girls of the house). When Ayeka finally makes it down stairs, expecting to see Tenchi in the living room, sees Ryoko and becomes angry. Ryoko is holding an egg which Sasami rushes over just to see it and questions her about it: did she lay it? Is she married? Who's the father? At the last question Ryoko leans in and whispers to Sasami who then backs away startled and yells, "Tenchi's the father!" This startles Ayeka too and she quickly turns her head towards a half asleep Tenchi that came into the room moments ago, who is even more confused since he didn't register what Sasami said and didn't know that Ryoko had an egg with her. Ryoko then walks over to Tenchi and says "I'm so happy, to bare the child of the man I love," she then places the egg in Tenchi's hands and he becomes even more confused. Then suddenly the egg begins to shake and crack, the next a tiny furry foot popped out of a crack in the egg startling Tenchi causing him to drop the egg cracking the rest of the shell. And guess who emerges from it, that right cute adorable little Ryo-Ohki! (check the face book page for a photo in the album: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki (OVA) at https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Anime-Central/231887816966996). Ryoko then explains that it is indeed the same Ryo-Ohki that is her spaceship. Ayeka gets fed up and thinks that everyone is making fun of her and leaves to stand outside by the pond where her ship is. Ryo-Ohki then goes outside to cheer up the saddened Ayeka but instead startles her. Later she and Ryo-Ohki stumble across Tenchi and Katsuhito practicing sword play, but right as she was about to ask them why their sword play was just like that of the Jurai royal family, she slips and fall off a small ledge and sprains her leg/ankle, they're not specific but my money is on that it is her ankle. Tenchi is then ordered by his grandfather to carry Ayeka home on his back they are caught in the rain and take shelter in a small shed-like cabin until it passes. Afterwards Tenchi brings Ayeka to the holy tree of Masaki Shrine where Ayeka reveals that it is really Funaho, Yohso's tree-ship giving her hope that he is still alive somewhere on earth.

The fourth episode is titled "Mihoshi Falls to the Land of Stars" and you guessed it, we meet Mihoshi in this episode. But first we see seventh headquarters of the Galaxy Police and meet its commander, we also meet one of the head marshals of the GP who is also Mihoshi's grandfather. We also meet Mihoshi's immediate superior (name not given at this time,but it is Captian Nobeyama), he tells Mihoshi to keep a look out in "The Solar System" (yes this is our solar system they are referring to, and they always refer to it as this) for the ruthless space pirate Kagato. Instead Mihoshi thinks she has to do her duty by capturing Kagato instead of calling  seventh headquarters for the attack squad, which frightens her superior greatly. So she asks Yukinojyo, her ship's AI, for information on Kagato as they fly around the "Solar System." Meanwhile back on earth Masaki and company go to a hot spring inn run by Tenchi's aunt, you what they say, no good could come from a hot spring in an anime. And as I stated above this episode does contain some nudity for a short prolonged time (I know oxymoron, but I couldn't think of another way to describe it). So the princesses hop out of a van and run over to a coy pond while Nobuyuki is talking to the inn keeper, Tenchi's great aunt, and Tenchi is unpacking the van by himself. While he is doing this Ryoko explains that she is upset that he was flirting with Ayeka in the cabin (at this point she is assuming but later explains to Ayeka that she knows what happened by looking into Ryo-Ohki's memory since she was there too) and wants Tenchi to flirt with her too. Tenchi indirectly says no and Ryoko gates mad so she covers him in the luggage. The next scene starts off with Tenchi and his father in the men's bath and Nobuyuki is trying to convince his son to peek on the girls in the women's bath with him, what kind of father is he? He then dons the traditional attiar for peeping and climb up the hill to have a look into the women's bath without his so because Tenchi is a man of morals. But Ryoko meet Nobuyuki up there and startles him causing him to fall into the water and loose consciousness. Ryoko then flies down (while naked) and carries Tenchi off to the women's bath with her. Ayeka gets mad that Ryoko brought Tenchi to the women's bath and took her towel off in front of him, Ayeka was really not happy about that. Sooooo Ryoko and Ayeka fight leading to Ryoko summoning a water demon monster to attack Ayeka, but without the gem in her right wrist (still in Tenchi's sword) she couldn't control the monster so it decided to attack her along with everyone else at the hot spring. Now remember our friend flying around in space, well the energy pocket created by the water monster is now drawing Mihoshi's shuttle dangerously close to earth and at a high speed. This causes the shuttle to tear a hole in sub-space drawing everything including Tenchi, the monster, and Mihoshi's shuttle into it (actually that was all that was being drawn in). Ryoko was able to save Tenchi from being sucked in and Tenchi was able to save Mihoshi from a similar fate. As the hole in sub-space closes Tenchi and Mihoshi fall back to earth landing in the bath, this causes Tenchi to loose consciousness while Mihoshi is already unconscious. Later, Mihoshi is the first one to regain consciousness and explains who she is and why she is here (*cough* Ryoko's fault *cough*), she re-looses consciousness again once she realizes that Ryo-Ohki is the space pirate Ryo-Ohki and she eats Mihoshi's gun. At this Tenchi now regains consciousness and is clueless as to who the girl lying on the ground is. Needless to say the inn keeper was not happy about the damages done to the inn and hot springs.

 

The fifth episode is called "Kagato Attacks!" and you know what, some space pirate named Kagato attacks, who would have guessed (and yes this is the same Kagato that Mihoshi was trying to capture). But first we start in a hotspring floating over the pond by the Masaki house (I have no idea how this go here, where it came from, or who built it. It is a complete mystery to me, if anyone finds out please leave a comment or pm the facebook page it would mean a lot), and like I said before there is nudity in this episode as well but it is brief. Ryoko, Ayeka, and Mihoshi are having some drinks in the bath (no drinking until you're 21) while talking about Tenchi and how eachone feels about him. Then Sasami comes to try and get everyone out but instead there is another visitor, that's right it's Kagato and he has come to take Ryoko away. Mihoshi, using her expert detective skills lead Tenchi and the girls to Funaho (or the holy tree of Masaki Shrine) where Kagato appears stating that he is simply trying to take Ryoko back with him and to "talk" with the princesses aboard Shoja, his ship. There is a (very short) small fight between Kagato and Tenchi then Katsuhito arrives to help out. He then fights against Kagato and Ryoko who is now under Kagato's control again where at the end of the battle with victor decided Kagato retreats to the Shoja with Ryoko, Katsuhito reveals that he is really Yosho, crown prince of Jurai. Afterwards Tenchi decides that he MUST go rescue Ryoko and in need of a ship to travel in Ryo-Ohki fuses in her spaceship form with Ryu-oh's sub-space contianer (If you would like to know what this is please pm the facebook page and I would be more than happy to explain as well as anything else you may have questions about) to create a ship for the crew to go save Ryoko. During a space-style firefight with the Shoja, Tenchi goes to Ryu-Oh to activate the Light Hawk wings, though mainly used as defence they can be used to attack though it leaves the ship vulnerable to attack. Once Tenchi was able to fire, the Shoja also fired and its power was greater and blew up Ryu-Oh while Tenchi was still inside. Thinking Tenchi was dead Ryoko was over come with rage and shatered her prison and rushed to look for Tenchi in the debris, but all she found was his towel, soaked in blood.

 

The sixth and for this reviews purposes the last episode is titled "We Need Tenchi!" and wouldn't you agree that this is true. Ryoko makes it back to Ryo-Ohki to meet with the others to show them the towel. She then removes her earring that turns out to be one of the three gems and inserts it into her right wrist she with Ayeka, in her Juraian battle armor, and Mihoshi, dressed almost like an orange and purple bunny minus the ears, infiltrate the Shoja and seek out Kagato to make him pay. T this time Kagato is playing some awesome organ music and we see that Tenchi wasn't killed but was instead saved by Azaka and Kamidake and Tsunami comes to rescue him (come on, I know the show is called "Tenchi Muyo!" and all but don't tell me that you actually thought he was dead). As Ryoko and Ayeka are about to reach Kagato, Mihoshi's control cube, that can be seen in episode 4 but serves no purpose until now, places her in the reversed world of the ship (this will be explained a little soon but again message the page if you want to know more than what I'm going to put in the review). As you can guess this puts her in a different plane or dimension. As Ayeka and Ryoko begin to do battle with Kagato, Mihoshi is wandering around the reversed world until she stumbles across something interesting: a giant crystal that is protected by two giant stone snakes that attack her. She very easily subdues the snakes and we get a better glance at the crystal which has a small girl in it and it is obvious now that they, the snakes, are guarding her. As the snakes attempt to escape the ice Mihoshi put them in she plays with her cube to try and find a way to stop them, but instead weakens the seal restraining the girl, until finally the seal is broken, the snakes freeze, and the girl escapes. The girl then brings Ryoko in her astral form to the reversed world where we will soon find out a thing or too, or at least you will (I've seen this anime six times already XD). First you find out that this girl was once a science academy student along time ago. Second that visual-physiological tactics are your sex appeal. Third you learn that this girl is Ryoko's mother though not by birth but indeed by DNA. Fourth she created Ryo-Ohki and the Shoja as well. Fifth: she is Washu "and I just happen to be the top scientific genius in the universe!"- Washu Hakubi. Sixth: Ryoko is 2,000 years old. Seventh: Washu explains that the ship has a two layers, a top and a bottom with the space in the middle being only one way. And Eighth the last thing for now: Washu is connected to Ryoko the same way Ryoko is with Ryo-Ohki. With that Washu sends Ryoko's astral body back to her corporeal body in the normal dimension or plane where she continues her fight against Kagato. We then go visit Tenchi abaord Tsunami, and again Tenchi is confused (I'm not going to explain it right now you can message the page if you want to find out why he is confused), Tsunami explains to Tenchi that Ryoko and the others are fighting on the Shoja against Kagato. Meanwhile on the Shoja: Washu is attempting to explain to Mihoshi, still, that there is no way out of the reversed world while on the normal plane Ryoko continues her fight against Kagato. Soon Mihoshi finally grasps that there is no escape until Kagato is defeated, though I'm sure as to why there is no escape she still doesn't understand, so then Washu suggests they do one of the few things they can do on there side: watch the fighting and cheer on. While watching washu discovers that Ryoko isn't using her full strength and the reason why is that Ayeka would be hurt by the blast, so she uses Mihoshi's control cube to bring Ayeka, corporeal body and all, to the reversed world to be safe since forces in the normal plane can't affect those in another. Now you learn that Kagato was once Washu's student when she was a professor at the academy. Kagato then redirects the power from Ryoko's gems to the Shoja's main cannon and aims it straight at earth, but Tsunami's Light Hawk wings absorb all of the energy and then vanish and as they do the Shoja is under fire by Tsunami as well. As Kagato is about to defeat the weakened Ryoko, our star: Tenchi returns in full Juraian battle armor to save her. He then begins to fight Kagato with his sword, Kagato then explains that the master key is a tool to control or activate the ship and is useless when separated from the ship's power, Tenchi then uses a bracelet that harnesses the power of Tsunami against him, but Kagato's shield is too strong. Kagato is now in full control of all the gems and Washu states that there is only one more thing they could do in the Reversed world: pray real hard. When all seemed lost Tenchi remembered what Tsunami told hi, that he can't rely on the sword solely but rather the power he possesses inside himself. He then throws the sword on the ground and take one of Kagato's attacks head on, but Tenchi uses his own Light Hawk wings to reflect the blast. His armor is then altered (to what I like to call his god armor) and he uses his material conversion ability to change one of his wings into a tangible sword/boomer rang that he uses to destroy crystals attacking him and turns the shield he created to block a laser blast attack into another sword that he used to kill Kagato, ending it once and for all. Tenchi's Light Hawk wings then disappear bringing his armor back to normal and all the girls arrive from the reversed world and shower him in love. Washu then thanks Tenchi for saving her and then states that he is cute and asks if he wants to be a guinea pig for her experiments. But all conversations are cut short as they realize that not only did Tenchi cut Kagato in half but he also managed to cut the entire (HUGE) Shoja in half also. We then see Azaka and Kamidake on earth by the front gate to the Masaki property, where they will reside for most of the rest of the series. We then see a few explosions behind the gate and hear shout from everyone, the Masaki house now has one more occupant and this is the end of episode six.

 

I loved this anime and so many things about it were in play when I decided my rating:

• The simplicity of the backgrounds used
• The simplictic yet detailed drawing of the characters
• The fact that there was a large over all plot along with four sub-plots
• The character's personalities
• And even though there wasn't much, the character's backgrounds

I give this anime a 10/10 and i hope you enjoy it to.
Remember if you have any questions leave a comment or for more immediate response you can message the facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Anime-Central/231887816966996). See you later for the next review!

Voice Actor Spotlight: Kate T. Vogt

Kate T. Vogt is an actress who has primarily done voice acting for various animated films for most of her career. She also goes by "Kate Vogt", "K. T. Vogt", and "Gee Gee Loo Loo". She is currently in the acting company of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Kate brings my favorite little redhead to life with her voice, if you ask me her role as Washu Hakubi is her best work ever!

Anime

• Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OAV - Washu Hakubi  [This one should seem familiar if you have been on our Facebook page]
• Tenchi Muyo! TV (Tenchi Universe) - Washu
• Tenchi Muyo! Shin (Tenchi in Tokyo) - Washu
• Tenchi Muyo in Love (Tenchi the Movie) - Washu
• Tenchi Muyo Manatsu no Eve (Tenchi Muyo! Daughter of Darkness) - Washu Hakubi
• Tenchi Muyo in Love 2 (Tenchi Forever!) - Washu
• Magical Girl Pretty Sammy - Washu Kobayashi
• El Hazard OAV - Ifurita
• Dragon Slayer - Sonya
• Legend of the Crystals - Rouge
• Princess Mononoke - Factory Girl
• Pet Shop of Horrors - Luise
• Psycho Diver: Soul Siren - Yuki Kano (In the music sequences)
• Cowboy Bebop Episode 5 - Kid

Movies 

• The Puppet Masters - 1994
• Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation - 1992
• Doc Hollywood - 1991
• The Killing Mind - 1990

New Page!

If you still haven't checked out the new Facebook page check it out NOW!!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anime-Central/231887816966996

Keep updated with news about the blog and enjoy special goodies that will only be on the page.

Check it now! What are you waiting for!!!!! 

New Page!!!!!

Hello, Hello everyone! I'm proud to say Anime Review Center now has a Facebook page! It's titled Anime Central.

There I will post like I do on google+ to let people who don't follow me know when there is a new post on the blog. Also some new things exclusive to the page. *wink wink*

Happy Friday 13th!

http://evil-hell-slayer.deviantart.com/art/This-is-me-358720760

http://www.imgbase.info/images/safe-wallpapers/anime/hellsing/19922_hellsing.jpg

 

Happy Friday 13th everyone! Sorry, I don't have any dark anime to review this week but you should enjoy it all the same. Hope you have a fun 13th, look out for sadists XD
See you tomorrow night.

 

Haganai Season 1 Review

I'm here today to review  Haganai or Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai ("I Don't Have Many Friends"), one of the new anime I started during my absence. I was going to do Okami-San & Her Seven Companions this week because I was following the order in which I watched them, but I lost a sheet of paper of unique quotes so I decided to do this one and then next week I'll do Okami-San.

This anime is really filled with humor, and it's rated TV-MA so I'm sure you know the kind of humor I mean (more evident in later episodes), it is also a herem. A quick heads up or SPOILER depending on how you look at it: there is some scenes of nudity later in the anime but only breasts and butts. 

From left to right: Sister Maria (back), Yozora (front), Kobato (back), Kodaka (front), Rika (back), Yukimura (back), Sena (front). 

The show is about a second-year high school student named Kodaka Hasegawa who doesn't know how to make friends and has only had one his whole life. It doesn't help that he has blond hair that looks like the dye is coming out (dyed hair has been associated with juvenile delinquency in Japan), but this is his natural hair color, or his naturally sinister looking expressions. It is later revealed that other things he unintentionally does also make it really hard for him to make friends. He is also voiced by my favorite voice actor of all time Jerry Jewell, who also voices Neko from Okami-San & Her Seven Companions which is another reason why I had intended on posting this next week, Lyon from Fairy Tail, a cop from Panty & Stocky with Garterbelt, Ko the Bat from Rosario + Vampire, a clown from Soul Eater, and Cliff Cleese from Tenchi Muyo! War On Geminar; I plan on writing reviews for all of these anime and this is the only time I will tell you what I have planed for you.

I can tell you that no matter how much I write about this anime it won't do it justice, but it is my duty to try my best none the less. First a quick intro to our main characters:

You already met Kodaka, but not his sister Kobato Hasegawa- a junior high student at St. Chronica's Academy; she is very close to her brother, who she calls "An-Chan" (Big Brother), and behaves in a jealous and clingy way whenever she feels that he is not giving her the attention she deserves. After having watched an anime show called Iron Necromancer, she begins to call herself "Reisys V. Felicity Sumeragi", a vampire who has lived over a thousand years; she wears a Gothic dress, wears a red contact lens as to appear to have heterochromia and drinks blood (tomato juice)
Yozora Mikazuki- A cruel and selfish black-haired girl who says she understands and respects bullying but resents being called a bully herself; her difficult personality drives away anyone who might wish to make friends with her before she meets Kodaka. She is physically abusive towards, and often argues with, Sena and manipulative towards Maria, whom she cons into giving up an empty room for the use of the Neighbor's Club, and Yukimura, who she fools into working for the club as a cross-dressing cosplay maid. The only person she can't insult is Rika, as Rika takes whatever insult she gives her and deflects it back with a dirty joke that leaves her tired – to the point where she just does what Rika says (like cross-dress for example) rather than argue. SPOILER: she is actually Kodaka's old childhood friend "Taka" (I had a feeling since Kodaka's flashback when he was trying to figure out his old childhood friend's name) and she created the Neighbors Club just to be with him again, he later finds out in the second to last episode of the season.
Sena Kashiwazaki- The wealthy blonde daughter of the school's headmaster, Sena shows a dislike of all things "ordinary". She is both attractive and academically successful, but her resulting arrogance excludes her from making friends with girls, and she treats her male classmates only as servants to be used, although many of them would like to be her boyfriend. Nonetheless, she holds Kodaka to a higher standard.
Yukimura Kusunoki- Yukimura is first introduced as a stalker of Kodaka. A gullible student with low self-esteem, Yukimura admiringly believes Kodaka to be a romantic and masculine outlaw who lives life the way he wants to, and eagerly pledges to become his "underling" to become manlier. Despite claiming to be a boy, Yukimura dresses in girls clothes, typically that of a French maid, or a bikini when at a water park or beach. SPOILER: In Volume 5, chapter 6 of the light novel (and most likely some where in the second season; I haven't gotten there yet), Kodaka discovers that Yukimura is actually a girl, even to Yukimura's surprise. I truly had a feeling Yukimura was a girl from the beginning and speculated that she was probably confused and unaware of her own gender.
Rika Shiguma- A first-year student who is a highly capable mad scientist that the school gives her a special room for her research, and excuses her from attending classes. Kodaka saves her when she falls unconscious during a disastrous lab experiment; she offers to repay Kodaka's kindness with sexual favors, and joins the Neighbor's Club just to get closer to him. Among the girls in the series, Rika is the most sexually forward member. In her first speaking appearance, she describes the attractions of rape to Kodaka in the middle of a stunned class. She has a habit of inserting any sexual innuendo possible in her sentences, to the point where she finds it normal to convert any innocent thought into something perverted. As a fujoshi (rotten girl, or naughty-minded girl), she is a passionate consumer of BL (boys love) self-published magazines, but is especially aroused by stories that involve intercourse between mecha. She uses her genius-scientist and glasses-wearing image to divert others from her perverted nature. To compound her eccentricity, she speaks in the third person.
Maria Takayama- is the supervising teacher of the Neighbors Club; she is a ten-year-old nun. While a child genius, she is also very rude and immature, and often uses a variety of expletives when annoyed. She develops a sibling-like relationship with Kodaka, who regularly makes her packed lunches, and is affectionate with him, much to Kobato's annoyance. She is easily manipulated by Yozora into doing things for her, usually when Yozora mentions that she gives her tasks an adult would do, or bribes her with a bag of potato chips.

Now with that out of the way I can begin to tell you about the story. Well I really shouldn't have to but I like to hear myself talk (I do know that I'm typing, shut up). The story is about a group of acquaintances who don't understand (that they are friends) how to make friends, so they join the Neighbors Club that Kodaka and Yozora start to make friends (after this post both you and me are going to hate the word: friends). These club mates go on an adventure of sorts in which they attempt to learn how to make friends by doing normal "friend things" with each other so that they can do it with others to make friends. For example they go on club field trips to the pool, to a karaoke lounge, and even an exercise retreat to Sena's family's beach home to learn how to do beachy things. Like i said earlier this is a herem anime so everyone has a crush on Kodaka, except Maria who thinks of him as a brother or more I don't know, I also believe Kobato has a brother complex of sorts or she is a very clinging little sister. Frequently Rika is trying to have sex with Kodaka, but fails (sadly), Sena wants to date him, Maria wants him to be her big brother, Yukimura wants to be his slave (in more ways than one it is led on to believe, and Yozora secretly loves him as well. unfortunately there isn't anymore i can really tell you except that the second to last episode is a retelling of the entire first season through Yozora's eyes (I would explain more about the episode but it would only take for ever to do so but it would also be a massive spoiler that if someone read by accident it would ruin the under lying plot) and that the last episode serves as a fan service of sorts (not really :[ ).

Well I feel this is my longest post so far, sorry about that. Well I'm going to rewatch this season tonight because writing this review reminded me why I liked it: "plot" and plot. So before I leave I ask you my readers to comment and follow and also tell your friends. Please comment I feel all of my page views are people who came here by accident and then leave, post a comment even if its just a "hi" or "why the hell did you write so much asshole make your reviews sorter!" I don't care what you say. Well see you next week!!! :[)

As you can tell this anime evolved into a heram tords the end, I enjoy herams XD and most of the anime that I will review will be this genre. I enjoyed all of the characters' personalities, mostly Rika's. I give this anime season an 8/10. I would have liked a slightly more coherent plot line through all of the episodes, and perhaps more of a relationship development between Kodaka and Yozora.

Okami-San & Her Seven Companions Review

Hello every one, this week I bring you the review for an anime that was going to be posted last week, but due to complications was delayed until this week, but at least it is finally here, Ōkami-San and Her Seven Companions. I sarted this anime shortly after I started Wakfu, I found out about it by seeing a cute photo of the main character on Facebook. And yes this is how I found most of the new anime I have to review for you, I start to watch for the "plot" but I stay for the plot. This was true with Haganai which I'm sure I told you already.

 This is the picture I saw that "sparked" my interest. *Ryoko does not act like this in the anime*

This anime has fairy tales twisted into it, what better example than that of our main character Ryoko Okami, her last name means The Wolf. Our next main character and fairy tale friend is Ringo Akai or Little Red Riding Hood. Next is Ryoshi Morino who plays the role of our fairy tale Hunter. 

Now as always, our characters:

Ryōko Ōkami- The protagonist who is fierce, like a wolf, and flat-chested, fights thugs using special Neko Neko Knuckles developed by Majolica ( I'll explain in a bit). She tends to put up a strong and fierce front to disguise her inside nature, where she is a bit more kind and frightened of certain things. Although generally hostile about Ryōshi's wimpiness, she soon accepts him as someone who can watch her back in fights. Later in the series, she would sometimes blush when she sees Ryoshi. It should be noted that Ōkami-san's character fits into the tsudere category. She is a close friend of Ringo Akai and is based on the wolf from the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, though on several occasions she is shown to be very different from her base character; she mostly tries to act and be like the wolf, "wearing a wolf's clothing". She'd originally been an honest and innocent girl, but in Junior High her former boyfriend Shirō attempted to rape her, and when she told her friends, they refused to believe her and accused Ryōko of fabricating the story in anger after being dumped. After this, she transferred schools and struggled to be "strong" enough that she would need no one and not risk being betrayed again. She develops feelings for (Ryōshi) Morino later on in the anime. Her last name, Ōkami, means "wolf".

Ringo Akai- A petite red-haired girl who has been longtime friends with Ryōko. She is the one who recruits Ryōshi into Otogi Bank. She is a close friend of Ryōko Ōkami, and is always trying to involve herself with her best friend's love life. Like Ryōko, she tends to smile to hide her true feelings, and admires Ryōko for trying to become stronger. She is based on the Little Red Riding Hood from the folktale of the same name, though some aspects of her scheming, manipulative personality closer resemble the poisoned apple ("Ringo" means apple) of Snow White, a fact which is occasionally referenced by the narrator and other characters. She is also the half sister of "Snow White" Shirayuki Himeno and feels responsible for her past. However, thanks to Ryōko, she moves on from the past.

Ryōshi Morino- A shy boy who cowers when confronted by other people and so keeps his distance. It is explained in the anime that he suffers from Opthalmophobia. He has a crush on Ryōko and following a failed confession to her, he is somehow enrolled into Otogi Bank, where the others hope to use his low noticeability to avoid being detected. However, Ryōshi is much braver when hidden in darkness, and fights from afar using a wrist-mounted slingshot armed with pachinko balls with extreme precision, as shown when he knocks a baseball flying in midair about to hit Otsū. He is also known to perform well in fist fights if Ryōko is in danger. He is based on the hunter in the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood who captures the wolf or Ōkami-san.

Liszt Kiriki- The president of the Otogi Bank. His skill is cross-dressing, which he uses to gain information normal men cannot obtain. He is almost never seen working. He is always seen with his eyes closed, but he would open them when he's dead serious, revealing gold eyes. He is most likely a parody of the Aesop's fable The Ant and the Grasshopper as during the opening and ending scenes he is shown playing a violin while his usual pairing, Alice, is working on her computer, and in the closing sequence he is further shown buried under snow while Alice is in an underground "nest".

Alice Kiriki- Liszt's cousin and secretary in the club. As said above she most likely fits the ant description in Aesop's fable The Ant and the Grasshopper as she is shown working and usually in a serious manner. Also, her hair's front resembles the antennae of an ant, and the first two syllables of her name, "Ari", is the Japanese word for "ant" ( I explained the resemblance in Liszt's description).

Otsū Tsurugaya- The club's maid who has an obsession for returning favors. When she was young, she was saved from a car accident by a boy who died before she could thank him, resulting in her having a fear of not being able to return a favor, this lands her in the hospital because she refused to rest while trying to return a favor. She is based on the crane from the Japanese tale Tsuru no Ongaeshi.

Tarō Urashima- A first year transfer student who is a year older than everyone else. He shows no interest in men but goes completely amorous towards girls. Although he is very flirtatious, he seems to have special feelings of love for Otohime. He is based on the title character from the Japanese tale Urashima Tarō. It is heavily implied that he is in an intimate relationship with Otohime, and he occasionally enters a "gentleman mode" after Otohime drags him off and "extracts various things" from him.

Otokima Ryūgū- A girl with an obsessive crush on Tarō, who cares for her greatly but on some occasions, is scared of her. It was thanks to Tarō's motivation that she changed from a chubby bullied elementary student to a thin beauty. She constantly grabs Urashima and drags him into the closet, and the narrator remarks "I'll let your imagination figure out what they're doing", giving hints that they have some kind of sexual relationship. Although Tarō often runs from her advances, he does have special feelings for her, and can even be considered her boyfriend. She is based on Princess Otokime from the Japanese tale Urasima Tarō. The reason she is called turtle is because Otohime from the legend was a turtle on land when she met Tarō. Her relationship with Mimi Usami is also resemblant to the fable, The Tortiose and the Hare.

Majolica Le Fay- Called Majo for short, she is a self-proclaimed mad scientist who builds various devices such as Ryōko's Neko Neko Knuckles special boxing gloves that are shaped like cats and even meow when they make contact, one pair even acts as a taser when Ōkami hits someone. She is based on the sorceress Morgan Le Fay. She also takes the role of a fairy godmother at times.

Saburō Nekomiya- A third-year student at Otogi described by the narrator as a "pretty boy." Knowledgeable about Ryōshi and the Otogi Bank, he takes it upon himself to "train" Ryōshi, even taking part in joining Ryōshi and company to Onigashima High School to save Ōkami because when he was younger, he was saved by Ōkami from a bunch of delinquents. His hair is shaped into cat ears, and his name, attitude and mannerisms are catlike (i.e. meowing after every sentence). He is apparently a skilled fighter who easily overcomes Ryōshi. He is based on Puss in Boots. He is first shown in episode 6 where Ryōko saved him from the delinquents in a flashback. Neko means cat in Japanese. He is not a main character but I included him because he is a cool character and is voice by my favorite voice actor Jerry Jewell.

And now with the characters out of the way ( Im sorry if there is any repeated information anywhere, I'm pretty tired when I write these and I try my best not to repeat myself but I'm sure something's still slip through), the actual story of Ōkami-San and her seven companions. Again, like the last anime I am unable to do it justice and won't beable to explain everything since there is literally a different plot for each episode.

In order for me to give my review I must tell you about the one who tells the story I can not, the narrator. The narrator apears to be a women by her voice and loves to criticize the main three characters. A running joke through the anime is the narrators jokes about Ryokō's and Ringo's flat chests, this begins with the quote "unfortunately the flat chested wolf and little red riding twerp are this shows eye candy, hmm, heroines." She quickly changes what she has to say about the two of them when they stare angerly at the camera/sky indicating that she exists as a true disembodied voice the main characters, or at least the wolf and little red, can hear.

Both Ryokō and Ringo work at the Otogi bank, "it's like a yearbook club, but of a different kind" (narrator). Like a normal bank students can take out loans in the form of favors that must be paid back in full at a later date. The bank will handle any favor, meaning the loanee must too. I believe, if memory serves me correctly, that there was a favor in every episode, with the exception of one episode. 

The underlining plot that carries through the series is Ōkami's ex boyfriend keeps trying to ruin her life and has her kidnapped twice, Ryōshi and the bank come to her aid. During the second time Ryokō was kidnapped the bank called upon many of their favors. 

I enjoyed the workmanship and the individual plots per episode, I also enjoy the character's personalities. Having the main character as a tsudere really appealed to me. I give this anime an 8/10 : it could have been longer and I would have liked to see a real admittance of love from Ryokō. ( I am rating each anime/anime season from now on will go back later to rate the past ones).

I know it's a little late but Toonami was on and I need my two and half hours of anime. See you next week for a new anime review. Thank you for reading.