Tenchi Muyô! In Love (1996)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Hiroshi Negishi

Writers:

Hiroshi Negishi (writer)
Ryoei Tsukimura (writer)

Release Date:

16 August 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Tenchi and co. find their existence unsettled by a time-travelling entity called Kain. Desiring revenge upon the Juraian emperor...

Plot Keywords:

Tenchi | Flashback Sequence | Dismembered Body | Woman In Jeopardy | Sequel

Cast

Matt K. Miller	...	Tenchi Masaki
Megumi Hayashibara	...	Achika
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yuri Amano	...	Kiyone (voice)
Takeshi Aono	...	Katsuhito Masaki / Nobuyuki Masaki (voice)
Petrea Burchard	...	Ryoko
Jennifer Darling	...	Ayeka
John DeMita	...	Operative A (voice)
Debi Derryberry	...	Ryo-Ohki
Eddie Frierson	...	Male GP Controller (voice: English version)
Ellen Gerstell	...	Mihoshi
Jay Hopper	...	Nobuyuki / Katsuhito
Masami Kikuchi	...	Tenchi Masaki (voice)
Yûko Kobayashi	...	Washu (voice)
Etsuko Kozakura	...	Ryo-Ohki (voice)
Sherry Lynn	...	Kiyone / Sasami
Yûko Mizutani	...	Mihoshi (voice)
Tomoyuki Morikawa	...	Young Nobuyuki Nobuyuki (voice)
Ai Orikasa	...	Ryoko (voice)
Ryûzaburô Ôtomo	...	Kain (voice)
Andrew Philpot	...	Nobuyuki (High School Student)
Michael Scott Ryan	...	Kain
Yumi Takada	...	Ayeka (voice)
K.T. Vogt	...	Washu
Chisa Yokoyama	...	Sasami (voice)
Grace Zandarski	...	Achika Masaki

Also Known As:

Tenchi the Movie
Tenchi: The Movie

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Not Rated (DVD) | Canada:PG | France:U | Germany:12 | UK:12

Company:

Anime International Company (AIC)

Trivia:

Continuity-wise, this film follows the television series"Tenchi Muyô" (1995)_ while ignoring Tenchi Muyô! Ryô Ôki (1992) (V). On a related topic Tenchi's mother who was named Kiyone in the Tenchi Muyo Ryo-Ohki continuity was renamed to Achika for this movie.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Washu told Kiyone to show them the main booster, Kiyone said, "Okay" but her mouth didn't move a second later.

Quotes:

Achika: I've had enough. I will not allow this! I will pay you back; because forgiveness, for one like you, could never be an option.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Tenchi Muyô! In Love 2: Haruka naru omoi (1999)

Soundtrack:

Alchemy Of Love

Great movie (even dubbed); painless intro for anime novices.

My wife never had any experience with anime before she was with me; over the years I've sent her scurrying out of the room with much of what I watch... Tenchi Muyo In Love, though, kept her interest piqued.

The animation: beautiful; the usual Tenchi OVAs and TV-series are great, but the movie is a real knock-out. Unlike the big-budget anime movies of late (and Disney films) the scenes have a consistent level of quality. There aren't nine scenes of good animation, and one scene of mind-blowing 3D computer-generated/cel combo stuff... all of the scenes are great quality, with little to cause distraction.

The storyline: good. It draws somewhat upon knowledge of previous events in the Tenchi realm, but is accessible for novices. I would have preferred the story to stick with the emotional aspect- as exciting as a big demon fight is, the characters are even more so... but then again, I guess that's why companies make stuff like Kimagure Orange Road or Maison Ikkoku.

The translation: good. Unlike how I prefer most of my anime, I'm both used to and accepting of the English translation job done by Pioneer. They're the voices I first heard when watching Tenchi, and they settle okay with me. (My wife can't stand Sasami's English voice, however.) I don't feel like I'm either missing parts of the original dialogue, nor do I feel like the story is too Americanized. If I were used to the Japanese version, my feelings might vary- but I have access to both versions, and the English one usually wins out.

The storyline is good... Tenchi as a whole is not supposed to be unique, but a comfortable, fun ride. It delivers entertainment in droves, and the characters are so well-rounded that it's hard not to come away without feeling affected, despite feeling like you've just watched a mish-mash of SF cliches. Rather than the tour-de-force movies like Akira or Ghost in the Shell, this is the movie I'd probably show new-comers- "This is what Japanese animation can be like." When they're more willing to work at comprehending a story, then move on...