The original Tenchi Muyo OVA series was one of the first harem series.   You know, one of those shows where one hapless male finds himself living with five or six gorgeous women.  Clever, funny, and well executed the Tenchi OVA series spun off several other series (as well as a 2nd OVA series) involving the same characters, but slightly changed.  At long last we get to go back to the original characters and see how what they are up to in Tenchi Muyo Ryo Okhi.  This six episode OVA series has a lot of the charm of the original, though some die-hard fans may not like some of the plot developments.

A simple average high school student, Tenchi Masaki had lived a quiet life until he accidently revived the space pirate Ryoko who was trapped in a cave by his grandfathers temple.  Searching for the pirate, the princess Ayeka came to Earth, and so did her sister, and the space police.  The next thing you know, easy going Tenchi is living in  a house full of beautiful woman and having to play referee between Ayeka and Ryoko who are always fighting over him.
 

Tenchi Masaki - intergalactic stud muffin

As this series begins, Tenchi thinks over his past, including how he ended up with a house full of uninvited guests and how he discovered that he is in line to become the Emperor of Jurai.  Things seemed to have settled down into a regular pattern at the Masaki household though, until a visitor comes knocking one day.  Tennyo, a woman who looks exactly like Tenchi's deceased mother arrives and it's quite a shock because she turns out to be Tenchi's older sister.  About 80 years older.  As surprising as that is, Tennyo has another one in store for the group.  A powerful member of the royal family of Jurai has arranged a marriage for Tenchi, and his fiancé, Noike, is due to arrive at any time.

I have to admit I have a soft spot for Tenchi.  The original OVA series was the first DVD set I purchased, and is still one of the most expensive items in my collection.  It's just a great show, and whenever I pop a disc in it's like visiting with old friends.

Having said that I really enjoy this OVA series too.  It's not perfect, but it is a lot of fun.  The creative team has the attitude and mannerisms of the characters down pat, and in a lot of ways this feels like a natural extension of the original series.

One of the things that turned me off at the beginning was the huge amount of time that they spend in the first episode recapping previous events.  There are 15-20 minutes worth of video from the first OVA series just spliced into the first episode.  The horrible thing about this is that it doesn't really explain what's going on.  If you haven't seen the first series these scenes from it won't help you understand the series.  At most it serves as a reminder for viewers who haven't seen the show for years.  It really feels like filler.
 

Everyone discovers that Tenchi is engaged.

I can imagine that a lot of people are upset that Tenchi has a fiancé, since a lot of the show centers on Ayeka and Ryoko fighting over the average guy.  Every once in a while the topic of who Tenchi will end up with pops up in an anime forum some place.  It seems like one of those things anime fans just love to discuss.  Of course the whole discussion is missing the point.  Neither of the girls are good for Tenchi, and he would be crazy to pick either of them.  They both have significant character flaws (Ryoko is an amoral thief, and Ayeka is a pushy stuck up snob) and would make Tenchi's life miserable as his wife, but they make great house guests.

It was actually a great idea to introduce Tennyo and Noike.  It harkens back to the original series where a new woman was moving in every couple of shows.  Noike also seems to be the perfect woman for Tenchi.  She's caring, intelligent and attractive, but there's something about her that's just not quiet right.  It looks like the next (and last) volume in this series will be pretty interesting.

These three episodes which run about 100 minutes come on a single-sided DVD in a black keepcase.  Being a FUNimation disc, there is a non-skipable trailer before the menu.  This time it is  for Kodocha.  This is a really irritating trait of FUNimation discs, and I wish they could cut out the practice.

Audio:

This disc offers the choice of the original Japanese audio track in stereo or an English dub in stereo or 5.1.  I alternated between the original language and the 5.1 English dub track.  I liked both equally well, though all of the English voice actors from the OVA were not able to come back for this dub.  Both of the tracks were free from drop outs, hiss, and other audio defects.

Video:

The full frame image looks very good.  The colors are bright and the level of detail was fine.  The lines were tight too.  Digital defects were almost nonexistent.   A very nice looking disc.

Extras:

I was very disappointed that there weren't many extras on this disc.  The only bonus material is some short character profiles and a series of trailers.

Final Thoughts:

This is a great show that really succeeds in recapturing the feel of the original series.  There is a bit of mystery, a bit of humor and a lot of fun.  It is great seeing all of the old characters once again.  Fans of the original are sure to be pleased.  Highly Recommended.