Tenchi Muyo, created by Pioneer in the mid 90's, is one of the most beloved series in anime history. The wacky stories, hilarious characters and situations, and slightly off-kilter sense of humor endeared fans to the series from the first episode of the OAV series that started the whole mess. The OAV series (or rather the two series) lasted 13 installments, and was more or less continued in a comic series. Then there was a 26 episode TV series that starts the whole story over from the beginning and takes it through to completion, and three movies after that (the first theoretically follows, or at least fits into, the TV series, as does the third, but the second is anybody's guess). Then there is a whole new TV series, known stateside as Tenchi in Tokyo, that sort of takes up in the middle of the story, but has a completely different continuity. Most recently, there is Tenchi Muyo: GXP, which does follow the OAV continuity, but has a completely different set of main characters. There's also a rumored OAV continuation in the works. And, of course, there are volumes of merchandising (including, of course, stuffed Ryo-ohki dolls), and the avalanche of fan-created web sites that any mega-series will spawn. Oh, yeah, and there's also Pretty Sammy, the sort-of-parody series based on a cross between one of the Tenchi characters and Sailor Moon; this series has spawned several sequels of its own, and a bit of a fan following.
Animation in the Tenchi Series (chronological order):Tenchi Muyo (13 OAVs)
Tenchi Muyo TV Series (26 TV episodes)
Tenchi Muyo Movie 1: Tenchi Muyo in Love (Theatrical Movie)
Tenchi Muyo Movie 2: Daughter of Darkness (Theatrical Movie)
Tenchi in Tokyo (TV Series)
Tenchi Forever: Tenchi Muyo in Love 2 (Theatrical Movie)
Spin off: Pretty Sammy (TV series and OAVs)
Note: if you need some background info on the series (at least the OAV and first TV--Tenchi in Tokyo is somewhat different), this might help, but don't read it if you want to really enjoy the plot. That said, Tenchi Muyo is the ongoing story of Tenchi Masaki. Tenchi is one of those anime guys that has more luck with the ladies than anybody deserves. Well, luck might not quite be the word... Tenchi's admirers aren't exactly the cute, garden variety high school girls that you'd expect. Tenchi ends up living with his would-be wives, the Princess Ayeka and her arch rival the former space pirate Ryoko, along with a whole slew of other women (not to mention his own father and grandfather). And, of course, these folks have a tendancy to attract intergalactic villians. Tenchi's life will never be the same...
As mentioned above, each of the three series follows its own story, indipendent of the others. Continuity is meaningless, since the TV and OAV series start indepentantly and follow completely different plots. Only the basic premise and (for the most part) the characters are the same. The OAVs follow roughly two ongoing story arcs, one following the other, and are left pretty open at the end (thankfully, the comic books do fit into the OAV continuity, and apparently attempt to incoporate the movies, too). The first TV series (sometimes known as Tenchi Universe) starts out somewhat differently, follows a different plot, and loosely follows one storyline throughout. All three movies are self contained story-wise and seem to follow the TV series, though at least the second one feels more like the OAVs (except for the addition of Kiyone), but they'll pretty much make sense if you've seen some of either series. The newest TV series, Tenchi In Tokyo, seems to pick up in the middle of the series, but actually follows it's own unique continuity, with totally different origins for all the characters; it chronicles Tenchi's adventures as a high school student in Tokyo--with yet another pretty girl, Sakuya, after him (this one's not so violent, though). It is best to start your Tenchi obsession--and once you start, obsession it will likely become--at the beginning of either the first TV series or the OAVs. The story and characters will make a lot more sense that way, and you won't spend the first few episodes (or the whole movie) trying to figure out who these freaks are. Wherever you choose to start, though, one thing's sure: you'll enjoy any of them, and, just like potato chips, once you start, you can't stop.
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