| Type: | tv series |
| Director: | Yoshihiro Takamoto |
| Producer: | Kazuaki Morijiri Shinjiro Yokoyama Yumi Murase |
| Studio: | AIC |
| Music: | Shunsuke Kikuchi |
| Network: | TV Tokyo |
| First: | April 1, 1997 |
| Last: | September 23, 1997 |
| Episodes: | 26 |
| Episode List: | List of Tenchi in Tokyo episodes |
| Feature film | |
| Content: | |
| Related series | |
| Content: | |
is a Japanese anime television series animated by AIC and aired on TV Tokyo from April 1 to September 23, 1997. It is the third installation of the Tenchi Muyo! line of series, preceding Tenchi Muyo! GXP and succeeding Tenchi Universe. The show was localized in North America by Geneon Entertainment and aired on Cartoon Network from August 25 to September 29, 2000.
The opening theme was sung by Linda Yamamoto. The ending theme was, sung by the cast, and Episode 24 had its own ending theme, sung by Mayumi Iizuka.
Tenchi in Tokyo begins when Tenchi Masaki relocates to Tokyo to apprentice at a Shinto shrine. He meets a new love interest, Sakuya Kumashiro, who is a classmate of his at his new school. Much of the series revolves around the development of Tenchi's and Sakuya's relationship and its effect on the girls back in Okayama. Unlike the preceding series in the franchise (Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki and Tenchi Universe), neither Tenchi nor his family have any connection to Jurai whatsoever in this series.
In this continuity, the girls meet Tenchi on Earth because of one incident that takes place two years prior to the series. At that time, Ryoko and Washu stole a crystal from Jurai and fled towards Earth, pursued by Ayeka, Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, and the Guardians in Ayeka's ship, and Mihoshi and Kiyone in a Galaxy Police ship. They are all injured when Ryoko consumes Ayeka's crystal and becomes a monster. Tenchi defeats the monster when a necklace he is wearing (a memento of his mother) turns into a sword. During the anniversary party for this event at Tenchi's home, it is revealed that each of the girls has a crystal from the necklace as a token of their bond with Tenchi, which they each took after Ryoko broke Tenchi's necklace apart.
The main antagonist is Yugi, a mutant Juraian who was sealed away on Earth 3500 years ago when she almost destroyed Jurai by its ruler, Empress Hinase. She intends to take over the Earth by turning it into her own kingdom, much as she tried with Jurai. In order for her plans to succeed, she must break the bonds that hold the Masaki family together. Because, in this continuity, the Masakis are defenders of Earth. They perform this function with the power in the crystals, but the crystals need to be in proximity to one another for them to be able to function. Yugi executes her plan partly through her henchmen, such as Hotsuma, who convinces Ryoko to leave Earth with him, but also by forming a genuine friendship with Sasami through one of her projections, also named Yugi. When Yugi's plan comes to fruition, it is revealed that Sakuya, too, is nothing more than another projection of Yugi, designed to scatter the Masaki Family. Yugi tries to get Tenchi to abandon reality and stay in a pocket universe with Sakuya, but Sakuya herself tells Tenchi to leave. When he does, the crystals summon the girls to him, and Tenchi is able to defeat Yugi. Yugi is then sealed away (at her own request) until she becomes a good person.
There are characters common to all of the Tenchi Muyo franchise who appear in this series, and others who are particular to this series.[1]
Tenchi in Tokyo was met with mixed reviews.
Animefringe.com cited a "horribly weak plot" and that "what makes the TV series almost unbearable to watch are the new character designs and the frequent use of super deformed animation[...] You’ll either love it or hate it."[4] Animeworld.com gave the show a similarly moderate 2.5 out of 5 stars, claiming that although "[it] is yet another very funny Tenchi series with all the great characters and bizarre situations[...]", "They don't bother explaining the entirely new backstories until a bit into it" and that "[it's] either terribly lazy or shamelessly commercial that they couldn't even be bothered to cook up some new character designs and reestablish the stereotypes for a new story."[5]
However, industry aggregator Mania.com awarded all of the North American DVD releases an A average, citing that although "Tenchi in Tokyo is a bit more of a departure from the tried and true formula of the past", "[the] show is definitely a welcomed addition in this household."[6]