For the past thirty years, the protagonists in the Tenchi Muyo OVA-verse have built a harem dynasty. Since, the new spinoff Tenchi Muyo! GXP Paradise Shidō-hen (Paradise Begins) OVA started on May 25, old school harem hijinks have started again. Tenchi Muyo is the grandfather of the harem genre, and its story has become quite complex. No longer a series about a boy chased by several hot alien beauties, Tenchi Muyo has become about peaceful galactic domination and family.
The major problem at this point is the huge cast of characters and the lack of access to the novels and doujinshi. Are the Tenchi Muyo prequels worth watching? Has this harem dynasty grown too big? We’ll answer that, here. Yes, there will be spoilers. As a bonus, there’s a bingeable watchlist that shows how deep this franchise goes.
Tenchi’s History
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki is the magnum opus of Masaki Kajishima. The series started as a “What If” harem scenario based on Bubblegum Crisis, which Kajishima worked on. Then things get complicated. The first OVA came out on September 25, 1992. Next came the Night Before the Carnival special release, labeled as episode seven in the USA. In 1994, both the Mihoshi Special and OVA Two were released. The True Tenchi Muyo! novel trilogy followed, and from 1997 to 1999 provided background on several key events from the OVA. During this time, the spinoffs Photon: The Idiot Adventures, Masquerade, Spaceship Agga Ruter, and Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure entered the franchise. Masquerade and Agga Ruter are the black sheep of the family.
Between 2002 and 2003, the next two mainline entries, GXP (Galaxy Police Transporter) and Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA Three premiered. After GXP ended, Kajishima corrected and expanded the story by turning it into a light novel series in 2003. After six years, War on Geminar brought an isekai twist to Tenchi Muyo. Afterwards, in 2013, the Paradise War novels began as a GXP spinoff. The original Tenchi OVA series returned in 2016 for its fourth installment and again in 2020 for its fifth.
Since Tenchi Muyo’s creation, Kajishima has also created a steady stream of doujinshi. They provide background information along with comedic side stories and potential endings. Finally, we have the upcoming, Tenchi Muyo! GXP Paradise Begins which bridges the gap between the GXP and Paradise War.
Confused yet?
Dual, A Lost Classic
The story of Tenchi Muyo! doesn’t begin with the first OVA, but with Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure. Kazuki Yotsuga, a high schooler, has visions of a parallel world where giant mecha battle each other. After a mishap, Kazuki ends up being the sole male mecha pilot and joins the Earth Defense Force to stop the Rara Army. He eventually gains the ancient mecha Zinv. Kazuki also draws the attention of a quartet of lovely ladies, including:
- Mitsuki Sanada. Kazuki’s popular classmate, who believes his stories about the other world. She ends up in the parallel world too and becomes a pilot. Mitsuki is the serious controlling type with a tsundere heart and the leader of Kazuki’s girls.
- Yayoi Schwael. Yayoi was the pilot of Hartzenen, the white mecha Kazuki saw in his visions. Kazuki saves her after his arrival in her world and she develops a crush on him. Yayoi’s interest in Kazuki causes her to become his piloting and school teacher. She even moves in next door and connects their bedrooms together. Despite her behavior, Yayoi is the loving onee-san type, and we all know how that goes.
- D. A girl from an alien civilization, whose astral (soul) is in an artificial body, making her a bioroid. Prior to the start of Dual, D hid the artifacts and the two mecha Zinv and Himiko. D is the fushigi or mysterious girl, whose hair covers her left eye where her astral is. She appears stoic and naïve and is a light version of Rei Ayanami.
- Mitsuki Rara. Mitsuki Rara is the alternate-world counterpart of Mitsuki Sanada. They both share a mother in Ayuko Rara/Sanada but have different fathers. Mitsuki is a figurehead for the Rara Army that her parents run. Although they want world domination, she wants nothing to do with it. After meeting Kazuki, she defects to his side. Mitsuki is the perfect, pure-hearted waifu and a flawless version of Mitsuki Sanada. However, she is prone to her mother’s hypnosis, who uses her in her more ecchi schemes, like pimping her out to Kazuki.
Dual is the catalyst for much of the Tenchiverse. Kazuki and the cast’s space exploration after the last episode led to them creating the Great Prehistoric Civilization. This civilization existed a billion years before Tenchi Muyo. Dual also connects to GXP. The character Seina Yamada and his harem share astrals with the cast of Dual, making them their reincarnations.
Photon: The Idiot Adventures
Another catalyst series in the franchise is Photon: The Idiot Adventures. Photon takes place on Sandy Planet and follows the adventures of a boy with super strength named Photon Earth. After he and his boy-crazy friend Aun write “baka” on each other’s foreheads, they discover a stasis pod containing a woman named Keyne. When she awakes she declares Photon and Aun hitched because, in her culture, putting your crest on someone’s forehead means you’re married.
Keyne is pursued by the perverted villain Papacha, who wants the secrets of her grandfather’s Ahou device. And wants to build a galactic harem. He may be the villain, but he’s living the dream. Photon vows to protect Keyne and his friends from whatever threats come their way.
Photon connects to Tenchi Muyo through War on Geminar. Sandy Planet is the former name for Geminar, the series’ setting. Also, the character Empress Lashara Earth from War on Geminar may be a descendant of Photon because of their last names and Ahou energy is a power source for their technologies in both.
Late Night Tenchi
Now it’s time for the hentai. Spaceship Agga Ruter and Masquerade (Gosenzo San’e) are the Tenchiverse’s adult entries. There is also a doujinshi, Night Before the Carnival Vol.18: Omake, where Tenchi and Noike are baby making, but Sasami overhears and does some “self-care.” Spaceship Agga Ruter is a comedy about Taiyo and his erotic arts instructor android Kei, searching for pieces of their ship, the Agga Ruter. Along the way, Taiyo uses his skills to destress the women he meets. They cut this series short, but there is a visual novel that continues the story. The comedy shines in this series — who doesn’t love a spaceship covered in boobs.
Masquerade is a supernatural mystery about high schooler Gen Hiraga, whose family curse gives him golden semen. This series is excellent and believe me you will stay for the plot. The sex scenes are there for thematic reasons, while the tone and music will make you want to see the next episode.
Agga Ruter’s connection to Tenchi Muyo is more obvious than Masquerade’s. Agga Ruter takes place at least seven hundred years before the start of Tenchi Muyo. The Great Prehistoric Civilization created both Kei and the Agga Ruter. Plus, the main villain is a member of the Shanks Guild featured in GXP. Masquerade is a little harder to figure out. My personal theory is that the main character, Gen, went to Tenchi’s high school. In the first episode, Gen wears a winter uniform that’s the same style as Tenchi’s from Tenchi Universe, and both series take place in Okayama Prefecture. When it comes down to it though, only Kajishima knows, so it stays a secret.
No Need For a Watchlist
If you want to experience Tenchi Muyo chronologically, this list is for you:
- Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure
- Photon: The Idiot Adventures/Photon novels
- True Tenchi Muyo! Volume 3: Washu
- True Tenchi Muyo! Volume 1: Jurai
- True Tenchi Muyo! Volume 2: Yosho
- Space Battleship Agga Ruter (Hentai)
- Masquerade (Hentai)
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 1
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 2
- Mihoshi Special*
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 3
- Tenchi Muyo! GXP/GXP novels
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 4
- GXP Paradise Shidō-hen
- Paradise War novels
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 5
- War on Geminar
No Need for a Sequel
The Tenchi Muyo dynasty has an enduring charm. The franchise as a whole is my mac n cheese — the comfort level of seeing an old friend. With top-notch waifus! All of the prequels are standalone series and have a great sense of humor. Three of the series featured give us a glimpse into the Tenchiverse’s past and seeing how they connect together storywise is interesting. I’d love to see the extra doujinshi stories animated too. Overall, if you want to see a series that captured the heart of many harem fans then Tenchi Muyo is it.
Next, in part two, we explore the OVA series, GXP, and Paradise War.
Tenchi Muyo is all about the found family style harem and if that’s your thing try the eroge game, Sweet Home – My Sexy Roommates Regular Edition. in the J-List store.
