Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" From: "Joseph Riggs" To: tenchi@usagi.org Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2004 00:41:42 -0500 Message-Id: <20040801054142.77061C610C@ws7-5.us4.outblaze.com> Subject: [tenchi:105357] Re: True Tenchi/3rd OVA Questions abound! Reply-To: tenchi@gold.win.jp ML-Count: 105357 Precedence: bulk For some reason, your messages - and your messages only - don't format properly in a reply. Since its only your messages that are doing this, I suspect its a setting on your end, but I don't know for certain. I've dealt with this manually on earlier responses, but there's too much stuff for me to go through and fix it all this time. ----- Original Message ----- > From: AstroNerdBoy Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 21:47:01 -0600 To: Subject: [tenchi:105348] Re: True Tenchi/3rd OVA Questions abound! > iirc, Yosho was given his tree by someone else, although I don't remember the details clearly. You are thinking of Azusa. :-) Yosho named his tree after his mother in part because he knew the tough time his mother had on Jurai. Here's a quote from a English summary of "Yosho": I could be off on this. I don't know for certain. > Further, I believe I've heard it stated elsewhere that all 1st generation keys are referred to as Master Keys. This is due to their ability to control all > trees with the exception of the other first generation trees. Thus, the reference to the Master Key in the novel could either mean that Azusa had been given the key by the previous owner of Yosho's tree, or it could be a reference to Azusa's own key. > "101" confirms that all 1st-gen trees have master keys. That said, your premise is false because Funaho-ki has had only one owner -- Yosho. Kirito-ki was first owned by Mitsuki, who is preserved within Kirito-ki. :-) Uh no... I advanced two possibilities. And one of those possiblities you confirmed COULD exist - i.e. that the reference to a "master key" was a reference to Azusa's own key. Anyway, Kagato clearly recognized Tenchi-ken when Tenchi used it. Indeed, Kagato was most interested in obtaining the sword because he believed it to be a direct link to Tsunami. However, we also know that Kagato isn't always right - and that he's still searching for answers regarding Tsunami's power (i.e. the dream sequence with Aeka). Just because Kagato believes that Tenchi-ken is a direct link to Tsunami doesn't actually make that the case. > >2) The sword/Master Key is named Tenchi-ken -- "Sword Tenchi". I don't recall any other key being >named. > > Naming powerful weapons is traditional in many cultures (including Western). Since Tenchi-ken is the only key that we've seen so far that's a weapon, there's nothing out of the ordinary here. Now if we see another dozen or so keys that have been > converted into weapons and none of them have been named, then you might have a point. But given what we have to deal with, there's nothing surprising about the fact that Yosho's key is the only one that we've seen named to date. > I agree that there is limited data. However, it is the NAME of the key that is so important. :-D Consider this -- Tenchi-ken is a powerful energy sword. From GXP we know that there are other such weapons out there, but this one is different in that it draws its power from Tsunami (more on that later). There is a reason the sword is named Tenchi. I have to research this, but I believe it is part of a prophecy. Anyway, Aeka was certainly stunned to learn that the boy who had possession of the sword also had the same name. That's a bit of foreshadowing as I see it. It could be foreshadowing, but it certainly doesn't prove that the sword is linked to Tsunami. In fact, naming something that's supposed to be linked to Tsunami after Tenchi would in fact seem counterintuitive since Tenchi himself doesn't rely on Tsunami for his power. The name may or may not be important, but in and of itself it doesn't signify that the sword is a direct link to Tsunami. Tenchi generates his own power. Tenchi-ken draws power from another source. If there's a connection between the names, I STRONGLY doubt this is it. However, it is interesting in episode 12 when Tenchi activates his LHW's and overcomes the wormhole, D3 and Tokimi-sama (and Z) witness the event. D3 comments on how that sword has so much power, yet only three blades. D3 calls Tenchi a sword. Irony? Further foreshadowing? Uh no... She's referring to the blades of his LHW - which look surprisingly like propeller, fan, or pinwheel blades. No offense, but I think you're overreaching here... > >3) Tenchi-ken was able to absorb Washu's gem-balls. I find this interesting. Considering what those >gem-balls contain (Washu's choushin powers much as Tsunami's powers are in her tree), a normal tree's >key, even 1st-gen, wouldn't be able to do this > >in my mind. But if the key was Tsunami's, then it would make sense. > > Presumeably, Tsunami can act through her trees (Sasami uses Funaho to teleport in episode 6, for instance), and therefore may have been able to provide assistance during the fight with Ryoko. Further, the fact that the gems were used by the key to > keep Funaho alive after the tree had taken root suggests that the key is linked to Funaho - and therefore Funaho's key. > I agree that Tsunami can act through her trees. There is evidence to support this as you cited, but going further, Tsunami knows where all of the trees and keys are as seen in episode 6. Here is another flaw in the theory that Tenchi-ken is Funaho's key (other than what I've stated earlier). Partners of a tree use the key as an interface. That's why they have physical contact with the key to help them interface with the tree. They don't absolutely need it, but without it, they don't have great ability to direct the tree or communicate with it. Aeka didn't have her key to Ryu-oh when Ryo-ohki attacked, and this was part of the reason Ryu-oh was defeated. Aeka couldn't control Ryu-oh without the key. In episode 5, Yosho clearly used Tenchi-ken to activate Funaho's LHW's as shielding during his fight with Kagato. However, lets go back a ways. Yosho used Tenchi-ken to absorb Washu's gem-balls from Ryoko. Then, Tenchi-ken had to be used to seal Ryoko. Because the gem-balls were now a part of Tenchi-ken, their power could be used by Funaho-ki to stay alive. So you are right that there is a link there. However, Tenchi-ken for 700 years was a power-relay for Washu's power to Funaho-ki and a seal against Ryoko escaping. Tenchi-ken could not be removed and used in a normal fashion. So, how was Yosho able to communicate with Funaho-ki in order to establish his diguise, to stay hidden from Juraian scouts looking for him, to extend his life, or to eventually communicate with his best friend? He couldn't use Tenchi-ken for this, thus he must have had a second key. Recall in episode 13 that after Yosho removes his disguise, he appears to use his glasses to use his Katsuhito voice to yell at Tenchi. That's why some have speculated that Funaho-ki's key is Yosho's glasses. They are in constant contact with Yosho, thus allowing him to keep in constant communication with Funaho-ki. Actually, recall that the owners don't NEED to have the key to keep in touch with their trees. Yes, it helps speed communication, but Yosho hasn't exactly been doing anything that would require that sort of communication with his tree. He's been drawing enough energy from the tree to stay young and alter his appearence - and that's it. The only time that we see him drawing large amounts of power (i.e. his fight with Kagato) he's using Tenchi-ken. So its reasonable to suggest that there's no reason that he'd need to even have a key during the 700 years that he's isolated on Earth. Yes, he's using the tree, but he's not doing a whole lot with it. And then there's the example of Seina, who is capable of full-fledged combat without a key (since his "tree" is still a seed). But he's a special case. > Why wouldn't the sword be able to draw power from Funaho while its in space? Before you can go anywhere with this argument, you have to demonstrate that there's a legitimate reason why the sword wouldn't be able to draw power from Funaho. We don't > know how power is transmitted, and we don't know how far power can be transmitted. Its entirely possible that the sword could be on the other side of the galaxy and still draw power from Funaho through some sort of sub-space connection. The flaw with that theory is that Funaho-ki would normally draw power from Tsunami via subspace. However, she is rooted and thus cut off from Tsunami's power via subspace. Now, what is the range of Funaho-ki's power? That's a good question. If she's getting power from Washu's gem-balls, how far away can they be? Still, the conversation in episode 6 seems to indicate that Tenchi-ken's power comes from Tsunami. Washu seems to confirm this in episode 7 when she confirms that the power Tenchi uses was his own. Technically, all power comes from Tsunami. However, the further away from Tsunami it is, the weaker it is. Er... huh...? Are you referring to Kagato's comment on the bridge? Given the fact that Kagato still had no clue how and why Jurai was gifted by Tsunami, his comments aren't exactly the best source to rely on. And the fact that Washu confirmed that Tenchi's LHW were generated by himself is irrelevant when trying to determine where Tenchi-ken draws its power from. junior -- _______________________________________________ Find what you are looking for with the Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10