[tenchi:106075] Re: One Quick Question


to tenchi@usagi.org
cc AstroNerdBoy <usr1054@astronerdboy.com>
from JLHOnami@mchsi.com
subject [tenchi:106075] Re: One Quick Question
date Sat, 09 Dec 2006 17:39:57 +0000
Ok, I can concede the point that Kiyone's death was a result of aging, of 
turning her back on the alien technology that could have prolonged her life 
(like her husband and father), was a dramatic and unexpected resolution to a 
major thread.  Does that have to mean a slide into dimentia (for instance, 
writing kanji on her son's forehead while he was sick...)?  To me, that smacks 
of surrender, of "giving up".  That whole disclosure could have been handled 
much more tastefully and gracefully.  As you quoted K-sensei, "You know, 
sometimes people just die without it being heroic or the like."  What's wrong 
with death-with-dignity?

Yggdrasil...I'm familar with the myth.  I don't really see why K-sensei would 
put a piece of Norse mythology into a Japanese anime, and then only in 
fragments.  In the Tenchiverse, the only trees in space are Tsunami's 
servants.  If he was going to put emphasis on the trees representing the 
concept of roots-in-the-earth/branches-in-heaven (and the correlation with the 
central character's name and symbolism), I think that should have been expanded
upon.  Now that I think of it, nowhere in the English translations is that 
correlation or symbolism explored to any great depth.  Japanese love trees and 
nature, so it seemed to me the Space Trees were just a concession to put a 
favorite cultural element into the storyline.  Either that, or I have 
overlooked something (not unheard of, by the way  :D ).

I agree with you that some of the Japanese fanbase impressions would be good to
hear.  And I have reservations about the coming Saint Knight tales...

                   Jeff

Jeffery (Jeff) Harris
JLHOnami@mchsi.com


> 
> > 
> > From: Gregory Himes <gdhimes@yahoo.com>
> 
> > I watched the "extras" the other day, and they do have everything
> > there.
> > Though the staff reviewer seems to be just a touch out of their medium
> > in the review.
> > I didn't learn anything I didn't know before GXP started -- but casual
> > and new viewers don't have the wisdom of some of our mailing lists, at
> > their fingers. I did learn for certain, that the Trees pull their power
> > from another dimension (which begs the question "Do the trees or the
> > Choushin know if that space is unoccupied?").
> 
> Well, considering the power the Royal trees draw from comes from the Choushin
> Realm, I'd guess the Choushin know that space is indeed occupied. ;-) 
> Tokimi-sama controls the power (as seen in episode 19) and then for Tsunami and

> Washu, they have 
> containers in the 3rd dimension for power to be drawn from the Choushin Realm.
> From there, those containers dispense power. 
> 
> >  And the reviewer didn't
> > even bother to tell you who the "squeaky voiced" actresses were. 
> > Granted, the live-action part of the Himitsu Nabe isn't going to appeal
> > much to most western viewers. 
> 
> Well, unless they haven't been reading the FAQ, ML, or the like, they don't know

> a lot about the canon series and I think there'd be a lot of things they'd learn

> of interest.  
> 
> On a related note, it was disturbing hearing Chiyo-chan's voice ("Azumanga 
> Diaoh") coming from Fuku's seiyuu.  ^_^;
> 
> > And, of course, "nothing that occurs
> > precludes yet another series," because if Kajishima gets his way, there
> > will be two more OVA sequences before the series will officially end
> > (at least this semi-continuity, anyway) -- he revealed that, what? four
> > or five years ago?.
> 
> K-sensei wrapped up "TM!R" with "OAV 3 +1," but has stated he'd like to expore
> Tenchi's love life in another OAV series.  But right now, there's no plans for
> another "TM!R" OAV.  The next anime is "Saint Knights Tale" (in pre-production)

> and he may 
> squeeze in another hentai title before SKT hits the air.  And of course, he'll
> keep doing the "GXP" novels and whatever doujinshi. 
> 
> > From: "Jeff Harris" <JLHOnami@mchsi.com>
> > 
> > I, personally, think that Kajashima dropped the ball with OVA 3.  There were
> > so many way he could have gone with this, and it just fell flat.  He has 
> > spent a decade or more writing an epic that spans tens of thousands of 
> > years, with a tremendous amount of back-story available for animation -- and
> > he wasted two episodes out of six on Mashisu and Misao.  I rest my case.
> 
> I agree that K-sensei did not handle OAV 3 right.  So why waste two episodes on

> Mashisu and Misao?  I'd say "GXP" since both characters have small but important

> parts to play. So he obviously decided that this would be of interest to the 
> fans. Plus, 
> he used them to expore Mihoshi's family rather than Mihoshi herself.  I was 
> disappointed with that decision, and more so that we never learned the reasons
> for Mihoshi's apparent change in behavior, her constant ponytail, and that weird

> thing that 
> apparently happened to her years ago. 
> 
> > From: nik <silvourbolt@yahoo.com>
> >
> > I motion for directed verdict in favor of striking the last OVA altogether.
> 
> Not carried.  ^_~
> 
> > 
> > The 1st ep was a recap-cute, but I've seen this before-, 
> 
> Well to be fair, there were sure to be lots of anime fans who'd never seen the
> first OAV's considering how much time had passed since "OAV 2" completed.  But
> what about the great character development of Ryoko?  As a Ryoko fan, I 
> absolutely LOVE 
> episode 14!  She's come such a long way IMO. 
> 
> > the next episode is a cheap con-job.  No Kiyone, but Tenchi's sister?  
> Laaaame.  Glad to see she contributed *so* heavily to the series and *clearly*
> had great purpose and was *not* a gimmick in any way.
> 
> I don't know that "gimmick" is the right word, but in lue of a different term
> I'll go with it.  I do believe that K-sensei had fun with the "TM!R" fans 
> though.  He did that with "OAV 2" as well, but it has more impact with "OAV 3"
> since people have 
> had years to speculate and write fan-fiction on what happened to Tenchi's 
> mother.  When episode 14 ended, early rumors were that the woman was Kiyone's
> twin sister.  But then, BAM!  It was Tennyo. 
> 
> However, having watched this several times now, I see something a bit different,

> going beyond my own irritation and cynicism and having been jacked like that.
> For the first 13 episodes, Tenchi's immediate family consisted of his father 
> (who wasn't 
> around much) and his grandfather (who lived in the country).  K-sensei stated in

> "101 Secrets" that the reason TEnchi accepted all the girls into his home was
> because he wanted an extended family around him.  He missed having a mother, 
> brothers, and 
> sisters.  Now he has them in surrogate form. 
> 
> However when Tennyo arrived looking like his mother, the years of pain at the
> loss of his mother flowed forth (and the joke Tennyo and Nobuyuki played 
> forshadowed the Kiyone death joke later but I digress).  His immediate 
> acceptance of her as his 
> "neesan" showed how much he'd truly longed for siblings. 
> 
> >  Then, we get Tennyo, Airi, Noike, Seto in short order... all of whom are 
> pretty much the
> > same kind of personality with no time to develop any of their characters well

> enough for
> > me to care, and none of whom are particularly interesting.  
> 
> Here's where I agree and disagree with you.  K-sensei, writing for a Japanese
> Tenchi otaku audience, didn't bother wasting time on developing Airi and Seto
> because of "GXP" and the novels "Yosho" and "Jurai."  Both characters are pretty

> well 
> developed, so including them into "OAV 3" was what the otaku (this fan included)

> wanted to see.  Besides, Airi is his grandmother, the wife of Yosho.  Her NOT
> showing up, especially now that Tenchi is going to be told the rest of the 
> secrets of the 
> Masaki family on Earth would have been weird to me. 
> 
> Seto-sama is a hugely popular character in Japan.  Considering she's the most
> powerful person on Jurai (the power behind the throne) AND she's the grandmother

> of Aeka and Sasami-chan, her arrival seemed natural to me even if they didn't
> use her 
> effectively. 
> 
> Noike's arrival allowed us to see that Ryoko and Aeka had truly become friends
> in love with the same guy.  Noike becomes the glue that holds the harem together

> IMO.  She loves Tenchi but doesn't allow herself to get baited into the things
> Aeka and 
> Ryoko get baited into.  And while Mihoshi may frustrate her, she knows how to
> control Mihoshi. 
> 
> However, for R1 fans who either didn't see "GXP" or didn't know about the novels

> and doujinshi, the arrival of these other women and the lack of development 
> isn't good.  And I'll be the first to admit that K-sensei should have been given

> at least 12 
> episodes to properly tell "OAV 3." 
> 
> > I couldn't care less about
> > Mashisu or Misao, or the ridiculous plot that Z comes up with.  The only 
> episode worth
> > watching is "Z" but that episode is a gigantic narrative mess.  Why couldn't
> THAT episode
> > have been dragged out over several episodes?  
> 
> For only having six episodes, too much time was wasted in texture.  K-sensei 
> does love adding texture (go back and watch the other OAV's and you'll see what

> I mean) but he wasted half an episode showing food prep.  The Mashisu and Misao

> story isn't a 
> bad one, but we only had six episodes.  And what STILL has me irritated to this

> day is the treatment of the fight between the harem and the GP Special Forces.
> We know the girls would win, but why remove all the drama after building it up,

> only to 
> jump to the end of the fight and just glance back at it.  *_*  Bad K-sensei!
> BAD!  BAD!  BAD! 
> 
> If he'd done the fight as it should have been done, I think there would have 
> been less complaints about the girls taking a back seat.
> 
> > Don't even get me started on the last ep,
> > which turns Tenchi's mother into a complete joke and is disrespectful to the
> image
> > portrayed in not only the viewer's mind, but Tenchi's as well.  Boo.
> 
> That was the point.  Don't get me wrong, when I saw the episode, I was shocked
> and irritated.  After all, K-sensei had stated that Kiyone's death was an 
> important piece to the Tenchi story.  However in typical Kajishima fashion, he
> threw out just 
> enough information to get fans speculating, but not enough to let people know
> where he was going.  Its the "red herring" effect.  So we fans, myself included,

> came up with all sorts of ideas on Kiyone's passing.  We each had an image of
> her in our 
> mind, just as Tenchi did (which you point out).  K-sensei's point was that 
> Tenchi had come up with an idealized image of his mother that had little to do
> with reality.  When confronted with reality, it can be shocking and devistating,

> more so when it 
> is your mother or father. 
> 
> But if you think about it, it makes sense that Kiyone has this whacked sense of

> humor.  Look who she married.  ^_^;;;
> 
> 
> > 
> > From: "Jeff Harris" <JLHOnami@mchsi.com>
> > 
> > Z could have been a really neat character, full of pathos and angst and 
> > unbridled animosity towards the Chusin.  Phhht....
> 
> I agree that Z could have been handled a bit better, but that's why we needed
> more episodes than what we got.
> > 
> > Tenchi's "new family" is pathetic, particularly the bit about his mother. 
> > Why couldn't she have died in an act of heroism, leaving behind that Space 
> > Tree wreckage seen at the dimensional portal whenever Z drops in to report 
> > to the boss?  What a story  that would've been: Tenchi trying to exact 
> > revenge for his mother's death at Z's hands, and Z trouncicng him as well --
> > it would've taken the whole family to bring Z down.  Now *that* wouldve been
> > an epic.
> 
> Well first, that "Space Tree" is supposedly representitive of Yggdrasil.
> 
> Yggdrasil: : a huge ash tree in Norse mythology that overspreads the world and
> binds earth, hell, and heaven together.
> 
> So it makes sense that it would be in the Choushin realm IMO.  And on what may
> or may not be a related note, "Tenchi" in the way Kajishima has the Kanji means

> "heaven and earth" by the way.  ^_^
> 
> BUT, I think that K-sensei purposefully wrote the open of episode 14 just 
> because he knew that many fans wanted what you wanted.  Heck, I wanted a story
> of Kiyone fighting Z, desperate to protect Tenchi, whom she and Nobuyuki knew
> was special, and 
> Tenchi fight for revenge.  But then, that's cliched isn't it?  K-sensei said,
> "You know, sometimes people just die without it being heroic or the like."  In
> fact, most people die and are forgotten.  Do you remember your great, great 
> grandparents?  
> Unless they were famous, I highly doubt you or do (I don't know mine beyond a
> bit that I've read and I can't remember their names). 
> 
> Ultimately, the story of Tenchi was of a nice Japanese boy who in fact turns out

> to be much, much more.
> 
> I wish we could get more of a Japanese perspective on the series.  I'd really
> love to know how Japanese fans (with greater access to all the extra materials
> such as the novels, interviews, and doujinshi) feel.  I hear they either love or

> hate the 
> third OAV, but clearly sales were good enough for AIC to greenlight a 20th 
> episode. 
> 
> Tenchi Muyo! FAQ
> http://www.astronerdboy.com/tenchi/  
> 
> "Death and Poverty love me so much, they brought friends!"  -- Vash the 
> Stampede, "Trigun"
> 
> 

Search field Search string

archive list

unauthorized access prohibited
MLtools V3.1 Copyright (c) Usagi Labs