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> From: JLHOnami@mchsi.com
>"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...)? "

Yeah, you made the mistake many have made (myself initially as well). 
That's not Tenchi's head she's writing the Kana (not Kanji) "baka" (stupid) 
on.  Its Seina's.  ^_^  Tenchi was home sick, which is why she left the 
hospital to go be with him.  But (in "Photon" fashion), she couldn't resist 
writing "baka" on Seina's head because he was seemingly an idiot to 
constantly have all the negative things happen to him.
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Seina?  Well, I missed that for sure.  But it doesn't absolve it, in my 
opinion.  Of what value was it to the story?  Whatever...I will find a lot 
to crab about since I just did not like the story.

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> "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?"

That wasn't an actual quote from K-sensei, but my feeling of what happened.

As to her death with dignity, well her actual death was that and it drew in 
all sorts of people from Earth, Jurai, and elsewhere.  But for some strange 
reason (and I'm not saying I'm a fan of this story device), she decided that 
Tenchi should be told of her death via this script.
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I will respectfully disagree.  I don't think there was anything dignified 
about her death, particularly when she had the means at hand to prevent it: 
advanced Juraian medical technology.  Was there ever any reason given for 
her refusing it?  What was so bad about her life that she decided, after a 
couple of hundred years, daughter Tennyo and newborn son Tenchi, that it 
just wasn't worth prolonging anymore?  I could *probably* have accepted the 
whole arc if she had left a final note to her son, laying out her reasoning 
for her actions, rather than that rediculous script.

Yes, the funeral brought together a bunch of off-worlders.  One has to 
wonder if the same off-worlders showed up en mass at the birth of Yosho's 
grandson.  They had all been around at one time or another; it would seem to 
me that if you wanted another get-together, what better reason than the 
young prince's 18th birthday (a significant event on this planet)?

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> "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 )."

Well, why did he put the heads from Stone Henge in the Choushin Realm?  True 
Sheol once pointed out the various elements in that scene that weren't from 
Japanese culture, but others as well.  I can't find it (I'm guessing it was 
on the old AIC board or the AFC board in something that got lost) at the 
moment, but he was the one who knew that wasn't a Royal tree as I (an many 
others) had assumed.  Anyway, including these other elements seems to be a 
way of saying that the Choushin were the creators of the universe and that 
non-Japanese elements were also proof of that (just a guess on my part).
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I missed Stonehenge (as well as T.S.'s explanation).  Sounds contrived; but 
then, I'm getting cynical in my old age...

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> And I have reservations about the coming Saint Knight tales...

Well, it will be a TV series and he's worked on it for several years now 
(off and on).  I don't think he's put out any doujinshi info on it, mainly 
because I don't think he had the story in a place where he could do such a 
thing.  But we won't see SKT for 2-3-years in my estimation.
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I'm sure it will have some interesting characters and scenarios. 
Personally, I would have preferred another season of GXP to expand the 
current knowledge-base.  There's a whole galaxy out there that we haven't 
seen much of, and we already have a large ensemble cast of familar faces to 
explore it with.  Be a nice way to start bringing in some of that tremendous 
back-story.

But, as you may have gathered, I am one of those disappointed American fans 
who do not figure at all in K-sensei's plans, who had expectations about the 
direction the anime should go, and didn't get a single one met.  Whining 
about it doesn't help, writing fanfic stories with alternate endings just 
made it worse, so I will probably vote with my feet.

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Tenchi Muyo! FAQ
http://www.astronerdboy.com/tenchi/

"Death and Poverty love me so much, they brought friends!"  -- Vash the 
Stampede, "Trigun"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeffery (Jeff) Harris
JLHOnami@mchsi.com

Nathan Petrelli -- "Flying around, how is that gonna help anybody? What am I 
gonna do when I get there? I don't have a gun, I don't have a badge, I don't 
know karate. I guess I could put on a costume and fly around and pull cats 
out of trees. How's that going to make a difference?"
Peter Petrelli -- "You won't know if you never try."
        NBC drama series 'Heroes'

"Man, I'd be pissed as all hell if it turned out that my brother had the 
ability of flight and the only reason I could fly was because I was near 
him. Taking other peoples' powers is quite possibly one of the lamest skills 
I've ever seen."
        -- darksydeavenger, Revision3 Forums

"And "Proximity Boy", sucks to be him. Can only be super around other 
supers. He will have to tether himself to someone during a fight I guess."
        -- coldhammer, Revision3 Forums