C&C - Tenchi Muyo! GXP - "Getting Reacquianted" [3/2]

[bigddan11]

Episode 17
Japanese Title: Seina to Tenchi
Dub Title: Getting Reacquianted

WARNING: Spoilers will not be tolerated! Yes, I realize this series has been around since 2002, and I realize it did air on the FUNi Colours TV anime block (It aired back in 2006, so this isn't a dub premiere), but this is its first exposure on [adult swim].

Synopsis: Seina Yamda is your average ordinary everyday teenager, if you take away one thing. Seina is the most unlucky boy known of in the entire universe. However Seina has decided to join the prestigious GP Academy. He hoped that the training at the GP would allow him to win the love of his life, assuming that the two women fighting over him didn't kill each other first. Now, as a Captain, Seina finds he can gain new found respect or ultimately lead the GP down the path of a horrendous defeat, but which way will his luck lead him to?

TONIGHT:
Usually I'd use a spoiler tag, but the cat has already been let out of the bag. If the Japanese title doesn't give it away, Comments from the last 2 weeks surely will. Tonight Seina takes Fuku for a visit to Tenchi's house. If you've been wondering what Tenchi and the gang have been doing, you're about to find out.

Your cast of characters:
Seina Yamada: The main character who seems to have horrible luck. Seina has enlisted in the GP and hopes to use it to his advantage to gain the love of Kiriko, but now he has been made a captain and finds that Kiriko is one of the individuals he is to command.

Kiriko Masaki: A young lady that has always been friends with Seina, despite his horrible luck. Kiriko has always favored Seina and done things like make him cake. After being demoted from immigration to the GP Academy as an instructor, Kiriko was told to turn Seina into a man during the next 6 months. Now that Seina is a captain, she has been made a member of his crew, but her mission hasn't changed.

Amane Kaunaq: A mysterious lady that Seina runs into through a horrible series of events. She asked Seina to join the GP, but consequences followed. Amane was demoted from second class detective to a GP Instructor, and now she has been made a member of Seina's crew with the responsibility of rounding up pirates any way possible.

Ryoko Balta: This mysterious woman is a former leader of the pirates, but when she if offered a chance to work with Seina, she must decide if it is the GP or a pirates life for me that will be the best way.

Fuku: This young crew member is actually the Kamidake 2's main computer core. As a real life being and a relative of Ryo-Ohki, Fuku must learn how to battle as the crew grows. Fuku has very sensitive feelings and easily bonds with Neju, but she also has a hard time bonding with anyone who won't show her love

NB: NB is a specially made AI Assistant Robot. However Amane decides to tamper with NB, completely altering his original programming. Now NB is willing to serve any of the ladies or his master, but he also has a few ulterior motives.

Neju: This girl is a very kind loving soul who takes the opportunity to talk to Seina and reveal she can talk with ships when they first meet. Little does anyone realize, outside of Seto, that Neju is actually a 2000 year old priestess and is the leader of her planet. Due to a number of assassination attempts, Neju seeks out someone who will protect her for the remainder of her life.

Washu Hakubi: Washu is one of the world's greatest known scientists. Among her creations are Ryo-Ohki, Fuku, and Ryoko Hakubi. Washu tries to be a peace solver but is also willing to use anyone for a test subject.

Tenchi Masaki: The hero of the Tenchi Muyo! series. Tenchi lives on Earth as a normal guy but seems to have an unhealthy scenario where women always try and track him down. When he gets a bit of free time Tenchi loves to cook.

Sasami Jurai: Sasami is a young princess who likes Tenchi and loves to play with Ryo-Ohki. Her specialty is making sandwiches and always carrying lots of carrots.

Ryo-Ohki: Don't let this furball face fool you. Ryo-Ohki is the central computer for the world's most dangerous pirate ship. She loves assisting those who are usually in need and loves getting carrots whenever she wants to be spoiled. Ryo-Ohki has 2 different forms- a humanoid form and a bunny/ cat form.

Ryoko Hakubi: Ryoko is regarding as being the most dangerous pirate in the land, but she loves to play practical jokes and act as a demon. Her rrent favorite game is coming up with many ways to get Tenchi to love her.

Ayeka Jurai: As her name implies, Ayeka is a member of the Juraian royal family. She has been a friend of Tenchi's sicne childhood times, and she is always trying to keep Ryoko under control so Ryoko can't lay her hands on Tenchi.

Mihoshi Kuramitsu: Mihoshi is a member of the Galaxy Police and tends to live on or around Earth as part of an assignment to serve as protection for the Juraian Royal Family members on Earth. Mihoshi is also a former partner of Amane.

[Kitschensyngk]

Last time: The girlfriends meet his parents. Including the kid.

Yeah, he's just got a bunch of glass shards in his face. It's nothing.

We can rebuild him. We have the rechnology. Better, faster, clumsier.

AAAAGHGH! CAMEO APPEARANCE!!!
...oh, if only he had the same voice...

STOP REFERENCING CHARACTERS!! IT'S TOO MUCH TO TAKE IN!!!

The first time Tenchi himself was on Adult Swim in more than a decade. Not counting April Fool's Day last year, of course.

Washu's dub voice is closer to the original than Tenchi's.

Washu's daughter? ...damn, no Kiyone.

Sherri Lynn's Sasami was cuter.

[JShaggy]

Tenchi sounds ... older in this version.

Washu is still Washu.

Sasami's voice ... sounds okay.

Remind self: Go watch all of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 3

Hi Grandpa!

Ryoko's voice stinks! Too hyper.

I miss Erma-version Ayeka. This one seems too formal.

[Anyone00]

If Seina only knew what Washu could mean by 'checking his personal data'.

[Kitschensyngk]

I miss Tenchi's froggy voice.

Ryoko has Washu's voice.
And Ayeka has...A BRITISH ACCENT?
These don't sound like the original cast of Tenchi. They sound like impersonations of the original cast of Tenchi.

Maybe we're lucky Mihoshi's not here. She'd probably sound like a chipmunk.

THIS IS NOT TENCHI! HE SOUNDS TOO MATURE, LIKE HE'D SLEPT WITH ONE OF THEM!!

If this were old Toonami, Seina would be too young to drink any TEA.

GAHH OKAY NABESHIN GIRLS HAVE BOOBS WE GET IT!!

I was right. She DOES sound like a chipmunk.

[JShaggy]

Mihoshi just arrived. So soft-spoken, and so wrong.

Censorship, but with no digital bikinis to be seen.

[Nobuyuki sama]

These don't sound like the original cast of Tenchi. They sound like impersonations of the original cast of Tenchi.

DingDing!

...damn, no Kiyone.

Of course not. She's dead.

[bigddan11]

These don't sound like the original cast of Tenchi. They sound like impersonations of the original cast of Tenchi.

Yes, and no. A couple of them are the same.

Chris Kent voices Tenchi.

Jessica Gee voices Washu.

Renee Emerson voices Sasami. She also recurrs her role as Airi Masaki.

Reba West voices Ayeka. She also recurrs her original role as Mihoshi.

John Smallberries voices Katsuhito Masaki. Smallberries is another name for Bob Papenbrook.

[Daikun]

GAHH OKAY NABESHIN GIRLS HAVE BOOBS WE GET IT!!

Actually, Nabeshin didn't direct this episode. Franchise creator Masaki Kajishima did this one.

[WickedChild]

This was kind of disappointing. In the end all it did was make me miss the old Tenchi shows more and wish that they would make more with those characters. I understand they had to recast voices, but my lord they could not have picked a worse voice than Mona Marshall for Ryoko. I like her just fine, but she's about as far from Petrea Burchard as you can get. She made Ryoko sound like a kid from South Park (yes I know Marshall is in SP). She was the only one I couldn't get past. All the others were decent, but sadly nowhere near as good as the originals. I'm glad they at least got a few back for OVA 3. Kari Whalgren is a great VA too, but for me Sherry Lynn IS Sasami. In fact, it really makes you realize what a spectacular achievement it was for Pioneer to get as talented a cast as they did back in the late 90s, when the art of anime dubbing was hardly something that was done with the care it usually is today.

As for the episode itself, I was really hoping for at least some interaction between Seina's harem and Tenchi's. I was hoping at least Seina's Ryoko would meet Tenchi's Ryoko, since she's named after her after all. Seems like a missed opportunity, especially if Kajishima himself really directed this. Again I just ended up wishing I was watching one of the OVAs or Tenchi Universe.

[O-chan]

For Tenchi newbies this episode pretty much sums up how you can tell the OAV continuity from the other continuities. The OAV one is the one with the really complicated family tree.

As far as the voices go, when I originally saw this on DVD I found all the voices sans Sasami really off putting.

This time around Tenchi is the only one that sounded a little too...mature.

Mona Marshall's Ryoko is too shrill here, but the blow is softened after hearing her in OAV3 so often.

Despite being too nasal Washu's not too bad if not slightly robotic sounding. I guess Ayeka enjoyed that trip to the UK.

Generally it doesn't take away from the episode.

One thing I noticed is that Tenchi's grandpa dropped his "old man" disguise in front of Tenchi and the others but as of OAV 2 that was a secret that only the Jurai family was in on (and most likely Washu knew). So I guess sometime after OAV 3 he dropped the ruse (Edit: Nevermind, watched OAV3. Pretty much Episode 15 summed it up.).

O-chan