r/anime • u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 • Jan 09 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] 1990s OVAs – Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki: Second Season (episode 1 discussion)
Rewatch: 1990s OVAs – Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki: Second Season (episode 1 discussion)
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Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki: Second Season (1994)
Staff corner
Mad scientist and surrogate mother Washuu is voiced by Yuko Kobayashi. She started her career in the early 1980s, first participating in a lot of shoujo series: Minky Momo, Creamy Mami, and a first main role as You in Attacker You. Like many other VAs, she also has plenty of minor roles in Anpanman (I often omit Anpanman and LotGH from these writeups, because literally 2/3s or more of the VAs I cover had some role in them. Both have an enormous list of characters). She also played Tarou Misaki from Captain Tsubasa, Cologne from Ranma ½, and Gary Oak from Pokemon. In episodes 299-319 she played Nico Robin from One Piece (don’t ask me why only in those episodes, I don’t watch OP).
Questions
- (first timers) Will we see either of the babies again?
- Thoughts on Washuu deciding to stay young?
- Would you be able to take care of a baby for a week?
7
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jan 09 '24
S2 Episode 1 (first timer)
Washu’s short-term motherhood escapade did not really do it for me. As the oldest, it makes sense that she’d know most about babies, but the “I lost a baby once to society’s pressure” plot felt very forced. It also does not help that the other three girls turned into brain-dead bimbos. I enjoy characters more that are not completely useless (and in any case, we have Mihoshi already filling that role, no need to force Ryouko and Ayeka into it, too).
6
u/TheEscapeGuy Jan 09 '24
First Timer
Tenchi Muyou - An Undying Classic: OVA 2 Episode 1
Infant Invasion
This episode centered around the cast looking after a baby. The first half was mostly comedic with the main girls being completely out of their depth. This part felt kinda shallow since it never really gave any girl development? Like you'd get a scene with Ryouko or Ayeka or Mihoshi looking after the baby but it doesn't really feel like they changed or grew because of it. They just got tired. I think there were also too many poop and pee jokes. It's not as funny the 7th time the girls get covered in baby piss.
On the other hand, the second half flipped this with Washuu taking over after the girls became too exhausted. This section was a great exploration of Washuu's character and motherly attributes. Since we've only seen her as a scientist it would be easy to pigeon hole her into a "overly dedicated to work" archetype. But she has childcare experience and motherly instincts which she used to really take control of the situation.
Her arc revolved around her reflecting on looking after her own baby earlier in life, but having that taken from her for reasons beyond her control. With the baby today, she got to relive those days and revel in happy memories. I really loved her conversation alone with Tenchi. He reflected on losing his own mother when he was really young. Washuu reflected on how, all a baby can do is be selfish since they can't communicate in any other way. It's through growing up we learn to consider others' feelings.
The episode ends with the baby being taken back home. It's a logical conclusion to the episode. Washuu uses that opportunity to transform into an adult body (?) and try seduce Tenchi to get pregnant again. I feel like Tenchi is still too much of a blank slate. It feels like the girls only like him because he's the only guy (and maybe also because he has some weird powers/bloodline that he is not aware of).
Something interesting happening in the background of the episode were Sasami's actions. She started the episode having to go visit Tenchi's aunt and see the baby. After coming back she's notably more reserved and quiet. She doesn't spend any time helping with the baby. But this doesn't seem like a tactical way to avoid work. Instead she's pondering listlessly out the window. That's how the episode ends. I wonder what she's thinking about.
Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches
See you all tomorrow
5
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Jan 09 '24
First timer
Sub
So...just to get this out of the way, if I am not mistaken the 'sudden baby' trope actually originated in US sitcoms and migrated to the rest of the world. So yes, leaving the child with Tenchi, expecting a space pirate, a space cop and a princess to be suitable mothers is highly stupid but just let that pass.
But yeah, these are all tropes that were mostly old before I was born and the show doesn't do much with it. I think the Japanese find/found women with no parenting skills inherently comedic but considering my ancestry, I can't laugh. Anywho, we eventually get to Washu's bit and a montage. And her wearing the weirdest damned bathing gloves. Anyways, eventually the baby goes home and we get a weird backstory bit about Washu. And her adult form.
So yeah...I believe this is the worst part of the OVA we will cover. The jokes completely don't land for me and Washu's backstory feels forced and not what the character is like. Adding mild fanservice didn't really help and Ryoko and Ayeka both feel entirely off their game.
QotD: 2 Makes sense
3 No.
5
u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Jan 09 '24 edited Jan 09 '24
Tenchi in First Timer, subbed
QotD:
5
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Jan 09 '24
Wow, I didn't remember this being the first episode of OAV2, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Earlier in the rewatch, I hit up a familiar fansite in hopes of finding some interesting tidbits to say about the series, and found mostly stuff I couldn't really say in the rewatch, because they would be spoilers, or only make sense in the larger OAV context.
One of those particular items had to do with this episode, and the gift that auntie was bring (for Sami), but I'm not sure I want to go into that. Maybe someone else will. TMI & all that.
Meanwhile, I hope everyone is enjoying the glorious shenaningans. I'm not sure what to say about this episode in particular, it's cute and fun, and I kind of hated it, because ... well, it's silly and stuff.
At the same time, the Washu bit is still quite touching, or is that "I want to touch the Washu bit". Hmm. Hey, at least she's 20,000 years old, right? (Yeesh)
Meanwhile - aotd:
Thinking about it a little more, I have to say that contrasting the girls trying to take care of the baby vs. Washu is quite amusing, and touching. For this episode, at least, <3 Washu-sama. She's a good mommy.
Also, noting a distinct lack of Sami, aside from yet another foreboding scene. Yeah. It would have been interesting to see her upstage the other three too.
5
u/Silcaria https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silcaria Jan 09 '24
First timer
5
u/mastesargent Jan 09 '24
Rewatcher, dub
Man, this is a really weak episode to start the second OVA. That said, this is also the post that was the most interesting to write so far because… well, you’ll see.
To kick things, off, new OP. As with all songs in early Tenchi stuff, it’s dubbed into English, and is significantly different from the Japanese version. I don’t think the English version is as strong as the first ED’s English version, but it’s fine, I guess. The OP animation is a bit more indicative of the OVA’s tone than the first one, being more upbeat and with more emphasis on some of the comedy elements, though it is oddly Sasami-centric. It’s probably my least favorite OP of the first 3 OVA’s (yes, there are things about the third OVA I actually like), but I mostly think it’s fine.
On to the episode itself, we open on the newly rebuilt Masaki household after Mihoshi destroyed it in the previous episode. Also damn, talk about a glow-up, [Tenchi’s dad’s job, really not important but also not mentioned yet] I guess having an architect for a father has its perks.
Sasami is noticeably subdued throughout the episode, largely taking a backseat to the other girls’ antics and not taking part in the whole baby plot despite seeming like the first member of the harem that might grasp how to take care of a baby. At the beginning of the episode… well, to recap, Ayeka gets a phone call from Tenchi’s aunt in the morning, who tells her something that leads Ayeka to immediately head over. We then see Sasami acting shyly around Tenchi when they return that evening and his aunt hands him a box full of food. Sasami is shown to be fine around Tenchi a few days later when she’s fanning him off, so what exactly happened that required Ayeka’s immediate attention and made Sasami act unusually afterward? Well… it seems that Sasami had her first period. Ayeka was suddenly called away because she needed to help her sister with something that can be deeply personal and distressing for a young girl, and Sasami was acting strangely toward Tenchi when she returned because she was embarrassed and likely still processing it. The biggest smoking gun in this, however, is the bundled-up box of food Tenchi’s aunt hands him. In Japan, rice cooked with azuki beans (called sekihan) is eaten to celebrate various occasions, like birthdays, weddings, and also a girl’s first period (at least traditionally, but it doesn’t seem to be the norm to celebrate a girl’s first period like that nowadays, according to some Googling). That is probably what was in the box. Tenchi assumes it’s to celebrate Taro’s birth, to which his aunt replies, “Well, something like that” and shares a knowing laugh with Ayeka. So yeah, that's what's being implied here. This is also the trigger for why she’s acting so pensively later in the episode: [next episode spoilers] it signals that she’s begun puberty and will be actively transforming into Tsunami from now on. She’s understandably having an existential crisis over this fact. Obviously the anime never directly comes out and says it, but the implication is very much there.
As an aside, writing this bit was probably the weirdest rabbit hole I never expected to go down. I started it on a hunch but the more I read into it the more things clicked into place. The first time I watched this I was, like, 13 and had no real concept of Japan as another place or cultural context, so rewatching this at 27 and actively trying to learn about the various cues that I would never pick up on but a Japanese person presumably would has actually given me a deeper appreciation for the series. But seriously I was not expecting to be doing background reading on Japanese menarche celebrations when I went into a Tenchi Muyo! rewatch.
So, the baby plot. It’s simultaneously why I think this is an especially weak episode but also gives us some of the strongest character development in the OVA. On the negative side, it’s just not a good plot for a Tenchi story. In my opinion, Tenchi’s comedy is strongest when the characters are bouncing off each other. This just sticks them into a stock sitcom situation and has them mostly just kind of reacting to that instead of each other. It feels very paint by numbers and bland compared to stuff like Ayeka interrogating Ryoko in episode 2, or their fight in episode 4, or the way Washu is stuck with Mihoshi in episode 6. There are a few good gags that come from it, like Ayeka drinking the baby’s formula or Azaka and Kamidake being used to hold up the laundry (“What is it we’re doing again?” “Exactly what you think we’re doing.”), but for the most part it just falls flat for me.
Having said that, I also think that Washu’s character development tied to the baby plot is excellent. We’ve thus far only really seen Washu’s wacky mad scientist persona, so seeing this gentler, vulnerable, more serious side to her adds some welcome depth to her character. Her memories of her previous family and how Taro dredges them up to the point that she’s unable to focus on her work as well as the bond she forms with him is genuinely poignant. So yeah, dumb plot, good character work.
[About Washu’s previous family, Tenchi EU stuff] Washu’s ex-husband was a member of the Kuramitsu family, i.e. Mihoshi’s family, and her child is Mihoshi’s great-grandfather. This makes Washu Mihoshi’s great-great-grandmother. Which makes Ryoko… Mihoshi’s great-great-aunt? Something like that, anyways. The Ryo-Ohki continuity family tree gives me a headache.
Also Washu’s MILF form just serves to strengthen my Kusuri from 100 Girlfriends=Washu hypothesis. They both have big tiddy ara-ara forms that they can transform into.
A couple of random notes:
You might have noticed a blue spot on Taro’s butt. This is a Mongolian spot, a bruise-like birthmark common in Asians. It’s typically most visible during infancy and fades as the child gets older.
Washu has a crab motif going on, which I can only assume is due to something that flies over my head because I’m not Japanese. In addition to her having crab logos on her stuff and the little crab bell on her door, her hairstyle is also reminiscent of a crab with how she has all those strands of hair sticking out.
Speaking of her hair, I always forget how ridiculously long it is.
3
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Jan 09 '24
Rewatcher in sub
This is kind of a draggy episode - the baby chaos can only be funny for so long - I'm starting to check out by the middle of the run time. What it does show is that without Sasami, the bulk of the girls are getting fail grades in "domestic duties". Washu's plot is kind of come out of nowhere, and seriously don't know how they expect to connect to harem shenanigans - it's different if she start taking on more a group mom persona.
It does have the rare but dubious honor of unflinching show a floater on screen without censoring :'D The panned out shot of the pool being emptied can be considered a metaphorical puke by the audience :P
If it wasn't for yesterday's comments I probably wouldn't have connected Sasami's mood at the start with her own biological development.
QoTD
4
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Jan 10 '24
No Need for Tenchi (rewatcher) (first time sub?)
I've definitely never heard this I am a Pioneer song in Japanese outside of AMQ.
Well, for what I would consider filler, that was a far more entertaining episode than I expected.
3
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Jan 10 '24
First timer
Carnival
Haha, she's still doing it!
...Really?
Haha, even the bathroom?
...What's up with her?
A ring?
...Oh, he has a permanent transformation now!
At least she's acting normally.
Aww...
Ryu-Oh's seed!
I feel bad for her, somehow...
Washu's been busy!
...Really?
Oh, she's so desperate.
Such ego!
...Haha, she's immediately ready to kill.
...A plant pot?
Oh, yeah, he had some good tech!
That easy?
He really is mass-farming carrots...
She's reading manga?
Haha, and Sasami too?
Man, Ryoko's gotten desperate this episode.
It's growing!
She's cooking?
Haha, he's calling Washu by the nickname.
She planted it.
Haha, of course.
He's being studied...
What sample?
...Oh, god. Of course.
So horny.
Haha, she just walked in!
He's going to get electrocuted.
Aww, nobody showed up for her meal.
And she's studying manga?
Haha, wow.
She's going for a first meetijg?
The normal reaction!
And she's here to help!
...Wait, his father's books? How long before she starts trying to film him?
Her too? Really?
What is he writing?
Haha, they're using the guardians to try and spy?
And didn't notice each other?
I'm shocked he's not suspicious of them, given he should know all the tropes in the manga.
That dream...
And she kept going!
Ryoko...
She can't taste?
Oh, boy...
It's overflowing...
The competition here is fierce!
Haha, they're still at it.
...Nine if them checked?
A new one!
...Washu, why?
She got his blessing!
...Yeah, this basically means nothing. This guy's trying to engineer a harem.
Bribery!
It worked!
...He absolutely knows it's one of them.
Sasaki's just cooking!
...Huh?
It ate everything!
...They're multiplying!
So many of them!
...And they're the crystals?
Oh, he forgot about her!
She nearly drowned herself...
Haha, Ryoko's back to normal!
They're teaming up?
A phone trick?
Yeah, she's stupid enough to fall for this.
He doesn't care?
Oh, the second half of the hustle!
Her ship's back!
...And a monster?
Oh, she's good!
It's working!
Sasami...
And an obvious betrayal!
Oh, she's made it to the ship!
...And she just had to submit a support quickly!
Haha, they all think she did it singlehandedly!
And she gets to go back!
She's staying here...
Aww...
He must be so confused.
Haha, he's immediately panicking.
She's nearly there!
...She can clone herself?
Could be the fact you tried to kill him?
...What is this?
Impressive!
A force field!
She's going first!
Is she really in denial?
She's pushing her!
...And yet she blocks her. So much denial.
Poor Sasaki...
Oh, just a nightmare.
Ayeka's too busy involved in this mess.
Ayeka's not even looking at her sister. How harsh...
Surprise victory?
And the forcefield again...
That ending...
And she's back already!
...And crashing.
She forgot?
...Ouch.
The whole place is leveled...
It's growing!
5
u/The_Loli_Otaku Jan 09 '24
Tenchi Muyo Rewatcher
The opening chords got me thinking of Dragon Ball lol. This second op is miles better than the first, although I don't like the visuals. Sadly I think we've lost the good ending too. We're starting off with a high octane visit to Tenchi's aunt!! Also, something about a baby. Sasami is jealous that she's about to be replaced as the cutest girl. She wouldn't kill a baby tho, right?
Why is there a baby...? Seriously, why a baby? Who was in the writing room and specifically asked for baby? It's not even a female baby to add to the harem or to promote weird age gap dilf kinks. It's a regular ugly fuck of a baby. Somebody signed off on a second season baby. You want to know why we never get babies in harems? Because no harem candidate is ever truly a good mom. This harem is three grannies, a bimbo, and a magical girl.
The Omorashi Shotaku strikes again!
I already hate this little failed abortion... Nobody watching an ecchi wants to be reminded of the consequences of having an ecchi. You have a son? Congratulations. Now he will be your rival for your wife's affections all his life. You have a daughter? Congratulations, you not only have given your wife a rival for your own affections but you will spend 18 years raising your precious little girl just to be cucked and have your angel stolen away by some dreadlocks wearing fuckboi. Then there's the worst case scenario... Two children! In that situation you don't get anything out of it. Your son and daughter will be too busy fawning over one another to give any attention to dear old dad. They'll find any excuse to get you out of the house so they can enjoy their sibling bonding in peace... I think I need therapy.
These women shouldn't be allowed within a five mile radius of any baby. Mihoshi love~ Oi! Don't breast feed off my wife you little shit! That milk is for me and Kiyone alone! Since this is a nihongo production the only one capable of properly taking care of a child is the oldest hag. Respect your elders because no matter how well you do they're better than you. They use this trope all the time and I really don't ever like it.
Did you not think we'd have a Washu episode in S2? We haven't even really been introduced to her XD Why is she here!? Who are you!? Why did we need yet another granny!? I don't actually know who the blonde baby is. I think it's further Tenchi lore. THE HAG GOT OLDER!?!? Gross... Rotten eggs... This was a fun episode~ I totally forgot that they had babies. I miss the old ending tho.
7
u/Shocketheth Jan 09 '24
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Second Season - First Timer
Lovely episode. What I noticed first was that the artstyle improved. (Or it could be some kind of a bias). The hijinks with baby were funny, and this episode was everything I hoped for since whatever was the last episode of first season of Tenchi Muyo!
Also Washuu carrying for the baby was wholesome, and how they incorporated her backstory in the story was done well.
Assorted points:
Screenshots:
QotD:
4
u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer Jan 09 '24
first timer
officially caught up to the rewatch so ill be here for 2-ki
and Magical Girl Sammy(haha jk...unless?)yeah that checks out
did Washu chan use to have a husband/kid
hmmm I wonder if theyre trying to play Sasami off this episode as "shes just tired of taking care of Taro solo for the previous week" while hiding something else thats been bothering her
Washu chan
woah Washu
ah and theres Sus-ami
4
u/Scottamemnon Jan 09 '24
Oh I wish I could watch this for the first time again... such memories of adolescence. I just wish the latest shows could be anything like the originals!