Line #38 Anime/TenchiInTokyo


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3	The second TV series based on ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', ''Tenchi in Tokyo'' is very different from its predecessors. It includes a different backstory for the main characters but in general seems to assume that viewers are familiar with previous versions of the storyline.
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5	In this series, Tenchi [[IJustWantToBeNormal just wants to be normal]], so he leaves his {{harem\|Genre}} behind to go to school in [[TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse Tokyo]] and work at his grandfather's friend's Shinto shrine. Upon settling in his new apartment and enrolling at his new school, Tenchi soon finds himself encountering Sakuya Kumashiro, the most popular girl in school who is (naturally) smitten with him and things seem good and normal at first for Tenchi, but it's soon revealed that a [[DarkMagicalGirl mysterious girl]] with fearsome powers named [[BigBad Yugi]] is threatening to not only take over all of Tokyo, but the [[TakeOverTheWorld entire world]] as well and it's up to Tenchi's harem (who are all trying to see him anyway) to come and save him... not just from Yugi, but also from Sakuya!
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7	The first half of the series is something of a MonsterOfTheWeek situation, but the later portion sees the traditional crew falling apart, only to come back together when they're really needed.
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9	----
10	!!''Tenchi in Tokyo'' provides examples of:
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12	* AccidentalMisnaming: In episode 12, Nobuyuki keeps mispronouncing Sakuya's last name as "Shirokuma". It also happens to her in the BonusEpisode.
13	* AdaptationalBackstoryChange:
14	** The series has a different backstory for the major characters as opposed to ''Ryo-Ohki'' and ''Tenchi Universe''. Washu and Ryoko steal the Jurai Light Stone, only to get pursued by Ayeka, Sasami, Mihoshi and Kiyone. Then, after Ryoko, Washu, Ayeka and Sasami crash-land near the Masaki Shrine in Okayama, Ryoko absorbs the Light Stone and transforms into a demonized version of herself. However, she is thwarted when Tenchi uses the sword formed from his crystal necklace to draw the Light Stone out from her.
15	** Furthermore, Tenchi and Lord Katsuhito are full Earthlings, possessing no familial or genetic connection to Jurai. [[spoiler: They are ''Starkeepers'', a long line of Earth Guardians whose power lies in the crystal necklace that can become a sword]].
16	* AdaptationalBadass: Azaka and Kamidake again, though not to the extent in ''Anime/TenchiUniverse''. They are now equipped with laser beams, and in episode 9, they managed to defeat two other Guardians who were watching over Yugi during her imprisonment; those unnamed Guardians were eventually corrupted by her.
17	* AscendedExtra: Famous {{Gonk}} Amagasaki becomes a recurring character in this series.
18	* BackstoryInvader: [[spoiler:Sakuya Kumashiro was created by Yugi and inserted into the school Tenchi goes to in Tokyo, with all her classmates getting false memories of her. Since Tenchi was new in town to begin with he never had the opportunity to even suspect anything was different. Ultimately, once Yugi decided that Sakuya had outlived her usefulness, Sakuya was reabsorbed back into her and all the other students besides Tenchi forgot she'd ever existed- she even disappeared from photographs.]]
19	* BadLiar: Sakuya calls Tenchi a lousy liar in episode 10, when he chose to go on a date with Ryoko. She says that she can tell that Tenchi is lying when his nose starts twitching.
20	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Happens to Ryo-Ohki a few times:
21	** In episode 12, Ryo-Ohki is guarding Sasami's bank, and when Ryoko tries to punch her, Ryo-Ohki kicks her in the chin, knocking the space pirate out cold.
22	** In episode 16, she gets cornered by a group of scientists wanting to dissect her, and she responds by transforming into her mecha form and destroys the lab.
23	* BlandNameProduct: The girls are watching a Samy-branded TV, a reference to Creator/{{Sony}}, as well as to ''Anime/PrettySammy'' (which is called "Pretty Samy" in Japan).
24	* {{Brainwashed}}: In one episode Tenchi is hypnotized into marrying Sakuya. The others stop the plot.
25	* BrokeEpisode: Episode 5, "Money! Money! Money!".
26	* BurgerFool: In episode 5, the girls travel to Tokyo, taking short-lived jobs working at various restaurants: Ryoko becomes a pizza delivery driver, Ayeka a waitress (later, a hostess) at a tea house, and Mihoshi and Kiyone at a fast food restaurant.
27	* CallingYourAttacks: Sadako Ikarinu would shout her wrestling moves whenever she attacks Amagasaki.
28	* CantHoldHerLiquor: In the first episode, Ryoko suffers from a bad hangover after trying Washu's homebrewed sake the previous night, which was very strong.
29	* CompanyCrossReferences:
30	** Tenchi's teacher resembles [[Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld Fujisawa]].
31	** In episode 14, the staff Sakuya carries in Ayeka's fantasy is the same one that [[Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld Ifurita]] wields.
32	** In episode 22, Rio and Yuji (from ''[[Anime/BurnUp Burn Up W]]'') have cameo roles, as does Anime/{{Photon}}.
33	* ComplexityAddiction: Yugi's entire plan, when her true driving motivation is considered.
34	* CrystalWeapon: Tenchi is given a crystal sword with six magical gems embedded in it. As he [[IJustWantToBeNormal just wants to be normal]], he takes the gems out and just gives them to his harem.
35	* DarkMagicalGirl: Yugi. Unusual example as she's the BigBad of this continuity but let's count off the traditional traits:
36	** A special and close relationship to the MagicalGirl (in this case, Sasami)
37	** Obessive control of ''friends'' as opposed to the sweet helpfulness of Sasami.
38	** [[spoiler: Not truly evil, and eventually making a HeelFaceTurn at the end of the series]].
39	* DenserAndWackier: The overall tone for ''Tenchi in Tokyo'' is much zanier and wackier than past ''Tenchi'' installments.
40	* DivideAndConquer: Yugi's goal is to split up the Masaki Clan [[spoiler:through Sakuya]].
41	* EnemyMine: Despite being romantic rivals, Ryoko and Ayeka share a hatred for Sakuya.
42	* EvilPlan: TakeOverTheWorld type, but the plot itself Yugi splitting up Tenchi's harem so he won't be able to counter-attack when she makes her move.
43	* FestivalEpisode: Episodes 15 ("Love Match") and 16 ("Carnival!") take place during a school carnival at Tenchi's high school.
44	* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:At the end of "Ryoko's Big Date", when Sakuya is emotionally angry at Tenchi for lying to her about going on a date with Ryoko and then running away from him much to Tenchi's own personal dismay, Yugi, who's silently watching the entire scene play out, starts to cry unexpectedly, which can be very odd considering that at this point, Yugi is played up as being the BigBad of the series and that it wouldn't make sense for her to cry for her own targeted victims. It's not until near the end of the series that the entire scenario itself soon makes sense in due time when the viewers themselves eventually learn that [[TomatoInTheMirror Sakuya is actually Yugi's shadow and thus a reflection of her own personality.]]]]
45	* FriendshipDenial: Rejected by Sasami (because of her actions against the family), the hurt Yugi declares she never liked her.
46	* GratuitousEnglish: Upon meeting Masayo in "Tokyo or Bust!", Ayeka excitedly speaks in Engrish. In the dubbed version, Ayeka's Engrish becomes GratuitousFrench.
47	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The Japanese titles take on the form of haiku.
48	* KarmaHoudini: Ryoko's a notorious [[SpacePirates space pirate]], as usual. She lands on Earth in this series trying to steal the Jurai Light Stone with Washu, after which Tenchi nursed her and the others back to health. Seeing him kiss Sakuya, she goes back to pirating on an S-class scale to try to run away from her problems. She never gets arrested or imprisoned in any way for her crimes, and [[spoiler: seems to be the frontrunner for Tenchi at endgame with Sakuya out of the picture]].
49	* LawyerFriendlyCameo: [[Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld Mr. Fujisawa]], the teacher of Tenchi's class.
50	* LeftHanging: This is the only Tenchi series never to get any kind of sequel or other installment in the continuity, so we never do get to find out if [[spoiler:Yugi becomes like Sakuya when she grows up]].
51	* LineOfSightName: In episode 5, Tenchi introduces Sakuya to Ryoko and Ayeka as the characters from the "Monster Busters" arcade game, which Tenchi and Sakuya played earlier. Sakuya calls Ryoko and Ayeka "Miss One" and "Miss Two", respectively, because the characters in the game almost bear a resemblance to them.
52	* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler: Tenchi gets trapped in one towards the end with Sakuya (who, at this point, is completely under Yugi's control). However, Sakuya breaks free and sends him back to the real world, [[DyingMomentOfAwesome even though it kills her in the end]].]]
53	* MarketBasedTitle: ''Tenchi in Tokyo'' was known as ''Shin Tenchi Muyo!'' ("New Tenchi Muyo!") in Japan.
54	* MaskedLuchador: Erm, sort've. There's a wrestler that shows up in one episode that wears a mask.
55	* MindControlEyes: Tenchi when he has been brainwashed in the episode when he is hypnotized into marrying Sakuya.
56	* MomentKiller: In the final episode, just when Ryoko is about to kiss Tenchi, Washu pops out of the tree trunk to test her new and improved Dimensional Tunnel. She is then followed by Sasami, and then Ayeka, and finally, Mihoshi and Kiyone. Ryoko proceeds to strangle Washu for ruining her moment.
57	* MoonRabbit: When Ryo-Ohki get s kicked out of the house, she ends up being brought to live on the moon with a colony of other cabbits.
58	* MoralityPet: [[spoiler:Sasami, for Yugi]].
59	* MythologyGag:
60	** Anime/PrettySammy and Pixy Misa (in their ''Magical Project S'' costumes) appear on the score display at a karaoke in episode 10. Pretty Sammy also appears on one of the photo sticker booths.
61	** Washu Doll A from ''Anime/TenchiUniverse'' appears in episode 12, carrying signs that read, "Call Me for Dinner".
62	** In "Tokyo or Bust!", the scene of Sakuya watching Tenchi working on a sketch of his school is a nod to a similar scene in ''Tenchi Muyo! in Love'', where Achika watching Nobuyuki sketching out what would become the Masaki House.
63	** In the above episode, Ayeka imagines Sakuya as a dominatrix who has kidnapped and tortured Tenchi, which is ironic given that "Oujosama to Oyobi!" ("Call Me Queen!"), Ayeka's ImageSong from the [=OVAs=], was about her torturing Tenchi S&M style, with help from Sasami.
64	** Achika is also Tenchi's mother in this series; she appears or is mentioned in episodes 7, 12, and 17.
65	* NeckLift: In Episode 13, Yugi grabs Ryoko by impaling her hand into Ryoko's neck.
66	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In Episode 16, "Carnival!", the girls (except Ryoko) travel to Tokyo to visit the school carnival at Tenchi's high school, but they end up ruining the carnival with their various antics: Mihoshi uses her Galaxy Police Blaster in a shooting gallery, Ryo-Ohki gets captured by a fanatical scientist, only for her to destroy the lab by transforming into her mecha form, Ayeka destroys a haunted house while searching for Tenchi, and Washu takes a robotic mouse, enlarges it, and lets it roam in the hallways, until it was destroyed by a combined effort between Ayeka, Mihoshi, and Kiyone. This causes Tenchi to lash out at the girls, and he sends them home, telling them that they cause nothing but trouble.
67	* OddballInTheSeries: At the time this series premiered, it was ''different'' to say the least in comparison to previous Tenchi installments. The animation differed significantly and the DenserAndWackier tone contrasted strongly with the previous shows. The series experimented much more by having Tenchi attend college away from his harem of girls. The Masaki family in this continuity no longer had roots in Jurai, this time being native to Earth from a long line of guardians. The series also made even more use of CanonForeigner characters than before, particularly with Sakuya being one of Tenchi's newest love interests and the show even chose to forgo using the franchise's most iconic antagonist Kagato in favor of new, original villains in Yugi, Hotsuma, Tsugaru, and Matori. For the time, ''Tenchi in Tokyo'' was probably the most experimental Tenchi installment yet and its somewhat negative reception made sure that there wouldn't be much experimenting with AlternateUniverse Tenchi shows again until seventeen years later when ''Ai Tenchi Muyo'' premiered which gave the whole "Tenchi embarks on a new life path, spends less time with his traditional harem, and interacts with more CanonForeigner characters" concept another go.
68	* PromotedToLoveInterest: Played with, but not given solid form when it comes to Kiyone, who was simply good friends with Tenchi in the previous ''Universe'' series. When Kiyone reunites with Ryoko in space, the very idea of Kiyone becoming Tenchi's girlfriend is brought up, likely as a tactic to goad Ryoko into returning. Beyond that, Kiyone isn't shown to have any romantic or flirtatious moments with Tenchi during the course of ''Tokyo''.
69	* ProWrestlingEpisode: Episode 15, "Love Match". Amagasaki finds himself being attacked by the spirit of legendary female pro wrestler Sadako Ikarinu whenever he tries to talk to Tenchi. He eventually confronts Sadako in the ring, defeating her with a lariat.
70	* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: The final quarter of the series.
71	* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Yugi's subordinates.
72	* ReallyDeadMontage: [[spoiler:The special end credits for episode 24.]]
73	* RedStringOfFate: In episode 2; Ina Suzuki, the Love Goddess, invoked this on Tenchi and Sakuya by tying their pinkie fingers together with red string, but then Ina discovers more strings attached to Tenchi's pinkie finger; they were attached to the entire Masaki Clan (Ryoko, Ayeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, Kiyone, Washu, Katsuhito, Nobuyuki, Azaka, Kamidake, and Ryo-Ohki). When she pulled on the strings, Ryoko and Ayeka were suddenly pulled into the dimension.
74	* {{Retgone}}: Happens to [[spoiler:Sakuya]] in episode 23, [[spoiler:when Yugi destroys Sakuya's crystal, erasing her from the school's records and Tenchi's photos. Nobody except Tenchi knows who Sakuya is]].
75	* RoadTripPlot: "Tokyo or Bust!": Desperate to see Tenchi, and inspired by a news report of how a hitchhiker gained sympathy after he hitchhiked to Tokyo, Ayeka takes an unwilling Sasami and a sick Ryo-Ohki to Tokyo by hitchhiking. However, after they helped Masayo, they discovered they overshot Tokyo and wound up in Sendai; this causes Ayeka to be even more determined to continue hitchhiking to Tokyo, but by the time they arrived at Tenchi's apartment in Tokyo in the middle of the night, Ayeka and Sasami are too tired to talk to Tenchi, and they quietly leave the apartment through the now-repaired Dimensional Tunnel.
76	* SchoolFestival: Is the central theme for episodes 15-16.
77	* SelfServingMemory: Ayeka's flashback story to Masayo; she claims that Tenchi was her fiancee, and that she's trying to save him from "that stalker woman" Sakuya; Ayeka imagines her as a dominatrix who's torturing Tenchi. Sasami dismisses Ayeka's story, and tells Masayo that Ayeka just wants to check up on him.
78	* ShipperOnDeck: Sakuya's friends serve as this in episode 15, as they try to encourage Sakuya to kiss Tenchi.
79	* ShowWithinAShow: Mihoshi became a huge fan of ''Space Police Policeman'', after she and Kiyone got jobs playing villains in the series.
80	* SickEpisode: Sasami suffers from the flu in episode 12, leaving Nobuyuki to do Sasami's chores. He eventually decides to go to Tokyo, feeling stressed out by the chores.
81	* SpannerInTheWorks: Three of them show up and trash the BigBad's plans: Washu, because the villains always tend to underestimate her and in this case this lets her [[spoiler:decode Yugi's plans]]; [[spoiler: Sasami]], because [[spoiler: Yugi got distracted by her desire to keep her out of her schemes since she's her MoralityPet]] (and this is pointed out by [[spoiler: Matori]], ''twice''); and '''especially''' [[spoiler: Sakuya, who despite being Yugi's "shadow", in the end turns out to be more independent than she should've been...]]
82	* StarCrossedLovers: [[spoiler: Isao and Masayo are a ''literal'' example, as falling stars who were transformed into humans (as a super-fast runner who can't stop his race and someone chasing after him) and used by Yugi and Tsugaru to separate Ayeka and Sasami further from Tenchi. It doesn't work since Ayeka decides to ''help'' Masayo, and by the end of the episode they're back together.]]
83	* StealthPun: In the Japanese version of episode 9, one of the commercial's slogans is "Denchi Muyo!", which translates to "No Need for Batteries!"
84	* StoodUp: In episode 10, when Tenchi chose to go on a date with Ryoko instead of Sakuya. When it's all over and Ryoko goes back home after a great day, Tenchi goes home, passes by the local park... and finds Sakuya, who has been waiting for him around ''five hours'' (thank God she chose a bench in the park instead of a restaurant). She lets Tenchi explain himself and forgives him, but she can't help crying anyway as she explains herself to Tenchi as well. [[spoiler:Since Sakuya is a "shadow" of the BigBad Yugi, there's some lampshading as Yugi watches over the whole exchange from above, and when Sakuya starts crying... [[WhatIsThisFeeling Yugi cries too, much to Yugi's own shock]].]]
85	* TitleDrop: After the princesses arrive in Sendai, Ayeka becomes more determined to reach Tokyo, and begins hitchhiking again, shouting the episode's title, "Tokyo or Bust!"
86	* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: The trope is normally averted in the Tenchi Muyo! world since the Masaki shrine is located in the prefecture of [[http://wikitravel.org/en/Okayama Okayama]], but in this particular series it's played completely straight.
87	* ThirdOptionLoveInterest: Sakuya (and watch Ryoko and Ayeka foam at the mouth!).
88	* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler: Sakuya, who is revealed to be Yugi's reflection/shadow.]]
89	* TwoTimerDate: Subverted in the episode, "Ryoko's Big Date", in which Ryoko and Sakuya offered to go out on a date with Tenchi in Tokyo, but Tenchi chose Ryoko, after hearing her warning on his answering machine.
90	* UncannyValleyMakeup: Ryoko at the start of episode 10.
91	* UnwantedHarem: While the ''Tenchi Muyo'' franchise is quite well known for this sort of trope, ''Tokyo'' took this trope to its logical conclusion by having ''all'' the girls head-over-heels in love with Tenchi in some fashion and the first half of the series was spent with the girls trying to get to Tenchi and Tenchi trying to have a normal life.
92	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The very first shot of the series features two mysterious fellows stealing an equally mysterious box from a shrine. Neither they nor the box are ever seen or mentioned again.
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Context Anime / TenchiInTokyo