Trivia / Tenchi in Tokyo

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• Acting for Two:
  • As usual, Takeshi Aono voiced Katsuhito and Nobuyuki Masaki.
  • In the English dub:
    • Katsuhito and Nobuyuki Masaki are voiced by Bob Papenbrook.
    • Sherry Lynn voices Sasami Masaki Jurai and Sugano.
    • Ryo-Ohki and Yugi are both voiced by Debi Derryberry.
• Bonus Episode: The omake episode, where Sakuya sets out to rescue Tenchi after he gets kidnapped by the girls.
• Dueling Movies: More like a series and a movie. Tenchi Muyo! The Daughter of Darkness was released in theaters in the middle of the series' original broadcast. Both share similar story elements:
  • A new girl enters Tenchi's life, causing friction with the girls.
  • A villainess whose name begins with Y plots against Tenchi and the girls.
  • Sasami befriends someone.
  • Washu and Katsuhito team-up for exposition.
  • A dramatic action by Tenchi makes Ryoko feel rejected.
  • The new girl is tragically removed from the story, but comes back in a different incarnation.
  • In a further note, the dubbing of both shared The Other Darrin replacements (see below), with Julie Maddalena voicing the new girl in both.
• Franchise Killer: A variation. Notably, this didn't kill off the Tenchi franchise as a whole, because six years after Tenchi in Tokyo ended, the third set of Tenchi Muyo OVA episodes rolled out, showing the franchise still had life. But what Tokyo did notably do was end any further attempts at making new experimental Alternate Universe Tenchi shows like Tokyo and its predecessor Tenchi Universe where writers could play around with Tenchi's life and add new Canon Foreigner characters because of this show's bad reception. Ultimately, it took a lengthy seventeen years before they would finally give the whole "Tenchi embarks on a new life path, spends less time with his traditional harem, and interacts with more Canon Foreigner characters" concept one more try in 2014's Ai Tenchi Muyo and even then, the new Tenchi AU had a notably shorter run and episodic running time than a more full length series, possibly because they weren't a hundred percent sure how another Tenchi AU would do after what transpired with Tenchi in Tokyo. For the most part, the franchise over the many years has really just put the majority of its focus back on the Ryo-Ohki continuity, rather than take risks on more Tenchi AU spinoffs.
• Franchise Ownership Acquisition: As with the first two Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVAs, Pretty Sammy and Tenchi Universe, the series is currently owned by NBCUniversal due to their buyout of Pioneer/Geneon in 2008.
• He Also Did: The late Shunsuke Kikuchi, who wrote the music for Tenchi in Tokyo, also worked on Tiger Mask, Kamen Rider, Doraemon, Doctor Slump and the Dragon Ball franchise up 'til GT.
• The Other Darrin: In the English dub, beginning with this series:
  • Ellen Gerstell was replaced by Rebecca Forstadt as Mihoshi because Gerstell retired from voice acting.
  • While Wendee Lee took over the role of Kiyone, her original voice actress - Sherry Lynn - was still voicing Sasami. This was because doing Kiyone's deeper voice was hurting Lynn's throat; her natural voice is actually very close to Sasami's.
  • Bob Papenbrook voices Katsuhiko and Nobuyuki Masaki due to Jay Hopper moving to Seattle.
  • Doug Stone and Michael Sorich replaced Mark Tracy and Jack Fletcher as Azaka and Kamidake, respectively.
• Similarly Named Works: The original Japanese title, "Shin Tenchi Muyo!", also refers to a series of novels written by Masaki Kajishima and Yousuke Kuroda, and is set in the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki canon. The manga's title is translated as "True Tenchi Muyo!"
• Studio Hop: The North American home media rights were initially handled by Pioneer Entertainment, before switching to Funimation.
• What Could Have Been: Nagi, Ken-Ohki and Azaka and Kamidake's humanoid forms, characters exclusively from Tenchi Universe were shown in promotional art for Tenchi in Tokyo, as seen here◊, hinting that the series was originally going to be a sequel of Tenchi Universe following the release of Tenchi Muyo! in Love. For reasons that are unclear, this concept was scrapped, and Tenchi in Tokyo ended up being set in its own continuity.

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