Tenchi Muyo! Tenchi Universe Episode 9: No Need for Memories!

It’s been a while since we’ve covered Tenchi. I apologize for my negligence, but the important thing is, we’re back now.

Our episode opens a lot more somberly than usual with falling snow over a black background as soft piano music plays. As Tenchi wakes up, he sees that winter seems to have come to the Masaki’s little corner of Japan. As Tenchi watches young Sasami play around in the snow, Tenchi has a brief flashback to his own childhood when he would do the same thing.

Elsewhere, something screwy is happening out on the lake as a strange sparkling light shoots into the sky.

Back at the Masaki house, Ryoko expresses her great dislike for the cold weather and asks Tenchi to stop the snow. I find this a bit strange as one would think that Ryoko would see the cold weather as an excuse to cuddle up to Tenchi for warmth.

Anywho, Tenchi goes to the shrine to tell his grandpa that it’s time for breakfast, which, as you may recall, is a sacred ritual at casa de Masaki. However, when Tenchi gets to Yosho’s room, he attacks him on sight. As we’ll soon learn, Yosho has been training Tenchi in swordsmanship since he was a little kid. We also learn that Nobuyuki works as an architect and despite the snowstorm, he still has to go into work. As Yosho and Tenchi train, we see that Tenchi is actually a highly skilled swordsman, but still has a lot to learn. Ayeka arrives and watches their sparring match and notes that Tenchi and Yosho’s sword fighting technique is very similar to a fighting style used on the planet Jurai.

Meanwhile, we see Nobuyuki at work his young secretary comes in and assumes that the flowers he brought in were for her. Nobuyuki jokes around and flirts with her in response.

As Ayeka and Tenchi share a nice moment, Sasami tells her about the strange light on the lake. So, remember back when Ayeka first arrived and Ayeka and Ryoko had a life or death space battle that resulted in both of their ships being destroyed? Well, much like how Ryoko’s ship, Ryo-Ohki, was reborn as an adorable bunny rabbit, Ayeka’s ship, Ryu-Oh is actually a plant and it’s starting to regrow itself.

Later that night, Nobuyuki, Yosho, Ayeka and Ryoko are having some sake and watching the snowfall. When they run out, Yosho asks Tenchi to run out and buy more. But really, it’s just a ruse to get Tenchi out of the house so that once Ryoko and Ayeka are passed out, Nobuyuki can break out their secret stash of special sake which they use to drink to “The Snow of their Memories.”

Tenchi returns from the store, only to hear some creepy laughing in the woods. Being sensible, Tenchi runs for his life away from the creepy laughing forest. However, as soon as he gets home, he collapses from the flu and Sasami is the only one who isn’t passed out drunk so it’s up to her to find a way to help. Fortunately, the sap from the Ryu-Oh plant has medicinal properties and she gives it to Tenchi.

While unconscious, Tenchi has a dream about his childhood. He’s playing in the snow and having a good time when Nobuyuki walks up to him with a sullen expression on his face. We don’t hear what he says, but whatever it is, it causes little Tenchi to break down crying.

Tenchi wakes up the next morning to find that Sasami stayed by his side all evening. Tenchi goes outside and joins his father and grandfather who are praying at his mother’s grave. We learn here that the flowers from earlier were for Tenchi’s mother. The three recall that it was snowing like this the day she died, and that they used to hate the snow, but now, it’s not so bad. This episode toned the comedy way down and instead allowed time for some genuinely sweet moments as well some character development. The standout moment is definitely the flashback in which Nobuyuki tells Tenchi that his mother has died. It’s hauntingly beautiful and captures that feeling of having lost someone perfectly. This is a strong episode that reminds us that even though this is a show about a harem of super-powered alien girls driving a teenage Japanese boy crazy, there’s still a place for some down-to-earth human moments.