Tenchi Muyo! Tenchi Universe Episode 15: No Need for an Escape

It’s Tenchi time once again everybody. As you may recall, last time, there was a coup on planet Jurai and Ayeka and Sasami were placed under arrest for treason. Ryoko was also placed under arrest for… well, take your pick. Fortunately, Tenchi and the others were able to mount a rescue and the group left Earth at least until they knew it would be safe to return. Unfortunately, this means that team Tenchi are now all fugitives.

We open with Kiyone and Mihoshi returning to police headquarters in the hopes that they can use police recourses to help their friends. I have to say, I like the reverence Kiyone has for HQ. As we know, being a cop is everything to Kiyone, and her being in awe of the place really fits her character. Unfortunately, that sense of awe doesn’t last as she runs into an old classmate of hers from the academy. Said classmate, Mitsuki, basically informs Kiyone that all of her classmates have been promoted ahead of her and mocks her for still being a low ranking resident officer on some backwater planet out in the space boonies. Later, Kiyone goes in for a briefing with her superior officer, but notices that there’s a mysterious man in the corner of the room. The man is an emissary from Jurai here to inquire as to the whereabouts of Princess Ayeka. Kiyone genuinely doesn’t know, but even if she did, she probably wouldn’t tell him, the guy looks about as trustworthy as a concrete release date for Kingdom Hearts 3.

On board Ryo-Ohki, Tenchi and the gang are watching a news report that details the situation with planet Jurai. It’s mostly stuff we already know, like the coup on the planet and Ayeka and company now being fugitives. However, the part that gets Ayeka’s attention is the name of the new Emperor… which I cannot reveal here. Long story, but the short version is, I made a crucial mistake very early on in this series and because of that I cannot reveal the Emperor’s name just yet. I’ll explain why when the time comes, but for now, you’re just going to half to take my word for it. What I can tell you is that Ayeka recognizes the name as that of a legendary Juraian warrior. Ryoko thinks that this new emperor is probably a con artist, but that’s disproven as he was reported to posses the vast mysterious and godlike power possessed only by members of the Jurai royal bloodline. As the news report continues, Ryoko is implicated in aiding the princess in her escape, leading to both Ryoko and Ayeka to be offended that anyone would ever think the two would ever work together, even though they ARE working together. But then again, this is the legendary Ryoko/Ayeka blood feud, logic has no place here. Back at police headquarters, Mihoshi, looking for Kiyone, stumbles in on a conversation between Kiyone’s superior and the shady guy from earlier and we learn that the Jurai military has the cops in their pocket and they’re planning to set a trap for the princess. Mihoshi, not exactly being proficient in stealth, or anything for that matter, alerts the bad guys to her presence, meaning that both she, and by extension Kiyone are now a security risk and therefore, under arrest. What follows is a tense scene in which a squad of officers, lead by Kiyone’s old classmate from earlier, try to arrest Kiyone. Fortunately, Mihoshi crashes through the wall with a spaceship and helps Kiyone escape. Kiyone’s grateful for the assist, but she’s also devastated that her career is now in ruin.

Back on board Ryo-Ohki, Ayeka and Ryoko are still arguing, because they’re Ayeka and Ryoko, what else would they be doing. Grandpa Yosho however is being a lot more proactive and suggests that the gang head to planet Jurai to get to the bottom of all this once and for all. The group sets off, but they’re almost immediately ambushed by the Jurai military. Just when things seem hopeless, Kiyone and Mihoshi swoop in to save the day. Once the crisis is averted, Kiyone is still down in the dumps over losing everything she ever worked for. Mihoshi tries to cheer her up, and sort of succeeds. I’ll say this for Mihoshi, she may be torturously annoying, but her optimism in such a bleak situation is actually really sweet and probably what’s needed to boost group morale. And so our episode ends with Ryoko doing what any sane person would do after all they’ve been through and getting blackout drunk.

You’re all going to think I’m crazy, but I think giving this show an actual plot somehow made it a lot less interesting. Up until this Jurai business started, the show has mostly been episodic and for the most part dealt with, if you’ll forgive the term, down to Earth situations. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I frankly found it to be very refreshing, atypical of your average anime, often times unpredictably comedic, and all the more engaging because of it. However, now that we’ve actually given the show an actual plot complete with space adventures, it’s somehow lost a lot of that charm. I’m sorry, but the show seems to struggle to make the whole coup on planet Jurai thing interesting. How backwards is that? The sitcom plot is fun and exciting, but the space rebellion is boring. The episode wasn’t all bad mind you. The bits with Kiyone were nice, the shady Juraian guy was kind of interesting and Ryoko and Ayeka’s bickering is always entertaining, but this new arc has just been far too predictable and uninteresting for my taste. I will give this the benefit of the doubt, but if this episode is any indication, color me unimpressed.