One of my all-time favorite animes is Tenchi Muyo. (The OVA, that is. The tv series wasn't bad, but Tenchi in Tokyo was just nuts.) Hitoshi Okuda has successfully captured the spirit of the series in his long-running manga adaptation. And this volume is no exception.
The main story in this volume involves a Mihoshi-related accident in Washu's lab which splits Tenchi into five younger versions of himself that are transported into five separate books, and the girls only have half an hour before the change becomes permanent. It was an amusing story, but I prefered the shorter ones: The Masaki residence celebrates Mamemaki, a Japanese ritual which involves throwing beans to scare away wintertime demons. Washu makes a slight change to the ritual, and the usual chaos occurs. Other adventures include Ryoko in a Saki drinking contest with her natural immunity switched off by the "Saki Sage," and Tenchi and the girls visit a revolving sushi bar.
Okuda's characterizations of the girls are still as solid as ever, even Ayeka and Ryoko's bickering doesn't seem gratuitious as it was in the series. Tsunami makes a guest appearance, which reminds readers of the manga's OAV roots. And also she's pretty cool. But what I enjoy the most is the almost invisible fourth wall in Okuda's stories. Washu mentions one of the OAV episodes, while Ryoko goes as far as kicking one of the narration boxes after the narrator said some rather unflattering things about her.
It's a solid entry in Okuda's series, but nothing too different than what he's written before. B
No comments:
Post a Comment