Tenchi Universe: The Last Battle [DVD]

Features

• Type: DVD
• Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
• Language(s): english, japanese
• Director(s): Hiroshi Negishi, Kiyoshi Fukumoto, Shinichiro Kimura, Tatsuya Ishihara, Toshiaki Komura
• Actor(s): A.J. Rose, Petrea Burchard, Debi Derryberry, Matt K. Miller, Mark Tracy, Masami Kikuchi, Yuri Amano, Jennifer Darling, Julia Fletcher, Ellen Gerstell

The first broadcast series reaches its climax as Tenchi, his friends, and the restored knights Azake and Kamidake challenge Kagato, who has usurped the throne of Jurai. (This Kagato is not the "Ruins Buster" villain from Tenchi Muyo! but a rebel Jurai prince banished ages ago.) Kagato attacks, wounding Tenchi's grandfather and kidnapping Ayeka, then withdraws to his fortified palace. Washu creates a computer virus that sabotages the Jurai defense network; Ryoko sneaks Tenchi, Azake, and Kamidake into the palace while bounty hunter Nagi creates a diversion. It's a foregone conclusion that Tenchi will triumph over Kagato, but director Hiroshi Negeshi makes their duel a surprisingly dramatic confrontation between good and evil. Although he's the rightful crown prince of Jurai, Tenchi returns to Earth, his adventures in space counted as "an excused absence" from school. The final episode, "No Need for a Conclusion," returns to the bittersweet tone of the initial "No Need for Discussions." After describing what's become of each friend, Tenchi sighs for the days when "life was like a carnival," although he enjoys the peace that now reigns in Okayama. But as fans of the series know, things never stay calm around Tenchi for long. Rated 13 and up for cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon