Video:
Clear with no significant problems. I assume it's a R1 rip - the cheeky eight-disc originals have been squeezed into a reasonable four-disc set. There were at least two instances of slight pauses during playback (out of the whole set), but I was not using my preferred DVD player.
Tenchi in Tokyo uses the most basic and cheapest animation of the entire Tenchi series - exact sequences are repeated time and again and they are often 'wooden' at best. The characters are also drawn slight differently (to the OAvs and Universe series) and, to my eyes, Tenchi appears different in almost every single episode! The series is also more comic or manga-like in appearance and in convention - use of SD, exclamation marks, etc.
Audio:
Clear with no distortion. Basic 2.0.
Since this is a R1 rip there is the choice of both Japanese and English dialogue. However, I did not watch using the latter option.
Subtitle:
Clear with no distortion. Basic 2.0.
Since this is a R1 rip there is the choice of both Japanese and English dialogue. However, I did not watch using the latter option.
Comment:
Usual MAC packaging - sleeve with art/graphics with plain gatefold.
Menus and options are in English and easily navigable.
One major bugbear is that although everything is split into chapters - opening credits/part A/ Part B/ closing credits/Next episode preview - they are not selectable from the menu screen. In some instances you might have to 'skip forward' 50 chapters or so to watch the last episode on a disc. Obviously, if you watch a disc at a time this isn't a problem, but if you watch, let's say, two episodes a day it can become frustrating.
I approached Tenchi in Tokyo knowing that the general consensus was that it was the worst of the animated Tenchi series. After watching it, I can only agree.
To offer something fresh, the usual Tenchi conventions are scrapped, i.e. his Jurai heritage, and his powers and status are given a new (and laughably poor) explanation as is the reason for the girls coming together to live in the Masaki household. The main plot is slow to get going and even then it is hardly absorbing - many of the episodes are of a low-grade slapstick nature and there is no discernible character development. There are a few funny moments, but nothing compared to the OAVs - 'Night before the Carnival' for example.
I guess this is for Tenchi completists only, but since it's a snip compared to $200 original set, I shouldn't complain too much. Let's say that the actual DVD set is technically impressive, but the content is not up to scratch.
Level: 7
Reviews: 18
Experience: 82,620
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