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While I do like Tenchi Muyo! the OAV series that began the entire Tenchi Continuum - if it could be called such a thing - I always prefered the follow-up television series, Tenchi Universe. While "Universe" essentially was a retelling of the first half of the OAV - stretched out over 26 episodes - I always felt that it had more character. The conflict between Ayeka and Ryoko was made more slapstick, Washu was more demented - all the characters were more detailed and, in a way, more over the top.

Tenchi Universe by Guardians of Order is a sourcebook for the Tenchi Muyo! RPG. It details the setting as put forward in the TV series - which occurs in a seperate continuum to the OAV. More interested in exploring the characters, "Universe" the series doesn't actually get moving until the second half of the series - not that we notice. The madcap antics of the cast are crazier and more light-hearted than the more melodramatic video series. Unfortunately, I felt that the sourcebook overlooked this.

Over analysing

Don't get me wrong, I loved the sourcebook. Once again GOO do a fantastic job summarising the series - although they do make some continuity flaws, such as forgetting that the entire series is meant to be a flashback that Tenchi is telling to the audience as well as the more subtle meaning of the ending of the series about Tenchi's relationship with Ryoko and Ayeka. The area in which this product falls down is the over analysing of the characters. The authors seem to have overlooked the fact that by being a carnival ride of a series, "Universe" never really took itself too seriously. The implication that Sasami has repressed homosexual feelings which are brought to light in the alternate universes is just a little silly. The scene that brings about this diagnosis is one that is purely placed there for humour value - it has nothing to do with Sasami at all. It is there for the pure comedy value of the sequence.

In fact, the entire alternate universes section overlooks the reason that these three episodes were made. For those of you who are scratching your heads in confusion - in the middle of the television series, Washu - the resident mad scientist - creates a machine that can alter reality to conform with whatever the operator desires. Naturally all the girls try to create a universe where they are the only one that Tenchi cares for. The machine overloads and so destroys all reality - thrusting the characters into a series of alternate universes focused around the thoughts of each individual character. However the real reason for this series of episodes was so that the creators could just use the Tenchi "schtick" in a variety of alternate settings. (In fact it led to the creation of a spin-off series called "Magical Girl Pretty Sammy" which was essentially Tenchi Muyo meets Sailor Moon. VERY weird.)

Unfortunately GOO's writers seem to have gotten their hands on a psychology textbook and as such begin to make all sorts of claims about the meanings of each of these briefly observed worlds - most of which were solely created for the humour value. I found this over analytical treatment somewhat spoiled an otherwise great book, and wasted pages that could have been dedicated to more relevant setting material.

On the upside

This book does have a lot of useful stats and character writeups. Continuing with the quality shown in the Tenchi Muyo! RPG most of the character write-ups are precise and insightful descriptions that ought to allow most roleplayers to be able to recapture the feel of the individual characters that are so vital to the setting. There are also some useful character creation rules and a marginally improved character sheet - those circles are *still* too small for the main stats though!

The best part of the book would have to be the setting details about the Tenchi Universe setting. Showcasing both the differences and similarities between the OAV and the TV series, these prove to be a boon for any Tenchi GM. The two scenarios provided at the back of the book are pretty good, they succesfully capture the feel of the series as well as recognise that the best way to play the game is to use the actual series characters.

In Summary

While not as good as the main rulebook, Tenchi Universe continues the trend of well researched products that help to capture the essence of the licence. GOO have shown once again that they have an intuitive understanding of the various anime genres. Despite the over analytical alternate dimensions section, this book is still extremely useful both as a game supplement and a general Tenchi series resource. The choice to use standard print and greyscale pictures wasn't that big a deal for me, but I think that GOO need to work on getting the contrast right - some of the art got lost in a dark haze. But this was only a minor quibble. For the most part, this is yet another good product that shows an obvious commitment and love for the source material.

Tenchi Universe
Tenchi Universe Capsule Review by Conan McKegg on 23/01/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) More madcap lunacy for the Tenchi Muyo game - unfortunately let down a little by some psych 101 overanalysis. Product: Tenchi Universe Author: Mark C. MacKinnon, Jeff MacIntosh, Karen A. McLarney, David L. Pulver Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Guardians of Order Line: Tenchi Muyo! Tri-stat Cost: $19.95 US Page count: 109 Year published: 2001 ISBN: 1-894525-18-3 SKU: 07-004 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Conan McKegg on 23/01/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Science Fiction Modern day Space Comedy Anime	While I do like Tenchi Muyo! the OAV series that began the entire Tenchi Continuum - if it could be called such a thing - I always prefered the follow-up television series, Tenchi Universe. While "Universe" essentially was a retelling of the first half of the OAV - stretched out over 26 episodes - I always felt that it had more character. The conflict between Ayeka and Ryoko was made more slapstick, Washu was more demented - all the characters were more detailed and, in a way, more over the top. Tenchi Universe by Guardians of Order is a sourcebook for the Tenchi Muyo! RPG. It details the setting as put forward in the TV series - which occurs in a seperate continuum to the OAV. More interested in exploring the characters, "Universe" the series doesn't actually get moving until the second half of the series - not that we notice. The madcap antics of the cast are crazier and more light-hearted than the more melodramatic video series. Unfortunately, I felt that the sourcebook overlooked this. Over analysing Don't get me wrong, I loved the sourcebook. Once again GOO do a fantastic job summarising the series - although they do make some continuity flaws, such as forgetting that the entire series is meant to be a flashback that Tenchi is telling to the audience as well as the more subtle meaning of the ending of the series about Tenchi's relationship with Ryoko and Ayeka. The area in which this product falls down is the over analysing of the characters. The authors seem to have overlooked the fact that by being a carnival ride of a series, "Universe" never really took itself too seriously. The implication that Sasami has repressed homosexual feelings which are brought to light in the alternate universes is just a little silly. The scene that brings about this diagnosis is one that is purely placed there for humour value - it has nothing to do with Sasami at all. It is there for the pure comedy value of the sequence. In fact, the entire alternate universes section overlooks the reason that these three episodes were made. For those of you who are scratching your heads in confusion - in the middle of the television series, Washu - the resident mad scientist - creates a machine that can alter reality to conform with whatever the operator desires. Naturally all the girls try to create a universe where they are the only one that Tenchi cares for. The machine overloads and so destroys all reality - thrusting the characters into a series of alternate universes focused around the thoughts of each individual character. However the real reason for this series of episodes was so that the creators could just use the Tenchi "schtick" in a variety of alternate settings. (In fact it led to the creation of a spin-off series called "Magical Girl Pretty Sammy" which was essentially Tenchi Muyo meets Sailor Moon. VERY weird.) Unfortunately GOO's writers seem to have gotten their hands on a psychology textbook and as such begin to make all sorts of claims about the meanings of each of these briefly observed worlds - most of which were solely created for the humour value. I found this over analytical treatment somewhat spoiled an otherwise great book, and wasted pages that could have been dedicated to more relevant setting material. On the upside This book does have a lot of useful stats and character writeups. Continuing with the quality shown in the Tenchi Muyo! RPG most of the character write-ups are precise and insightful descriptions that ought to allow most roleplayers to be able to recapture the feel of the individual characters that are so vital to the setting. There are also some useful character creation rules and a marginally improved character sheet - those circles are still too small for the main stats though! The best part of the book would have to be the setting details about the Tenchi Universe setting. Showcasing both the differences and similarities between the OAV and the TV series, these prove to be a boon for any Tenchi GM. The two scenarios provided at the back of the book are pretty good, they succesfully capture the feel of the series as well as recognise that the best way to play the game is to use the actual series characters. In Summary While not as good as the main rulebook, Tenchi Universe continues the trend of well researched products that help to capture the essence of the licence. GOO have shown once again that they have an intuitive understanding of the various anime genres. Despite the over analytical alternate dimensions section, this book is still extremely useful both as a game supplement and a general Tenchi series resource. The choice to use standard print and greyscale pictures wasn't that big a deal for me, but I think that GOO need to work on getting the contrast right - some of the art got lost in a dark haze. But this was only a minor quibble. For the most part, this is yet another good product that shows an obvious commitment and love for the source material.