Two years ago...
Six alien girls land on planet Earth, not-so-coincidentally at the home of Tenchi Masaki: Space pirate Ryoko, supergenius (and mad scientist) Washu, haughty princess Ayeka, her more responsible sister Sasami (and her cat-rabbit or cabbit, Ryo-Ohki, who only happens to be able to change into a mecha and spaceship), ambitious Galaxy Police Office Kiyone, and her ditzy partner, Mihoshi.
Several months ago...
Grandfather Katsuhito, priest of the Masaki shrine, asks his grandson, Tenchi Masaki, to go to Tokyo to study high school and become a the heir to the shrine.
This morning...
Tenchi announces his decision. He will leave for Tokyo. The girls react. It is a decision that splits the family, but it also, in the end, saves it.
In another universe...
Yugi laughs.
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Overview
Tenchi in Tokyo is the third Tenchi anime series, after the Tenchi OVA, and Tenchi Universe television series. Like the previous two series, it is set in its own universe, with changes to the characters. Guardians of Order, has put out sourcebooks of the three Tenchi universes for its anime RPG, "Big Eyes Small Mouth", aka. BESM.
Tenchi in Tokyo is a well-written sourcebook that serves well enough as a "fan guide" for the anime series. It consists of episode summaries, BESM powers based on the anime series and character stats, mecha and equipment stats, descriptions of locations in the series, and adventure seeds.
The layout uses a simple, effective, two-column format, with crisp black-and-white pictures taken from the anime series complementing the text. Unfortunately, this is all too uncommon among RPGs. Some RPG's use a layout attempting to impress the reader, making the information itself more difficult to reference and read. RPG pictures all-to-frequently waste space and are, at best, tangential to the material itself. RPG books often have "widows and orphans" (layouts where a block of information starts at the bottom of the page), requiring more back-and-forth page-flipping then they should. The Tenchi in Tokyo sourcebook avoids these mistakes.
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Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Introduction begins with some comments about how Tenchi in Tokyo differs from the other two Tenchi series, then proceeds with the episode summaries. The summaries are written in a lighthearted and entertaining manner, very enjoyable to anyone who's unfamiliar with the series or doesn't remember the series well. However, more than half (60 pages out of 110) of the book are episode summaries.
Chapter 2: Characters
This section starts with additional BESM attributes (such as Jurai powers), sub-attributes, defects, and one skill (Driving). Statistics of the characters, villains, and monsters are presented, as well as write-ups for lesser characters such as Tenchi's normal high school friends. Readers will appreciate that this section minimizes "widows and orphans" and page-flipping (information that continues to the next page.
Chapter 3: Mecha and Items of Power
This section contains the magical gemstones, various mecha, Washu's inventions, and special locations from the series. The layout is poorer here then the Characters section (underlining to break up sections by item is oddly absent). My only other nitpick is a lack of "chao ex machina" design guidelines to create the useful but disasterous Washu inventions.
Chapter 4: The World of Tenchi in Tokyo
Unlike the previous two chapters, the locations are limited to a few paragraphs of description, similar to that found in a computer game. Considering how much detail is given to the rest of the book, I found this section unexpectedly lacking.
This chapter also contains three adventure seeds, thus answering the question, "How do I run a game where the players already know how the series ends???" The first adventure is something of a prequel-like extension to the Tenchi in Tokyo series. The second is no less than the turning of the series on its side, as Tenchi meets his opposite sex counterpart -- as does everyone else! (The GM gets to explain why, of course.) Both would make good campaign ideas. The last is a cops-and-robbers scenario. If anything, these ideas should inspire the GM with some fresh ideas for the Tenchi in Tokyo series.
The book finally ends with a three-page index. I found it useful (which is more than I could say for most RPG indices, if they exist at all), although it didn't have lesser entries, such as minor characters in the series.
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Last Comments
Most reviews critique a product that anyone can casually pick up from the shelf, or a supplement that can be inserted into a familiar universe. But with Tenchi in Tokyo, I have to ask who, exactly, will be purchasing this book. Tenchi in Tokyo is the third Tenchi anime series, and takes place in its own independent universe. Thus, BESM players have no less than the two self-contained Tenchi universes to play -- with higher power levels, no less. Anime viewers list Tenchi in Tokyo as their least favorite series. Thus, the casual otaku would be satisfied just fine by fan websites, or a Tenchi anime fan book (which would be in color, to boot).
Still, if you were thinking of buying it in the first place, but was hesitant for some reason (eg. mail order or shrinkwrap), I highly recommend this sourcebook. Likewise, viewers who really are fans of Tenchi in Tokyo will find episode summaries and details I couldn't find on the net. Otherwise, the Tenchi Muyo! RPG and Resource Book might be your better choice for playing BESM in the Tenchi universe.
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