Disaster Report: TENCHI IN TOKYO
AIC produced a lot of hits over the years, but few of them could compare to the success and impact of the 1992 OVA Tenchi Muyo! . What began as merely a sitcom-inspired AU starring a minor character from Bubblegum Crisis made in part to sell Pioneer laserdiscs became a landmark in the growing genre of harem anime and an international sensation in its own right. For AIC, it was the goose that laid golden eggs, and each new egg was a success in its own right. One OVA soon became two, which was followed in turn by the full length TV series Tenchi Universe . From there the franchise branched out into various films, specials, OVAs, and spinoffs. Sadly, no anime franchise can succeed forever and Tenchi Muyo was no exception. It has stumbled many times over the last 30 years, and many of its latter day installments would be a perfect fit for this column. That would be a little too easy though, even for me. I was more interested in determining the exact point where the franchise’s