Name: Tenchi Muyo In Love (85.65% in 23 votes)
Type: ANIME
Platform: VHS/VCD
Company: AIC
Release date: 1996
Reviewed by: KurenaiJiku
This has to be the prime of my DVD collection so far. It has by far the best video and audio quality. Touched by THX technology, it practically screams digital. Tenchi Muyo In Love is such high quality, that you can even see the layers of individual cels, and sometimes even the painted strokes required to color the cels.
Of the 3 movies that exists, the first one; Tenchi Muyo In Love, is the most reputable and best one. A great story, implementation, music and very cinematic action sequences; TM In Love is awesome. Some people may call it cheesy in some parts of the plot, but I think it just has that very epic feeling to the entire movie. The music in turn is not done by a Japanese composer, but is written by a composer by the name of Christopher Franke. Incredibly enough, he's mainly the reason why I watched the movie at first. It's not like I wasn't going to watch the movie anyway, but the music made it even a greater reason to watch the movie. The soundtrack is so moving and astounding that it's difficult to get a heart jerk one time or another. The soundtrack is very large and very classical compared to your atypical Anime jammy music. However, since Pioneer's original soundtrack for the OAV was half jammy midi beats, and half orchestral. So this nice transition into the epic world is an easy and acceptable jump.
Generally the storyline is quite interesting for those who always wished to know about the relationship between Tenchi and his mother. And it's quite a touching story if you've watched the OAV before, but it is still a good watch if you haven't seen the OAV before. In fact it's one of the reasons why people have gotten into the series generally; because of the movie. Things start to rocket off when Tenchi and gang are watching an old film of his mother as a youngster in high school. Tenchi suddenly begins to disappear out of existence, but is saved by none other than Washu. She explains that Tenchi's existence in the present is beginning to fade because Tenchi's mother is indanger in the past. Therefore, it's one of those twisted time travel situations which rivals instances brought about by Back To The Future. The source of this danger is pretty obvious from the beginning of the movie, and everything is considerably spoonfed. It's quite alright as the epic feeling of the movie takes the place of the attractive vagueness of Anime. So Tenchi and gang go back into the past to protect his mother and destroy whatever indangers all of their lives.
What I found sort of annoying is the continuity. It doesn't really take any specific place in the Tenchi Muyo saga. Which is good; anyway person can pick up the movie and watch it. Though is bad for people who like the entire series and want some connection between this monster and the OAV or TV series. Since the OAV series is the source of all Tenchi Muyo, I'll have to refer to that as the original storyline. Some things seem to be based on the OAV, but some things seem to be based on the TV. It's no big deal as I said before though. Some of the dialogue on the other hand seems to be just stuck in there for drama's sake. One second a character would say something is impossible (character will rename nameless), and the next scene, she would say that it's not. There are small parts which these evident problems exist but it's quite alright as in the OAV series, stuff like that always happen.
Artwork is good overall. Having seen the DVD on a computer, you can see the poorly drawn artwork for all the support objects in each of the scenes. The stuff you wouldn't really look at in certain scenes. For example, Tenchi and Ryoko are talking; the rest of the people would be drawn in a quirky kind of way. It's alright I guess, but the animation and artwork will never really reach the height of being perfect or a true classic. Sound is of course good; it's THX. I don't really have to say much more about that.
For extras, the main feature is an interview of Christopher Franke. It's quite interesting to see what he has to say about Tenchi Muyo because for one thing; he's of a different culture. It just makes you think what will Anime be like in years to come when the rest of the world accepts it as a general medium for art. The rest are trailers of Tenchi Muyo In Love, as well as different commericals for it.
If you're a Tenchi Muyo fan, getting this movie is pretty much a no brainer. It's the ultimate Anime DVD that I've found so far with awesome visuals and sound. It's the basis I use to compare the quality of other DVD's. Even if you've never watched Tenchi Muyo, I highly recommend getting this or the OAV's. Though, if you've watched the OAV's first, then watched this movie; the general effect will be much greater and more emotional. As you can see, I love this movie.
Artwork (technical) - 4/5
Artwork (creative) - 4/5
Animation (technical) - 4.5/5
Animation (creative) - 4.5/5
Audio (technical) - 5/5
Audio (creative) - 5/5
Implementation - 4.5/5
Ambience - 4/5
Continuity - 3.5/5
Plot - 4.5/5
Fun Factor - 5/5
Overall Value - 4.5/5
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