Still, it's fun and diverting most of the time; the characters and backstory are what save the show. There is no attempt at more than a few moments of seriousness, and over-the-top humor and utter silliness just just keep on coming. Seina is still the inexplicable object of lust of a huge number of gorgeous, powerful, and jealous women. There is an interesting (although utterly out of character) cameo from Ryoh-Ohki, Lady Seto's husband makes an appearance, NB is just as perverted and sneaky as ever, Ryoko Baluta joins the GXP, and a new cabbit appears as a central character. Make sure to watch it with the second subtitle track running; the first track is just a word-for-word repeat of the dub, but the second is a more literal translation from the Japanese original. The differences are often so huge that you occasionally have to wonder what show the English dub writers were watching.

Watching this series has become a guilty pleasure. You know it's just not very good, but it just pulls you in anyway.

The original Tenchi OVAs are far superior to the different TV series, movies, and specials. OVA 1 is episodes 1-6, OVA 2 is episodes 6-13, and OVA 3 is slowly being released at the time of this writing.

The character relationships and backstory are far better in the OVA. The more that's revealed about the galaxy-wide civilizations that are hinted at in the series, and the more infomation that is revealed about earth's place in this scheme, the more fascinating this saga becomes. So much anime doesn't make you think and want to dig for detail. The Tenchi OVAs are so deep and complex that it seems that the stories should never end.

Compared to the first DVD in the series, the second is somewhat of a disappointment. First, there are only 3 episodes where the first DVD had 5. The quality of the artwork has declined from the first 5 episodes; the backgrounds are still great, but the character animation has become crude and sloppy. The comedy is non-stop, but seriously over the top. Character reactions are overplayed in the extreme. The gags are mostly good, but cheap and sleazy sex jokes abound. Amane's conduct, in particularly, is ridiculously exhibitionistic and provocative. Seina's personal robot, NB, is accidentally transformed into a mechanical pervert who likes to stir up trouble at every opportunity by replaying embarrassings moments for anyone who'll watch.

Don't get me wrong, this DVD is really funny. The story is still good, and the characters are still interesting. Just be warned that it is often seriously rude, crude, and lewd. Also, check out track two of the English subtitles; it's a more literal translation from the Japanese than the dub, and sometimes the differences are so huge that you have to wonder what story Funimation was watching when they wrote the script.

This is even more of a slapstick roller coaster ride than the rest of the Tenchi series. The wonder of the Tenchi universe is here with its alien civilizations, unbelievable technology, complicated relationships, and deep backstory. There's not as much of the seriousness that occasionally pervaded Tenchi; it's subordinated to the comedy, and, being Tenchi, the comedy is often crude, seriously lewd, and brash, but it's just flat-out fun. This is definitely not for children in places. Also, check out track two of the English subtitles; it's a more literal translation from the Japanese than the dub, and sometimes the differences are so huge that you have to wonder what story Funimation was watching when they wrote the script.

For extremely detailed descriptions of the episodes, I recommend http://tmau.fateback.com/index.html

This is even more of a slapstick roller coaster ride than the rest of the Tenchi series. The wonder of the Tenchi universe is here with its alien civilizations, unbelievable technology, complicated relationships, and deep backstory. There's not as much of the seriousness that occasionally pervaded Tenchi; it's subordinated to the comedy, and, being Tenchi, the comedy is often crude, seriously lewd, and brash, but it's just flat-out fun. This is definitely not for children in places. Also, check out track two of the English subtitles; it's a more literal translation from the Japanese than the dub, and sometimes the differences are so huge that you have to wonder what story Funimation was watching when they wrote the script.

For extremely detailed descriptions of the episodes, I recommend http://tmau.fateback.com/index.html

His work on Spirited Away is his best yet. His themes and orchestrations are varied and powerful. As this is Miyazaki's most strongly Japanese-themed film, the use of Japanese instruments and vocals, combined with traditionally Western harmony, themes, and orchestrations, along with uncharacteristic dissonance in places, suits the movie's needs perfectly. The performances and recording are letter-perfect; I cannot recall a better recording for clarity of sound, balance, or technique.

Soundtrack recordings often show that sound editors and mixers have misused a composer's work or allowed the best of a soundtrack to go unheard in the theater. This is not the case here; the use of Hishashi's soundtrack in Spirited Away is about as good as it gets. This film is a masterpiece on all levels, including the music.