Tenchi Universe - Volume 8 - The Last Battle

Amazon.com

The first broadcast series reaches its climax as Tenchi, his friends, and the restored knights Azake and Kamidake challenge Kagato, who has usurped the throne of Jurai. (This Kagato is not the "Ruins Buster" villain from Tenchi Muyo! but a rebel Jurai prince banished ages ago.) Kagato attacks, wounding Tenchi's grandfather and kidnapping Ayeka, then withdraws to his fortified palace. Washu creates a computer virus that sabotages the Jurai defense network; Ryoko sneaks Tenchi, Azake, and Kamidake into the palace while bounty hunter Nagi creates a diversion. It's a foregone conclusion that Tenchi will triumph over Kagato, but director Hiroshi Negeshi makes their duel a surprisingly dramatic confrontation between good and evil. Although he's the rightful crown prince of Jurai, Tenchi returns to Earth, his adventures in space counted as "an excused absence" from school. The final episode, "No Need for a Conclusion," returns to the bittersweet tone of the initial "No Need for Discussions." After describing what's become of each friend, Tenchi sighs for the days when "life was like a carnival," although he enjoys the peace that now reigns in Okayama. But as fans of the series know, things never stay calm around Tenchi for long. Rated 13 and up for cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon

Description

Prince Tenchi? Tenchi's grandfather, Hatsuhiko, reveals that Tenchi is the true heir to the throne of Jurai, but will the power of tryth be of any consequence when the evil and powerful Kagato rules the Jurai Empire? The amazing conclusion! Tenchi Universe Vol. 8 (Episodes 23, 24, 25, 26).

Customer Reviews:

The ending of the Tenchi Universe........2004-06-20

Tenchi and the gang find out the true nature of the evil they face, as Kagato comes for them! This is not the Kagato from the OVA series, but a Prince of Jurai who has turned to the dark side of the Jurai power. He was defeated by Yosho and his name erased from history. Now he returns. He battles and wounds both Yosho AND Ryoko, kidnaps the Ayeka and escapes, deciding to fight Tenchi at a place and time of his choosing. He tells Tenchi that he will be waiting for the boy at the Jurai Palace and disappears.
As you can guess there is a good reason why there are four episodes on this DVD. The ending is complex and very detailed, as the gang battles to get through the layers of defenses around Jurai. One by one they show their skill and talent as they help Tenchi get closer to the palace. But one by one they also drop out, either wounded or powerless to go on. Even Nagi and a wounded Ryoko do their best to deliver Tenchi to the palace before they withdraw.
Within the palace the Knights confront two Dark Knights who serve Kagato, which allows Tenchi to slip past and carry out the final showdown with the evil Kagato. At this point think Samurai epic.
The very last episode is a ending without a ending as many of the characters slowly return back to Earth to be with Tenchi and the last scenes are almost the same scenes we saw at the start of the first episode!
Because this TV series, "Tenchi Universe", is so much longer than the OVA, it allows for a lot more character development, more themes and a exciting main plot. True, being made for TV meant it couldn't be as mature, but I felt it was worth the money. Now, of course, the DVDs have been collected into sets, many of which you can get used, so make sure to shop around before you give away your hard earned cash!

Excellent series.......2004-04-01

INTRODUCTION:
Although the Tenchi Muyo anime series became a massive hit in its native Japan and other neighboring nations, it was never fortunate enough to gain that kind of success in the United States. That's a real shame, because this is one of the best anime series out there. It DID air briefly in America on the Cartoon Network, but it never really won the audiences over the way series like Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z did. But this series is every bit as good as the animes that DID achieve fame in America. Read on for my review of this set.

BASIC PLOT:
It's hard to describe this series because there are so many twists and turns in the plot, but I'll try my best. The story follows a young man named Tenchi Masaki, who has just returned to school from a long break. Soon enough, he meets up with a rather strange cast of characters, and discovers that he may be the last hope for saving the universe! To make things even more difficult for him, many of these strange characters he has met fall in love with him, and this creates some competition amongst them that results in some rather comical scenes.

SERIES OPINIONS:
Why is this series so underrated in America? This is one of the best animes out there. It combines the samurai-style action of Dragon Ball Z with the romance/slapstick humor stylings of Sailor Moon, and this creates a series that is universally appealing. And believe me, over time this series will grow on you.

THE DUB:
Surprisingly, the dub version of this series isn't that bad. A few scenes have been mistranslated or toned down for American audiences, but it's nothing major like with other animes. Here's a little tip, if you're curious about what has been changed - while you're watching the Japanese subtitled version of the DVD, hit the Audio button on your DVD remote and switch to the dub track. This way you can watch the English dub with the English subtitles for the Japanese version - there's no better way to see how different some of the translations are!

DVD:
Once again, DVDs featuring an uncut dub and an uncut sub have been released. This is great because you get both versions of the series. There are also some bonus features as well. There aren't a whole lot of bonuses, but at least there are some - a number of anime DVDs don't have any at all!

OVERALL:
Overall this is an excellent DVD set, and it's good to have all the episodes of this classic series on DVD at long last. Still, the DVDs could have been done a little better. If you're an anime fan, this is a strongly recommended release.

No Need for an Ending.......2002-10-25

Tenchi Universe ends here, or does it? During the last few minutes of the last espiode, it seems everyone is coming back to Earth and re-start the "carnival" that is Tenchi Muyo!

Tenchi Defeats the evil ruler of planet Jurai, but not easily. After the battle, Tenchi goes back to Earth. Akeya seems downhearted that Tenchi has returned to Earth. Tenchi and the gang gets help from the Bounty hunter Nagi along with Ken-ohki. Ryoko takes Tenchi to the palace of Jurai, but it seems the Ryoko was badly hurt when she was attacked by Kagato. A great ending!

The conclusion the Tenchi Muyo TV series........2002-09-27

These last four episodes have some sad scenes.... Anyway, I don't want to ruin any part of the ending sinces it's a nice ending. Unfortunately, the ending isn't "complete". You'll know what I mean when you watch it. Tenchi is a very good show and all anime fans should see it.

An Excellent Ending.......2002-03-10

I just loved the end of the Tenchi Universe series. I really loved the episode when Tenchi and Kagato go head-to-head in combat. Although I still wonder how Tenchi was able to summon his Jurain power after his grandfather (also known as Yosho, the prince who betrayed Jurai years ago after he refused the throne) gave him the magical sword, Sword Tenchi. I mean it just took one episode; it doesn't describe how Tenchi was able to summon his Jurain power...

But overall, the final episodes show the true insights of the characters (most of them or let's say some), especially Grandfather and Tenchi.

DVD:

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