Boy, this show sure did a good job of reminding me of just how big of a sissy pants I really am.  Oh sure, I may look like 200 lbs of pure bad-assitude and hard core dealin's, but deep down inside, I may just want to sit in the corner and cuddle bunnies or something (as long as they don't poop on me).  Oh yes, just like back in the day when I saw 'My Girl', some of what Happened in Tenchi in Tokyo brought a tear to my eye

          Okay, on with the review!  In thin Tenchi creation, Tenchi moves off to Tokyo to study to become a Shrine Master or whatever.  While he's there, he meets a girl named Sakuya and the craziness ensues.  As I began watching this, my first impression was that it was just a bunch of slapstick humor, but, after awhile, a story began to emerge and the show got a bit more serious and a lot more interesting.

          There were points when I was watching this that I laughed so hard I almost lost bowel control (phone monster), and there were actually quite a few of those parts.  Tenchi in Tokyo did a good job of being silly, but not so silly that you began to dislike the silliness.  Later in the series, things turn far more serious
(there is still humor though) and, if you didn't already, you will probably begin to care about the characters and what happens to them.

          Personally, one thing that I really liked about Tenchi in Tokyo is that, instead of the characters staying as their pre-determined stereotypes, there was quite a bit of character development, especially in Ryoko.  That's another thing I liked
(Tenchi fans will agree or disagree with me depending on their favorite female character), Tenchi in Tokyo hinted at the possibility of Tenchi 'choosing' Ryoko, but it also made me want Tenchi to 'choose' Sakuya.  Hell, I thought I would always want Ryoko to 'win', but this show made me want Sakuya to 'win' also, I was very confused.

          Anyway, the animation is very good and the artistry, while not up to the standards of Tenchi Muyo, is also very good.  One thing that I didn't like that much was that there was a whole lot of stock footage flying around everywhere.  They also liked to have people yell or say the same thing at the same time, that got annoying pretty damn quick.

          Something that this show has in common with, say Sailor Moon, is that there are a lot of 'one show monsters' that are defeated and then never seen again.  Fortunately, Tenchi in Tokyo does this well, even though they do the same thing as Sailor Moon to create the monsters (take an object that has something to do with the theme of the episode and make a monster out of it), they do it in such a way that either it's so ridiculous it's funny, the results are so ridiculous it's funny or both are ridiculous and it's hilarious!

          Now, some of you may be thinking that I'm just giving Tenchi in Tokyo (and other Tenchi anime for that matter) high ratings because I'm one of those mindless Tenchi fans, and I'll admit it, I am a fan of Tenchi stuff, but try and believe me when I say that even if I wasn't a fan of Tenchi related creations, I would have probably given this anime the same rating because anything that can have this much goodness in it with so little badness, and then manages to get me so involved in the story deserves every single crazy old man that it gets, damnit!

Genre - action/drama/comedy

Animation - The animation was very good, especially considering it's a TV series, and the artwork is pretty decent too.

Sub vs. Dub - I watched the sub and it was better than what I saw on TV by a lot

the Good - Forking hilarious, it's still all about the characters, character development, Ryoko, involving and interesting story

the Bad - lots of stock footage, simultaneous talking, Ryo-Ohki still got pretty annoying after awhile, it confused my tender Jeffy emotions

Overall - I thought it kicked ass, but if you don't want to see a far more cartoony Tenchi anime, I would suggest that either you don't see it, or better yet, give it a chance and see that being more cartoony may not be such a bad thing, if it's done right.  (26 episodes)