Product Description

On a hot summer day, a fetching young girl named Mayuka appears to Tenchi, calling him Daddy! Jealousy and envy follow as Ryoko and Ayeka battle for Tenchi’s attention with an apparently new rival. Who could the mother be?! Hiding in the background, Yuzuha, the Demon of Darkness, is about to get her revenge against Yosho for a grudge held for over 700 years! She begins her plan by using Mayuka to steal Tenchi away to the Dimension of Darkness. So it begins again, Tenchi must fight to save his friends and Mayuka, daughter or not!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #122012 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-06-28
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 60 minutes

Customer Reviews

The Ongoing Curse of Jurai
Of the three movies in the world of Tenchi, this second one is my favorite. Where the first and last are rather heavy-handed and overly serious, this one is more fun. That's thanks to the introduction of the eponymous character, Mayuka, who just MAY somehow be related to our hero. She seems the most innocently charming of all the various odd women who have mysteriously appeared at the various incarnations of the Masaki Shrine throughout this series. ( With the possible exception of Sayuka in Tenchi in Tokyo; but then, she was just a figment of everyone's imagination! )

The antagonist in this story is a rather confused ( and confusing ) creature from Yosho's past called Yuzuha, a Demon whose design seems to suggest a short, blue, malign, and female InuYasha. Unlike Kain from the first movie, she has a grieveance against Yosho in particular, stemming from an incident in their past on Jurai when they were children. In fact, Yuzuha lives in a state of suspended childhood, surrounded with toys and video monitors. Her poorly realized dream-like surroundings, along with her rather cloudy motovation are probably the weakest aspects of this production.

Things soon liven up, however, when she inserts Mayuka into Tenchi's life as an unknown young girl who calls him "Papa". The fun ensues as Ryoko and Ayeka are predictably enraged to discover yet another rival for Tenchi's affections. The animation and interplay between Ryoko and Mayuka are particularly delicious; especially since Mayuka, though generally simple and sweet, is perfectly able and willing to stand up for herself. Being positively a fan of watching Anime in the original Japanese, I enjoyed the work of one of my favorite actresses, Junko Iwao ( best known as Tomoyo in Cardcaptor Sakura ), as Mayuka. As usual with Japanese series, all the other characters are voiced by their original performers, Ai Orikasa being effective as ever as Ryoko. The characterizations are well-realized: at one point when being accused/questioned, poor Mayuka, though not dumb, childishly sucks her thumb in response!

Once Yuzuha's plot is exposed by the "legendary mad scientist", Professor Washu, things shift gears a bit. The resolution involves a rather violent and bloody battle involving several of the principals within Yuzua's twisted world. In fact, the sub-plot involving possible incestuous behavior, along with the intense fighting makes this a tale best suited to a more mature audience, at least in the teen years. The finale is somewhat sad and touching, destructive of both Yuzuha and Mayuka. You must carefully watch the art accompanying the credits for a happy resolution to this tale! ( This disc also includes a large number of extra features, including the ability to shift from the credits in English to Japanese, which enhances those stills. )

I would be remiss if in this review I failed to mention inclusion of the wonderful "Tenchi Encyclopedia". This interactive feature provides short descriptions of nearly every aspect of the Tenchi Muyo! world, including at least one clip from every Tenchi release up to and including this one. ( Even the Mihoshi Special and Pretty Sammy are represented - only the later Tenchi in Tokyo series and Tenchi Forever movie are excluded. ) So if you are a relative Tenchi novice, here's the opportunity to "bone up"; enthusiasts will enjoy revisiting some of their favorite moments!