Tenchi's Godhood

Kamiki Takeshi Jurai · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:59 am

I go visit Oyasumi and the others over on their new board, and one thing that has confused me are comments that Tenchi being a God in the OAV is a surprise to them, that his acension to a higher-dimensional entity in OAV3 was pulled out of no-where.

Now, I can understand if they didn't have access to the various manga and behind the scenes notes I've been able to get, largely due to the people at the AFC, that his nature as an 11+D entity would be a surprise. But it always seemed clear to me that his power levels were off the charts even just watching the first two OAVs. Consider:

The first time he explicitly uses his power was in episode 6, against Kagato. He creates Koh-oh-Yoku to defend himself and manipulates matter and energy. He creates two swords, his armour, heals himself after Kagato's strike and kills Kagato. Even Washu, with 15'000 years of study and knowledge behind her is impressed by him.

Now, his material conversion is mostly covered off-screen, but the Koh-oh-Yoku are, if I recall correctly, called "The Aura of God" by Aeka. The simple fact that Tenchi can create it by himself is an indication of serious power.

It is possible to argue that he was drawing on Tsunami's power in some way at this point, given the fact he was able to teleport into the Soja's Chapel, and Kagato's final words in the dub. However, Tsunami's ability to aid him was limited by Sasami, and at the end of OAV2 she was still on Earth.

And this is the next time he acts. The half of the ship he, Aeka and Mihoshi was on was torn apart, Aeka's shield failed and the three of them was subjected to time dialation. Then Tenchi moves. He transports himself and the other two out of the black hole by his power. According to Clay's own sensors this is accomplished by altering the Gravitational Constant. As I put it in another thread, Tenchi has made one of the fundamental forces of reality his bitch.

To put it simply, the Gravitational Constant is a determaning factor that dictates how matter interacts. If it was even slightly different, the universe as we know it could not exist. And Tenchi causes it to flux without any obvious effort.

Now, given all that I've said above, was it really that obscure that Tenchi would be something incredible?

Zigra · **Joined:** Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:31 pm **Posts:** 131

Anybody who believes that Tenchi's godhood "came out of nowhere" simply wasn't paying attention to the previous OAVs. As you said, Kamiki, Tenchi reversed the gravitational constant of a black hole, the most powerful force known to science. Not to mention his level of power was a surprise to a god-like being like D3.

And the arguement that Tenchi was using Tsunami's power was shot down by Washu in episode 10. She stated very clearly that Tenchi was cut off from Tsunami when he fought Kagato, and that his power had to have come from himself and himself alone.

Kamiki Takeshi Jurai · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:34 pm

That's a good point, I'd forgotten about that. What was confusing me was that Tenchi somehow managed to pop straight into the Chapel from Tsunami. Except for his foot, obviously.

But am I right in thinking that Tsunami was unable to do anything more to aid him once Kagato was able to draw upon all of Washu's Gems?

wolfstemple · **Joined:** Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:35 pm **Posts:** 54

I'm pretty sure Tenchi being more than meets the eye was the major purpose of the two Kagato episodes.

Tha Prime Legend Champion · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2010 3:22 pm

Honestly, in my opinion, even with everything that's been pointed out here I can see exactly where they're coming from. And it goes right into what I've been saying about the sudden over-presentation of powers that you see in OVA 3, where about six or seven characters are out of nowhere capable of destroying entire worlds in one casual motion.

I agree that there being more to Tenchi than meets… well… even his own eye, is the entire point of any fights he's been in in the original OVAs. In particular, the first thing I take note of when considering his incredible abilities is the fact that he generates Lighthawk Wings… and then it's explicitly stated that he's the only non-ship entity to ever do it. So you know he's got to be somewhere along the lines of "most powerful being in the universe" on some level or another. But the fact of the matter is, this was always presented in an implied fashion or in a way that signified overcoming, withstanding, or even reversing any damage done. And if he ever inflicted any offense, the fact of the matter is it was never presented in a way that was even equivalent to Dragon Ball explosive.

Yet all of a sudden, in OVA 3, what he is the most powerful amongst is essentially repackaged as several characters that can just casually destroy everything at will, which is a problem when you combine it with the fact that there's more emphasis on this and on than what the actual characters themselves are all about. Proof of problem: it's not really all that rare anymore to find fans who actually see at least some of these characters as ultimately beyond reproach solely because of that power! Also, suddenly Tenchi Muyo's been inserted into ensemble darkhorse first place mode in all "who would win cross-anime battles" out of nowhere as a result of this. It's like the presentation of being the most powerful anime universe of all time and being more bang-up than Dragon Ball ever was, suddenly became one of the most important things on the staff's mind, second only not to the spirit of the program itself, but to this universe's expansion.

So this is where I'm thinking it was felt that the whole godhood thing came out of nowhere - by having characters suddenly able to kill and/or remake everything in five seconds flat, the incredible power of Tenchi was essentially transformed by packaging into a part of everything that not only actually did come out of nowhere, but completely subjugated the personalities many Tenchi fans have come to love in the process. If that were toned down to some extent or the characters were still more important than that, then maybe Tenchi's godhood wouldn't be treated as something so sudden. I know, this is practically guilt by association here. But I'd still like to think that it's something of a valid point.

Kamiki Takeshi Jurai · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2010 4:48 pm

Well, aside from the fact that there are only four characters in the OAV capable of 'destroying everything', the fact is that since everyone is hugely powered, having huge power becomes meaningless, so what makes the characters special are the personalities.

But still, this is the sort of thing I want to understand, so carry on.

Zigra · **Joined:** Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:31 pm **Posts:** 131

Prime Legend Champion: So, you don't think there was anything explosive or god-like about Tenchi reversing the power of a black hole?

Tha Prime Legend Champion · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:26 am

Zigra · **Joined:** Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:31 pm **Posts:** 131

Zigra · **Joined:** Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:31 pm **Posts:** 131

Furthermore, I'd like to add that many people at both the Ayeka Fan Club forum and the old AIC forum were able to figure out not only is Tenchi a god, but that he would likely turn out to be more powerful than the Chousin. And they did it long before OAV 3 came out. So, maybe the truth of Tenchi's godhood wasn't as vague or "out of left field" as some people are now saying.

Jibril · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2010 7:13 am

Kamiki Takeshi Jurai · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2010 7:15 am

Wasn't it Tokimi that was moving the galaxy around?

Jibril · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2010 7:26 am

Jibril · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2010 7:44 am

Zigra · **Joined:** Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:31 pm **Posts:** 131

Tenchi's Godhood

Who is online