Nēju Na Melmas (ネージュ・ナ・メルマス) is a main character in the second half of Tenchi Muyo! GXP. She encounters Seina Yamada and his crew while they're on planet Jurai. Despite her childish appearance, it turns out that Neju is the High Priestess Neju from the planet Melmas and is a very powerful telepath. Now that her time as High Priestess is nearing its end, Neju has enrolled in the Galaxy Academy and becomes a member of the Kamidake's crew, becoming a "little-sister" of sorts to Seina. Eventually, she marries him in a political marriage along with Amane, Kiriko, and Ryoko Balta.
Background
Although she looks like a ten-year-old girl, Neju is actually 500 years old (described as over 2000 in the anime). Neju is an exceptionally powerful telepath, able to control the collective consciousness of many people through mere suggestion. She was raised by the political leaders of her planet, Melmas, as their high priestess and spiritual leader of her planet. However, her powers would strengthen as she grew, so they "age-fixed" her, keeping her her body and emotional maturity stunted. In this way, they could more easily control her for their own purposes.
When introduced in the GXP story, she is still age-fixed but they could not completely control her maturation. She has still become very intelligent and cunning in her own right. And though Melmas has always had powerful telepathic high-priestesses, Neju has proven to be the most powerful ever. Also, after 500 years, her popularity has done nothing but grow and now even the younger members of government are her fans and would support her over the wishes of the old guard. So, the older members are setting up a new priestess and Neju has started to realize they mean to assassinate her so she cannot remain a threat to them. As others learned of her leaving, plans were being made to kidnap and use her for themselves.
Meeting Seina
Neju first met Seina on Jurai, after Seina found out that his ship, the original Kamidake, had suffered fatal damage following a battle with Tarant Shank. She had accompanied Seina, Amane, Kiriko, and Ryoko to the G.P. Academy onboard their new ship, the Kamidake II, presented by Seto... with strict orders from the G.P. not to use their weaponry along the way.
From the first moment she stepped foot on the ship, Neju was almost inseparable from Seina, which caused quite a bit of jealousy between the girls. She was even present when, during a pirate attack, Fuku was hatched.
Confrontation
It was while the girls were monitoring a visit to the ship's holodeck between Seina, Neju, and Fuku that Kiriko discovered the truth. She had seen around Neju’s neck a golden necklace that identified her as the high priestess of Melmas. Armed with this knowledge, the girls went to confront Neju, but were partially paralyzed by her as a show of her powers. But everything was patched-up when Neju gave a little encouragement to Fuku when a major pirate attack was launched by the ship.
When the Kamidake II finally arrived at the G.P. Academy, they learned from Seto that the pirate attack was more than likely an assassination attempt against Neju. She went on to explain that Neju was near the point where she has to select her successor and would soon enter a secular life, which would normally require her to remain on Melmas for five years. But since she would still face death by enemies she gained during her tenure, it was decided that Neju should enter the G.P. Academy as a student.
Neju had warned the girls not to tell Seina who she really was until the mission was complete, and after it was, she told Seina that she plans on marrying him, "when she grows up."
Neju on Earth
During a brief stopover on Earth - after again confronting Shank, the Kamidake II crew was surprised that Neju had shown up at Seina's new home (built from the interest accrued from an account of his pay and sent to his family - which was equal to a fleet admiral's). She had a body double stand-in for her so that she could travel to Earth, mostly to find out about Seina's life on Earth.
Neju even helped out Amane, Kiriko, and Ryoko at the Yamada’s new supermarket while Seina and Fuku visited Tenchi, mainly to talk to Washu about Fuku's origins. They had to leave Earth in a hurry when the Daluma guild launched their "Good Luck" fleet as a counter to Seina's bad luck.
A life with Seina
Like Amane, Kiriko and Ryoko, Neju was engaged to wed Seina in a political marriage after the defeat of a rogue faction of the Galaxy Army (aided by Shank). However, before the ceremony could begin, Seto's ladies-in-waiting, who were actually agents of the Renza Federation seeking to use Seina's abilities to rid their home from marauding pirates, kidnapped Seina into their small ship and began to molest him in a public broadcast to ensure their non-Galactic Union organization's survival. As a result, the four are apparently included in the marriage, or at least the crew of the Kamidake II.
Abilities
Neju, as the high priestess of Melnas, possessed enormous psionic power, easily able to paralyze Ryoko, Amane, and Kiriko when they tried to confront her about her true identity. The full extent of her power is never revealed, but she was considered one of the most powerful high priestesses in the history of her nation.
Once she stopped being high priestess, her age-fix was removed and she started to mature emotionally and physically again. Her powers also continue to grow now. Her telepathic ability slowly becoming more than "suggestion" to become something more like brain-washing.
Trivia
- In episode 14, "Neju Who?", Seto says that Neju is over 3000-years-old; where-as, in episode 16, "Homecoming", Amane says that Neju is 2000-years-old.
- The Melmas emblem that Neju habitually wears as a necklace, a winged two-headed serpent, resembles the symbol that Kagato uses, of two snakes ensnaring a bird.
- Neju attempted to teach Kenshi how to resist suggestion and methods of brainwashing or mind control... with very poor results.
- Though may have helped when Babalun tried to activate the safeguard codes embedded in Artificial Humans that he inherited from his mother, although, more precisely, said-safeguards are actually featured within those with Core Crystals, which Kenshi doesn't have (his mother, Rea, is still in-possession of hers).