For people entering into the Tenchi Muyo! franchise, there are so many Tenchi titles that it can be quite confusing to know what goes where. As such, this page has been created to help clarify the confusion.
Kajishima Universe
The Kajishima Universe is referred to by some fans as the Ryo-ohki Universe, or as the canon Tenchi continuity. The use of the term "canon" is not meant to deride any of the other continuities. It is used to denote that this was the original continuity, as created by Kajishima-sensei, which is still being continued to this day.
Here are a list of the titles in the Kajishima Universe.
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA 1 -- Contains the first six episodes of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki. This is currently sold in America as Tenchi Muyo: OVA Series.
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki Night Before Carnival -- This was a single episode, produced after OVA 1. It still uses the OP/ED theme music of OVA 1. This is included in the Tenchi Muyo: OVA Series blu-ray collection.
- 101 Mysteries of Tenchi Muyo! -- Currently not licensed in English. Kajishima-sensei answers 101 questions about the first seven episodes.
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA 2 -- Contains six episodes of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki. These episodes are included in the Tenchi Muyo: OVA Series blu-ray collection.
- Various Kajishima Doujinshi -- Since the 90s, Kajishima-sensei has been creating doujinshi works, which are considered canon. However, there is a caveat in that Kajishima-sensei has stated that official works can trump his doujinshi. There are too many doujinshi titles to name. They all cover various aspects of the Kajishima Universe, usually with Tenchi (Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki), Seina (GXP), or Kenshi (War on Geminar). Of late, Kajishima-sensei is created two doujin works per Comiket in Japan.
- True Tenchi Muyo! Volume 1: Jurai -- This is the first of the True Tenchi Muyo! novel trilogy. It picks up where OVA 2 left off, then goes back in time to explore Emperor Azusa's life, starting as a kid who was not even a member of House Masaki. Currently published in English by Seven Seas.
- True Tenchi Muyo! Volume 2: Yosho -- This novel covers the life of First Prince Yosho, from his childhood on Jurai to his time at Galaxy Academy. Currently published in English by Seven Seas.
- True Tenchi Muyo! Volume 3: Washu -- This novel covers Washu's life as an orphaned teen who's accepted to the Imperial Academy. Currently published in English by Seven Seas.
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA 3 -- This anime series contains another six episodes of of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki. Although it comes before the GXP anime in continuity, it was actually produced and aired prior to GXP. This is sold in English as part of the Tenchi Muyo Ryo Ohki box set.
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA 3+1 -- This was an extra episode created after the success of OVA 3. It is sold in English as part of the Tenchi Muyo Ryo Ohki box set.
- Tenchi Muyo! GXP -- This was a 26 episode TV anime series, dealing with Tenchi's young, unlucky neighbor, Seina. This is the first of the canon spinoff titles, taking place some time after the events of OVA 3 +1. However, Kajishima-sensei was rumored to be very unhappy with the liberties taken with his story by series director Nabeshin. As such, Kajishima-sensei started writing GXP novels to "fix" things. As such, the GXP anime series is only considered partially canon. The anime can be purchased in English under the Tenchi Muyo! GXP title.
- Tenchi Muyo GXP (light novels) -- This is an ongoing series of light novels (16 as of 29-December-2018), written by Kajishima-sensei. The story elements in the light novels trump whatever story elements are in the GXP anime in terms of what is canon and what isn't. Currently, this is not licensed in English.
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA 4 -- This anime contained only four episodes of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki.. It covers what happened prior to Nobuyuki and Rea's wedding in OVA 3+1 as well as the wedding itself. The series ends with Kenshi's birth and the reason Jurai and the Masaki family on Earth agreed to send Kenshi to Geminar. This anime was produced after War on Geminar.
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA 5 -- Very few details are out about this series. It has been revealed that it will be six episodes long. It is supposed to take place prior to War on Geminar.
- Tenchi Muyo! War on Geminar -- This is another canon spinoff anime series. It is believed that the series was originally designed to be a 26 episode TV series, but then this was later changed to 13 OVA episodes. The series covers Tenchi's half-brother, Kenshi, after he was sent to the planet Geminar. The series is licensed in English.
It should also be noted that Kajishima-sensei has stated that all of his creations are linked at the corner. As such, anime titles such as Photon, Spaceship Agga Ruter (hentai), Masquerade (hentai), and Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure are part of Kajishima-sensei's greater multi-verse.
Hasegawa Universe
Hasegawa-sensei was the scriptwriter for OVA 1. When she left the project, she went on to write a series of popular spin-off novels, She also created the popular character Kiyone Makibi. The Hasegawa Universe continuity is the only one to directly branch off from the Kajishima Universe continuity.
Here are the titles contained within the Hasegawa Universe.
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA 1 -- Contains the first six episodes of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki. This is currently sold in America as Tenchi Muyo: OVA Series.
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki Night Before Carnival -- This was a single episode, produced after OVA 1. It still uses the OP/ED theme music of OVA 1. This is included in the Tenchi Muyo: OVA Series blu-ray collection.
- Light Novels -- Hasegawa-sensei wrote twelve popular light novels depicting her vision of Tenchi and company. These are currently unlicensed in English.
- Tenchi Muyo! Daughter of Darkness -- This is a movie appears to take place prior to volume 12 of the light novels. The movie character Mayuka appears as an infant in volume 12 (Yume no Katachi) of the light novel. This movie is available to English audiences under the Tenchi Muyo!: Movie Collection set.
Negishi Universe
The Negishi Universe continuity is sometimes referred to as the Tenchi Universe continuity. Negishi-san was the writer and director of Tenchi Universe.
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Core
- OVA: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki: The pure OVA storyline. 1992 to the present.
- K: Novels and doujinshi largely written by Mr. Kajishima.
- Manga: The No Need For Tenchi manga written by Okuda Hitoshi.
- Comic: American comicbook run by Pioneer.
- MNE: Tenchi Muyo - Manatsu no Eve
- Magical Girl Pretty Sammy. This includes Ryo-Ohki music videos, Magical Girl Pretty Sammy & Call Me Princess.
- The Tenchi Universe series, including Tenchi Muyo! in Love and Tenchi Forever!
- Tenchi in Tokyo
Derivative Cores
- Ai Tenchi Muyo
- OVA + K: The entire OVA series, combined with the novels, doujinshi, and published articles, mostly written by Mr. Kajishima.
- OVA + MNE: The original OVA 1+2 storyline plus Hasegawa's novels + MNE.
- OVA + Manga: OVA 1+2 plus the manga.