Tenchi Forever!
(also known as: Tenchi Muyo In Love II)
(Third Movie)

This is the third and final movie, the 'end' of the Tenchi Universe canon. Oddly, this film seems to be far more cohesive with the Universe series than the Tenchi Muyo In Love first movie- although there is no real space travel involved, and no real battle scenes. I've heard people moan about that, but to me, if you like battles and weapons more than character interaction, go watch Star Wars or something :P Tenchi Muyo is first and foremost a character built plot and this movie exploits that to the max. :)

The title of the movie must get a mention. Tenchi Muyo In Love II is it's original name, which suggests that it is indeed a sequel to Tenchi Muyo In Love (logic, logic!). But it's also known as Tenchi Forever. Is this meant to say - Tenchi Forever! as in "Tenchi rules!"? Or is it meant as something else - as the final answer to who really does 'win' Tenchi 'forever'?. Am I getting too deep now?

If it wasn't obvious in Universe who Tenchi liked better, this movie clears up a lot of those things. Again, much of that is discussed in the character biography/relationships section, so I won't repeat myself here. Tenchi gets fed up with Ayeka and Ryoko arguing and stomps off into the forest, only to get enticed into a tree by the alluring and deceptive Haruna. Haruna is a spirit from his grandfather's past - a young woman he loved and with whom he fled from Jurai, but she died on the journey and never got to live the life they hoped to begin on planet Earth. To compensate, therefore, Haruna takes Tenchi, ages him a few years and sets up her own little make believe world, running it off his Jurai energy and erasing his memories of the past.

There are only two problems with this. One, Tenchi doesn't forget so easily. His thoughts and his sudden artistic flair bring him constantly back to reality, giving him visions of Ryoko which he just has to put down on canvas. The other problem is, of course, that Tenchi's devoted 'harem' are not going to let him go so easily, and with Mihoshi and Kiyone at the Science Academy, Sasami on Jurai, Washu in her lab and Ayeka and Ryoko on the road, he's not likely to stay lost forever. The question is whether they can convince him to come back. Of course, one special someone can - and even her main rival acknowledges it by the end of the film. No need to guess who I mean, huh? Well, if you can't figure it out, go watch the film :D

The main theme of this story in a sense is Ayeka and Ryoko. They're not their usual sparring selves - in fact, they do something which they have done in other series and team up to solve a problem. The difference is that this time they almost seem to become friends over it by the conclusion, as they see for the first time stronger qualities in one another than they thought were there before.

An interesting observation about Tenchi Forever is the fact that Masaki Kajishima is listed among the credits not only as a character director but as an apparent animation consultant for the show - therefore as someone actively involved in the production. Kajishima's involvement could well indicate that he treats the continuation in the way it should be seen - as simply another valid interpretation/timeline that has plenty of valuable information to bestow on the viewer.
 
RATING: 9/10 Make sure you watch the end credits ;)  I'm subtracting a point only because the animation is not as good quality as the earlier series and this is disappointing. However it doesn't really detract from the story, which is powerful in it's many messages and a great -if teasing - conclusion to the Tenchi Universe timeline. (The Ryoko fan in me would really like to see another continuation, but I doubt it will come...!)