Not-so-ordinary, you ask, in what way?

Well, for starters, we have Ryoko, who is an ex-space pirate/Demon responsible for the decimation of countless colonies and worlds. Ryoko is a demon caller and her name verifies that. Ryo meaning Demon and ko meaning call. She has numerous powers including the ability to fly, teleport, call demons, form an energy sword, heal herself, and shoot energy beams. She was "created" by Washu and her assistant Kagato. Washu feels that Ryoko is her daughter and even has a telepathic link with her. Kagato stole Ryoko and convinced her she had no mother, that she was worthless, and made her do horrible things that she had no control of. 700 years ago, Ryoko wreaked havok until Yosho sealed her in a tomb and lay her to rest in a cave near the shrine. One day Tenchi unlocked Ryoko, wondering if the mythes about the locked up Oni were true. They were, and little did he know, that Ryoko had actually watched him grow from a little boy, alway watching him in her astral form. She grew to love him and now has no intention of keeping that a secret as she constantly tries to seduce him.

Then there is Aeka, the First Princess of Jurai who spends 700 years beauty-sleeping just so she can travel through lightyears worth of space to search for her missing big brother and "fiance" Yosho, the crown prince of Jurai. Sister to Sasami, and daughter to Azusa (Emperor of Jurai) and Masaki (co-emperess of Jurai) and stepdaughter to Funaho (co-emperess of Jurai) (he's got two wives...whatever). Aeka is in constant rivelry with Ryoko to win Tenchi's heart.

Sasami is Aeka's playful and irresistably cute little sister. She brings a sense of mischief and authority to the group. She ends up being the house cook as well helping with chores and spending time with the other housemates. She is bound to the Goddess Tsunami, however, and will eventually become one with her. This frightens her terribly and adds drama to the young girls part. As a small child, around 3 years old, she was lost in the palace during one of Ryoko's attacks. A large explosion made her fall from her perch atop a tall tree-type thing, making her fall to her death. But luckily, the Goddess Tsunami saved her by merging their souls (that's where that mark on her forehead comes from).

Mihoshi: a clumsy but lovable galactic policewoman whose incredible luck can seem to overcome all odds and obstacles. She is the basic blonde ditz who happens to be the Commisioner of The GP's granddaughter. Her unfortunate partner Kiyone, is eternally plagued by the curse that is her partner. Kiyone is constantly trying to get away from Mihoshi or trying to trade her in for a new partner.

Of course, who could forget the lovable Washu, the cutest "mad" scientist in this corner of the universe with the capability to create anything she can dream up. Among her inventions are mechanical dolls that only compliment her on all she does, dimensional vortexes, and a molecular teleporter. Washu has a complicated past. Once a Goddess, sister to Tokimi and Tsunami, Washu wanted nothing more than to understand mortality and humankind. Well, she got banished from the realm of Gods/Goddesses, and her memories erased. She bacame a student and eventually teacher at The Space Academy and fell in love with one of her classmates. They got married and had a child, a little boy. But he was of higher class then she was. Much higher class. (if only they all knew...) Ironic if you ask me. And her husband and child were taken mercessly away from her. So she hooked up with Kagato, who helped her make her own little girl Ryoko and her pet cabbit Ryo-ohki by using her own egg cell along with a life form called Mass (Masu) located galaxies away. Washu would have her goddess powers, but she gave them to Ryoko in the from of three gems that Ryoko wears on her wrists and neck (though Tenchi has one and won't give it back). From there, Kagato stole Ryoko and locked Washu in a crystal where she slep for 1500 years, watching thourgh her mind link with Ryoko what was happening to her. The crystal was in an alternate mirror dimension on the Souja, Washu's ship, which Kagato also stole. Mihoshi eventually found her and, unknowingly, released her.

Last but not least, we have Ryo-oh-ki -- an ultra-cute fluffy cuddly little cabbit that can transform into a menacing hard-shelled not-so-huggable giant space ship capable of demolishing worlds. She hang around Sasami alot, and absoluteley LOVES carrots. She can transform into a small girl at times, so she is actually three different beings.

Wow, that's quite a handful of bizarre characters, you say.

Well, there are more.

Really? What other characters are there?

Well, there are many minor characters, lets start with Mayuka. Mayuka is Tenchi's daughter. Well, actually she just showed up one day, stating she was his daughter. And she was! But also an expiriment, conducted by Yuzuha. She appeared in the movie Manatsu No Eve. She was sent to harm Tenchi, but ended up dying because she couldn't. Washu, the little genius, reformatted her molecular structure (made a clone, I guess), and from then on they had a baby Mayuka around the house that Ryoko likes to take care of. (BTW, Mayuka is the blue haired one grabbing Tenchi in the top picture)

There's also Tenchi's Grandfather Yosho, or as earthlings call him, Katsuhito. Yosho was either banished from Jurai, or left on his own to journey to Earth (depends on the series). Yosho trains Tenchi in the martial arts, and has a deep knowledge of things. He always seems to know a little more than he should at times. He is really Ayeka's brother/Fiancee, and lives in a small house next to the Masaki shrine a little bit aways from Tenchi and his father's house. Oh yes, Tenchi's father, Nobuyuki. He's always so proud of Tenchi whenever it looks like he was "with" one of the girls. And his personality, well, he is, how do I say this nicely...well I can't. He's a pervert. But a really nice guy too. He was married to Achika, (Or Kiyone, in the OVA) Tenchi's deceased mother. They met in High School and fell in love from there. Nobuyuki actually designed the beautiful house they all live in now.

Here's one we all hate, well at least I do. Sakuya. During Tenchi In Tokyo, Sakuya stole Tenchi's heart, leaving the other girls in despair. Though Sakuya is not even real. O_O She is a shadow of Yugi, a'little girl' that is trying to break apart the bond between Tenchi and the girls. Yugi's physical form is a litle girl that befriends Sasami and keeps her from getting hurt, though her astral form is an evil little girl that was locked up in a capsule and sent to Earth. From there, an earthquake jarred her loose and that's where she started her reign of, misheif, I guess it was, with her assistants Hotsuma, Tsugaru, and some other person that I'm too lazy to recall the name of. She is now sleeping peacefully, in another capsule thing next to the Masaki house, where Sasami visits frequently to tell Yugi's sleeping form the day's events. BTW, Sakuya kinda died, or just, vanished.

Azaka and Kamidake. They would be Princess Aeka's personal gaurds from Jurai. They are, well, they're logs. Big logs that talk through a gem on their front. Though they can transform into humanoids when they want, or need to be, they protect Aeka and now everyone in the house by standing guard everyday at the entrance of the Masaki property.

Nagi is well, I don't really know if she's a good guy or a bad guy. She wants Ryoko's head, and has for many years. But she's actually a pleasent person. She likes Sasami, and when she had the chance to kill Ryoko, she didn't take the advantage that Ryoko was hurt at the time. She is a bounty hunter with her own Cabbit, Ken-ohki that seems to love playing with Ryo-ohki. Nagi's origens are unknown to me, so if you have any info on this character, don't hesitate to share. ^_^

Kagato. He was Washu's partner in science and some suspect lover at one point, but he locked Washu in a capsule for hundreds of years anbd did unmentionable things to Ryoko. In one of the episodes of Tenchi Muyo! Kagato came back to claim Ryoko, and Tenchi summoned up the Light Hawk Wings and destroyed him. Actually quite a big thing for the show.

Washu's rival, Dr. Clay, is an ugly old man that always stole Washu's inventions and data during their science academy years. He is searching for Washu and wants to get rid of Tenchi for some reason.

Zero isn't really a character, she/it appeared in one episode. An invention of Dr. Clay's, Zero trapped Ryoko in a gooey mass and assumed her form. Sent to kill Tenchi, Zero found she could not because she was a machine that also magnified a person's emotions, so whenever she came near Tenchi, in Ryoko's form, Ryoko's feelings for Tenchi would stop her from doing it and she would freeze up and blush. Washu trapped Zero and Ryoko in a machine and they merged, making Ryoko much more aware of her feelings and emotions.

Tsunami is a goddess that takes the form of a tree, or basicly her spirit is within the tree or something. She is the youngest sister of the three goddesses. Washu being the middle, and Tokimi being the eldest. She will eventually merge with Sasami, while in the mean time, Sasami can talk to her through a telepathic link. Tokimi is the eldest of the three and is the Goddess of Dark, Evil, Death, however you see it. She is not necessarily an evil herself, she is simply one side of a YinYan (Tsunami being the other). She does what must be done, such as nightfall, death, pain, and suffering. These things are inevitable and must be controlled by someone, so why not her?

Achika is Tenchi's mother who died during the winter when he was a small child. Her grave rests in the family shrine. She is Katsuhito's only daughter and inherited the use of Jurian powers though didn't know it. You can learn alot about her in the first movie Tenchi Muyo In Love! Tenchi's other mother, Kiyone, is in the OVA series. Ther's not a lot known about her except that she's dead :P. Tennyo is Tenchi's sister in the OVA series. She looks remarkably like Kiyone and even stood in for her when Tenchi was a baby. She makes her appearance in the new Tenchi OVA series (#3).

Cool! What, there's more? But of course! However, if you want to know who they are or explore any of the characters above in greater detail, you will have to watch the anime! Tenchi Muyo! is simply much too complex to be explained properly with only words! ^_^

But Some People Do a Damn Good Job of it!
NOTE: Put links here.

Q: Are there any significant differences between the OVA and the first TV series?
A: Plenty. The major variations are:

• Ryoko is not under Kagato's control, she is a malicious space pirate of her own choosing. Ryoko also has no direct ties to Washu-chan. She is being saught after by the powerful bounty hunter Nagi.
• Aeka was not looking for Yosho when her ship stumbles into Terran space, instead she is searching for a marital partner to succeed the Juraian throne.
• Sasami doesn't come to Earth on Aeka's ship, she has a space ship of her own (no, it isn't Tsunami either, just a normal Juraian space ship). Apparently, Sasami has no relation to Tsunami, except that Tsunami is Sasami's physical adult form.
• Mihoshi is just a normal 1st-class Galaxy Police, she doesn't have a relative in the upper ranks of GP.
• Washu is now a genuine mad scientist. She was expelled out of the Space Academy and sent to Earth for her destructive inventions.
• Kiyone finally gets her big break -- she is now one of the major characters in the story. Unfortunately, she is still stuck with Mihoshi.
• Tenchi drops major hints as to who he likes the most throughout the TV series. Kinda annoying if his personal favorite doesn't match up with yours.
• Nobuyuki takes on a more prominent role, as do Azaka and Kamidake.
• The Three Goddesses setting is eliminated from the TV series. In fact, Tsunami and Tokimi don't show up in the first TV series at all. Tsunami only appears in the TM TV videogame, titled Tenchi Muyo! No Need to Attend School!

Q: How do the two TV series compare to the original OVAs?
A: I haven't found a person with a different opinion -- just about everyone who've watched both series agree that the TV series aren't up to par to the OVAs. Some argue it's the artwork and the lack of animation, some say it's the storyline and the characters, while others claim that the poor sound effects and improper application of BGM ruined the TV series. Whatever it is, most Tenchi fans still admit to enjoy the TV series in spite of its faults... perhaps the standards which the OVAs had set were too high? ^_-

Q: I hear talk of three Tenchi movies out there -- which series are they based on and what are they about?
A:Tenchi Muyo! in LOVE is based on the first TV series, a direct continuation to the epilogue of that show. Its premiere showing took place in Japan on April 20, 1996 and both its Japanese and North American LD release took place on August 25, 1996. The NA version featured the English dubbing in stereo and the original voice in mono. As for what the story is about -- let's just say it has something to do with Tenchi's deceased mother Achika and time.

The second movie, entitled Tenchi Muyo! Manatsu no Eve, is loosely based on the OVA series. The story focuses on Tenchi's daughter Mayuka, and the mysterious character Yuzuha, whose past relationship with Yosho leads to her involvement with the Tenchi family. The movie was released in Japan summer 97 by Kadokawa. Both Japanese and English LDs and videos are now available.

And the third movie Tenchi Forever! is, I beleive, based loosly on the entire show, as in, all the series. It has a major role for each character. This one involves Haruna. Yosho's fiance from the past that died on their way to Earth. She now "lives" in a tree. One day, Tenchi was trying to get away from the girls and stumbles upon the tree. He gets pulled into Haruna's universe and monthes pass as he forgets everything from his previous life. Don't worry, a special "someone" saves him. (You'll have to guess ^_^) The movie is now available on DVD and VHS by Pioneer films.