| Subsection 3: Tenchi Muyo! GXP | |
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| What is Tenchi Muyo! GXP? | |
| Tenchi Muyo! GXP (henceforth referred to as "GXP") is a new sci-fi anime television series created by AIC. It is designed by Masaki Kajishima and takes place in the same universe as the Tenchi OAVs. The time period of GXP takes place approximately a year after the events of the third OAV will have finished. HOWEVER, the story is not about Tenchi or the other major characters in the OAVs–it is a separate story, although we will see links between the two series. GXP began airing in Japan on April 2, 2001 and was shown every Tuesday night on NTV at 11:55p.m until it completed. | |
| When will we get to see GXP in America/Anywhere else? | |
| The series has completed its release in America. The English distributor for GXP is FUNimation. Check out their GXP website, tenchimuyogxp.com. | |
| How many R1 DVD's are there going to be for the GXP series? | |
| Unfortunately, there are going to be eight in total. The first DVD will contain five episodes and the other seven DVD's will only contain three episodes each.
Update: The initial release from FUNimation was eight seperate DVD's. The series has since been re-released and while still on eight DVD's, they've been compressed to four cases and sold at a cheaper price. The one on the left is the original and on the right, the re-release.
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| Why is FUNimation spreading the series over eight DVD's? | |
| Costs. It is almost certain that FUNimation paid a very high price to obtain the rights to GXP. Since they have to recover their costs while trying to be somewhat competitive in the DVD market, it was decided that the first DVD would contain five episodes, but the remaining DVD's would only contain three episodes. From a fan's perspective, this stinks due to the added expense plus the additional space more DVD's take on the shelf. From a business perspective, FUNimation had no choice if they wanted to make money off the title. | |
| I heard there are two versions of GXP in Japan. Which version did FUNimation license? | |
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It is true that there were two versions in Japan. The initial
version was for TV. However for the video/DVD release, since GXP
was done digitally, it was decided to add nudity to the series by
removing the girl's towel in the bath (for example). Also, some
crowd scenes were considered too sparse in the TV version and so more
people were digitally added. None of the modifications effected
the story in any way. That said, FUNimation licensed the video/DVD version of the series and not the TV version. |
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| What is GXP about? | |
| GXP is about a 15-year-old boy named Seina Yamada, a younger classmate of Tenchi's. Given a GP pamphlet by the character Amane, he ends up being recruited by the GP and goes on adventures through space, dealing with space pirates and some of the tricky royals of Jurai! TigerCow's site has synopsis of all of the episodes complete with screencaptures. | |
| Who are the main characters in GXP? | |
| Seina Yamada: the central character, a young boy who is recruited into the Galaxy Police. He doesn't seem to have any powers except that incredibly bad luck happens whenever he is around. | |
| Amane Kaunaq: A second-class detective in the GP, a friend of Mihoshi's who is somewhat reckless. She's the one with the short blonde hair. She has a crush on Seina and is therefore rivals with... | |
| Kiriko Masaki: A 33-year old personnel officer in the GP who has known Seina since childhood and seems to be rather smitten with him. Note, "Masaki" is spelled with different kanji than the way it is spelled in Tenchi's name, so her last name may not indicate she is related to him or the Jurai royal clan. She's the girl with the long brown hair. | |
| Mitoto Kuramitsu: Mihoshi's mother (she sure looks the part!) and a cleaning woman at the Galaxy Police. She is motherly and kind and has the ability to pass through any security system unchecked as well as traverse across the galaxy without the benifit of a spaceship. Her Japanese seiyuu is the same as Mihoshi's -- Yuko Mizutani. | |
| Ryoko Balta (or Baruta): A young member of the Space Pirates' Guild who named herself after the infamous pirate Ryoko who attacked Jurai over 700 years ago. While a skilled pirate, Ryoko Balta also seems to enjoy the arts of tea making and flower arranging. She of course will also try to get in on some Seina action. She's the girl with the black hair and with the green triangles over her eyebrows. | |
| Other characters: Seto, mother of Queen Misaki of Jurai (pale green curly hair), and Airi Magma, a former lover of Yosho's (dark green hair pulled back in a bun) and his current wife, both have important roles in GXP. Both of these characters appeared in the True Tenchi novels. Also Seiryo, the pink-haired fop who was once a suitor to Princess Ayeka; Fuku, a young cabbit; and Neeju, a mysterious girl. | |
| If you want more character information (full of SPOILERS), TigerCow's site is the place to go | |
| Hasn't FUNimation made a mistranslation with "Da Ruma" (or even worse "Da Luma")? It seems like they're trying to say "daruma" which are the "tumbling dolls" (for lack of a better term) that we see in Japan. | |
| Actually, it's another name for "Buddha", which fits very well with a short, chubby character that is always seen sitting (except when hanging from the ceiling). | |
| Why does FUNimation have two separate spellings for Neju? Which is right? | |
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Well, that's the million dollar question. Sharp-eyed people noticed that
for the English dub version, FUNimation used "Neju" as the official spelling of
that character's name. However in the Japanese Subtitles,
FUNimation spelled the name as "Neige". Now fans had often spelled her
name as Neju or Neeju. In fact, the Romaji for the priestess' name is
"Neeju." So where'd FUNimation get "Neige" from?
Well Mato, official FUNimation translator for GXP, has the answer. |
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| Anyway, to answer the question more definitively, I don't know what the intended spelling for her name was meant to be, or even if there was one. I only went by the materials I had, which I don't know where they came from. But it said Neige so I used Neige. I guess later on someone decided to use Neeju. Both are OK, but to be honest, I think Neige looks better. | |
| So there you have it. Thanks Mato! | |
| Wait! What do you mean, GXP isn't about Tenchi?! Are we going to get to see ANY of our favorite characters from Tenchi Muyo!? | |
| GXP is not about Tenchi. There are some cameo appearances from some TM! characters throughout the series, and we get a good, if brief-ish, look at life at Masaki house (i.e. Tenchi and the girls) in episode 17 when Seina goes to visit his sempai. So while this isn't about Tenchi, there are several fascinating things explored about the Ryo-ohki universe. | |
| Is Seina Tenchi's cousin? | |
| No. Seina knows Tenchi and calls him "Tenchi-senpai", which is appropriate. Other than that, no indications have been made to suggest Tenchi and Seina are related, even distantly.
We have further confirmation from two different sources. |
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Tenchi-Web English GXP website: A year after the end of the last Tenchi Muyo! OVA 3rd series, which played in the main Tenchi universe, a young boy who has nothing to do with the Jurai royal family flies into space and opens the curtain of new stage. Kajishima interview: I simply want it become an adventure comedy. The leading male character in Galaxy Police is a young male human being named "Seina". He is involved in many things as Tenchi. A girl who is the best friend of Tenchi's relative misunderstand Seina as one of Masaki Family's member and ask him to join GP. That is where the GP story starts. |
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| Was the cause of Seina's bad luck ever explained? Likewise, why did the presence of Amane, Kiriko, Ryoko, and Neeju make that good luck, as Washu determined? | |
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This is kind of a play on Japanese superstition. Four is an unlucky
number and you will never see the original character for it in normal
circumstances... as it also means death. Seina is unlucky guy, so four
girls is quite fitting for him. Also, it is possible that Seina is the product of the Choushin experiments to create anomalies. |
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| What was in the original package that Amane was delivering to Tenchi when she almost killed Seina? | |
| Officially, we don't know. However, True Sheol had the following thoughts on the matter: | |
| It's the same size as the GP application Amane just 'happened' to have with her. My guess is that Airi sent Tenchi an application for the Galaxy Academy. Another interesting question is how and why Amane pulled a mission to deliver a package to the biggest secret in the galaxy? Was she originally planning on giving that GP application to Tenchi? Perhaps it's lucky for her that she didn't. | |
| The symbol that the GP students were branded with for being out after curfew was censored out - do you know what it was? | |
| The censor mosaic was used in the original Japanese version (and on the Japanese DVD) and was done as a joke. The idea is to have the audience imagine what horrible thing the boys were branded with that would cause everyone to shun them. | |
| What I don't get is in OAV episode 13 Washu said she wouldn't make another Ryo-ohki, why was Fuku created then? | |
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Washuu said that she won't help anyone, but that doesn't apply to
Tenchi. When Tenchi found out that Seina was in the GP, he became
worried. So, Washuu created Fuku to help Seina for Tenchi's benefit. This is what Kajishima-sensei had to say on the matter: |
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| The Kamidake [II] was ultimately given only to Seina himself, so Jurai was only keeping the ship's hull, brought there by Ryo-Oh-Ki, in custody. | |
| Minaho seems to be one of the people attending to Seto, but who is the male attendant? Is the the same person who was "training" Seina for his duel with Seiryo? | |
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That male would be Kanemitsu Hirata, Yosho's best friend from their days
at Galaxy Academy. We believe that Hirata comes from a family of
bodyguards and this is how he ended up in Seto-sama's service. The
Oni-hime of Jurai does not need a bodyguard, but she was keeping an eye
on him because he was Yosho's friend from the Academy.
He is indeed the person assigned to train Seina for his duel. Hirata's fighting skills is why Seto ostensibly tasked him to 'prepare' Seina for the duel. In reality, I think that Seto was making sure that Seina kept safe for the duel. Hirata is also currently serving as the Naval commander of the 7th Juraian Armada while his wife, the normal commander and the woman that Seto-sama set him up with, is on maternity leave. |
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| How did Tarant know to call Fuku's clones "Ryo-Ohki-types" if Ryo-Ohki only gained her cabbit form after crashing on Earth? | |
| Tarant is a member of the Shank guild of pirates, which has a widespread spy network (even reaching Jurai). Also, remember that elements of the Galaxy Army were conspiring with the Shank guild. So, the Shank guild (and thus Tarant) would have access to what the GP learned about Fuku from the time that she was given to Seina. After all, Seina and the girls must have had to send reports back to GP HQ. | |
| Are GXP's Tarant Shiunk and Shiunk from Agga Ruter (*) blood relations? | |
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From K-sensei: There is no direct relationship,
but please think of them as related. (*)Spaceship Agga Ruter is one of K-sensei's hentai anime titles (incomplete). |
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| When the girls first realize who Neeju (Neige) is, they mention that she's older than all of them. If that's the case, why is it that her body will mature (at an apparently normal rate) so she'll look like an adult in fifteen years? | |
| That's because while she had her priestess job, her aging process was stopped. Once she was no longer a priestess, her normal aging was resumed. | |
| What is with that giant mecha 'god' that Seina uses? | |
| This is where GXP links with Dual!. While the mecha in GXP is not named, it appears and acts very much like Zinv from Dual!. | |
| Why did the 1st-gen seed bond with Seina? Shouldn't he be Juraian in order to bond with a Royal Tree? | |
| Royal Tree's bond with whom they will, Juraian or no. Remember, this seed was originally given to a precursor civilization and they weren't Juraian. Also, Seto-sama is an adopted member of House Kamiki and not a Juraian by birth, yet she is bonded to a 2nd-gen tree. | |
| How does Seina being bonded with a 1st-gen tree seed make him 3rd in line for the throne of Jurai especially if he's not Juraian? | |
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There are four royal houses on Jurai: Masaki, Tatsuki, Amaki, and Kamiki.
When the current ruler of Jurai steps down or dies, an election is held by the
heads of the four houses. There are various things which count in your
favor. Since there are so few 1st-gen trees who choose Juraians as
partners, being bonded with one virtually assures the owner that they will be on
the throne at some point.
When Funaho-ki chose Yosho as a partner, it immediately made him a candidate to be next ruler of Jurai and a virtual shoe-in. Tenchi, with his own powers, is next in line as a candidate to the throne. That leaves Seina and his 1st-generation tree. By adopting Seina into the royal family (we assume House Masaki), he is a Juraian. As a Juraian of House Masaki with a 1st-generation tree, Seina becomes 3rd in line to the throne. |
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| If Kiriko is bonded with the 2nd-gen tree Mizuki and Mizuki is merged with the Kamidaki II, what happens with Seina's 1st-gen tree? | |
| Officially, we don't know much. However, Mizuki is still merged within the Kamidaki II. So the Kamidaki II still uses the combined Washu-tech power and the power of a 2nd-generation tree. The Kamidaki II is Seina's as is the 1st-gen tree w/ mecha unit. Since royal trees can create subspace regions, it is believed that the Seina's mecha w/ 1st-gen tree seed will be in subspace. Now if they are attacked by pirates, the Kamidaki II can use its superior 2nd-generation power (superior to most other 2nd-gen trees) and when needed, Seina can launch the mecha with its 1st-generation power. It is a perfect 1-2 punch for fighting pirates. | |
| Didn't Tsunami give away two 1st-gen seeds to the precursor people? If Seina has one, where is the other one? | |
| It is true that Tsunami did give two 1st-gen seeds away, one of which Seina is now partnered with. What became of the other one, we just don't know. | |
| Did Seina marry all eight girls? | |
| As far as we can tell, yes though Seina actually married nine girls. The marriage works politically for Jurai, strengthening their alliances and thus their safety. | |
| Is Fuku also his bride? Will Fuku indeed take a humanoid form? | |
| Yes and yes, meaning that Fuku is also married to Seina. In Omatsuri Zenjitsu no Yoru GXP-ban 4, Kajishima-sensei drew a picture of Fuku as she will appear in the future. | |
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| When the silhouettes of the OAV characters appear in the main credits, who is the first person (before Ryoko appears)? | |
| It is a girl named Neige (Neeju), who is an original character for GXP. | |
| Is the director of GXP the same one as "Excel Saga"? | |
| Yes. Watanabe Shinichi (Japanese way of saying his name) is the director of this series and his fingerprints are all over it. As he did in "Excel Saga", where he played the character of Nabeshin, he is playing a character in GXP too. This time he is playing the modified robot assistant known as NB, who becomes very perverted after Amane decides to tinker with its personality chips. | |
| What clues about TM!R OAV 3 were given in GXP? | |
| Not many. We were introduced to Seto-sama, Airi-san, Rea & Misao (Mihoshi's younger brother) who all have roles in OAV 3. Episode 17 was the episode in which Seina and his crew return to Earth and he visits Tenchi-sempai. What we learned from that episode was that Tenchi can run faster than a car while carrying a load of carrots, he is known by GP to have some unknown powers, Tenchi has not chosen a girl, Noike gets a hair cut, and Nobuyuki and Rea are married and expecting a child. There are a few other little things mentioned, but no real spoilers. | |
| On a related note, watch the credits for episode 17. The silhouettes of Ryoko, Aeka, and Tenchi are replaced with their respective characters for this one episode. | |
| Are there any plans to have a GXP movie or a 2nd TV series? | |
| At the moment (June 2006), no such plans are known. The next K-sensei anime will be Saint Knights Tale, which will star Tenchi's half-brother. | |
| I hear Kajishima-sensei has written some GXP novels. Is this true? | |
Yes he is. It appears that the novels are a remake of the anime series, only with more details and things that could not be placed in the anime. It is rumored that there will be much less NB in the novels, but since I haven't read them, I couldn't say. NB didn't have much a role until the series was well under way, so I wouldn't expect much NB early on. We'll see what happens. Here are links to all of the currently published GXP novels from the Japanese Amazon site: In Kajishma Onsen 5.12, Kajishima-sensei stated this about the second and third GXP novel (written in 2005): Book 2 ended up being only about ep. 5 of the anime story, and the next one may not even end ep. 6...... Well, as the circumstances of them starting to live together calm down, the pace of the story should pick up. As for the fourth book, Kajishima Onsen 6.08 (August 2006) states that it will be another year or so before the 4th book is published (which is now already out) but no word on what it covers). The fifth book is also a mystery to us but if anyone wants to translate this stuff for summaries to be put on the site, let me know. |
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| Who is this new girl on the cover of the third volume? | |
| According to Tokyokara, her name is Miki. Tokyokara hasn't read the novels (and has no plans to because she's not a GXP fan) so she has no additional information. However, should I learn more, I'll add that information. Miki does look like Mitsuki from Dual! but not having seen the novel, I don't know how the name is done for sure. | |
| Got a GXP question not answered here? Ask me and we'll get you an answer! | |
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