Tenchi Muyo GXP: Out of This World

Reviewed By: Carla Land

FUNimation DVD

Review based on first volume (episodes 1-5)

Rating --

What it’s (basically) all about: Seina, who is perhaps the most unlucky and accident prone person in the universe, has been accepted into the prestigious Galaxy Police Academy. Now he’s got to try and survive his adolescence as well as make it through classes in space.

Nitty Gritty: Anyone who is familiar with the Tenchi Universe will enjoy the references that are littered throughout this show. (They are related the way that A Different World was related to The Cosby Show.)

Seina is a regular high school aged boy. He has a crush on his friend’s sister, he’s interested in sex, and he doesn’t seem to have any control over his life. Through a series of mistakes, goof-ups, and downright bad luck he ends up enrolled in the Galaxy Police Academy- almost against his will. He’s young and innocent, which in anime means that all sorts of buxom women are going to throw themselves at him. If you take the space aspect of things out of the show, it’s basically your run of the mill boy growing up storyline.

The language is mild, but there’s quite a bit of fan service and innuendo. This isn’t surprising when you remember that it is directed by the man who brought us Excel Saga and Puni Puni Poemy, Watanabe “Nabeshin” Shinichi. Seina sneaks peeks at cleavage, thinks about sex, and isn’t opposed to trying to have a good time with women clearly older than him, even though he’s nervous about it, too. There are plenty of “bloody noses” throughout the show, as well as stylized nudity in the opening.

Special features include a Kiddy Rade preview that plays when the disk starts, clean opening/ closing, profiles of some of the characters, and previews for volume two, Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragonball GT, and FUNimation’s online Z-Store.

Survey says:  This will probably be popular with teens, but would fare better in adult sections. It just crosses the line into adult territory.

Personal Ad: Not one of my favorites, but then I’ve never been a big fan of Tenchi. However, considering how popular the many Tenchi Muyo series are, I’d order it for my library.