Negishi as the Savior of Tenchi Muyo? Will we be seeing TinT2?

[جبريل 無道]

One of my major problems of Tenchi Muyo after OAV2 in general is the spinoffs.  I just dislike 101 flavors of anything.  That type of thing is an area best for fanfiction imaginings.  The funny thing is is that I thought OAV3 wasn't that great.  While I had no objections to the major plot developments (save Rea, who imo is the single retcon in that segment of the series to get Kenshi in the household), just the presentation wasn't well done.  The first OAV3 ep wasting so much time on the past is an example of that.  It should have centered more on the existing family, and used Seto, Airi, and Tennyo sparingly to develop the plot with the whole Misao/Mashisu/team segment cut out.  More of the Tenchi cast and how they dealt with the situation and their actions.  A smoother continuation of OAV1 & 2.  That's why as much as I like WoG, it's just not feed my Tenchi addiction and neither is GXP.

Ai is only going to amplify that though, as none of the girls are going to be there, in my educated guess.  I see the -IF- doujins as MK finally acknowledging his roots by using girl characters so close looking as their mothers.  Washu's son with Tenchi 15 years ago looked like a mix of his parents, but didn't scream out "Washu!" like these kids designs do their parents. Beni and Momo aren't going to make anybody invested in past Tenchi happy.  It might start a new fanbase that has 0 connection to the old but seeing how most anime go, it's more likely to have it's run and that be the end of it.

One of the major lovefests of other sides has been TU/TMiL/TMiL2 director Negishi who is coming back to do Ai.  Idk if Yasuda is only doing only character designs or going further than that, but Negishi only has a middling record with anime as far as I can tell, but I'm not really into anime:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=68

He took Tenchi when it already was red hot and made a passable TV show out of it.  However, one name that is frequently forgotten in Tenchi history, one I wrote about in the 00s, and that is scriptwriter Ryoei Tsukimura.  She wrote the vast majority of TU episodes (19 of them, except that Mirei one by Hasegawa and Kuroda's OAV radio dramas including Time and Space) and she worked on TMiL1 before dropping out of Negishi-verse.  She also did the excellent Mihoshi Special where Kiyone first came to life from the H novels, my favirite EL Hazard Magnificient World, including being credited with original concept, as well as the more mediocre EH Wanderers. 

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=237

Anyway, as much as some like to glorify Hasegawa for her minimal input in OAV, even though she mostly did dialogue and bits of editing as the story was all written and much storyboarded (she didn't do storyboarding in her life), she was up against 2 strong co-creators and came late into the process and then left, writing a series of novels about someone else's story she in her own words fell in love with.

OTOH, I feel Tsukimura had much more of an impact to the shows she worked on, lent the consistent feel to TU and TMiL.  TMiL2 is an example of that Negishi verse without her, it's a story widely hated by the fanbase at the time (feelings have mellowed since), and aside being a total thematic repeat of TinT and daughter of darkness, it just felt different from the rest of the -verse.  I'm not counting Negishi as the savior they are expecting but perhaps the one they deserve?

[As an aside, when Negishi/Tsukimura made TMiL, they took Achika from the Hasegawa novels, but she is nothing like the Hasegawa novel Achika (better, for once).  Hasegawa Achika was rejected by Funaho tree (drawing on the same test Tenchi had in OAVep6), was near death, her boyfriend dumped her during her recovery but the whole ordeal left her permanently weakened, she married Nobuyuki because he reminded her of her dad, and then was killed by Tenchi's surprise LHWs when he was 3.  That btw is what Negishi also drew upon for Sasami's implied fate in Eternal Memory for using her power leaving her weakened "like a candle burned too brightly".]

So the question turns is Negishi the creative force behind all this new show?  ANN only lists 4 people working on this show so far.  I'm unfamiliar with them.  I don't see a Ryoei Tsukimura there.  Even with Tsukimura, TU relied heavily on the OAV and Kiyone came from the Hasegawa novels via Mihoshi Special.  TMiL took elements from the H novels.  Alone in TMiL2, Negishi took GirlX*RoadTrip TinT and GirlX*RevengeOnYousho MnE, and almagamated it into some concoction.  In Eternal Memory, alluded again to the H novels.

Ultimately, I think this Tenchi is just going to be way too different to be able to fit the pieces.  The only connection so far is a boy that looks nothing like Tenchi having a rat tail.  But, a teacher (student teacher?) at a school?  Well, TinT was Tenchi going to school in Tokyo.... maybe we sleuthed out the next 'original' inspiration for these upcoming 250 minutes?

"Tenchi" might have energy crystals in this one and the Principal is a blond girl that looks lolitaish and Tenchi will have 3 evil teacher colleague to contend with..... I shudder to think further.

[antvasima]

Not to mention the inherent creepiness of an adult teacher possibly having relationships with his underage students.