Section 3.1.5: Kajishima-sensei Speaks About Ryoko’s Gems

Subsection 1: Articles

Kajishima-sensei Speaks About Ryoko’s Gems
An interview translated by Yagami Makibi; Edited by AstroNerdBoy.

Section 1 : Introduction

This article from Yagami Makibi goes way back to December 16, 1996.  Yagami translated an interview by one Ikegame-san (whom this is, I do not know) and Kajishima-sensei.  The source of this material is the doujinshi Tenchi Souran.  Apparently, Yagami originally e-mailed it through the Tenchi Mailing List, where it has been archived ever since (however, it was Oni Shin that made me aware of this translation at all).

As to the article, it is mostly a straight copy and paste.  I have had to make some minor edits to correct spelling and grammar errors that I spot.  I have left Yagami’s comments intact.  I have added one additional comment as well.  Otherwise, I have changed nothing.  The interview is only a portion of a larger interview, but Yagami only translated the stuff about the gems.  If I find the rest of the interview, I will post the whole thing.

The interview is very informative in how it explains the power of Ryoko’s gems, why she used faux gems, and how powerful Ryoko would be with all three gems.  I did find it interesting that Washu is not mentioned here at all.

Thanks to Yagami for translating this way back then.  I just found out that Yagami can be found on the Mega Tokyo BBS (the webstrip that is now recognized as an “American Manga” title, who’s books can be purchased alongside regular manga), so if you like the translation, pop Yagami a line of thanks.

Section 2: The Interview on Ryoko’s Gems

Ikegame: She made 2 (replicas) in the cave? Or if she is able to get the energy from outside she can produce much replicas as she wants to, right?

Kajishima: She can produce many as she wants but she thought it would be better to get the real gems back (from Tenchi) since she has escaped from the cave.

I: But if the replica she created in the cave is that weak isn’t it better to make a new one?

-Yagami note: Before this, Kajishima explained that the replica she made in the cave was far weaker than the normal replica she can make.-

K: But she only needs to fight against Tenchi, or a normal human (thats what she though). She though that the one (crappy) replica will do the job.

I: So she can’t summon Ryo-oh-ki with the replica?

K: She can summon Ryo-oh-ki, but she didn’t feel the need to.

I: So she can summon Ryo-oh-ki with a replica.

K: Yes.

I: But she really sounded desperate for the (real) gem even though she had a replica on her ear, why is that?

K: Well, if the real gems are in front of her she wouldn’t have to use the replica. Also it was Aeka who was chasing her, she probably thought that the replica wasn’t strong enough to compete with her. If she was able to get the 3 real gems back (from Tenchi) she’d be able to defeat Aeka easily.

I: But she only got one back.

K: Yes, but she though it was far better to have 1 real gem than having to use the replicas.

I: So replicas wouldn’t really serve as a substitute for the real gems, would it?

K: If the amount of power a real gem can produce is represented by the amount of electricity that flows from a socket, a replica would be represented as a normal (1.5 volt) battery.

I: Well….I don’t really understand it but I’ll say I did.

K: (laughs)

I: But the story about the gems didn’t seem that important. After all she (Ryoko) wasn’t able to get the 3 gems back.

K: If she had 3 gems she can compete with Tsunami.

I: You mean if she was with Ryo-oh-ki, right? What about Ryoko herself?

K: Well, if she was able to get inside of Tsunami (she will be able to destroy it). But Tsunami is a ship, that’s why Ryoko also needs a ship (Ryo-oh-ki) to become even with her.

I: I’m surprised that Yosho was able to defeat Ryoko if she is that powerful, he only had a 1st generation ship (Funaho).

K: Well… that’s because he was really skilled.

I: That sounds really vague (laughs).

K: Well according to the setting I made Ryoko and Ryo-oh-ki wasn’t able to fully control their powers when they fought with Yosho.

I: That sounds odd, I though they were quite experienced since they were going around as space pirates.

K: She did have some experience but she didn’t have enough.

-Yagami’s point of view: No wonder, she was strong as Tsunami back then (even though she wasn’t able to fully control the powers). What kind of “experience” would she have have just raiding a normal cruiser or something? Probably something near 0 if represented as a decimal value-

I: So there was no way she could have controlled all the powers. So the fight was basically between Ryoko and Yosho along with Ryo-oh-ki vs Funaho, right? Sounds like a fair game to me.

K: But Funaho was seriously damaged and Yosho was wounded as well (even though they were able to seal Ryoko).

I: So Ryo-oh-ki was unhurt?

K: Yes, it was unhurt. It fell to the ground (what is now the pond in front of the Masaki’s) and fainted (or went into a cold-sleep).

-AstroNerdBoy note: The battle between Ryoko and Yosho, hinted at in OAV 1, was gone into in much greater detail in K-sensei’s novel Yosho.-

I: So it would be sleeping forever if Ryoko didn’t call for it?

K: Yep, it would be sleeping forever. After all, Ryoko lost all her gems and she was sealed in the cave (she can’t call Ryo-oh-ki). Even though Ryo-oh-ki wasn’t damaged it was the 1st generation, or it was imperfect (can not move by itself).

I: What does that mean? So every time Ryo-oh-ki regenerates it gets stronger or something?

K: That’s right, by storing the data it gets stronger as it regenerates. The foundation has to be good if you want to improve something, right? The same reason why you can’t make a large house in a small land. Regeneration in Ryo-oh-ki’s case is improving the foundation and basically reconstructing of the ship. Basically it is going through a new stage of evolution every time.

-Yagami’s notes: I hope this part makes sense, it sounded really weird in  Japanese and I just translated word for word (which isn’t the best idea)-

I: Does the same logic apply to Tsunami and the other Juraian trees?

K: Yes, that’s the good part about living space-ships. It can improve themselves.

Yagami adds: After this they talk about why Ryo-oh-ki is shaped that way, and about Kagato .

ANB adds: Yagami didn’t provide any additional materials.