Section 2.8: Shin Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki Novels
Shin Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki Novels (True Tenchi Novels)
What are these “Shin Tenchi” Novels everyone keeps talking about?
The “Shin” or “True” Tenchi Novels were written by KAJISHIMA Masaki and KURODA Yosuke, and they detail historic events that happened in the canon continuity (OVA 1 & 2, OVA 3).
How many novels are there?
There are three at present.
Jurai — This is the book with Ryoko on the cover. This primarily details Azusa’s life. The novel opens up to reveal what happened after OVA 2 episode 6 (13 overall) where Azusa repeatedly brings in challengers for Tenchi, all of whom lose, thanks to Mihoshi. After that, we see Azusa’s conflicts with Seto-sama, his battle with Kagato and Ryoko, Tsunami rescuing him and sending him to Earth, & how he met Funaho. We also see how Funaho was accepted into Juraian society & how Misaki and Funaho were chosen by their trees. There’s even more information, but it is a fascinating tale.
Yosho — This book has Aeka on the cover. As expected, this covers Yosho’s life. We see his attraction to Misaki, his encounters with Seto-sama, his selection by a first-generation tree whom he names Funaho, his time at Galaxy Academy, his meeting with Airi and more. What was the most interesting to me was the detailed version of Ryoko’s attack on Jurai. There’s a lot of great information here.
Washu — This book has Washu on the cover. Again as expected, this covers Washu’s life from the time she was discovered 20,000 years ago. Many fans find her relationship with Naja to be the most fascinating since her death led to Washu cloning her. That clone would eventually become Kagato. Also, this is the book which reveals that Seto-sama was the sole survivor of the attack which killed Naja. Seto has no memories of anything prior to the attack.
Can I buy these novels?
You can now. For many, many years, the novels were only available in Japan in Japanese (of course). However, in November 2017, Seven Seas announced they have the license for the three novels. You can purchase them from Amazon.com by clicking one of the links below.
Have the novels been translated into English?
They are now, and yours truly is the official English adapter (not the translator). 😁
As stated before, for many years, there were no official translations. Even on the fan front, we had no full translations of the novels in English. HOWEVER, a Japanese fan named Kaz Tatsumingo was kind enough to give detailed summaries and a few excerpts in English. His English may not have been the best, but the summaries did provide us with key details. That knowledge was very useful to me when it came to adapting the novels into English.
Will there ever be an official English translation?
There is now!
I kept this question in because originally, it seemed kinda doubtful since translation and reproduction of printed material is very expensive, especially on a project like a novel. An official license attempt was explored in 2005, but at that time, it was deemed too much of a risk. With the popularity of light novels today, things are different.
I had promised that if I won the lottery, I would be getting in contact with folks to make this officially in English. Well, I didn’t win the lottery, but I did win a job adapting the novels, which is almost as good. 😉
Why is it called “Shin Tenchi” if it has to do with the canon OVA and not Tenchi in Tokyo?
The word “Shin” in “Shin Tenchi Muyo!” (a.k.a. Tenchi in Tokyo) is represented by a different kanji than the word “Shin” in the novel titles. The former means “New” (because it was a new Tenchi TV series); the latter means “True” or “Real.” Apparently it can also be translated as “World” as well, which is why Tatsumingo titles his page “Tenchi Muyo in the World.”
Among fans, the novels have been translated as “True Tenchi Novels”, which is where TTN comes from. However, I would say that based on Tatsumingo’s translation, “World of Tenchi Muyo!” is a better translation as these novels in fact cover the history of the world of TM!R.
What are the important things I should know in the novels?
You can watch the OAV’s and not know anything about the novels (or even Kajishima-sensei’s doujinshi). But if you are a really big fan of the series (both the OVA and GXP), you will be fascinated by the additional information you learn. It will allow you to see the entire picture as Kajishima-sensei envisioned it.
Are there going to be any more novels?
There are rumors that there are or was supposed to be a fourth novel entitled Mihoshi, but it wasn’t published. It’s possible it will be… or it’s possible this is completely a rumor. I’ve also heard a rumor that there were supposed to be six novels, but once again, there’s not much to back this up.
What about the GXP novels that Kajishima wrote?
While those novels are canon to the TM!R universe, they aren’t considered part of the Shin Tenchi Muyo series. At some point, I’d like to get more information from these. See the GXP section for the additional information.
In the novel Jurai, did Azusa have two master keys?
Yes. One was a sword and one was one he received from Mitsuki which then replaced his right eye.
I’ve heard some people say that the sword master key of Azusa’s was in fact Tenchi-ken, the sword master key that Yosho had and eventually gave to Tenchi. Is this true?
It is an interesting theory and one that AstroNerdBoy likes, but there doesn’t appear to be any evidence that Azusa’s sword master key is in fact Tenchi-ken. True Sheol doesn’t think the swords are the same and he’s got a great track record on predicting things in TM!R. Should any more information turn up, you can be sure I’ll update this!
Why was Aeka’s hair blue in the novel Yosho?
Because that’s her natural hair color. She used nano-technology to turn her hair purple like her father’s. This was in part to be less identified with her mother Misaki. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t love her mother, but she was trying to model her life on Funaho. That’s why Aeka is prim and proper at times (Funaho’s influence) and when Ryoko pushes her buttons, she loses control (Misaki’s influence).
In Volume One of Shin Tenchi Muyo!, the passage “Tens of thousands of years later, the people of the galaxy came to understand. The only thing that would be able to stop [this] was Tenchi…” is on page 185 (Japanese edition), but could we receive a little more information about this?
From K-sensei: This will show up in [OVA] series 3. (*)
(*) Indeed this was revealed in OVA 3 episode 6. Read about it here.