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新・天地無用!魎皇鬼 [Shin Tenchi Muyou! Ryououk] #1
The All-New Tenchi Muyo! Vol. 1: Alien Nation
High school drop-out Tenchi tries to survive life with his five alien, female Jurai princesses Ayeka and Sasami, mad scientist Washu, ditzy space cop Mihoshi, space pirate Ryoko, and the bioorganic spaceship Ryo-oh-ki.
176 pages, Paperback
First published March 22, 2003
About the author
Hitoshi Okuda
100 books16 followersHitoshi Okuda (奥田ひとし) is a Japanese manga artist, most famous for his characterizations and stories set in the world of Tenchi Muyo!.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 27, 2025
Re-Read Review (October 27th, 2025):
I can safely say reading this with background of Okuda's previous Tenchi series does add more charm.
First Read Review (June 4th, 2024):
Original Rating: Three Stars
Tenchi Muyo is a franchise I've known for a while now. I discovered it through an old Anime's Next Top Model show on YouTube where Ryoko was one of the contestants, and I remember being drawn to it for the vivid colors and aesthetic. It's clear Tenchi set the stage for harems of its time and the future (ironic given much of its cast are from outer space). Not only does it have a compelling lead character, but each harem member/"love interest" have their own unique personality traits that carry through each iteration.
Okuda's manga series follows the original OVA timeline, but incorporates the slice of life style one will find in Tenchi Universe or Tenchi in Tokyo. Each chapter is episodic, focusing on a different character and their life in the Masaki household. I found Okuda's art style to be enthusiastic and showcased a different side to the characters. They look gritter in the anime I've seen with them, but there's a wistfulness here that allows Okuda to display his relationship to this world and how he views it. How Viz tweaked this series for its initial release wasn't as distracting as I initially expected, either. This was the first time I've read manga that was reversed from its initial reading style. The panel flipping and sound effect translation helped give it a graphic novel feel. Based on quick research, it doesn't look like this got re-printed by Viz to be read right to left (maybe the previous manga series did if my memory serves me right?).
Despite liking my time with this volume, I'm not sure if I'll be reading the full series as it might not be memorable in the long run. I'll ILL the next couple volumes to see where we'll go. Being back with these characters does give me joy. I also see signs of a fun recurring storyline.
I can safely say reading this with background of Okuda's previous Tenchi series does add more charm.
First Read Review (June 4th, 2024):
Original Rating: Three Stars
Tenchi Muyo is a franchise I've known for a while now. I discovered it through an old Anime's Next Top Model show on YouTube where Ryoko was one of the contestants, and I remember being drawn to it for the vivid colors and aesthetic. It's clear Tenchi set the stage for harems of its time and the future (ironic given much of its cast are from outer space). Not only does it have a compelling lead character, but each harem member/"love interest" have their own unique personality traits that carry through each iteration.
Okuda's manga series follows the original OVA timeline, but incorporates the slice of life style one will find in Tenchi Universe or Tenchi in Tokyo. Each chapter is episodic, focusing on a different character and their life in the Masaki household. I found Okuda's art style to be enthusiastic and showcased a different side to the characters. They look gritter in the anime I've seen with them, but there's a wistfulness here that allows Okuda to display his relationship to this world and how he views it. How Viz tweaked this series for its initial release wasn't as distracting as I initially expected, either. This was the first time I've read manga that was reversed from its initial reading style. The panel flipping and sound effect translation helped give it a graphic novel feel. Based on quick research, it doesn't look like this got re-printed by Viz to be read right to left (maybe the previous manga series did if my memory serves me right?).
Despite liking my time with this volume, I'm not sure if I'll be reading the full series as it might not be memorable in the long run. I'll ILL the next couple volumes to see where we'll go. Being back with these characters does give me joy. I also see signs of a fun recurring storyline.
August 10, 2024
Episodic, and absolutely hilarious. Really sweet too, surprisingly, with thoughtful moments of character development. Ironic how this 'Tenchi' manga is titled 'Alien Nation' when it has the least to do with space life or battles, even though 80% of the cast (majorly making up the women, by the way) are aliens. This is more slice-of-life 'Tenchi'; the previous 'Tenchi' manga I've read, 'No Need for Tenchi!', is a space opera and battle. A cute little prize for any 'Tenchi Muyo!' fan.
Final Score: 4/5
Final Score: 4/5
July 23, 2026
Fun and easy. Lots of interaction between the girls with little screen time for Tenchi. This is an older volume so the book is flipped to read the Western way, which distorts some of the dialogue and action. 3 stars.
May 18, 2017
I liked how the author did different things for different chapters, to show how life was in the house. I like how he put different characters in each chapter.
August 14, 2008
my heart sings with glee. i wasn't terribly impressed with the first disc of the newest Tenchi series (which is actually the third season of the ORIGINAL, and my favorite, series) so i kinda lost track of it. haven't given Tenchi much thought, until this little beauty came across my desk & i gave it a read at lunch one day. i was delighted to discover that it takes place in that same continuity (as opposed to one of the other million that are floating around out there), apparently in the many-years-long gap between the original end of the original series, and the recent ACTUAL end of the original series. i later found, through a little digging, that this manga doesn't REALLY take place within that continuity, it just uses it as a jumping off point. which is to say, it is not part of that OVA canon. but that is fine. the important part is that i know who everyone is & what their stories are & what the fuck is going on. the first issue of this does a pretty good job in communicating which Tenchi-verse we're dealing with. for a non-initiate, it might be a lot of expository data to cram into about 4 panels, but for me it was just what i needed to ease the only hesitation i ever really have when it comes to checking out new Tenchi material: whose canon are we dealing with? it seems like every new series takes place in its own reality, where some things about the characters are the same, but others are completely different. i guess in a way that is true of any comic book, though.
point is, this is Tenchi to me. the characters are exceptionally well-defined in my mind, and those definitions came from the OVA. and in this book all that characterization is on the page. everyone looks perfect, sounds perfect. this is Tenchi. and it's good to have him back.
point is, this is Tenchi to me. the characters are exceptionally well-defined in my mind, and those definitions came from the OVA. and in this book all that characterization is on the page. everyone looks perfect, sounds perfect. this is Tenchi. and it's good to have him back.
July 25, 2012
I remember watching most of these episodes back when I was a kid, wish it was still on now. Ryoko will always be my favorite character. I kind of like this harem style, just because its a little less tacky as the typical boobage in the face that you usually see.
October 24, 2008
lol it was funny
August 16, 2015
The previous series had two modes - "sitcom", which was, y'know, okay, and "storyline", which was significantly better. This volume continues that tradition, being mostly in the former mode.
February 18, 2016
This is one of my favorite anime series. The stories can be very funny or, at times, extremely serious. The mangas I've read are all in English with good stories and good artwork.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews