The original cast comes back like they never left, but the show spends more energy assembling the extended Tenchi multiverse than figuring out what to actually do with them. If you've lived in this franchise for twenty years, you'll recognize the gratification of seeing Kiyone and Mihoshi animated again. If you haven't, the lore consolidation turns opaque fast, and you'll spend episodes feeling like you're missing the inside joke. This isn't a new entry point. This is a love letter written in a language only the original congregation understands.

Tenchi Masaki seems like an ordinary boy, apart from being heir to the Masaki Shrine. That changes when he breaks a seal on a small shrine out back and frees Ryoko, the so-called demon held inside, who he then has to fight. Ayeka, Ryoko's rival, learns she has been released and travels to Earth too, drawing Tenchi into the affairs of the Jurai clan, the rulers of the galaxy. The six-episode OVA mixes action, comedy and science fiction.