Tenchi Muyo! GXP
Tenchi Muyo! GXP is a Japanese anime television series animated by AIC and broadcast on NTV from April 3 to September 25, 2002. It is the fourth installment of the Tenchi Muyo! line of series, succeeding Tenchi in Tokyo, localized in North America by Funimation. On November 11, 2012, it began airing on Adult Swim's revived Toonami programming block. An anime OVA project titled Tenchi Muyo! GXP Paradise Shidō-hen by AIC and Saber Project premiered in May 2023.
Plot
Seina Yamada is a young Japanese high school student living with his parents and younger sister in rural Okayama, Japan. One morning, following a hapless bike ride through the country, a large spacecraft crashes into the lake behind the Masaki residence, causing a violent tsunami that Seina is unable to escape from and he sinks, almost drowning. He regains consciousness shortly after, meeting Amane Kaunaq, the spacecraft's pilot, who gives Seina an application. Seina takes it, and shows it to his family at home. Mistaking it for a contest entry, his mother and sister aggressively force him to fill it out; afterwards he retreats to his room and falls asleep. The following morning, awakened aboard a vessel in orbit, Seina is informed by an official that he has successfully joined the Galaxy Police. It also revealed that the Galaxy Police originally meant to recruit Tenchi, but they got Seina instead.Setting
Unlike Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo, which are spin-offs of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki, GXP occurs during the same time period, making it a parallel series to the show. As such, the more-recognized cast do not play central roles, though they do make cameo appearances.Characters
; Seina Yamada; Amane Kaunaq
; Kiriko Masaki
; Ryoko Balta
; Neju Na Melmas
; Fuku
; NB
; Airi Masaki
; Seto Kamiki Jurai
; Mitoto Kuramitsu
; Seiryō Tennan
; Tarant Shank
; Kyo Komachi
Minor characters
; Alan, Berry and Cohen; Kenneth Barl and Rajau Ga Waura
''Paradise Shidō-hen''
; Tsukiko Masaki; Miki Steinbeck
; Kirche
; D
; Jovia Jovis
; Tenchi Masaki
; Washū Hakubi
; Mikami Kuramitsu
; Zinv
Production
Tenchi Muyo! GXP was officially announced on January 10, 2001, with a scheduled broadcast set for spring of the following year. When asked to direct the series, Shinichi Watanabe, though welcome to the opportunity, was cited as saying that he was unsure why he had been chosen, and that after watching previous Tenchi episodes, found the task of envisioning GXP to be "tough".First looks into the series was published on October 10 by Tenchi-Web.com, showcasing artwork and teaser trailer. More trailers were progressively added from November 2001 to February 2002 when it was announced on February 18 that GXP would premier on NTV on April 2. Tenchi-web then, a day later, scheduled a preview screening of the first and second episodes in Tokyo. In a similar fashion, Los Angeles based Anime Expo confirmed the attendance of Mamiko Noto, voice actress for the series, and that AIC would host a screening of GXP at the convention. Funimation later confirmed from Anime Expo New York that they had secured the licensing rights to the show.
GXP finished airing on September 24. Following a nine-month period, Funimation unveiled the official English website for the series on June 16, 2003, later confirming its release for March 4, 2004.
A new anime project titled Tenchi Muyo GXP Paradise Starting was announced by EXNOA on December 23, 2022. It was later confirmed that the project would be an OVA series animated by AIC and Saber Project and directed by Takashi Asami, with Hiroshi Negishi serving as chief director, Hideki Shirane writing and supervising series' scripts, Nana Hiiragi designing the characters and Digital Network Animation credited for animation production assistance. The series ran for six episodes released on a monthly basis, and the first episode was released on May 26, 2023. Crunchyroll licensed the series.
Broadcast history
Tenchi Muyo! GXP aired on Colours TV's Funimation block in 2006 from June 24 to September 17. Also aired in Hawaii on KIKU starting September 2006. Aired periodically on Funimation Channel.It began airing on Adult Swim's newly revived Toonami programming block on November 11, 2012, at 12:30 a.m. ET where it remained for 3 weeks until it was bumped to 1 a.m. to make way for Naruto, which claimed the 12:30 a.m. slot. 2 weeks later, it was moved to 3 a.m. due to lower than expected ratings where it remained for the rest of its run. GXP is the fourth Tenchi Muyo! series to air on Toonami.
Reception
Tenchi Muyo! GXP was met with mostly positive reception. It was initially believed that the premiere would not draw noteworthy attention, but the midnight screening of the first episode on September 9 reportedly garnered a 4.0% viewing share, a figure considered double that of other premiers such as Aquarian Age and Kanon.The localization of Tenchi Muyo! GXP was met with generally positive reception as well. In a report by Right Stuf International on February 28, AIC became flooded with so much mail from American fans about its release that the company requested fans stop. Industry aggregator Mania.com gave the commercial releases ratings A through B, citing that "the GXP series was a lot of fun" but that " was over by the time you really get into it." Animefringe.com, an online magazine, published a positive review as well, citing a "well balanced storyline" and that GXP "still has plenty of potential to go forward and compete in today's booming anime world after its long absence from the spotlight."