The Many Universes of Tenchi Muyo Fanfiction |
A fanfiction essay detailing both the joys and sorrows of writing and reading the fanfictions of Tenchi Muyo, by K'thardin. |
God, I love the Tenchi Mythos; at least the OVA series and the Universe
series. Ah, what the hell, I'll go ahead and throw in the first movie as
well (this is my opinion only, and do not reflect the views of all Tenchi
fans). There was just nothing like Tenchi Muyo that I had ever seen
before. It had humor, bad puns, a deep and nearly metaphysical plot, good
fight scenes, death and destruction, and lots of fanservice. These are things
you'd NEVER see on a domestic cartoon, and even in Japan, this kind
of story telling was rarely matched.
When I watched this anime with a few friends, back a few years ago, we couldn't
help but discuss things like characterization, alternate takes on such
characters, even possible scenarios, and other universes altogether. The
other universes became easier with the advent of the first Tenchi
TV series, but that's not really important. The point is, that we, without
even knowing it, were making fanfiction. Hashing out a plot, new characters
as applicable, ironing out details and characterization, fixing mistakes,
etc.
A little over a year after that, I gained access to the net, and found
out that I was not alone in my fanficing. Not only for Tenchi, but for
every anime I'd seen, and many that I had not. There were already hundreds,
if not thousands of fanfics on the net. It became my absolute favorite thing
to sit down at a computer and spend hours at the RAAC archive. There
I sampled fanfiction of all types: action, adventure, introspective, lemon,
lime, WAFF, revenge, and many many more. Every idea, it seemed, was being
explored, and I sat back in literal AWE of it. I've since lost
that feeling of being overwhelmed by something divine, but the awe is still
there, that has not changed. I figure that the day I lose it, is the
day I'll quit everything fanfiction related because I just won't care
anymore.
Maybe that's what got me really started into fanfiction. I once wrote out
a bunch of stories for the Transformers back when I was 10 or 11 years
old (which were really bad in retrospect ^^), but to really write something
and share it with the amount of people I was going to be sharing it with...jeez,
I didn't know how many people. I still don't know...I still
occasionally get fanmail for it from people who are just now coming online
and from those that have been online for awhile, but are just now discovering
my fic.
Fanfiction is a wonderful thing. Here we can let our love of the series and
our imaginations run wild. We can do ANYTHING, and that's the challenge,
the appeal. Make the characters and situations go in ways that the creators
themselves would never DARE to. It's a celebration of our fandom.
An expression of our love of these characters and imagination. A tribute
to the creators who came up with the concepts to begin with. And then we
share it with people, in the hopes that they might actually like it; that
their imaginations might be stimulated in turn.
And when you get right down to it, fanfiction is a whole hell of a lot of
fun. Not just in the ways that the characters and situations can be presented,
but also in the way the fanfiction itself can be presented. You'll note some
authors like to write in prose, others like to write in script, and still
others use formats similar to poetry and song lyrics, but each will have
their own style regardless of what their fic is classified as. Prose and
script, however are the two main methods of any fic writing, and the ones
which will be discussed in this essay. The below example was taken from the
first chapter of Happosai's "Aikan Muyo":
"Jeez, will they ever lay off?" groaned Tenchi as he sat down on his bed
and put on his kimono. It seemed lately that his houseguests were giving
him no rest and even less privacy.
Yesterday morning, for instance, Washuu had insisted on trying to extract
something called an "inverse-astral post-coital emission sample," which somehow
entailed exactly the same thing as the last dozen or so "samples" Washuu
had tried to get from him. He'd escaped again, but barely. He knew he'd have
to take some very careful precautions, this morning, if he luck was to hold
out.
This is a very good bit of prose, and easily recognizable as Happosai's work.
Here is another example taken from the story "TENCHI! Master of His
Domain" by Keener Barnes AKA Parrot King:
The morning dawned, rays of sunshine
illuminating the world, banishing the all concealing cloak of night. It was
like a massive flashlight into the fogged driver's side window of the Earth.
As the darkness was pierced, you could almost hear it say...
"Hey, what's all this then? Hmmm? Canadian on a horse? With protection yet?
Don't know anything about that, but it's time to wake up and be respectable
again. Now find your underwe... no, YOUR underwear, can't go to a meeting
feeling THAT comfortable. Get those sleepies out of your eyes, and you there!
Yeah, the guy who mixed vodka and Nestle Quik, strawberry flavor... you ate
those little pieces of leftover candy, didn't you? Ooooooh, what I'm going
to do to you..."
Again a very good piece of prose writing, and you can certainly tell the
differences in style between the two pieces of work. As readers continue
on in this new world, they'll note that every writer is different in this
regard, and as they go on, even if a writer uses some sort of pseudonym instead
of the accustomed pen name, you will still be able to tell whose work it
is. Also as fanfiction is tried out, the writer will note that he or she
will have a distinctive style they like to write in.
Script format is the second main method of fic writing. This form is both
easier and harder at the same time. Easier because actions and dialogue aren't
as blended together in prose. Harder, because even though they aren't
as blended, they still need to interact with each other well enough that
the story takes shape inside the readers mind. An example of this would be
"Tenchi Muyo TV: No Need for Santa" by Seion:
Tenchi gets pelted by another snowball.
And another. And another. And another.
TENCHI: This ain't fair Seion! You have a whole pile of snow balls you already
made before we started this fight!
SEION: Go tell it to the UN! This is war! AH-HAHAHAHAHAHA-(a snowball flies
into the screen and is squarely placed in Seion'smouth. Now he's the one
being pelted by snowballs. But not from Tenchi. As Seion turns to see the
pelters, they seem to have the forms of Aeka, Ryoko, Sasami, and Misaki)
AEKA: We have come to render assistance to Lord Tenchi!
SASAMI: (Giggles) This is fun! (she hurls one at Seion)
MISAKI: Oh-ho ho ho ho! (she lets one fly at Seion)
RYOKO: I'll say! (she lobs a BIG one at Seion)
SEION: HEY! That one had ice in it! This ain't fair!
TENCHI: Tell it to the UN! (and all have a good laugh. Then the snow starts
falling again.)
This is a fairly good bit a script formating. It has good dialogue
and good descriptions of actions that compliment each other and let the world
come alive inside the reader's mind. Another good example of script writing
would be from "Together Again: 2937" by Chris Davies.
Establishing shot: A panoramic view
of Crystal Tokyo from a great height. The city combines the architecture
of a city of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries with a unique
crystalline style. We see a booted foot tapping against a carpeted floor.
Our view moves up the red synth-leather pants to a red synthleather jacket,
until we reach the head of PRISCILLA S. ASAGIRI. She is staring at a window,
and we can only see her face in a reflection. Her expression is irritated.
Suddenly she flushes, and we hear the tapping noise stop.
Our view changes to include a wider take of the waiting room, including the
couch opposite the large picture window in front of which PRISS is standing,
on which RAYE (aka LADY MARS), dressed in a Roman style toga with various
pieces of red jewelry, is sitting. Even the eyepatch over her left eye is
red-tinted.
Again, a good bit of script writing. You'll note that the descriptions of
the characters are different, as is the way the dialogue is presented, yet
still you can already picture the scene in your mind in the way script formatting
is meant to. You can certainly tell that the first excerpt was written by
Seion, and the other was written by Chris Davies.
And honestly, that's how it should be. The different styles and stories reflect
the different personalities of each of the authors. Each author incorporates
a bit of themselves in their fics. It's completely impossible for fics to
look the same because we are all incredibly different and chaotic individuals,
and would be very boring if they all were the same...one can only read the
same thing so many times before one gets fed up with it.
On that note, as one browses the tomes of Tenchi fanfiction, one will note
not every bit of fanfiction is a work of art. Some are just average stories,
with nothing all that special. Others are quite unreadable due to poor
formatting, spelling, grammar, and what-have-you. Others still make you want
to find the author to wring their necks because they've written the characters
in such a way as to ask what in the hell were they writing about, because
it certainly wasn't Tenchi Muyo. Then there are those that write things that
aren't fit for anything resembling human consumption, and make you wonder
why these people aren't in jail.
Of course, one wonders why do people write these things? Don't
they care about the series? Don't they want to portray it as good
as possible in their works? I think they love the series, yes.
At least most of them do. Many however...just don't love it enough. Enough
so that their works are at the very least readable and original. There are
far too many examples of this and there is no way I can show even the smallest
fraction, but I will give a few examples:
From "Guardian of Juri" by Kain-x
Our story starts up in space where Razel is trying to reach
earth.........
Razel: Computer, how much longer until we reach earth?
Computer: About 60 seconds until we colide with earth.
Razel: !#$*@
Computer:You have 30% chance of surviving the crash.
Razel: !
For one...who is Razel? Where is the character
developement? The Plot development? What does this character look
like? How does his voice sound? Where are the details and actions
that make this come alive? Sadly, this type of Tenchi fanfic has
become more and more prevalent. And he couldn't even spell Jurai right...that's
just sad. Another example is the fic "No Need for Watching" by Pudduh
"Forign Exchange!" Ryoko asked "isn't
that an exchange of slaves or something?"
"No no" laughed Tenchi as he read the phamphlet from his school (or
disaster area, still recovering from Ryoko and Tenchi's big night out).
"Then what is it Tenchi?" Sassami asked.
"People my age from other countries come to stay for the summer, help
out and learn about our culture, big jump from a couple of hundred years
ago eh?" Tenchi Explained.
I mean, the way this thing is presented, you can barely READ
it. The formatting is just awful, already the biggest turn off one could
think of. And he can't spell Sasami, which again is just plain sad. Another
example of bad formatting is the fic "Ryoko's Secret" by Dale:
As dawn breaks the surface of the
lake, Ryoko is seen flying just above
the lakes surface. But the question is where is she going
and why. "I winder when Tenchi will get up." Ryoko whined. She decided to
take a
flight over to Tenchi's window and have a
look. "Damn, it's only 3 in the morning, I wonder what I can do till he
wakes
up." Ryoko flies towards Ayeka's room.
How can anyone be satisfied with this? I mean, it's so EASY to
format your fic correctly. I mean, this particular instance is just
a matter of setting your line breaks to about 72 characters. There are likely
hundreds of fics that have this one simple problem, but people are generally
too lazy to fix it. This is not to mention the terrible paragraph structure
that is evident when the first couple of paragraphs aren't properly separated.
This is prevalent all throughout this fic and in far too many others. Here
is an extreme example of bad grammar; this fic is called "Fate" by the Divine
Death Dragon:
So,Tenchi you have saved her,to bad
it dosent really matter,you are the one i
want,you have changed her destiny,but it dosent matter,change destiny all
you
want,but you can never fate,soon boy you will fell the wrath of
Tokimi,savor
this pecious moment that you have now,because it wont last,you will die
tenchi masaki mark my word's,very soon boy very soon we shall me and i will
decide you fate.whisper Tokimi in the place only known to the three
goddess
Well, this one is pretty easy to see. A run-on sentence, with improper spacing,
the occasional misspelling, and a whole lot of improper punctuation and lack
of needed capitalization. And as bad as this fic is...there are many more
who are far worse. The last example is from "Tenchi Island" by Lei Kiyone:
tenchi:what?what happened?
Link:You were hit unconcious,friend.
You fell out of the sky and hit right on my feet.
Tenchi:who are you?
Link:I am Link I think your red haired friend fell over there in the
stables.She woke up and she started yapping about science and figuring how
she got here.cant seem to shut her off.....
washu:Hi tench!
This is an example of really really BAD scripting. I mean it's just
a bunch of dialogue, and badly formatted, badly worded dialogue at that.
No scene setting or even a description of a scene in the conversation. Scripting
can be done quite well with just dialogue, but one needs to incorporate the
amplifying details in the conversation (which is actually difficult at times),
and this is just not the case here.
Presently the absolute biggest problem we have with Tenchi fanfiction is
the person who has been dubbed, the AHRLI, or Aeka Hating Ryouko Loving Idiot.
They, for the most part, have been writing a seemingly endless supply of
fanfiction that have the same plot and same characterization with the same
conclusion of getting Tenchi and Ryouko together by any means possible
(believable or not); while writing a new character we all know as the great
Old One Cthulu, who is masquerading as our beloved Princess Aeka. These
fics are fairly easy to spot. They usually are entitled something to the
effect of "Ryouko and Tenchi," "Ryouko's True Love," "Tenchi Makes a Choice,"
"Tenchi's True Feelings" or "Who Tenchi Really Wants" or any one of a number
of other things that deals with Tenchi's "decision," or to be more accurate,
resolution concerning his love life. Now not all these fics have the
AHRLI theme, just most of them. To be honest, however, many of the other
fics replace all the other girls (except Tenchi's 'chosen one') with the
dark forces of the abyss in their Tenchi gets so and so fic. And you got
to ask why though? These aren't the Tenchi characters...why are you doing
this to them? It's sad, so very sad, to see any fic genre be overworked and
perverted to such a point that when the words 'Tenchi' and 'choice' or even
'love' enter the picture, you just cancel out of the fic weather or not it's
good, because it just became more of the same old thing.
These aren't the only problems with Tenchi fanfiction. There is one more
problem that is of serious concern to many. It's the fics that make you wonder
why the author isn't in jail. Fics like "At the Carrot Patch," which
displays a level of pedophilia concerning Sasami that would probably sicken
most pedophiles. Fics like "Kagato's Revenge," which was just an excuse to
rape and torture Sasami 'til she was near death. And yes, Fics like "Kanashi
no Imi." That particular fic was written supposedly to show how awful such
a thing was, yet one can't help but wonder...why use yourself in such a fic?
There were other things that went on concerning that fic that were also in
the area of not too good. Perhaps it's just as well that the situation is
dead and buried now. The point here is, that though you see the best in people
in Tenchi fanfiction many times...sometimes you will see the absolute
WORST that humanity has to offer as well.
Tenchi fanfiction has some of the most diverse stories around, and considering
it can encompass a whole universe and several realities, the amount of ideas
that can come from it are endless. The good you will see a lot. Not as often
as you may like, but you will see it, and you will treasure it all the more
when you do. The bad you will see a lot too, and it's too bad to, because
most of the bad fics could be avoided it people just
THOUGHT about what they were doing and/or did some editing on
their fics first. There are so many tools at a writer's disposal to help
them make their fics the best they can, it's a shame those tools aren't used
more often. Between the good and bad fics, you will have innumerable that
are somewhere in the middle, but most likely still quite enjoyable. Occasionally
you'll run into a Tenchi fic that will be so incredible that you'll be begging
the author for more, and some that will make you want to commit bloody murder.
It's a wide and exciting Tenchiverse (several in fact, heh) my friends, and
I hope it remains that way for a very long time.