Tenchi the Movie 2: The Daughter of Darkness (1997)

Okay. This was one of the weirder T.M movies that I've seen. I of course saw it in Japanese with subtitles in English and it was well...it was interesting to say the least. You've got some demon whose got a thing against someone (I can't remember it was 4-5 years ago that I watched it) and sends some dark creation of his to torment the Masaki household. While I found it to be a good movie, I think it was also dumb, all the other T.M movies were better then this one and yet you have something that is practically off a clothes line because they talked so freaking disjointedly, and you have the daughter who is...well with her being created and her hitting the Masaki household...the fur is bound to fly. Ryoko actually does good in restraining herself in this movie which is surprising because...well it just is. I also couldn't help but wondering was the demon a male or female cause I couldn't tell with the voice thing.This movie does have a good moral to it though and that is revenge helps no one, especially not demons who fell in love with a human

I love Tenchi Muyo, don't get me wrong. It's one of my favorite Anime/Manga series, something I enjoy. However, Manatsu no Eve was a very giant disappointment, especially in comparison to its predecessor, Tenchi Muyo: In Love. The only saving grace for this Anime were a couple of scenes and some tracks on the soundtrack. Mayuka has potential. They threw in Mihoshi and Kiyone for seemingly no reason, however, and they turned Tenchi into a complete jerk. The plot was rather shallow, and Yuzuha, the 'villian' was laughable. I don't know what to say... I'm very disappointed.

The story is basically that of Yuzuha, a demon, trying to abduct Tenchi, a prince, in revenge for past events. To do this, Yuzuha creates Mayuka genetically from a bit of Tenchi's hair and from her own hair. The arrival of Mayuka, who immediately calls Tenchi "Daddy!", causes a whole chain of events that are lots of fun to watch.The reason for Yuzuha seeking revenge is told in flashbacks. Although an attempt is made to make Yuzuha appear evil, she actually comes across at times as rather cute, when not grimacing.

Mixture of dark and light is the theme; pain mixes with pleasure, hope with fear, love with hate, innocence with evil. The usually upbeat Tenchi series takes a turn into dark, forbidden areas with this movie. Supporting it is a perfectly matching soundtrack.Manatsu no Eve only fails in its shortness. At an hour's length, it moves too fast and misses opportunities for deeper development. Much like the Tenchi Muyo series as a whole, it falls just short of its tremendous potential.