I've decided to ditch the History thing in favor of just talking about some of the series I would have mentioned in them anyway individually. Let's start with the first series I actually owned all of the episodes of, Tenchi Muyo OVA.
After I moved on to Hollywood Video in my hometown for rentals, I started perusing their Anime section and discovered a few really good shows and movies, but none more so than Tenchi. My first taste of the series had been in the form of Tenchi Muyo In Love, the first Tenchi film, which was played on Sci Fi channel during their Saturday Anime block (which is where I stole the name Saturday Anime from). I remember being utterly confused, effectively being dumped into the middle of a universe I couldn't possibly understand completely, almost like watching Return of the Jedi without seeing A New Hope and Empire. I admired the art, liked the characters even though I knew nothing about them beyond what the film tells you, and found the action and romantic undertones of the story compelling. As I attempted to understand the series better, I found a copy of the Mihoshi special at Hollywood and rented it. However this didn't help much, as it's a completely independent special that has nothing to do with the main story. So even though I was largely in the dark about most of the story, I sought out more episodes because what I had seen was so much fun, even if I was lost most of the time.
Since this was long before the days of Youtube and wikipedia to fill in the gaps, I started to look for VHS copies of the OVA, as I had determined that it was the first series released. I finally found a collection of all the episodes on VHS on eBay, and created an account just to buy them. I sent the money order, waited a bit, and picked up my first UPS package, then dove into the true beginning of the story. I would later find out that I was hardly the only one confused about the canon of the series, but I'm sticking to the OVA here because it is still my favorite.
Masaki Tenchi is a fairly normal teenager, working at his grandfather's Shinto Shrine in the mountains. One day, he attempts to sneak into his Grandfather's office to steal a key. There is a cave near the shrine with a locked gate that his Grandfather has warned him to stay away from for years because a Demon was buried there 700 years ago, but his curiosity has gotten the better of him at last. After lifting the key, Tenchi investigates the cave and finds that his Grandfather's story was not all bluster. He finds a Sword Hilt and what appears to be an ancient corpse, but when the corpse comes to life and attempts to embrace him, he flees in fear, resealing the cave and swearing never to return. Later he falls asleep on the roof of his school and is woken by a youthful Blue Haired girl. She chuckles and says "Ryoko..." When Tenchi looks perplexed, she continues, "That's my name, Ryoko." She opens her eyes, and they are glowing an eerie gold, the same as the Demon in the cave. Ryoko laments how horrible her 700 year imprisonment and informs Tenchi that she will have to work out some tension on him right away. She then summons a light blade from thin air and attacks Tenchi, flying, teleporting, laughing giddly and tossing energy bolts in his direction. As the one sided fight continues, Tenchi's entire school is destroyed by a gas line explosion. Ryoko finally corners Tenchi and attacks him again, but the Sword Hilt which he hid in his book bag generates an energy field that deflects the blow. Incredulous, Ryoko attacks again and the hilt generates a light blade of it's own. The two fight, with Tenchi unable to control the sword as it moves on it's own, then lops off Ryoko's hand. She laments that she lost another battle, regrows her hand, and sinks away into the ground. As Tenchi returns home, glad to be done with the whole affair, but wondering what happened to the girl, he doesen't have to wonder long. He finds Ryoko sleeping in his bed, and she warmly welcomes him home when he wakes her.
It isn't long after this before Tenchi and Ryoko's fight attracts the attention of Aeka, a princess from the planet Jurai who has been searching the galaxy for her missing half brother Yosho in her massive space-tree/Ship Ryu-oh. Aeka considers Ryoko her sworn enemy, as during her days as a Space Pirate, she caused great damage to the Jurai empire and homeworld. After capturing them, in spite of the fact that the statuate of limitations on Ryoko's crimes just ran out the day they arrived at Earth, Aeka tortures the Space Pirate in hopes of extracting information about Yosho's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Sasami, another of Jurai's princesses releases Tenchi and press-gangs him into playing a trick on her older sister. It isn't long before Ryoko's ship, Ryo-Oh-Ki attacks Ryu-Oh and the two ships crash near the Masaki Shrine. With no way off the relatively primitive planet Earth, Ryoko, Aeka, and Sasami are all forced to stay with Tenchi and his Father. It isn't long before another fight between Ryoko and Aeka causes another ship to crash, stranding the bumbling Galaxy Police officer Mihoshi on Earth as well, followed shortly by a childish looking super-scientist named Washu, who also claims to be Ryoko's "Mother".
While it isn't immediately obvious at first for most of the female characters, besides Ryoko's playful flirting towards the end of the first episode, it soon becomes clear that they all have at least some romantic interest in Tenchi. However, it is Ryoko, the Brash, Fun Loving, Sake drinking former space pirate and Aeka, the prim, proper, princess; who become the most interesting rivals from the first moment Aeka learns Ryoko is on Earth. They have a history and don't much like one another, but their mutual interest in Tenchi forces them to tolerate one another's presence. At one point, the two of them make a pact to work together in order to get the other girls out of the picture, then read romantic Manga for pointer on how to woo Tenchi, with hilariously disastrous results.
However, throughout all the bickering between the girls over Tenchi's affections, he never seems to become more attached to any one of the girls, treating all of them as if they were members of his own family and doing everything he can for any one of them. This, even more than his powers and lightblade, make Tenchi a truly admirable character. And while his seeming ignorance of the girls feelings for him, Ryoko's in particular, can be frustrating for the viewer, it is his devotion to all of them equally that sets Tenchi Muyo apart from most Harem anime that would follow. Where most series in the genre ultimately end with the protagonist choosing one of those competing for their affections (Love Hina for example and Fruits Basket as a notable exception), Tenchi Muyo always leaves the answer to the burning question "Who's Tenchi going to end up with?" vague. The closest they ever came is the ending to Tenchi Muyo in Love 2, which is ambiguous at best, and that isn't even the same continuity. It's more confusing the the Trek reboot. Although I haven't seen the end of the 3rd OVA, so I may be wrong.
Still, when it comes down to it, there are four key elements that really make Tenchi fun to watch. Interesting Characters, Excellent animation, oft gut busting Comedy, and unrequited love.
And Now, your Moment of AMV Zen...
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