Tenchi Masaki

Tenchi Masaki (柾木 天地, Masaki Tenchi?) is the main protagonist of the Tenchi Muyo! series. Tenchi's name means 'Heaven and Earth'. It is the same as 'Tenchi' in the Shinto Kojiki which contains some of Japan's oldest myths and legends.

Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki

In the OVA-based continuities, Tenchi is the first prince of Jurai and the grandson of a Juraian prince named Yosho and an Airaian priestess named Airi. He gains possession of a 'Master Key' called 'Tenchi', also known as the Tenchi Sword (Tenchi-ken), that can form a lightsaber-like blade. He later receives a special ring from Tsunami that can create a Juraian battlesuit for him and acts as a 'Guardian System', protecting him. Tenchi also has the innate ability to create kou-ou-yoku ('Light Hawk Wings') (believed to be the only non-ship entity able to do so until encountering Z in OAV3), and the ill-defined ability of Material-Energy Conversion. Tenchi initially lives in the city with his father to attend school and visits his grandfather's shrine every summer, where he trains to become a Shinto priest and learns his family's special style of swordsmanship (which happens to be particular to members of Jurai's Royal Family). The house is permanently relocated next to the shrine after a battle between Ryoko and Ayeka, and Tenchi lives in the house with the girls while refusing to get intimate with them. Tenchi no longer attends school, after the school was decimated during the encounter with Ryoko in OVA 1.

Tenchi suffers a great deal of stress as he tries his hardest to be a gentleman while most of the women within the household will take the opportunity to display their attraction for him. In the third OVA series Tenchi is discovered to be engaged to Noike (aunt of Ayeka and Sasami). The arrangement was done by Tenchi's great great grandmother, known better as the "Devil Princess of Jurai" Seto Kamiki Jurai. Tenchi also found out around this time that he has an 80-year old sister named Tennyo Masaki, who looks like his late mother, Kiyone. Tenchi then learned from his grandfather, Katsuhito, that since Earth is a developing civilization, the Masaki clan must keep their true presence hidden since they do not age at the same rate as Earthlings, and those who are born into the Masaki family are also kept from these secrets until they come of age which is when they reach adulthood. After a climatic battle between the three Goddesses, the truth behind everything has happened was linked to the three. They decided to change the time line in order to repair the damage that they have done, and Tenchi, in his changed time line, doesn't get to meet Noike. However, Noike, along with Fuku, traveled into the past and altered the message Mihoshi was to send to her family (the message was originally altered by Z) so that she would meet Tenchi.

Tenchi is the most powerful character in the series, but is too young and immature to have full control over his Light Hawk Wings and other abilities. He is a competent swordsman and martial artist capable of superhuman feats thanks to his Juraian blood, but has only displayed his more unusual talents during dire situations, such as his duel with Kagato, the escape from a black hole, and the final confrontation with Z. The extent of Tenchi's powers is unknown; at one point they rage out of control, forcing the Goddesses to step in and prevent a catastrophe (in the new "altered" timeline, when Noike secretly fired the Choubimaru's cannon to collide with the Earth, again to preserve her future, Tenchi projects his Light Hawk Wings to stop it, a total of six wings, rather than the usual 3 wings he had before event.)

Tenchi also has an unexplained connection to a high-level entity, superior even to the three Goddesses. Airi notes in GXP (the same continuity) that Tenchi has several powers they haven't discovered yet - some examples include his instant teleportation off the planet when Z destroys much of the Earth, his speedy teleportation to Saturn when Z is about to slice him with his Light Hawk Wings, and his ability to keep up with his friend Seina in a foot race, despite Seina having drastic body enhancements and going downhill on a bicycle.

Though Tenchi is not bonded to a royal tree, he is considered a contender for the Jurai throne (determined by election of the four royal families) due both to his status as successor to First Prince Yosho (who was a contender due to his status and 1st Generation Royal Tree) and his singular ability among the Jurai to create Lighthawk Wings on his own. However Tenchi displays little interest in Jurai politics.

GXP

GXP is a spinoff continuation following the 3rd OVA series, but Tenchi himself does not play a prominent role in this series. The GP tried to recruit Tenchi, but they got Seina instead. Tenchi showed no interested in joining the GP. He only appears in a speaking role in Episode 17, wherein his old friend Seina Yamada comes to his house to see Washu Hakubi to talk about the cabbit Fuku that she had given him. During his visit Tenchi is able to cook a meal for Seina, however, Seina is on call and has to be retrieved before he has a chance to eat Tenchi's cooked meal. Tenchi also showed that he can move incredibly fast during a race with Seina, since he can keep up with him despite Seina having drastic body enhancements and going downhill on a bicycle. Tenchi, as well as the other girls, also appear in a brief cameo in Episode 26 in which they attend Seina's wedding.

Tenchi Universe

In the first TV series, Tenchi Universe, Tenchi is similar in personality to the Tenchi of the OVA, but has no powers beyond the ability to use Tenchi-ken (and, apparently, the blessing of his royal ancestors should he decide to take Jurai's throne). The Tenchi sword is just a weapon and is not a Master Key; there are no intelligent Royal Trees in the TV series. Tenchi does attend school, but it is a long commute for him because he lives at his family's shrine in the mountains. After finding out about his grandfather's true identity and defeating Kagato, Tenchi chose to turn down the Jurai throne and head back to Earth, after realizing that like his grandfather before him he wants to live a simple life without much responsibility. Although Tenchi was bored with living on Earth again without the girls around, he is surprised when they return and Ryoko reminds Tenchi that although a carnival would eventually leave, it would always come back again.

Tenchi in Tokyo

In the second TV series, Tenchi in Tokyo, Tenchi's personality and background are different. He has no connections to Jurai and the sword is created from seven gems which he inherited from his late mother. Ryoko separated the gems to prevent the sword from being used against her again. Each of the six girls took one of the gems as a keepsake. Tenchi moved to Tokyo to train as a Shinto priest under a friend of his grandfather's. Eventually, Tenchi got tired of the girls' frequent visits and ordered them never to disturb him again.

At the end of the series, Tenchi finds out that his family are the Planet Guardians whose job is to protect the planet from evil forces when the need arises. Although it was hard for Tenchi after learning about Sakuya Kumashiro's true identity, Tenchi was able to unite the gems together and chose to confront Yugi alone feeling that he was partly responsible for what happened. With some help from Ryoko, Ayeka, Mihoshi, and Kiyone, Tenchi caught up to Yugi and chose to spare her and give her a second chance. Tenchi explained she should have come to the Masaki Shrine in the first place and become friends with him and the others rather than to wallow away in loneliness. After the final battle, Tenchi moved back to the Masaki shrine.

Pretty Sammy

In the Magical Girl Pretty Sammy OVA series, Tenchi Kawai (河合 天地, Kawai Tenchi?) (as he is known in the show) is Sasami's older brother and a high school student. He is the center of attention for his classmates, Ryoko Orikasa and Ayeka Takada, to the point where they would fight each other for his affections. When Ryoko and Ayeka were transformed by Pixy Misa into Love Love Monsters, they began to fight over him for their affections, until Pretty Sammy intervened. When Pretty Sammy was having trouble against the Ryoko and Ayeka Love Love Monsters, Tenchi was able to get through to them by apologizing to them for not choosing between them. Even after Sammy turned them back to normal Tenchi still had to deal with Ryoko and Ayeka's bickering as he doesn't understand true love yet.

In Magical Project S (Pretty Samy TV), he only appears in Episode 12 and is known as Tenchi Masaki, a director of the Blue Sky Cool Rangers, a Super Sentai-style TV series. Tenchi was having problems with the production as he was starting out as a director, until Sasami decided to help by guest starring on a Cool Rangers episode as Pretty Sammy. This helped save his career. Sasami developed a crush on him, but was heartbroken, after she learned that Tenchi already has a girlfriend, and that he was moving away when he was given a job offer as a theatrical director.