Just a Shy Guy Out to Save Earth--While Dodging Space Babes

Tenchi Masaki appears to be a normal teenager, learning to care for his family’s Shinto shrine in a small town on Japan’s main island of Honshu, but he’s also the long-lost crown prince of the planet Jurai and commands awesome psychic powers. Maybe that’s why the syllables for the animated character’s name can be read in Japanese as both “Earth and heaven” and “this side up.”

“There’s such a dichotomy in Tenchi: He’s supposed to be this shy shrine-keeper’s assistant, yet he goes out battling for Jurai--and has to deal with the attention of all the female characters,” says Matt K. Miller, who supplies the character’s voice in the English-language versions of “Tenchi.”

Since its debut in 1992, a unique blend of science-fiction adventure and slapstick romantic comedy has made “Tenchi Muyo!” (literally “No Time for Tenchi” or “Who Needs Tenchi”) an exceptionally popular anime series in Japan and around the world. There have been “Tenchi” broadcast series, features, direct-to-video adventures, music and drama CDs, video games and other products.

Like “Scooby-Doo,” all the “Tenchi” stories share essentially the same plot: An extraterrestrial villain threatens Earth; Tenchi invariably saves the day, using his powers as a Jurai prince. The sci-fi menace plays against the comedy of the title character coping with six women from outer space who have crushes on him.

The original “Tenchi Muyo!” series has sold more than half a million videos in the United States, a large figure for an anime release. Three “Tenchi” series began on the Cartoon Network in July. Although they’ve been edited to remove some of the violence and to accommodate the half-hour time slot--and bathing suits have been painted onto the female characters in the scenes set at a hot springs--the cable outlet says they’ve earned good ratings. “Tenchi” products, including trading cards and T-shirts, began appearing in the U.S. earlier this year.

Like many American animated TV series, from “Rocky and Bullwinkle” to “The Simpsons,” “Tenchi” derives much of its popularity from the writing and the vocal performances. Among fans, the relative merits of the original Japanese cast versus those on the English dub is often the subject of lengthy debates, but the U.S. “Tenchi” actors receive high marks.

The four principal actors--Miller (Tenchi), Petrea Burchard (Ryoko), Jennifer Darling (Ayeka) and Sherry Lynn (Sasami)--discussed their work in a recent interview at the dubbing facility in Studio City, often speaking of their characters in the first person.

The most popular character in the “Tenchi” series is Ryoko, the outrageous, sexy space pirate. She has numerous fan sites on the Web, and while dozens of “Tenchi” cels turn up on EBay each week, the ones of Ryoko fetch the highest prices. Burchard says, “I think Ryoko is so popular because she has no guile: She’s completely out there. One moment, she’s madly in love; the next, she’s defending something--she wears all her emotions on her sleeve. It’s a great part that’s really fun to play.”

Ryoko’s lack of inhibitions invariably puts her in conflict with Ayeka, the prim and powerful crown princess of Jurai. In her performance, Darling has to walk a fine line, making her character proud and mannerly, but never priggish.

“Initially, I thought she was just a sweet, wide-eyed little princess,” Darling recalls. “But I really started to have fun when the other parts of Ayeka showed up: first her sense of humor, then she got in touch with her anger. She would go from this darling little pie-eyed thing to a nasty woman whose whole face would contort. There were also some very touching moments. These characters aren’t your basic animation characters: They have souls and complicated personalities.”

Princess Ayeka came to Earth with her extremely domestic younger sister, Sasami, whose large eyes indicate she’s the most sensitive member of the cast. She cooks for the Masaki household, and because she seems sweetly naive, she can say outrageous things and get away with them.

“Sasami has all the innocence of a child,” Lynn says. “I have two children and try to bring that realness to her: Children are very sensitive, yet strong, and they can be manipulative.”

Dubbing anime poses special problems for actors. In America, the voices are recorded first and the animators time the characters’ lip movements to them. In Japan, the animators merely approximate the mouth movements. The actors record their lines after the animation is completed, and the synchronization is never exact. The American actors have to fit the translated dialogue into the spaces provided by the Japanese artists.

“You’ve only got so many lip flaps to match, so you crunch the lines down when you’re in the recording booth,” says Miller.

The Americans sometimes listen to the Japanese dialogue for the emotional impact of a line, but never imitate their counterparts. Although they record their lines separately, the U.S. cast members manage to create a believable warmth that increases the appeal of “Tenchi.”

Part of that warmth is due to the friendships that have developed among the actors during the seven years they have worked together. They all laugh when two inevitable questions arise: Which of the women will eventually end up with Tenchi, and what is it about him that attracts them all?

“Of course, I think it should be Ryoko,” says Burchard, slipping into character. “He’s not going to do any better!”

“But Ryoko’s supposed to be over 700 years old,” replies Miller, sounding like Tenchi on the verge of hysteria. “I like older women--but 700 is pushing it!”

Growing more serious, he continues, “I’m not really sure what they see in Tenchi. Part of it is the one you can’t have is the one you want the most. He lets them push him around, but he never gives in to them totally. I think it’s just that he’s a well-rounded character who’s reaching his prime--and he’s a Jurai prince.”

“I’ve wondered what all the hullabaloo over the character is, and I think it may have more to do with the women’s own egos than with Tenchi,” adds Darling. “They get so carried away, it becomes a feminine competition. But he sure does play them along. I want to grab him and say, ‘Look, kid, make up your mind!’ ”

Lynn offers what for Sasami would be a typically practical counter-suggestion: “He has that little-boyish appeal. But there aren’t any other young men in the series. The fact that he’s the only guy around could have a lot to do with it.”

* “Tenchi” airs Mondays through Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. on the Cartoon Network. Uncut versions of the series “Tenchi Muyo!” and “Tenchi in Tokyo” and the features “Tenchi Muyo in Love,” “The Daughter of Darkness” and “Tenchi Forever” are available on DVD; the edited version of “Tenchi Muyo!” from the Cartoon Network recently appeared on VHS.