Ayeka

Ayeka is the *other* girl in the Masaki household who is almost continuously trying to win the heart of Tenchi. Competing with Ryoko, she is easily irritated and her reasons for trying to win Tenchi's heart is slightly different throughout the different Tenchi series.

Ayeka is the first Crown Princess to the Jurai Crown. By destiny, she was to marry her half-brother, Yosho, and become the Queen of Jurai (don't go screaming incest here, please?). Yosho, meanwhile, disappeared one day and Ayeka was left behind, becoming the 1st Crown Princess. She has spent her life learning customs and laws that come with being a member of the Jurai royal family. Thus, she is way more polite than her rival, Ryoko. Her father is King Azusa, King of Jurai. Her mother is Queen Misaki, who is well known for her...uh...mental instability? You just have to watch the OAV series to find out what I mean.

In the OAV (Tenchi Muyo!)

Ayeka is well over 700 years old in the OAV when her ship, Ryu-Oh, crashed landed into Earth, causing her to be stranded on Earth. Ryu-Oh? Don't ask, it's not very important. That ship spends WAY too much time at the bottom of that lake to be of much importance anyway. Hehe, j/k.

Ayeka's half-brother, Yosho, eventually gave birth to a daughter, who in turn gave birth to a son named Tenchi. Now, Yosho basically *encouraged* Ayeka to marry his grandson and she seems set on doing that. She has often said that it is their destiny to marry because they are both of Jurai blood, something that Ryoko doesn't have.

The True Tenchi novels say that Ayeka's natural hair color is blue, like her mother's and Sasami. However, it was genertically altered to match the purple hair of her father.

Ayeka and Sasami get along very well in this series--they're sisters, what'd you expect? Ayeka comforted Sasami when Sasami told Ayeka the story of how she had "died" 700 years before in the Jurai gardens when Kagato attacked. They seem to have a close relationship. However, Sasami did cause trouble to Ayeka (when she seemingly should know better). Some even go onto say that Sasami "set" Ayeka up with mischief more than once--sometimes putting Tenchi in very awkward positions.

In TV Series #1 (Tenchi Universe)

Ayeka's role is only slightly different in the second Tenchi series, the TV series (aka Tenchi Universe).

Ayeka in this series comes to earth in a ship named Ryu-Oh, and once again Ryu-Oh seems quite useless considering how much time it spends at the bottom of that lake (what does it do down there, anyway? why do ships seem to like that lake so much? do they talk to fish all day?). She was touched by the kindness of Tenchi when she meeted him and after that simply did not want to leave.

So, once again she is in love with Tenchi. Once again she's in direct competition with Ryoko. She seems to love Tenchi for many of the same reasons--destiny, his kindness. etc.--as in the OAV.

Ayeka gets along very well with Sasami in this series. Though they aren't seen together as often as one would suppose they would, they are obviously close and get along well.

In TV Series #2 (Tenchi In Tokyo; Shin Tenchi Muyo!)

Ayeka takes on a slightly different roll in "Shin Tenchi Muyo!". Ayeka is very aggressive in this series and doesn't seem to trust Tenchi very much, afraid that he could be flirting with other women.

In this series, exactly why Ayeka loves Tenchi is harder to explain. Ayeka is not related to Tenchi in this series. Apparently the reasons why she loves Tenchi are due more to his kindness towards her and their "connection" (you have to watch the series to understand what I'm saying).

Sasami is influenced a lot by Ayeka in this series and vice versa (remember that road trip episode? Sasami had a loud outburst at Ayeka's suggestion of using Ryo-Ohki for travel to Tokyo). Otherwise, as both are Princesses of Jurai, they get along pretty well--better than a lot of sisters that I know...

Does Tenchi have a chance with Ayeka?

Why not? Ayeka and Tenchi seem to have good chemistry. Ayeka doesn't "drag" Tenchi around to the extent that Ryoko puts it at. Although she doesn't seem to win the heart of Tenchi in the series "Tenchi Universe," or "Tenchi in Tokyo," (then again, no one knows exactly who Tenchi picks in those two series) she is a viable competitor to Ryoko. They get along well, and although Tenchi seems kinda shy when they first meet (especially in Tenchi Universe), they seem to enjoy each other's company (except when Ryoko's around, usually, hehe).

Notes on Ayeka

• Ayeka name is believed to be derived from the word "aekanaru," which translates roughly to "frail" or "delicate,". This makes sense to me!
• Some people argue that Ayeka's name should be written "Aeka" since in "Englishenizing" (that makes no sense does it?) a word from Japanese to English, the letter "Y" is usually not added unless it exists in the Japanese word. However, Pioneer seems to use "Ayeka" more often for the sake that it makes pronouncing the word easier.
• Ayeka bloodtype is AB.