Ryoko

Ryoko is the character who is the greatest burden on Tenchi. Yet, Tenchi doesn't kick her out of the household. Ryoko causes so much trouble on Tenchi. I wonder how much money their family has to spend on repairing the roof after Ryoko tears holes in them with her duals with Ayeka?

Ryoko has an obvious love interest with Tenchi. Though Tenchi doesn't follow through, Ryoko constantly fights with Ayeka over Tenchi. In the second TV series, Tenchi seems to choose Ryoko as his "mate" at the end of the series. Why do I think this? You just have to see the second Tenchi movie and find out.

In the OAV (Tenchi Muyo!)

In the OAV, Ryoko is a demon who is an A-1 Class Space Criminal, as classified by the Galaxy Police. She herself is a creation of the mad scientist/goddess Washu. She was created as a combination of one of Washu's own egg cells and simple life forms known as Mass (which were also used to create Ryo-Ohki).

She (and Kagato) attacked Jurai (Ryoko was under the control of Kagato). They were successful. Ryoko used the powers of her gems to go through the Jurai border. During the attack she shot down a ship which crashed into a building in which Princess Sasami was playing. As a result she fell to her death but was saved by Tsunami (see the Sasami or Tsunami sections of this site). Kagato's goal for Ryoko was to capture Tsunami, but since Ryoko couldn't find Tsunami she had to retreat. Yosho (Katsuhito) chased after her and captured her and trapped her in a cave on Earth.

After she spent 700 years in the cave, she created a gem that she used to attack Tenchi with. However, Tenchi destroyed it in their famous "battle" in the first Tenchi Muyo episode. It was later revealed, however, that Ryoko had developed a love interest in Tenchi while watching him grow up from within her cave.

In the OAV, Ryoko assimilated with a robot named Zero. Zero had copied some of Ryoko's memories to go along with the body that Zero made. After Zero allowed her emotions to surface (and couldn't bring herself to complete her mission which was to kill Tenchi and capture Washu), Washu made Zero assimilate with Ryoko. The result between the combination was a Ryoko with much more obvious emotions.

More about Ryoko will likely be revealed in the upcoming new episodes of the Tenchi OAV currently being produced in Japan.

Ryoko's relationship with Sasami in this series is hard to describe. They are definately friends (after all it was Ryoko who introduced Sasami to Ryo-ohki). Sasami is great friends with Ryoko at times but at other times it seems that Ryoko could care less if Sasami existed. Sasami was well known for causing mischief between Ryoko and Ayeka. Lotsa fun to watch. Ryoko at times gets jealous at Sasami because her innocent ways often lead her to be the first person to do things with Tenchi, such as hugging him after battle.

RYOKO'S GEMS

In the OAV the scope of Ryoko's powers were largely determined by the number of gems which she had. The more gems she had, the more abilities she had. She could have up to three gems--one on each wrist and one on her neck. The gems contain the power of her "mother", Washu (who is a goddess whose powers are equal to or are possibly stronger than Tokimi and Tsunami). With no gems, she only has a few powers (including teleportation, phasing with matter, flight, growth, regeneration, force fields, etc.). When she has any one of the gems, she is able to summon and control minor demons and summon major demons. When she any of the two gems she can control the major demons. With the third gem, she becomes as powerful as Tsunami. She is able to use all three gems to tap into the power of Washu that is trapped within the gems. Ryoko is able to create up to 10 Lighthawk Wings.

Some notable things is that in the OAV, Ryoko has several known limitations to her powers. For example, it takes a huge amount of alcohol to make her intoxicated (which partially explains why she is so frequently seen with a kettle full of sake wine). She lacks the ability to taste.

In TV Series #1 (Tenchi Universe)

In the first TV series, Ryoko is very different from how we know her in Tenchi Muyo!. For example, she is not related to Washu and her power is not determined by her gems (she still has her gems in this series but they are for decoration). She is the same age as Ayeka (in flashbacks she is shown as the same age as Ayeka during their childhood fights). Less is known about her history. Assuming that in their flashbacks, both Ayeka and Ryoko are exaggerating A LOT, we can assume that Ryoko knew Ayeka for a long time and they have always had a slight problem getting along with each other.

In this series, Ryoko hasn't known Tenchi since he was little (in the OAV series Ryoko watched Tenchi from the cave as he grew up). Yet, Ryoko nonetheless falls in love with Tenchi and is with odds with Ayeka for him. However, more importantly, at the end of the series (Tenchi Universe officially ended with the release of the movie "Tenchi Forever" (Tenchi Muyo In Love II), Tenchi appears to be a lot closer to Ryoko than Ayeka, leading some to believe that Tenchi chooses Ryoko over Ayeka as his mate.

The only mentioned limitation in Ryoko's powers in the first TV series is that Ryoko can only teleport to a place where she has been before.

Ryoko has a less obvious relationship with Sasami in this series. They are still friends but are not obviously "linked" together.

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

Nothing really special in Tenchi in Tokyo. Although you do get to see her dress up in full make up and go out on a date with Tenchi. That was priceless. :)

In Tenchi in Tokyo, Ryoko is not much different from how she was in earlier series. She seems less arrogant, however, saying at one point that she trusted Tenchi whatever he was doing.

The relationship between Ryoko and Sasami are similar to how they were in previous series.

Does Tenchi have a chance with Ryoko?

Most definately. In fact, many claim that Tenchi "chooses" Ryoko in the first TV series based on observations in the last event of the series, the movie "Tenchi Forever." In this series, Tenchi obviously has a lot more influence from Ryoko than Ayeka, and the last scene of the movie brings more "evidence" because Ryoko was alone with Tenchi and Ayeka was somewhere on the other side of the Masaki shrine. In the OAV series, Tenchi has yet to verbally commit to someone, but according to AIC, the company that produces Tenchi, Tenchi will choose his mate in the upcoming new episodes which are currently in production in Japan. In the last series, Tenchi in Tokyo, Tenchi doesn't appear to choose anyone.

Notes on Ryoko

• Ryoko's name means "spirit caller", as it was mentioned in the OAV. However, it translates to (according to one source) "Demon summoner."
• The Galaxy Police (GXP) classifies her as "A-1 Class Criminal" in the OAV and as a space pirate in the first TV series.
• Ryoko's bloodtype is AB.