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.com ---- Although Tenchi Muyo! (1992) can be translated as "No Need for Tenchi," everyone wants the teenage hero of this popular series--at least all the girls do. Maybe that's why his name can be read in Japanese as both "Earth and Heaven" and "This Side Up." Although he appears to be a normal 17-year-old kid living in the small town of Okayama, Tenchi Masaki is actually the long-lost crown prince of the planet Jurai, and commands awesome psychic powers. In the first adventure (episodes 1 to 7), Tenchi inadvertently wakes what people believe is a mummified demon imprisoned in the Masaki family shrine for 700 years; but it's really space pirate extraordinaire Ryoko. The problems she causes are dwarfed by the arrival of Jurai princesses Ayeka and Sasami; bubble-brained Galactic agent Mihoshi and her long-suffering partner Kiyone; and super-genius Washu. Assuming his role as prince of Jurai, Tenchi defeats the machinations of the evil Kagato with a magic that resembles a light saber. Keeping the Masaki household in chaos in the later, shorter adventures (episodes 8 to 13) are unexpected arrivals, including a baby cousin of Tenchi's, a shape-shifting robot who impersonates Ryoko, and the Emperor and Empress of Jurai. Tenchi Muyo! established the anime genre of the harem comedy: all the women from space pursue Tenchi--unsuccessfully. The initial OVA spawned several TV remakes and spinoffs, as well as three theatrical features, music and drama CDs, video games, and licensed products. Countless harem comedy series followed Tenchi , but none of them balanced interplanetary threats, teenage romance, and broad comedy to better effect. More than 20 years after its initial release, Tenchi Muyo! remains an anime classic. (Rated TV 14: risqué humor, violence, nudity, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon