Tenchi Muyo
This seven volume OAV SF story involves Tenchi and lots of oddly powerful women, including Ryoko who has to be one of my favorite characters from any animation. The character design is cute. Part of the story take place in futuristic setting usually in space, and other parts occur in rural Japan near a temple. The science fiction settings are outlandish, while the background art in the scenes depicting Japan are really quite beautiful. This makes for a pleasant variety of settings. The story itself is convoluted and silly, but if you like delightful characters, and allow yourself to get caught up in a story that you know is absurd, you will be rewarded with animebliss. To top things off, Kogato, is one of the best villains ever made in anime.Now that I have explained that the series is good, I should explain something that seems to confuse some people no end. Tenchi Muyo, The Tenchi Universe, and Tenchi in Tokyo are different stories. Tenchi Muyo just by itself is usually assumed to mean the OAV series. I have yet to hear of anyone who likes The Tenchi Universe or Tenchi in Tokyo better than Tenchi Muyo the OAV. The Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo were made for television and it shows; the animation is not as good, but there are lots of episodes. The Tenchi Universe has all the same characters as the OAV, but the storyline is different. Even the personalities are changed slightly. Tenchi in Tokyo, unlike the other two storylines, starts with all the characters living together. Many complain about the way the storyline was altered in Tenchi in Tokyo and don't like the slightly different styling of the characters. Personally, I don't think it's so bad, but I would recommend a first time viewer watch the OAV first, or maybe The Tenchi Universe, but not Tenchi in Tokyo. Watching Tenchi In Tokyo first would be like listening to Wings before ever hearing The Beatles; It wouldn't be a tragedy, but it would seem a bit of a shame.