Tenjho Tenge
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
manga
authored
by Ito "Oh! great" Ōgure
. The story primarily focuses on the members of the Juken Club and their opposition, the Executive Council, which is the ruling student body
of a high school that educates its students in the art of combat. As the story unfolds, both groups become increasingly involved with an ongoing battle that has been left unresolved for four hundred years.
Tenjho Tenge was serialized in the Japanese magazine Ultra Jump
published by Shūeisha
. It was adapted into a twenty-six episode anime series and aired on TV Asahi
in Japan between April 1, 2004 to September 16, 2004. A two-episode original video animation
was also made and aired on March 16, 2005. Both versions of the series have been licensed for release in the English language
by two different companies. The manga has been licensed for publication by CMX
, which came under criticism by fans for editing its sexual content. The anime series was licensed and has been released by Geneon Entertainment. As of November 2010, Viz Media holds the license to the manga.
, such as pyrokinesis
, precognition
, and superhuman strength
based on the abilities to use their "spirit" or "ki
" in Japanese. After an altercation with the Executive Council, Souichiro and Bob join the only surviving club that opposes them, the Juken club. As the storyline develops, both groups find they are becoming increasingly involved in a long enduring conflict that was left unresolved from the Japanese Feudal era by some of the characters' ancestors.
in the form of story arc
s, which is common for the medium. Oh! great
often employs the literary technique
s of flashback
and back-story
for long stretches of the storyline.
These techniques are used to enforce the notion of determinism
which is used throughout the story. Much of the combat used in Tenjho Tenge encompasses many philosophical and strategic concepts that is used in Japanese martial arts
, such as kiai
, aiki
, and maai
.
The Tenjho Tenge manga
was first serialized by the Japanese monthly manga magazine Ultra Jump
, by the publisher Shueisha
in 1997. Its serialization was Oh! great
's first crossover mainstream comic from writing and illustrating pornographic
comics. About two times a year, Shueisha compiles five of Tenjho Tenges chapters into bound volumes
. Tenjho Tenge has been licensed for the English language
publication by CMX
, which is an imprint
of DC Comics
. CMX version of the manga is heavily edited in order for it to be rated as Teen "...to give it the widest possible distribution in the United States". According to CMX, these changes were made in conjunction with Shueisha and the Tenjho Tenge creator, Oh! great, who examines each of the CMX's volumes and their changes. As of January 2010, 21 tankōbon
have been released in Japan, and 18 volumes in North America.
As of November 2010, Viz Media holds the rights to the manga. they have stated in an interview that they will release the series bi-monthly, starting June 2011. They have promised that their version will be 100% uncut, and faithful to the original version. Viz's releases will also include color pages, and have stated that since each release will cover two volumes, the second cover will be printed in as a color page.
was directed by Toshifumi Kawase, animated by Madhouse
, and produced by TV Asahi
and Avex
. The twenty-four episodes were originally aired weekly on TV Asahi in Japan on Thursdays from April 1, 2004 to September 16, 2004. These episodes were made into eight-volume DVD box sets. Two additional episodes were broadcast by TV Asahi in Japan on March 16, 2005 and released in the form of an original video animation
named Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight. The anime follows closely to its source material up to the manga's eighth volume with the exception of the sexual content which was toned down. The anime has been dubbed
into English
, French
, German
and the Tagalog language
. The anime series has been licensed for the English language
by Geneon Entertainment, and has released all episodes except the DVD special named Tenjho Tenge: The Past Chapter, which is the back-story told through flashback
s in the second half of the TV anime condensed into the size of four episodes. The series was broadcast in North America by the cable channel Fuse TV
.
Although not mentioned on the Geneon Entertainment (USA)
website, or the Tenjho Tenge mini-site, the OVA is available on the last volume, sometimes listed as Episodes 25 and 26. In Australia and the UK, the series was released over seven volumes, and include the OVA on the seventh disc.
whom provided the opening and closing themes songs of the anime. In 2004, Avex record label released the Tenjho Tenge soundtrack and a single. In 2005, Avex released two character collection
albums.
, is known to flavor his works with wanton sex and violence,. Oh! great uses sex as an important aspect of the storyline by using it as a powerful motivator both negatively and positively. He often has his characters contemplate the significance and importance of fighting as well as the meaning of strength. This conscious deliberation of subjective reasoning and objective truth between characters is the most imperative aspect of story and is considered to be rare in manga. Readers may find that Oh! great's narrative
is occasionally hard to follow and at times the plot moves slowly. Since the manga is mature in nature, one reviewer found the various explicit sex and nudity scenes disturbing. The artwork in Tenjho Tenge is considered by many to be remarkable, even more so after the manga's third volume was released because of inconsistency early on in the series. Oh! great is known for his characters to have unrealistic body proportions
, and Tenjho Tenge is no different. The majority of the female characters have "...ultra large breasts..." and the males characters are extraordinarily muscular, but this facilitates the characters personalities to come through in their distinctive features. Overall, the Tenjho Tenge manga is well received having sold over 10.7 million copies, and its volumes regularly being in the top twenty best selling manga for Japanese Tohan charts and North American Diamond Comic Distributors
charts.
, gratuitous cleavage
, and panty shots
. Since the anime is a close adaptation to the manga, critique of the plot is comparable to the manga's. Some reviewers felt that the anime was handled in a frantic and ill planned manner that made the conclusion not satisfactory even with the original video animation
. The animation done by Madhouse
is considered to be well done. They used bright vibrant colors, solid backgrounds and plenty of visible detail with very little pixelation
or jagged movement, but at times used repeated character shots and animations. The animation done during the fight scenes is done in real time and is done as close to reality as possible while still bending, and often violating, the laws of physics
. The early fight scenes are thought to be the "...most intense seen in recent anime". The quality of animation in these scenes does drop somewhat over time, but the action still looks better than the average fighting anime. Both the Japanese and English voice acting
are considered to be good, but the English dub at times can be a little uneven. The English dub on occasion has poor dialogue which causes it to lose much of the anime's sincerity. Overall, the anime is considered to be above average, but suffers from a lack of a good ending, mainly because the anime only covered the first arc of the story.
came under a great deal of criticism for its edits from readers. These edits included the length and breadth of the book, censoring out anything they felt was questionable for a teen audience such as covering up or removing nudity
, fanservice, and sexual innuendo as well as a removal of an omake
chapter. This was done by a brand whose promotional material asserts that it offers "pure manga — 100% the way the original Japanese creators want you to see it." One of grievances made against CMX is that the edits are not only severe, but very noticeable. One review states it is "possibly the most heavily censored title in the history of the North American manga industry."
In response, protesters boycott the edited version and even started up their own website. Immediately following the controversy, Jake Tarbox, group editor of CMX, resigned from the company. "Tarbox was widely blamed by the fan community for the censoring of Tenjho Tenge, although inside sources suggest that Tarbox was not responsible for the decision to censor the manga." In the face of complaints, CMX had internal discussions about the possibility of publishing an unedited version of Tenjho Tenge, but decided to complete the current version. At the 2007 AnimeExpo, CMX announced that they planned to change Tenjho Tenges rating to Mature beginning with volume fifteen, but warned that it still would be edited, but more lightly.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
authored
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
by Ito "Oh! great" Ōgure
Oh! great
Oh! great, whose real name is , is a Japanese manga artist most recognized for the manga series Tenjho Tenge and Air Gear. In 2006, he received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen for Air Gear. Oh! great also created the adult series Silky Whip...
. The story primarily focuses on the members of the Juken Club and their opposition, the Executive Council, which is the ruling student body
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
of a high school that educates its students in the art of combat. As the story unfolds, both groups become increasingly involved with an ongoing battle that has been left unresolved for four hundred years.
Tenjho Tenge was serialized in the Japanese magazine Ultra Jump
Ultra Jump
is a Japanese monthly seinen manga magazine published by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. Originally, the magazine was a special issue of Weekly Young Jump which first issued in 1995. On October 19 of 1999, the special issue became the new monthly publication Ultra Jump...
published by Shūeisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
. It was adapted into a twenty-six episode anime series and aired on TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
in Japan between April 1, 2004 to September 16, 2004. A two-episode original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
was also made and aired on March 16, 2005. Both versions of the series have been licensed for release in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by two different companies. The manga has been licensed for publication by CMX
CMX (comics)
CMX was a division of Wildstorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics which in turn is owned by Time Warner. It was DC's line of manga translations....
, which came under criticism by fans for editing its sexual content. The anime series was licensed and has been released by Geneon Entertainment. As of November 2010, Viz Media holds the license to the manga.
Plot
The plot begins with Souichiro Nagi and his friend Bob Makihara going to their first day of high school at Toudou Academy. They had intended to rule the school by beating up anybody that got in their way, as they had done at their previous schools. They soon learn that Todo is no ordinary high school, but rather a school that was founded to teach and integrate different fighting styles. Its students are skilled in the various arts of combat with some students possessing supernatural abilitiesSuperpower (ability)
Superpower is a popular culture term for a fictional superhuman ability. When a character possesses multiple such abilities, the terms super powers or simply powers are used...
, such as pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis, derived from the Greek words and , was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind that he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in Firestarter...
, precognition
Precognition
In parapsychology, precognition , also called future sight, and second sight, is a type of extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics...
, and superhuman strength
Superhuman strength
Superhuman strength, also called superstrength, super-strength, or super strength, is an ability commonly employed in fiction. It is the ability for a character to be stronger than humanly possible...
based on the abilities to use their "spirit" or "ki
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
" in Japanese. After an altercation with the Executive Council, Souichiro and Bob join the only surviving club that opposes them, the Juken club. As the storyline develops, both groups find they are becoming increasingly involved in a long enduring conflict that was left unresolved from the Japanese Feudal era by some of the characters' ancestors.
Style and themes
Tenjho Tenge uses a character-driven plot. The story uses a dramatic structureDramatic structure
Dramatic structure is the structure of a dramatic work such as a play or film. Many scholars have analyzed dramatic structure, beginning with Aristotle in his Poetics...
in the form of story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
s, which is common for the medium. Oh! great
Oh! great
Oh! great, whose real name is , is a Japanese manga artist most recognized for the manga series Tenjho Tenge and Air Gear. In 2006, he received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen for Air Gear. Oh! great also created the adult series Silky Whip...
often employs the literary technique
Literary technique
A literary technique is any element or the entirety of elements a writer intentionally uses in the structure of their work...
s of flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
and back-story
Back-story
A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...
for long stretches of the storyline.
These techniques are used to enforce the notion of determinism
Determinism
Determinism is the general philosophical thesis that states that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen. There are many versions of this thesis. Each of them rests upon various alleged connections, and interdependencies of things and...
which is used throughout the story. Much of the combat used in Tenjho Tenge encompasses many philosophical and strategic concepts that is used in Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of martial arts native to Japan. At least three Japanese terms are often used interchangeably with the English phrase "Japanese martial arts": , literally meaning "martial way", , which has no perfect translation but means something like science,...
, such as kiai
Kiai
is a Japanese term used in martial arts. There are numerous examples of the battle cry in other cultures: kiai is perhaps primarily a development of this. In the representation of Asian martial arts in cinema and in animated cartoons, Modern Kiai are often written by westerners in Romaji as...
, aiki
Aiki (martial arts principle)
Aiki is a Japanese martial arts principle or tactic in which the defender blends with the attacker, then goes on to dominate the assailant through the strength of their application of internal dynamics or Ki energy to effect techniques. Blending with an attacker's movements allows the Aiki...
, and maai
Maai
, translating simply to "interval", is a Japanese martial arts term referring to the space between two opponents in combat; formally, the "engagement distance". It is a complex concept, incorporating not just the distance between opponents, but also the time it will take to cross the distance,...
.
Characters
- A third year student and the current leader of the Juken Club. She is very skilled in various martial arts, but does not possess the Dragon's Eye like her siblings. For this reason her father entrusted her with the cursed sword Reiki. Early in the series, she would use a body manipulation technique to revert herself into her childhood formSuper deformedSuper deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
to conserve her kiQiIn traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
. She also has an argument to settle with mitsuomi takaynagi.
- A second year student and Mitsuomi's younger brother. Most of the time he has an easy going personality and is somewhat shy, but his demeanor changes when he becomes angered or serious. When this happens, he becomes a very formidable combatant.
- A first year student and the youngest of the Natsume family. She has ginger ankle-length hair. Like her brother Shin, she has the power of the Dragon's Eye. Although she has problems consciously activating it, she seems to have better control of the power than her brother. She also is in love with Souichiro, she constantly tries to win his heart. She is mostly seen fighting with swords whenever possible.
- A first year student and self proclaimed hoodlum. He always wear a black long coat. he is very resilient and manges to surprise watchers by battling against the odds. He is the heir of the Demon Exorcist family. His family's supernatural power is called the Dragon's Fist, which gives them the ability to take supernatural powers from others and use it as their own. This power is often feared and misunderstood by others which caused Souichiro to be socially rejectedSocial rejectionSocial rejection occurs when an individual is deliberately excluded from a social relationship or social interaction. The topic includes both interpersonal rejection and romantic rejection. A person can be rejected on an individual basis or by an entire group of people...
.
- A first year student of African descent. He has been friends with Souichiro since elementary school. He is athletic and practices the Afro-Brazilian martial art of CapoeiraCapoeiraCapoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
. He is actually stronger than Nagi. He often has a cool head and always look after his girlfriend Chiaki.
- The current president of the Executive Council and of the head of the Takayanagi family. He is a third year student and the top ranked fighter of the whole school. He is a highly skilled and dedicated martial artist. Because of an incident with Shin and the Dragon's Eye, he is only able to use his formidable abilities for about three minutes at a time.
Manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
was first serialized by the Japanese monthly manga magazine Ultra Jump
Ultra Jump
is a Japanese monthly seinen manga magazine published by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. Originally, the magazine was a special issue of Weekly Young Jump which first issued in 1995. On October 19 of 1999, the special issue became the new monthly publication Ultra Jump...
, by the publisher Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
in 1997. Its serialization was Oh! great
Oh! great
Oh! great, whose real name is , is a Japanese manga artist most recognized for the manga series Tenjho Tenge and Air Gear. In 2006, he received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen for Air Gear. Oh! great also created the adult series Silky Whip...
's first crossover mainstream comic from writing and illustrating pornographic
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
comics. About two times a year, Shueisha compiles five of Tenjho Tenges chapters into bound volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
. Tenjho Tenge has been licensed for the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
publication by CMX
CMX (comics)
CMX was a division of Wildstorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics which in turn is owned by Time Warner. It was DC's line of manga translations....
, which is an imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
of DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. CMX version of the manga is heavily edited in order for it to be rated as Teen "...to give it the widest possible distribution in the United States". According to CMX, these changes were made in conjunction with Shueisha and the Tenjho Tenge creator, Oh! great, who examines each of the CMX's volumes and their changes. As of January 2010, 21 tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
have been released in Japan, and 18 volumes in North America.
As of November 2010, Viz Media holds the rights to the manga. they have stated in an interview that they will release the series bi-monthly, starting June 2011. They have promised that their version will be 100% uncut, and faithful to the original version. Viz's releases will also include color pages, and have stated that since each release will cover two volumes, the second cover will be printed in as a color page.
Anime
The Tenjho Tenge animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
was directed by Toshifumi Kawase, animated by Madhouse
Madhouse (company)
is a Japanese animation studio, founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It has created and helped to produce many well known shows, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! in 1973, and including western favourites Ninja...
, and produced by TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
and Avex
Avex Trax
, listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange as 7860 and abbreviated as AGHD, is the holding company for a group of entertainment-related subsidiaries based in Japan...
. The twenty-four episodes were originally aired weekly on TV Asahi in Japan on Thursdays from April 1, 2004 to September 16, 2004. These episodes were made into eight-volume DVD box sets. Two additional episodes were broadcast by TV Asahi in Japan on March 16, 2005 and released in the form of an original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
named Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight. The anime follows closely to its source material up to the manga's eighth volume with the exception of the sexual content which was toned down. The anime has been dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and the Tagalog language
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
. The anime series has been licensed for the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Geneon Entertainment, and has released all episodes except the DVD special named Tenjho Tenge: The Past Chapter, which is the back-story told through flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s in the second half of the TV anime condensed into the size of four episodes. The series was broadcast in North America by the cable channel Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
.
Although not mentioned on the Geneon Entertainment (USA)
Geneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
website, or the Tenjho Tenge mini-site, the OVA is available on the last volume, sometimes listed as Episodes 25 and 26. In Australia and the UK, the series was released over seven volumes, and include the OVA on the seventh disc.
Music
The anime's music, including the background music and theme songs, were composed and performed by various artists, such as m.c.A.T and Aiko KayoAiko Kayo
is a popular idol singer. She has released 12 singles and 2 albums on the Avex Trax label in Japan. She has also performed with the musical units and a☆girls.-About:Aiko Kayō was born on December 11, 1985 in Kanagawa Prefecture....
whom provided the opening and closing themes songs of the anime. In 2004, Avex record label released the Tenjho Tenge soundtrack and a single. In 2005, Avex released two character collection
Image song
An image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album for an anime, game or dorama that is usually sung by the seiyū or actor of a character, in character...
albums.
Manga
The Tenjho Tenge manga is described as an "...engaging mix of action and comedy together while wrapping it all up in a large plot that's fairly dark and really violent at times". It is also known for its fighting, spontaneous nudity, and somewhat explicit sex scenes. Its creator, Oh! greatOh! great
Oh! great, whose real name is , is a Japanese manga artist most recognized for the manga series Tenjho Tenge and Air Gear. In 2006, he received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen for Air Gear. Oh! great also created the adult series Silky Whip...
, is known to flavor his works with wanton sex and violence,. Oh! great uses sex as an important aspect of the storyline by using it as a powerful motivator both negatively and positively. He often has his characters contemplate the significance and importance of fighting as well as the meaning of strength. This conscious deliberation of subjective reasoning and objective truth between characters is the most imperative aspect of story and is considered to be rare in manga. Readers may find that Oh! great's narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
is occasionally hard to follow and at times the plot moves slowly. Since the manga is mature in nature, one reviewer found the various explicit sex and nudity scenes disturbing. The artwork in Tenjho Tenge is considered by many to be remarkable, even more so after the manga's third volume was released because of inconsistency early on in the series. Oh! great is known for his characters to have unrealistic body proportions
Body proportions
While there is significant variation in anatomical proportions between people, there are many references to body proportions that are intended to be canonical, either in art, measurement, or medicine....
, and Tenjho Tenge is no different. The majority of the female characters have "...ultra large breasts..." and the males characters are extraordinarily muscular, but this facilitates the characters personalities to come through in their distinctive features. Overall, the Tenjho Tenge manga is well received having sold over 10.7 million copies, and its volumes regularly being in the top twenty best selling manga for Japanese Tohan charts and North American Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is the largest comic book distributor serving North America. They transport comic books from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to the retailers. Diamond dominates the direct market in the United States, and has exclusive arrangements with most...
charts.
Anime
The Tenjho Tenge anime is described as a significantly toned down version of the Japanese manga, but still retains most of the spirit of its predecessor. Much of the nudity was removed by the animators, but was made up in the way of sexual innuendosInnuendo
An innuendo is a baseless invention of thoughts or ideas. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging , that works obliquely by allusion...
, gratuitous cleavage
Cleavage (breasts)
Cleavage, anatomically known as the intramammary cleft, is the space between a woman's breasts lying over the sternum. Cleavage is exposed by a garment with a low neckline, such as ball gowns, evening gowns, swimwear, casual tops and other garments....
, and panty shots
Upskirt
Upskirt refers to the practice of making unauthorized photographs under a female's skirt, capturing an image of her crotch area and underwear. The term "upskirt" can also refer to a video, illustration or photograph which incorporates the upskirt image. The term is also sometimes used to refer...
. Since the anime is a close adaptation to the manga, critique of the plot is comparable to the manga's. Some reviewers felt that the anime was handled in a frantic and ill planned manner that made the conclusion not satisfactory even with the original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
. The animation done by Madhouse
Madhouse (company)
is a Japanese animation studio, founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It has created and helped to produce many well known shows, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! in 1973, and including western favourites Ninja...
is considered to be well done. They used bright vibrant colors, solid backgrounds and plenty of visible detail with very little pixelation
Pixelation
In computer graphics, pixelation is an effect caused by displaying a bitmap or a section of a bitmap at such a large size that individual pixels, small single-colored square display elements that comprise the bitmap, are visible to the eye...
or jagged movement, but at times used repeated character shots and animations. The animation done during the fight scenes is done in real time and is done as close to reality as possible while still bending, and often violating, the laws of physics
Physical law
A physical law or scientific law is "a theoretical principle deduced from particular facts, applicable to a defined group or class of phenomena, and expressible by the statement that a particular phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions be present." Physical laws are typically conclusions...
. The early fight scenes are thought to be the "...most intense seen in recent anime". The quality of animation in these scenes does drop somewhat over time, but the action still looks better than the average fighting anime. Both the Japanese and English voice acting
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
are considered to be good, but the English dub at times can be a little uneven. The English dub on occasion has poor dialogue which causes it to lose much of the anime's sincerity. Overall, the anime is considered to be above average, but suffers from a lack of a good ending, mainly because the anime only covered the first arc of the story.
Music
The original soundtrack for Tenjho Tenge is considered to be average. Most of the music does well with setting the tone within the anime, although some reviewers found it to be somewhat repetitive. Some found the drama tracks to be unsatisfactory, even though they were "well executed". For many, the highlight of the soundtrack is m.c.A.T's "Bomb A Head!", which was used as the anime's opening song.Controversy
CMXCMX (comics)
CMX was a division of Wildstorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics which in turn is owned by Time Warner. It was DC's line of manga translations....
came under a great deal of criticism for its edits from readers. These edits included the length and breadth of the book, censoring out anything they felt was questionable for a teen audience such as covering up or removing nudity
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
, fanservice, and sexual innuendo as well as a removal of an omake
Omake
means extra in Japanese. Its primary meaning is general and widespread. It is used as an anime and manga fandom term to mean "extra or bonus". In USA, the term is most often used in a narrow sense by anime fans to describe special features on DVD releases: deleted scenes, interviews with the...
chapter. This was done by a brand whose promotional material asserts that it offers "pure manga — 100% the way the original Japanese creators want you to see it." One of grievances made against CMX is that the edits are not only severe, but very noticeable. One review states it is "possibly the most heavily censored title in the history of the North American manga industry."
In response, protesters boycott the edited version and even started up their own website. Immediately following the controversy, Jake Tarbox, group editor of CMX, resigned from the company. "Tarbox was widely blamed by the fan community for the censoring of Tenjho Tenge, although inside sources suggest that Tarbox was not responsible for the decision to censor the manga." In the face of complaints, CMX had internal discussions about the possibility of publishing an unedited version of Tenjho Tenge, but decided to complete the current version. At the 2007 AnimeExpo, CMX announced that they planned to change Tenjho Tenges rating to Mature beginning with volume fifteen, but warned that it still would be edited, but more lightly.
External links
- Tenjo Tenge anime official website
- Tenjho Tenge manga official website
- Harris, Franklin. "Censored book not a good start." The Decatur DailyThe Decatur DailyThe Decatur Daily is a daily newspaper serving Decatur and the Tennessee Valley in North Alabama, United States. As of September 30, 2006, it had an average daily circulation of 20,824 and a Sunday circulation of 23,840...
. Thursday March 10, 2005.