AKA: N/A

Genre: Intergalactic mecha action comedy

Length: OAV, 4 episodes, 30 minutes each

Distributor: R1 DVD from Bandai

Content Rating: 13+ (violence, brief nudity, fan service)

Related Series: N/A

Also Recommended: Phantom Quest Corp., Photon, Tenchi Muyo

Notes: This series was the first DVD-only anime release in North America.

Rating:

Tenamonya Voyagers

Synopsis

New teacher Ayako and high school student Wakana are in the same boat - their school has suddenly closed down, leaving them stranded on a planet on the opposite end of the universe from their home, Earth. To make matters worse, they are completely broke. But when the enigmatic Paraila literally drops in on them, their situation changes. Paraila also wants to go to Earth, and she has a means of getting all three of them there ... or does she? It seems that Paraila is the most wanted criminal in the universe and is being pursued by every cop and robber in the galaxy, including one very obsessed detective. Can the three make it to Earth in one piece?

Review

Oh the joys of DVD! When we went shopping for some new titles to view, I wanted to go for something different and fun. Tenamonya Voyagers stood out on the shelf and seemed to promise to deliver both.

I love it when I'm right :)

The premise alone is a great one, and right from the get go I was charmed by this series. While I can't quite find the words to describe the opening song (marching band music set to washing machines?), it's definitely funny. The animation, while not the top of the line, is above average, and very clean.

I love the characters in this series, especially the downtrodden, haiku-spouting Ayako, and Paraila is the coolest space pirate to come down the pike since Ryoko. Wakana tries to be the sole voice of reason in the group, but sometimes she can be just as bad as Paraila. The way the three play off each other is priceless, and they balance out nicely. You really root for them to make it home.

Every episode is action packed, usually with impossibly contrived mecha battles, but that's half the fun. Paraila posses an almost magical zip disk that can transform any machine to her liking, which leads to some interesting mecha designs. Of course, every battle results in lots of collateral damage and some broken bones, but such is life when one is on the lam.

One of the perks of DVD is that you get both English and Japanese vocal tracks on the same disk, which with Tenamonya Voyagers is a good thing. The English dub is great, and it's fun to watch one episode in English, then the next in Japanese. I have a hard time deciding which version I like better. Both the English and Japanese voice casts obviously had a lot of fun doing this series, and it shows in the previews between the episodes.

The only problem I have with this series is that just as it's getting really good, it abruptly ends. I can't help but get the feeling that this was to be the lead-in for a TV series that never was, which is sad because I would really like to see more of Tenamonya Voyagers. It would make a great TV show, as there are a lot of planets for them to visit (and destroy) before they reach Earth. :)

If you have a DVD player, I totally reccomend this title, especially if you are an action/comedy fan. This show is one of the most fun anime titles I have seen in a long while. Tenamonya Voyagers is brain candy at it's best!

I wish I could give half-stars. It's not quite four star material, but it's pretty close! — Christi

Recommended Audience: Teens and up. Lots of violence, but no blood or gore. It's mostly robots blowing up. There is some brief nudity, and quite a bit of fan service in the fourth episode, but its all played for laughs.