Tenchi Muyo- “No need for Tenchi”
Recently the anime I have been watching has
been a lot of “Tenchi Muyo”, and most recently I began “Tenchi Universe” which
is basically the same general story as Muyo, except it is a TV series and there
are some significant changes. Two writers/creators apparently got together for
the OAV (ie- comes out only on video/DVD, not TV) Tenchi Muyo. Within a few
episodes, one of them left/lost influence and he later went on to make Tenchi
Universe (the TV series) while the other one had primary influence over the OAV
plot. Thus two “universe’s” were born. The funny thing is- a primary
translation of Tenchi is “universe” (another one is “earth and sky”, but it
depends on context). So there are literally two Tenchi’s!
I like the explanation below for an example
of the name and translation issues-
1. Why is
the title "Tenchimuyo! Ryo-oh-ki"?
Answer:
AIC's president Toru Miura chose it.
More details
...
In the early
plan, there was a simple and tentative title "Ryo-oh-ki", by Masaki
Kajishima. But when it was animated, the sponsor (Pioneer?) wanted a title with
much stronger impact. Toru Miura and Masaki Kajishima saw "Thomas
the Tank Engine" (Old British Model Animation about a family of steam
engines. ^_^) on TV and decided to include the hero's name in the title.
Toru Miura expected the series to be a comedy with characters jumping around,
upside down, and came up with an idea of "Tenchi Muyo! Ryooki"
(tenchi means "sky and ground" muyou is "no need"). But a
problem is the correct meaning of "tenchi muyou" is also "don't
make this upside down" and nobody there knew this (^_^). (This is one of
common mistakes many young people make.)
So, apparently Tenchi Muyo could mean “No
need for sky and ground” in a literal sense, or could mean “No need for the
universe”, or it could mean- and traditionally would mean- “Don’t make this
upside down”. In the TV series they play on this, and each episode is titled
something different- “No need for worries”, “No need for Tenchi”, “No need for
princess”, “No need for carnivals”, etc.
Politic Muyo- No need for Politics
I recently receive a poll regarding
politics. I am not much of a political person. I believe it has its place, but
I do not really enjoy the subject nor do I ever desire to focus on it much.
However, it is a necessary evil and it has its place in life. There are times
when it simply cannot be ignored. So while up until now I am officially
non-partisan, I have decided to join a party and research each candidate (both
republican and democratic) and go from there. In truth, I am non-partisan.
However, I am choosing to join the Democratic party. Perhaps this proves my
belief that a conservative, Bible believing Christian who is pro-life and
believes homosexuality is wrong does not necessarily have to be Republican too.
Politics and beliefs ARE interactive- you cannot separate them- but I do not
believe that one party or the other is “Christian”. I’ve done some research and
reached some conclusions on that.
No Need for Business
I anyone who has done much reading or
observing of fiction has noted that two different outlooks have been taking on
the future- especially in Science Fiction. You have the future where government
becomes a total control. Then there are the futures, such as in Anne McAffrey’s
science fiction work, where- more creatively- corporations take control and in
many cases becomes almost their own government. Space becomes controlled by one
to several mega-corporations that act as their own law in some ways. They even
have their own security force- which could be termed as an army if large
enough.
Do not dismiss science fiction- it is a
means of exploring thoughts, philosophies, ideals, and most importantly
present-day issues. I believe that our politics hang on keeping a balance. We
must walk the tightrope between two extremes, and two evils- total corporate
control, and total government control. There must be freedom in the business
world- but the government has to balance that out to avoid monopolies and
mega-corporations from becoming too dominant and powerful. I believe that
particularly right now, the democratic party has needed values that would help
to restrict business and reassert government involvement.
Remember, the government has the influence
of all of us. Corporations do not- they are influenced by a small few that we
have no real control over, and are interested only in self gain and control.
This is not true all the time, but when certain gigantic corporations grow they
become a large entity that must be kept in balance. Once there is one or two
corporations which sell almost everything- property, loans, computers, food,
furniture, jobs… everything… what is to say they are not becoming a government
in a way themselves? “You don’t have to get a job with us if you don’t like our
rules…” is great, until all the rules are the same and the choice is
unemployment- not a choice at all- or being forced to follow THEIR rules, not
our countries. What happens if some serious weakness befalls the government at
some point and it ends up that the corporations have more stability and power
than the government? Ah, this is all theoretical, but it is possible with
enough time and changes.
Right now, the goal is to keep a balance. I
believe many Republican politicians have very poor policy in regards to
business and trade- as well as some social issues. Also, states should also be
subservient to the government on some important issues. This makes it hard to
even consider voting for some of them for an office like president.
No Need for Government
Likewise, there are dangers if free
enterprise and personal freedoms diminish and government control becomes more
absolute- while state freedom shrinks to almost nothing. I believe that while
American workers need a strong support and help from the government, trade must
be kept strong and corporations need some room for growth at times- within
limits. Unions aren’t necessarily a bad thing either, and I’m sad they are
diminishing in many places.
If government really is “separated from
Church”- then there is a problem. I believe government should be infused with
the morals of the people that make it up- so I vote and make choices based on
my beliefs, and vote for people who will do that as well. A non-religious
government… completely separated from “Church”… becomes religious, by being
atheistic. Such a government is one I would never want to have too much
control/power, either. It is my hope that the government would have a soul and
heart that would balance out life with conscientious laws and choices.
Corporations, of course, have no such ‘heart’- so they need balance.
Parties Muyo
So I have a good view of the strengths and
weaknesses I see in both parties- in general. I see that the strength of the
republican party- and in a way it is a tool they sometimes use to get the vote-
is their moral grounding. On key issues that I cannot, and I believe no
conservative Bible-believing Christian could ever waver in- they stand firm
usually. I believe I cannot ever move on the issues of abortion being
absolutely wrong- murder that no government could support any more than it
could the death of any normal person or citizen that has done no wrong and is
not a part of a war. I also believe that laws should not afford homosexuals
some of the same privileges afforded men and women in regards to the matter of
marriage and children. It is their choice to be involved with each other
sexually- but our society does not need to support it, even though we should
not actively seek to hurt/demean them. That is what I believe, and I won’t go
into the explanations here- that’s not my purpose right now.
Republicans generally hold to these matters
strongly, and Democrats- while I have seen some that religiously believe what I
believe, those that do believe it say “government cannot dictate this, so we
should allow all the choice”. Republicans of course say that government has a
right to limit the extra privileges it allows on these very moral issues.
Meanwhile, Republicans also make some poor
decisions in regards to public eduction- while I like the idea of vouchers, if
Republicans say that it should be the church who helps people in need shouldn’t
it be the church that helps supply aid for private education? Either way, I
think public education needs reform- serious reform- if our society is to go
further. Also, taxes going down will not solve our governments financial
problems as much as we might like it. The taxes go down, and corporations
simply CHARGE more! What is needed is a better economy, and more control over the
companies seeking unfair and inappropriate profits in difficult times- gas
companies are a great example right now. Too much favour to private business-
usually the ‘mega companies’ is a poor choice. Too many tax breaks reduce the
money needed to fix our national debt and supply funds to support faltering
support. As a person who has a family that barely makes enough to make it WITH
help from our parents- I see government programs as a necessary help when the
private companies, out to get as much work out of my wife as they can with as
little fair payment as possible- fail us. Our Church is a good church, but even
they cannot help us with finances at this time. The government needs to be the
balance- to see that the companies pay their part in helping our society grow
and stay strong, and that the lower end of the spectrum is supported fairly.
At the same time, I think that war
shouldn’t be shrunk away from. Terrorists should be actively pursued, and our
full resources should be invested in ending the active threat- without
alienating the UN or other countries completely, of course, but still standing
for our interests. If we shrink down from direct threats against us, we expose
ourselves to a future downfall and attacks from growing powers in the world.
If I could combine all the strengths into
one party, I would definitely vote for it. But I cannot, so I must try to dance
the balancing act in my voting. It seems to me that might mean that, at the
right times, I should try to vote a democratic president into office in order
to help balance out the corporations and give proper attention to government
support of society. At the same time, I need to make sure that our laws that
protect life and morality are kept strongly in place.
More Blabbering Muyo
-Patrick
Just call him "Terminator Conor"!
