A light snack - mostly junk food - with few nourishing qualities. "Tenchi Universe" satiates a serious sweet tooth. One of its most appealing characteristics is the Betty and Veronica-esque spats between Princess Ayeka and Ryoko.

The storyline, punctured with more holes than a Florida ballot card, gleans its charm from the introduction of a new girl each episode, but also suffers from this over-used gag. The series' sluggish pace begins to pick up in the fourth episode, "No Need for Monsters!" The addition of Washu promises more mischief and action for future episodes. An evil genius generally tends to stir things up.

A lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. Character depth is on par with "Snow Day" rather than "The English Patient." With the entrance of so many characters, each is granted a mere sound bite of introduction before the next one treads the scene. Further episodes in the series will have the freedom to start up an actual plot line now that (almost) everyone has arrived.

Seamless, the animation in "Tenchi Universe" flows without a hitch. The bold, vibrant colors of the characters are excellent, and contrast nicely with the subdued colors of the stunning background scenes, which stand on their own merits.

The fluid translation of these scripts makes this film a far smoother ride. No jumbled words, speech lags, or outdated, overly formal English usage.

The actors do a competent job in their respective roles. None of the voice actors grate on the ear, and most are quite convincing. Jay Hopper's dual portrayal of Tenchi's grandfather and father steals the show despite their being relatively minor roles.

Chew on this one too long and you'll end up with a mouth full of cavities.

Everybody loves a good catfight! Mrrrrrreow.

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