Tenchi Masaki is the main character of the Tenchi series, and is the object of affection to (apparently) every girl in the universe. ;> He led a pretty normal life, living with his father Nobuyuki at his home in the mountains, near the Masaki Shrine, where Katsuhito, his grandfather lived. (In the OAV, Tenchi lived in the city until his house was moved to the mountains after a battle between Ryoko and Ayeka. See, it's getting confusing already!) After Ryoko shows up, everyone else starts to appear for some reason or another, until Tenchi ends up living with 6 girls, and his life loses its dullness. (In the OAV, it's 5: Kiyone was only seen in Mihoshi's story.)
Tenchi is actually the crown prince of Jurai, the planet where Ayeka and Sasami live (or should I say lived?), however, noone knows this except Katsuhito. Because of this, Tenchi has access to incredible power, and is in fact the most powerful man in the galaxy, outside of the goddesses (they're only in the OAV). Tenchi's weapon is the Tenchi Key, Tenchi Sword, Lighthawk Sword, it all depends on which version you're watching, they're all the same thing. The Sword looks like a short stick with a blue beam on one end, similar to a lightsaber. It channels the Jurai power within oneself, and can only be used by those who it deems worthy (that's why Ryoko and Kagato got zapped when they tried to steal it :> ).
Ryoko and Ayeka are almost constantly bickering over Tenchi, who usually gets stuck in the middle of it, and usually ends up having to help rebuild whatever they're fighting in, due to the large amount of explosions. In the OAV, everyone wants Tenchi, but in TV, Shin, and the movies, it seems to be mainly Ryoko and Ayeka unless there's someone else trying to cut in (Mayuka, Sakuya, or Haruna).
Tenchi's mother is Achika, who died when Tenchi was a young boy, under conditions not entirely explained.
