Ryoko Forever Fan Club
Ryoko's Tail

It was only a matter of time before someone came onto the RFFC mailing list and asked the age-old question: Does Ryoko have a tail? The answer, as Ryoko herself demonstrates here, is no. The question arises because (especially in the OAV series) she's often seen with a black tail. Closer examination shows that we only see her with that tail when she's wearing her favourite blue striped casual dress: Look closely at this image (a video capture from The Night Before The Festival) and you'll see that the tail does not emerge from the place one would usually expect to find such a thing; in fact, it's quite clear that the tail is attached to the belt of her dress.

No tail on this baby!

In Mihoshi Falls to the Land of the Stars, we find Ryoko apparently wearing her tail with a different outfit. But... In fact, it's a cold day, and Ryoko is wearing an outer coat over her familiar blue striped dress. The sleeves and skirt are clearly visible.

A few moments later, Ryoko is tossed through the air and we're treated to a rare close-up of the whole of the tail. Notice first that the tail does not pass under Ryoko's coat, and so can't be attached to the blue striped dress. Second, this belt is a different colour to the one she was wearing before. Either it's a different tail, or the tail isn't attached to the belt. Third, the top of the tail is sticking out above the belt. It looks as if the tail isn't actually attached to anything; Ryoko simply dons some garment, places the top of the tail against the small of her back, and wraps a belt around it.

Actually, in the OAVs, Ryoko doesn't do anything of the sort. Because she can materialise her clothes around her as needed, Ryoko doesn't "dress" in the normal sense, and could have as many tails as she likes. It's a different matter in the TV series, where she appears to lack this quick-change ability and in one scene is found pulling on her battle suit.

In Here Comes Jurai, for the first time we find Ryoko wearing a tail with a different costume - and this time the tail is red instead of black. Look closely at that outfit. Isn't its design a lot like a certain dark blue striped dress? The tail appears to be attached in exactly the same way. I wonder if the colours were bleached through spending too much time lying in the sun.

So if the tail is just an accessory, how does it move? According to AIC, it's made of a special material that responds to Ryoko's emotions. Although personally I think there's a little deliberate telekinesis involved at times.

That's not the end of it. In the first Tenchi Muyo! artbook (ISBN 4-89601-201-1), there are two pictures showing different tails:

I have no idea what the significance of the tiger-striped image might be.

The pink and violet outfit appears to be the result of Mihoshi's deranged imagination, she's dreaming of a Tenchified version of Alice in Wonderland (watch it, this image is pretty darn big, nearly 200K JPG) with Ryoko cast as the Cheshire Cat.

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