Tsukiko Masaki (正木 月子 Masaki Tsukiko) is the mother of Kiriko Masaki and Kai Masaki and a distant aunt of Tenchi Masaki.
Biography
Tsukiko was born and raised in Masaki Village, among the other descendants of Yosho and his first wife, Kasumi. She seems to be among the youngest generation, when seated for the pre-party before Rea's wedding, she was seated according to order of "joining the assembly," at the farthest end.
Galaxy Academy
While Tsukiko was still with the Galaxy Academy, studying artificial intelligence, she met and came to be in a relationship with her future husband, Ken Raraiba Steinbeck. She was also the subject of affection of a fellow researcher, Dr. Hiroshi Manada. These two seem to be mixed up reincarnations of Hiroshi Rara and Ken Sanada from Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure (Manada resembles Sanada exactly). After Ken and Tsukiko married, they introduced Hiroshi to their new born baby, Kiriko, He wished for their happiness and settled his own feelings by pouring his attention into creating an A.I. based off of Tsukiko. Through skill and a trick of fate, he unintentionally created an A.I. with an Astral (a soul). He was a bit ashamed of himself for making a copy of Tsukiko, but as it had an Astral, which are given human rights, it would be murder to delete the program. Worried about being discovered by Tsukiko, he erased the A.I.'s memory, put the her into an artificial body, age-regressed her to a baby, named her Miki Steinbeck (who grew to resemble Mitsuki Sanada from Dual!, in looks and personality, being an indirect reincarnation of her) and raised her as his daughter, never telling her that she was an A.I. or who her "mother" was. Soon after he started raising her, Ken was killed in a mysterious space incident. If not for his embarrassment about Miki being based off of her, he might have tried harder to be there to console Tsukiko's loss.
Instead, Tsukiko entered a relationship with another man, Dai Tennan, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Kai. Tsukiko's relationship with Dai deteriorated when she realized Dai was very childish and just overall feckless. They never married and she restricts his access to Kai. It is suggested he had a better personality when they first met, or that he was going through his own turmoil and they were comforting each other. Unfortunately, when he resolved his conflict, he became much more like his other Tennan relatives (like Seiryo). In the GXP novels, Kiriko once mentions asking Kai's father what happened to their relationship, but he was kept silent by Tsukiko.
Return to Masaki Village
Tsukiko often took Kai to visit his distant cousin, Tenchi, as they were relatively close in age, and became playmates. As time went by, Kai made a new friend at school, Seina Yamada, who also became a close friend of Tenchi's. Kai's easy-going personality and his Masaki ruggedness allowed him to get along with Seina, despite often being caught in the latter's terrible bad luck. Soon after they became friends, Seina's mother came to introduce herself and broke out in tears in front of Tsukiko, explaining how happy she was that Kai hadn't been driven off by Seina's bad luck, becoming the first friend that Seina ever had. Unknown to them, young Kiriko was watching from the door. Kiriko soon became like a sister to him, and eventually, much more.
It is a Masaki Village tradition to let their children grow up not knowing of their alien heritage. Kiriko found out early by accident but Kai would not be told until he is of age.
Kiyone, Tenchi's mother, also became like a second mother to them. She actually died at Tsukiko's home, watching over them while Tsukiko was away. Tsukiko took Kiriko to the funeral, which was limited only to blood relatives aware of their Juraian heritage.
The Kids Growing Up
As Seina grew older, Tsukiko found herself drawn to him more and more. When finding Seina and Kai with dirty magazines, she angrily scolded Kai, but appeared to be about to offer herself up for Seina to look at, before an interruption made her stop. While Tsukiko and their other relatives were getting ready for Rea's wedding, her cousins Fuka Masaki, Otoka Masaki, and Mizune Masaki began to pester her about making a move on Seina. During Seina's first trip to Jurai, Kuis Panta, a perfect mimic, impersonated Tsukiko and, as Tsukiko, gave him his first real kiss and declared her love for him. When it was discovered that she was Kuis, she admitted it, but told him that when she impersonates them, she practically becomes them, and that those were exactly Tsukiko's feelings. It later led to a very embarrassed Tsukiko talking with Seina, explaining she really did plan to marry him, but gave the impression that it was only the plan if he stayed on Earth. But she has explained to Kiriko that she has not completely given up, and may resume her attempts later on.[1]
Tsukiko returned to the Galaxy Academy two times in the novels, once to console her friend, Hiroshi, when it seemed Miki had died in a pirate attack, and later in order to be introduced to the returned Miki, now a cabbit. Hiroshi tells Miki the truth about the secrets of her birth, essentially revealing that Tsukiko is Miki's AI model/mother in a sense. Miki feels a sense of connection with Tsukiko, but also notes that Tsukiko may be a great rival for Seina's affections.
Tsukiko is honestly disturbed about how much she is bothered by her own son, who shows so much similarity with his father, despite the restricted contact. She basically admits she often simply doesn't like him (she loves him as a son, but dislikes him as a person). While some of her Masaki relatives continue to suggest she just give up and let Dai take responsibility, she is determined to watch over him as long as she can.
Reconnecting with Seina and learning magic
Tsukiko is a primary character in the 2023 OVA series Tenchi Muyo! GXP Paradise Starting. The series takes place when Seina returns from Renza while Kiriko's group and the Renza girls stay behind to take care of the political ramifications of their time there.
While Seina was away, Kai became engaged to Seina's younger sister, Yoshiko Yamada, and became integral to the business plans of the Yamada Store's rapid development. In order to better facilitate this new relationship, Kai moved into the Yamada's house (and even takes the "Yamada" surname) and Seina's possessions were moved to Tsukiko's house, into Kai's room. So, when Seina returns, he spends a night alone with Tsukiko and she confesses to him the plan she (and the Masaki village) had to marry Seina, if he hadn't gone into space. It's the same explanation told in the books (although adds that Kiyone Masaki was a driving factor in the early plan) but, as it's the first time it's been dealt with in the anime, it's treated as if this is the first time Seina has heard about it. She confirms that she is still willing to marry him and even delivers most of this message while sleeping next to each other in order to emphasize her feelings.
She bonds well with most of the girls that came with Seina: Fuku, Miki (who calls Tsukiko "mother"), Kirche, D, and Nayuta (who spent their first night being checked over by Washu), with the exception of Jovia Jovis, with whom she has an intensely cold relationship. Most early interactions between them end with Tsukiko trying to crush Jovia's head in her hand for the stupid things she does and says. The other girls tell Tsukiko that she would be welcome to join them as a future bride.
After the plan to move the Tabletop Island ship and moor it in the sea south of Japan is begun, Seina fulfills a longtime wish of Tsukiko's to be introduced to the "fantasy world" of her dreams and she is housed in the magical subspace of the Kamidake and learns magic.
Etymology
- The name Tsukiko means "moon" (月) (tsuki) and "child" (子) (ko).
- Tsukiko's surname Masaki means "right, proper" (正) (masa) and "tree, wood" (木) (ki).
Trivia
- Although she is a recurring presence in the GXP novels and makes a significant appearance the 4th season of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki, Tsukiko does not show up at all during the 5th season, despite her daughter, son, daughter-in-law, and Miki all living nearby (Kai and Yoshiko make cameo appearances in one episode). This absence should soon be explained in the GXP OVA.
- Tsukiko grew up in Masaki Village loving fantasy novels about magic and fantasy creatures. She passed this interest onto her daughter, Kiriko, and also lent her books to Kiyone, which may have influenced her research into reaching the parallel world Geminar.
Gallery
References
- ↑ True Tenchi Muyo! GXP (novels) Volume 9 Chapter 7