Asahi Takebe

Asahi Takebe (建部 旭) is a fictional character from the Tenchi Muyo! franchise, a girl with past ties to Juraian princesses Ayeka and Sasami in Hitoshi Okuda's No Need for Tenchi! manga.

Past and personality
Asahi is the only daughter of Nomori Takebe, a wood sculptor from Ryuten, one of the sister planets to Jurai. Aside from being a luxurious planetary resort, Ryuten is the sole proprietor of the giant trees used by Jurai's royal family. Craftspeople of the planet shape and carve the wood for use as prodigious spacecraft, with the master sculptor given the highest seat of authority.

She first met Ayeka and Sasami when the two princesses visited to the vacation spot, and they all became close friends (with Sasami loving her like a little sister). Always a fool for skilled craftsmanship, Asahi is ready to carve at the drop of the hat, with a veritable barrage of sculpting tools on her person at all times. She's especially attached to Mimasaki, a sentient A.I. and spaceship that she fawns over at all times. Culinary-wise, Asahi in the kitchen is something to be feared, as her dishes tend to be on the nuclear side (five tubes of wasabi a dish for "tang"). Aside from the cook herself, the only person who can stomach Asahi's cuisine is Gohgei, a young monk who watched over her as a child.

Gohgei is actually the only boy her father let Asahi associate with growing up. Nomori smothers her in a way; after her mother died his daughter is all he has in life. To dissuade her from striking up a relationship, he spins yarns on how "all men -- aside from me -- change into scary monsters and eat little girls up!" While she knows it's not true ("since at least a year ago!") Asahi has a psychosomatic allergy as a result, and will pass out if so much as touched by a guy.

Escape from Ryuten
Her father was imprisoned by a rival named Tatesuki, over jealousy in not being named royal sculptor in lieu of Nomori after the previous master's death. She's unable to seek help from Jurai after Tatesuki has all traffic to the area closed, and Asahi is sought as leverage to make her father speak by three strange men. Making a break for it, the young girl runs into a snag when she mistakes the "space pirate" Minagi for her more notorious sibling, and she and Mimasaki crashland on Tenchi Masaki's front doorstep.

During the surprising reunion, Asahi fills Ayeka and Sasami in on the current goings-on on Ryuten, and eager to assist, Tenchi and the others set off to free her father from imprisonment. The journey is not without incident, though; Mimasaka is put into a drunken binge by Mihoshi halfway to their destination, forcing an unscheduled stop on Yatsuka (a mining planet in the Jurai Empire). Gohgei is picked up there while the group is detained, and after six hundred years apart the monk and Asahi fall for each other, though neither acts on their crush (Asahi is worried she'll never viewed as anything but a "little sister"/Gohgei is concerned over the age difference and the girl's feelings). Matters are compounded when Mushima tracks them down - though Asahi seems more upset over the scratching of her "pretty ship" than capture - and lashes out towards Ayeka. Asahi pushes the princess out of the way, taking the full force of the creature's backhand. While she's unconscious, Gohgei jumps to her defense, unveiling himself as a beast-like Gagutian.

Curious cures
Though saved from Mushima, Asahi is eventually caught and used as collateral to expunge the location on Jurai's secret files from her father. Nomori begrudgingly cooperates, admitting the book is hidden deep within his daughter's ship. Once the files are obtained, she and the others are able to escape, though Mimasaka is left with the Shimas on Ryuten. Minagi, understanding what it's like to lose something precious to you, puts herself in danger to retrieve it, even as the A.I. concerns itself for her safety.

Thankful for all the sacrifices made by her friends, Asahi decides to stay with Gohgei and do her part to stop Yume, an old acquaintance of Washu's, from taking over the Jurai Empire. Feeling being beside Gohgei was the best protection, she supports everyone even after her father's rescue. During Gohgei's fight with Hishima, the girl wonders why Gohgei doesn't transform, revealing she understood all along ("Oh, don't tell me you didn't know!") allowing the monk to fight to his full potential without fretting how Asahi will hate him.

She is unknowingly cured of her allergy when rushing to Gohgei's aid, and after matters with Yume are finished the couple settles down on Ryuten. She succeeds in her career as a professional carver, with her and Gohgei due to be married in the near-future.

Trivia

 * Like many characters in Tenchi Muyo!, Asahi takes her name from a locale around Japan's Okayama Prefecture; "Asahi" is a town located within the Kume District whereas "Takebe" is in Mitsu. Mimasaka springs from the same tradition.


 * Her reverence for Yosho made him a special case from her usual "sickness", though she "would never dare to touch such an honorable personage!". Similar to Ayeka in the first OVA series, she's put out when seeing what an elderly gentleman he's become.


 * Asahi appears much older than Sasami (despite being considered a younger sister when they first met) due to the princesses' stay in stasis while seeking out Yosho and Ryoko.